Oh, the ambiguity of the English Language and its creative use by Ebay sellers. 'Opened - Never Used' could mean either 'never used BY ME' or 'never used BY ANYONE'. Or even 'never used BY THE CAT NEXT DOOR'.

Looking forward to seeing the selfie for the dating site .

Steve

Nice . Lots of grasshoppers round here as well, definitely more than in recent years. They look like a different species to yours though.

I've been bee-bothering too over the last few days. You're absolutely right about them being on the move all the time!

Steve

An adapter can indeed sort it out. Search for 'video capture card', cost about £15 - £20 from the usual .co.uk shopping places. I use one to display HDMI output from the K3 on my PC screen when I do focus stacking. But you've then got to sort out software to take the USB input and do whatever you want to do with it. A decent webcam should come with compatible and capable software, easy peasy.

Steve

Another good one goes . They are one of my bookmarked suppliers, always had good service from them. Pity that SG isn't able to continue under new and equally good management, but the owner has no doubt looked at all possibilities. I always feel a bit guilty looking for a bargain in a closing down sale, but will probably have a quick peep in the next day or two. Pleased that Novoflex at least will have a new home.

Can't blame a bloke for retiring, though. He can retire with pride (and hopefully an adequate pension).

Steve

I had a strange thought about horses last night (bear with me... :wink.

Many years ago if you wanted to get somewhere as quickly as possible you took a horse - ride it yourself or take a carriage or stagecoach. Then the horseless carriage arrived. Very soon it had taken over from the horse as what you used to get somewhere quickly. It was more convenient, more flexible and easier to use. Sales and production of horses plummeted.

But horses didn't go away. They retained a loyal following who enjoyed horses for their own sake and developed niches activities specifically for their horses while using their horseless carriages for the mundane task of getting from A to B.

Are DSLRs the horse and phones the horseless carriage?

Steve

Ah! So that's the reason for the recent activity in the classifieds .

Personally, I'd consider both lenses to be perfectly acceptable and decide which lens to have in the bag based on non-optical criteria (zoom or not, size, weight, handling etc.). But then I don't pixel peep and don't think that a sharper lens is necessarily a better or more desirable lens.

Could the FA* magnification being close to the long end (450mm) of the DFA be due to focus breathing in the latter? That gin bottle is presumably a lot closer than infinity (within a reasonable drinking distance :wink). Would a fairer comparison be something at distances typical of squirrels/birds/deer/ships/aeroplanes?

Steve

No, you're not a control freak, you're a photographer .

Steve

Here's an interesting article about DSLRs .vs. smartphones link. It tries to be objective re technical matters and includes a look at how improvements in computation (hardware and software) have affected both DSLRs and smartphones. It's 3 years old but still valid IMHO. Interestingly, it points out that for a fair technical comparison you need to look at improvements in post-processing software over the years as what you can do with post-processing RAW from a DSLR is what is done automatically by a smartphone.

I won't reveal all the conclusions but here's an interesting snippet which ties in with some of what has been said in this thread "the secret to the longevity of digital cameras is trust. In the hands of someone who knows how to use it, a DSLR can be relied on to render a scene in the way the photographer envisions.". And the last paragraph of the article is interestingly thought provoking (at least for me :wink.

Steve

They are returning! The British Phonographic Industry reports that sales have increased every year for the last 10 years. Still some way to go to catch vinyl, but a number of major artists are now releasing albums on cassette. It seems that as well as the nostalgia trend, artists appreciate having the direct link to their fans which streaming does not provide.

Expect sales of photograph albums to increase any time soon...

Steve

Mrs L has a heart condition, currently stable and no need for medical intervention. The surgeon who would do a heart op if needed has moved. His replacement is Dr. Butcher. Should we be worried?

Steve