Schott 141 in 42 and 44. I think the 44 has better leather. No two cows are the same. The 141 has excellent leather. It's I believe what's called the cafe racer. The jacket has very clean lines more traditional symmetric zipper opening in the front body. Football underarm and back gussets for ease of movement and keep the sleeves from riding up when arms outstretched riding in the wild for real. I am a poser but it helps the sleeve stay up long when riding the subway grabbing the ring.
Schott car coat. I don't think it has a model number and I don't bother to look for that little white flag under some pocket now. This is my first Schott I bought I think from the Chinatown Canal Jeans Company long long time ago. I remember I spent forever trying on to decide this or another model. The two pockets in the front have a flap. So they are really pockets. I tend to use them as hand warmers. And over time, the flap just got out of shape permanently.
Schott 125. This was an eBay find. The seller was in Canada and it didn't even list it as a Schott so the price was low by any standard. The coat was in good condition. It is a size 46 so it looks kind of big and short. It's the more traditional biker jacket with asymmetric front zipper opening with epaulettes and chrome zippers all over the place. The leather is a bit thinner and more pliable than the 141. The detachable is permanently detached and was missing. What a shame.
Schott 741N size 42. Another eBay found. This is a peacoat or pea jacket in leather with diamond quilting. The front side slanted pockets have no flaps so they are hand warmers to me. It has an inside chest pocket over the heart on the left hand side. None of the pockets feel deep and secured. I am paranoid like this. That's why I love all those zippers from 141, and 125 or the flaps from the car coat.
From what I read, Marlon Brando wore a Perfecto 618 and added a star on the epaulettes. The original Perfecto is the 613 that came with the star.
Nowadays Schott makes a dizzying numbers of Perfectos with various cuts and different sizing between models and within the same models over the years. So that begs the question of what're the exact dimensions? I wonder why they kind of keep the measurements a secret (OK, their forum company spoke person Gail doesn't hesitate to give out dimensions or direct people to the right party to ask but it would be nice for them to list them on their website upfront. it helps people getting the correct size, reduce the number of returns or exchange, come on). It's especially annoying when eBay sellers don't list the measurements or the most important measurement, i.e. the chest. Again, does size 42 mean anything, sure, but an actual measurement would be even better, much better. I always wonder why some sellers take this so lightly or even measure them ever so indifferently or carelessly.
When I was younger I thought the 613, 618 or 118 are just too much in the sense that all the zippers and all; things are always too much for me. That's why I opted the 141. Now I think well who cares. A Perfecto is it.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Soundsticks II
This is my latest fascination. I think this is by no means any fantastic speakers. I saw a set on eBay sold for $16.1 + shipping around $30. I am willing to pay around $50 for it. But I just let it slip as I am not in a position to buy any junk.
For comparison, a pair of AirPods Pro sells for $249.
For comparison, a pair of AirPods Pro sells for $249.
Monday, October 28, 2019
John Wick Chapter 3
The story of John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum ("if you seek peace, prepare for war" says the film's character Winston) picks up where 2 left off . Wick is seen running in his ever slightly bowed gait with his nameless pit bull in tow, seeking refuge in the evening Big Apple while rain is pelting down making his artfully unkempt hair and unshaved face even more alluring. The opening scene is as beautiful as it's dizzily kaleidoscopic.
Wick proves a book is mightier than a knife. But then not everyone can stomach the virtue and wisdom that comes with a big book. The first fight was launched inside the reference section of the New York Public Library. When Wick force-feeds Alexander Afanasyev's Russian fable on Ernest, another assassin who can't wait to collect the 14 million bounty on Wick, the book proves too much for Ernest to devour. There is a little continuity problem as Wick is seen using his both hands grappling and hence sans book but then immediately after with the book in hand. Of course, I can see this only with the benefit of replay and freeze frame. Using a big book or a pencil as a lethal weapon is not new, as I recall both La Femme Nikita and Jason Bourne use them way before Wick. The movie is in essence a platform for setting up Wick to fight with horses, motorbikes, daggers, a pencil and a book and of course many guns, in the most mundane and extreme situations.
Wick always fights in a suit with a properly knotted tie no less. The first two I think because he has to go to a high end nightclub or a gala so he has to dress the part or else what I don't actually know. Given that he does a lot of running and kicking, I wonder if he sticks to the more dressy but slippery leather soles or the rubber ones that provide better grip but look less dressy. Wick as a professional contract killer reminds me of Vincent, a role played by Tom Cruise in a movie called Collateral. Vincent is very business like in his attire and demeanor. Both have memorable fight scenes in a club as well as on a train. Cruise' Vincent unfortunately got killed off in his first and also last only movie appearance. It's such an underrated movie. Who knows, maybe Vincent was part of the High Table universe.
As John Wick progresses onto this third instalment, it becomes more elaborate in its world building, i.e. more ridiculous it becomes. It demands a high level of suspension of belief. It's like the whole New York City is run by the High Table. More troublesome is the fact that the film becomes self aware of how cool the Wick character is. Even the villains are head over heels John Wick so much so that they aren't going to kill him given the chance. It makes the movie less believable even in its own world. I think the supporting cast like the Bowery King and Winston could just dial down their coolness a tad bit. The Adjudicator as a villain is insufferable as what skill set does she possess anyway. The most down to earth character is still Reeves' Wick. There is no self awareness the way Reeves plays the character. If anything I think he always plays the character as is and nobody can deliver dialogues like him. His last word uttered, when asked by the Bowery King, "You pissed, John? Are you?" was "Yeah." Reeves' deliverance is always a bit flat, a bit monotone, a bit peculiar with a straight face.
The story of John Wick is like a triptych, the second one is the most balanced and prominence one in action, story and mythology without overdoing them. With John Wick being pissed and alive, I am sure there is a fourth one in the work.
Wick proves a book is mightier than a knife. But then not everyone can stomach the virtue and wisdom that comes with a big book. The first fight was launched inside the reference section of the New York Public Library. When Wick force-feeds Alexander Afanasyev's Russian fable on Ernest, another assassin who can't wait to collect the 14 million bounty on Wick, the book proves too much for Ernest to devour. There is a little continuity problem as Wick is seen using his both hands grappling and hence sans book but then immediately after with the book in hand. Of course, I can see this only with the benefit of replay and freeze frame. Using a big book or a pencil as a lethal weapon is not new, as I recall both La Femme Nikita and Jason Bourne use them way before Wick. The movie is in essence a platform for setting up Wick to fight with horses, motorbikes, daggers, a pencil and a book and of course many guns, in the most mundane and extreme situations.
Wick always fights in a suit with a properly knotted tie no less. The first two I think because he has to go to a high end nightclub or a gala so he has to dress the part or else what I don't actually know. Given that he does a lot of running and kicking, I wonder if he sticks to the more dressy but slippery leather soles or the rubber ones that provide better grip but look less dressy. Wick as a professional contract killer reminds me of Vincent, a role played by Tom Cruise in a movie called Collateral. Vincent is very business like in his attire and demeanor. Both have memorable fight scenes in a club as well as on a train. Cruise' Vincent unfortunately got killed off in his first and also last only movie appearance. It's such an underrated movie. Who knows, maybe Vincent was part of the High Table universe.
As John Wick progresses onto this third instalment, it becomes more elaborate in its world building, i.e. more ridiculous it becomes. It demands a high level of suspension of belief. It's like the whole New York City is run by the High Table. More troublesome is the fact that the film becomes self aware of how cool the Wick character is. Even the villains are head over heels John Wick so much so that they aren't going to kill him given the chance. It makes the movie less believable even in its own world. I think the supporting cast like the Bowery King and Winston could just dial down their coolness a tad bit. The Adjudicator as a villain is insufferable as what skill set does she possess anyway. The most down to earth character is still Reeves' Wick. There is no self awareness the way Reeves plays the character. If anything I think he always plays the character as is and nobody can deliver dialogues like him. His last word uttered, when asked by the Bowery King, "You pissed, John? Are you?" was "Yeah." Reeves' deliverance is always a bit flat, a bit monotone, a bit peculiar with a straight face.
The story of John Wick is like a triptych, the second one is the most balanced and prominence one in action, story and mythology without overdoing them. With John Wick being pissed and alive, I am sure there is a fourth one in the work.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
PhotoPlus Expo 2019
Canon and Nikon are still the twin tent poles of the event. Nikon still gives out their signature yellow shopping bags but there aren't that many freebies to take home, not like a decade or so ago. There are still candies and pens to grab but that's pretty much about it. This year there was popcorn and that's new.
This year the exhibition id doesn't come with a plastic sleeve and I think there's a good move. You don't need a plastic sleeve.
I played with the D5, some Nikkor glasses. I am an old man so I don't really get too excited with the Z cameras. Still I picked up the Fuji cameras; the GFX 100 and a couple others. I got my hand on the Olympus I like the feel of it but it's a micro 4/3, so it's good on the long end, but not so much on the wide angle end, plus the depth of field is not what it is with full frame; it's part psychology part reality but I would concede chances are I can't tell the difference just by looking at the pictures. For me, the DSLR still feels faster. Notice I say feel. There were instances I didn't know if the cameras were taking pictures or not. I guess I didn't get the setting right. I can still feel the shutter if it's shooting fast.
This year the exhibition id doesn't come with a plastic sleeve and I think there's a good move. You don't need a plastic sleeve.
I played with the D5, some Nikkor glasses. I am an old man so I don't really get too excited with the Z cameras. Still I picked up the Fuji cameras; the GFX 100 and a couple others. I got my hand on the Olympus I like the feel of it but it's a micro 4/3, so it's good on the long end, but not so much on the wide angle end, plus the depth of field is not what it is with full frame; it's part psychology part reality but I would concede chances are I can't tell the difference just by looking at the pictures. For me, the DSLR still feels faster. Notice I say feel. There were instances I didn't know if the cameras were taking pictures or not. I guess I didn't get the setting right. I can still feel the shutter if it's shooting fast.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
GOOGLEFINANCE
I wonder if GOOGLEFINANCE can return the long name of the ticker symbol. So far I can't find anything. The attribute sure can return price and many others but no long name of the ticker, why? It's not like everybody knows what AAPL stands for, right?
UPDATE: 12/17/2019
I found out it's undocumented. What a surprise.
=googlefinance(C5,"name")
UPDATE: 12/17/2019
I found out it's undocumented. What a surprise.
=googlefinance(C5,"name")
Friday, October 11, 2019
Xcode 11.1
I wasn't able to download and install Xcode 11 after Catalina.
It would download but unable to install, tried many times, but just a waste of bandwidth.
In the end, I deleted the existing Xcode version, do a restart of the mac, then do a download and install, success.
Apple, why are you screwing up?
It would download but unable to install, tried many times, but just a waste of bandwidth.
In the end, I deleted the existing Xcode version, do a restart of the mac, then do a download and install, success.
Apple, why are you screwing up?
Free Space macOS style
Sometimes you aren't aware of a problem until it becomes a problem.
Normally I notice my hard drive or OK, SSD space by going to the About This Mac, then Storage. This is where I am happy when I see lots of free space. Didn't care about Disk Util until I need to do some more low level job like formatting a new hard drive or a SSD.
Finally I noticed there was a vast difference between what's reported in Storage than what's reported in Disk Util. What matters to me is Disk Util as when I tried to install Catalina there it complains I don't have enough space. This is a WTF moment for me. Disk Storage clearly has enough space while Disk Util is barely not enough.
After much Googling, I found a way, which is kind of counter intuitive, I went ahead and created numerous large files and then deleted them. I don't quite understand what I was doing but in the end it worked.
From what I understand it has to do with iCloud and optimisation. So I had to deactivate them when I did the create and delete files trick.
-----
Also, I just also noticed I can't update Xcode, it would download and install and fail in the end. Again I searched and found out I am not alone on this. Yet another mystery.
Normally I notice my hard drive or OK, SSD space by going to the About This Mac, then Storage. This is where I am happy when I see lots of free space. Didn't care about Disk Util until I need to do some more low level job like formatting a new hard drive or a SSD.
Finally I noticed there was a vast difference between what's reported in Storage than what's reported in Disk Util. What matters to me is Disk Util as when I tried to install Catalina there it complains I don't have enough space. This is a WTF moment for me. Disk Storage clearly has enough space while Disk Util is barely not enough.
After much Googling, I found a way, which is kind of counter intuitive, I went ahead and created numerous large files and then deleted them. I don't quite understand what I was doing but in the end it worked.
From what I understand it has to do with iCloud and optimisation. So I had to deactivate them when I did the create and delete files trick.
-----
Also, I just also noticed I can't update Xcode, it would download and install and fail in the end. Again I searched and found out I am not alone on this. Yet another mystery.
Sunday, October 06, 2019
Groceries
Once upon a time before the refrigerator becomes ubiquitous, grocery shopping was such a daily chore. Back in those days in the early seventies and prior, it was mostly wet markets, where one shopped for livestock like poultry and fish, meats and all kinds of vegetables. A local slaughter house was not even that far way. Now I still shop more than once a week, in part, because I don't have a huge fridge as I don't have a huge kitchen as I don't have a huge abode as I don't have lots of money. Also I need to shop Chinese so I end up shopping in multiple locations and quite often on separate days. Grocery shopping can be quite numbing or in some way therapeutic. You push a shopping cart, load it up and then you go. Is it the right item at the right price? That's about it.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
10.14.6 Sup Update 2
9/26/2019
The supplemental update didn't fix the VLC problem. Oh well. I am sure it fixed other problems that probably didn't affect me or affected me without me even aware of it.
The supplemental update didn't fix the VLC problem. Oh well. I am sure it fixed other problems that probably didn't affect me or affected me without me even aware of it.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Brightburn (2019)
Brightburn tells a story that is all too familiar to parents: one day our sweet little buddy has grown to become a complete stranger much to our dismay and disappointment. Except it is much worse in the case as depicted in Brightburn. Brendon Breyer is a foundling, just like Clark Kent aka Superman, who is literally an illegal alien or in modern parlance an undocumented immigrant, from outer space. Both have loving American parents and possess preternatural powers. However, the similarities end there. Clark Kent has successfully assimilated to be a full blown American hero while Brendan Breyer, when hit by puberty, his deep seated alien traits manifest themselves as behaviors that are at odds with anybody or anything that is moral, legal or simply wholesome. He has no qualms lying, hurting and killing people. On-screen pint-sized hero or villain is not new but still very much a novelty and mildly disturbing and potentially entertaining, especially in R rated features saturated with gruesome violence. Brendon Breyer, played by Jackson Dunn, has a physiognomy that is as American as white bread or in other words he could just be any other young male shooters in rural America. His psychosis oscillates between quietly apathetic and aggressively belligerent. The young Dunn pretty very much nailed the character as an alienated youngster who are fast becoming and has indeed become a mass murderer. I enjoy this movie for its everted Superman mythology and the restrained storytelling and its rather limited and yet effective gory scenes.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
iPhone SE
iPhone SE is the little iPhone that still can. It just refuses to go obsolete. I just got it upgraded to the latest iOS 13. Meanwhile the iPhone 6 is forever left behind in iOS 12.4.1. When shooting the iPhone SE, I am able to shoot 4K while the iPhone 6 is stuck at 1080p, both running Filmic Pro. I myself got the impression that the 6 is a newer and better phone I guess I am mistaken; I am mistaken as I don't go to double check with Google and Apple for their specifications.
My everyday phone is the iPhone8 Plus, I love its size but loathed its weight. With failing eyesight a bigger screen definitely helps, but the weight hurts my wrist and neck. the 8 Plus is like 10 times and 100 times heavier than the 6 and SE respectively.
The iPhone development has slowed down. The latest iPhone 11 is a fine machine I am sure. A souped up version of it is $1,449.
My everyday phone is the iPhone8 Plus, I love its size but loathed its weight. With failing eyesight a bigger screen definitely helps, but the weight hurts my wrist and neck. the 8 Plus is like 10 times and 100 times heavier than the 6 and SE respectively.
The iPhone development has slowed down. The latest iPhone 11 is a fine machine I am sure. A souped up version of it is $1,449.
Thursday, September 05, 2019
macOS 10.14.6 macpro3,1 internal speaker disappears
After the second supplemental updates, I found out the internal speaker is missing. That's it no longer shows on the Sound. I don't know if it's just a coincident or not.
I tried to reset the whatever RAM by pressing the Alt Command P R keys when restarting, and you know how that is: I can never be sure if I indeed hitting the keys at the right time given the fact that I am using the wireless Bluetooth keyboard and a non supported GPU.
Anyway, no luck with any of the resets I performed. The machine connects with the Samsung Bluetooth speaker OK, just like before. (One of the very odd things from day 1 is say I turned on the speaker and the machine connects for a second then it would immediately drops the connection and the video would get congested so much so Youtube thought there is a internet connection issue, well there is indeed a connection issue. At that point I have to manually connect the BT speaker. But this is just an aside.)
Hopefully money can work around this problem. I ordered a CR2032 3V battery. Maybe the existing one lost its power but even so I don't think it affects the presence or absence of the internal speaker. But I just like to buy stuff. Another prong of attack to this problem is I bought a USB mic and headphone jack adapter. The latter solution hopefully can work around the problem.
UPDATE:
Apparently, or not so apparently, after the Supplemental updates, I need to manually do the patch updates because my whole macpro3,1 is a hack in order to upgrade to 10.14.6. In the past, the dosdude patch would do a prompt automagically but not this time. So after scratching my head for some hours I finally remember ahhh maybe I need to do that manually. Unfortunately I placed the order to get some hardwares and hopefully the cancellation can go through. After re-installing all the patches, the headphone port, internal speakers all work as they should be. Magic.
I tried to reset the whatever RAM by pressing the Alt Command P R keys when restarting, and you know how that is: I can never be sure if I indeed hitting the keys at the right time given the fact that I am using the wireless Bluetooth keyboard and a non supported GPU.
Anyway, no luck with any of the resets I performed. The machine connects with the Samsung Bluetooth speaker OK, just like before. (One of the very odd things from day 1 is say I turned on the speaker and the machine connects for a second then it would immediately drops the connection and the video would get congested so much so Youtube thought there is a internet connection issue, well there is indeed a connection issue. At that point I have to manually connect the BT speaker. But this is just an aside.)
Hopefully money can work around this problem. I ordered a CR2032 3V battery. Maybe the existing one lost its power but even so I don't think it affects the presence or absence of the internal speaker. But I just like to buy stuff. Another prong of attack to this problem is I bought a USB mic and headphone jack adapter. The latter solution hopefully can work around the problem.
UPDATE:
Apparently, or not so apparently, after the Supplemental updates, I need to manually do the patch updates because my whole macpro3,1 is a hack in order to upgrade to 10.14.6. In the past, the dosdude patch would do a prompt automagically but not this time. So after scratching my head for some hours I finally remember ahhh maybe I need to do that manually. Unfortunately I placed the order to get some hardwares and hopefully the cancellation can go through. After re-installing all the patches, the headphone port, internal speakers all work as they should be. Magic.
Wednesday, September 04, 2019
VLC on MacOS 10.14.6
After 2 Supplemental Updates from Apple, VLC still acts weird. The menu graphics are torn when the VLC player is active on screen. VLC has become very usable until the 10.14.6 as it plays mkv files and can scale or crop video into my LG 2560x1080 screen. Too bad VLC is screwed up now. A search on Google says this is not an individual isolated experience, it does affect a certain user base who uses NVIDIA graphics. VLC believes it's the implementation of the macOS that wreaks havoc on the screen.
UPDATE 1/9/2020
VLC hasn't had an update to address this issue as I think it's considered a problem with Apple's OS. In the indefinite wisdom of the internet, somebody in November updated the thread regarding this issue and gave us the work around, just uncheck the whatever Display transparency in the System Pref, and viola, the issue goes away. No matter torn screen graphics.
UPDATE 1/9/2020
VLC hasn't had an update to address this issue as I think it's considered a problem with Apple's OS. In the indefinite wisdom of the internet, somebody in November updated the thread regarding this issue and gave us the work around, just uncheck the whatever Display transparency in the System Pref, and viola, the issue goes away. No matter torn screen graphics.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
macOS 10.14.6 on MacPro3,1
Thing should have gone a bit smoother if only I took a bit more time preparing.
Since last time, I have changed my file system to APFS which allows normal software update via Apple.
As such I just needed to download and restart to install. Or so I thought.
I was basically taking a chance as I didn't put back the stock GPU.
So when it reboot, nothing kind of happened. I tried holding Alt, or Command R to get under the hood. I tried a few times. I am using bluetooth keyboard and touchpad so they can be a bit iffy when doing the bootup and holding down keys kind of operation. But apparently it can be done. I suppose the bluetooth connection is pretty low level and is connected right away without the OS fully loaded so you can work on it right away.
Since I couldn't boot up so actually got my old macOS USB drive and boot with Alt down and boot to base macOS. I used Time Machine to go back to 10.14.5.
I got everything running and I made sure I removed the non native GPU and put the stock GPU back before I started my download, install and reboot route.
It seems like I need to remove the USB drive, or I am not sure as I thought unless you hold down Alt otherwise it doesn't matter.
In any event I was able to boot back into the user login screen. And the patch program automatically asked to update the patches. Then reboot.
After everything works like I am sure it's the latest 10.14.6, then I powered down, removed the stock GPU card and put back the newer more powerful but not natively supported GPU.
It was on my third trial that everything worked.
Since last time, I have changed my file system to APFS which allows normal software update via Apple.
As such I just needed to download and restart to install. Or so I thought.
I was basically taking a chance as I didn't put back the stock GPU.
So when it reboot, nothing kind of happened. I tried holding Alt, or Command R to get under the hood. I tried a few times. I am using bluetooth keyboard and touchpad so they can be a bit iffy when doing the bootup and holding down keys kind of operation. But apparently it can be done. I suppose the bluetooth connection is pretty low level and is connected right away without the OS fully loaded so you can work on it right away.
Since I couldn't boot up so actually got my old macOS USB drive and boot with Alt down and boot to base macOS. I used Time Machine to go back to 10.14.5.
I got everything running and I made sure I removed the non native GPU and put the stock GPU back before I started my download, install and reboot route.
It seems like I need to remove the USB drive, or I am not sure as I thought unless you hold down Alt otherwise it doesn't matter.
In any event I was able to boot back into the user login screen. And the patch program automatically asked to update the patches. Then reboot.
After everything works like I am sure it's the latest 10.14.6, then I powered down, removed the stock GPU card and put back the newer more powerful but not natively supported GPU.
It was on my third trial that everything worked.
Friday, July 19, 2019
AF DC-NIKKOR 135mm f/2D
This lens is a mystery. You can find information online from third parties as to how to use it but you can't find anything from Nikon. Nikon Imaging does provide a pdf here http://download.nikonimglib.com/archive2/YcrVZ00oXSZ102eGHPE061XWFw47/AFDC135_2D_(27_DL)02.pdf
However it makes no mention of the effect of using the combinations of lens f/stop and defocus image control f/stop. For that it only provides three pictures with defocus at neutral, R and F. There are lots of mid-wife tales on how to use it but they are hardly definitive. And to add to the cacophony of half truths here is some more ...
For the longest time I thought you twist the defocus image control ring to the R numbers to "enhance" blur behind the focused subject, the R(ear) as in rear; and enhance the blur in the foreground if you twist the defocus image control ring towards the F(oreground or front). If you set your aperture to f/2, then you may set the defocus ring at 2 F or R, so on and so forth. Of course you can leave the defocus ring at the neutral position rendering no defocus effect. Notice that, there is an additional click beyond the 5.6 on both sides of F and R, it's not marked but I guess it could be an 8 but who knows.
My question is if I set my f/stop at f/4, must I only set the defocus at 4 either F or R direction or I can set it at 5.6 or even the unmarked 8? Or I can set it only from 4 or below only, meaning 4, 2.8 or 2 in either directions. I understand mechanically I can set whatever what I am trying to find out is what is supposed to according to NIKON, the engineers behind the lens. I think Matt Gringer's videos provide the answer, i.e. if you shoot at f/2, you should only stay at f/2 R or F. However if you shoot at f/5.6, you can choose all the defocus points in between the 5.6 F or R, i.e 4, 2.8 or 2. (Gringer was on a trip in HK and he visited a Nikon center there and some guy explained to him how it's supposed to work he didn't know what he was doing with the defocus ... Granger also repeated this (what the guy told him) on another of his video, I just couldn't find the video now, back then he called himself the Nikon guy).
Again, I never find anything direct from Nikon.
Or never mind.
From shooting with this lens for more than a year, all I could say is given some shooting conditions, it has the most offensively ghastly chromatic aberrations ever, period.
(the effect of the defocus is subtle so I don't bother to test it or use it myself .... I know it's ridiculous)
However it makes no mention of the effect of using the combinations of lens f/stop and defocus image control f/stop. For that it only provides three pictures with defocus at neutral, R and F. There are lots of mid-wife tales on how to use it but they are hardly definitive. And to add to the cacophony of half truths here is some more ...
For the longest time I thought you twist the defocus image control ring to the R numbers to "enhance" blur behind the focused subject, the R(ear) as in rear; and enhance the blur in the foreground if you twist the defocus image control ring towards the F(oreground or front). If you set your aperture to f/2, then you may set the defocus ring at 2 F or R, so on and so forth. Of course you can leave the defocus ring at the neutral position rendering no defocus effect. Notice that, there is an additional click beyond the 5.6 on both sides of F and R, it's not marked but I guess it could be an 8 but who knows.
My question is if I set my f/stop at f/4, must I only set the defocus at 4 either F or R direction or I can set it at 5.6 or even the unmarked 8? Or I can set it only from 4 or below only, meaning 4, 2.8 or 2 in either directions. I understand mechanically I can set whatever what I am trying to find out is what is supposed to according to NIKON, the engineers behind the lens. I think Matt Gringer's videos provide the answer, i.e. if you shoot at f/2, you should only stay at f/2 R or F. However if you shoot at f/5.6, you can choose all the defocus points in between the 5.6 F or R, i.e 4, 2.8 or 2. (Gringer was on a trip in HK and he visited a Nikon center there and some guy explained to him how it's supposed to work he didn't know what he was doing with the defocus ... Granger also repeated this (what the guy told him) on another of his video, I just couldn't find the video now, back then he called himself the Nikon guy).
Again, I never find anything direct from Nikon.
Or never mind.
From shooting with this lens for more than a year, all I could say is given some shooting conditions, it has the most offensively ghastly chromatic aberrations ever, period.
(the effect of the defocus is subtle so I don't bother to test it or use it myself .... I know it's ridiculous)
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Beast Grip Pro
At long last I got myself a Beast Grip Pro.
This is in my mind the gold standard of iPhone or mobile phone videography when grips are concerned. They also offer custom cage that's specific to phone models or iPhone models, i.e. if you upgrade your iPhone, chances are you need to upgrade your cage. The only advantage I can think of is a much customed fit when it comes to attaching optics. The cage is cut to fit exactly over the lens so there is no guess work or any adjustment to make sure lens alignment is right. Of course the drawback is the cage can be obsolete when you need another model of the latest and greatest iPhone.
The beast grip pro on the other hand is quite adjustable, at the expense that you need to align the lens mount when attaching optics and you may or may not knock the attachment out of alignment in use. The latest iteration of the grip has better clamps to accommodate smaller or bigger phones to make sure a snug fit. The lens opening has another insert to take into account of dual camera phones. I own a cinema mount grip and its 37mm threaded wide angle/macro lens adapter. It fits right on the beast grip as well. The advantage is quite obvious. The cinema mount I own (bought few years back) is kind of sloppy when compared to the beast grip. There is just more play to all the adjustments, the alignment can go out of place quite easily and the screwed down clamp isn't all that smooth. The beast grip is definitely a win but then it costs I think at least twice as much if memory serves me well. Also I think Beast Grip years ago won the case against Cinema mount Grip and the latter could no longer sell the product in the US (ops, just checked Amazon, they are selling in the US, so I don't know, legal stuff what do I know right?).
Right now I just use my iPhone SE with the BGP. I moved the lower clamp one notch up so it's more snug when clamped down. It involves a hex key and two screws so it's not exactly convenient to change phone say swapping out the iPhone SE for the bigger iPhone 8 Plus.
Before I bought it I always wonder how snug the clamps are, now I know, it's reasonably snug so that normal touching of the iPhone won't screw up the alignment. But then again, it will never be a better fit than a customed Beast Cage for a particular model of iPhone. Another advantage is the BGP is it does provide an actual grip on the right hand side. For the cage, if you need a grip you really need to buy another add-on in order to have a grip. The cage only provides an interface so one can attach optics, mic, light and other accessories but it's not really a grip per se. Like I said before, however, attaching optics or optical adapter should be much easier and accurate for a cage.
Beast Grip sells the BGP and a few limited products on eBay at 15% off. Its official website with some other promo offers 10% off. So for BGP, eBay is the way to go.
This is in my mind the gold standard of iPhone or mobile phone videography when grips are concerned. They also offer custom cage that's specific to phone models or iPhone models, i.e. if you upgrade your iPhone, chances are you need to upgrade your cage. The only advantage I can think of is a much customed fit when it comes to attaching optics. The cage is cut to fit exactly over the lens so there is no guess work or any adjustment to make sure lens alignment is right. Of course the drawback is the cage can be obsolete when you need another model of the latest and greatest iPhone.
The beast grip pro on the other hand is quite adjustable, at the expense that you need to align the lens mount when attaching optics and you may or may not knock the attachment out of alignment in use. The latest iteration of the grip has better clamps to accommodate smaller or bigger phones to make sure a snug fit. The lens opening has another insert to take into account of dual camera phones. I own a cinema mount grip and its 37mm threaded wide angle/macro lens adapter. It fits right on the beast grip as well. The advantage is quite obvious. The cinema mount I own (bought few years back) is kind of sloppy when compared to the beast grip. There is just more play to all the adjustments, the alignment can go out of place quite easily and the screwed down clamp isn't all that smooth. The beast grip is definitely a win but then it costs I think at least twice as much if memory serves me well. Also I think Beast Grip years ago won the case against Cinema mount Grip and the latter could no longer sell the product in the US (ops, just checked Amazon, they are selling in the US, so I don't know, legal stuff what do I know right?).
Right now I just use my iPhone SE with the BGP. I moved the lower clamp one notch up so it's more snug when clamped down. It involves a hex key and two screws so it's not exactly convenient to change phone say swapping out the iPhone SE for the bigger iPhone 8 Plus.
Before I bought it I always wonder how snug the clamps are, now I know, it's reasonably snug so that normal touching of the iPhone won't screw up the alignment. But then again, it will never be a better fit than a customed Beast Cage for a particular model of iPhone. Another advantage is the BGP is it does provide an actual grip on the right hand side. For the cage, if you need a grip you really need to buy another add-on in order to have a grip. The cage only provides an interface so one can attach optics, mic, light and other accessories but it's not really a grip per se. Like I said before, however, attaching optics or optical adapter should be much easier and accurate for a cage.
Beast Grip sells the BGP and a few limited products on eBay at 15% off. Its official website with some other promo offers 10% off. So for BGP, eBay is the way to go.
Monday, June 17, 2019
Nikon 20-35 f/2.8
It still pains me that the lens is broken and can't be repaired because the necessary parts aren't available anymore and even if they are I suspect it makes more sense to buy another copy as the repair costs at least an upward of $300 plus dollars, which is what an "ugly" copy costs on eBay. Of course by repairing you save the lens.
This is my excuse to buy some nerdy, dad harness so as to hold my gears on my shoulder securely. It's going to look ridiculous but hopefully my camera won't be sliding down my shoulder anymore.
I swear the camera only slid down from my shoulder and along the way, I was able to absorb part of the fall with my hand and leg ... But still bad enough to crack the filter and worse ruined the focus and zoom mechanisms all together. I think I paid more than $600 for it from KEH years ago when I shot a dinner party.
This is my excuse to buy some nerdy, dad harness so as to hold my gears on my shoulder securely. It's going to look ridiculous but hopefully my camera won't be sliding down my shoulder anymore.
I swear the camera only slid down from my shoulder and along the way, I was able to absorb part of the fall with my hand and leg ... But still bad enough to crack the filter and worse ruined the focus and zoom mechanisms all together. I think I paid more than $600 for it from KEH years ago when I shot a dinner party.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Zero Halliburton
I try to find more information about the cases. But there isn't much to be found. Then again, if you just try a bit harder you may be able to find something to connect the dots.
I own a couple of Halliburton cases, they are called camera cases. And since they have Zero as part of the name so they aren't exactly old or prior to the acquisition by the Zero Japanese company. I am just writing from memory which isn't very good.(Edit: This proves my memory is really unreliable. The Japanese company that bought Zero Halliburton is called ACE and it was done in 2006. ZERO bought Halliburton in 1952)
You would think that a company with this legacy would have more information about old models and their dimensions and what accessories go with them. Alas, that isn't really the case. When I first got those cases a few years back, I searched online and I found the Zero Halliburton website just terrible, I'm sure I wrote about that back then.
Halliburton is kind of falling out of flavor I think. If people want aluminum cases, they might opt for Rimowa. If people really want to carry the load they opt for Pelican. Where does it leave for Halliburton, I don't know.
I tried again to find some information on the cases.
I own a couple of Halliburton cases, they are called camera cases. And since they have Zero as part of the name so they aren't exactly old or prior to the acquisition by the Zero Japanese company. I am just writing from memory which isn't very good.(Edit: This proves my memory is really unreliable. The Japanese company that bought Zero Halliburton is called ACE and it was done in 2006. ZERO bought Halliburton in 1952)
You would think that a company with this legacy would have more information about old models and their dimensions and what accessories go with them. Alas, that isn't really the case. When I first got those cases a few years back, I searched online and I found the Zero Halliburton website just terrible, I'm sure I wrote about that back then.
Halliburton is kind of falling out of flavor I think. If people want aluminum cases, they might opt for Rimowa. If people really want to carry the load they opt for Pelican. Where does it leave for Halliburton, I don't know.
I tried again to find some information on the cases.
This is from Pop Photography 1981.
So my cases are 105 and 111. At least I now got the model numbers right I think.
I always want to find foam and inserts for them. And now I find some lead. Though I have to say foam is not really ideal as they tend to disintegrate in a nasty way. Hopefully the dividers last. I barely found one store that sell new old stock for the cases ...
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Godox CellsII N
This isn't even listed on Godox website.
So you know it's old.
This is based on the 433Mhz frequency as opposed to their 2.4GHz ones.
I got a pair of these so I can do hypersync on my Sunpak 120J. I was confident that I can hook it up all right. Alas, that didn't work out exactly I hoped.
Even my old Neewer is on the 433 frequency but they don't talk to each other. And I can't attach the CellsII to my 120J through any cables provided.
In the end, the best I can do is to attach my Neewer transmitter to the Godox CellsII receiver and the Neewer receiver attached to the female sync cable to the 120J. Through that I was able to sync to 1/1000 with almost no banding.
The thing is I can sync to 1/8000 of a second with no banding if I use an optical slave.
To be able to use hypersync is good when I need to shoot high speed under bright sunlight.
I ordered a Pocket wizard cable male mini 3.5mm to household plug to streamline the connection and also to hope the sync may work better.
This is a bit crazy but I can't help myself.
EDIT:
What I thought and what actually is can be vastly different. Initially I thought I would get all the features of my Nikon branded SB-800 to work remotely (the hot shoe connector on the transceiver is only single pin so that sort of give away there is no other communication to the flash except to fire). As there is no user manual on the company's website and the one I found is for Canon ... so it's a bit difficult to confirm things. I believe this CellsII-N would control Godox's own Wistro strobes, like the AD180 or AD360 or similar models but branded differently. The good news is the trigger is still hypersync capable with varying degrees of success depending on how high the speed you go and the trigger connection. Waiting for my eBay PocketWizard 3.5mm to HH to trigger the flash directly from the CellsII N
So you know it's old.
This is based on the 433Mhz frequency as opposed to their 2.4GHz ones.
I got a pair of these so I can do hypersync on my Sunpak 120J. I was confident that I can hook it up all right. Alas, that didn't work out exactly I hoped.
Even my old Neewer is on the 433 frequency but they don't talk to each other. And I can't attach the CellsII to my 120J through any cables provided.
In the end, the best I can do is to attach my Neewer transmitter to the Godox CellsII receiver and the Neewer receiver attached to the female sync cable to the 120J. Through that I was able to sync to 1/1000 with almost no banding.
The thing is I can sync to 1/8000 of a second with no banding if I use an optical slave.
To be able to use hypersync is good when I need to shoot high speed under bright sunlight.
I ordered a Pocket wizard cable male mini 3.5mm to household plug to streamline the connection and also to hope the sync may work better.
This is a bit crazy but I can't help myself.
EDIT:
What I thought and what actually is can be vastly different. Initially I thought I would get all the features of my Nikon branded SB-800 to work remotely (the hot shoe connector on the transceiver is only single pin so that sort of give away there is no other communication to the flash except to fire). As there is no user manual on the company's website and the one I found is for Canon ... so it's a bit difficult to confirm things. I believe this CellsII-N would control Godox's own Wistro strobes, like the AD180 or AD360 or similar models but branded differently. The good news is the trigger is still hypersync capable with varying degrees of success depending on how high the speed you go and the trigger connection. Waiting for my eBay PocketWizard 3.5mm to HH to trigger the flash directly from the CellsII N
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Flash
Godox is stirring up the market place the past 5 years that you can't help but notice them.
Profoto is, I heard, threatens to sue Godox for something something. We will see.
I got a set of 433Mhz trigger from Neewer which is I think just another name from Godox. It comes with a transmitter and 2 receiver. After years of very occasional use, I changed the little battery inside the transmitter. The set has been quite good, it's not like well built or 100% fool proof but it works. The battery door is not so well closed so sometimes there is bad connection. But other than that I am happy with the purchase. Now most of what Godox makes are 2.4Ghz so I don't think I can use the existing cheapo 433Mhz receivers. The price of those running of 433Mhz is definitely cheaper but then you feel like you are not future proofing your purchase.
My SB-800 can do high speed sync, that's the trick sync by pulsating the flash above the sync speed of the camera. Then of course I have a pair of Sunpak 120J, which can't do no Nikon high speed sync.
The question is can they all do hypersync, that's by timing the flashing output and make sure of the long duration assuming they are long duration of the manual flash full output?
It seems to be there is a high chance that they can IF the trigger supports high speed sync.
That's if the trigger supports high speed sync then it will probably most likely can do higher sync when the flash is set at manual and full power.
I haven't got the change to test it on my gears as of now, my set of trigger is just a pure trigger, there is not other magic.
For the past five years of so, Godox has been cranking out models after models and it certainly gaining traction in the market place. Consumers are happy but not so much from the big name strobe manufacturers.
I am interested to see if I can break the x-sync barrier by using hypersync or high speed sync by using remote radio trigger.
Profoto is, I heard, threatens to sue Godox for something something. We will see.
I got a set of 433Mhz trigger from Neewer which is I think just another name from Godox. It comes with a transmitter and 2 receiver. After years of very occasional use, I changed the little battery inside the transmitter. The set has been quite good, it's not like well built or 100% fool proof but it works. The battery door is not so well closed so sometimes there is bad connection. But other than that I am happy with the purchase. Now most of what Godox makes are 2.4Ghz so I don't think I can use the existing cheapo 433Mhz receivers. The price of those running of 433Mhz is definitely cheaper but then you feel like you are not future proofing your purchase.
My SB-800 can do high speed sync, that's the trick sync by pulsating the flash above the sync speed of the camera. Then of course I have a pair of Sunpak 120J, which can't do no Nikon high speed sync.
The question is can they all do hypersync, that's by timing the flashing output and make sure of the long duration assuming they are long duration of the manual flash full output?
It seems to be there is a high chance that they can IF the trigger supports high speed sync.
That's if the trigger supports high speed sync then it will probably most likely can do higher sync when the flash is set at manual and full power.
I haven't got the change to test it on my gears as of now, my set of trigger is just a pure trigger, there is not other magic.
For the past five years of so, Godox has been cranking out models after models and it certainly gaining traction in the market place. Consumers are happy but not so much from the big name strobe manufacturers.
I am interested to see if I can break the x-sync barrier by using hypersync or high speed sync by using remote radio trigger.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
macOS 10.14.5 and APFS
Previously my macOS was on the older file system. Finally I got the OS updated to 10.14.5 and then moved it to APFS. I had to put back the old video card so I can access the boot up option menu.
I actually updated it to 10.14.5 first so I could have left it alone but then I felt like to update the file system to APFS as chances are the next subsequent update may also work against me if I am on the old file system. The software update from macOS simple won't find update on the old file system.
The macpro3,1 2008 is on it very last leg and I don't know how long it can last. The next OS can be in the offing and totally obliterates this model. I mean this is on borrowed life already as Apple's Mojave officially doesn't support this old model.
I actually updated it to 10.14.5 first so I could have left it alone but then I felt like to update the file system to APFS as chances are the next subsequent update may also work against me if I am on the old file system. The software update from macOS simple won't find update on the old file system.
The macpro3,1 2008 is on it very last leg and I don't know how long it can last. The next OS can be in the offing and totally obliterates this model. I mean this is on borrowed life already as Apple's Mojave officially doesn't support this old model.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
iPhone for Video
I usually carry dual DLSRs with 16-35 and 70-200 for events. I seldom take video.
Then sometimes without any warning I got asked to take some video. I could have used my D810 for video but then number one it would screw up my setting for stills even I have another camera.
So my video equipment of choice is whatever iPhone I am carrying and shoot it using Filmic pro which gives me some controls I feel I need. Would I invest in Beastgrip, I absolutely, because I am such a sucker. I would buy the anamorphic lens and whatnot. But then I don't have any more money. So I have to put everything on hold. I even have problems getting some hard drive.
Then sometimes without any warning I got asked to take some video. I could have used my D810 for video but then number one it would screw up my setting for stills even I have another camera.
So my video equipment of choice is whatever iPhone I am carrying and shoot it using Filmic pro which gives me some controls I feel I need. Would I invest in Beastgrip, I absolutely, because I am such a sucker. I would buy the anamorphic lens and whatnot. But then I don't have any more money. So I have to put everything on hold. I even have problems getting some hard drive.
Wednesday, May 08, 2019
Youtube Ad Remover ad
I couldn't think of any ad that's more meta more ironic in an earnestly non ironic way.
I am a some what believer of the free market in the sense that I don't necessarily object to junk mails whether those put through your front door or your electronic inbox. Sometimes I even voluntarily subscribe to some mailing lists. But there should be a fine line between spam and scam. I draw the line on scam.
For Youtube video, I just click skip or if sometimes when that's not available you just have to sit through it. I totally get if it's free you are the product kind of thing that's the business model of Youtube and Facebook. Ad is a business model that feeds a sizable workforce.
I am a some what believer of the free market in the sense that I don't necessarily object to junk mails whether those put through your front door or your electronic inbox. Sometimes I even voluntarily subscribe to some mailing lists. But there should be a fine line between spam and scam. I draw the line on scam.
For Youtube video, I just click skip or if sometimes when that's not available you just have to sit through it. I totally get if it's free you are the product kind of thing that's the business model of Youtube and Facebook. Ad is a business model that feeds a sizable workforce.
4K 60fps Youtube
You have fast Internet connection and you think you can play some UHD 4K from Youtube with no problem. Wrong.
I don't have the very specifics but I can't really play Youtube 4K on my Mac in most or all cases I tried. (I know I should say all cases but let's keep it not scientific)*
The video just stutters. It has nothing to do with my connection speed.
I think it's because Youtube uses the V9 codec or something something that Apple doesn't support.
If you run the Safari browser it doesn't even try, the video just gives you 1080p as the best option. When uses Chrome, it lets you play with 2160p with stutter every 2 seconds or so. 1440p is fine though.
So that's the state of Youtube 4K on a Mac.
I no longer have any "convenient" access to a PC to test it out.
*The only uploader whose 4k video can play smoothly is Filmic Box, so I don't understand, I don't think they lie as the Settings does show it's 4K 2160p. So I don't understand. But all else plays stuttering. This only applies to using the Chrome browser; Safari still falls back to 1080p and doesn't bother with 4K not even try.
update: I think using Chrome on Mac, I can play 2160p (probably at 30fps) but it stutters at 2160p60fps.
update: I got the chance to play 2160p60fps on my 2012 MBP and it plays flawlessly. So I stand corrected. It "must" be something else. I was playing it on a 2008 MACPRO3,1 with the GTX 770 GPU, the rig isn't meant to be running the latest greatest OS X so this defect of playing the 2160p60fps maybe a small price to pay. Safari does still lower the playback to 1080p60fps.
I don't have the very specifics but I can't really play Youtube 4K on my Mac in most or all cases I tried. (I know I should say all cases but let's keep it not scientific)*
The video just stutters. It has nothing to do with my connection speed.
I think it's because Youtube uses the V9 codec or something something that Apple doesn't support.
If you run the Safari browser it doesn't even try, the video just gives you 1080p as the best option. When uses Chrome, it lets you play with 2160p with stutter every 2 seconds or so. 1440p is fine though.
So that's the state of Youtube 4K on a Mac.
I no longer have any "convenient" access to a PC to test it out.
*The only uploader whose 4k video can play smoothly is Filmic Box, so I don't understand, I don't think they lie as the Settings does show it's 4K 2160p. So I don't understand. But all else plays stuttering. This only applies to using the Chrome browser; Safari still falls back to 1080p and doesn't bother with 4K not even try.
update: I think using Chrome on Mac, I can play 2160p (probably at 30fps) but it stutters at 2160p60fps.
update: I got the chance to play 2160p60fps on my 2012 MBP and it plays flawlessly. So I stand corrected. It "must" be something else. I was playing it on a 2008 MACPRO3,1 with the GTX 770 GPU, the rig isn't meant to be running the latest greatest OS X so this defect of playing the 2160p60fps maybe a small price to pay. Safari does still lower the playback to 1080p60fps.
Wednesday, May 01, 2019
Streaming News from Youtube
Perhaps when they do the news they don't have streaming in mind.
I don't see any of those Youtube video from CNN are date stamped. CNN has a habit of running the BREAKING NEWS on its crawler so almost all the news material is breaking news and you just don't know how current they are by looking at the screen and the screen alone. I just wish they would date stamp all the material on screen. Without live TV, streaming is the next best alternative. Though I lose the sense of how current the material I am watching.
No matter, I think making perviously broadcast material available on Youtube for streaming on Youtube is great as it's a free service.
I don't see any of those Youtube video from CNN are date stamped. CNN has a habit of running the BREAKING NEWS on its crawler so almost all the news material is breaking news and you just don't know how current they are by looking at the screen and the screen alone. I just wish they would date stamp all the material on screen. Without live TV, streaming is the next best alternative. Though I lose the sense of how current the material I am watching.
No matter, I think making perviously broadcast material available on Youtube for streaming on Youtube is great as it's a free service.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Chromecast Ultra
I splurged.
I have no 4K TV and yet I got a Chromecast Ultra via the trustworthy eBay. I lowballed the seller and we met in the middle. That's the only way to go.
Officially the Chromecast is selling for $35 and the Chromecast Ultra is fetching $69.
I don't know much about the technology, I think that kind of goes without saying as I am going through life without knowing anything basically.
I have tried that with Vudu watching what else America Ultra. Both the video and audio are very good indeed. Youtube casting is equally impressive. I cast Youtube from my Mac desktop/Chrome browser as well as via iPhone's YouTube app.
Casting is a no brainer.
But setting up the Chromecast hardware needs a bit of work as I needed to install the Google Home App first. I didn't know about it as I thought it was 100% plug and play. Not so. I can't remember exactly but a year ago, my LG was able to do casting without nothing installed both from Youtube and Netflix. Then kind of all of a sudden the cast doesn't work at all. So I always got the impression the cast just works. So when I plugged in the CU into the HDMI, I thought it just works but neither the iPhone nor the Chrome on desktop would see the device. I thought the seller sent me a dud, which is actually quite rare. Knowing that I don't know nothing so I looked up the Chromecast hardware and bang installing the Home app. I must have read it before when I did my research but since my experience before I just thought it would just work. Oh well something something happened, which I didn't know better.
The video and audio exceed my expectation.
I have no 4K TV and yet I got a Chromecast Ultra via the trustworthy eBay. I lowballed the seller and we met in the middle. That's the only way to go.
Officially the Chromecast is selling for $35 and the Chromecast Ultra is fetching $69.
I don't know much about the technology, I think that kind of goes without saying as I am going through life without knowing anything basically.
I have tried that with Vudu watching what else America Ultra. Both the video and audio are very good indeed. Youtube casting is equally impressive. I cast Youtube from my Mac desktop/Chrome browser as well as via iPhone's YouTube app.
Casting is a no brainer.
But setting up the Chromecast hardware needs a bit of work as I needed to install the Google Home App first. I didn't know about it as I thought it was 100% plug and play. Not so. I can't remember exactly but a year ago, my LG was able to do casting without nothing installed both from Youtube and Netflix. Then kind of all of a sudden the cast doesn't work at all. So I always got the impression the cast just works. So when I plugged in the CU into the HDMI, I thought it just works but neither the iPhone nor the Chrome on desktop would see the device. I thought the seller sent me a dud, which is actually quite rare. Knowing that I don't know nothing so I looked up the Chromecast hardware and bang installing the Home app. I must have read it before when I did my research but since my experience before I just thought it would just work. Oh well something something happened, which I didn't know better.
The video and audio exceed my expectation.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Haughty
I appear haughty and disdainful as I get older. I always tilt my head when I talk to people as I need to look through the bottom of my trifocal lenses.
Saturday, April 13, 2019
macOS Mojave 10.14.4 MacPro3,1 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2 GB
They work!
After a year, I finally got myself the GTX 770 2 GB card. The display is much better now. I am no gamer but I can appreciate some fluid browsing.
It's a little bit of a hassle, yes, anything involves any slight extra effort I consider it a hassle.
I got to order 2 power PCIe power cable for the card, mini 6-pin to 8-pin. The card is a MSI branded one, it's very quiet "even" it has two big fans. I don't think they are running but if they are they are awfully quiet.
The GPU is not a Mac specific graphic card but it boots up just without the boot screen which I can live with. If I need it I can use the old card for this purpose.
Now this 2008 Mac Pro is more alive than before.
UPDATE: I also have to live with the "fact" that the HDMI won't be outputting audio in this macpro3,1. Oh well. Let me return this card. Just kidding. I am happy this eBay dumpster diving found works.
After a year, I finally got myself the GTX 770 2 GB card. The display is much better now. I am no gamer but I can appreciate some fluid browsing.
It's a little bit of a hassle, yes, anything involves any slight extra effort I consider it a hassle.
I got to order 2 power PCIe power cable for the card, mini 6-pin to 8-pin. The card is a MSI branded one, it's very quiet "even" it has two big fans. I don't think they are running but if they are they are awfully quiet.
The GPU is not a Mac specific graphic card but it boots up just without the boot screen which I can live with. If I need it I can use the old card for this purpose.
Now this 2008 Mac Pro is more alive than before.
UPDATE: I also have to live with the "fact" that the HDMI won't be outputting audio in this macpro3,1. Oh well. Let me return this card. Just kidding. I am happy this eBay dumpster diving found works.
How Long to Marinate
How long do you marinate? Does anyone ever do any scientific study on this subject? On poultry, red meat or even fish?
Would it plateau off or even suffer from diminishing return over time?
When I prepare a steak, I only season it instead of marinate it.
If I were to marinade any meat or poultry, I say probably one to three hours the least, if you are prepared, over night won't hurt, like brining an entire turkey overnight.
Would it plateau off or even suffer from diminishing return over time?
When I prepare a steak, I only season it instead of marinate it.
If I were to marinade any meat or poultry, I say probably one to three hours the least, if you are prepared, over night won't hurt, like brining an entire turkey overnight.
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Hotpot via my iPhone
I meant to write hotspot but I guess subconsciously I love hotpot too much.
My FIOS connection used to be 75/75 and in most days the speed is up or exceed spec. Linking my laptop through hotspot is not terribly bad actually. Even when it is around 10Mbps download.
The screen capture is from Google's speed test. So according to Google at 20Mbps it's already good for HD streaming. When I am on hotspot via my iPhone's T Mobile data plan I don't watch YouTube.
UPDATE: When you reached some cap it then limit your speed. Oh well.
Monday, April 08, 2019
GTX 770
Latest distraction:
The GTX 680 is pricier and harder to come by. So GTX 770 is. The version I got is by MSI with I think 2 8-pin power interface. Sometimes you asked the seller it takes them forever to respond or not respond at all.
Judging from the manufacturer's web site, it should be a 2 8-pin power interface. As such I ordered 2 of those cables that enable than connect from the Mac3,1 motherboard to the GTX 770. It should be a mini 6-pin to the 8-pin. The thing with this is I don't know if 6-pin is considered mini 6-pin already, or 6-pin and mini 6-pin are two different standards all together. That's the word mini is just an additional descriptor. I do see some cable just marked as 6-pin to 8-pin without the word mini.
I hope this combo works as I expect. It would work, just without the Apple bootup screen, which I can live without.
Probably in three days I'd find out.
Saturday, April 06, 2019
Netgear AC750 EX3700
I bought this many years ago and left it alone and almost forgot about it except seeing its wifi id or ssid.
I never needed to power it down. I just downloaded and installed the firmware to give it an update.
This thing just works.
I never needed to power it down. I just downloaded and installed the firmware to give it an update.
This thing just works.
Friday, April 05, 2019
MacPro3,1 macOS 10.14.4 ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT
This is a passable combination.
My complaint is the graphics is lacking or lagging in some cases. I am not talking about editing 4K or any video editing at all. I am talking about typing an URL at the address bar on Chrome. It's slow. And when I hit eBay to do some dumpster diving or rummaging, the page can look a bit torn toward the bottom, I don't know if it's some sort of script there that causes it. My mid 2012 MBP doesn't exhibit these problems at all. I understand this hack to put Mojave on unsupported Mac hardware has some graphics shortcoming, like dark mode or some sort doesn't play well.
I don't know if it's also because of the 256MB VRAM that's causing the general sluggishness. This is the stock GPU that originally came with the MacPro3,1 or early 2008 machine.
The most popular GPU upgrade for this kind of Frankensteinish upgrade is the GTX 680 which still commands a some what high price on eBay "even" higher than the similar GTX 770 which supposedly is a marginally higher performance card. But then again the GTX 680 is said to have a more consistent design across manufacturers making it more flash-able, which is what cheapskates do: buying PC GPU and flashing it to Mac using some ROM or firmware. GTX 680 is considered very flashable whereas not so much for the GTX 770, unless you are some wizard.
GT630 has a 2GB version and I don't know if it would perform better. It should be a simple install.
GTX680 or GTX770, more powerful GPUs for sure but you pay a higher price and you need to buy additional power cables to run from the MacPro motherboard to the card.
These cards designed for Windows will boot on a Mac but will not display the Apple boot up screen as they don't have the Mac firmware unless you flash the ROM to make them Mac if they're flashable at all.
My complaint is the graphics is lacking or lagging in some cases. I am not talking about editing 4K or any video editing at all. I am talking about typing an URL at the address bar on Chrome. It's slow. And when I hit eBay to do some dumpster diving or rummaging, the page can look a bit torn toward the bottom, I don't know if it's some sort of script there that causes it. My mid 2012 MBP doesn't exhibit these problems at all. I understand this hack to put Mojave on unsupported Mac hardware has some graphics shortcoming, like dark mode or some sort doesn't play well.
I don't know if it's also because of the 256MB VRAM that's causing the general sluggishness. This is the stock GPU that originally came with the MacPro3,1 or early 2008 machine.
The most popular GPU upgrade for this kind of Frankensteinish upgrade is the GTX 680 which still commands a some what high price on eBay "even" higher than the similar GTX 770 which supposedly is a marginally higher performance card. But then again the GTX 680 is said to have a more consistent design across manufacturers making it more flash-able, which is what cheapskates do: buying PC GPU and flashing it to Mac using some ROM or firmware. GTX 680 is considered very flashable whereas not so much for the GTX 770, unless you are some wizard.
GT630 has a 2GB version and I don't know if it would perform better. It should be a simple install.
GTX680 or GTX770, more powerful GPUs for sure but you pay a higher price and you need to buy additional power cables to run from the MacPro motherboard to the card.
These cards designed for Windows will boot on a Mac but will not display the Apple boot up screen as they don't have the Mac firmware unless you flash the ROM to make them Mac if they're flashable at all.
Tuesday, April 02, 2019
MacOS 10.14.4 on MacPro3,1
I need to install this thing on my old machine again, almost from scratch but not quite.
I am not sure if it's worth the effort, not that I have something else better to do, but still.
The graphics card I have only has 256MB of RAM and it shows. I need to upgrade that if possible. There is an overwhelming amount of information out there regarding this but for the most part they are pretty confusing especially for somebody who isn't savvy enough. I can hardly find information that can elucidate the issue somewhat.
Mojave or MacOS 14:
MacPro3,1 is not officially supported but with the right hack from dosdude1.com, it's doable
nVidia is the card that doesn't give problem
The equivalent GPU PC version card may work
I don't need any fancy 4K support, my display is only 2560x1080
I am not sure if it's worth the effort, not that I have something else better to do, but still.
The graphics card I have only has 256MB of RAM and it shows. I need to upgrade that if possible. There is an overwhelming amount of information out there regarding this but for the most part they are pretty confusing especially for somebody who isn't savvy enough. I can hardly find information that can elucidate the issue somewhat.
Mojave or MacOS 14:
MacPro3,1 is not officially supported but with the right hack from dosdude1.com, it's doable
nVidia is the card that doesn't give problem
The equivalent GPU PC version card may work
I don't need any fancy 4K support, my display is only 2560x1080
Swollen Battery Apple A1382
The sign of a swollen battery was I couldn't press down the touchpad like I could before. I have been using a separate keyboard and a touchpad for quite some time so I didn't notice that until I used the built-in touchpad. I almost forgot if it's supposed to be that way.
An online search on the touchpad anomaly returns me the result that it may be caused by a swollen battery. And as it turned out it was really the battery.
I removed the battery and the touchpad worked just like before.
I could work without the internal battery but anytime if the power cable knocked loose, the system will just shut down.
I went to the usual source like macsales but the third party battery is asking for almost $100. I even went so far as to chat with them in order to get a discount coupon code. Alas there was none for me.
After much deliberation, I ended up ordering from eBay.
The battery came as real as it can be except the serial number on the sticker doesn't match what's reported by the MacOS. Battery health is Normal and has 2 cycle counts. The manufacturer reported is SMP, same as the original battery that came with the MBP.
macsales still have video suggesting to calibrate the battery or the power management system of the MacBook ... On the other hand, there seems some consensus that the Li-ion battery doesn't need that or draining it to zero percent does harm to the battery actually. I am a bit confused. So I didn't do that calibration at least not intentionally.
The original battery is supposed to last for seven hours on a full charge. It seems like the battery depletes on a linear fashion up to when it's 30% then before I knew it it dropped to 7% which stays there for more than 30 minutes and still going unchanged ... I guess I am waiting for the system to shut down itself. It's about 5 hours now. I don't think it lasts 7 hours but definitely more than 5 hours and it's still going at 7%. Maybe that's why it needs calibration, not so much on the battery but for the system PMS to know the battery better so it can accurately report the battery power as it depletes? I really don't know.
100% Battery power began at 8:06 AM
7% at 1:34PM (It has been 7% for a long time)
7% at 1:51PM
2% at 2PM, also message to plug in
shutdown at 2:10PM
so it's 6 hours.
UPDATE: 4/6/2019
The replacement battery seems performing just fine. So I am happy I didn't buy the more expensive one, most of the time the MBP is powered with an A/C adapter anyway. Plus this is an old machine I don't want to invest more than I need or afford. In a year or two I hope I can afford a better machine down the road.
An online search on the touchpad anomaly returns me the result that it may be caused by a swollen battery. And as it turned out it was really the battery.
I removed the battery and the touchpad worked just like before.
I could work without the internal battery but anytime if the power cable knocked loose, the system will just shut down.
I went to the usual source like macsales but the third party battery is asking for almost $100. I even went so far as to chat with them in order to get a discount coupon code. Alas there was none for me.
After much deliberation, I ended up ordering from eBay.
The battery came as real as it can be except the serial number on the sticker doesn't match what's reported by the MacOS. Battery health is Normal and has 2 cycle counts. The manufacturer reported is SMP, same as the original battery that came with the MBP.
macsales still have video suggesting to calibrate the battery or the power management system of the MacBook ... On the other hand, there seems some consensus that the Li-ion battery doesn't need that or draining it to zero percent does harm to the battery actually. I am a bit confused. So I didn't do that calibration at least not intentionally.
The original battery is supposed to last for seven hours on a full charge. It seems like the battery depletes on a linear fashion up to when it's 30% then before I knew it it dropped to 7% which stays there for more than 30 minutes and still going unchanged ... I guess I am waiting for the system to shut down itself. It's about 5 hours now. I don't think it lasts 7 hours but definitely more than 5 hours and it's still going at 7%. Maybe that's why it needs calibration, not so much on the battery but for the system PMS to know the battery better so it can accurately report the battery power as it depletes? I really don't know.
100% Battery power began at 8:06 AM
7% at 1:34PM (It has been 7% for a long time)
7% at 1:51PM
2% at 2PM, also message to plug in
shutdown at 2:10PM
so it's 6 hours.
UPDATE: 4/6/2019
The replacement battery seems performing just fine. So I am happy I didn't buy the more expensive one, most of the time the MBP is powered with an A/C adapter anyway. Plus this is an old machine I don't want to invest more than I need or afford. In a year or two I hope I can afford a better machine down the road.
Monday, April 01, 2019
Apple notebook butterfly keyboard debacle
This has been pretty much well documented. From 2016 till 2018, the butterfly keyboard has nothing but trouble. The latest being a Wall Street journalist did a piece on the keyboard and Apple acknowledged that there is a small number of keyboards that exhibit problems.
I was burned once by an iBook screen many years ago. After that it took me like maybe a decade or so to buy another laptop from Apple.
Can you imagine people, well I can, or can I imagine myself spending $2,000 or $1,000 to buy a MacBook and ends up having problems with the keyboard all the time? The keyboard is the major interface between the machine and the user, how can you screw it up?
Nobody ever asked for a new keyboard design. Apple, come on, do better. Fix that keyboard once and for all.
I was burned once by an iBook screen many years ago. After that it took me like maybe a decade or so to buy another laptop from Apple.
Can you imagine people, well I can, or can I imagine myself spending $2,000 or $1,000 to buy a MacBook and ends up having problems with the keyboard all the time? The keyboard is the major interface between the machine and the user, how can you screw it up?
Nobody ever asked for a new keyboard design. Apple, come on, do better. Fix that keyboard once and for all.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
5G
We are getting 5G in 2019. The We just means some people. I think maybe in the second half or late 2019 there will be some 5G rollout in New York City. I am not sure what carrier though. Verizon seems to have 5G plan for home internet connection ready to roll out some a handful of cities. The speed is roughly around 300Mbps which is still fast. With 5G, 4K is more pervasive and realistic. Verizon would bundle either Apple TV or Chromecast Ultra for their 5G customers. 5G really gives people an excuse to upgrade their hardware.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Internet Pricing and Related Rants
Loyalty doesn't give you any benefit. FIOS just likes to screw their loyal customers with ever increasing bills. If you are an existing customer with autopay you are like the best customer that FIOS loves to screw. Don't bother trying to talk down the bill because there is nothing they can do. Just cancel and move on and let them get back to you and offer you new customer pricing For existing customer out of contract, a 75/75mbps I was quoted $69.99 with 2 year contract. For new customer, 100/100mbps, the price is $39.99. As far as I know, FIOS is the only provider that gives symmetrical download and upload speed. Cable ISP has big download and upload differentials. If you don't care about upload speed then it makes no or very little difference. If you routinely upload media then I am afraid it makes a difference who your provider is.
Internet pricing is similar to medical billing, nobody knows what is going on. What's worse than medical billing is Internet companies love to screw their existing customers. I yearn for pricing like your neighborhood deli where items are sold as priced, a can of Coke is 99 cents and a loaf of bread is $2.99, period.
Internet pricing is similar to medical billing, nobody knows what is going on. What's worse than medical billing is Internet companies love to screw their existing customers. I yearn for pricing like your neighborhood deli where items are sold as priced, a can of Coke is 99 cents and a loaf of bread is $2.99, period.
Fall and Winter
Nothing lasts forever. I can't wait for the next winter to come along. The dreaded spring and summer are on their way.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Different From and Every Day
If I hear somebody says "different from" or I read people write "every day" when he means daily, I immediately think highly about that person.
Fixed Length Lenses
Not all lenses are made the same. We all know that. But let me point out the obvious.
I do not like variable lens length much the same I don't like variable f/stop in zooms. That is lens protrudes or retracts externally when zooming out or in or even simply changing focus distance*. I much appreciate the lens elements move internally and the overall lens length remains fixed during focusing and zooming.
* the oldie manual focus lenses actually do that, they protrude from a few mm to cm when focusing close, I actually don't get bothered by it. The AF 135 f/2 DC is truly fixed length no matter what focusing distance.
I do not like variable lens length much the same I don't like variable f/stop in zooms. That is lens protrudes or retracts externally when zooming out or in or even simply changing focus distance*. I much appreciate the lens elements move internally and the overall lens length remains fixed during focusing and zooming.
* the oldie manual focus lenses actually do that, they protrude from a few mm to cm when focusing close, I actually don't get bothered by it. The AF 135 f/2 DC is truly fixed length no matter what focusing distance.
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Auto WB
Auto White Balance.
In the days of film, white balance is something you don't think much about or you think too much about it, like before you shoot anything. This is the realm of professional, serious amateur or self important photographer I suppose. White Balance is baked in the film, the only way you can change the white balance is by adding filters to color correct during the shoot or change the film back.
Digital changes that. One can change the white balance from picture to picture on the fly.
The old filter or gel still apply as photography is still photography.
I have little concern on white balance if I shoot outdoor during the day. The Auto white balance pretty much nails color temperature.
On the other hand if I shoot indoor with mixed lightning or with lighting I have no idea what temperature it is then I got into problem with auto WB. If you add flash then you might even have bigger problem. If I have absolute control like in a studio environment (not that I would find out), like able to shut off all the ambient lighting then problem solved: just shoot whatever light white balance you using probably in the proximity of 5500K. Back to shooting indoor event with flash and mixed lighting ... auto white balance just couldn't cut it in my experience. I feel like I am forced to set WB manually and gel my flash using the same K number. It's not perfect but I find it better than leaving it to my Nikon and adjusting it post in Light Room. That's my experience. Just to add to the mix to complicate things a bit, you can also shoot preset or shoot a 18% grey card as reference. But I got to the point I feel like I just set the WB at 2900 and be done with it. No grey card no shooting preset.
In the days of film, white balance is something you don't think much about or you think too much about it, like before you shoot anything. This is the realm of professional, serious amateur or self important photographer I suppose. White Balance is baked in the film, the only way you can change the white balance is by adding filters to color correct during the shoot or change the film back.
Digital changes that. One can change the white balance from picture to picture on the fly.
The old filter or gel still apply as photography is still photography.
I have little concern on white balance if I shoot outdoor during the day. The Auto white balance pretty much nails color temperature.
On the other hand if I shoot indoor with mixed lightning or with lighting I have no idea what temperature it is then I got into problem with auto WB. If you add flash then you might even have bigger problem. If I have absolute control like in a studio environment (not that I would find out), like able to shut off all the ambient lighting then problem solved: just shoot whatever light white balance you using probably in the proximity of 5500K. Back to shooting indoor event with flash and mixed lighting ... auto white balance just couldn't cut it in my experience. I feel like I am forced to set WB manually and gel my flash using the same K number. It's not perfect but I find it better than leaving it to my Nikon and adjusting it post in Light Room. That's my experience. Just to add to the mix to complicate things a bit, you can also shoot preset or shoot a 18% grey card as reference. But I got to the point I feel like I just set the WB at 2900 and be done with it. No grey card no shooting preset.
Saturday, March 09, 2019
Auto ISO
I think this is genuinely a new Auto since the dawn of digital photography.
Back when I shot film, the ISO is fixed with the film unless you change the film back, change mid-roll otherwise you really can't change the ISO on the fly.
The settings of any film camera is likely to be Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Program and Manual.
Digital change this by adding ISO auto.
Often times I dial my setting to Manual so I have control on my aperture and shutter speed. It's all about the parameters you want to let go and let the camera take control.
I set my base ISO to 64, aperture f/5.6 and shutter speed at 1/250s and WB at 2900K. Indoor, the ISO can float up to ISO 4000 which is an ISO I can accept. If you think you cannot accept that high a high ISO, you can set a ceiling so the ISO won't go above that even it's on Auto ISO.
I seldom do Auto ISO shooting Aperture priority, some Shutter priority if I shoot cycling races.
On "newer" camera, there is even a parameter minimum shutter speed under the Auto ISO. This would be helpful as you don't want the shutter to drop too low if you shoot handheld or unnecessarily high. Say if you are shooting at focal length of 200mm, in order to maintain reasonable sharpness you want your shutter speed no slower than 1/250s. Or you can set the minimum shutter speed at Auto in which case the camera would decide what is the lowest shutter speed you can go. There you can still tweak if you want it biased Slower (to favor slower shutter speed) or Faster or dead in the middle, I left it in the middle.
Shooting Auto ISO doesn't mean that the exposure would always be kind of correct. If you shoot in bright daylight and set your base ISO100, Manual at f/2.8 and 1/60s, chances are your picture will be overexposed as the ISO will be out of range in the low side anyway. The correct exposure combination is more likely to be f/16 and 1/100 at ISO100.
Auto ISO still under the "there is no free lunch rule." Something got to give.
There are three parameters, ISO, aperture and shutter. You can fix one, let the other two float, or you can fix two and let one float. Or you fix all three manually. White balance affects the color temperature which affects the color but I don't consider it part of the exposure. Some people don't even consider ISO part of the exposure but that's up for debate...
Back when I shot film, the ISO is fixed with the film unless you change the film back, change mid-roll otherwise you really can't change the ISO on the fly.
The settings of any film camera is likely to be Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Program and Manual.
Digital change this by adding ISO auto.
Often times I dial my setting to Manual so I have control on my aperture and shutter speed. It's all about the parameters you want to let go and let the camera take control.
I set my base ISO to 64, aperture f/5.6 and shutter speed at 1/250s and WB at 2900K. Indoor, the ISO can float up to ISO 4000 which is an ISO I can accept. If you think you cannot accept that high a high ISO, you can set a ceiling so the ISO won't go above that even it's on Auto ISO.
I seldom do Auto ISO shooting Aperture priority, some Shutter priority if I shoot cycling races.
On "newer" camera, there is even a parameter minimum shutter speed under the Auto ISO. This would be helpful as you don't want the shutter to drop too low if you shoot handheld or unnecessarily high. Say if you are shooting at focal length of 200mm, in order to maintain reasonable sharpness you want your shutter speed no slower than 1/250s. Or you can set the minimum shutter speed at Auto in which case the camera would decide what is the lowest shutter speed you can go. There you can still tweak if you want it biased Slower (to favor slower shutter speed) or Faster or dead in the middle, I left it in the middle.
Shooting Auto ISO doesn't mean that the exposure would always be kind of correct. If you shoot in bright daylight and set your base ISO100, Manual at f/2.8 and 1/60s, chances are your picture will be overexposed as the ISO will be out of range in the low side anyway. The correct exposure combination is more likely to be f/16 and 1/100 at ISO100.
Auto ISO still under the "there is no free lunch rule." Something got to give.
There are three parameters, ISO, aperture and shutter. You can fix one, let the other two float, or you can fix two and let one float. Or you fix all three manually. White balance affects the color temperature which affects the color but I don't consider it part of the exposure. Some people don't even consider ISO part of the exposure but that's up for debate...
Monday, February 25, 2019
Border
Border (Gräns, 2018) tackles the two most pressing phenomena of our time, trolling and border security. The film opens with a shaky medium shot where protagonist customs officer Tina is seen looking out from the shore, doubles as her parking lot, at a cargo ship moored at the harbor. She clumsily picks up a cricket from the dirt and gently puts it on a blade of tall grass, with the car parked she is ready for another day at work. She is extraordinary ordinary and alarmingly ugly that perhaps not even a mother can love. I was watching lots of Youtubers opining on IBIS as in in-body image stabilization being the standard of modern filmmaking. Ha. It was a bit of a disappointment seeing that opening shot so shaky that any self respecting Youtuber would not approve.
Border is based on a short story by John Ajvide Lindqvist who also pens Let the Right One in. Both are set in the mystic Nordic Sweden with wacky storylines and even wackier characters who are ostracized by society. The two stories center on characters that are almost mirror reflections of each other; they are simultaneously the same and yet different. In Border the woke character is Vore who stays woke and helps Tina woke and discover who she really is, sexually and otherwise. There is no growth without pain as Tina plays detective at work and her own origin story. By the end of the film, Tina has transformed. Instead of gently picking up a cricket and rests it on some landing, she has no qualms of just treating it as food. The film shocks and awes in its own quiet and subdued way, especially on the sexuality front which is as unpredictable as it can get. Nothing seems obvious underneath the clothes. The handheld shaky camera work and the overall art direction seems to suggest documentary and a very much down to earth aesthetic, but the story is just anything but or like the late Lagerfeld says (Border) is very much down to earth but just not this earth. The movie is rated R.
Border is based on a short story by John Ajvide Lindqvist who also pens Let the Right One in. Both are set in the mystic Nordic Sweden with wacky storylines and even wackier characters who are ostracized by society. The two stories center on characters that are almost mirror reflections of each other; they are simultaneously the same and yet different. In Border the woke character is Vore who stays woke and helps Tina woke and discover who she really is, sexually and otherwise. There is no growth without pain as Tina plays detective at work and her own origin story. By the end of the film, Tina has transformed. Instead of gently picking up a cricket and rests it on some landing, she has no qualms of just treating it as food. The film shocks and awes in its own quiet and subdued way, especially on the sexuality front which is as unpredictable as it can get. Nothing seems obvious underneath the clothes. The handheld shaky camera work and the overall art direction seems to suggest documentary and a very much down to earth aesthetic, but the story is just anything but or like the late Lagerfeld says (Border) is very much down to earth but just not this earth. The movie is rated R.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
The Curious Case of Olympus OM-D EM1-X ... and Fuji XT-3
I have not paid any attention to any mirrorless cameras until very recently.
The E-M1X certainly catches my attention. As I am a fan of vertical grip and what's better than a vertical grip except for an integrated vertical grip.
The Nikon Z power grip is a joke, it's designed by some high school kid who cheated his way through classes. It's not a a "motor drive" or anything except to hold extra battery. It's for people who shoot portrait orientation and still use the primary shutter release even they are shooting with a D5 or D4s or with a genuine vertical with shutter release.
The price tag f the EM1-X comes in at $2,999
I will wait for the next iteration when everybody says the AF tracking is as good as any camera out there.
The Fuji XT-3 is about half of the price and allegedly has better image and AF than the EM1-X.
Maybe two years from now if I am not dead yet.
The E-M1X certainly catches my attention. As I am a fan of vertical grip and what's better than a vertical grip except for an integrated vertical grip.
The Nikon Z power grip is a joke, it's designed by some high school kid who cheated his way through classes. It's not a a "motor drive" or anything except to hold extra battery. It's for people who shoot portrait orientation and still use the primary shutter release even they are shooting with a D5 or D4s or with a genuine vertical with shutter release.
The price tag f the EM1-X comes in at $2,999
I will wait for the next iteration when everybody says the AF tracking is as good as any camera out there.
The Fuji XT-3 is about half of the price and allegedly has better image and AF than the EM1-X.
Maybe two years from now if I am not dead yet.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Nikon 20-35 f/2.8
LR never has a profile for this lens. Now that I can't even use it it is not a concern any more. Ha.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Quality vs Quantity
There is no quality without quantity.
-- Daidō Moriyama
I don't know how true this attribution is, but I remember it's attributed to Moriyama san. And I further wonder if he says that in English or in Japanese and got translated.
I think I can get behind this nevertheless.
Back in post war Japan, he must have burnt through tons and rolls of film.
-- Daidō Moriyama
I don't know how true this attribution is, but I remember it's attributed to Moriyama san. And I further wonder if he says that in English or in Japanese and got translated.
I think I can get behind this nevertheless.
Back in post war Japan, he must have burnt through tons and rolls of film.
Monday, February 18, 2019
Event Photography
I just want to talk about shooting settings that I use.
I used to shoot almost exclusively on aperture priority. I guess it's the topic or subject. I set the aperture which controls the opening of the lens and let the camera take care of the rest. Back in film days that's the setting I used the most and that's the only auto mode my Nikon FE has anyway.
When I picked up my camera again about a decade ago I faced with more varieties and more flexibilities. When you shoot film you almost always got stuck with a single ISO and single WB film unless you really shoot professionally and change film back when you see fit in the middle of the shoot.
When I shoot cycling I tend to shoot with shutter priority and let the aperture float and sometimes even let the ISO float. I don't bother so much as white balance. Auto white balance is or was my friend.
When I shoot event I'd like to shoot manual, i.e. I fix the aperture and shutter speed and let the ISO float. I set the base ISO the lowest first or some ISO I think won't go lower. If I need to freeze people who are walking, 1/250 is the minimum, 1/500 should be ideal but then if you are shooting indoor with low light, you are lucky to get to 1/250 of a second. If people are just standing there talking 1/60 or 1/125 can certainly freeze the subject.
If I shoot with flash or strobe, I tend to shoot manual but with fixed lowest ISO possible, it could be ISO64 or ISO400 but I'd like to have it fixed. If the ISO is auto, it's essentially auto exposure and with the flash going off the picture is gonna overexposed for sure.
Event photography can be challenging as it could be outdoor, it could be flash and then it could be indoor with lots of tungsten and mixed lighting; all in one event. I don't know other brands of camera, but Nikon tends to not auto white balance that well when it's indoor tungsten. I tend to manually white balance it otherwise it comes out super yellow and orange.
With indoor, outdoor, flash, invariably something is going to screw up. Like I forgot to set the ISO to not auto. Or I forgot to set the white balance to auto when I went outside in the middle of the shoot. I think it's then I appreciate on RAW or NEF format. The file is certainly savagable even if over or under exposed and with the wrong white balance.
So event photography can be a challenge even I carry two cameras with a combined focal length between 16 to 200mm. Thanks to high ISO and LR noise reduction, a f/4 max aperture is not as limiting as possibly ten years ago. I am no Light Room and certainly not a Photoshop wizard but even armed with minimum knowledge I can savage a problematic picture.
Sunpak 120J full blast on silver reflective umbrella on light stand on camera left and right. 1/100s and f/8 at 25mm WB at 5500. I don't think the skin tone is that great but I tried. No Photoshop.
Note: as a photographer, there should be no excuse as you should really take control and ownership of the situation. That should be in theory as well as in practice. Ultimately you are the one responsible especially when things go bad.
Control the situation:
Make sure both eyes can see the camera
Do not use a wide angle setting, I think 35mm should be the widest used as people look wider on the sides if the focal length got wider. If you can shoot with a 85mm for group go for it but rarely can you shoot like this indoor with that much space.
Keep the camera focal plane parallel to the plane of the subjects. Use a tripod if you can.
Keep the subject in a straight line across the focal plane or just mildly curved if you must.
Do not mix lightings. If you can shut off ambient use 100% strobe, do it.
Often times, I don't heed my own advice.
I used to shoot almost exclusively on aperture priority. I guess it's the topic or subject. I set the aperture which controls the opening of the lens and let the camera take care of the rest. Back in film days that's the setting I used the most and that's the only auto mode my Nikon FE has anyway.
When I picked up my camera again about a decade ago I faced with more varieties and more flexibilities. When you shoot film you almost always got stuck with a single ISO and single WB film unless you really shoot professionally and change film back when you see fit in the middle of the shoot.
When I shoot cycling I tend to shoot with shutter priority and let the aperture float and sometimes even let the ISO float. I don't bother so much as white balance. Auto white balance is or was my friend.
When I shoot event I'd like to shoot manual, i.e. I fix the aperture and shutter speed and let the ISO float. I set the base ISO the lowest first or some ISO I think won't go lower. If I need to freeze people who are walking, 1/250 is the minimum, 1/500 should be ideal but then if you are shooting indoor with low light, you are lucky to get to 1/250 of a second. If people are just standing there talking 1/60 or 1/125 can certainly freeze the subject.
If I shoot with flash or strobe, I tend to shoot manual but with fixed lowest ISO possible, it could be ISO64 or ISO400 but I'd like to have it fixed. If the ISO is auto, it's essentially auto exposure and with the flash going off the picture is gonna overexposed for sure.
Event photography can be challenging as it could be outdoor, it could be flash and then it could be indoor with lots of tungsten and mixed lighting; all in one event. I don't know other brands of camera, but Nikon tends to not auto white balance that well when it's indoor tungsten. I tend to manually white balance it otherwise it comes out super yellow and orange.
With indoor, outdoor, flash, invariably something is going to screw up. Like I forgot to set the ISO to not auto. Or I forgot to set the white balance to auto when I went outside in the middle of the shoot. I think it's then I appreciate on RAW or NEF format. The file is certainly savagable even if over or under exposed and with the wrong white balance.
So event photography can be a challenge even I carry two cameras with a combined focal length between 16 to 200mm. Thanks to high ISO and LR noise reduction, a f/4 max aperture is not as limiting as possibly ten years ago. I am no Light Room and certainly not a Photoshop wizard but even armed with minimum knowledge I can savage a problematic picture.
Sunpak 120J full blast on silver reflective umbrella on light stand on camera left and right. 1/100s and f/8 at 25mm WB at 5500. I don't think the skin tone is that great but I tried. No Photoshop.
Note: as a photographer, there should be no excuse as you should really take control and ownership of the situation. That should be in theory as well as in practice. Ultimately you are the one responsible especially when things go bad.
Control the situation:
Make sure both eyes can see the camera
Do not use a wide angle setting, I think 35mm should be the widest used as people look wider on the sides if the focal length got wider. If you can shoot with a 85mm for group go for it but rarely can you shoot like this indoor with that much space.
Keep the camera focal plane parallel to the plane of the subjects. Use a tripod if you can.
Keep the subject in a straight line across the focal plane or just mildly curved if you must.
Do not mix lightings. If you can shut off ambient use 100% strobe, do it.
Often times, I don't heed my own advice.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Gel my Flash
Usually I don't shoot with flash in the temple.
This is shot bounced flash to the ceiling. The ambient is always too yellow and red. There is no way I can shut out the ambient.
I gelled my SB-800 with a 1/2 CTO. Manually set the white balance to 2900 or there about.
I am sure the front and the back or the center of the hall has different WB as the left has sunlight streaming from the windows, while the back of the room has more tungsten light from the ceiling. Then the middle has some fluorescent tubes. The red lanterns add some orange to the mix as well. I think gelling the flash is a must if you use flash in this setting otherwise the WB is even more difficult to correct in post.
This is shot with my 16-35 f/4 with the Nikon D700. IS0640, f/5.6, 1/100, WB2900, flash CTO gel. Light room adjusted. I am quite happy with the skin tone overall.
Monday, January 14, 2019
Nikon AF Nikkor 20-35
It's on its way to KEH repair via USPS Priority.
KEH has this flat rate repair for some time but this is the first time I ever use them. There is no guarantee that it can be fixed. If parts need to be replaced and they don't have it then I am just paying for a round trip for nothing.
KEH charges $320 for Zoom repair plus $12 for shipping. Assuming it can be fixed without additional charges, I would be out of about $350. At the time of this writing, NJ has a version on craigslist that's $400 and it is like pristine with the hard to find lens shade too. If it's in NYC, I may have a second thought. Most of the versions on eBay sell around $500 or so. When I paid for my version about five or six years ago, it was more than $600. I bought it so I could take some event pictures for the cycling dinner fundraising. It wasn't a pay gig. Do I even have a pay gig? Back then I didn't have a full frame camera so the lens was like a 30-55, my kit lens 17-80 was somewhat unreliable or I just found some excuse to get the 20-35 f/2.8. It was a good lens. The only time it failed me was during a Chinese year shooting the parade. It was freezing, most likely below 32F. So all the time it was pretty much stuck at f/2.8. If I knew back then it was sticky blade, I would have just taken it out and gave the aperture lever a workout or simply shoot wide open f/2.8. That was the only time the lens kind of failed. I never had sticky aperture blades before until then.
Then I got a donation from my friend the Nikkor 16-35 f/4. Its color rendition is different I believe and the f/4 is not a problem given the ISO performance of modern DSLR. Alas, when shooting indoor the f/2.8 still have the upper hand in both areas: the viewfinder is a tad brighter and you can shoot at slightly higher shutter speed.
I can't stand it being a paper weight.
UPDATE: 1/24/2019
1/22/2019 KEH says it needs the part that is no longer available. So sending back paperweight. Oh well. I tried and people tried.
KEH has this flat rate repair for some time but this is the first time I ever use them. There is no guarantee that it can be fixed. If parts need to be replaced and they don't have it then I am just paying for a round trip for nothing.
KEH charges $320 for Zoom repair plus $12 for shipping. Assuming it can be fixed without additional charges, I would be out of about $350. At the time of this writing, NJ has a version on craigslist that's $400 and it is like pristine with the hard to find lens shade too. If it's in NYC, I may have a second thought. Most of the versions on eBay sell around $500 or so. When I paid for my version about five or six years ago, it was more than $600. I bought it so I could take some event pictures for the cycling dinner fundraising. It wasn't a pay gig. Do I even have a pay gig? Back then I didn't have a full frame camera so the lens was like a 30-55, my kit lens 17-80 was somewhat unreliable or I just found some excuse to get the 20-35 f/2.8. It was a good lens. The only time it failed me was during a Chinese year shooting the parade. It was freezing, most likely below 32F. So all the time it was pretty much stuck at f/2.8. If I knew back then it was sticky blade, I would have just taken it out and gave the aperture lever a workout or simply shoot wide open f/2.8. That was the only time the lens kind of failed. I never had sticky aperture blades before until then.
Then I got a donation from my friend the Nikkor 16-35 f/4. Its color rendition is different I believe and the f/4 is not a problem given the ISO performance of modern DSLR. Alas, when shooting indoor the f/2.8 still have the upper hand in both areas: the viewfinder is a tad brighter and you can shoot at slightly higher shutter speed.
I can't stand it being a paper weight.
UPDATE: 1/24/2019
1/22/2019 KEH says it needs the part that is no longer available. So sending back paperweight. Oh well. I tried and people tried.
Friday, January 04, 2019
A Part and Every Day
I can't stand them being together when they shouldn't be.
I am a part of that larger movement.
I go to work every day.
Please keep them apart.
I am a part of that larger movement.
I go to work every day.
Please keep them apart.
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