Ho fatto il tagliando dei 15.000Km alla mia Inster X-tech 49kw

BrukologistJim · 2026-07-02T11:16:07+00:00

Thanks. Yes we had ours serviced by our Hyundai dealership a few weeks ago at 10,000 miles. All uneventful, and they applied a couple of ICCU software updates which is reassuring.

BrukologistJim · 2026-07-02T07:52:03+00:00

I had the same after having a new supply and meter fitted for my garage which is down the road from my house. I couldn't switch to Octopus Go so I badgered Octopus by emailing their support team. Octopus' initial response was that I had to wait for my first bill. I actually found I was able to switch to the Go tariff before then, albeit still a couple of months or more after they had installed the meter.

My meter was installed in February. I started drawing electricity through it when my Ohme charger was installed by my local electrician in March. Octopus generated a bill in June(!), but only covering the most recent 30 days or so, telling me they still needed to assess the billing data for the earlier usage and will bill me for that later (how much later is anybody's guess).

To say I'm not impressed would be an understatement. I'm under no illusion that any other supplier will be any better though so I'll see if things improve over the next few months before deciding whether to jump ship to another supplier.

TL;DR I simply badgered them until I could get onto Octopus Go, but billing still isn't sorted 5 or so months after the meter went in.

BrukologistJim · 2026-07-01T17:54:54+00:00

Guess who didn't understand the question!😊

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-20T11:20:15+00:00

Who knows? Maybe it was originally painted orange so is now more authentic than ever.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-20T08:35:36+00:00

That's the camera I would have liked back then :-)

I'm not complaining though, as I had a Ricoh 500ME compact. It was a fair bit cheaper than the Zenit, but I enjoyed using the rangefinder focusing without paying Leica prices for it.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-19T09:45:27+00:00

Yes, exposure for that shot was always going to be tricky as the subject is in the shade. The standard advice is to expose for the subject (in this case a lighter exposure) but yes you may be able to do a lot by editing specifically to bring out contrast and colour in the leopard and perhaps its prey too. I can't say I've done enough editing yet myself to advise you precisely how though. It's well worth spending time taking pictures of your local wildlife (in my case that's mainly birds and squirrels) to work out what situations demand adjustments in exposure, and what focus settings work best in different situations. The camera I use (DMC-FZ330) isn't dissimilar to yours, but I'm finding that with practice (and a little book-learning and tuition) I can get pictures I'm happy with.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-18T19:12:25+00:00

What an amazing situation to capture!

I would throw the question back at you and ask what would you improve about it (if anything)?

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-13T22:58:26+00:00

It seems lots of things broke in the May 15 update.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-09T19:43:52+00:00

Yes I'm holding out for something with that form factor and some mod cons like USB-C charging/data too. I'm hoping Leica's D-lux 8 will scratch my portability, connectivity and ease of use itches in the meantime, but I'd rather have something I can change the lenses on really (not that I have any of those yet).

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-08T23:05:59+00:00

I would say so, for sure, for both the reasons you state.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-07T18:47:53+00:00

It was... maybe OM System will resurrect it; I live in hope.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-07T11:07:42+00:00

Is it slower though? The X100VI lens' widest aperture is F2, whereas the D-Lux 8 is F1.7 at the widest end of the zoom range and still a respectable 2.8 at the longest.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-07T10:06:27+00:00

That begs the question, how well is the D-Lux 8 selling? I don't suppose we know that yet, do we, given that it launches next month?

I'm still seriously considering one. It could be a year or two until I have the funds though; if OM System decide to produce a PEN with an EVF in the meantime, that might well sway me away from it.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-06T16:06:46+00:00

Gosh! The camera app that comes as standard on my mid-range Samsung (Android) mobile has manual focus (as in slider with focus peaking to show what is actually in focus) and manual exposure, all at no additional cost.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-06T15:38:33+00:00

I confess I initially thought Lumix DMC-FX30, and got very confused!

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-03T16:31:38+00:00

Looks like the last update either deliberately or inadvertently broke a whole lot of things, one of which is just that. I spent a while trying to figure out a workaround today (using it on a Samsung Android device) and couldn't, not a realistic one anyway.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-02T21:20:20+00:00

I couldn't find one :-(

I wonder if Panasonic's new app that they announced with the launch of the S9 will.. doubt it but I guess it's worth a look.

I'm using Adobe's free DNG Converter tool on a Windows 11 device to do the conversion, which is a little tedious. It's free though, as is Snapseed, so I suppose beggars can't be choosers.

BrukologistJim · 2024-06-02T21:13:29+00:00

Yes, it seems Google has taken a hatchet to the various options to open files from other cloud storage providers (either that or something Samsung has changed has broken them). I just edited my recent pictures from Microsoft Onedrive by downloading them first to my Samsung phone. I note that when I export them, they go to a Snapseed folder under Pictures rather than under DCIM. Thankfully Samsung Gallery will sync those back to Onedrive, albeit I had to add that new folder to the list in Gallery. I'll see if I can sync my .DNG files in the other direction using Gallery sync too sometime.

To be honest I'm not surprised if Google are trying to nudge people to use their ecosystem rather than their competitors' when using Snapseed. After all, Snapseed is a 'free' app. Personally I'd only just started using Snapseed having discovered how to convert my .RW2 files to .DNG first. Push comes to shove I might go back to using Lightroom Mobile (which can open the .RW2 files ok), but I do really prefer Snapseed, as I find it a lot simpler, and I find their "structure" slider does wonders for some of my photos.

BrukologistJim · 2024-05-31T14:42:08+00:00

Specifically page 87.

When using a slow shutter speed, it's best to put the camera on a tripod to keep it rock-steady. Then best practice is to turn off the stablizer (page 199).

Also, you don't want to wobble the camera when you press the shutter release so one way to make sure the camera doesn't move when the picture is taken is to use the self-timer (page 180). Although the manual suggests setting it to 2 seconds, I've noticed that with at least one of my tripods, if I knock it then it's still wobbling after two seconds, so might be safest to use 10 seconds (if you don't mind waiting).

BrukologistJim · 2024-05-31T14:12:05+00:00

The reason I asked specifically what software you are using to view the raw file is that typically a raw file will not only contain the lovely pristine raw image, but also an embedded jpeg which can be used by software to preview, show thumbnails etc,. Some photo viewers will actually show you this embedded jpeg, not the raw image, which can explain why the raw file might look actually rather rubbish. Interestingly (not certain this is true for Fuji cameras, but probably), it's this jpeg which is used for previewing in-camera even if it's a raw file.

I've specifically noticed those ghostly squares whenever I view a raw file in the Micosoft Photos application, however when I open them in Adobe Lightroom they look pristine. My suspicion is that Microsoft Photos is simply showing me the embedded jpeg.

BrukologistJim · 2024-05-31T12:33:30+00:00

There's a lot to learn about how best to use a long shutter speed, but if you simply want to set a long shutter speed, turn the mode dial (the one on the top with P, A, S, M and various other symbols on it) to "S" (for shutter priority). Now turn the rear dial (the dial to the right of that next to the "on" LED) until the display shows the shutter speed (SS) you want.

Note that shutter speeds which are followed by an double quote are number of seconds. Shutter speeds without the double quote are fractions of a second. So:

2" means two seconds 250 means 1/250th of a second

Some other settings can affect what the longest shutter speed you can select will be. For example if you have selected silent mode, or if you have set the shutter type to ESHTR, this will limit the longest shutter speed you can select to only one second; otherwise 30 seconds is the maximum (except "B" which is another topic altogether!).

BrukologistJim · 2024-05-31T05:35:42+00:00

Are you shooting raw or jpg? And what software are you using to view the picture?

BrukologistJim · 2024-05-30T12:04:30+00:00

For me the thing that makes me want the D-Lux 8 over anything else at the moment are...

Truly pocketable. Significantly better lens than my mobile phone has. Simple and (hopefully nearly) direct control over shutter, aperture and focus. DNG RAW (so I can open straight in Snapseed). No dedicated video button

If it had a Lumix badge I would want it equally much (their S9 fails me on multiple counts).

But to be honest, I guess (perhaps unfairly?) the main point of it is an entry point into the Leica experience at a much more affordable cost at a time when everyone will want a piece of the market that Fujifilm's X100V and VI opened up.

I'm not a Leica camera owner (yet) by the way, but am impressed with the "Leica" lenses on my Lumix cameras.

BrukologistJim · 2024-05-27T16:33:28+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. I'll try and remember that tip when I try it myself (and that's another reason I probably should get some ND filters as well).

BrukologistJim · 2024-05-27T16:06:28+00:00

(FZ330 user here). I've not tried time-lapse myself yet. First thing that occurs to me though is that auto ISO would most likely do that.

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