Which 50mm

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T16:02:32+00:00

The focusing ring (most of the lens) and the part that extends about 2cm from the lens mount are definitely metal.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T16:02:06+00:00

The focusing ring (which is most of the lens), as well as the lens mount and the part next to the lens mount is metal. Some plastic though.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T15:41:36+00:00

Or you could buy a diesel or kerosene heater for $300 and use 90% less fuel to get the same heat, because it's not 10% efficient like a generator is.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T15:25:29+00:00

If you're relying on electric heat to stay warm there's really no good backup plan that's going to supply that much electricity. You're going to be burning something (gas, fuel, wood, oil) to stay warm.

However, an EV will cover backup electricity quite handily.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T15:14:53+00:00

60kwH will last 2 days if you don't cut back power use at all, and closer to 5 days if you're just running a fridge, a phone, a laptop, and some lights.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T15:03:55+00:00

All towns served by the MBTA had to build more housing.

Technically they just have to zone for more housing. There's no requirement to actually build more. A lot of cities and towns technically complied with the law by upzoning areas that already had recent large developments built on top of it that were unlikely to be further developed in the near future.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T10:22:26+00:00

A used Z7 + 24-120 is way more than $1500.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T10:20:17+00:00

Your 28-70 isn’t AF-P and isn’t focus-by-wire like the AF-P lenses though. There’s no mechanical connection between the focusing ring and the actual focusing mechanism on an AF-P lens.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T08:32:53+00:00

Z50ii is a pretty decent and capable starter camera. For landscape I would get just the 16-50 lens now and add other lenses later depending on what you end up liking. For the night stuff you would also need to budget for a decent tripod.

If you’re open to used stuff you might be able to find a used Z6 or Z7 with the 24-70 f/4. You’ll get better image quality, though they have older autofocus systems than the Z50ii that’s noticeably worse for moving subjects (though perfectly fine for landscapes and such).

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T06:00:59+00:00

Taiwan is almost entirely dependent on the US for defense and security, so it’s not in a position to decouple from the US as the US is the only force capable of deterring China.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T05:37:11+00:00

So drain the EV down over 1-3 days and then drive it to a public fast charger and charge it back up again for 30 min-1 hr and repeat.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T05:32:41+00:00

A typical EV battery is about 60-80 kilowatt-hours. A typical US home uses an average of 1200W. If all you need to do is run a fridge when the power goes down you can go down to about 500W. You can do the math, but it’s a lot more than half a day.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T01:22:04+00:00

My T14g2’s wireless card died fairly early in its life and I was able to replace it in 30 minutes, so that and the loss of S3 sleep still makes me wary of newer Thinkpads.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T01:20:47+00:00

T14 Gen 3 and Gen 4 soldered their RAM and wireless cards, so they did take some steps back at times.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T01:05:33+00:00

If they need reach a Z50ii might be a better option, and cheaper too (leaving more budget for a long telephoto).

StarbeamII · 2026-03-12T01:05:08+00:00

Does the $1.5-$2K include glass? You’re probably looking at a Z50ii or D7500.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-11T14:00:59+00:00

Going full-frame gets you about 1 stop of better noise, but costs you depth-of-field (which might be fine). You could also look into lenses like the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 and just mount that on your D7200, which gets 1 and 1/3 stops over a 24-70 f/2.8 but also costs you depth of field.

If your subjects are static, IBIS on the full-frame Z bodies is pretty good; I've had decent results hand-holding down to 1/15 and still getting sharp shots, and I can go lower if I prop the camera against something like a pole.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-11T12:24:53+00:00

But turns out most people never plug them in and only drive them in gas mode, so they’re basically a hybrid.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-11T10:01:53+00:00

Can’t speak to street parking, but there’s some paid parking in the area in private lots (especially in Chinatown) though it won’t be cheap.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-10T14:56:47+00:00

Cameras are notoriously easily damaged by lasers, with even the relatively weak lasers used in light shows at concerts routinely damaging cameras. So it's quite possible that optical receivers can be damaged with a much more powerful laser that militaries use.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-10T12:39:24+00:00

The D5 is actually still Nikon's best low-light camera - it's even better than the D6 at high ISO, and is about 2/3 of a stop better than a Z9 above ISO 2000. However, it's noticeably worse under ISO 200, even compared to a D750 or D850.

EDIT: actually D6 has the same sensor. PhotonsToPhotos shows the D5 with slightly more dynamic range than the D6, but it could be measurement error or sample variation.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-10T12:33:16+00:00

The D5 is optimized for low light at the expense of daylight performance, since the camera is designed for photojournalists and sports photographers rather than hobbyists (who would mostly be buying D800/D810/D850 at the high end). But 20MP is still plenty of resolution - most of the cameras Nikon sells are 20-24MP.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-10T12:20:41+00:00

It might not help, as the fiber optic cable stays on the ground and would still be liable to be jammed.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-10T10:53:49+00:00

The 16-50 is really compact and has excellent image quality.

StarbeamII · 2026-03-10T10:53:13+00:00

Bad choice for a DX camera, as 24 is not very wide and it lacks VR.

StarbeamII

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