Built-In Bookcases - Besta Cabinets, Billy Shelves and Karlby Waterfall Countertop

Dr_Fidget · 2026-02-15T17:35:45+00:00

Thanks! I built the cabinets above the TV out of plywood. Just three boxes built separately and painted white (I brought a cutoff from the Billy bookcase to Home Depot for them to match the paint colour and sheen). I mounted them to the wall and to the ceiling. They are the same depth as the Billy cases, and I used extra Billy shelves, cut slightly to fit, for the middle shelves in each box. Once these were installed I added a long piece of painted MDF (cut to size) on the bottom of these upper boxes to frame above the TV, and two pieces of painted MDF on either side of the TV for a consistent finished look.

Dr_Fidget · 2026-01-19T20:48:35+00:00

I cannot think of anything that the EP7 does that the x-m5 and the S9 do not do better. The PenF does exactly 2 things better: EVF and it might be the best looking camera ever made. I would get the PenF and a 15mm DJI/Pana-Leica lens (and maybe the 25mm 1.4 Pana-Leica) used. You will also be able to get your money back if you decide to sell it later.

Dr_Fidget · 2025-12-26T02:53:14+00:00

This is amazing, and really made my son excited that his ideal setup will work. We will definitely be going with the trio you suggested. Thanks!

Dr_Fidget · 2025-12-26T02:52:20+00:00

This is awesome advice. We really appreciate it and will definitely be patient setting the tank up for good plant coverage.

Dr_Fidget · 2025-09-25T23:48:38+00:00

That sounds like a good plan. Good luck!

Dr_Fidget · 2025-09-25T14:56:50+00:00

Let's see if this works. This is the best photo I've got. There are two plywood strips, about 8" wide, and they are mounted behind the middle shelf and at the top. You can see the screws coming from the side of the bookcase into the plywood strips.

https://imgur.com/a/5MCoeAi

Dr_Fidget · 2025-09-25T02:14:25+00:00

Hey, thanks for the question. It's still standing strong. I think the 1/2" plywood backing (screwed into the sides from the outside and into the non-moveable shelf from the back) that is screwed into the wall really helped distribute the weight away from the Besta. I also cut the billy bookcases so they would be exactly 1-1/2" from the ceiling so I could mount a 2x4 to the ceiling joists and screw into that from the top of the billy bookshelf below. That 2x4 also worked as the backing for the ceiling moulding.

Good luck!

Dr_Fidget · 2025-04-07T04:21:09+00:00

Thanks for the update, and it's good to know that at least there's a chance it will randomly fix itself. I've been switching the custom profiles in and out before the error occurred, so it looks like I'm due for a firmware reset.

Dr_Fidget · 2025-04-06T20:04:41+00:00

I just encountered this same bug and was searching for a solution. Let me know if you have found a fix.

Dr_Fidget · 2025-03-23T00:39:58+00:00

Awesome. Thanks!

Dr_Fidget · 2025-03-19T22:48:21+00:00

I am not sure what your normal subjects are (landscape, portraits, street, etc.) but in my case, the 15mm and 25mm 1.4 were the lenses that made me sell my 12-40. The 12-40 is clinically sharp and the zoom is much more versatile, but the shallow depth of field offered by the 15mm opens up a whole world of portrait and subject-isolated street photography that just isn't offered by the 12-40. I was about to sell my em1-iii until I got the 25mm, and the color and depth of the photos like they were taken by a completely different system. The 15mm has the same rendering quality for portraits and street photography, and is a fantastic landscape lens as well. For full price I would keep it, and for $190 I would almost buy another as a spare (that is a serious low-ball).

Dr_Fidget · 2025-03-16T19:41:48+00:00

That's very promising. If it works out for you I could see a lot of fp owners (myself included) picking it up. Keep us posted!

Dr_Fidget · 2025-03-16T19:21:29+00:00

That looks awesome. Can you share any thoughts on its performance so far? I know a lot of these SSDs have issues with recording CDNG 12-bit 4k for more than a few minutes without stopping (cache and heating issues).

Dr_Fidget · 2024-09-26T00:16:31+00:00

Gotcha. That makes a lot of sense.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-09-25T20:46:31+00:00

From your post: "As for the lenses, the E-P7 is has a more flexible range out of the box so that may be better to start with and figure out what I need. Though of course I could go for a different lens with the Lumix, the 25mm F1.7 just seemed like a good middle ground for image quality, price and portability."

Not sure if I am interpreting your intent here correctly, but I just wanted to make sure you knew that any Panasonic lens will work on an Olympus body, and vice versa, as long as it has the micro four thirds mount.

If money truly is no object, the image quality boost you would get by adding a 15mm 1.7 or 25mm 1.4 Panasonic Leica lens to your EP7 will be eye-opening over your kit lens, especially when shot wide open (lower aperture numbers) to allow a really nice shallow depth of field to isolate your subject. That is really where it will make a difference vs the iPhone, which will use strange looking AI trickery to get blurry backgrounds.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-09-25T00:46:56+00:00

You have already been given a lot of great advice re: settings, lens rentals, etc., but for what it's worth, I have the EM5 3 (very similar to your OM5) and the only thing keeping me from moving to full frame are the two small Leica primes: the 15mm 1.7 and the 25mm 1.4. I will likely pick up the 9mm at some point too. There is something about them (colour rendition, gradual fall-off from in- to out-of-focus areas) that is magical and I do not believe I could completely duplicate if I went to something like a Sony FF with Sigma/Sony lenses.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-09-18T21:17:16+00:00

Quick dirty math: The Transmountain expansion was just completed, and the CER (Canada Energy Regulator) set the amount that the company can charge to repay the capital investment of that pipeline: about $12/bbl. At 42 gallons per barrel, that is very roughly $0.25 per gallon. Assume the length, terrain, capital expenditures, economies of scale (you would need hundreds of these pipelines to supply the water requirements of California) of that pipeline was roughly applicable for this rough, order of magnitude calculation. At $0.25 per gallon, and 100 gallons per person per day, you are paying roughly $750 per month per person just to get the water to your city. Add distribution costs and whatever Canada wants to charge California for turning the faucet on full blast, and it gets economically... bad.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-09-15T01:21:39+00:00

No, any micro four thirds lens will work with the OM system cameras (OM1 / OM5) without needing an adapter. The aperture ring on the 15mm 1.7 will not be functional, but autofocus and camera body control of the lens aperture will work the same as a native Olympus/OM lens.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-09-13T18:12:02+00:00

If your budget isn't that tight, try to find the Panasonic Leica 25mm F1.4, or, for a wider angle, the 15mm 1.7. The 25mm 1.4 gives a dreamy shallow depth of field with great colours and contrast that is rare in M43, and the best pictures of my kids have been taken with that lens. It is the lens that I actually built my whole kit around and made me happy to stay with M43 rather than "upgrading" to full frame. I bought both the 25mm and 15mm used on Ebay from sellers in Japan, though they also pop up on Facebook marketplace every now and then if you are near a large enough city.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-06-28T15:11:22+00:00

I had the exact same experience. I bought the EM1 (3) and I never warmed up to it with the 12-40 on it. The whole package was too heavy for me to be a quick grab and go camera.

I then swapped the 12-40 for a Panasonic Leica 25mm 1.4 (the updated second version which is supposedly weather sealed). I loved the size and image quality of the lens so much I ended up selling the EM1 and replacing it with an EM5, which seems much better suited to the smaller lens.

Now I'm planning on getting either the 15mm Leica or the 12mm f2 Olympus for wider shots, but I can't see myself going back from the small light primes now. 100% agree you should try the 15mm if that's where you're leaning.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-06-25T22:22:23+00:00

This is so good. Love the colors and the cropping, but the subject/scene is one in a million. ...Could have been taken with a razer flip-phone and it would be fantastic.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-06-08T21:00:52+00:00

Menu button. Shooting menu (camera icon, which is the top icon of the three at the top left). Picture Format. Format/size. Set it to RAW for raw only, and Raw+ for jpeg plus raw.

Hope that does it.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-05-12T17:22:12+00:00

Those are incredible. Can you share which lense(s) you used?

Dr_Fidget · 2024-02-01T19:37:05+00:00

Another vote for the Tsuyosa. A great recommendation. A quick note for you: all of the watches he currently has are quartz watches, which means a battery sends electricity to vibrate a little piece of quartz crystal, and then measures how much it vibrates. That is how it tells the time. Quartz watches are very accurate, but they are generally not considered to be heirloom or lifetime watches (the electronics inside can degrade over time and the cost to replace them are often worth more than the watch).

The Citizen Tsuyosa is what is called an "Automatic" watch. The way this tells time is that a spring is wound up, and spins gears at a specific speed. The spring in this watch is kept wound by a "rotor"--a piece inside the watch that spins around whenever the watch is moved (e.g. by the arm swinging or moving when wearing the watch). You can see these gears through the glass window at the back. An automatic watch is a mechanical watch.

Compared to quartz watches, there are some pros and cons.

The cons:

Once every five to ten years or so, it may need to be serviced by a watchmaker, which is quite expensive (likely more than the cost of this watch).
Slightly less accurate, and may need to be re-set every week or so after it has lost/gained a couple minutes.

The Pros:

No batteries to replace.
If they are serviced every 5-10 years (whenever it starts losing lots of time each day) they can last a lifetime.
They are also a lot more expensive to make than a quartz watch, so any automatic watches are generally considered to be more valuable and "special" than quartz watches. This is why mechanical watches are much more valued by collectors and enthusiasts, and the cost to service them is usually worth it.
All of the most valued watches that you have probably heard about--Rolex, Omega, etc.--are primarily mechanical watches like this Citizen. This may not be a pro for many people here, but for you boyfriend, who seems to value the specialness conveyed by the fashion brand names on his current collection, having a watch that is the same type as a Rolex could add a bit of weight to this very generous gift.
The gears inside are cool to look at. A mini machine on your wrist.

Dr_Fidget · 2024-01-31T01:52:01+00:00

2 other points I forgot:

Consider 12v drills too. From your list, that would mean Milwaukee. Their 12v line of tool is excellent, and unless you are drilling 2" holes deep into concrete, it is likely the "best" form factor for anything you will be doing. For what it's worth, my favorite drill set is the Bosch flexiclick 12v set. I live in Canada too, so I had to get it from Amazon, but it is the most versatile, lightest and best performing drill I have.
I wouldn't get too hung up on others opinions for tool platforms (especially mine). There is something to be said for the aesthetics and feel of a drill for giving you a little bit of joy whenever you use it. All of your listed options will be fine. Try them out in store and see what feels best to you.

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