This is the Link to register and get more info!,  It’s free, please join us!

https://event.webinarjam.com/register/18/lgzvzu2

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

The logo above, on my new t-shirt, is for The In Groove Record Store in Phoenix, AZ the owner Mike does a great Youtube view channel with over 7 million viewers!  His channel along with Jack Graham’s  Straight Talk with Jack, and New Record Day are some of my favorites to watch.  Jack got me back into LPs by gifting me a very nice turnable and cartridge and I’ve started to amass a small collection of records.  I say small because it is nothing like Jack’s over a thousand!  I still haven’t filled my box that will hold only 50!  Before you consider getting into this form of listening, I have a few warnings!

 

Disadvantages:

1. It’s expensive, LPs that used got to less than $10. are now anywhere from $20. to $60. and many collectable ones for far, far more!
2. A recent video by Mike was also distressing as he discussed how many pressings of the LP,  Rumors by Fleetwood Mack were available and many were of poor quality. Figuring out which ones to buy is no small thing.  It is not always apparent from looking at just the record jacket, (the cardboard sleeve the record comes in).
3. LPs can be damaged while playing  or handling them, far more delicate that a CD or tape.
4. If you enjoy just certain tracks or cuts in a record, skipping around is much more difficult than pushing a button on the CD player remote!
5. Because half of the songs are on a second side, once again, getting to that song requires removing the record and turning it over!  I know that sounds like a pretty lazy excuse, but hey we are very used to convienence!
6. Lots of used records are available and fun to try to find and less expensive to buy, but unless you really know what you’re doing, getting them great condition can be a challange and you’re always taking a chance!
7. The ritual of dusting and cleaning your records before they are played is also one more step between you and your music!

 

Advantages:

1.  Analog records have a certain sound that is very, very pleasant.  It’s not more accurate, just has a great sound, less sterile than many CD’s and streamed music. Your choice of amplifiers and speakers can help with the more clinical sound of digital music but I have to admit, a great LP of the same music, if properly mastered and pressed,  has a great warm full sound, that I love!
2. The same disadvantage of all the things you need to do, makes the listening even more rewarding.  you’re more likely to get lost in an LP and let it play all the way to the end, and after all that is some the great pleasure of a collection of performances!
3. If you are convinced that a record simply sounds better, then that is the reward of listening to an LP!  I’m still slightly on the fence on that one, but I really do enjoy them!
4. Liner notes and a wealth of information about the artists can make your musical experience all the richer.

 

So in the end, what are my final thoughts?  I simply love music and I really love the hobby of the gear, I enjoy comparing speakers and headphones to one another.  I have three sets of speakers in my listening room and over a dozen different pairs of headphones, I love them all, but they are all different and it is that difference that keeps things fresh!  My main source material is CD’s, I went rather wild during the hey day of CDs and collected well over two thousand.  With Apple Music I have hundreds of albums from a great variety of artists and the lossless files from my iPad Pro sound fantastic!  Unlike Jack who is a musician and knows a great deal about jazz, my tastes runs quite wide. from Bluegrass to Classical,  Symphonic to Rock n’ Roll, to Contemporary Christian and Gospel music!  I have a massive collection of late 50’s to mid 60’s Oldies rock n’ roll on CDs!  I also have a very complete collection of Frank Sinatra! My brother Homer and I saw him perform  live in Miami during Spring Break in the sixties!

 

Thanks Jack for re-invigorating my love of the music and the gear!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

Be sure and watch these:

 

The “in” Grove on Youtube

 

Straight Talk With Jack on  youtube

 

New Record Day on youtube

 

i also enjoy The Cheap Audio Man, Andrew Robinson and the the Audiophioliac with Steve Guttenberg all on Youtube.

 

 

First it is great to see that Fujifilm is addressing the needs of action, sports and wildlife photographers.  While the most recent Fujifilm cameras have been much improved in terms of auto focus speed and tacking ability they still were not competing with Canon, Nikon and Sony for the action shooters out there!   If the specs are to be believed, and Fujifilm is pretty conservative company when it comes to claims, I  think we have a winner for those photographers needing this kind of camera!

 

A 5^th Generation X-Trans CM”OS 5 HS Sensor

 

The new X-Processor 5

 

40 fps blackout free burst shooting / 30 fps for over 1000 frames!

 

Much Improved Autofocus and Tracking

 

6.2K 30P and 4K120 P  video

 

7 Stops in body stabilization

 

0.8x magnification 5.76 million Dot EVF

 

40 minute recording time

 

Weather Resistant body

 

So what does all this add up to?  A great addition to the Fujifilm line-up for “those” photographers needing this camera!!!!  Sadly, I’m not one of them.  My friends jokingly say everything I shoot is either; Dead – Dying – Or Petrified!

For me, I miss the analog type controls that allow easy setting of shutter speed, aperture, ISO and Exposure Compensation.  For me those are far more important!   I don’t think Fujifilm is making mistake, I think they simply building a camera to meet the needs of other photographers rather than me.  Hey they already have the X-T4 which I consider a great camera and perfect for my needs, I don’t need or want more mega pixels, in fact I think the early X-T1 camera with a 16 mega pixel sensor was, for my kind of work, the best imaging sensor of all!!!  I was not excited about a 40 mega pixel sensor either, I don’t need that much resolution for my work and I fear the noise will not be as great as the current 26 mega pixel sensor exhibits, but technology marches on and I could be wrong,

 

Don’t get me wrong, I think the X-2Hs is a wonderful accomplishment and will be well received and enjoyed by shooters needing it’s stellar specs.  So if Fujifilm is listening, I want an X-T5 with the new high resolution viewfinder, the old style (X-T3) fold up and out for verticals LCD, and change nothing else!!!!!  But then, the number of dinosaurs like me are getting further and fewer between!  i am thrilled with what Fujifilm has done to improve my photographic life, so I wish them only the best!  They’ve already made me a very happy camper!

 

But then, that’s only one guys opinion!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

Every Memorial Day I slip the Saving Private Ryan DVD into the player and watch the last scene for the film.  It is always and emotional moment for me, to remember the lives that were sacrificed so that we can have the freedoms we enjoy.  An old Private Ryan says I’ve tried to “earn it” which were the last words his commanding officer had said to him as he died, “earn this”.  On this sacred occasion we all need to ask ourselves, have we earned it!  Freedom is not free, it was purchased, at a high price, with the lives of many thousands of men and women that gave their lives up, freely, so that our way of life can continue!  Please take a few moments this weekend to remember that sacrifice and commit to earn it by being a better man or woman, a better citizen, and more committed to our country.

 

Our spiritual lives are another matter.  Jesus did not ask us to earn it, He asked us to accept his sacrifice, forgiveness and him, and then He gave us eternal life.  We could never earn what He did for us, but we can try to live a life  that is an example of His life. Of course, that is not possible, but with Him all things are possible, only through His power can love instead of hate, forgive instead of condemn and care instead of display indifference.  We get a new chance everyday to start again, anew, and live the life we were meant to live.  We owe it to Him to do just that!

 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, be blessed,

 

 

the pilgrim