Why Are Tripod Heads Important? If you’re just starting out and building your kit , you may be wondering whether you should bother with a tripod head at all. Some tripods come packaged with one, while others are designed to work with various options depending on the intended use. Do you really need a tripod? To get the most out of your tripod, you’ll want to invest in a good head to pair it with. A well-engineered tripod head allows a photographer or videographer to get the angles they need and lock the camera securely in place without hand-holding. You don’t have to spend over a grand on one, but it’s worth it to put a little money down, especially if you know you’ll be using a tripod often. Landscape photographers, wildlife shooters, and people that do a lot of night photography can all benefit from a sturdy tripod head. Like any other piece of kit, a tripod head is a tool. Which one you need comes down to what and how you shoot. If you’re shooting in the wild regularly, … [Read more...] about The Best Tripod Heads of 2022
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Best standing desk for home office and WFH 2022
The best standing desks around today can help offset and prevent a sedentary lifestyle. The health benefits they offer to those of us who spend all day in front of our computers can’t be understated. We are not meant to sit around all day. Sitting down too long – more than 8 hours a day – as stated by the American Journal of Public Health (opens in new tab) , can not only increase the risk of chronic diseases by 10% to 20% but premature death as well. UK's NHS points out (opens in new tab) that it also could slow your metabolism, which could impact "the body's ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat." Unfortunately, most of us spend a large portion of our work life hunkered down at an office desk (opens in new tab) , which is why a standing desk is a great investment. Even students going back to school should consider one for a healthier way to do homework. To help you make the leap to a healthier work life, we’ve collected the best … [Read more...] about Best standing desk for home office and WFH 2022
Twitter wants to add pointless features while Elon Musk kills his deal to buy it
Audio player loading… While Twitter is in the midst of being bought by Tesla CEO Elon Musk , it's been spotted testing two features as of late - one where you can listen to podcasts within its app on iOS and Android , and another where you can 'cotweet' with another user to post a tweet. Yet as the company is testing out how its users can tweet with one another and so forth, Elon Musk's deal of buying the company looks to be under threat, mainly due to the data of spam and bots can't be verified, according to The Washington Post (opens in new tab) . This means that the data that Musk wanted back in May that caused the deal to go on hold , isn't holding up to scrutiny. It's an uncertain time for Twitter , but looking into these two features, one can't help but wonder - what's the point of them? Analysis: One almost makes sense, the other doesn't CoTweets (opens in new tab) is exactly what you expect; as you compose a tweet, you can add … [Read more...] about Twitter wants to add pointless features while Elon Musk kills his deal to buy it
Putting light in a spin generates a ring of fire on gold film
The late 20th and early 21st century have seen a revolution in the study of light. Far from the old days of seeing things dimly through microscopes, we are now in the position to freeze light, use it to make materials transparent, and watch it spiral around on a gold surface. Watching light do its thing is very difficult. This sounds a bit silly, as we observe the world through the effects of light. But what we actually see is an average effect. Light, shade, colors, and texture all come to us via the intensity of light, provided by lots of individual photons. We are in no position to see the femtosecond flickering of the field that averages to our spectacular view of the world. All the interesting stuff we see is related to the amplitude and phase of the light field, though. And the amplitude of a light wave changes very fast, going through a complete cycle in two to three femtoseconds. The wavefront (phase) also travels very fast, moving around 300 nanometers every femtosecond. … [Read more...] about Putting light in a spin generates a ring of fire on gold film
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta dates are disappointing for Xbox players
Audio player loading… Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s beta test dates have been revealed, giving PlayStation fans something to get excited about but leaving Xbox players a little cold. Ahead of its October release date, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will available to play as part of two open beta weekends. According to Activision (opens in new tab) , the preview will let players try out a handful of maps, modes, and weapons, as well as other “innovations and surprises”. Several rewards can also be unlocked, which will carry over to the full game at launch. The first beta test will run from September 18 to September 20, but is only available to PS5 and PS4 players. If you pre-order the game on a PlayStation system, you’ll be able to dip in even earlier, on September 16. Activision has confirmed that you won’t need to have an active PS Plus subscription to take part. The second beta test runs from September 24 to September 26, and is open to … [Read more...] about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta dates are disappointing for Xbox players
Oculus Quest 2 is getting a major price hike so it’s time to bring back the 64GB model
Audio player loading… The Oculus Quest 2 is about to get a lot more expensive. Meta representatives informed us via a press release that from August 1, 2022, one of the best VR headsets out there is going to see its price jump up to $400 / £400 / AU$630 for the 128GB version (up from $299 / £299 / AU$479), and $500 / £500 / AU$790 for the 256GB model (instead of $399 / £399 / AU$639). That means if you want to grab the Oculus Quest 2 ( now officially the Meta Quest 2 ) before it sees a massive price hike you’ve only got a couple of days left. Meta has warned that the price increase will also impact the best Oculus Quest 2 accessories and refurbished units – giving you even fewer reasons to hold off making a purchase if you've been on the fence. According to Meta, despite the incredible success its VR hardware has seen – with an estimated 15 million Quest 2 headsets being sold , and over $1 billion being spent on Meta Quest apps since launch – the … [Read more...] about Oculus Quest 2 is getting a major price hike so it’s time to bring back the 64GB model
Facebook and the ACLU tell court a “Like” is protected speech
In April of this year, the US District Court of Eastern Virginia decided that "liking" something on Facebook did not constitute free speech. Now, the five plaintiffs are taking their case to an appellate court, and this time, they have the support of the ACLU and Facebook behind them. The plaintiffs, all of whom worked in the Hampton, VA Sheriff’s Office, had originally sued for their First Amendment rights after three of the plaintiffs "liked" their boss’s political rival on Facebook and subsequently lost their jobs when he won the election and remained in office. The sheriff, B.J. Roberts, claimed that the terminations were due to cost-cutting measures, but the plaintiffs were able to prove that Roberts knew about the turncoat Facebook Likes in court. The district court still ruled that it "is the court’s conclusion that merely 'liking' a Facebook page is insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection," the ruling read. "In cases where courts have found that … [Read more...] about Facebook and the ACLU tell court a “Like” is protected speech
Rocket Lab’s launch cadence now “100 percent” driven by market demand [Updated]
For a rocket named after a negatively charged particle, the Electron launch vehicle has generated a lot of positive news lately. Rocket Lab's small booster has already tied its record for annual successful launches with six this year, and it recently stepped up its cadence to complete three Electron missions in just five weeks. And these were not just any launches; they were arguably the most consequential missions since Rocket Lab began flying in May 2017. On June 28, Electron launched the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon, demonstrating that a small rocket could launch a deep space mission and proving out the capability of the company's Photon satellite bus for complex in-space operations. And then, on July 13 and August 4, Electron launched a pair of missions for the US National Reconnaissance Office that showcased the company's "responsive" space capabilities. In an interview with Ars, Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said that these missions, and the higher cadence, were possible … [Read more...] about Rocket Lab’s launch cadence now “100 percent” driven by market demand [Updated]