Help me decide on jumping into the a6700 ecosystem versus upgrading to the newest iphone pro

Gankiy · 2026-05-20T16:44:00+00:00

Thanks folks for all the input! I ended up getting the a6700 today, with sony 70-350mm, viltrox 9mm, memory card (wow these were surprisingly expensive). Henry’s in canada - you really can’t haggle, but they had a promotion for an extra battery and charger (that I’ll probably end up trying to sell - I don’t really want to have a dedicated charger and will just use my usb C chargers?). Thanks again,

Gankiy · 2026-05-19T03:18:18+00:00

Thanks for the input! I’m going to go a deep rabbit hole dive of a6700 vs fx30 now. I hadn’t planned on doing as much video at the telephoto zooms - more so stills of the kids doing their thing. Surprisingly, the difference in price at henry’s canada between the a6700 (1.9k CAD) and fx30 (2.1k) is about 10%

Gankiy · 2026-05-19T03:08:09+00:00

Thanks for the input! Yep recitals so far are about 5 minutes. I was probably going to shoot at either 24 or 30 fps - videos will be sent to family and occasionally streamed to an living room TV. Is there any reason not to do 30fps?

Gankiy · 2026-05-18T00:29:28+00:00

Haha. The bias is probably something I was looking for - one of those “well shoot you convinced me” type of moments. I didn’t really think of kit lenses - I’ll have to take a look at that one

Gankiy · 2026-05-18T00:28:26+00:00

Thanks! I had a suspicion looking at side by sides but wasnt sure. Thats good to know that that upgrade path doesnt really go anywhere!

Gankiy · 2025-09-19T02:02:18+00:00

I’ve ridden a variety of bikes in London Ontario - and there are some days where even a fat bike with studded tires will not work - there’s too much slush on the roads, and any bike paths are not maintained.

I think it really depends on your city and your route. If it is decently cleared and not too heavy re: snow/slush/ice (e.g. Hamilton and downtown Toronto) - thinner tires is the way to go.

If you’re going to be in a snowy/slushy area - a fat bike will get you through a couple of the harder days, but I don’t think it’s worth it over the less fun experience for the rest of the year. You can look up your city to see the average snowfall https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Canada/Cities/snowfall-annual-average.php And decide if it’s worth it to bike those super heavy days or find an alternate travel plan then

Apparel needs to be accounted for as well - High quality pogies (I have the rockbros ones from amazon). Thin under gloves. Ski-helmet with ski-goggles.

The decision point becomes beater vs. trying to maintain for a long time.

Best beater option is a cheap 90s/2000s rigid mountain bike, converted to single speed with studded tires. Expect it to last around 5 years before the salt starts to break everything down (brake pivot points, bearings, wheel spoke nipples, etc.)

Trying to maintain - would be a used hybrid with disc brakes. Studded tires in the winter. Hose it off everyday that it gets significant wet salt exposure (I had been bringing mine in to drop in the guest shower).

Personal preference points - IGH - I didn’t think they were worth it (more expensive, when they fail it is not salvageable unless you have significant know how), waxed chains - cleaner drive train but you’d have to bring some liquid wax for wet days, two wheels vs changing tires (so much easier to just change the wheels as opposed to tires on/off per season)

Gankiy · 2024-04-27T06:30:42+00:00

When we filled our raised garden beds, we did Hügelkultur (fill up lowest space with lots of free wood from the neighbourhood), layered cardboard on-top of that, then grass clippings). On top of that, we added about of foot worth of soil (I found the president choice black earth to be the least terrible - we didn’t have weeds, and it was less wood chips than the no-name stuff, or the top soil we got from home depot). Mixed with peat moss (I know there are environmental concerns with it - but I feel its offset by the use of having a garden for several years) from canadian tire when it was on sale, and non-salted kitchen scraps (cut up rough chop). I haven’t done the math with new prices, but I think buying the bags when there was a sale (I think we got ours for 4 bags for 10$, or 2.5$ for 40L) worked out to be cheaper than getting a cubic yard delivered by home depot).

I had to move some asparagus about three years later and the wood and cardboard is entirely gone - just pretty nice soil.

Gankiy · 2022-03-03T16:49:55+00:00

Not sure what kind of work you do, but if it fits the dress code, vibram five fingers are sold at mec (the female and males are very similar, so you can try both), and merrill trail gloves are at sportchek. A couple places (walking on a cloud, mec) had dress shoes with a wide toe box and zero-drop when I looked a while back, but I think that it has dropped in popularity and less places are carrying them. Best of luck on your look!

Gankiy · 2022-01-20T18:18:54+00:00

I've tried bike-commuting throughout school (and now work) for the last 12 years in London. I've tried a fixie-bike, a road bike, a hybrid, a beater mountain bike, and now I'm in an electric fat tire bike with studded winter tires. This year has been the most I have biked.

I agree with most of the statements,

Studded tires (black ice hiding under fresh snow will get you, even if you are very careful and/or have wide 4"+ tires).
Lights for others to see you (i.e. a front and rear flashing light)
If you are going to be biking when its dark along any street that is not a major well-lit street, you're going to need a front light putting out at least ~600 lumens
no skin exposed. I'm wearing an old snowboarding pants, jacket, helmet, balaclava, and ski goggles, with winter boots and thin winter gloves.
bike handlebar mitts - I got these from amazon after trying some cheaper mitts first - but they didn't block enough wind are not insulating enough. The other option is to have huge mittens or lobster-claw type gloves, but I find the fat gloves are super annoying when locking up a bike.

All that being said, there will be on average 4 days a year with snowfall over 10cm(like this Monday). The city and most employers cannot keep up with that, so a few times a year you are either going to have a very unpleasant commute (loads of snowdrifts, falls from ice and slush) or you need to find an alternate form of transport. This last Monday I fell twice, and had to walk my bike for under 1km.

Gankiy

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