08DEC2024

Happy Sunday, everyone! This week, I’ve been jamming out to TV on the Radio’s Tiny Desk Concert, thoroughly enjoying seeing screenshots of people’s computer desktops bedecked in holiday lights thanks to Simon’s Festivitas app, gorging on Salted Ube and S'Mores Boba Ice Cream, and continuing to geek out on camera stuff. Other than just carrying a camera everywhere and trying to take snaps as much as I can, I’ve enjoyed perusing this curated list of iOS camera apps, reading this beautiful article about Leica’s engraved fonts, and drooling over these completely imaginary retro-futuristic cameras.

OK, on to the good stuff!

• 📷 Pixii Max Rangefinder Camera - The latest offering from Pixii is the only full-frame digital rangefinder camera on the market that I know of other than Leica’s vaunted M series digital cameras. At just half the price of a new Leica M11, the Pixii is a really neat, modular, upgradeable, software-defined camera. Best of all, you can send older models in and, for a fee, they will upgrade your components (new sensors, new processors, etc) as they are released. So, for example, there are folks who bought the original Pixii 5 years ago with an APSC sensor, that are sending their cameras in to be upgraded this month to the new full frame sensor. How cool is that? That said, it does have some limitations that keep it from really being a fit for me (no mechanical shutter being a big one in my mind), BUT I’m really rooting for these guys and would love to see them bring some more competition to keep Leica on its toes.

• ⚡ Anker MagGo 3-in-1 / Anker MagSafe Charger Stand* - For Apple-toting friends who may be gearing up for holiday travel over the next few weeks, I highly recommend grabbing one of these two 3-in-1 travel chargers. There are a bunch of products like this that will charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods in one place. Personally, I have the cube-shaped one, and just really appreciate that these things are SO compact and well made. They take all the stress out of charging your stuff. Bonus points for making it so you really only need to bring one cable to charge all three devices. *These are Amazon-affiliate links that may earn me some commission to support my tech habit.

• 📖 Lochby Mini Field Journal - Lochby makes amazingly rugged and good-looking canvas and waxed canvas journals. I have one of their larger Field Journals I’ve used off and on for years. It just makes me happy every time I see it. Very strong “I’m going to uncover a mystery at an archaeological site” vibes. Now, they have launched a smaller, pocket-sized version that can carry about four Field Notes booklets in it. I am probably going to have to pick one of these up. (Thanks to Abu C for making sure I see this!)

• 🛞 Hoto Tire Inflator* - This last week I discovered, right at the most inopportune time, that the off-the-shelf “roadside emergency kit” I’ve been carrying around in the back of the family car for years was, in fact, nothing more than a flaming pile of armadillo poop wrapped in reflective neon canvas. (What kind of roadside kit doesn’t have jumper cables??) Anyway, I’m rebuilding my kit from scratch. Enter the Hoto Tire Inflator. I have bought a number of products from Hoto now, and every* one* has been a delight. This tire inflator is no different—it actually looks cool, is USB-C chargeable, has preset modes for car tires, motorcycle tires, bike tires, sports balls, and more, as well as a handy built-in flashlight. I’ll be more ready next time. *These are Amazon-affiliate links that may earn me some commission to support my tech habit.

• 👩🏽‍🎨 Read.cv - Thanks to Andrew at ClicksNClacks for flagging this cool design portfolio/resume site/job board combo. Admittedly, it’s doing kind of a lot of things, but it’s beautiful to explore and is chock full of cool side projects and hobby websites made by people who really care about the design of what they’re making. Highly recommend a click around—who knows, you may find a great designer to hire for your next project or opening.

That’s it for this week—be well, everyone!

Hey, how was this issue?

• 👍🏽 Lots of good stuff!
• 🤙🏽 Nothing really new, but it was fun.
• 👎🏽 Not interesting to me.