Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[rust_preacher]

Regarding TV flat panels and how they sell - some brands have a "store display" mode where the blues are boosted. Somehow, for a Western customer, a "bluer" white is more desirable. So, side-by-side, the customer tends to pick a TV with the "store display" mode on over one that has a standardized, calibrated natural color gamut.

Regarding 4K content - native 4K is amazing. If the TV can be hooked up to a computer with a good fixed/WiFi bandwidth, services like Vimeo have 4K content available to experiment with.

Having said this, I have seen good demos of 8K content and THAT is mind-blowing. NHK of Japan is going to broadcast the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 in 8K!

 

[beans-on-toast]

Ed Weston >

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Ansel Adams>

The top camera brings back memories. In the mid 60's I had a friend whose dad worked at a nation film studio. The company took, amongst other things, school, university, and military photos. Those large class photos with everyone in them, as well as the individual photos. My friend's dad was an old school german craftsman that could build anything. One of his jobs was building and maintaining the large format professional cameras that their photographers used. I remember being in his shop on weekends and marveling at them. The boxes were wood, the cameras were assembled from european parts. The company had a manual assembly line for film development, processing, and packaging. Being there was like stepping back in time.

My high school was old. They used to have class photos on the walls in one wing, like the one below. I used to look at past students and wonder what happened to them in life. Some were parents of classmates. Kids in the graduating classes always seemed to look older that we did. Maybe because they dressed older.

The boys had (VO5) slicked back hair. I admit to being in a greaser band in the 60's, we did 50's music. It wasn't so much of a stretch. There were plenty of older holdovers from the 50's that never changed with the 60's. Those ducktail haircuts weren't uncommon amoungst working class people that were born in the late 30's and early 40's. Their parents, having lived through the war, indulged them. In '69 when bands like Sha-Na-Na brought 50's music back, they were simply mirroring what never went away in some smaller towns.

My dad lost his hair in WWII. He reported to the army with a Mowhawk haircut. When he got out five years later, he had a reverse Mowhawk. War can do that sort of thing. He went in as a kid and came out as an older man.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I think that the 8K NHK transmission is more of a showcase point of pride for Japan to show off their latest technology. Most people will probably view it in public spaces rather then having it at home.

4K has been slow to roll out. My provider has free 4K preview channels that run 4K related infomercials. All the 4K content is pay-for-view. Mostly sports, some movies, and nature programs.

Most large screen sets in the stores are 4K capable at a price that is well below what I paid for my old 1080p large screen tv. People are buying the sets and waiting for free 4K channels but none are on the horizon. It costs more to transmit the 4K stream because there is more data. That’s one reason why it’s pay-per-view. Fiberoptic based delivery is not available everywhere. They want the infrastructure in place before offering lots of high resolution content.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Ed Weston >

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Ansel Adams>

Inventor of the Weston meter and probably the hat keeps his meter accurate. Even though Ansel Adams reports Weston would point his meter in a dozen directions and announce: the meter says to do this so I'm gonna do this instead. A bit like a drummer's count off.

For you GOF luthiers

 

[BassmanPaul]

Motown Funk brothers with Bob Babbitt on bass. They knew how to do it well. The first thing that hits you when you listen to this song is the strong bass line. It makes the song.]

I find that the bass line is what carries all good music along with it.

 

[BassmanPaul]

I don't believe there is a "safe side".

My wife once said ‘How about the other way’ to which I replied ‘WHAT and have more kids?’ LOL

 

[BassmanPaul]

He's freshly returned from the groomers. And very happy to be here with me. I go to my groomer next week. Um, in my experience GOFs of any age kind of make themselves scarce when the word "salon" comes up in conversation. There's a lot of "gee you look great" with the unspoken underthought of "I hope I didn't just screw up".

My Dorothy is off to the groomers today. I must remember to tell her how good she looks!

 

[GwenOnBass]

My Dorothy is off to the groomers today. I must remember to tell her how good she looks!

Good luck with that! She may or may not agree and odds are with the house.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Being there was like stepping back in time.

You would have felt the same way if you had walked into the photo lab I ran!

 

[beans-on-toast]

I have a couple of old Weston voltmeters like below, and an ammeter. They are US military in bakelite cases, considered to be portable. The older ones are in wooden cases.

They do a good job and are accurate, despite their age. I use them to monitor line voltage and current draw, they can operate 24/7.

It’s cool looking at analog meters working.

 

[GwenOnBass]

I have a couple of old Weston voltmeters like below, and an ammeter. They are US military in bakelite cases, considered to be portable. The older ones are in wooden cases.

They do a good job and are accurate, despite their age. I use them to monitor line voltage and current draw, they can operate 24/7.

It’s cool looking at analog meters working.



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Some steampunk stuff right there! A couple gears, a telescopic sight and some googles and you're there.

 

[Al Kraft]

I have a couple of old Weston voltmeters like below, and an ammeter. They are US military in bakelite cases, considered to be portable. The older ones are in wooden cases.

They do a good job and are accurate, despite their age. I use them to monitor line voltage and current draw, they can operate 24/7.

It’s cool looking at analog meters working.



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First thought that comes to mind...Simpson 260.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Two different Edward Westons (three, actually!) we have here!

About Photography: Legends -- Remembering the Weston light meter

I may have one or two Weston light meters around here, somewhere.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Good catch, and familiar territory .... I like the one calibrated for the zone system at the end of the piece. Did pretty much the same thing with my Pentax spot meter. Always preferred the spot meter, myself. Now (GOFs correct me quick!) the best way to explain the zone system to a bassist might be: the Zone system is like a compression pedal. The attack and sustain knobs are on the camera and the blend and tone knobs are in the darkroom. Don't go in the batcave alone .... plenty of puns best not used.

 

[beans-on-toast]

First thought that comes to mind...Simpson 260.

I have one that comes in a nice leather case. It’s interesting to note that Simpson still makes the 260, 270, and 280. I think that it comes down to service procedures specifying this meter. The procedures are validated and you have to have the calibrated equipment on the list to be certified to perform repairs and calibrations.

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They also still make analog VU meters for studio and other equipment.

 

[GwenOnBass]

It's the leather cases in those photos that got me. Seems like every bit of photo gear more serious than an Instamatic came with a leather case. Forgot until now my first "real" camera was a Kodak Retina IIc (long-term "borrow" from my father). A good learning-camera. Took the Leica bug early on with a Leitz enlarger that seemed very old to me. Always preferred field work to the darkroom, myself.

 

[BassmanPaul]

I have a couple of old Fluke bench top meters that are excellent. Still I still yearn after my AVO meter that I had to give back when I quit the company and left the UK.

 

[SoulReflection]

My wife once said ‘How about the other way’ to which I replied ‘WHAT and have more kids?’ LOL

...

 

[beans-on-toast]

I have a couple of old Fluke bench top meters that are excellent. Still I still yearn aftert my AVO meter that I had to give back when I quit the company and left the UK.

Some nostalgia for you Paul.

AVO Multimeters

 

[Jeff Scott]

...my Pentax spot meter..

I still have my ever faithful Pentax Digital Spotmeter! With a Zone System scale on it.

I'm not so sure you compressor analogy works too well in explaining the Zone System, however.

I have a couple of old Fluke bench top meters that are excellent.

I have a 8000A that I bought in the mid 1980s for $65.