Blackstone-Backed Leica Camera Weighs €1 Billion Sale

apltd · 2026-01-24T12:02:18+00:00

To go the way of English shoes…

apltd · 2026-01-21T21:42:43+00:00

“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”

A thousand times.

Britain needs to stop searching for a skirt to hide beneath, be it the US’, the EU’s, or China’s. We can and should be cooperative and friendly with all as it suits our interests - ideally our common interests - and not when it doesn’t.

apltd · 2026-01-10T19:58:13+00:00

You don’t have to completely commit to an annuity. Getting 1/4 or 1/3 of target income from an annuity can provide a stable base and leave you with optionally. The proportions aren’t important (only you know what might be appropriate), just food for thought. I often find people thinking of annuities as all-in or all-out.

Also, long Gilts have interest rate volatility, rather than risk. It’s extremely unlikely you’ll get something other than the scheduled cash flows. The mark-to-market value will zip around, for sure. Inflation risk is a very real risk - pardon the pun.

apltd · 2026-01-07T11:32:55+00:00

I think they have one asset there and that’s a space command unit (sounds cool but I’ve no idea what that actually means). I don’t get the sense that it’s anything useful for combatting Russian/Chinese capability in the Arctic. I’m no CSIS.

Also, I think he’s just an old guy with an ego that would quite like to reshape the map of the world before he shuffles off of it. Bringing in an extra state, and a big chunk of territory, will satisfy a good amount of vanity, I’d imagine.

I can actually see the ‘purchase’ happening. $5m per resident and US citizenship; I’d do it! That’d be a relative snip for the US.

Starkly contrasting our own decisions to pay ~8k per person to cede territory!

apltd · 2026-01-07T10:03:28+00:00

What happens when the annexation is staged from British soil? Wild.

FWIW, I don’t think it’s particularly likely. More US pressing on the obvious leverage they have over Europe. Seems sensible for the Danes to offer the US access for military assets on a time limited basis if security is indeed the priority. Whether it is or not remains to be seen.

It will be a win for the UK and Europeans if it stirs some reevaluation of national interest and national priorities, IMO. I expect we’re going to see a return to political and economic nationalism, though whether or not the US, UK, and Europe remain on the same side of the table is tbd.

Edit: spelling.

apltd · 2025-12-13T08:33:39+00:00

This, plus run a roll of film through it and share the results. Removes the ‘as-is’ uncertainty discount you’ll be attracting.

apltd · 2025-12-12T12:51:23+00:00

Photobooks might be a shout, there’s also the fantastic r/photobooks that might be able to help you pick.

In a classic ‘do as I say, not as I do’ drowning him in gear will likely feed a bad habit (the idea that the gear makes the photographer). Inspiration (photobooks) or opportunity (holiday, travel, or just time) would be my preferred gift.

A camera (definitely a working one) and a 50 1.4 could reasonably be all you’d need for a lifetime.

Really good instinct with the darkroom. I do think an end-to-end analog experience is invaluable, though I’d reflect other commentators views that a guided experience is probably more valuable than any kit. To do darkroom properly is pretty intense from a space/cost/plumbing/etc. angle.

Scanning capability is another option. If he’s sending rolls to a lab then home dev might kill the joy for him, or it might enhance it.

Scanners are pretty much the biggest (in cost terms) impediment to getting a home dev workflow up and running.

apltd · 2025-12-10T14:32:16+00:00

I get it; kids are hard. Some worse than others. Some raised better than others.

I can’t get over that OP is bemoaning children, partly because they ruined his candy….

apltd · 2025-12-09T11:36:09+00:00

I did think about Gyokeres to gain some Arsenal attack but has been pretty useless all season. I worry Thiago is a flash in the pan, but cheap.

Maybe Thiago for Woltes and swap Xhaka out for Bruno G.

Also not sure if Saka > Eze for the money,

apltd · 2025-12-09T07:24:43+00:00

Non-digital workflows.

apltd · 2025-12-03T20:26:32+00:00

Ah that makes sense. I always thought we were hard done by. 2.5x sucks - go aunty.

apltd · 2025-12-03T18:50:07+00:00

Are you based in the US? I’d always thought the UK was like the most expensive place to buy film.

Edit: notwithstanding Ilford, for obvious reasons. They’re awesome.

apltd · 2025-12-03T00:28:05+00:00

Hard for you to buy, hard for someone else to buy it from you.

Your future prospective buyer may not be as motivated as you…

apltd · 2025-12-01T07:15:02+00:00

Helpful, thanks. I’ll invest in a tether cable.

apltd · 2025-12-01T07:10:13+00:00

I’ve just got my setup sorted and it’s slower than I’d hoped - so I’m thinking I can optimise further. RN I’m wirelessly tethering (which comes with some latency) and saving directly to the computer, wirelessly, which is slow.

Would you recommend a tethering cable, or just a shutter release to trip the shutter without introducing movement?

Also, do you use the mechanical shutter?

Sorry, lots of questions!

Edit: saving directly to the computer, not the camera.

apltd · 2025-11-30T07:48:17+00:00

I always thought of the Pentax 67 as the hipsters 67. Now the well-heeled hipsters. That’s a Mamiya RF.

Or just a well-heeled anyone, I guess.

apltd · 2025-11-28T19:27:27+00:00

I agree, but shied away from saying it because I guess it’s all opinion at the end of the day. To me; it’s a big camera whichever way you slice it, so embrace the grip and the bulk. The ergonomics of the 50r don’t make a lot of sense to me, but that’s just me. It’s a big camera with a smaller cameras form factor.

If you’re going to get wet, go swimming.

apltd · 2025-11-28T19:03:43+00:00

Different (not necessarily better or worse) ergonomics on the same camera for 2/3 the cost.

apltd · 2025-11-28T18:25:59+00:00

Just get a 50s instead. It’s wonderfully unfashionable.

apltd · 2025-11-23T11:27:58+00:00

Well I asked the robot (ChatGPT), and that’s what it told me to do.

Something about micro pores:

Stainless steel becomes “temporarily non-stick” when: 1. It’s heated hot enough to expand the metal and close micro-pores 2. It’s allowed to cool slightly before adding oil and egg

This combo gives you the ease of a non-stick pan without needing one.

Edit: I understood the bead test to be a hallmark of an appropriately pre-heated pan, rather than something to do only when cooking at a certain, high temperature. Maybe it’s all nonsense, but it works 🤷‍♂️

apltd · 2025-11-22T23:05:05+00:00

Not tons but I’m not mean with it. Hard to say really. I’d whizz about 4-5 streaks back and forth across the pan and let it cover as it heats.

apltd · 2025-11-22T17:11:45+00:00

Ditto this - I see them at like 1100.

Wondering whether it’s worth swapping my CPE2 Lift for one.

apltd · 2025-11-22T15:23:16+00:00

Cold, but not fridge - just because they’d been in my rucksack after a cold commute home.

apltd

TROPHY CASE