that's interesting, i had wondered what those spots were.

My first piece advice is always to go and get hands on with a camera, you'll use a camera more and usually better if you feel confident with it. Also decide how big a camera you want to lug around cause this will again effect how often you'll carry/use a camera.

Can't mention much in terms of the DSLRs but for mirrorless

NEX 3 and 5 models are great.

Olympus EP1&2 are great cheap cameras with tons of features but are a little older but iso performance isn't great due to their age, but they are MFT so great lens choices

if you're looking to splash out, look at the olympus OMD, the reviews are phenomenal.

Second hand for me is the way to go, cameras are one of those items that people really look after, and you'll get them cheaper and usually with extras (batteries (first or third party), cases, straps). remember that second hand doesn't always mean old.

really? i remember trying to get windows 7 for dual booting mac, and it was seriously expensive even now, while windows 8 here is still well below £80 atm.

@Toxeia: You have to remember that Windows 8 takes a big departure from their old pricing model, where the Windows on it's own was an expensive investment if you weren't getting it packed with your computer. Windows 8 is alot cheaper, in fact the pricing lines up with Apple's OSX, which does charge a small amount for what is a very large content update.

So i would not be surprised if people had concerns/uncertainties.

OMD is a good choice, but if you're looking for something more discreet, i'd recommend looking at the olympus EP3 or EPL5, it's compact but has a bundle of quality at good price. If you really need a VF, you can pick up the VF3 (possibly the better VF2 though i don't know about compatibility) which is a really nice EVF but the EVF itself can be quite expensive, also it doesn't do auto switching to my knowledge.

If you like taking videos, i would also strongly recommend looking at the OMDs rival the GH3, has a crap ton of bells and whistles, and if you get it with the fairly large 14-140 it's a good walk about lens but like the OMD, it is very expensive.

hope that helps.

p.s. try and get your hands on the camera before buying, a good feeling in hand will go a long way.

Geez, think of the crop factor lol

@SLUSHIE: I don't think photoshop is a safety net at all, i think that most people don't know how to use ps and it can look complicated.

I find that the "less post processing" to be untrue, but i'm guessing you might be talking about filters? most pictures i shoot, i will go in and tweek the colours, contrast and levels/curves to really get the most out of them.

@norman: on the GH2 theres a fabulous EVF so i overlay the grids, but i found that once i understood how and why the grid system works the visible grid became a limiter to improvement.

@achoyq: last thing i will say is that nothing will beat getting your hands on a camera and seeing how it feels in your hands, i have bought cameras with rave reviews in the past, getting it and disliking the ergonomics (why i don't like the sony NEX 3), menus and speed.

So pop by a camera retailer and check them out.

@dezer: I love using the 2mm mechanical pencils, they're fantastic.

With the thread about watches, i realised that while very pretty and envy inducing, it's not really something that'll practically effect me, however after watching Adams Daily Carry video and seeing his rather awesome pen.

So my question is what is your pen of choice for writing with, do you carry one with you?

Personally i like to write with a Uni pin fine liner 0.5.

additionally i carry a Moleskine lined medium hardback

The sony NEX cameras that the guys talk about alot are really good, another good cheap choice would actually be looking at Olympus's older "premium" cameras, the EP1 or EP2, you can pick these up for dirt cheap on ebay and they take phenomenal pictures, noise performance will good but not as good as the modern counter parts, but def worth taking a look.

The panasonic GX1 is a great camera, the issue isn't as bad as you'd expect, as you'll most likely use it on the wide end where the issue isn't present, but i wouldn't recommend this due to the slow zoom, but you're not gonna find a zoom lens that's smaller than this one, so you take the good and the bad, but kit lenses with almost all camera almost always fall apart in some way.

but being on m43 you'l have access to loads of lenses, i would recommend the panasonic 20mm F1.7 or the 25mm F1.4. and keep the zoom in the bag for when you need to be a little wider or need the reach.

I think the videos that jamie has done says alot, He doesn't have the exuberant personality that Adam has (Tori described him as a person who acted like he was on camera even when he wasn't/beofre myth busters), Adam also has that i have this cool toy and i must show it off to the world, type of attitude.

Jamie seems more reserved, and probably wants his life a little more private/quiet, but i'm sure he'll show off his projects in time.

Besides while being unrelated to Mythbusters, the names Adam and Jamie are unseperatable. much like laurel and Hardy, fry and laurie, punch and judy, penn and teller, ant and dec :P etc

lol i love that they talk about not having the drive shaft in the middle of the car, but so many cars today still have it as part of the middle console.

Jamie or Grant i think would be great.

It's one of the great choices people make when taking pictures, and there is truly no right or wrong answer, so do you make sure the shot is composed correctly when you snap the picture, or do you go for the as long as everything is in frame and the angle is right you can fix it later?

personally i use the crop it later method, mostly because of what i shot, i don't take a lot of posed pictures meaning that my window for capturing a particular moment is very small, additionally even in the past when i did compose the before shooting, i found that i went in for a small crop afterwards anyways just to improve the picture. Quality isn't a issue, cameras and even camera phones now a days have high enough pixel counts to look good even after a 20%+ crop for uploads on Facebook.

Just for side information, i use a Panasonic GH2 + 20mm F1.7 primarily

So what's your way?

@kim_a: ahhh got you, it was apparent that the thermal detonator was from return of the jedi. thanks

I'll admit i'm a little confused, isnt ep 1 phantom menace? or is he doing what he does with Indiana Jones and all the movies being called raiders.

But apart from that LOVE this stuff and the FBI story is great and the bullet from mythbusters is one of my favorite moments.

facebook share button is unusable on Safari 6.0.2, video was playing

oh geez Will is starting to look really shaggy again.