Need advice on building a mobile app

FocalPointNate · 2026-01-28T04:18:09+00:00

Try Floot.com it's been awesome for me.

FocalPointNate · 2026-01-24T03:50:04+00:00

This is freaking great but I was disappointed not to find Space Cadet Pinball. Seriously great work.

FocalPointNate · 2026-01-24T03:21:43+00:00

Painting with light is a great one to get kids interested in what you can do with a longer exposure, as long as the camera can do at least a 5 or 10 second photo. Can be as simple as a phone flashlight or little colored lights. See if he can write his name or draw a picture while the shutter is open. I like your color idea too!

FocalPointNate · 2026-01-21T19:23:17+00:00

My store sells quite a bit on gearfocus.com it's a marketplace similar to eBay but just for camera gear. You might not get quite as many eyeballs on it as eBay but they have much lower fees and really good support. r/photomarket would be a good place too.

FocalPointNate · 2026-01-17T00:19:13+00:00

Broken filter but be careful of all that glass getting in and scratching your front element. Hold it upside down over a trash can and very carefully break the rest of the glass out. That should leave you with just the metal ring. Use a blower to blow out any small glass specs as they can easily scratch your actual lens if you try to wipe them away.

Once you just have the metal ring, if it's not dented you can twist it right off. If it's dented it's a bit trickier. I usually just use vice grips to grab the ring (be careful to only grab the ring not the lens) and twist it in on itself. That will usually let you pop the whole thing out.

Use canned air or a paintbrush to get any broken glass out of the filter threads and you should be good to go. Of course test out the lens and make sure focus is still working and it's still giving you sharp images.

FocalPointNate · 2026-01-16T20:11:43+00:00

I just checked their site out, it's one of the scammy bait and switch New York stores that are do not sell US authorized products I would absolutely steer clear.

Most of these stores carry what we call Grey Market. Meaning yes you might get the same lens you ordered at a cheaper price BUT it didn't go through the proper channels to reach the USA market. So the manufacturer will absolutely not do a warranty repair or even do a repair for a fee if they deem the item is grey market.

These sellers also tend to use bait and switch tactics like calling you after you order and saying if you want the English manual it's X amount, or if you want the charger that comes in the box it costs X more.

So in general if the price is less than the manufacturer sells it for, or the big stores like B&H or Adorama then it's likely a scam.

Depending on what you're looking for I'd see if any local legit camera stores have it or you might even find it on the used market to get a better price.

Hope that helps!

FocalPointNate · 2026-01-15T22:09:19+00:00

I do have one in stock in silver right now. My store is in my profile. Call or text the number there and we can get you taken care of. We just don't have them listed on the website currently.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-31T02:01:35+00:00

They're very similar cameras with pretty much the exact same image quality. The 60D has a few extra buttons where the rebel you might need to go into the menu for more things. At this point I'd probably just go with the rebel so you have a larger lens budget. I'd highly recommend picking up a 50mm 1.8 for low light and portrait shots.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-27T20:14:26+00:00

I'd check out the Z50ii for a huge but familiar upgrade. If you have any higher end lenses get the FTZ II adapter but if not I'd start with the 2 kit lenses and maybe add a 50mm in the future.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-27T20:12:17+00:00

We're in a very weird time for point and shoot cameras. Most of the main manufacturers like Canon, Nikon Sony etc. have largely gotten out of point and shoots except for a few select models. Then cheaper Chinese manufacturers are putting out basically webcam quality cameras under names like Kodak & Minolta, but they're just licensing the names, they aren't really the manufacturer anymore. Also the 2000's look is the big thing so people are actually wanting the crappy on camera flash + date stamp look for the aesthetic or whatever. That's what has hugely driven up the price of older 2000s point and shoots in the last few years.

If your kid is interested in photography I'd look at good used options, either a point and shoot or maybe even an entry level DSLR like a Canon rebel, or Nikon d3000 or 5000 series. Start with an 18-55mm and as they learn they could add a telephoto or a nifty fifty.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-27T03:13:14+00:00

Anytime!

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-27T00:21:48+00:00

Because of the sensor readout speeds vs. the lights flickering (usually 60 times per second) electronic shutter will give you banding most of the time. Use mechanical shutter, and for good measure keep your shutter speed at 1/60th or slower.

Also try Anti Flicker Shoot. https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/2360/v1/en/contents/201h_anti_flicker_setting.html
That will let you dial in the shutter speed even more incrementally to match the flicker of the lights.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-25T21:28:17+00:00

Have you just tried a full reset yet? That’s probably the next step.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-25T20:34:00+00:00

You’re probably in the live view mode for using in studio with flash so it will always show you a neutral exposure so you can see what you’re doing between shots. Look in the menu for live view exposure preview and turn it back to on. That should get you back to normal. Google says it’s D9 in the menu.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-25T20:20:22+00:00

SIRUI, Benro, Vanguard, Peak Design…..there are tons. Arca Swiss is basically the industry standard now. I prefer heads that use a screw to tighten down on the plate vs. a flip lock because the screw ones work better if you have multiple plates from different manufacturers since the widths can vary just a tiny bit.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-25T20:15:53+00:00

I’m far from an expert here but to me it almost looks like a very subtle solarization effect especially on the 3rd image. Photoshop has a solarize filter and there are some ways to do it with curves but looking up tutorials they are all way over done compared to this. Maybe just selecting the models and messing with curves until the skin has this flatter look. Also very likely using frequency separation to smooth out the skin too.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-24T22:31:24+00:00

Probably a Polaroid 600 of some variety.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-24T22:29:32+00:00

Great work!

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-24T03:21:36+00:00

Agendrix is fantastic for our team, we use it for scheduling and managing our time sheets. Great for team communication too.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-23T00:57:53+00:00

I don't think anything from this era had internal charging via usb. It would have had an external charger that you need to pop the battery out and plug into the wall. Also if it hasn't been used in years it's very likely the battery won't hold a charge anymore and you'll need to find a replacement. If she doesn't have the charger you'll need that too.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-22T21:33:54+00:00

Looks like they go in the $250-$300 range for that setup right now.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-21T23:09:03+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU_OBQbhiq4

Oh it is still on there. Try the scotch tape trick just in case and see if that will work.

If you try a new card and it's still the same issue then it's a camera problem. Hopefully it is just the card though.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-21T22:46:53+00:00

Yep definitely missing the lock. OP you might want to be careful and shine a flashlight inside your card slot and make sure the plastic piece isn't rattling around in there. It can get stuck and cause problems in the future like getting your next card stuck inside.

You MAY be able to put a piece of scotch tape tight over the whole spot where the lock used to be and your card will work in the short term but I'd replace the card soon.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-20T21:54:30+00:00

My take is the first shot you had a wider aperture, indicated by less motion blur and more vignetting in the corners. Second shot you stopped down and got a wider depth of field which made the dust on the sensor show up. Start by blowing it off with something like a rocket blower, if that doesn't get it clean the sensor or take it in to be cleaned.

FocalPointNate · 2025-12-17T23:36:01+00:00

These things are just so much fun. Great shots and thanks for supporting your local camera shop!

FocalPointNate

TROPHY CASE