August 29, 2007 • 7:07 pm
Dan Mayo bought a Leica M8 and I took it home during his busy day to get the battery charged and look for any issues. It sure was hard to use and I didn't like it very much and then I totally changed my mind. After about an hour of realizing what I couldn't take pictures of, I started to really like it. I walked around my neighborhood and I spent a few minutes at a birthday party and really enjoyed it all. So I give it a thumbs up. Click on the picture above to see my Leica M8 Pictures set.
The build quality is astounding and the usability is fantastic. The usability is also tough because it doesn't really do anything for you. You have to think like a photographer which is probably pretty handy. I used to have a Voigtlander Bessa T and it was similar in the restrictions. I really loved that camera big time, it was so fantastic. I sold it and bought a Voightlander Bessa R2 which was a mistake. I didn't like it and immediately changed my mind but too late to get my money back. I sold it after a month and lost a little but my rangefinder experience was a good one. This Leica M8 reminds me of it but in a nicer digital way.
Update: It took about one day but I am boxing it up to send back. It had a nice run but somethings just don't fit and in this case it was the wrong tool for the job.
Update: Dan loves this camera! He is going to keep it. It will probably be with him for years to come. He will also get the Digilux 3 unless that changes too. I might skew him to an Olympus body using the Leica lens.
Even More Updates: I got a Leica Digilux 3 for Dan so we will see how that impacts the situation. The Digilux 3 is also a great camera but not the level of the M8 in terms of quality. If ease of use and features are your thing then the Digilux 3 wins like crazy. The Digilux 3 also has a great upgrade path. (See the compatible Olympus bodies)
Digilux 3 Update: Dan now has the Digilux 3 and was very impressed with it. I am not sure if he has taken any pictures yet but I am sure he is thinking about it.
Here are some pictures I took with the Leica's lens on my Olympus E-300 body. They are super sharp and the lens was very nice to use.
Filed under: The Archives
August 20, 2007 • 8:46 pm
I am painting my wall right now with a couple coats of primer and then if that looks thick and smooth enough I am going to add on Behr Silver Screen paint (770E-2). It gets good reviews for a screen surface so I should like it. We will see.
This is a link to the new projector setup photo set where I will be adding pictures of my painting and the progress as it gets finished and as the projector goes up and I will add another post that is more complete when I get to a more final stage in the process. The stages are 1 choose a target size and prepare an area larger, I went with 3 inches on each side extra so I would have some room, 2 sand and primer the surface to smooth it out and get rid of the yellow, 3 paint plenty of grey on the area, 4 mount the projector and figure out the best size for the room and the projector, the larger the image the dimmer it will be but the blacker the blacks so a balance must be reached and 5 paint a black border around my final screen size to enhance contrast and improve the cinematic feel.
Stages of Projector Setup
Stage 1 
Stage 2 
Stage 3 
You can see this image big to check out the surface detail. There are some little marks but it is very smooth overall. This picture below was taken when there were still a couple coats left for the wall.
Stage 4 So it took an extra day because Optoma changed the size of the screw holes. Lowes and Home Depot didn't have the screws I needed. Lowes had the area for the screws but the what I ended up with at home for sure weren't the right fit. Ace Hardware really came through. That place is nice. So after one awesome night of using the projector on the coffee table projecting an image about the size of my last setup, 92″. Because the projector was brighter than I imagined and because of the changes of the screen surface I think I could go really big. I might go ahead and fill up my whole painted space or I might go with my original estimate of around 110″ being the correct size. This image below is 107″, or pretty close to that. If it gets bigger my couch starts to be in the way and I already had to take the globe, chains and light bulb out of my ceiling fan. It hangs down just a little too low but any light fixture should work, probably just no fans.
If you click on this image it will link to the larger size.
——–
And this is an example of why I was hesitant to paint my walls. I don't think that some spackle or mud or whatever would be able to get it totally smooth. I sanded it to get the intense peaks out but this is some serious plaster warpage. My experience with the previous screen assures me that these won't really be noticeable unless the bathroom door is left open which happens sometimes.
Update: You can't see any of this stuff. It looks great.
Update: It is still all awesome.
Filed under: The Archives , project, projector
I am testing out posting through email from my phone. Sent at 16:40
Sent from my iPhone
So I guess that worked. It is kind of slow but it seems to get there eventually which is probably just fine for now. Wprdpress is having some problems with email so I will keep using Flickr to post and maybe they will speed up their email checking.
Filed under: The Archives , photo
I am working late, 1:48 am right now. That is how I like it I suppose. Working alone is pretty fun. I can listen to podcasts and Coast to Coast AM never live, just the downloaded shows from the night before. I have another ten minutes and then I might leave. I am importing some shows so I have 28 minutes blocks where I am just waiting around before I start the next show.
Sent from my cold iPhone.
Filed under: The Archives
I have wanted an iPhone for about two years now. I have thought about getting a Nokia N Series phone for a long time too but the mythical iPhone kept me from making any purchases.
In January when the real introduction was made I stood up and then ran straight into a wall. After that I read the rumors and watched the videos and just waited to get this sweet device. And it is sweet.
I first went to the AT&T store because it was right by my house. I waited for about ten minutes before someone took down my name to put me in line after another person who was already waiting. Then another half hour went by. During that half hour the customers, that were already done when I got there, talked to the sales people about nothing but small talk. So that is 40 minutes of ignoring two customers. I got tired of waiting so I left and went to the Apple store.
I went in the Apple store and it took about a minute for a woman in a green shirt to ask me if I needed anything. I said “I would like an iPhone” and she said “4 or 8?” Then she got my phone and rang me up in the middle of the store and that was it. Amazingly different buying experience.
I feel like this phone is a part of my toolset now and I can't imagine getting something else as time goes on. I also feel like I should have gotten a Blackberry or something years ago because this mobile email is pretty useful. Typing this whole thing while taking a moment to look at some text messages from Ike makes me realize that this is probably the first phone I have ever had. In my mind I have this idea about how things should work and it is usually right around the corner but the iPhone is here now and I only waited a month to get one. I highly recommend it.
Sent from my iPhone. I have done mobile posting before but it just became more amazing.
Filed under: The Archives
So I made a little smoothie movie to show what my smoothies are like and how much fun the whole process can be.
If you can't handle QuickTime here is YouTube. If you think you can handle the HD version, it is available now.
If you want the best quality ingredients sunfood.com really can't be beat. Seriously, it is amazing. If you are looking for the ingredients you can check this smoothie post.
Filed under: The Archives , smoothie, video
Recent Comments