jacobsen1

Did anyone else catch it... The Dad had a friend that got a "genuine" through the mob supposedly for $1,000... The Dad said no worries, the wife will never notice it... The she does and hilarity ensues. He tried to say it was a $20 rep, so she said no problem, then you won't mind me smashing it. Best part was I was sitting on the couch with my wife watching this with my new rolex rep on my wrist that she hasn't spotted yet...

Or kinda like some people can't tell the difference between a good rep and a gen...

I also really like the display back on the 172...

Thanks guys. I'm sorta leaning that way myself... I like things "blacked out" but on a watch I think it might be a bit much... They both look so good. The more I go to Josh's website the more I find another to bookmark... My current plan is to rotate companies that I get reps of. IE my first was the Rolex GMT II, then a PAM (thank you Tom), then an Omega, then a Bell & Ross then a Tag and then back through the lineup... The only issue is every time I go look at the options the list of watches I like get longer not shorter. Ben

OK, I really want to get a panerai. I have about 10 different versions book marked that I'd like to get, but for my first one I have it narrowed down to one of these 2: Pam 172 Tantalium w/Swiss -or- Pam 009 PVD w/Swiss Anything that I should consider with either of these 2? Any other model that I should get over either of these as my first Panerai that's more classic? Also, dumb question, but why does everyone abbreviate Panerai as PaM when there is no M in the name? I'll probably be getting which ever watch I decide on from Joshua. Thanks, Ben

I have everything sent to work... I haven't told my wife about my rep GMT yet either. I've been wearing it around the house though and she hasn't noticed. We both "like" watches so I'm surprised she hasn't noticed... The $$$ won't be a big issue once she realizes it's a rep... This is close enough to my old swiss army that I can see how she might not notice. If/when I get my first Pam I give it a day tops before she spots it. I need to get a watch box before I get anymore though because sitting on top of my dresser is a bit obvious. I also have this same issue with camera gear. I'm sure to send everything to work because she know what the B&H tape looks like and means. I'm always telling her that I'm selling something to pay for it. Sometimes it's true, sometimes it's not... But yeah, I'm trying to start making $$$ from my photography so she's backed off in that department... And I did sell all my old gear when I went digital... Ben

1) Rolex GMT-II "pepsi" 2) Joshua 3) Yes and Yes. It's my only rep, and only a week old now... It might be getting a few friends soon enough though.

Very nice box. I'm trying to decide if I want to make my own or just order one...

oooooowwww I'll have to check that... I have to go through security for work everyday, and I remember last night that I set the watch face down....

Swiss Eta 2836-2 Modified Automatic Movement, GMT Hand independently adjustable Yes, spin it one way the GMT hand moves, the other way changes the date. Yes, it moves as I set the time. The setting of the GMT hand has been this way since I got the watch. I know this isn't the way the gen works, but it was working when I got the watch... But I just rechecked it and it's not 9:05am here and the GMT hand is a "frog hair" past 14:00 so it is moving now.... Maybe I'm just going crazy... I'll keep checking back though to be sure it's moving right. I'm glad I wrote down the time in the OP because I was already questioning when I set it.... Link to where I got it. Thanks, Ben

Got a GMT-II from Joshua last week. So far I love the watch. But last night I had to reset my watch because I had it 12 hours off (date flipped at noon). When I did this I think the GMT hand was incorrect, but I didn't think much of it. I did make a mental note of what time the GMT hand was at when I reset it though. Well when I got up this AM it was in the same place. I know it's supposed to do one sweep per 24 hours so that's not the problem. It appears to not be moving at all... So I just set it to 13:30 as it's 8:28 here right now on my watch and I'm eastern standard so it's +5 for GMT time... (This is also to be a note as to what time I set it at so I can be sure if it's moving or not...) So is there anything I should check or redo from when I set it last night to see if that messed something up? Could it have broken? I don't want to email Josh until I know what's wrong with the watch, so any suggestions as to what I can do would be great. Thanks, Ben

For me it's between a PVD 009 or a 172 Tantalium. I like the blue hands, or the all black look.... So hard to chose though. The 111h is on the list too....

Damn those look great! I'd like to see the Californian with some blue tantalium hands personally...

Awesome shots! I'm still trying to sort out which pan I want first.... This isn't helping.

Not sure if you have any glass already or and camera stores "over there" where you can play with both side by side... But try to figure out which layout you prefer. Both are fantastic camera, but I find some people really work well with Nikon while others Canon makes more sense. It's very weird that way. If you can get some hands on time before you buy I'd bet on of those 2 will "click" with you a lot more than the other and make more sense layout wise... Mose people will argue Nikon make the better camera, while canon make a better sensor and image processor... Both are fantastic at both FWIW but usually people lean towards one brand over the other for the layouts and or manufacturing choices... Once you "pick sides" then pic the camera in their line that you want price wise. Good Luck! Ben <--- Canon guy because the first SLR I had was given to me and it was a Rebel (not D, but film). from there I got used to the canon layout because it's all I knew and I started buying canon glass. I can't get a grasp on the nikon layout easily, and I have Nikon friends who feel the same with my canon. It's just different, not better though.

mmmm bokeh....

I see said the blind man.... The part you quoted left of "quality" in the "quality of the background blur" Yes, the ISO, IQ/lens quality and several other factors come into play with the quality of the "bokeh" of an image. The background blur is the inverse of the DOF (basically) so yeah DOF does have something to do with the background blur. Sorry for the confusion.

??? how did I miss read that? How am I supposed to read that? Not trying to be picky and I know this is an international forum so the language barrier can be tough. What did I miss?

Well you're using a olympus C 150 right? That camera has a real optical viewfinder, but it's slighlty higher than the actual lens the camera takes the picture at. In certain instances (the top picture included) what you see in the optical viewfinder is not what the lens sees... So you need to play around with moving the camera to avoid that reflection if you can see it in the replayed image on the LCD. Not sure what you want to do differently in the second shot, but I'd recommend more lighting and something to diffuse it if possible. Good Luck! Ben

I've gone a few steps further because of matterials on hand and the need for a larger space... Here's my new setup: Those are 2 Home depot "shop lights" screwed to the shelf above where I have this setup. The "backdrop" paper and the paper the light is shining through is "translum". You can buy rolls of it here: Translum. Here is my old setup in my office: that was all tissue paper and mat board. I mat a lot of pictures for other stuff so I have it lying around. I couldn't fit everything into that setup so I had to make it bigger. That shot was for a "show us your office" thread on another forum, so sorry for the mess... I used the HD lights because they are cheap and I prefer using them to flashes as there in no recycle time. Make things faster, but they get very hot (CAREFUL!). Usually this is not a problem because I'm done in less than 10 minutes anyway. Ben

ISO has nothing to do with DOF except that it can change the aperture you use... Sensor size "can" effect the DOF... Age old argument that can be argued either way. IMHO the sensor size doesn't but some people will try to tell you it does. I will say that f2.8 on a P&S will have a much bigger DOF than f2.8 on a DSLR, but it's different lenses so it's not apples to apples. The best cheap option IMHO: $80 Nifty fifty: and $170 kenko extension tubes $240 total, and the tubes are a lot more useful than a dedicated macro lens IMHO. Plus you can probably use them on any lens you already have. And everyone with a DSLR should own nifty fifty, so pick that up if you haven't already. These were taken with that setup FYI, and are full frame images, IE not cropped... Ben

I have a Canon 1DmII, a Samsung NV-10, and a Rollei Mini-Digi.

OK, how 'bout "which one I want first..." Better?

"That's Hot!" Damn, I need to hurry up and pick which pan I want and order it already...

Very nice. I'm in the process of picking out my first Rep Pan and can't choose.... They're all so damn sexy. But the 2 I have it down to are very similar to yours: http://watchwindersworld.com/pn17201-tanta...497-p-2035.html -or- http://watchwindersworld.com/pn00901-base-...6497-p-626.html Ben