It's Official: the Canon Rebel T5i (700D) Sucks!

The Canon Rebel T5i is the exact same thing as the T4i (650D) and T3i (600D), which means that it is obsolete, over-priced garbage that should have hit the digital dumpster a year ago and not have been re-warmed in the technological microwave for a second time.

So, that out of the way, if you need to see why the T5i sucks so bad, just go here and see how virtually the specifications of the 2-generation old camera are the same as on the one introduced last week. Going beyond the numbers, let's continue.


For starters, Canon has shoved an archaic sensor into the camera: the same 18mp chip that the company has used in its sub-frame dSLRs since 2009. Yes, while it is nice to see Canon reining in the pixels, seeing them do it with a
sensor soon to celebrate its 4^th birthday is not good at all, especially with other manufacturers developing new chips.

Another point of irritation: less than 100% viewfinder coverage. Sure, a 95% viewfinder would have been passable a few years ago, but this is 2013 and people are demanding (and companies are providing) 100% coverage, even on consumer-grade models.

Other, smaller points to complain about are many, too. For starters, the T5i only has a 1/4000th second top shutter speed, which is sure to bother some people, as well as a slower than other Canons flash sync speed, too. Oh, yes, and Canon still has no AF assist lamp on the T5i (or anything else for that matter)!

As for what's new, well, I'm still trying to figure that out. So far, the only upgrades I can determine with certainty are an updated nameplate, box, and manual.

The good news is that all is not bad by any means as the old T3i, essentially the same thing, is still available for about $250 less than the T5i, with even greater discounts to be found on factory refurbished models.

Bottom line: don't buy a T5i.

If you feel that you must have a T5i, according to Canon, it will sell starting in April for $899.99 when bundled with an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens kit, and $1,099.00 with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens kit.

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How to See Comet PANSTARRS Tonight (Maps, Photos)

 

Well, I finally did it: got to see Comet PANSTARRS as the sky finally cleared at dusk for the first time since the comet entered the Northern sky (lovely Northeast Ohio weather!). So, having seen the comet for myself (with some difficulty), I thought it would be best to pass on some viewing tips to the world to aid others' comet hunts.

My biggest surprise with Comet PANSTARRS was just how difficult it was to spot in the first place. While it is being reported as shining around 0 magnitude, it is still very difficult to see thanks to its proximity to the Sun. In looking for the comet, I used my Starry Night Pro software to help. Problem: Starry Night shows the comet as popping into visibility too early, way too early.

At my location, the Sun sets about 7:30pm and Starry Night showed the comet popping into naked eye visibility around 8pm, 30 minutes after sunset. In reality, though, I couldn't see the comet until about 8:15, or about 45 minutes after sunset. Which brings me to tip #1: don't head out until about 45 minutes after sunset.

As for seeing the comet itself, it was made more difficult by a cloudy, hazy horizon (see above picture), so much so that, at about quarter past eight, I was about to just give up and head in after having fruitlessly scanned the sky with 10x50 binoculars in the freezing cold for over15 minutes. Before heading in, I decided to fire off one last picture, 2 second shutter speed, hoping that the camera would show up on camera, which it did. Therefore we have tip #2: use a camera to find the comet if you can't pick it up visually with binoculars.

Once found on camera, I went right back to that patch of sky with the binoculars and, as if by magic, the comet was there.

Once I had the comet spotted visually, it was getting closer to 8:30, which meant that the comet was scarcely 5 degrees above the horizon. Unfortunately, with the haze, houses, and killjoy lights, I didn't have much time to savor the view, let alone get off a good picture with a fixed telescope (no time to get all the cords), which brings me to my third and final tip #3: scout out a good Western horizon free of lighting.

So, hopefully, these tips will serve to help anyone who has yet to see the comet. As for a visual representation, use the pictures below to serve as a guide. All are  set for 8:30pm at 41 degree North. A final observation: Starry Night has PANSTARRS dropping a magnitude and a half next week, which will make spotting it all the tougher.

Okay, I lied: tip #4: make it a point to see the comet as soon as possible!

 March 15

 March 17

 March 19

 March 21

March 23

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It's a Fraud: St Malachy's Prophecy of the Popes

Well, according to St. Malachy's famous (one might say infamous) Prophecy of the Popes, the final pontiff has been elected. There are just two problems: his name (birth or papal) isn't Peter and he isn't a Roman. Oops!

As anyone who has visited this website for the past year and a half knows, I have a like of debunking prophecy, especially in light of the astronomically-inspired Maya doomsday prophecy that some held meant that the world would end on December 21, 2012. Well, the Maya doomsday 2012 prophecy didn't pan out (obviously) and, come the end of the papal conclave, the Prophecy of the Popes missed the mark, too.

So, how could this be?

For starters, many Catholic scholars dismiss the prophecy as a hoax. Reportedly written by St. Malachy, who lived in the 1100s, the prophecy never came to light until 1595, when it was published by Arnold de Wyon, a Benedictine monk, who 'discovered' it. More evidence against the prophecy? St. Malachy's biographer, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, never mentions any such prophecy (though he does detail several miracles attributed to Malachy) nor, for that matter, did St. Malachy himself.

As another, interesting observation, consider this: the prophecy was startlingly accurate about the popes until the time of its discovery but the predictions become so vague thereafter that the short descriptions can be twisted to apply to any pope should someone look hard enough for a connection. Implication: a late 1500s forgery bolstered by the attribution to a famous saint.

As for the (unusually long) description of the last pope, it reads as follows: “In the extreme persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The end.” The implication: after the reign of this pope ends, the world will be destroyed.

Now the reality.

Yesterday, the College of Cardinals elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio pope. Bergoglio took the name of Francis, thus ending the speculation of a Pope Peter II. Additionally, the new pope's birth name is missing 'Peter' as well. As for his place of birth, Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is thousands of miles from Rome.

However, that hasn't stopped the prophecy proponents from going out of their way to twist the prophecy to the breaking point in order to fit it to the new pope, noting that St. Francis of Assisi, in whose honor Bergoglio chose his papal name, had a middle name of 'Pietro' (Peter in English). Talk about tenuous.

Throughout history, people have always been trying, and failing, to predict the future. Whether the prophets be religious or secular, the results have always been the same in that they have often missed the boat, whether by being specific and wrong or being so ambiguous that the meaning of a particular prophecy could be debated until the real end of time itself.

The only real question that we should have here upon the election of Pope Francis is this: why do we continue to believe the 0 for your guess prophets of doom, anyway?

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Why Do We Have Daylight Savings Time and Other DST Trivia

Love it or hate it, we've just had to spring ahead for Daylight Savings Time (DST). So, rather than complain, have fun with DST and baffle your friends with these interesting DST trivia facts. Enjoy!


*Many ancient civilizations divided their days into 24 hours just like us, but adjusted the 'hours’ lengths so that there would always be 12 hours of day and 12 of night (this had to make setting up a date really suck).


*While he did not propose DST, Benjamin Franklin, while serving as envoy to France, anonymously published a letter suggesting people rise early (and thus go to bed earlier) to economize on candles and make use of natural sunlight. so no, don't blame Ben Franklin for our having to change the clocks (and you being an hour early for church this morning!)

* The catalyst for starting DST: saving energy during World War I, after which it was dropped until, you guessed it, WWII. Funny how wars spur things to get done.


*While we shift by an hour today, twenty and thirty minute shifts, and also two hour shifts, have been used in the past anda re currently used in different places over the world.


* The Uniform Time Act of 1966 standardized DST start/stop dates for the United States even though it doesn't require states to observe DST (Ariziona and Hawaii don't).


*Even now, start/end dates aren’t standard around the world


*Switch dates are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere


*In some areas, voters have rejected use of DST altogether while in other areas, there are pushes to eliminate Standard Time and have DST all year long (thus making DST the new Standard Time).


*'Standard' Time only lasts about 4 months of the year (hardly standard if you ask, me, how about calling it Daylight Losing Time?)

* If you fail to spring forward, you may wind up in an alternate universe where you will spend the rest of your life running from creepy garbage men if you can't get someone in DST to set your watch ahead for you.  Don't believe me? See for yourself!

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