wizartar

Some great pictures! Looks like it was a bit overcast, if you play with the levels a little and add a small bit of saturation those pics till pop off the screen. Quality!

Haha, classic... I love the line "calling this lens a 'tele' is like calling King Kong a monkey". You know you're a pro when you're lens needs its own tripod!

IMO, most people can't tell the difference by looking at a picture which camera shot it. So find the one that feels nice and is easy to use. Why are you going DSLR? Just looking for higher quality snaps or do you want to start printing or flickering your work? Are you planing to take days out to find photos? If not then kit lens will most lightly fit the bill. Beginner Photographer = DSLR Camera + Kit lens 18-55mm (portrait range + small groups) Amateur Photographer = DSLR Camera + 18-200mm or (18-55mm Kit + 70-300mm better range but have to swap lens. The second lens combo is quite common as people advance from beginner they understand why >100mm is very useful and either sell on their old kit or get a 70-300 to complement the kit lens) The only problem I have with my Nikon D60 is the limited 3 auto focus points, would have like 9, other then that I can't fault it. But since I'm used to shooting that way now it's not a problem; it's the only real weakness of the D60. Why did I get Nikon, because at the end of the day there's very little different and it came down to value for money on the deal I could get for the Nikon + tripod + lens + bag was better then what I could find for a Canon 450D. But this is mostly because I live in Ireland and get ripped off most of the time unless shopping online. Other tips general tips for DSLR: * You'll need a decent cleaning kit for DSLR camera. This isn't like a snapper, you need proper stuff like blowers + microfiber cleaning cloths so as not to scratch the lens. A good lens cost the same as the camera! * Always use a lens hood + Clear UV protector. Make sure the clear UV protector is good quality. Why??? stop the real lens + glass from getting dirty/dusty + scratch or other accidents. Better to ruin a $30 UV lens then $650 lens!!! * Invest in a decent bag + tripod to keep this stuff all together. Also a remote control can be useful if you want to take night shot of stars and not have camera shake as those exposures can take minutes! The RC is fairly cheap.

That's one expensive table! If anyone is looking for a good camera review site I found the following very good: www.dpreview.com

I shot with a Nikon D60 & 18-200mm F3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX and for Video a Canon Vixia HF100 + WD-37II. First off if you're serious about this stuff then invest in a tripod doesn't need to be very expensive, the one I use cost me €30. I use it for Video & Photography. It's on my list of things to upgrade, photography is just a big hole you throw money into so be selective in what you buy... kind of like these Macross toys. Then learn how to setup your Camera's White Balance. It's better to get it as close to right before going into a software package to do color correction. Using the camera's general "Auto" feature will make it much harder to get more dramatic effects. Also you need to have a general understand of Aperture / Depth of Field, Shutter speed / Exposure & "FILM" ISO value all mean. A very brief description: Exposure: The overall process of taking a picture. Makes sure that the right about of light has hit the camera's film/sensor and no highlights (bright parts) have been blown. Meaning the bright areas of the picture don't loss detail and just become a big block of white (overexposed). Same apply for shadows, a block of black with no visible details (underexposed). Aperture: The size of the hole allowing light to enter the camera and hit the film/sensor. The Larger the hole the smaller the F number { f/2.4 = big hole, f/32 = small hole} small F numbers/big hole means more blur for objects outside of focus, it also means a faster shutter speed as part of the exposure process. Shutter Speed: Used to control how much light gets onto the film/sensor. This and the Film's ISO are normally used to ensure proper exposure while Aperture is about getting the right look. Also the slower the Shutter Speed the great chance of motion blur if there are objects moving in your view. Fast shutter shutter means less motion blur. Film ISO (Speed of Film):100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 are the general ones you'll see. This works like shutter speed but with a difference. The higher the number the less light is needed to make the correct exposure but it also means more "film grain/noise" effect is added to the finial image. The lower the number the better quality of picture but more light is required to make a good exposure, so that means either a longer shutter speed or a lower F number for the Aperture. Light: How all the above interacts is based of this. If you want to have the most control over the finial picture then you need to control all these settings. If you can't then compromises need to be made and prioritize what's most import to the overall composition of the picture. My Setup: This all depends on the type of shots you want... For what I need, 2x500 Watt builder laps required mostly for videoing. As if it was photography I'd just change the shutter speed to compensate for the lack of light. I have tinfoil on my ceiling, the dull side showing, to increase the reflectiveness while still defusing the light. I've also cut up old cardboard boxes and rapped tinfoil around these also, again dull side showing to use both as light defuses and reflectors to create "light boxes" of variable size depending on what's on my table. These are just free standing and lean up against something. The entire setup cost me about €56 include 3x60W desk laps for highlights or background fill lights to create depth in a shot. Not to be whoring my videos but if you look at my older stuff you'll see how all the light stuff effects the over all quality of the video compared to my more recent ones.

This is surprisingly awesome!

If you don't have 1/60 v2 then I'd say get the one you like the look of the most. Same goes for the 1/72 Macross:F kits. Can't go wrong with either of those. But IMO you shouldn't have to ask as you should have an idea of what you like?

You're welcome!

I like the Q-Rau, but they don’t have much play value. Like Logos points out design doesn’t do anything to help the figures’ range of motion. Though they are a very nice display piece, but not much beyond this, IMO. For most, they’d get better value for money with something else. I’d love to see a 1/60th Regult but it would be in the same boat. It’s like putting an egg on chopsticks, there would be all sorts of balance issues. Even the Revoltech can be a pain to get standing in a cool pose. You’d need big sticky feet and uber joints or a support stand, look at the Mospeada 1/10 VR-052F, ruined by balance issues. IMO, if something has feet it shouldn’t need a display stand to support it. I think a light weight snap kit would work, but at the moment these are in the 1/72 scale from Bandai. Perfect Grade Macross??? Don’t see it happening, but would love it. They’re also the fact it very curvy & round so it’s harder to stick on sprus. This might be wishful thinking, test the waters with 1/100 and see how they do and then move it up a scale.

If anyone is interested in seeing a video review of the Destriod Defender

Let’s have some fun with conspiracy! I’m sure we all know about prophesy, but in short: 2012 in Mayan culture is the end of the world; then we have the Book of Revelations that also talks about aforementioned times. So onto the conspiracy! There are two types of prophesy, those that unfold and those that are self fulfilled. The second of these meaning someone sets out with intent to do what’s required for fulfillment of the prophesy. Banks as we all know are controlled by a few powerful groups, well when it comes to conspiracy they always are. The Knights Templar engineered this instability in the banking sector to bring about Armageddon! By destroying money it makes it possible for our current system to crash and a New World Order oversight committee to come into existence which promises stability and total control over world finances. Now, what most people don’t realizes is that the Celtic Tiger came about from reverse-engineering alien technology from a giant space ship that crashed on our island back in 1989. We’ve been systemically rebuilding with money borrowed under the guise of subprime mortgages. Our new and improved ship will be known as Super Dimension Leprechaun-1, in Ireland at the moment under every rainbow sites a pot of deculture! Previously the Irish would head off to Britain or the US of A. But now we’re getting on our ships and heading for the stars! Leaving you all in global ruin! So long and thanks for all the pints!

Today’s problems have been caused by a Laissez-faire attitude. Bankers left to themselves without rules have gone to the point of almost destroying our current level of civilization. If you study history look at Rome and then the Dark Ages that followed, we actually devolved, we hit a peak and then went backwards. We’re close to doing that again, money is worthless we just believe it has value and because everybody believes it has value it does. Why do we spend $100> on plastic that’s worth less then $1 in raw from? Because we believe what we’re buy is worth the $100>. Likewise money is just paper. Then you have deflation and its byproducts things like Negative Equity, lots of houses not worth what was paid. When money is limited the value of what money is available increases, law of supply & demand. Real world, look at all the sales over at HLJ. My last 8 purchases have been on sale items, it’s saved me at least 40% on what their value was only 6 months ago. (Although part of those sales, I would say, has to do with freeing up warehouse space for new stuff).

I work in logistics and we’ve see declines, plus we have truckers saying that the roads to the docks (living on an island it’s the only way to do large volume exports) have light traffic, which isn’t good for the Ireland in general. Ireland like the Games industry is a victim of its own success. Lots of easy money without much oversight, lead to all sorts of things happening that shouldn’t have happened. I’ve been playing games since the 80s and it’s got to the point now it’s either a FPS or a RTS. The Games industry has been producing title after title of reskinned FPSs. I’m not saying all AAA titles are crap, just not pushing the envelope anymore, is there even anymore envelope to push? Like Ireland they were producing over priced crap that sold because there was sooo much “cheap cash” / credit, people were buying anything and everything. Some of the best games I’ve played recently are things like Braid, Castle Crashers, Audiosurf; all are cheap high quality games. I think the Dot Com boom/bust has played its part in this credit crunch. It’s not directly the problem but I think over reliance on credit began as a way to hide stock losses. Then this cycle of credit reliance trickled down the food chain. The problem with people over borrowed is the money they make is given back to the banks to pay off loans, so they don’t spend cash on new stuff to fuel the economy. Companies then go out of business as they can’t get cash, now normally when this happens the banks are taking in money and giving it back out to Companies to prop them up, but this time there’s a fundamental flaw in the way credit garnitures of banks is asses & managed which has caused the problem with banks now being unable to put money back in the system because of bad debt in the sub-prime markets. They’ve made unbelievable mistakes is their risk evaluation before given large sums of money to people, so we now have to pay for it. As for collecting, I’m spending money like a drunken sailor on whore leave. Because once it hits I won’t be buying any more and want to have a stock pile. I’m like a squirrel with his nuts!

They've hidden it under "Action Figures" yet the GN-U are under "Toys" I don't understand HLJ's logic at times. http://www.hlj.com/product/YMT00104

Depending on were you live in the world they might have actually gone up as the Yen is very strong at the minute compared to other currencies. I would say late this year or early next year before serious price drops, at the moment you might just see "sales" on selected stuff that isn't moving out the door fast enough. The global credit crunch is still only starting.

That's an amazing display you have for an incredible collection!

If you want to see them check out YouTube you'll find a video of each version.

Nice sticker. Just ordered the Woodlands Set as HLJ has it on sale for 50% off, they know my weakness!

Yeah, I kind of knew it must be you, as you were bitching about my video Is there a Transformation guide for the head of the VF-25 here? As I can make it sit a number of different ways but don't know if any of them are the correct one... Learning Japanese is still on my to do list.

OK, I'll lay off the pans.... put only a little! I also plan a transformation if I can fit it in under the 11 minute mark. But I'm not sure about how the head is meant to mount as every time it seems to end up slightly different.

I found it was easier to just import directly from Japan, so long as you keep the order including postage under €150 you won't pay any import duty. If you go over you'll be hit by the import tax + €5 handing charge which needs to be pay when they deliver the package. That way you can get all the different types and not just what FP are carrying.