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oogabooga

High Rollers
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Everything posted by oogabooga

  1. I know I'm coming from a 'low-fi' perspective as compared to many others on here, but the HF-2's were a godsend for me. I've only had them 10 days, but I've used them about four hours a day and I don't pick up my HD600s unless it's for classical. I've found HF-2's very comfortable (I've got a huge noggin) and I dig the sound with the techno and rock (mostly male vocals). So, I haven't sold mine, and don't have any plans to do so (until I'm blown away by some moar better headphone, of course!)
  2. IMO, depends on the camera, but for the most part I will use the auto WB my Nikon D300 selects, and only change it in post-processing if I feel that it looks "off". I don't use any of the presets, either on the Nikon or in post-processing. In post, I will just tell Lightroom to WB off of some white or grey object in the scene, until the tones (usually skin tones) look right. Of course, all this is moot if your monitor is significantly colour mis-calibrated (as most are, out of the box, IMO). If you can borrow a friends calibrator (I use a Spyder3) you can get much more accurate colour - you can also calibrate somewhat by eye (on my Mac, the Display system preference has a Colour tab that allows you to calibrate the monitor). HTH
  3. If you're shooting RAW there's no point worrying about the WB, IMO. White Balance is a "correction" applied to the RAW data before a JPEG is made (mostly dependant on the primary light source - tungsten light, sunlight, flash etc.) When you shoot RAW, the actual pixel data (e.g. lossless) is stored along with the suggested WB profile to use - when you view the picture on the computer it will process the RAW data then apply the suggested WB. Since you have lossless data, it's trivial to adjust the WB in your favourite editing program - I do this all the time in Lightroom when my camera has selected an incorrect WB. If you shot those wrestling photos in RAW mode, you need only identify a true white (or a colourless grey) in your image and tell Lightroom/Aperture/whatever to use that to set the WB. HTH
  4. I got a Fiio E5 for my friend to use with his iPod and SE210s - he likes the sound out of the Fiio a lot, and uses it all the time now. I don't have a more detailed description as he's not as into headphones are most of us are, and he's a few thousands kilometres away so I can't try it out myself at the moment. He did say that the improvement was more pronounced on some songs than others, but that the sound was always the same as or better than the HP out, never worse. FWIW he uses a mini-mini, not an LOD. If you have any specific questions I could ask him. HTH
  5. Hey all, I just read through the thread and unless I missed it, I don't think I saw a review of the SE version of the Oppo - does anyone here have one, and might care to comment on the sound out of the analog stereo outs (i.e. for CD listening, and hopefully upcoming FLAC/ALAC support). A local retailer is selling one for just under $1000 CAD in Toronto, and while they have a 15-day return policy, I'd rather not was everyone's time buying one blind. I'm mostly interested in the CD-P part (hence the SE), but as I don't have a BDP at the moment an all-in-one solution is tempting. Thanks, Sameer
  6. IIRC the Drobo has two firewire ports, so you can daisy-chain a second FW device w/o need for a hub. +1 on the WD greens - I have four in my Drobo, no problems yet. Cheapest price I've seen (and bought) recently was Newegg selling 2TB greens for $146 (canadian) during Black Friday. The Drobo can likely be found on sale or at a good price as Data Robotics appears to be pushing the new Drobo S (5 drive bays, SATA, can sustain two drive failures) and Elites over the basic drobo. A side note about the Drobo - while you can swap drives on the fly, as advertised, it takes a VERY long time to rebuild the array. When I introduced a new 2TB drive it took > 40 hours to complete the rebuild. You can still use the array during this time, so there's theoretically zero downtime.
  7. I tried that - my boss has his road bike hooked up to a Tacx trainer, which is connected to his computer/TV. The trainer can even detect steering, you can steer up/down hills (in/decreasing the trainer's resistance) or even crash (the trainer locks the back wheel!). OTOH there's the "biking" on Wii Sports Resort...
  8. Asr, I have the 17-55 f/2.8 - it is an amazing lens, and built like a tank. When you say the Tammy is too slow, I assume you mean wrt focus speed? I can tell you that I'm very pleased with the AF-S focussing of the Nikon 2.8. I remember playing around with the 16-85 for 20 minutes or so at a camera store last year. From what I recall, I remember it also being built like a (albeit smaller) tank, taking sharp images with good colour. While the VR is nice, I opted for a used 17-55 because of the 2.8. In retrospect, the 16-85 would probably have been the better choice for most of the event photography that I use my 17-55 for, since I sometimes wish my 17-55 went a little further on the tele end, and the VR more than compensates for the 1-2 stop benefit of the f/2.8. Either way, two very nice lenses! Tough decision... Sameer
  9. How'd you get them for $39 each? I know about the tsoundcheck price for three concerts, but I only want to go to the one...
  10. Another Torontoian - hurrah! I was just debating going to hear Beethoven's 5th at Roy Thomson in Feb...
  11. +1 for this - my HTPC has some large Antec and Yate Loon 120mm fans in it, which are dead quiet when on the low setting (the Antec have low-med-hi switches, while the YL are low rpm fans to begin with).
  12. Very nice, Asr! What are you thinking of starting with?
  13. I think it depends on the music, and whether the concert is geared towards a musical venue or simply providing noise for a dance club. When I went to see the Tragically Hip play at a small-ish music hall (Massey Hall in Toronto), I not only heard great music but learned a lot about the band and how they do their thing. I enjoyed the music and the interaction. However, when I went to Infected Mushroom playing at a large-ish dance club (I really don't know what to call those venues, because I never go), I had a shitty time because I didn't learn anything about the band or how they play their music, and the music was waaaay too loud and all one could really hear (and feel) was the bass. I love IM, but only through my cans - I wouldn't go to another concert.
  14. How many frequent flyer miles is that going to net you?!
  15. I really like the photo of the dog - the focus is just perfect.
  16. +1 on the sound level issues - my non-3G iphone has low ringer/speaker levels, while the 3GS is very loud and clear.
  17. I did try that once with better results (i.e. the meat was cooked through), although the hardcore BBQ book I have (Ron Shewchuk's Barbecue secrets, an excellent book) calls them "cheater ribs"! I'm a fan of the smokey charcoal and hickory flavour, so I'm trying to learn the low and slow methods. Winter BBQ is so fun though! I've had good success with charcoal in the winter here in Toronto - gas doesn't work so well as my little Weber Q doesn't give out enough BTU's to grill well.
  18. How'd you make them - slow and low on a BBQ? First time I tried ribs that way they were still pink after 8 hours
  19. +1 on the flash and diffuser - my SB-600 and a sto-fen diffuser (I spent the $20, but a card or a properly crafted piece of plastic can work) give me amazing indoor flash shots. Also, if you're going to be using the bag on the go, consider the Lowepro Slingshot series - I picked up the larger one for my D300 and love it. It doubles as a backpack and a top-loader. Also - my recent buy: Portapros. Amazing for $40.
  20. Yeah, unless you're transferring files a lot it shouldn't affect FW. I've found that I can usually get 30-50 MB/s transfer rates on FW400, and an audio stream would take less than 1MB/s (150kB/s IIRC). So, you might get chopping if you are copying files while listening to music, in theory (I have no FW audio devices to test with).
  21. Well, back when I smoked 'em, I really liked Montecristo No. 3 cigars. They are Cuban though, so I have no idea if you can get them in California, or how much you would have to pay. My goduncle loves his Romeo Y Julieta cigars, and according to Wikipedia there are two kinds, one Cuban and one Dominican. Not sure which he prefers.
  22. Dusty, where did you pick this one up from? I want!
  23. My buddy was telling me about this - have you tried it? What does it taste like? Edit: Canada Post doesn't appear to allow shipping of booze: http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/PG/manual/pgnonmail-e.asp#1378246
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