Disqus - Latest Comments for spodzone

Re: To Drone or Not to Drone?

Tim — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 16:45:23 -0000

The flip-side of the "nuisance" angle is that flying around might be another person's way of enjoying a place. Or they might be following up on a SAR request.

It doesn't take much effort for a flyer to try and avoid people wherever possible; it seems to take a bit more effort to persuade people to get used to the idea and ignore it.

Re: The $28,000 Tesla With A 400-Mile Range?

Tim — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 20:03:23 -0000

What’s being proposed here is nothing more than what Top Gear built a decade ago - series hybrid, aka put a generator and can of gas in the boot... simples.

Two twists in the tale.
First, I see nothing wrong with offering BEVs of varying battery capacity - I was interested up until the language of “most” kicked in - but if some people are able and willing to sacrifice some range for the ease of recharging at home every night and it suits them long-term, great.
Second, however, is the whole concept of road-trips: there is still a perception that one is going to use a motorway to cover the distance - from city to city, hence the “but you’ll be stopping anyway” argument. Not on my routes; where I go, nobody’s ever likely to want to put a supercharger beside any feature of the natural landscape (please don’t!) and the argument is more like, with a 300mi / 6-8hr driving day I don’t want to add another hour detour waiting aimlessly anywhere.

15,000mi/yr. I’m waiting on a TMY.

Re: Poll & Article: The Guilt & Embarrassment Of NOT Driving An EV

Tim — Sat, 15 Jun 2019 20:04:21 -0000

I’m kinda the nemesis here. Wanted to believe in electric. Had an EV last year - a Leaf 40 - and it was so unreliable with multiple critical things going wrong (like the main battery...), I rejected it and went back to diesel, coincidentally rejoicing in the restoration of range freedom again and breathing a sigh of relief that it broke down at the start of a long-distance road-trip so I wouldn’t have to experience RapidGate myself.

My use-case is weekly road trips 200-300mi each with dog, cameras, outdoorsy gear, when the outside temperature is -2ºC. The only way to achieve that in an EV remains Tesla currently, so I’m waiting on the TMY with some interest.

Re: Hydrogen Fueling Station Explodes: Toyota

Tim — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 16:26:55 -0000

Explosive potential is the least of my worries about FCVs. Why would I want to emit a greenhouse gas everywhere I go when BEVs mean I don’t have to?

Re: Toyota Goes Electric Starting In 2020: Announces Massive EV Offensive

Tim — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 20:45:36 -0000

I would rather regard VW’s press releases as genuine apologies for dieselgate and forgive them by buying an ID than anything from these clowns after all the negative spin they’ve put out this past couple of years.

Re: Volkswagen Says Sorry For Dieselgate, Seeks Closure In New EV Ad

Tim — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 18:04:32 -0000

So the ID Buzz remains nothing but a concept 2 years later? And all we’ve had since then is press releases and the ability to pre-book the ID3 that’s not due until later in the year / next year.
When they’ve produced 100k of multiple ID EVs, then I’ll believe they’re sorry. Until then they’re just wasting time.

Re: The robo-advisors that turn AI into profits for investors

Tim — Wed, 29 May 2019 19:47:46 -0000

Er yeah. I *really* trust crypto cfd trader. They look sooo legitimate... WTH?

Re: Drunk Driver On Tesla Autopilot Gets License Suspended

Tim — Tue, 21 May 2019 05:31:17 -0000

If anything, this is the way it should be. It just needs social norms and the technology to evolve a bit more.

Re: Tesla Model Y Not A Crossover, But A Tall Sedan: Says Designer

Tim — Mon, 20 May 2019 14:14:36 -0000

You can call it Susan if it makes you happy.

As long as I can fit the Dog in it, I don’t mind. A smaller TMX where I’ll not be worrying which seating configuration is best but just go straight for 5 with enough space behind, that’ll do me fine.

Re: 34 Ways to Enrage a Photographer With One Sentence

Tim — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 06:09:50 -0000

Funny thing is, there are plenty enough photography sites out there who *also* say "gear doesn't matter", or "a good photographer can make a good photo with anything" - normally as a counter to GAS but that's hardly the point when the aphorism is false from one side and annoying from the other.

Re: It’s Our Christian Duty to Protect the Environment

Tim — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 09:53:56 -0000

The problem is that, from Gen.1:26 (rule the animals) through "make the waste places plain" to "new heaven and new earth", scripture has a message that the environment is subservient to mankind woven through it. Coupled with a mentality that takes scripture as not merely descriptive (it's the writings of a late Iron-Age people coming to terms with tribal identity where expansion knew no limits) but actively anachronistically prescriptive, no wonder the planet is screwed.

I'm sure there are some who would say they don't need a book-of-books, of which *half* the messages are good, in order to do good. No wonder the people are screwed.

Re: The Cameras Behind the Winning Photos of World Press Photo 2017

Tim — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 07:25:08 -0000

So apparently Olympus and Panasonic owners don't waste time on competitions and the stats can't distinguish between the best Canon and anonymous entries? ;)

#DevilsAdvocate #LiesBloodyLies

Re: New Zealand price for the E-M1II

Tim — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 11:39:19 -0000

Well complain to Apple then.

Re: (FT5) Confirmed: Olympus E-M1II will start shipping the first week of December

Tim — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 10:53:03 -0000

Oh, that's very interesting, thanks. I already have the Pen-F and am well acquainted with the 8-shot hi-res mode. Was wondering whether they'd reduce the 8 for fewer source frames to make it handheld.

It's worth remembering that we're only talking about convenience here. Yes I love having hi-res mode in-camera, but if I have to shoot hand-held, I'll do the same process the hard way. Best example to date: old Lumix GH2, ancient Pentacon 50mm lens, 5 frames upscaled in the RAW converter, aligned with align_image_stack, blended with enfuse... and printed out at 38" on Hahnemuehle PhotoRag. My client was happy enough - so that's the measure of how finely we're obsessing over doing things in camera.

Re: The 'Neural Photo Editor' is Like a Fully Automatic Photoshop

Tim — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:08:21 -0000

Adversarial networks are also a thing.

Peter Kelly should do quite a bit of research before rejecting what he does not understand.

Re: Is the Royal British Legion not selling poppies in certain areas?

Tim — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 06:34:11 -0000

"Remember though, when you do buy your poppy"

That's some assumption.

Re: Setsuya Kataoka confirms E-M1II hand held resolution mode is a “future possibility”

Tim — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 11:44:48 -0000

Yes, the increased frame-rate may well be a step in the right direction too.

Re: (FT5) E-M1II info: Hands-held resolution mode yet not ready on the pre-production version?

Tim — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 12:58:17 -0000

Sure you can go manual, and you can go focus-stacking. You can even reliably up-scale before focus-stacking although I'm not sure what the limit on that might be (I can get 1.33x out with happiness but that's only about 36MPel).
However, there *are* gaps in the usability - some focal-lengths, up close, where f/8 is not quite enough for DoF, and it's not as though you can combine focus-stacking *and* hi-res mode at once. Yet. (I've asked Olympus to make all these blending modes, especially HDR, combinable in the menus.)

Re: (FT5) E-M1II info: Hands-held resolution mode yet not ready on the pre-production version?

Tim — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 12:13:22 -0000

FWIW it works for me very nicely on the Pen-F. Making a bit of a thing out of it for landscape and occasional product photo purposes - I just wish it didn't have arbitrary restrictions of 8s and f/8.

Re: (FT5) E-M1II info: Hands-held resolution mode yet not ready on the pre-production version?

Tim — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 12:11:40 -0000

That was one of the things I tested with the Pen-F when it came out; in terms of dark-frame noise level it holds its own with the old E-M1 across ISO but just has more pixels. Technology does progress occasionally.

And comparing the progression GH2, NEX7, E-M1, Pen-F, Pen-F with hi-res mode, that hi-res mode is a whole n'other quantum drop in dark-frame average noise levels.

Re: (FT4) Curiosity on the E-M1II hand-held high resolution mode…

Tim — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:01:22 -0000

As you say, who cares? We have the olde technology before stabilization was invented.

OTOH you can also go completely the other way. Anything down to an 8s exposure and just enjoy the results. Got one or two funky long-exposure landscapes that way; wish there wasn't the arbitrary 8s limitation, really.

Re: (FT4) Curiosity on the E-M1II hand-held high resolution mode…

Tim — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 09:57:35 -0000

Bingo. It's a tool, no more no less. I also live off it for landscape - but having started doing product work, it's not always the most appropriate tool.
With moderately closeup work such as jewellery on a bust, the rather arbitrary limit of f/8 in hi-res mode is causing me grief with DoF; for macro work it's far better to upscale 20->36MPel before focus-stacking.

Re: (FT4) Curiosity on the E-M1II hand-held high resolution mode…

Tim — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 07:57:44 -0000

Pen-F and I live off it for my landscape work. Great fun. Back into using grads to tweak scene contrast and all that.

Re: (FT4) Curiosity on the E-M1II hand-held high resolution mode…

Tim — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 07:54:57 -0000

I have 30" prints on my walls, you?

Re: The Futility of the Workout-Sit Cycle

Tim — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 08:02:04 -0000

Absolutely. And don't forget not to be too much of a burden on the state beforehand either ;)