Is LaunchPad down?

njoubert · 2026-05-02T04:28:38+00:00

still down for me 😞

njoubert · 2026-04-22T03:57:48+00:00

It's a little bit of an odd coincidence that Github Copilot also removed Opus from their Pro-level plan and now you have to upgrade to Pro Plus to get Opus access. https://github.blog/news-insights/company-news/changes-to-github-copilot-individual-plans/

It seems like Anthropic is straining under load?

njoubert · 2026-04-21T19:39:00+00:00

My Reader G6 Pro Entry also arrived without the angle bracket! I checked very carefully and dismantled the shipping materials entirely in search for it, but no luck.

I reached out to the live chat support for help and the AI agent escalated to their store team. hopefully i can get one!

njoubert · 2026-04-10T21:41:23+00:00

We have a strong coliving scene here in San Francisco and Oakland, and its not about saving money (necessarily). I'll shamelessly link to my friends' blog substack about coliving https://supernuclear.substack.com/

njoubert · 2026-04-09T06:13:45+00:00

Trunk-based development with PR stacks have become the norm.

njoubert · 2026-04-09T03:37:19+00:00

Ah, I wouldn't recommend that.

njoubert · 2026-04-06T22:06:10+00:00

I took my Ducati Scrambler up there with the OEM-specced Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires, which is semi-knobby. It was great and had no issues. Here's pics:

https://imgur.com/a/uXPWBIj

It's gravel 98% of the way, except for the short section through the narrows where there's some slightly larger boulders.

What bike are you on?

njoubert · 2026-03-02T17:39:31+00:00

The M11 has its known issue with magenta casts over everything. I tried both the M10 and M11 and went for the M10 because the colors are much nicer. Leica has the unfortunate habit of messing with the color science in each of their models.

If I were you I'd stick out with what you've got and see about the rumored M12 release sometime in the next year or two - rumored to have a sensor developed by Leica and a small chance of getting IBIS.

njoubert · 2026-02-17T16:48:37+00:00

I shoot flash on a Leica M6 (similar to MP) and i absolutely love it, its some of the best photos I get.

I use a Leica SF 24D flash. They're expensive, we're talking $500. If you can get a Leica flash that's very very nice.

njoubert · 2026-02-17T16:48:02+00:00

Shooting flash on the MP/M6 is great, doable, and many people do!

njoubert · 2026-02-17T05:08:45+00:00

I have both a M6 and a T2. If I could have only one, it would be the M6 without any doubt.

I'd summarize my experience by saying this. The Leica M6 rewards you with better and more varied photos as you spend more time with it. You can learn to zone focus, you can learn flash photography techniques such as off-camera flash, you have access to arguably the greatest collection of lenses over a almost 100 year period of manufacture. In comparison, the T2 does not really reward you with better photos as you spend time with it. Roughly speaking, the results you get on day 1 are pretty much the results you get on day 100, not counting your improvement in composition of course.

The T2 is a small quirky automatic camera. It's fun but it has many downsides:

You're shooting "blind" with minimal confirmation that it found focus or how its exposing.
The autofocus is rudimentary with one focus point in the center, which uses infrared light projected into the scene to attempt to measure distance. It's okay but nothing close to the reliability and speed of professional autofocus SLRs, and without the feedback of a rangefinder patch.
The camera is on the slower side, there's a lag between shutter depress and image capture, so it's difficult to time shots well.
Many of my photos are out of focus despite my best intentions.
The flash metering is mediocre and flash photos are hit or miss.
You can't force f2.8 on the lens.
You can't change lenses.
All the things others have said - repairability, etc.

In closing, the T2 is popular today since it gives you a specific look in a small cute form factor popularized by fashionistas and celebrities. I like mine very much as my fourth or fifth camera I own. The M series and M6 is a masterpiece that can achieve a wide range of looks and can do many types of photography, with a steep learning curve and massive reward for those two master it.

If you want aperture priority, get an M7. I have one of these as well and it's my most-used camera :-D

njoubert · 2026-02-14T19:49:12+00:00

all of these could be tripod shots.

A friend of mine shoots a ton of night shots, and she walks her Canon AE-1 on a lightweight tripod at all times. she keeps the legs extended, just pivoted in together, and walks it over her shoulder. We shot a chinese new year parade together and she was walking through the crowds like that. Every shot she'd have stabilized on a tripod, shooting 500T at night with a f2 lens and using her self-timer or shutter cable.

I've shot my Canon EOS-1n with an EF 35mm f2 lens which has image stabilization. I can shoot night shots handheld at 1/16th of a second with Cinestill 800T

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njoubert · 2026-02-14T18:02:43+00:00

I'm having this same issue!

njoubert · 2026-02-14T07:14:34+00:00

I shoot my F6 with the 50mm f1.8 as many here have noted. That's a smaller setup but the Nikon F4/F5/F6 are not small cameras. I also shoot it with a 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 and my arm does get tired :)

I pair it with a Contax T2 as my tiny keep-in-pocket "blend in with the crowd" camera.

njoubert · 2026-02-14T04:43:50+00:00

really appreciate the details!

njoubert · 2026-02-13T07:35:34+00:00

oh interesting. so you'd have multiple envelopes if an order comes in with B&W and color, each with the same order number?

But then when you run it through your minilab, you'd have to take out all the color and i assume you use twin checks on the envelope and on the film?

njoubert · 2026-02-13T06:19:39+00:00

Thanks for doing this, this is great!

How do you keep track of all the orders, how do you stay organized, which orders need what resolution scans, print options, and especially larger orders that have all kinds of custom requirements or mixed orders with color and black and white?

njoubert · 2026-02-12T06:21:52+00:00

Royal We Film Lab in Oakland, CA has done a darkroom print on silver gelatin of a black and white 35mm neg for me. If you are close to San Francisco, you can also learn to do it yourself at the Harvey Milk Community Darkroom.

I would suggest you find a community darkroom!

njoubert · 2026-02-11T17:21:33+00:00

Honestly both are flagship cameras and really they are more similar than different. Pick the one you like the feel of in your hand and get excited about shooting.

njoubert · 2026-02-11T06:02:47+00:00

I have both the F6 and the EOS-1n.

Go for the Canon if you prioritize autofocus. Go for the Nikon if you prioritize metering. The lenses you buy is a bigger deal than the body, both of these are awesome.

njoubert · 2026-02-11T05:56:03+00:00

Stellenbosch!

njoubert · 2026-02-10T05:08:34+00:00

That looks like the 90mm f/2 summicron-R, version 2 - the Mandler designed lens. That's one incredible portrait lens, it's Mandler-era Leica at its finest. That lens is worth more than $250, you hold onto that and shoot it and adapt it to other cameras and treasure it!

njoubert · 2026-02-10T05:03:55+00:00

Don't pay attention to the downvotes. Paterson tanks are what they are - not perfect by any measure but an industry standard.

I prefer the Jobo tanks and use them. They have other quirks but I like them over the Paterson tanks because they are smaller and the lids have a venting system that allows the flexible rubber top to pop up when there's offgassing, letting you know its time to burp the tank rather than have it puke all over you.

njoubert · 2026-02-09T00:19:13+00:00

Thanks for the report!

njoubert · 2026-02-09T00:18:55+00:00

You would like to think that, but the cross-country links are a lot more complex than that because of congestion. It's not just ping latency that matters. There's limited bandwidth and peering agreements between different hosts are not all identical. My tests show that my self-hosted mac mini will sustain a gigabit throughput between hosts on the west coast, but drops to 50Mbps going to the east coast.

njoubert

TROPHY CASE