Recent content by Jim Martin

If you are willing to buy a used laptop, you should be able to find something on ebay for under $1,000. I found several creator style laptops that were selling for $2000-$4000 brand new 2 years ago that you can pick up for around $850 that would still be considered fast and powerful.

I couldn't agree more. I don't think it's possible to purchase a laptop with anything other than some form of SSD. As far performance goes, 3.5 inch laptop drives with physical discs topped out at 7,200 rpm, which is going to be painfully slow by today's standards. I can't imaging why someone...

People should absolutely consider a Mac. I've been in IT and programming most of my life. Mac vs PC arguments are counter productive. There is nothing wrong with having a strong personal preference - just don't assume other's share your preference :) I would encourage anyone to look at both...

Go to someplace like NewEgg.com and search for "Creator Laptops". Those will have the specs you are looking for. One big thing that is frequently overlooked is hard drive performance. Working with 4K video files can be tediously slow if you don't have fast drives. If you are patient and...

Get the most powerful charger you feel comfortable buying. The more power, the more stuff you can charge (quickly) at one time. I'm using one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKN6VSGH and it works great. If that is more than you want to spend, you can pick up a 65w - 240w charger for $30-$40.

I would go with OEM batteries. I wouldn't want to take the risk with drones that have no effective manufacturer warranty, and are becoming increasingly difficult to repair or replace. I also have a DSLR and nice glass to go with it, but I am not about to give up on drone photography. Since the...

Nice shot!

According to CYA's website www.cya.insure they cover flyaways and accidental damage. Asurion does not cover flyaways. For those of us in California, CYA might be one of the few options available. Their reviews are mixed, but given the lack of alternatives, I am very inclined to give them a try.

According to the State Farm website (Massachusetts Insurance Agents Near You - State Farm® Insurance): "State Farm does not actively market new business in this state at this time." Looks like folks in Massachusetts are in the same boat as those of us in California.

Batteries that have a well designed BMS should not have a problem with fast chargers. The BMS on the battery should not allow unsafe amounts of current or heat that could damage the battery. I'd be interested if your AI can site specific information that shows DJI batteries get damaged by fast...

If I have an image that I like, but the crop doesn't seem obvious, I usually start as @brett8883 mentions and use established rules of composition, but I won't hesitate to deviate from those norms if my eyes tell me otherwise. I can see your dilemma with those photos. There is a lot going...

We spent a few days camping with friends at Lake Tahoe. This was taken just south of Tahoe City at William Kent campground.

Add my vote to contacting the FAA. Try to get as many of your affected neighbors to contact the FAA as well. If you can, get some video of the drone. I know it's happening at night, but even a somewhat dark and grainy video could provide additional evidence to persuade the FAA. There are some...

If you are referring to photos, all my RAW files get processed in DXO PureRAW before being imported into Lightroom. DXO offers a free trial so you can try it before purchasing. PureRAW is amazing.

Several people have pointed out that even if the US were to make every effort to catch up with China, it would take years, probably a decade or more. This is a 7 year old interview of Tim Cook by Fortune Magazine where they discuss Apple's relationship with China. The entire video is worth...