Things I Use

This page lists (and in some cases links) to things that I use, or have used previously but since moved away from.  It’s mostly intended so that I can look back in many years at things I would otherwise have forgotten, and so that my wife can complain about how many useless things I’ve bought over the years.  In some cases, I’ve written more about a particular thing, especially for those items I wind up discussing a lot with friends and family anyways.

Photography

Cameras (Current)

Cameras (Prior; * = possess, but don’t use)

  • Nikon D7000* (November 2010; 16MP DX DSLR; $1279; upgraded to D800, now used occasionally by Valerie)
  • Nikon D3 (May 2011; 12MP FX DSLR; $3000 used – why; went to Sugawara San in August 2011)
  • Nikon D700 (August 2010; 12MP FX DSLR; $2000 used; went to Sugawara San in September 2010)
  • Canon PowerShot S90 (December 2009; 10MP compact, 28-105mm lens; $399)
  • Nikon F75* (June 2009; 35mm film automatic SLR; $80 used)
  • Nikon D90 (January 2009; 12MP DX DSLR; $1100; upgraded to D7000 in November 2010 and sold to a colleague at work)
  • Nikon D60 (March 2008; 10MP DX DSLR; $700; upgraded to D90 in January 2009 and sold to Dorel)
  • Fujifilm FinePix F31d* (April 2008; 6MP compact, 36-108mm lens; gift)
  • Canon PowerShot A620 (November 2005 – April 2008; 7MP compact,35-140mm lens; $350; stopped using after D90 purchase and gave to Andrew)
  • Kodak DC5000* (August 2001; 2MP “compact”; $250)
  • Yashica T4* (Early 90s; 35mm film point-and-shoot; gift)
  • Nikon FM2* (Early 90s; 35mm film manual SLR; gift)

Nikon F-mount SLR Lenses (Current)

Nikon F-mount SLR Lenses (Prior)

  • Nikon AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8* (June 2009; $200)
  • Nikon AF-S DX VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6* (April 2008; $700)
  • Nikon AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 (July 2009; $800 new; sold May 2012 after moving to full frame)
  • Nikon AF-S 14-24 f/2.8 VR (May 2011; $1500 used – why; went to Sugawara San in August 2011)
  • Nikon AF-D 80-200mm f/2.8 push-pull (September 2010; gift; upgraded to 70-200/2.8 in May 2011)
  • Lensbaby 3G (May 2011; used; tried temporarily only)
  • Nikon AF-D 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6* (June 2009; $40 used)
  • Tamron 35-105mm f/2.8* (September 2009; gift)
  • Nikon AI 35mm f/2.8* (Early 90s; gift)
  • Russian  (Kavenhap-SH?) 100mm f/2.8* (Early 90s; gift)

Flashes

  • 2 x elinchrom D-Lite 2 (2014; gift)
  • Nikon SB-800 (May 2011; ~$250 used)
  • Nikon SB-600 (June 2009; $250)
  • Nikon SB-400 (April 2008; $110)
  • Nikon Umbrella Kit (May 2011; ~$75 used)

Tripods

  • Gitzo G1228 Mountaineer Reporter (January 2011; gift)
  • Manfrotto 484RC2 Ball Head (January 2011; gift)
  • Velbon CX440 (~January 2009; gift)

Video

  • Canon HG10 (April 2008; 40GB HDD-based 1440×1080 camcorder; $600)
  • Sennheiser MKE 400 microphone (April 2009; $280)

Camera Bags

  • Tamrac Jetty 7 (Summer 2015; ~$45)
  • Tamrac 3447 Rally 7 (May 2012; $90)
  • Lowepro Flipside 300 (May 2011; used)
  • Lowepro Rezo 180AW (April 2008; gift)
  • Lowepro Classified 250AW (January 2009; $200)
  • Think Tank Digital Holster 40 (September 2010; $50 used)

Software & Services

  • SmugMug
  • Adobe Lightroom 6.4
  • Adobe Photoshop CS5 (on rare occasions)
  • Google Picasa 3

Computing

Primary Desktop PC

  • Feb 2014 – Present: Custom PC
    • Windows 10 Pro (originally Windows 8.1 Pro)
    • Intel Core i7-4770K
    • 32GB RAM; 500GB SSD; 3GB magnetic HDD
    • GTX 980 Ti GPU (originally a GTX 660)
    • Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 case
    • EVGA 750W power supply (originally a 500W power supply)
  • Jan 2010 – Feb 2014: Dell Vostro 430 (Windows 7 Home Premium upgraded to Windows 10;  Core i7-860 2.8GHz; 8GB RAM; 120GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD + 1GB Western Digital HDD; Powercolor Radeon HD5770 later upgraded to GTX 660)
  • Jan 2007 – Jan 2010: Dell Dimension 9200 (Windows Vista Home Premium; Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz; 4GB RAM; 1GB HDD; ATI Radeon X1950Pro)
  • 2004 – Jan 2007: Dell Dimension 4550 (Windows XP Home; Pentium 4 2.4GHz; 1.5GB RAM; 250GB HDD)

Display:

  • December 2015 – Present: LG EG9600 (55″ OLED; 3840 x 2160; $2700)
  • 2007 – December 2015: Dell 3007WFP (30″ LCD; 2560 x 1600)
  • 2000 – 2007: 2 x Sony Trinitron 19″ CRT (GDM-400PS?) + Dell 19″ CRT (Sony OEM)

Other:

Past/Obsolete:

  • Windows Home Server (December 2007; died and replaced with WHS 2011)
  • Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (June 2009)
  • HP Netbook (September 2009; $300)
  • Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet (November 2010)
  • Sipura SPA-3000 SIP-to-PSTN gateway
  • Polycom Soundpoint IP 430 IP phone
  • Samsung CLP-510 Laser Printer
  • HP Scanjet 4070
  • Way too many routers and hubs

Mobile

Phones

  • December 2014 – present: Google/Motorola Nexus 6 64GB ($649)
  • November 2013 – December 2014: Google/LG Nexus 5 32GB ($399)
  • December 2011 – November 2013: Samsung Galaxy Nexus (GSM; gift)
  • September 2011 – December 2011: HTC Sensation “4G” ($500)
  • ~2010 – September 2011: Blackberry 8700
  • ~2007 – 2010: Some Other Blackberry
  • ~2005 – 2007: Palm Tungsten W

Tablets

  • July 2013 – present: Google/Asus Nexus 7 32GB ($279)
  • July 2012 – present: Google/Asus Nexus 7 16GB ($249)
  • September 2011 – July 2012: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (gift)

Audio and Home Theatre

Family Room Audio

  • Magnepan MG-3 ribbon loudspeakers (1998; $1700 used)
  • Emotiva SA-250 power amplifier (December 2014; $944 new)
  • Chromecast Audio (September 2015 with various hacky versions prior; $35)
  • Emotiva Control Freak volume control (October 2014, $44 new)

Family Room Video

  • Chromecast! (July 2013, $35)
  • Sharp LC-52LE8100UN (2011; $1580)
  • Panasonic Blu-Ray Player (September 2011; $100)
  • Microsoft Xbox 360
  • Nintendo Wii
  • Google Nexus Player

Home Theatre

  • Sony VPL-VW50 1080p Projector (October 2006; $4200)
  • Da-Lite 106″ Model C; Hi-Gain (October 2006; ~$700, I think)
  • Integra DTC-9.8 7.1-channel preamplifier (November 2007; $1730)
  • Emotiva XPA-7 (July 2015; $1295)
  • Mirage OMD-28 [Main left/right speakers] (2012; $2600)
  • Mirage OMD-C2 [Center speaker] (2012; $600)
  • Mirage OMD-R [Side and Rear surrounds] (2012; $1400)
  • Mirage Omnican 5 [4 x in-ceiling speakers] (2015; $35 each used)
  • SVS PB-12NSD subwoofer (2012; $770)
  • Chromecast! (July 2013, $35)
  • Sony Playstation 4 (December 2014, $438 with 2 games)

Computer Audio

  • Emotiva UPA-2 2-channel amplifier (March 2010; $299)
  • Axiom M2 bookshelf speakers (April 2010; $305)
  • SVS SB12-NSD subwoofer (November 2015; $399)
  • Audioengine D1 DAC (November 2012; $169)
  • Audioengine DS2 Speaker Stands (July 2013; $34)

Bedroom Audio

  • Adcom GFA-535 II power amplifier (1998; $300 used)
  • Emotiva Control Freak volume control (October 2014, $49 new)
  • Infinity Composition Overture 2 floor-standing loudspeaker w/built-in sub (2000; $500)
  • Chromecast (July 2013, $35)

Headphones

Valerie’s Computer Audio

  • Custom/home-made bookshelf speakers (1998)
  • Audioengine N22 Desktop Audio Amplifier (January 2014; $180)

Prior gear or equipment not in use

  • RCA 27″ CRT TV (1998; gave away in 2011 move)
  • Sony TA-E9000ES 5.1 preamplifier (1999; ~$1200 – broke in 2009)
  • Toshiba 50″ CRT rear-projection TV [TZ50V61] (1999; $1800 – sold in 2011 for $25)
  • Rogers (Scientific Atlanta) Explorer 8300HD PVR (November 2006, 2009 – good riddance!)
  • Adcom GSA-700 preamplifier (2000; played various roles for a while, but not needed with the Squeezebox outputting directly to power amps)
  • Adcom GFA-6000 (2000; used in my office for many years [overkill, yes], not so appropriate with the office layout at Google!)
  • Kenwood integrated stereo amplifier (1995; gift)
  • Infinity Delta 40 [Side Speakers] (2000; $280; replaced with wall mounted Mirage OMD-Rs)
  • Infinity Delta 30 [Rear Speakers] (2000; $200; replaced with wall mounted Mirage OMD-Rs)
  • Infinity Delta 60 [Front Speakers] (2000; $400; replaced with Mirage OMD-28s)
  • Infinity Delta Center (2000; $150; replaced with Mirage OMD-C2)
  • Advent AV550S subwoofer (2000; $150; replaced with SVS PB-12NSD)
  • Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro (September 2008; $190; lost and replaced with ER-4PT)
  • Logitech Revue [Google TV] (December 2011; $80 refurbed; switched to Chromecast)
  • Logitech Squeezebox 3 (2010; $150 used; no more music in Leo’s room in 2013)
  • Logitech Squeezebox Boom (June 2010; $230; still used as a clock in Olivia’s room)
  • Google Nexus Q (June 2012; free test device; became obsolete/unsupported)
  • Logitech Squeezebox 3 (2005; $300; switched to Chromecast [Audio] in 2013)
  • Logitech Revue [Google TV] (January 2011; switched to Chromecast in 2013)
  • Emotiva USP-1 (June 2012; $380; switched to direct input in 2014)
  • Musical Design D-140i power amplifier (2000; one channel burned out December 2014)
  • Musical Design DAC-1 (2007; switched to direct use of Chromecast Audio in 2015)
  • Adcom GFA-7000 power amplifier (2000; $700, only 4 channels still work; replaced July 2015 with an Emotiva XPA-7)
  • Adcom GFA-2535 power amplifier (2000; $250; replaced July 2015 with an Emotiva XPA-7)
  • Advent AV550S subwoofer (2000; $150; replaced with SVS SB12-NSD)
  • Sony PlayStation 3 60GB (November 2006; $499; removed January 2016 after finishing FFXIII-3)

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