Any Photographers with DSLR's Around ?

[lippysyd]

My husband and I are school photographers. (summers off-yay!) He has a Nikon D700 and he loves it. I mostly shoot with my point and shoot, a Panasonic Lumix TS1. (Which will soon be replaced by a TS3 or 4). It's shockproof and waterproof. I absolutely love it. I can take it anywhere without worrying about weather. It takes great pictures with no shutter lag, and HD video. I've had my Lumix for 2 years now and I've never had a problem with the seals.

[s/v Jedi]

Nick.

[Hud3]

So, Nick, the rumor that you sold s/v Jedi and bought a bus its actually true???

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Hud3

So, Nick, the rumor that you sold s/v Jedi and bought a bus its actually true???

Half true... not selling the boat but indeed bought a 40' bus with the Honda Pilot as dinghy.

We have decided to keep the boat in the tropics instead of taking her up north, but that leads to the problem of how to explore the north and also the rainy seasons here in the tropics are getting a bit too much to our tastes. Now we will use the bus for summer explorations north (which includes southern US from our tropical point of view) and quickly migrate back to the boat in the winter.

So it's s/v Jedi and r/v Jedi from now on... it got worse! We just got back to the boat because it all went a bit quicker than expected and we didn't prep the boat for summer storage yet... so we're a bit delayed this season and flying up and down a bit more than I like, but will be with the bus in a couple of weeks.



ciao!
Nick.

[off-the-grid]

Sony also has a new dSLR, don't remember the model, that looks REALLY nice. The body is only about the size of your average point and shoot. If only lenses were universal.

[Hud3]

r/v Jedi looks like a Rock Star tour bus! Gonna show us what it looks like inside?

[s/v Jedi]

I just got my Canon 8-15mm f/4L USM Fisheye lens:


It's so cool that I can't start using it yet, I've been just looking at it, unresponsive to my surroundings

Here's some of the possibilities:





The second photo is with the lens attached to a full sensor camera at 8mm crazy-wide setting. This results in a full 180 degree half-sphere image... i.e. with two captures 180 degree apart you have covered the complete universe. Mind boggling possibilities

find some more here: Canon Professional Network - Fergus Kennedy on creative shooting with the EF8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM

ciao!
Nick.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by grouchyturtle

Sony also has a new dSLR, don't remember the model, that looks REALLY nice. The body is only about the size of your average point and shoot. If only lenses were universal.

You must mean the A57 but it's biiiggg...

ciao!
Nick.

[deckofficer]

Nick,

Since your accustomed to fuel prices in Europe, by comparison, our prices are going to seem like a bargain for R/V Jedi.

Middle state prices.


West coast prices.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Hud3

r/v Jedi looks like a Rock Star tour bus! Gonna show us what it looks like inside?

I'm sure that will get me into trouble, but I just posted a review about a pump and even that got nasty replies, so who cares anymore

We choose much like the boat, so cherry interior and it's an Allegro Bus, so real wood, not veneer. I've always said we're not so into that "roughing it" scene with the boat and I found it surprising to find that the slogan that the manufacturer Tiffin uses is: "Roughing it smoothly"

Here is the galley:


And opposite dinette (table can be pulled out further for seating 4 people):


Technically much the same as the boat; at some points even a bit more advanced, like the AC power system. It has an 10 kW 120/240V genset, Magnum true-sine 2.8kW inverter and a power management system. All three are integrated, so loads can be sched at will in case there is an overload... like one of the A/C can be shut off while we use the microwave or, when the overload isn't that much, the inverter will put a couple of kW out from the house batteries so that a 12kW demand can be met for short duration. Very advanced and that power schedding system had me puzzled for a while.

There are 3 A/C units with heat pumps, two propane furnaces and the fridge/freezer as well as water heater work on both AC power and propane. There is a 35 gallon propane tank and a 150 gallon diesel tank mounted in the basement.

Here's part of the bedroom:


There's a nice Cummins ISL 425hp engine with very smart 6-speed Allison gearbox and side radiator. 2-stage true engine break (from Jacobs, Jake Brake), air service brakes, full air suspension. It's almost sitting on the ground in the pics but will come up 6" or so when the suspension airbags inflate.

The Honda Pilot is towed with all four wheels down. It has a modification on the braking cylinder, where an air-hose from the bus attaches so that it gets coupled to the bus's pneumatic braking system.

I spent the last couple of weeks outfitting it and first thing was putting in a Kenwood D710 dual-band HAM radio with matching antenna just like on the boat. Got a siren out of it with a tornado warning first night we had it !! Was quick to find the weather channel on TV after that and made that one of the first things to do when setting up. We got both of the first two tropical storms of 2012 after that !! How I manage to do that I don't know. Beryl luckily passed just north of us so we were spared the worst of it.

cheers,
Nick.

[deckofficer]

I'm familiar with your rig, and even though from the overall height one might think "top heavy" quite the contrary, low CG and corners very well.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Since your accustomed to fuel prices in Europe, by comparison, our prices are going to seem like a bargain for R/V Jedi.

Well, we emigrated from Holland and Europe 10 years ago, so we only visit family now and then and are not so much used to the fuel prices there anymore

Panama is like in between the figures from west and mid US you posted, so for us (we drove the bus through NC, SC, GA and FL and will stay in the south and east this year) it's a bit cheaper in the south/eastern US. We paid $4 for a gallon of diesel and $3.50 - $3.75 for gas. The gas was most expensive in North Carolina.

Strange thing is that diesel is more expensive than gas in the US but cheaper than gas in Panama

ciao!
Nick.

[deckofficer]

In a lot of countries like Mexico, diesel prices are subsidized by gasoline prices. High gas prices tend to only effect the affluent, whereas high diesel effects everyone due to the cost of all goods rising from higher transport (by diesel vehicles) costs.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

I'm familiar with your rig, and even though from the overall height one might think "top heavy" quite the contrary, low CG and corners very well.

It amazed me. This bus is built on 3 different chassis: Freightliner, Spartan and Powerglide which is manufactured by Tiffin themselves. Ours is a powerglide and one of the improvements is that the engine is mounted way lower in the chassis for even more stability. It also has independent front suspension with disc brakes. The air suspension levels the bus automatically continuously.

Here is a great video about how our bus is built; watch how low the engine goes in and also the multiplexed power distribution (it's like NMEA2000)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95OI8CcBusg

cheers,
Nick.

[Hud3]

Nice, Nick! I'm partial to cherry myself, especially the way it darkens as it ages. That's quite a rig.