Sunday, December 23, 2018

Fathom Events

I just came from a performance of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" ballet, live from the Bolshoi Theater, presented by Fathom Events. It was spectacular, to say the least, not only the choreography but also the dancing specially from the main soloists. I wanted the performance to continue and continue...

Fathom Events  presents in theaters, around the world, live performances from different theaters and opera houses like the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, French National Theater in Paris, etc. I only go to the events in the category of Arts & Entertainment and primarily opera and ballet. 


One parting shot. We live in a two dimensional world of friends and foes, allies and adversaries.  When we watch performances live from Russia and see what ordinary Russians do with their lives, we come to an understanding that geopolitical and two dimensional views are only in the mind of politicians and TV's "talking heads." Ordinary people, in any country, only think about food, shelter, family, work, the economy, entertainment, etc.  We do not care about geopolitics or even think about it. Russians, Americans, English, Germans, Chinese, South Americans, Mexicans, etc are all the same and we only wish to live in peace.

I strongly recommend people to go to live performances presented by Fathom Events.  It is better than going to the actual theaters or opera houses.  We get to seat close to the gigantic screen and the sound is fantastic.  With the opera we get the subtitles in English and in between acts, in all the events, we see what is going backstage with interviews with the leading performers.  The price is $18, not the $200-1,000+ at the theaters.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

My Equipment for Sale

Nikon Z7 w/ ZTF Adapter
As I have posted in my previous two messages, I have purchased through PayPal the Nikon Z7 with the ZTF Adapter, the Z 24-70mm S, and the Z 35mm f/1.8 S lenses.  I have decided to put up for sale three cameras with its compliment of lenses to finance the above mentioned purchases and my future S lenses. I have six months to do it.
Fujifilm X-T2

I'm not only raising enough funds, but I have decided to "cleanup" my photo closet.  Not only do I have too many cameras, they also work completely different. I will keep only two cameras: the Leica Q and the Nikon Z7. In addition, I will also keep the Panasonic Lumix, the camera I keep in the trunk of my car.

The following is the equipment that I will put up for sale, shortly.The cameras messages are already done with all the accessories included.  All I need to do is to take the photos of not only the cameras and the accessories but also the photos of all the lenses for sale:


Nikon D5500 IR Converted

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

My future Z-Mount/S-Class lenses probable purchases


For the first time since I can remember, Nikon has published any roadmap for their future lenses.  The diagram above shows Nikon's future Z-Mount S-Class lenses. I have purchased the S 24-70mm f/4 and the S 35mm f/1.8 lenses for my Z7.

I have the FTZ adapter.  However, the less I use it, the better. In addition, S (Superior) are Nikon's best.  I have no intention of purchasing any future Z-Mount Macro lenses.  The FTZ adapter is a natural tripod mount for my present four Macro lenses.


I plan to purchase the S 85mm f/1.8, the S 14-30mm f/4,  and the S 24mm f/1.8, when released.  Why the 24 1.8 when I already have the AF-S 20mm f/1.8 and the AF-S 28mm f/1.8? I will use the 20 and 28 with the adapter. If I do not want to use the adapter, I would have the S 24.  With the latter, I do not need either the 20 or 28.

I would love to have the future S 58mm f/.95. However, it is rumored that it is going to cost ~ $6,500.  That is too costly for me to spend on a lens. The other lenses that peak my interest are the S 70-200 f/2.8 and the S 14-24 f/2.8.  I'm afraid that they will be comparable in price, size, and weight to their AF-S counterpart. Not only are they going to be expensive, but primarily too heavy for me.