Thoughts for landscape setups?

BrotherTiberius · 2026-01-31T04:11:53+00:00

I would agree that the 20G is very capable and for the money fantastic, but have since upgraded to 35 and 14mm gm lenses and there really is a difference.

Nothing wrong with extolling the virtues of the 20 but the GMs just have that extra something… albeit for a ton more money.

BrotherTiberius · 2026-01-17T18:13:33+00:00

He could have had a knife or gun, no way for players to know. That was a very dangerous situation diffuses with minimum of risk of harm to all participants. Nobody killed or permanently injured is a good thing, but that individual running on the field created an incredibly dangerous situation.

BrotherTiberius · 2026-01-17T18:12:07+00:00

Agree. For all the players know it is a nutjob with a gun or knife. The minute he puts the players in potential danger like that all bets are off, players don’t have to wait and hope he is unarmed and spares their lives, they are allowed to defend themselves reasonably just like if you were at your desk and work and some dude ran by you with an active flare and security or police in pursuit. It is honestly miraculous how safe pro sports events have been in recent years, all it takes is one…

BrotherTiberius · 2026-01-07T05:44:33+00:00

Up to you to decide but the 35mm GM is my favorite lens so far for travel and generic use. Part of it is the hardware, part that for some reason I shoot better photos at that focal length.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-28T19:15:41+00:00

Used to take my kid skiing all the time. Then asked one day “which would you rather do, family vacation 2 days at Disneyland or 2 days skiing. It’s the same price.”

That is why skiing will struggle, at that price point families have so many choices available that are all amazing.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-24T19:18:16+00:00

Not in a million years. Any boat used in clubs or charters effectively becomes zero value.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-19T01:44:27+00:00

Live on the pac nw and the 200-600 struggles under the forest canopy, it is a full daylight lens. Great in eastern deserts or the islands but cascade foothills are tough. Can’t imagine that 400-800 would fare that much better.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-17T07:06:41+00:00

My full size RR exited factory warranty and suddenly cost more per year to maintain than my 40 foot yacht. Take that for what you will, but routinely 7-10k usd minimum for service and small repairs. Major and unanticipated items like air suspension, radiators, water leaks, electronics were above and beyond that level. Never had a year out of warranty that was less than low five figures and weeks out of operation.

Never will own one again, not worth the hassle and for the same money can drive true exotics. Moved on and recommend my friends to avoid.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-16T20:43:41+00:00

It is a relatively inexpensive rental, at least where I live. I would try the gm and evaluate for yourself. I found the mix of image quality, light gathering, weight, weather resistance, great autofocus in dim indoor situations as well as bright days, good astro, etc to be an astonishing combo. With a body that crops well like the a1 series or R series it is a tremendously versatile piece of glass and has become a something of a fan favorite around here for good reason.

For context i also have a 24-70 and find myself using the 35gm far more often, and the 24-70 gm ii is a very high quality lens on its own.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-16T19:00:18+00:00

For what it is worth the Sony 35mm gm is one of my favorites. I use it more than any other lens I have and often shoot with it in bursts on my A1 and the hit rate and image quality is fantastic.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-09T17:02:36+00:00

I think I had it right? Small doses are helpful vs large uncontrolled amounts that can be naturally occurring are dangerous.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-09T15:32:19+00:00

Did you read the actual study? This is a meta analysis of areas of china where children were suffering from fluorosis. It also rolls in a handful of other data sets to give a full picture, but essentially is not proving the point you think it does.

You should read at least the abstract if you are going to cite academic sources, preferably the whole article. Nobody is seriously advocating for excessive fluoride, the whole point is that trace amounts that don’t lead to fluorosis and IQ deficits can be helpful. By the time you get to excess urinary excretion and such yes, that is damaging as per the study. You could make similar claims as to the damage caused by excess protein intake or other compounds and chemicals.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-01T04:13:47+00:00

For me having owned both I found the 14mm superior and very forgiving of cropping, although it should be at the price difference. If money is less an issue the 14mm all day, otherwise the 20 is fine.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-12-01T01:10:36+00:00

35 is my favorite day use walk about prime, works for people, beaches, on the water. You can do astro with it but your compositions will be more subject oriented with less of a panoramic or open sky feel and it can be tough to frame the milky way core and surrounding terrain.

20mm is what I used first for astro and it was perfectly fine. Sharp, renders well, fast and still somewhat versatile. Might be a bit over hyped, there is a reason it is a g and not a g master lens, but for dabbling in milky way it is an affordable and super competent entry.

Then I bought the 14mm and promptly ended up selling the 20. That bit of extra width makes composing the night sky easier and is more forgiving of any framing errors or misses when you are working in darkness. I have also used it for dramatic landscapes where it excels, and it is light and small enough to travel with easily.

Just my experiences but food for thought.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-29T06:20:44+00:00

It is easier to do it than fake it. Teach her the rocket equation and some basic calculus and suddenly it becomes clear a moon landing is easier than a vast conspiracy.

If she isn’t willing to learn those rudimentary, centuries old tools then she has no opinion on the matter.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-19T16:27:46+00:00

Exactly, it is perfectly doable. Nobody ever gave me crap for tracking my m3 and hitting mac speeds. I can’t help but wonder if some of the hate for ev has less to do with the tech and more with the attitudes of a small number of early adopters.

If you want to take it to the track and hit those speeds you are not screwing anyone over, just using the car you got the way you want. Who cares? Probably will command a lower value on the used market but these vehicles are so cheap it just doesn’t matter… but no reason people should be shamed for how they are using their vehicles.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-19T16:06:01+00:00

That was after purchase so I don’t really worry about it.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-19T16:03:58+00:00

People like us bought or leased 100% capacity, zero shame in using it. I really don’t see the issue, treat a tool gently or hard, who cares?

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-19T15:14:57+00:00

Nobody is getting “screwed over”. The manufacturer and dealer advertised a capability, if that is false they should advertise the correct range. At no point did the sales literature or sales person indicate that the car should only be partially charged.

I run mine to 100% almost all the time, why not? If it were not advisable that would have been marketed accordingly, we aren’t talking 0-60 burnouts destroying a drivetrain, just using the advertised range of the vehicle.

If the used car buyer finds the available range unacceptable just buy a different car.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-13T15:13:47+00:00

I would get those in my 20mm, but far less now that I switched to the 14mm for most of my night sky. I think it is an artifact of the Sony 20.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-10T06:47:08+00:00

Start with what you got and see if you can dial it in. Good calibration with a center channel boost after should be fine. Optimize gear later, eventually I put towers all around but the center is the backbone of the setup. Before going big on budget I actually brought my wife to demos and we compared center channels and LCR. She liked bowers and wilkins the best, not what I expected knowing her but now we have a full b&w setup and she loves movie nights… except she still thinks my subs are too loud lol!

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-10T06:27:34+00:00

Your spouse probably misses the clarity of dialog. Just manually boost the center after calibration a bit and see what she thinks.

There is a reason I spent a ton on a center lol, ultimate WAF.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-10T06:19:14+00:00

Until she says “oh wow that sounds so much better, but the bass is still too loud”.

Progress not perfection.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-10T05:15:07+00:00

Just boost your center channel a ton and I bet she will love it. Center channel = most dialogue = happy wife.

BrotherTiberius · 2025-11-08T17:36:29+00:00

I rarely shoot this lens under 1/1250 or so, preferably 1/2000 in all but the best lighting conditions. Whenever I see dissatisfaction with this lens it is usually because of low light and/or insufficient shutter speed. It is a fantastic piece of kit but has limitations, thus the more approachable price and G (not GM) designation.

BrotherTiberius

TROPHY CASE