John Spahr

Just when you think you've seen everything, you're gifted a still camera that saves images to compact discs . I had been aware of Sony's CD Mavica line of cameras for a while, and I had owned numerous floppy disk Mavicas, but using a CD Mavica for the first time was surreal nonetheless. There's something special about a camera with a whole optical drive in it. It reminds me a lot of a Discman. I was fortunate enough to get mine for free with all of its accessories and several blank discs. My model is the MVC-CD400, and it was one of several CD-based Mavicas in Sony's lineup. This camera, in particular, dates back to around 2002. The weird round shape is the result of cramming a whole CD mechanism in this camera. The hardware is delightfully 2000s. The entire front panel, including its surprisingly bright LCD, folds out to reveal a compact optical drive. It reads 8-centimeter "mini" CDs. These are significantly smaller than normal CDs, and while the camera ...

If you’ve followed my work, you know I love my Canon Rebel T7. I'll admit, I’m a sucker for DSLRs. They’re inherently more mechanical in nature than their more modern mirrorless and mobile alternatives. Problem is, they’re big and bulky. And I love that… Except when I’m on the go. Sometimes, I just don’t have time to be swapping lenses.  That's where phone photography comes in, right? Well, not really. I love the various tactile controls and shooting modes on my Rebel. Using a phone feels soulless by comparison, with everything being dumbed down and AI-assisted. I was after a DSLR-like point-and-shoot camera, and that's where this little guy came in... Meet Uncle Ricoh! Obligatory Napoleon Dynamite joke out of the way, this is my favorite point-and-shoot camera I’ve owned. This is the Ricoh Caplio GX100 from 2007. It has all sorts of snazzy features that satisfy the camera geek within me. I'm talking about multiple knobs and dials. I'm talking   about a proper  man...

Hey, folks! I did it. I finally got into instant photography. And I love it. Admittedly, I've had some experience with instant photography before now. I got my first instant camera at a thrift store in 2022. It was a Polaroid OneStep from the 90s, and while film was still readily available for it, it was far too expensive to justify using it regularly. As cool as instant photography was, I accepted that it wasn't economically viable for me and moved on. ...Until about a month ago! On one of my first dates with my girlfriend, she introduced me to her Fujifilm Instax Mini 11. It was a much more compact and modern instant camera than my Polaroid. It also used smaller film slides. This was a big deal, as she informed me that the smaller film came at a smaller price. I was intrigued. A couple weeks later, I ventured to Walmart and splurged. I picked up the cheapest Instax they sold: The Mini SE. It only cost about $57, and it came bundled with 10 slides of film. I also picked up an ...

Hi, everyone! Lately, I've been exploring tapes and the hardware used to play them. This has led me down a rabbit hole involving the Sony Walkman. You see, in the 90s, Sony made several budget Walkmans with virtually the same internal mechanism and layout. They were constructed out of black plastic to meet a price point, with detachable belt clips on the back. All of these models are held together with plastic clips, with no screws to be found. Looking inside, they're pretty simple, with a single belt found in my two units. This belt is easily accessible, making repairs incredibly quick and painless. Given that these belts tend to deteriorate over time, this is definitely a major plus to these models. From what I can tell, all of these black plastic 90s Walkmans have a selector switch for Type 1 and 2/4 tapes. My smaller and more basic Walkman, the WM-EX102, has a switch on the front for the "Mega Bass" bass boost system. Conversely, my WM-FX21 features a radio tuner ...

      Just because something is flashy and cool doesn't mean it's better. You don't need me to tell you this, but Apple is smart with marketing. When I was in Paris last summer, giant ads hyped up AirPods, making the marketing presence surrounding that product especially evident. I fell for the hype and have owned two pairs of AirPods: the second and third generations. However, I can now safely say while my first pair was fine, I sincerely hate my AirPods 3. Here's why.     I'm an Apple fan, make no mistake. I am writing this on a 2020 MacBook Air while listening to some tunes on my iPhone 14. However, these tunes aren't coming through my AirPods. Instead, they come from a random $20 pair of earbuds, the KBEAR KS2s. Other than being wired, they are superior to my AirPods in every way. For one, the AirPods 3 don't stay in my ears well, so their sound quality is greatly diminished from this alone. I cannot speak for how they sound for someone with different ea...

Hey, everyone. I had been interested in getting an Orient Bambino dress watch for quite a while, so I recently acquired one for my collection. I opted for the confusingly-named “2nd Generation Version III,” as it had a lot in common with my vintage Benrus alarm watch. I really liked the look of that older watch, but its requisite servicing proved to be prohibitively expensive. So, this Orient seemed like a good option until I could afford to repair the Benrus someday, and I decided to pick one up. Upon receiving the Bambino, I fully appreciated just how similar it is to the Benrus. They both have that 60s look, featuring heavily domed crystals, sunburst dials, rectangular hands, and straight lugs. Granted, the Bambino does have some very noticeable differences, such as its 40.5mm case diameter, dial markers, and color, but I think that Orient did an excellent job of replicating that vintage watch aesthetic. Bambino Benrus Aesthetics aside, the Bambino is still a very solid dress watch ...

About a year ago, I reviewed the 2014 Mac mini on this blog. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that it was still an excellent machine for productivity tasks, but it could also handle some more intense things you threw at it. Thus, it became my daily driver up until I upgraded to a 2017 MacBook Air a few months ago. That being said, I’ve still been using it some, so I thought I’d briefly share how it’s holding up these days. Here are my thoughts on this miniature Macintosh one year later! Performance  Over the last year, I’ve been impressed by how much this Mac can handle. It’s rocking a 2.6 GHz dual-core Core i5 with 8 GB of RAM and a Samsung 860 Evo 1 TB SATA SSD. What all that jargon essentially means is that it’s a moderately powerful little computer, although it certainly isn’t going to put newer Macs to shame. Regardless, I’ve been able to do lots of coding, video editing, and schoolwork on this computer, and it has generally worked pretty well. Granted, it can take a while...

Hey, everyone. As you may recall, I’ve been taking a break from software development lately, and this has given me more time to spend on my other hobbies. To achieve this, there’s one tool I’ve been using a great deal: my 2017 MacBook Air. I’ve had this compact computer for nearly a month now, and I seem to have come to a realization. If you want a thin, light, reasonably powerful, and relatively affordable Mac laptop, this might just be one of your best options. How come? Read on to find out! Design and Build This laptop’s design is one of the main reasons why you might want to consider buying one of these MacBook Airs. It’s fairly thin and super light, but it still keeps our beloved USB-A ports, MagSafe, and SD card reader. Furthermore, it has an excellent non-Butterfly keyboard, a nice trackpad, a sturdy aluminum chassis, and a fairly large 13-inch display. Said display isn’t the sharpest or most color accurate, but the worst thing about it has to be its atrocious viewing angles. Re...

In the world of budget watches, few are as well-loved as Seiko’s SNK series. For under $100, you get an automatic movement, an attractive design, day and date complications, and a surprising amount of fun extras. There are plenty of reviews of this watch already, so I figured I would just quickly share my experience and first impressions with this watch. So, let’s begin! First Impressions: Upon opening this watch’s perfectly adequate box, at least for the price, I was immediately impressed. This is a watch with a lot of character, featuring unique hands, plenty of luminescence, and the signature Seiko 5 shield emblem. The dial feels much less flat than a lot of the competition, and the whole piece feels like it’s worth much more than the $90 it retails for. It’s not too large or thick, and it feels quite substantial. In short, this watch looks and feels excellent for the price. Pros: This watch has a unique and attractive design, although it has been debated whether or not this is cons...

Hi, everyone! As I somewhat diverge from the traditional purpose of this blog, said purpose being project updates, I feel that it is a good time to start writing about some of my other hobbies that I enjoy. One such hobby is watch collecting, and this post is the first of potentially many in a series I call “John’s Watch Box.” Today’s watch is one that watch enthusiasts will likely not appreciate, but more casual wearers like myself will enjoy for the most part. This is a Fossil SK-4928, a 1990s skeleton quartz watch that I inherited with a retro and eye-catching design. An Important Note Before we begin, I want to make it clear that this is very much a watch that prioritizes form over function. While this may not fly for a more expensive watch, these vintage Fossils tend to go for very little on sites like eBay since they lack the craftsmanship and brand prestige that you’ll find from some alternatives. That being said, if you ask me, the only issue with these so-called “fashion watch...

Hey, everyone! Though this may change with the introduction of Google's rumored homegrown "Whitechapel" SOC, as of now, the main reasons most people seem to buy a Pixel phone are their value, software, and of course, the stunning photos they can produce.  The first point, value, mainly has to do with the fact that Google continues to sell its very capable Pixel 4a for just $349 here in the United States, making it one of the most compelling budget Android phones available for sale in this part of the world. Furthermore, another factor that makes it such a great option at that price is Google's software. From the clean Android experience to the frequent updates, there's a lot to like about the software experience on a Pixel. However, as my fellow tech enthusiasts surely know, Google's main claim to fame with its Pixel smartphones has traditionally been their excellent image processing. Though the Pixel 5 may use the same primary sensor as the last few Pixels, i...