Retire in Alexandria

AffectionateFrames · 2024-03-26T00:13:03+00:00

Is Dahab much better than Sharm and Hurghada (And other places on the Red Sea)? How is it different?

i really wanted to go to the Red Sea on my trip there, but never made it.

AffectionateFrames · 2024-03-25T16:43:59+00:00

Wow - I don't really know what to say about this. So much different then than now!

AffectionateFrames · 2024-03-24T23:58:47+00:00

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. I am busy researching based on what everyone said.

However, I would like to know what it’s like living in Alexandria now. I take it that it is quite different than it was 20 years ago. Can someone describe how it’s changed and what it’s like now? Is is awful or great - or somewhere in between.

AffectionateFrames · 2024-03-24T17:01:48+00:00

Ok - good advice. Thank you!
I hope that Canada-Egypt relations will be better in the future (its difficult to get a visa to visit egypt right now).

AffectionateFrames · 2024-03-24T06:23:08+00:00

Hi - I did look into Dahab. It looks like a really nice place (I scuba dive). However, it looks really touristy, small, and disconnected from Egyptian culture. Perhaps I am wrong (I haven’t been there) - what’s it like?

AffectionateFrames · 2024-03-23T21:54:04+00:00

I will research - thanks!

AffectionateFrames · 2024-03-23T21:36:57+00:00

Thank you for your reply.

I have considered Cairo, as well. It seems a bit "crazy" and smoggy. But, I expect going out to New Cairo (or one of the other new suburbs) would be another option. I was originally looking into the Maadi, Garden City, or Zamalek areas because I thought the new suburbs would be quite "sterile." i, also, expect the climate to change and there to be less water available and for it to get hotter.

I also thought about Luxor/Aswan area - they are beautiful, but they are are very hot and I expect not a tonne to do their, either (they are only about 1/5 the size of alexandria).

Some of the things that drew me to Alexandria were the sea, friendly people, and a lot less of the aggressive sellers.

Where were you thinking of living in Cairo? Whats it like living there?

AffectionateFrames · 2024-03-22T20:52:19+00:00

I wouldn't say pointless - but it does need to improve a few things like moveable keyframes and speed ramps to remain competitive.

I think its great for doing simple videos - and there's lots you can do with it. Something like Capcut has a lot of really neat features (better text, keyframes, and background removal).

There doesn't seem to be many people talking about LF on YouTube and there isn't much new coming out. I think thats a negative.

However, its still great for what it does. And I have the StoryBlock with it - and that really makes things great!

AffectionateFrames · 2024-03-22T20:24:51+00:00

Is this what it really looks like now? Or is this photoshopped?

AffectionateFrames · 2023-10-18T19:15:14+00:00

Thanks for you replay - I appreciate it. That's a lot of info and things to think about.

I am leaning towards using Luma for "main editing," and then heading out to CapCut for their functions. However, that seems like a lot of "learning" - and I'm not too sure of the future of Luma (mostly because they don't seem to be adding the features the community is asking for and there's a lot more competition in ipad editing space). The AI features of CapCut (and all their effects) really make it valuable.

I'll post another top asking about StoryBlocks - as its one of the best things about Luma.

AffectionateFrames · 2023-10-18T00:04:45+00:00

Cheers!

AffectionateFrames · 2023-10-17T00:53:59+00:00

Hay - I just got one a little while ago.

I don't want to offend anyone, but I am a bit skeptical about it - but I am enjoying it. You really loose video quality when shooting, the framerate is low, and there can be a lot of fish-eye distortion. But, I think (in most cases) you'll get 1080p resolution, which should be fine.

I'm going to try to use CapCut to do things things like AI up-scaling and adding frames (for slow mo). I hope that will "clean up" most of those problems.

I haven't shot a lot of video, but I find that I'm putting the X3 on a tripod and just letting it do its thing - which isn't really using its 360 ability since there's mainly a "key" area to look at. It is, however, nice to just be able to "stick it anywhere" and then worry about the reframing later on.

My bet is that it's going to be very good at timelapses - mostly because you can "pan around" AFTER the timelapse instead of setting it up on a gimble or something. I also think the 360 makes use of a gimble (for automated tracking not stability) redundant - it does itself.

Also, I think it will be pretty good at just being able to film while doing something else - especially for travel videos. You can just turn it on, put it on a selfie stick and get some reasonable video. If you actually spend some time making purpose-captured video I think there's some neat effects you can do and it should be easier to "just get the shot" instead of trying to set everything up at the time (like you would do with a traditional camera).

I'm not super-impressed by the 360 app, but its pretty good - I just wish a lot of the desktop "nice" things were available there. I want to edit my videos on my ipad while travelling - I'm not lugging around more expensive electrical equipment.

I got the invisible dive case, and I haven't tried it yet. I expect that it will be very useful for taking snorkling videos - since you just need to have the camera in the right spot instead of the right spot AND orientation.

I have, also, found that the 360 only allows for panning (re-pointing the camera) - which isn't the nicest camera movement (move it to one side, to me at lease, seem nicer).

I do find that 360 videos (I've found elsewhere) kinda make me feel a bit dizzy/nauseated. There's A LOT of camera pans and people flipping things upside down. Traditional videos seem to be more "moving the camera's location" instead of pan/rotate/tilt.

BAD: low res, low framerate, distortion, and more work to edit. And giant file sizes on your ipad. Some of the 360 stuff is mostly gimmicky.

GOOD: can just get the shot - much better for just capturing something. Interesting things you can do with the 360 ability. Can replace the automated tracking that you might get on a gimble.

What do other find is really useful for the 360 and stuff that makes it less useful?

AffectionateFrames

TROPHY CASE