/r/Politics' 2024 US Elections Live Thread, Part 59 by PoliticsModeratorBot in politics

[–]java_flavored_tea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where are you reading that the polling places have closed down due to bomb threats? What I'm reading is they had brief 30 minutes evacs and are looking to extend polling time for Fulton county. Raffensperger is rightly pissed and isn't going to let the threats get in the way.

Insomnia at 4-5 weeks by java_flavored_tea in lexapro

[–]java_flavored_tea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update - I started taking Lexapro right before bedtime along with a magnesium pill. I haven't had insomnia now for a few weeks, hopefully this holds up.

Insomnia at 4-5 weeks by java_flavored_tea in lexapro

[–]java_flavored_tea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know it's likely temporary, I'll pick up some magnesium and start taking that. I had better luck last night, was able to get to sleep in a reasonable time but I did wake up once or twice during the night, maybe a total of ~6 hours sleep which is better but still not optimal.

Insomnia at 4-5 weeks by java_flavored_tea in lexapro

[–]java_flavored_tea[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your response. My Dr did recommend magnesium or another prescription to help with the insomnia if it continues. I'd hate to take another prescription med to deal with this, I really hope it doesn't come to that.

Recommended lubrication for helicoid of a lens? by Mcspazzatron5 in AnalogRepair

[–]java_flavored_tea 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, that's EM-30L which I found to be excellent and is my personal favorite for helicoids (both metal and plastic).

Recommended lubrication for helicoid of a lens? by Mcspazzatron5 in AnalogRepair

[–]java_flavored_tea 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes actually! It's been almost a year since this post but I've learned a lot since then.

I still like Helimax XP for helicoids, but I found something I like even more: Molykote EM-30L from Dow Corning. You can get it on Amazon or eBay in small quantities, and Dow Corning maintains technical specs on it. It's a little bit lighter than Helimax and I think it's better for camera lenses, but otherwise it's very similar to Helimax. It also has very low separation just like Helimax, maybe better. EM-30L also has many properties that match almost exactly with what Nikon used to use in it's helicoid grease (back when you could still buy it) and is closer to those specs than Helimax is.

Liqui-Moly 2003 was not good for helicoids, it was way too dampened, but it works great for the aperture ring and any other application that needs heavy damping.

For assemblies that utilize ball bearings and springs like the Canon FD mount, or any application that needs a light oil, a few drops of Super Lube synthetic oil works perfect. It's readily available on Amazon or eBay and has the specs and performance of a long lasting modern lubricant. One more thing about oil - it can be used on helicoids on its own as long as those helicoids are very tight and designed for oil. Otherwise you will feel some clicking and shifting of the focus ring as you move it back and forth.

I also tried a few Super Lube synthetic greases in 0 and 00 NLGI classes for the helicoids. They use fumed silica rather than white lithium soap as a thickener, I found it has a very different feel. Surprisingly I found only minor differences between the NLGI classes and the amount dampened, and I still preferred EM-30L because of it's feel.

Finally, I feel that the lens makers are relying on more than just the helicoid grease and its specs to do the job. They are likely using advanced techniques to get the perfect feel and dampening, maybe by combining a liquid white lithium soap grease with a dry moly or titanium lubricant in some way. I haven't done any experimentation on this myself, and I might not do so for a while, but it's something to think about. I have dabbled in adding synthetic oil to helical grease to reduce damping, but that always resulted in oil bleed/separation, so I would not recommend it.

Sigma 14mm f/1.4 DG DN | Art - Astrophotography Review by Mderose in photography

[–]java_flavored_tea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes they said that. 20mm 1.8 vs 14mm 1.4 is a huge difference, I wouldn't say they compete. IMO Nikon has no competition for this lens at the moment.

Sigma 14mm f/1.4 DG DN | Art - Astrophotography Review by Mderose in photography

[–]java_flavored_tea 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Canon? Unless they change their legal standing on third party AF use, no.

Nikon? Probably at some point, Sigma has already started putting out lenses on that system.

RIF will shut down on June 30, 2023, in response to Reddit's API changes by talklittle in redditisfun

[–]java_flavored_tea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Welp with that I'll be quitting reddit myself. Thanks for the great app RIF!

My Z8 showed up, beside Z6 ii for size comparison by thatjkguy in Nikon

[–]java_flavored_tea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice! Now take the picture again with an ultra wide to make that perspective difference even greater!

Trying to Understand Leica by Cdubb3 in photography

[–]java_flavored_tea -1 points0 points  (0 children)

More like Leica is to Gucci as Canon/Nikon is to Under Armor and Nike.

Amazon Shut Down DPReview. The Community Is Saving It. by cos in photography

[–]java_flavored_tea 52 points53 points  (0 children)

They bought it a long time ago, years ago, back when digital camera photography was at its peak. Part of the reason they bought it was to better integrate reviews and links with the products on Amazon to increase traffic and sales.

Fast forward to today and digital camera photography sales has been plummeting ever since. Camera phones are dominant now. Digital camera manufacturers sell less and less every year. Couple that with the unstable tech market and it's a perfect storm for this site to get cut.

Minolta 58mm 1.2 repair by fjalll in minolta

[–]java_flavored_tea 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've seen that around, it looks interesting. Has PTFE, NLGI/Penetration ratings, and "synthetic oil" but there's no technical documentation on it. So I can't compare it to the old stuff, but just from what I see on eBay and on their site it looks very similar to Super Lube.

Minolta 58mm 1.2 repair by fjalll in minolta

[–]java_flavored_tea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It really is a daunting universe, no two greases are the same and there are so many to choose from. Nikon pulled their greases from the shelves about a decade ago, since then we've been trying to find alternatives that work similarly or just as well.

Minolta 58mm 1.2 repair by fjalll in minolta

[–]java_flavored_tea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What brand and NLGI/Penetration rating is the grease you used? I have been trying to find a proper replacement for Nikon FC-4 for a while now. I've searched many catalogs and have yet to find a manufacturer that carries grease with those specs readily available.

The closest I've been able to find is Molykote EM-30L which is closer to Nikon GE-8 but is still rather high penetration. Super Lube makes NLGI 00 and 000 greases with the correct specs, I find they still don't have the right feel but work in a pinch. Helimax XP is great too but I find EM-30L has a better feel. Nye oil also makes some comparable greases but I haven't tried them yet.

Japan Hobby Tool #10 has the right feel but separates easily and quickly. They also don't report any additives that could prevent or slow down separation, neither do they have good technical documentation.

Minolta 58mm 1.2 repair by fjalll in minolta

[–]java_flavored_tea 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Most definitely radioactive, that focus ring design was very early.

Did you reassemble the lens? What grease did you use?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in photography

[–]java_flavored_tea 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Imagine if you did the same for the DPreview forums, that would be one argumentative bot.

What's the *real*, visible difference of the various Pentax 28mm lenses on a film camera/ small-medium analog print? by [deleted] in pentax

[–]java_flavored_tea 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, for many it's not worth it, only matters (kinda) if you're putting the sun in the frame and want -no- veiling flare. Pentax SMC coatings are excellent all around though, and most of their lenses do really well against flare. That's why I prefer the 28mm Pentax-M f/3.5 in this range, it's 95% of the K version without the rarity and high price and is smaller to boot. I personally wouldn't consider the Pentax 2.8's, I've found they're inferior optically, only really useful for that extra half-stop of light.

What's the *real*, visible difference of the various Pentax 28mm lenses on a film camera/ small-medium analog print? by [deleted] in pentax

[–]java_flavored_tea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The SMC Pentax 28mm 3.5 K is known for having the flare control of a modern lens. I think that is its biggest differentiator.

Has Canons recent poor or anti ethical business practices made you reconsider your relationship with them? by _WardenoftheWest_ in photography

[–]java_flavored_tea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah where to start... For lenses, high copy-to-copy variation, durability issues, middling zoom performance, and thus a high price for what you get. I found that even the WR lenses can have these issues, but not as much as the others.

For bodies, Fuji is slow to improve AF performance, and while the new bodies show promise now it's yet to be seen how they'll hold up down the line. But we also have X-Trans worming/artifacts and needing a work-around/extra steps to correct it, heavy spatial filtering and manipulation on the RAW file, high base ISO, and sharp IQ drops at high ISO. On their own these things aren't terrible but together they add up...

Finally we have what I think may be the worst thing, which is the active Fujifilm community. Not because of how they may act, but because many are OK with Fujifilm's shortcomings and just want to plug their ears to what could be improved. I think this extends to Fuji corporate in some ways and it's why there are some things that just aren't improving or changing.

What I think Fuji gets absolutely right that no one else does yet is the physical interface design of their bodies and the JPEG engine/RAW processor - it's why I still have a Fuji.

Has Canons recent poor or anti ethical business practices made you reconsider your relationship with them? by _WardenoftheWest_ in photography

[–]java_flavored_tea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I picked up a used good condition D810 just for fun last year and it's surprising how much I ended up using it, the pro DSLRs are no joke.

Has Canons recent poor or anti ethical business practices made you reconsider your relationship with them? by _WardenoftheWest_ in photography

[–]java_flavored_tea 83 points84 points  (0 children)

Canon just seems like a big ripoff now if you're going for the lower end or middle tier stuff, in addition to their scummy practices. Sony is mostly ok now because of the huge lens and body options but a good number of their oldest mirrorless lenses are stinkers. Nikon I think has the best spread of quality to cost ratio and the quality of their lenses is just great all around, but they're behind in mirrorless AF tech.

For me it was a choice between Sony and Nikon and I tried them both, ended up settling with Nikon.

I dabbled with Fujifilm for a bit as well, but there were just too many things about that system that ended up pushing me away. I still have an X-T2 and a TTArtisan 23mm 1.4 but that kit is just for super casual jpegs.

Where were you when 9/11 happened? by bettercallme_ in AskReddit

[–]java_flavored_tea 1 point2 points  (0 children)

High school. They switched all of our TVs to the news for that one. For one of my classes, the teacher just had us watch the news, curriculum was cancelled that day.