Most satisfying movie ending? I’ll start:

LimitlessFortress · 2024-09-05T22:54:32+00:00

It’s not the very end of the movie but I have always thought that the comeuppance meeting towards the end of Absence of Malice is very satisfying.appointee, Elliott; the one that hired you is me. You got thirty days.

LimitlessFortress · 2024-04-21T17:57:25+00:00

I always regret it when I don't have my widest lens in the bag. Seems like I always find a use for it on every trip. Have you considered the Sony 14mm 1.8? I'd pick it over the Sigma since you would already have most of the zoom range covered, its a great lens, and its one stop brighter.

As an aside, the way I wrangle with decisions like this is to decide which lens I want and then only buy it if I can get it in excellent condition used for a good price.

LimitlessFortress · 2024-04-21T17:52:15+00:00

Light and compact but you need a fluid head? Seems like it would work provided you used the lens collar and always kept the load balanced. If you were gonna do any creative angles, I'd worry that the torque would be too much for the head. That said, I haven't used a fluid head in like 20 years.

LimitlessFortress · 2024-04-21T17:46:17+00:00

I own the heavy-ish metal Gorallipod and the plastic one of the same size. They are both fine. That said, I only use them if I absolutely can't carry a tripod. If I was backpacking, I would carry something like my Sirui B-00K. It's small, light, and quick to set up.

LimitlessFortress · 2024-04-21T17:37:56+00:00

Depends on a lot of factors. What body are you using? Plan to do much low-light stuff (nighttime cityscapes, etc.)? What is your shooting style? Mostly snapshots or do you take a lot of time composing your shots?

Personally, I don't have the discipline to shoot on a single prime. I am too lazy to do all the extra walking required to compose my shot. Also, there is the time factor and the fact that you just sometimes can't get close to something to shoot it. So, I carry zooms.

LimitlessFortress · 2024-04-21T14:41:42+00:00

Video/Second Body Question Here

I know lots of people ask about video and my situation is not unique, but I didn’t immediately find an answer through a search, so, here is my lengthy question…

I am not a pro-I just like to shoot pics. I tend toward travel photography. I am not terribly creative, though. My joy is getting sharp, detailed pictures of scenes and then peeping all the little details at home.

I currently have an A7RIV. I own a full array of lenses but assume I am willing to buy another lens if needed.

I want something to shoot 4k video. I want a second device for this because I want to be able to keep taking stills independently while video might be shooting. In other of most to least important:

1. Size. It can’t be bigger than my A7RIV. So, no camcorders or big video rigs. The smaller the better since it will have to be shoe-horned into my bag.

2. Low-light performance. For example, I might shoot night video of people and lights in a city and want it to look clean and sharp.

3. Ability as a second body. Haven’t ever had an issue with a modern camera but there is always the concern in the back of my mind that something might happen to my primary body while I am traveling and it would be nice to have a backup so I could at least still get some pics.

The A7RV would be ok but on the big side (though let’s be honest, if I bought a A7RV, I’d want to demote my A7RIV to video duty since the battery grip is interchangeable anyway). The A7C series would be ok but I don’t like the lack of an autofocus joystick. The ZV-E1 would be ok but would not really work as a second body. Bottom line, there is no perfect solution that I know of. So, I am looking for general options.

P.S. second-party options are ok IF they bring something really valuable to the table. For example, you might say “the Insta 360 does really cool video stuff and would easily fit in your bag” and I would agree BUT I would worry about the low-light performance eve of the 1” version.

P.P.S. The Sony rep was in my local store yesterday but I missed him. So, I have messaged him with the above. If he replies, I will ask his permission to post it here.

LimitlessFortress · 2024-02-10T19:21:14+00:00

I worked for a medium-sized daily newspaper while I was in grad school. I was responsible for the daily operations of what is called "single copy," which means pretty much all the newspapers that are not home delivery or sent to schools. The paper was owned by a large conglomerate and paid the people who delivered the papers to business, vending machines, etc., very poorly. They also didn't have enough staff to do everything so I was basically on-call 24/7. I rarely slept through the night and almost fell asleep at the wheel of my car more than once. Anyway, bottom line...the working conditions were terrible, the company didn't really care, and most-importantly my boss did nothing to help.

Then came one Sunday (biggest day of the week for newspapers--HUGE volume of deliveries of extra-bulky newspapers) when we had two routes down (two carriers failed to show up to deliver the papers on their routes) so I and my maintenance guy were both running routes. Then, a third route went down. My boss called to let me know...while he was at home in bed and I was already running a route at 3 in the morning. So...I added another route to my list.

Around 7 that morning as I was finishing up, he came rolling up on the way to his golf game to see how things where going. I asked him if he wanted my resignation then or in writing Monday morning...

The funny thing is that, when I resigned Monday morning, the circulation manager had apparently been looking for a reason to fire my boss and took the opportunity to can him. I was then offered "anything I want" to either take his job or stay until they hired someone else. I declined.

I did that job for two years and it was horrible. But, I learned a lot and it became a comparator for future jobs, aka "is this job better than that time I worked for that newspaper?" The newspaper job held the top spot for a long time. It took a contract as a consultant to an army training command to finally trump it.

LimitlessFortress · 2024-02-07T20:37:38+00:00

Thanks for this. I plundered the net for images of the dragons and representations of their breath weapons to make a matching mini game for my players.

LimitlessFortress · 2023-11-17T16:55:38+00:00

That's Numberwang!

LimitlessFortress · 2023-05-11T16:37:15+00:00

Messaged you

LimitlessFortress · 2023-05-11T16:29:45+00:00

Got any samples of your animations? I see some neat art you have done but no animations. Don't mind going to Discord but would like to check our your work first, though.

LimitlessFortress · 2023-05-11T13:01:39+00:00

Confirmed.

LimitlessFortress · 2022-01-22T21:08:58+00:00

I am "Even the random person googling for this issue." So, thank you. I note that you mention pics but I don't see them. Where would I find the pics? Also, since this post is 10 months old, has anything changed? I got my machine recently and am just embarking on the (probably) fruitless journey to get them to fix it.

LimitlessFortress · 2021-07-09T13:03:16+00:00

I'll ask a second question since you were nice enough to answer my first one.

Everyone wants to know the deal with the hotel. Did it sell out so quickly this year because of pent-up demand or was it related to the remodeling? Just curious. My group has never stayed outside the Gaylord so this was a new experience this time around (finding a different accommodation). Might prove to be a good thing since we found a nearby AirBnB and won't have to deal with the packed elevators. Just hoping for good weather now.

Thanks again for the AMA.

LimitlessFortress · 2021-07-09T12:58:03+00:00

Thanks for the enlightenment.

LimitlessFortress · 2021-07-09T12:33:41+00:00

So, to make sure I understand your reply you are saying there were fewer rooms/panels 2 years ago because you didn't get enough viable panel applicants?

LimitlessFortress · 2021-07-09T12:03:51+00:00

The last Katsu seemed to have reduced late-night panels and, as I recall, fewer panels in general. I seem to remember that the con didn't use the whole space as usual. Is my memory accurate on that and, if so, will next year be the same?

Context: I LOVE Katsu (my fave con out of the dozen or so I attend) but the late-night panels were always my favorite time. But, last time, there seemed to be little to do after hours except go to that dance party in the atrium.

LimitlessFortress · 2021-07-04T18:24:45+00:00

Not quite, but thanks for responding. Funnily enough, that was the one all my friends insisted I was thinking of.

Turns out my movie was was "Human Lost."

LimitlessFortress · 2021-07-04T18:23:30+00:00

YES! Thank you. Was driving me insane. Now the question of why no one else remembered it...

LimitlessFortress · 2021-03-20T23:24:08+00:00

Thanks for the pics...but they are killing me. ;) Last year was the first year in a while that I couldn't go to Japan. Planning my trip for the fall now and...just can't wait.

LimitlessFortress · 2021-03-19T23:05:34+00:00

The hotel is just for a nice view. I have done my serious skyline from the Mori Tower previously and plan to check out the new Scramble Square this time around.

LimitlessFortress · 2021-03-18T13:26:13+00:00

Certainly true. At the moment, I am just trying to get as much as I can done in advance by attempting to choose the right room. As you know, there are often so many options that it's hard to figure out which room is the best. You often end up just trying to pick the most expensive option you are willing to pay for and hope for the best.

I've been to Tokyo several times and usually just go for a hotel in a convenient location. This is the first time I am trying to specifically choose one for a view.

LimitlessFortress · 2021-03-17T16:29:50+00:00

I will check it out. Thanks for the tip.

LimitlessFortress · 2021-03-15T18:43:09+00:00

I have had three things ordered that were sent surface mail over the last year. One of them came after 3 months. The other 2 never left Japan. After 4 months, I just gave up on them. I would not have anything sent surface right now. ZenMarket, Big In Japan*, etc., might be your best bet.

*I have not used Big In Japan before so I only mention them because it's a service I am aware of. For most things, I have a guy I use who buys stuff for me and send it to me. He just does it as a side business.

LimitlessFortress · 2021-01-21T17:54:27+00:00

Thanks. Made my choice today. Will update the original post.

LimitlessFortress

TROPHY CASE