I don't think it's my imagination. Something has felt a little off with my Ricoh GR since getting the sensor cleaned. Autofocus seems slower, for one thing. I'm a bit sad. Don't suppose I'll ever buy another.
we mapped 38ha in the local residential area, in total we found 410 cameras, with about 80-90% of those being ring or similar doorbell cameras. all of these pointing at the public sidewalks, all completely illegal. there is no way in this 'hood to move around without being tracked. people don't deserve the GDPR.
I imagine Bezos sitting at home and doing real-time tracking of individuals just based on facial recognition running on AWS.
fucking worst of all cyberpunk futures i hoped for. 😞
Anyone ever buy a used camera from KEH that was graded "Bargain"? I gather they are graded that way for cosmetic reasons, but that they function properly. What was your experience like? ...
Informed technical observation: using "Portrait Mode" will near-universally result in poorly captured photos with destructive changes to the original pixel data.
Stop this nonsense! Better to learn about modern portrait photography methodology and use these digital tools correctly.
I probably spend way too much on camera gear—but it keeps me busy. Just yesterday, I added a Canon RF 1.4x Extender to my setup, pairing it with the Canon R5 and the 200–800mm lens. That bumps my maximum focal length up to 1120mm, effectively bringing me about 40% closer to the subject—usually birds. I gave it a quick test last night with a snapshot of the moon (you can find it somewhere in my threads). I’ll need more time with it before I can judge how much it affects image quality, though everything I’ve read suggests the impact is minimal. I joke about overspending, but honestly, the gear gives me purpose. It’s like running a quiet workshop where no one pays, but the craft keeps calling—each photo a piece laid gently on the bench, shaped by light and patience.
“A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away.” — Phyllis McGinley
"A slender channel of water winds gently through the heart of the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, like a quiet breath drawn between the tall grasses of the bayou. The water’s surface is smooth and glassy, mirroring the sky above—a soft tapestry of pale blue streaked with drifting clouds that seem to pause in reflection. On either side of the channel, the banks rise just slightly, clothed in dense, golden grasses that sway with a whisper in the breeze. Their color hints at late summer or early autumn, a warm yellow tinged with green and brown.
Bushes dot the edges here and there, adding texture and depth to the scene, their leaves tangled and wild, untouched by human hands. The landscape feels still, as if time has slowed to honor the quiet dignity of this wetland. There are no signs of movement—no birds in flight, no ripples from passing fish—just the hush of nature holding its breath. The image captures a moment of pure tranquility, where water, sky, and earth meet in gentle harmony." - Copilot
A semi-minimalist rendering of the state of Oregon is shown to look like the famous White Stag sign but with the "PORTLAND | OREGON | OLD TOWN" lettering changed to "PORTLAND | MOVIE | CLUB" in muted green and red colors, as a strip of 35mm motion picture film weaves through it, each frame representing a different movie (from top to bottom, Stalker, Videodrome, The Doom Generation, Seven Samurai, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Malcolm X, and Blood and Black Lace), all against a black background.
A semi-minimalist, faux-3D rendering of a motion picture film camera is shown, with the camera body replaced with the state of Oregon to look like the famous White Stag sign but with the "PORTLAND | OREGON | OLD TOWN" lettering changed to "PORTLAND | MOVIE | CLUB" in muted green and red colors against a black background.
KEH Bargain gear
Anyone ever buy a used camera from KEH that was graded "Bargain"? I gather they are graded that way for cosmetic reasons, but that they function properly. What was your experience like? ...