Dave410

Thanks, Ed. Is there a Thunderbolt 2-to-Display port adapter that will run other displays at 4k and 60 Hz?

Hey Gang, I recently purchased a maxed-out 2015 13" MacBook Pro for my girlfriend (the sixth Apple computer I've purchased), but I'm still doing my own homework and I need a second opinion on something I was told over on MacRumors. A guy told me the 2015 13" MBP could run a 4K external monitor at 60 Hz through the Thunderbolt port, but I'm not seeing that in Apple Tech Specs. All I see is 4K at 24 Hz through the HDMI port. Am I missing something? Will this machine run a high-resolution display at a descent refresh rate? https://support.apple.com/kb/SP715?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US Many thanks, as always. Dave

<p>I just watched the Dot Tune video. Very clever and I'm looking forward to trying it.</p>

<p>I took this near Trump Tower in New York just a few days after the election.</p><div></div>

<p>It's true what they say about fog in London and I loved it!</p><div></div>

<p>Maybe the Brits aren't so stuffy after all. Here's a lesbian crosswalk signal near Trafalgar Square in London. I didn't cross, of course, but I sure saw a lot of non-lesbians crossing the street.</p><div></div>

<p>Repost coming soon.</p>

<blockquote> <p>Hi Dave. I have a LensCal and hate it. I just stick up a piece of newspaper on my garage door and use that. I found the difficulty of aligning the camera sufficiently accurately with the LensCal target frustrating. If it is not precisely aligned then the ruler scale is useless, so I just use some newsprint. But each to their own, I know others who swear by it.</p> </blockquote> <p>Aligning the camera and target took awhile, but it was doable. I just put the target on my desk and used the built-in level to make it sit flat. Then I put the camera on a tripod and lined it up. My tripod has a built-in level too, so the only variable was getting the target parallel to the focal plane and I just eyeballed it. At 24mm, the distance between the two was only 2 feet and at 70mm it was only 5.7 feet, so I think I got it pretty close. You would have the same focal-plane-parallel variable with a newspaper on the garage door, of course. In any case, I really like your technique and I'll be using it as a double check and probably as the primary method on my 100-400. Cheers.</p>

<blockquote> <p>I thought the 5Diii had a microadjustment facility built in? Or does your device simply tell you accurately how much you need to adjust by and in what direction in order to use the built-in adjustment properly without a large degree of trial & error adjustment/measure/readjustment?</p> </blockquote> <p>Exactly right. The camera needs the microadjustment feature built in and the calibration device just tells you how much and in what direction to adjust. Robin's newspaper technique would work too but would probably take more trial and error. I may use that with my 100-400 however. The nice thing about the microadjustment feature on the 5D3 is that I was able to make different adjustments for 24mm and for 70mm. Focus at 70mm was further off than at 24mm and there is now a different adjustment in the camera for each focal length. Cheers.</p>

<p>I bought the Datacolor SpyderLENSCAL. There are several tools on the market and a couple are much more complicated and more expensive. There are also a bunch of YouTube videos on how make your own calibration device for free. The SpyderLENSCAL seemed like a good balance.<br /> <br /> The only problem I may have with the SpyderLENSCAL is when I try to calibrate my 100-400. Apparently, I might need a longer ruler on the device for calibrating a telephoto and some of the other brands had one available. I don't know if it will be a problem or not, but I have an idea for a solution if it is.</p>

<p>Hi Guys,</p> <p>Not really a question, just an observation.</p> <p>I purchased one of those camera and lens calibration tools from B&H recently and used it to calibrate my 5D3 and 24-70 f/2.8 today. It took awhile, but it was pretty easy, and I was really surprised how far off the factory calibration was for my camera and lens combination. I'm expecting sharper images now and I think it was a good purchase. When I have time, I'll try to calibrate my 100-400 too.</p> <p>Just thought you might be interested....</p> <p>Cheers,<br />Dave<br> </p>

<p>In other news, the entire editorial staff of <em>Consumer Reports</em> is on an all-expense-paid vacation in Hawaii. Just kidding, just kidding.</p>

<p>You can get the bug fix on Apple's Beta site, I think. Otherwise, you have to wait awhile for an OS update.</p>

<p>Consumer Reports turns caching off on all its laptop battery tests. The problem was a bug in Safari, not caching turned off. It will be very interesting to see what happens after the re-test now that the bug is fixed.</p>

<p>Thanks, JDM. Looks nice. Discontinued, but still available and a good price.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Nice! Thanks for posting that. Does the SpectraView have a glossy screen like the iMac or a matt screen like my Dell Ultrasharp?</p>

<p>Thanks, Andrew. I'm shooting for as good or better than the display on the 27" retina iMac.</p>

<p>Sorry to be off subject, but how was the switch from Windows to Mac? Any regrets?</p>

<p>Does a 13" MacBook Pro have enough graphics horsepower to run a 4k or 5k display?</p>

<p>Good luck, Steve!</p>

<blockquote> <p>Dave Collett, I asked about switching from PC to Mac back when I got my current machine. That discussion went on for days, with some very interesting why I should/not switch comments. Thanks for your advice.</p> </blockquote> <p>I've asked that question too many times around here and some folks are pretty upset with me about it. If you're really interested, jump on over to the MacRumors forum for a good discussion on the issue. There are lots of people very familiar with both operating systems and they have some interesting insights. Makes sense, I guess. This is photography, not computers, and that's computers, not photography.<br> </p>

<p>If it gradually slowed down over time, it's probably a virus, malware or just an accumulation of crap in the operating system. I have been asked to look at slow computers before and found several hundred things running in the background that shouldn't be there at all. They slowed the machine to a crawl.</p> <p>If it happened quickly, it's probably an internal failure or conflict between physical or virtual components.</p> <p>To check for the first, run a good virus scan like Norton AND cleaning software like CCleaner, Malware Bytes and Spybot Search and Destroy. All the cleaning software is free and I run it once a month on my machines. I'll bet you find tons of bad things running that these programs will remove. You can also download and run the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool for free. I run that once a month as well. It will take several hours to run all this stuff but I bet it make a big difference. Like I said, I do this once a month.</p> <p>If it's the second, you're probably better off reinstalling the Operating System or getting professional help, but I would try the above steps first.</p> <p>On one of my other forums, at least 15 people would have jumped in and said "Get a Mac" by now. Grin!</p>

<p>I normally respect <em>Consumer Reports</em> but I remember years ago they panned the Dyson vacuum cleaner for some reason. I bought one anyone and it's been great for at least ten years. Still going strong.</p>

<p>I think there was an easy fix to the "space heater" problem he mentioned.</p> <p>Funny story: I was in the Apple store yesterday agonizing over a decision I'm not allowed to mention when a business-looking guy walked in to do his Christmas shopping. He pointed at the table covered with all of Apple's laptops and asked "What do you have in stock?" The Apple employee said it was Christmas and stock was pretty low. All they had was the new 13" MacBook Pro without the touchbar and a few MacBook Airs. The business guy pointed at the MBP, which was closest, and said "Okay, give me four of those." When the Apple employee asked what color, the business guy first asked what choices he had and then said "Uhhh, two of each." He later changed one to a MacBook Air for a "little kid." Clearly, not everyone compares specs like I do.</p> <p> </p>