Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Holiday 2004 Wishlist

It's here!  My 2004 holiday wishlist.  First off, I don't post this to be greedy, I just think it's a handy way to let people know what kinds of things I'm interested in, let ME figure out what I'm interested in, and give me a future insight into what I thought was cool at this point.  Some of this stuff is way outside of what I would consider as typical “gift price range”, and I would never expect to get it.  I'll probably continue to update this as the holidays progress and I invariably cave in and get some things for myself or see something new and cool.  I'm going to categorize from the beginning since that's the way last year's turned out.

If, for some crazy reason, you're interested in actually getting me something, you might let Becky know in order to avoid duplicates (rebecky at dontspam mail dawt com).  I looked at several online wishlist sites to avoid that problem, but I didn't like any of them.  Any suggestions?

Video Game Stuff:

  • XBox Console - It's finally on my list.  I'll probably take care of this one myself. Got it with the help of some used games
  • Additional XBox Controller - This controller situation on the XBox is unclear to me.  There seems to be several official styles.  Which one is better?  Dave relates his distaste for them in the comments of a recent post.  What's the deal here? Evidently, the “S” controllers (that linked to) are the good ones according to the people I've talked to, and the consoles come with them now as opposed to old stupid ones.  Thanks Ben!
  • HD cables for the XBox - I don't have any non-component sources hooked into my TV now (5 total now).  Why stop? I was just getting really tired of composite.
  • XBox Live Starter Kit (w/ headset) - This is much cheaper than I thought it was. I've got 4-months XBox live free, and already picked up 1 communicator (Although I could use another)
  • Halo 2 - The reason for the above Thanks, Rich!
  • Any other recommendations for XBox stuff?

Computer stuff

Photography

Home Theater

  • Component Video/Audio switch - As I mentioned before, I'm out of inputs.  I have an older version of this that only does video.  This one does audio (optical/coax/stereo) as well and is auto-sensing!  Very cool.

Movies (DVD)

Clothes:

  • Coming soon.

Gadgets:

  • Green Laser - Jerry brought his by a few weeks ago and we had TONS of fun with it ... so bright.
  • Phidgets - I found these on Scott Hanselman's list.  Way cool!  I can think of some cool stuff I'd like to do with the RFID stuff.  I wish they had stepper motor controllers.  I might finally finish my electronic pan/tilt head.

More to come!  I'm out of time for now.

Feel free to post YOUR wishlist items in the comments.

 

 | 
posted on Wednesday, December 01, 2004 10:13:30 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [4]
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Wednesday, December 01, 2004 11:19:52 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
> Feel free to post YOUR wishlist items in the comments.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/6fd6/ - I will be getting this for myself. :-)

Think Geek is a great place to find cool geeky stuff. I need to get off of their mailing list so we quit ordering 'stuff' from them....
shelley | shelley+marklioAT NOSPAMpeterandshelley dot net
Tuesday, December 07, 2004 12:53:29 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Well since you asked.. =)

I'll use B&H as a price index...

If you want wide zoom, I recommend the new 10-22 EF-S (only for the drebel and 20d) that is effectively 16-35mm in film terms. $800 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=351542&is=USA

If you *really* want wide aperture, the 24-70mm 2.8L is the lens.. not a cheapy though, $1150
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=264304&is=USA

If you want a medium range good stabilized lens, either my lens (28-135mm) or the new 17-85mm (also EF-S only) would be nice. Mine is still around $400:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=149629&is=USA

And the new EF-S lens is $600:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=351548&is=USA

Since you say that it's mostly for indoors, I would recommend as wide a lens as you think you might need. the 17-85mm IS would be good for that, but the aperture is not great: 4-5.6, but it does have a stabilizer. My lens is 3.5 aperture at 28mm.

(All these mm are in terms of 35mm film, so multiply them all by 1.6 to get the drebel equivalent.)

Also for the indoor aspect, I would recommend a separate flash. The Canon Speedlite 420EX is a good middle-ground flash. $180:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=206436&is=USA

There are other more powerful (more expensive) flashes (550EX, 580EX), but all of Canon's Speedlite flashes have high-speed sync, meaning you can use high shutter speeds (most flashes sync to 1/60s or 1/120s - these can go up to 1/4000s I believe).
jerry | jerryAT NOSPAMjerryknight dot com
Tuesday, December 07, 2004 12:58:36 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
And for the curious.. Here's where we found my laser pointer.

http://www.lasersale.com/catalog/display_products.asp?cat=45

Note, it is pulsed, not continuous like the $120 thinkgeek model, but as long as you don't intend to run a lightshow, it shouldn't matter.
jerry | jerryAT NOSPAMjerryknight dot com
Tuesday, December 07, 2004 1:14:36 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Look what you've done - you've got me started! =)

Once you decide on a lens, you'll need an appropriately sized UV filter, mostly just to prevent damage to the front lens element. A circular polarizer is also a good investment. Most of the other filters can be approximated in digital-land, though.

If you ever travel or shoot outdoors much, I recommend a monopod of some kind. Easier to carry than a tripod, but still good for stabilizing your camera.

Then there's the battery/vertical-shutter-button grip. You tried it out on the 4th of July. $100:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=297502&is=REG

Then there's a bag. My bag (Jen said you liked the design) is a Tamrac Velocity 7. $45
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=297502&is=REG

But I recommend that whole line. Lowepro makes good bags too.

Anything else?
jerry | jerryAT NOSPAMjerryknight dot com
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