^^ I'll add one to this.. I've taken them on hikes before....

Bret

We're just upgrading our big Mäc at work to 24GB; it's an 8 core monster with only 1TB of disk and a 27" 2560x1440 screen.

There is no such thing as too much memory.

Set a budget and work towards it. Go i7 if you can; at least 8GB of RAM and 2TB of disk. The 27 IPS monitor we just got for the dual Xeon workstation at work is the same resolution as above and it was close to €700. You can get them in the €300 range if full HD is good enough.

Memory will make more difference in the short term than pure processing power. Don't worry too much about using an SSD for boot / OS as it won't help that much when dealing with photos or video. RAID 1 with a couple of disks would be good, but then you need to make sure you move stuff off it regularly, as RAID1 increases the likelihood of disk failure significantly. It's probably worth it for the speed increase, mind you, and you need to back up anyway.

Bret

if you calibrate, they're possibly acceptable.... I have one and it's OK but I prefer the 22" widescreen.

Bret

made me chuckle

They're whining here as there's a half-meter and another 8" due tonight. Of course, most things work, but the streets *need* to be cleared as it's probably not going anywhere until April. So there are *huge* piles of the stuff around and there aren't trucks getting it to the snowpiles.

It's going to be a very interesting winter.

Bret

.. or stills with lights in and otherwise dark areas.

Bret

^^ this is a good starting point. Here they won't collect if the value of the tax is less than £10, I think that's a common EU standpoint but I'm not 100% sure.

Bret

Ah, go on, go on....

Some stuff from Monday. It was independence day here, so an opportunity to get out. It dropped another 30cm of snow on Helsinki, but here it was only another 10cm or so.




this is my D-FA's hood




a remnant of autumn (I had to *search* for this)



and something from later on in the evening - I went out deliberately. This is 1/[email protected] / ISO 400; something like 60km/h accelerating uphill (yes, it is possible with the right tyres!).


The different whites are caused because the headlights are halogen and the driving lights HID. Not much I can do about that one...

Bret

I've used the K10 for several hours at a time in -20 and not had any problems aside from battery life (which is cured by having multiple batteries and keeping at least one warm).

This is the first time I've really even come up against a potential problem (apart from the 7D overheating when filming....). My K10D has therefore been "abused" and has taken it in its stride. I just hope the K5 is so robust, I will be disappointed if it isn't. There are tricks I know of, but still... I don't know about the displays in the cold, though, I have to admit, as I'm not looking at them. I tend to have settings and then I'm machine-gunning my way through a track session. And being prepared to run when someone loses it!

Bret

Win 7 rocks. End of.

Scary, I know, but...

Bret

what I'd like to know: what are the recommended parameters on a K10D? I know what mine's been through and it works fine, thanks, so....


I'd also really like to know how they came up with the numbers. If it's "constant -10 for more than a week will screw things up" then I really don't care, but if it's "constant -10 for ten minutes will screw things up" then I will have a problem if I get one.
I had work's 7D out at lunchtime for a quick play in the (rare) sunshine and that was fast and functional. It was also -5 or so; this is my daily option for four months of the year so working below zero is kinda important to me....

Bret