I've seen quite a few leather wax products that call themselves "whale wax", "whale oil", or "whale fat". I'd like to know: are any of these actually made from whale fat? Or comes from whales at all? I thought whale hunting was unethical these days...
I've recently been thinking of making my own leather stationary accessories (originally with the idea of notebook covers), and finally jumped the gun today, and buying some leather cutting tools and goatskin scraps.
Despite my original idea, I want to start with making a pen case. The design principle is essentially a tube (either made of a rolled sheet of leather, or two sheets stitched together), a top flappy cover, and a strap to insert the flap into to "close" the case. A very simple design.
I have one dilemma: do I hand-sew the stitches, or use my mom's sewing machine? I've heard you can get sewing machine needles for leather for pretty cheap, and it would be a useful skill to learn to use a sewing machine. However, is it practical for something this small? Is it better, or worse? I have so many questions, and I just want some answers and advice. Any help would be appreciated.
Oh, and, for clarification: the goatskin is around 1.2-1.4mm thick.
So, about 2 months ago I got a Nikon D80 with a cracked screen for ~30 USD (bundled with a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for another ~100 USD), but my dad had told me for some time that after I reached a college milestone, he would buy me my camera of choice (under 300 dollars).
Yesterday, I found a listing on facebook marketplace for a Nikon D7200 that was looking in really good condition, along with only a 23k shutter count, for just - get this - 190 USD!!!
My dad figured, since it was such a great deal, and I was close to my milestone, he'd take me out to check the camera out later that day. After testing it out, the camera was in pristine condition - guy even still had the box! (no hot shoe cover tho...)
So, my dad bought the camera for me. Now, after a couple months with the D80, I've just gotten a major upgrade. I have a D7200!!! (with a third party vertical grip too)
Nikon D7200 with Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (front), Nikon D80 (back)
I've been loving the camera so far - so much that I've been having it out of my bag on my desk next to me at all times while I'm using my computer, just because I love it so much! It feels so much nicer to use than the D80, and takes such crisp photos! (as shown below)
Bocchi's social anxiety is so bad, her surroundings are in f/1.4
And, about the D80 - I plan on buying a replacement screen and repairing it myself (I have some experience taking apart electronics, so it shouldn't be too difficult) - and selling it for ~80-100 dollars or so. It only has a 29k shutter count, and the body is in great condition, so I think I'll be able to sell it for a good price. I will miss it, though. Just a bit. Those grainy indoor photos got annoying after a while, but they were really charming, and those outdoor photos did have some really nice colors.
So I have lens buying lists for my cameras. I currently shoot Nikon, and my list for only the vintage lenses would be:
This is in chronological order. So, what do you think?
So I went to test out a lens today at my local lens dealer (I say that because I had bought two lenses off him before). I was looking to test his Sigma EX 50mm f/1.4 he had for sale for 100 bucks, maybe even buy it, if it impressed me.
What ended up happening was he also showed me another lens he was selling for 100 bucks, as well. A Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM, which intrigued me more than the 50mm. He also showed me a Nikon D80 (with a broken screen) and said he was selling it for 30 dollars. Since I didn't have a camera yet (for context, my dad's gonna get me a D7200 once I reach a college milestone, that's why I was buying lenses), I was very intrigued by the idea of having my own camera, compatible with my current lenses, and the sigma 30mm, for a grand total of 130 dollars. It was too good for me to pass up.
He let me try out the D80, and I really liked the photos it produced with the afformentioned lens. So, like the impulsive and impatient person I am, I bought the bundle.
So, now I have a Nikon D80 (with a cracked screen), and 3 lenses to pair it with (nikkor 50mm f/1.8G with broken autofocus, tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 VC, sigma 30mm f/1.4).
I'd just like to ask about some tips for the D80, and anything I should know or even be wary about (although the D80 is very well regarded so idk if that last one applies). Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'm super excited to try out my first camera!
For extra context, I mostly plan to shoot innanimate objects and portraits, sometimes cosplay.
So I currently have a Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G with broken autofocus, and I'm thinking of getting a 50mm with working autofocus for the D7200. However, I know a guy who I've bought a couple lenses from who is selling a Sigma EX 50mm f/1.4 for 120 dollars. I am going to go over and test the lens later today, but I want your opinions. How do the lenses compare? Is it worth it?
So I'm a little torn between getting the Fiio K11 or the Topping DX1 II for driving my more power-hungry headphones. For context, I plan on getting the Hifiman Sundara (open back ver.)
I know that those headphones are a bit bright, and the Fiio K11 imparts a bit of a warmer sound compated to the Topping DX1 II, but I'm not sure which I'd prefer.
The topping DX1 II is also marginally cheaper for me.
What do you think would be the better option?
My preferences for sound signature are balanced, slightly bright, or flat-bright. I also like good vocal performance, but it isn't necessary.
My budget is 100-150 dollars.
So, I've never had open back headphones before, and I'd like to own a pair. Now, if I wanted to, I could probably get the Hifiman HE400SE. However, should I instead save a little more for the open back Sundara? How do they differ in quality and sound? Do you think it would be worth it?
My budget is as much as is needed to buy either one of these headphones.
My preferred tonal balance is slightly bright, balanced, or balanced-flat.
I already have all this gear ready, but still got no camera body. Working on reaching a study milestone so my dad will get me a Nikon D750.
I just thought the size comparison was very funny. I think it would be even funnier if I got an adapter and tried using that lens on that camera. It would be super unbalanced, but hilarious.
Hey, I'm a noob at Gleam (kind of a noob at programming in general even if I've been at it for years), and one day I had the brilliant idea of making a package manager. I was mostly inspired by my gf making her own package manager from scratch, and thought, "Hey, with a few manic episodes like her, I could make my own package manager as well!" However, it was not enough to simply make a package manager. You see, she went the sensible route of C++, since she actually needed her package manager for practical reasons (Linux From Scratch), but I wanted to go the exotic route. I had to choose an alternative-alternative language to build my package manager in! With that said, I thought the most sensible option would be Gleam. It's fairly new, yet practical, easy to learn, and not many people have used it to build large projects yet! So, once I was ready, I cranked up into full hypomania and started learning Gleam.
"Wtf? There's no return statements??? NO IF ELSE STATEMENTS?????"
My clueless self was bewildered. I had never seen a language like this before. So this was Gleam!
Then stuff happened and boom! Here's a super early prototype of my package manager 'GLoad' (short for Gleam downLoad) that currently does nothing else other than list the files in the root directory of the program. No, I could not figure out how to list other directories on the system, yet.
https://codeberg.org/LilyWayLolz/GLoad
Check it out, if you're interested! Watch me go on my journey, or something.
Any tips, either for the future, or to help me move forward with this project would be greatly appreciated! I'm enjoying this language so far!
So I've been using my mic's audio interface to power my headphones for the longest time (currently my audio interface is the Arturia Minifuse 1) and I'm wondering if it would be (significantly) better if I used a dedicated DAC/Amp for my headphones?
I do notice some problems with using the Arturia Minifuse with my current headphones (Audio Technica ATH-M40X), such as a noticeable amount of noise when nothing is playing.
So, should I get a dedicated DAC/Amp? What would you recommend?
I live in Thailand and my budget is up to 200 US dollars, preferably lower. I'd prefer a DAC/Amp with less coloring of the sound, and of course, low noise.
I'm also thinking of starting off with something very low budget, like a dongle, just so I don't have to use my audio interface for my headphones anymore. Then, I'll upgrade to a real desktop DAC/Amp later. I'm thinking of getting the JCally JM20 MAX and using that for a while until I can comfortably buy a big ol' DAC/Amp. Would that be a good idea?
So I've been using the Audio Technica AT2020 for 6-7 years not (don't you dare say it), and I can find some used AT2035's for sale at around 70-90 dollars. I'm thinking that, maybe, I could sell my AT2020 and get an AT2035. Is it worth it? I'm particularly interested in the lower noise that the AT2035 should have compared to the AT2020.
I'm wondering if I should get a Coolermaster MWE Gold V3 (non-modular) to quickly get a new power supply on a cheap budget, or save up for a Be Quiet Pure Power 13, which I'm guessing is quieter (probably doesn't matter much though...) and is modular. On the PSU tier list, the Be Quiet also has an A+ rating where as the Coolermaster only has a B, albeit both are good ratings. So, should I save a bit more for the modular Be Quiet, or get the Coolermaster for less and get it over with?
For context, I currently have an Antec VP Plus 700W as my PSU. It is several years old now -hence why I want to replace it.
So last year I got the Audio Technica ATH-M40X as my first studio headphones after my gaming headset broke. I realize now that the M40X and M50X aren't the best regarded in the headphone space, but they sounded great to me, because I never heard anything better. They've done me well for listening to music, playing games, and producing, but when I upgrade, I want something truly good. What are some well-regarded headphones in the 100-200$ range that I should look into? I mostly want a balanced sound signature with good comfort. Closed backs, because I can't have sound leakage. A decently wide sound stage (for closed backs) would also be nice to have.
This is a build I've been running for a while, although I'm making some modifications to it soon. I think the case is kinda ugly but that's irrelevant, the specs are:
Ryzen 7 5800X
GTX 1080Ti
32GB DDR4 Kingston HyperX Fury
Gigabyte X570S Gaming X
2TB WD Black SN7100
1TB WD Black SN7100
500GB Samsung 970 EVO
1TB WD Blue SATA SSD
Antech V700P Plus (definitely replacing this PSU soon)
Case is the Gigabyte C301 Glass and if I haven't made it clear already, I think buying it was a mistake.
I'm just trying to know if I should replace this power supply because it doesn't seem very reliable, plus it's at least 5 years old now, probably more.
So I currently have a Ryzen 7 5800X, and it's been doing me pretty well. However, I do some creative work (music production, video editing) and need to compile applications from time to time (also plan on switching to Gentoo linux which = more compilation), so I'm wondering if it would be worth it to sell my 5800X and get a (most likely second hand) R9 5900X for the extra cores. What are your opinions?
Here's my Needy Streamer Overload (Ame-Chan) themed Homescreen & Lockscreen layout on NothingOS 4.1
So I'm wondering what audio codec I should use when recording with MKV files. Obviously AAC is the safest choice, but I'm wondering if, possibly, a different option would be better for me? I mostly record for YouTube and edit my videos in Davinci Resolve. I wouldn't want to record my audio in FLAC since that would make the files ridiculously massive, but could Opus or PCM be a good option? Whether it comes to quality or saving on file size. I want a balance of both.
