Your reply belongs in the attic.

I was in the USAF 6912 Security Squadron. We were originally headquartered at Templehof airport until it became too “electronically” noisy and we moved to Marienfelde, which was really close to the border.

[quote=BurghByrd]Thanks for that and I'll back-up your statements.

Due to my security clearance and my job, I was not allowed to visit the Soviet sector. When I graduated technical school, it was eerie to have the Soviet military magazine “Красная Звезда” (Red Star) list several of us as the new generation of American spies.

However, those airmen and soldiers who did not have clearances often went into the Soviet sector to purchase things like leaded crystal very inexpensively. American dollars were greatly sought after.

These days it is so easy to label people with opposing opinions, thoughts, ideals or actions. Gone is the old saying: "I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It." Now, it is more like: "I disagree with what you say, so you must be a communist, or a fascist, or a liberal, or a conservative, or whatever I am not. Well, I spent three years in West Berlin, 1966-1969. I saw communism up close and personal. I want to share with you what it looked like during the Cold War in a city divided by a wall, barbed wire, mines and tank traps. There were open expanses where anyone trying to escape to the west would be an easy target for the East German guards in their towers.

So, when I think of communism, I remember those scenes from almost sixty years ago. I remember the sounds of automatic rifles being used to murder those who tried to flee to a better world. I think about China, North Korea, and Cuba. I think about the degradation I witnessed and what people still endure. The labels that people put on people today have no relationship to what communism really is.

A town square divided by a wall.

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Soviet War Memorial in West Berlin. They were the first Allied force to capture Berlin at the end of WWII.

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A road to what became East Berlin ending in barbed wire, a killing field, tank traps and a guard tower not visible in this photo.

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More of the means that the Communists used to keep their people enslaved, unable to get to the West.

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An abandoned train track, ending travel to the East.

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20 Years after the end of WWII, some homes were still destroyed.

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A checkpoint from West to East.

There are several different breeds of puffers. The porcupine is one, the dog faced puffer is another. The poisonous puffer is a particular breed. Puffers in a home marine aquarium become interesting pets that will respond to their owner.

WOW! No ink and she’s beautiful. Oh, good photography.

We do disagree about cables, but I appreciate the tools you use to analyze kit. If I think I hear an improvement than to me that’s real, even if unmeasurable. What are those beautiful speakers? My first reaction was WOW! BTW, the Pyramid speakers I have are very large and my SO has been complaining for a long time that they are too big for the room they’re in and I should sell them and replace with something smaller. I think it will be difficult to find smaller floorstanding or bookshelf speakers that image as well, or have as good a frequency response. Any ideas?

Neither would I, but there are better interconnects and speaker wire than the cheap crap you get at Walmart, Best Buy, etc.

Several points:
1. A good sound bar is an excellent choice for TV audio, as it connects directly to the TV. Most sound bars do not connect to A/V receivers. Check that out before you purchase a sound bar.
2. Having been an audiophile for decades, I can assure you that cables do matter. The difference a cable from Audioquest, for example, can make versus a cheap cable is quite impressive. It isn’t marketing, it is scientific design. Remember, most high end electronics; amps, receivers, speakers, cables, etc. need a “burn in” period before they sound as good as they can.
3. If you decide to go with bookshelf speakers or a sound bar, I recommend the purchase of a powered subwoofer which can add a level of bass that bookshelf speakers or sound bars cannot reproduce.
4. My personal setup is to have a large screen TV which is fed from a Sony amplifier to which is connected a Roku streamer, a DVD player and the cable box. The speakers are AR-18’s with a subwoofer. Movies sound great. My music room is mostly vintage stereo equipment: A PS Audio preamplifier, an Adcom amplifier, a Raspberry PI/Volumio digital source into a DAC, A high end CD player, an Oracle turntable, and very rare Sequerra Metronome 2+2 Pyramid speakers with a pair of T-1 tweeters. Music sounds incredible on this system.

I was not trying to say that the phone has a better camera, but it was an apples and oranges comparison because of the po.

The iPhone photo is sharper, with better contrast, IMHO.

I have been using Silverfast 9 for several months on an Epson V550 and have scanned about 1000 slides and the same number of negatives. This software provides what are essentially post processing capabilities before the image is saved: brightness, contrast, cropping, saturation, dust removal, etc. The images are surprisingly sharp, and can be sharpened even more with the software. Silverfast 8 may have be free for your scanner; it was for mine.

If you corralled into shooting a wedding for a friend or relative, forget about being a guest at the wedding. You will not enjoy the event. My preference is to take photos as a back up to the professional. Sometimes I was able to get photos that they missed; right place, right time. Just stay out of their way.

These photos of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are circa 1999, taken with a Nikon N6006 and Kodacolor film. I am in the process of digitizing all my negatives and slides. It is a daunting task as there are thousands of them. I decided to post these on UHH, not because they are great photography, but they depict what many of our grandparents and great grandparents saw and experienced coming to this new land. Think about the hope, the fear of the unknown, and sheer bravery of these people to endure days and weeks at sea to come to a place where they didn't speak the language, may not have had a trade or professional past, and may have been just trying to flee an oppressive and life-threatening homeland. Strangers in a strange land. Enjoy!

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Damn! I still miss them.

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There is one consideration that is rarely mentioned in these mirrorless vs. DSLR debates: investment. Some of us have thousands of dollars invested in our DSLR equipment: bodies, lenses, accessories. And, we have learned to work with the capabilities of our equipment to achieve the results we want. The real question is will the newer technology make us better photographers? There are a few benefits to the mirrorless technology, but are they worth dumping our investments if it is questionable whether the results will be better. My old Minolta SRT-101 produced some great photos, as did my film Nikons, but I migrated to digital because there was no longer a need to change cassettes or send out for processing. It just made it easier, not necessarily better. So, at almost 80 years old, I am still learning the capabilities of my D850, with no desire to change technologies. I’ve made my technology investment, and now my only investment is time.