The car had an unlimited budget, but you are right about improving anything I get my hands on.

 

A 57x optical zoom is amazing! My old Canon SX50 HS has a 50x optical zoom, and it's downright shocking when you use it. It was my go-to camera for years while my kids were in HS sports. Imaging getting close up action shots while sitting comfortably in the stands. Very cool.

However, not even remotely necessary for this project. So there's that.

 

You bring up a good point with the zoom. That was another reason I was leaning toward a camcorder. The zoom on the gimbal and camera I got from Amazon were garbage and it is tough to do on a phone without shaking the phone a bit. I think it would be nice to zoom in on certain features on the cars. I believe the Sonys had a total of 350x zoom and the Cannon had something ridiculous like 1140x zoom.

You will have to explain the difference between optical and digital zoom to me. Is optical a movement of the lens and digital is just stretching the image to get closer to the focal point? That's how I imagine it anyway.

To counter the argument for a camcorder, I think that a good gimbal would allow me to zoom in manually with one hand which would probably be the quickest and smoothest way to do it in videos. Who knows? Maybe I am wrong, but that seems like the simplest option.

 

Optical zoom is analog, achieved by virtue of focal point on the lenses. It's a real thing. What you lose with optical zoom is a sense of depth, but it's still a real image.

Digital zoom is digital, achieved by software. It's not a real thing, and will pixilate (fuzzy) your zoomed-in image. What you lose with digital zoom is clarity.

For your purpose here (and in general), ignore Digital Zoom considerations. It's mostly a marketing thing, IMO.

Zoom via the gimbal is all about physical controls (buttons, switches, rockers, etc.) on the gimbal controlling your camera, or the app on your cell phone. That's all that is.

[edit] I am NOT a camera guy. So whatever info and advice I'm offering is anecdotal, and barely based on expertise at all.

 

That's roughly what I figured about the two types of zoom. The one gimbal I used could control the digital zoom on my phone, but the button was hard to reach and it did not operate very smoothly or quickly. I think a better gimbal would allow me to zoom in and out smoother and more importantly, a lot quicker on foot. You know, since everyone has the attention span of a gnat these days.

 

Holy offtopic batman, start a new camera thread no?

 

Sorry, I knew someone would call me out eventually. Ultimately, the camera discussion is so that I can provide better reviews for you guys, but you are right.

Let me get you guys back on topic with a review I posted this morning.

Big news: This is my new #1 prospect and will be the car all others are compared to in order to find a replacement for my G. I was surprised that I liked this even better than the ATS-V and the M3. The size and feel of this car is just so much better. It is so much more of a driver's car. This means that my other choices are now probably narrowed down to the new Nissan Z, Subaru STI, and Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing. They have some big shoes to fill if they are going to compete with the M2.

Check it out and let me know what you think:

 

Simply gorgeous wheel & brake hardware. Love those calipers. What a strange looking FSTB.

This thing screams "Driver's Car".

"If you have the means..." OK, Ferris. $55k barely used. $65k brand new.

 

I would just hate to have to clean those wheels. I would probably get a 2018 instead just because of those wheels, the weight savings, the supposedly even better sounding exhaust, and the easier to change brake pads. Same strut tower on the M3/M4 that ties the entire front end together. I think it looks a bit weird too, but it is effective. For 2016-2018 models (with the N55 motor that do not have that brace) they sell carbon fiber corner braces that look even better, but probably only slightly add to the rigidity.

I completely forgot that I used the Bueller line in that take, but it wasn't in reference to the Ferrari California replica in the movie. It was on my mind because I was about to use it for a review of a much more expensive car, but I still found it relative because most people who want a real driver's car like this actually end up buying something a lot cheaper due to their bank account. On this forum it seems to make sense because most people probably paid less than 1/2 of this for their cars (some a lot less than half).

 

Oh yea....I paid less than half of the used price of a M2 for my G37. Personally, I could never justify a car note >$35k at this time in my life. Between home upgrades and my daughter's future, it's going to be at least 20 years before I'd even consider it.

If you can swing it though, more power to you. I can live vicariously through other's more expensive builds.

 

Good work on pursuing to make videos Peter! I will definitely keep watching your new uploads. I want to see a review of your car next

About the BMW review, I would still take an E46 M3 over any M2 or M4 since electric power steering always sucks from my experience. One of the best driver cars ever made in the last 20 years and handles exponentially better than rivals of its time like the Nissan Skyline R34 hype crowds rave about. If only it came with an S62 V8 option. M3 GTR had a race car V8 but was limited production.

 

Spent $32k on mine. Felt like a lot of money then. Heck, feels like a lot of money now. But if you add what I spent on mods... ouch.

I'd love to test drive a M2.

 

Awesome car, but a different price range than I'm playing in.

I think most people will have a different definition or 'usable back seat space' and 'plenty of room'. Casual use, I guess, but if you're getting a kid in and out of the back on a daily basis, that would suck.

 

it’s been 3 weeks now since I sold my 2010 7AT Graphite Shadow G37xS Anniversary Edition Sedan and picked up this 2017 6MT Tornado Red Golf R.

First impressions? It’s a “better” car for me objectively and subjectively. I’m loving it in its stock form, and I’m excited about the power it can produce.

I will miss the ability to throw really wide tires on. I had 255/45’s on my G37, and the Golf chassis seems to comfortably max out at 245/40–although recently looking at the tread width of 245 Michelin PS4S’s seems to match up to that of my old 255 BF Goodrich’s.

Anyway, it’s been a blast reading through these forums over the past decade (I initially had a G35), but I guess I’m a VW convert for now. The people on the two big VW forums and the big Facebook VW group have been extremely helpful as well.

Happy driving, y’all!

 

That's been my internal struggle. Buy something at a lower price and drop 5-10k in upgrades or pay a bit more for something with all the performance right out of the box and pick-up a few things here and there. All in, I'm at 28-29k for the G37 + aftermarket mods. Not bad, considering what's comparable in that price range.

I was able to jump on items in the FS section for quite the discount. I'd have easily spent $10k+ if I bought everything new.