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CrashFu
Inspiring
November 4, 2016
Question

So what's everyone planning to buy this Black Friday / Cyber Monday?

The time of awesome bargains on electronics and other goodies will soon be upon us again;  I'm curious if anyone's got specific things they're hoping to get a deal on this year.   (Maybe we'll give each other ideas by sharing).

Personally, I'm hoping to find a bargain on a nice camera of some sort.. right now all I have to take pictures with is a $20 phone and a webcam, so I'm obviously pretty limited in either quality or practicality.

Some good earbuds would be nice, too. Like a set that would normally cost between $50 - $100.  Hopefully something by Audio-Technica...   (I'd just get some Oculus Earbuds but I don't think I can plug those into anything but the Rift itself, lol).

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    Zoomie
    Up and Coming
    November 4, 2016

    @CrashFu if you're looking at cameras it's a tough trade between DSLR's and portables.  I own a Canon 7D and it takes amazing pictures but it's a pain to cart around.  With digital developments recently, even smaller pocket cameras are taking amazing shots.

    Ultimately there are a few components that will determine the quality of your shots. 

    There is no replacement for displacement
    This is a common saying for car engines but it applies equally to cameras.  Lens size and quality strongly affect the quality of the image.  High end optics are expensive for a reason, but they're also usually heavy and bulky to avoid optical artifacts and distortions.
    The other major "size" component is the sensor.  My 7D has an APS-C sensor which means the image is magnified slightly but is also slightly worse than a full-frame sensor.  Larger sensor sizes means higher pixel density - just like HMD's.  MegaPixels is a number manufacturers like to throw around because consumers are idiots and just like to see large numbers.  While the size of the stored images does matter for large prints, it's pointless if the size of the shots exceeds the amount of information captured by the sensor.

    I had an acquaintance tell me their iPhone camera was superior to my Canon DSLR because megapixels. 

    Then again, portable pocket cameras are taking some amazing photos.  As long as they have a quality lens and a good sensor, they perform very well in well-lit circumstances.  They crush phones anyhow.

    Are you looking DSLR or portable?

    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C Clarke
    Saxaboom
    Up and Coming
    November 4, 2016
    The only thing I'd like in my hands for Black Friday are a pair of Touch controllers  ;)
    nalex66
    nalex66
    Honored Contributor
    November 4, 2016
    We have Black Friday in recent years in Canada due to our proximity and market relationship to the US (although it's not tied to Thanksgiving for us--our Thanksgiving happens in early-mid October).

    It's not quite as big a deal here, but I did get some decent deals on PC parts a couple years ago. I don't really need anything at the moment--I've spent plenty on my PC and other electronics the past two years, so almost everything is pretty much top-of-the-line already.

    I was tempted to get one of those new iPad Pros with the pressure-sensitive stylus for digital sketching, but I tried it in the Apple store and it wasn't as responsive as I'd like. I think I'll wait for next year's model and see if they improve it.
    DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3. Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo
    zboson
    Up and Coming
    November 4, 2016
    .

    nalex66 said:

    We have Black Friday in recent years in Canada due to our proximity and market relationship to the US (although it's not tied to Thanksgiving for us--our Thanksgiving happens in early-mid October).


    You Canadians are lucky that Black Friday and Thanksgiving are so far apart. Black Friday is consuming Thanksgiving in the US.  Soon it will only be about shopping.
    Zoomie
    Up and Coming
    November 4, 2016
    Yeah, we have Thanksgiving followed by Hallowe'en which means the decorations for one roll smoothly into the other.  After Hallowe'en we have a brief reprieve until November 11th (Remembrance Day) at which point the Christmas decorations and songs come at us full force.  It's generally considered inappropriate to start pushing Christmas at us until after the 11th because many people see it as disrespectful to Veterans.  I don't usually enjoy anything Xmas related until December if I can help it.

    With internet sales, we usually piggy-back on major US shopping holidays anyhow, regardless of whether there's an equivalent holiday in Canada.  We don't have the stampedes like the US does, but the culture seems to trickle over the border so it wouldn't surprise me if we started to see it in major cities soon.
    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C Clarke
    zboson
    Up and Coming
    November 4, 2016
    Personally, I wish Christmas music and decorations were not allowed until after US Thanksgiving. But even in Norway the Christmas music starts early so I can't escape it (yet) but Christmas in Norway is huge.
    moggie007
    Inspiring
    November 4, 2016
    BEER :p
    HiroProtag0nist
    HiroProtag0nist
    Honored Contributor
    November 4, 2016

    moggie007 said:

    BEER :p



    Beer Friday.

    Shortened to "Friday".
    Big PC, all the headsets, now using Quest 3
    moggie007
    Inspiring
    November 4, 2016
    ok ill go for that ;)
    yes doc i do have a drinking problem
    i dont drink enough ;)
    Anonymous
    November 4, 2016

    Zoomie said:

    @CrashFu if you're looking at cameras it's a tough trade between DSLR's and portables.  I own a Canon 7D and it takes amazing pictures but it's a pain to cart around.  With digital developments recently, even smaller pocket cameras are taking amazing shots... 


    SNIP..




    +1 on the 7D, had one since it came out, though it is like walking about with a house brick with a bit of drain pipe attached to it... Also have a Fuji X1-Pro, which I prefer for general use and social/street photography.

    Best camera is always the one you have with you...


    zboson said:

    Personally, I wish Christmas music and decorations were not allowed until after US Thanksgiving. But even in Norway the Christmas music starts early so I can't escape it (yet) but Christmas in Norway is huge.



    I [like many] work in retail, the Christmas build up started over a month ago. This week were delivering the store decorations :(

    This Black Friday, hoping to get some deals on DLC for various games/sims. Sure Steam will have some mad bargains going.
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