What Photography Related Item Have You Bought or Sold This Week?

BasilFawlty said:

You know the old adage, you get what you pay for.

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If only it were that simple...

Thank you for reminding me @BasilFawlty I just ordered two from Amazon at the same price. I had a credit, so basically they were free!

Just installed the newly arrived "Nocturnal Waves" Alpha Guard skin on my new RF 45mm f/1.2 lens. I know there are mixed feelings about skins on lenses and cameras, but I]very much been using them for a couple years and am sold on the idea that they do protect the gear from everyday scuffs and scrapes. If, someday I decide to sell a piece of gear, I'd like it to look as pristine as possible.

That looks really nice. I may have asked you this before. have you successfully removed a skin before selling the equipment? I recently sold my EOS R with the skin on it, but I was a bit afraid of removing it as it had been so well "stuck"...it didn't show any signs of coming off.

Bryan Conner said:

That looks really nice. I may have asked you this before. have you successfully removed a skin before selling the equipment? I recently sold my EOS R with the skin on it, but I was a bit afraid of removing it as it had been so well "stuck"...it didn't show any signs of coming off.

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Someone did ask me that question, but don't remember if it was you. Yes, I have removed the skins with zero issues. No residue, no stickiness, just a nice clean surface. Keep in mind these are Alpha Guard skins. I have no experience with any other brand.

BasilFawlty said:

Just installed the newly arrived "Nocturnal Waves" Alpha Guard skin on my new RF 45mm f/1.2 lens.

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That does look nice!

Question: Were the skins easy to apply - or was it a PITA? How long did it take? As I grow older, I find myself a bit challenged when installing/aligning the transparent screen guards on my cameras and this looks like it may well require similar levels of acuity.

THXGEEK said:

That does look nice!

Question: Were the skins easy to apply - or was it a PITA? How long did it take? As I grow older, I find myself a bit challenged when installing/aligning the transparent screen guards on my cameras and this looks like it may well require similar levels of acuity.

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Well, I'm 71 and I had no issues,. but I could see where it might be problematic for someone with shaky hands (in which case I'd just get someone else to apply them). But in general, no they are not hard to apply at all. There is a QR code with it that you scan with your iPhone (or smart phone) and it takes you to a web page with the layout of the pieces and shows you where each piece goes. I just start with A1 and work my way through the letters/numbers in sequence.

Back in late June I bought an ASUS ProArt P16 and ASUS 27" monitor. About once every couple weeks the Internet connection would drop, such a nuisance (two reasons I do not have "Auto connect" enabled: 1- security and 2 - so, I know when Internet has dropped).

Fast forward to September and after 15 years of everyone else in the community having FO, our ISP decided to trench, bore, and install FO to our community of 43 units. Hurray, no more DSL at 1.5 up / 750 down NOW I have FO at 500 up / 250 down.

Strange

The Internet connections have been dropping more frequently... and sometimes to the point it wasn't seeing ANY networks (typically 6 are within range). After a few session of all your typical IT troubleshooting and Event Tracking, I determined it was a hardware issue and not a software issue.

Since it was under warranty...time to take it in for service. It took a week for the event to happen, then another two weeks to get the Wi-Fi adapter replaced, followed my another week of testing. Everything was great...until it wasn't.

The computer company stressed-tested and it passed with flying colors, so I brought it home. Within two days it started failing again.

Back to the computer shop.

Two weeks of solid testing with multiple YouTube videos running along with other resource intensive programs. No problems found...didn't drop once.
So I brought it home again. At this point I knew it had to be something with the ISP provided router.

B-I-N-G-O

The router they provided was 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6, the same standard as the modem I installed for DSL) Since my Wi-Fi adapter is 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7).
Backwards compatibility is real; Forward compatibility is a pipe dream, so...

Arriving today:

ASUS RT-BE88U Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 Ai Mesh Extendable Performance Router

Sounds very frustrating to me, and then satisfying that you found the problem. Good catch!

I teach English in companies here in Germany and one of my biggest customers is a global technology company based here. One of my one-to-one students is a team leader whose team is responsible for their global network. We have had discussions about network protocols and related things and while I am a complete idiot on such things, I have learned that it is very complicated and often hard to track down where the problem is. One thing I remember him saying is that one of the main things they have to keep abreast of is making sure every component in the global network is using the same standard.

@Bryan Conner just before I retired I got a degree in Network Administration and another in Cybersecurity and then Covid hit the world...so I retired. So, I know enough to be informed and a danger to myself.

Dean Wilson said:

Arriving today:

ASUS RT-BE88U Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 Ai Mesh Extendable Performance Router

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I have this router. It works well.

Be sure you configure a 'MLO' wireless network and put your newest/fastest devices on it.

I bought a used (like new condition) Canon EF 16-35mm F4. I traded in my EF 17-40mm F4 with MPB.

I made the same swap about three years ago. Definitely the right choice for me as the 17-40 always seemed a bit soft and a bit dull - especially for L-lgass. Much happier with the 16-35 which seems to be a common opinion from the research at the time. Enjoy!