Category: video

My Sony X85J 4k monitor/TV

On By Rick McIn Apple, TV, videoLeave a comment

I finally own a 4K monitor. It was discounted everywhere over holidays 2021 for CAD $750. On the other hand, it took a couple of weeks to make delivery. I ended up getting it from Costco.

I shoot video mostly in 4k. Edit it down to 1080p for export to YouTube.

Someday I’ll be exporting 4k.

Based mainly on reviews from RTings.com I decided on the X85J:

  • great response time
  • Native Refresh Rate 120 Hz
  • variable refresh rate support
  • Google TV operating system
  • voice control
  • Sony’s cheapest TV with HDMI 2.1 (4k @ 120Hz SHOULD work — but one review said it fails)

Some customizations

If you want to make HDR content brighter and don’t mind losing image accuracy, change to the ‘Vivid’ Picture Mode, and set Contrast to ‘Max’. These settings result in a much brighter image …

We measured the HDR brightness in the ‘Custom’ Picture Mode, before calibrating the TV, with Brightness at max, Contrast at ’90’, and Color Tone set to ‘Expert 2’.

I’ll mainly be using it as a second monitor for my laptop — when in Parksville.

And use it as a TV, as well. The voice command is limited, but useful.

Oh My God – Adele’s video masterpiece

On By Rick McIn music, videoLeave a comment

Actually, it’s Director Sam Brown and the video editors who created this masterpiece.

For me, the song is only OK.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. It was filmed in one day!

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

DJI Mini SE Drone Test #1

On By Rick McIn cycling, hiking, photos, travel, video4 Comments

I tried and failed to fly a DJI Spark drone when it was released 2017. Did not once get it off the ground. It was a dead weight on my Patagonia trip that year.

In 2021 the (Mavic) Mini SE is their entry level model. CAD $349. … How long before I break it? 😀

I’ve either gotten a lot smarter — or their drones are much easier to operate now.

Click PLAY or watch the 1st flight on YouTube.

My NEW MacBook Pro in 2022

On By Rick McIn Apple, videoLeave a comment

While in Europe, my first generation SILICON MacBook Pro purchased November 2020 began to fail. Slowly the display started to go black. I ended up using just half the screen that was still visible. As I post it’s completely black and can only be used with an external monitor.

Just over a year old, the warranty was void. Happily, I’d purchased AppleCare extended warranty and will try to have the 2020 fixed.

In the meantime, on November 25th, I ordered the base model of the upgraded 2022 version.

Love it so far. Especially the RETURN of features that had been discontinued.

One of my online gurus, Serge M from Saskatoon, had his laptop screen crack after he dropped it. So purchased the same machine at about the same time. Base model 14‑inch MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM and only 512 GB internal memory. Both of us will store our large files on external SSD drives.

Kraig warned me that my old 2020 laptop might choke with only 8GB RAM. And he was right — though it didn’t happen very often. And only rarely with Final Cut Pro and once Pixelmator Pro.

Serge tested my new machine editing 4 simultaneous 4K streams. No problem. That’s far more processing power than I’ll need for years. 😇

iJustine tested even more extreme use cases, and was shocked how easily the base model handled video editing.

So … the cheapest base model of the 2022 MacBook Pro is powerful enough for anything I’d want to do over the next few years.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

For the first time ever Apple bungled my online purchase. I ended up having to cancel.

NEXT I tried to buy one in stock from an Apple store in Vancouver. They bungled that, as well.

FINALLY I was able to get one from BestBuy Canada with only 2 weeks delay in delivery over Christmas.

NOT CHEAP — I paid CAD $2500 AND $300 in taxes. I’ll be paying a few hundred more for an extended warranty.

Best GoPro Mounts

On By Rick McIn cycling, videoLeave a comment

I’m using the GoPro Hero 7. Stabilization is quite good for an action cam.

I don’t need to upgrade to the Gopro 10.

I tried using different mounts while cycling.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

EASIEST is the handlebar mount. Turn on the GoPro whenever you might want to show the trail. Quickly remove it to use off the bike anywhere along the road.

BEST is the selfie stick. But you end up riding with only one hand. Or trying to connect a tripod to the bike.

I’m planning to use the Blendr system for the handlebar mount. Rock solid.

Re-editing my OLD Videos

On By Rick McIn cycling, videoLeave a comment

My main HOBBY during pandemic has been video editing.

When I go back to watch some of my old edits, I’m usually unhappy 😕 with some decisions I made at the time.

A couple of times I’ve gone back and improved them. Satisfying. 🙂

For example, I was quite happy with some parts of my 2021 video cycling around Parksville. But a few things BUGGED me.

It didn’t take long to make the changes. Here’s the NEW shorter version. I posted it on a different YouTube channel to avoid later confusion.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Flash Drive Back-up for iPhone

On By Rick McIn Apple, hiking, photos, videoLeave a comment

For my purposes, an iPhone X (for example) is better in many ways than a dedicated camera like the Sony ZV-1.

I want 4K video at 60 frames / second. The iPhone does that. The Sony doesn’t.

One BIG downside of using your camera for video is running out of storage.

But I solved that with the purchase of a tiny SanDisk 256GB iXpand Flash Drive Go for iPhone CAD $82.

It works well and quickly to back-up all your photos and videos, freeing space to take more.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Notion note taking app

On By Rick McIn Apple, photos, product endorsements, videoLeave a comment

I’ve always been a NOTE taker.

Always put together TO-DO lists.

Not always skilled at following through. 😶

For the past few months I’ve been trying NOTION. It’s free for basics.

More complicated than I need. But it is cool.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

It does synch perfectly with iPhone. And I can use the IOS app even when out of service.

NOTION ranked #1 on this list of Best Note-Taking Apps 2021.

I’ve used different notebooks and apps over the decades. Most recently I’ve been trying to stick to the default Apple products:

  • Reminders
  • Text Edit

Love the simplicity and compatibility with the Fruit Company ecosystem of brainwashed.

I’ve yet to find a calendar I like. I’m using Google Calendar — but don’t really enjoy it. Right now I’m trying to switch to Apple Calendar, which I also don’t like.