This is the first video I’ve shot and edited in ages. Just picked up the DJI Mavic Mini and flew it for the first time. In face there are many things I haven’t done in awhile and flying a drone is also one of them. Last drone I had was a Phantom 4 which I sold sin 2017 before I moved to Austin. Hope to get back into editing videos again.
Non drone footage taken on Sony A7III with Tamron 28-75 lens.
Happy New Year!
I wasn’t expecting to pickup any gear this early on of 2020, but I have been eyeing the Sony A7III ever since it came out in 2018. I’ve been rocking the A6300 with a handful of prime lenses and loved that camera. However, after borrowing a friends A7III, I’ve been amazed with and wanted one since. I figured I’d just wait for the A7IV to eventually come out but who knows when that might happen and the A7RIV is just simply overkill for my needs.
Yesterday, I sold my A6300 camera and 4 lenses and picked up with A7III with Tamron 28-75 F2.8 lens at my local camera store for a great deal. Sure it was a little impulsive and there is a chance that the A7IV could come out this year but I doubt that it would be leaps and bounds over this one. Like a kid on Christmas I ran home took it out of the box, put the battery in, popped on the lens and did the initial setup and then… 1% battery life left. I took a hasty quick photo of the closes thing around me of course it happened to be my cat Lilly.
I was pretty amazed at the quality, and even though I have borrowed this camera a few times, it feels different when I now actually own it. The Tamron lens is awesome. I think it is the only lens I will ever need but there’s a chance that I MIGHT pickup a 35mm or 50mm full frame prime in the near future.
No regrets whatsoever in selling my ASP-C camera and lens and I look forward to taking awesome photos this year… and maybe get back to doing YouTube videos again!
Some changes since my last post in the summer as I added a monitor arm as well as a floating laptop stand!
One Minute Review
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I was working on my quick review of the AirPods Pro and was going to take a few photos of it. Ended up emptying my pockets and took an opportunity to take this shot using my Sony A6300 which has been collecting dust since I’ve been taking almost all my photos with the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
I don’t really carry that much stuff and this is basically everything you see here except for my driver’s license. What’s your EDC?
One Minute Review Version
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One Minute Review Version
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When I was offered a chance to do an honest review of Monoprice’s 35in Zero-G Curved Gaming Monitor I immediately said “YES!” They have been coming out with impressive displays and the timing was perfect since I recently sold off my Xbox One X and re-joined the PC Master Race after a half decade hiatus.
The Monoprice 35 inch gaming display is an ultra widescreen display at 3440×1440 resolution at 100hz with a 21:9 ratio. Right out of the box it was very easy to setup. I was quite surprised on how light this was when I was unpacking it. You can easily use the included stand or you can VESA mount on a wall or use a display arm. My one gripe that I have with the included stand is that you can’t adjust the height. In fact you can barely just tilt the screen up or down. If you are looking for more flexibility then you need to buy a third party VESA stand or arm. The monitor has 2 HDMI port and a display port and a 3.5 audio out. No USB-C or USB-A connectivity here which would have been nice. What I did notice though as that it has a set of red lights in the back as part of its aesthetic which looks really cool if you are into that kind of thing. Personally, I don’t really care.. what I do care about is performance and that’s where this monitor shines especially at this price point.
Since this is a gaming monitor, I of course connected my gaming PC which Windows 10 automatically detected the hardware, resolution and hertz. At 3440×1440 or 2K, it likes pretty amazing. Not exactly edge to edge but the bezels were thin enough to where it can be appreciated. The display was very responsive within Windows and being able to have multiple spreadsheets on an ultrawide was game changing. Websites, videos, and photos looked great and I just loved working on this thing all day. But you’re not really buying this for work aren’t you? I fired up Doom 2016 and set the game to the ultrawide ratio and it was one hell of an experience. I am upgrading from a 60hz display so I am absolutely appreciating the faster frame rate. Keep in mind that not all games natively support the 21:9 ratio so you will have black bars like Paladins but just about every modern title did take advantage of that 100hz which was just really smooth. When I had this connected to my MacBook Pro 2018, working with Final Cut Pro as well as other productivity software was really smooth. If you want take advantage of that 100hz on a Mac, make sure you have this connected through the display port or an adapter that supports HDMI 2.0.
Yes there are gaming laptops with the same resolution at 144hz but if you try finding one at 35-inches, they go for $650 and up. I say that this rivals the Alienware 1900 which goes for about $1000. Now compare that with the specs of the Monoprice display at you are looking at about a $600 price difference. The Monoprice 35in Zero G Curved Gaming Monitor is such a great value for it’s price, performance and display quality. Also keep in mind that Monoprice includes a 1 Year PixelPerfect Warranty so if you find a single dead pixel, they will take care of you.
Even though it’s not perfect with some shortcomings such as the lack of USB-C connectivity and very basic stand, I can confidently recommend this display for its performance, display quality and value.er whether you would recommend this product and what you like or dislike about it.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Been awhile since I’ve done one of these. I normally have a MacBook Pro 13 2018 on my desk but I just recently got back into PC gaming and also sold my Xbox One X a few days ago. I’m still keeping the Sony PS4 Pro and Nintendo Switch for exclusives though. So here’s what’s on my desk!
There was a post on reddit where a user /u/VergingRivals posted a thread needing help on getting the this monstrosity (posted above) on how to get his desktop cables in order. I was in a similar situation not too long ago, albeit not as bad as this but it did take some time to get everything organized. Both my desktop and especially the TV for my game consoles were a freaking fire hazard so I wrote up a response on how he should get started in cleaning up his setup. Below is my response to his dilemma.
I had a very similar situation to yours… well not as bad. As some other people mentioned, unplug everything. To take it a step further, unplug everything, clear off all your desk. Pair the cables that go with each device.
Decide which devices you use in a regular basis and which ones you hardly or never use. Place the devices you do use back in your desk first, do not add the cables yet until you have all the devices you need. I discovered like 3 things I don’t use anymore… like a WiiU I had on my desk, a usb hub, extra game pad, and an egpu that i barely use since i switched to a PC for gaming instead of using my Mac.
Now, one by one, connect the cables to each device, without plugging them in the outlet / surge protector.
Once you do that, have all the power cords routed in the same direction towards the power outlet. If the are too long, fold them to shorten the length and zip tie.
You can use zip ties or to make things easier, pick up one or a few of these https://amzn.to/2xs47Ms and it will help hide the surge protectors and lengthy cables. Just remember that when you shorten or fold the cables you do it towards the plug so you can place it in these cable management boxes.
I’ve never done this before doing it myself a few weeks ago but these steps is what made the most sense to me and I had some trial and error along the way. Hope that helps!
And here’s a look at my setup!
By the way, before anyone freaks out, those “black bars” are built in SPEAKERS on my display, not a resolution issue!
Pick up the Cable Management Box here: https://amzn.to/2xs47Ms
