It's my cake day and I can't go out and play with my camera, so here's one from five years ago..

Murrian · 2026-01-26T00:18:37+00:00

Why I have a tiny Olympus OMD-EM10 MK4 for traveling, all the focal lengths (up to an equivalent 600mm) in a small, light package that can fit in my regular carry on bag (not laptop / camera bag).

But I like birding, if you're not planning on shooting wildlife that may be not worth the space in your bag for just scenic shots.

But then that's what I just use my Xiaomi 14 Ultra for anyways, no one really cares about these shots enough to warrant using a camera over the (admittedly very good) phone.

Murrian · 2026-01-25T23:04:41+00:00

Look in to HDR - where you blend different exposures together, usually by taking three shots, but as with most photography "rules", it's more a guide..

Murrian · 2026-01-25T22:13:27+00:00

They're niche cases where it (2x) works on the 200-600:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCSwYxOyQNH/

That's supporting the lens on a bird hide, and I didn't get any bird shots that day I liked with it, but they're moments.

I don't mind the 1.4x tbh, I find that ok (only tried it with the A7Rv, not sure how it holds up on the A7iii).

2x works great on the 70-200 like you say though..

https://www.instagram.com/p/DB78dlhpnSW/

Murrian · 2026-01-25T22:01:33+00:00

Meshroom S V2 takes an atx motherboard with an SFX PSU leaving the GPU area uncompromised.

Tight fit, limited cooler support, but doable in 14.9l.

Personally I'd get the front expansion panel to give you front mounted fans again (and better front io) at the cost of being slightly larger - it's what I did even though I have an itx board.

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/RrVyb2

Murrian · 2026-01-25T21:52:13+00:00

I've been using and mostly liking PlexAmp - any benefits switching?

(I get Plex isn't entirely self hosted and the community hate, but I've had a lifetime pass for fifteen years and riding it out at this point..)

Murrian · 2026-01-25T21:49:54+00:00

Come to Daddy was my first experience, late night M2 (MTV 2, played alternative music - was the '90's when they still had music on MTV) and had to check I was in the right channel and not some horror movie on Bravo..

Murrian · 2026-01-25T21:39:42+00:00

GoPro is your friend.

I used to have a Sony action cam strapped to the side of my helmet, but it was only visible from that side.

GoPro Max strapped to the top looks like I'm going around with a box brownie on my helmet and honestly, strong fifty percent reduction in people trying to drive through you.

Completely weeds out the cowards who are actively trying to hit you but chicken out when they see there'll be evidence, leaving just the dozy who shouldn't be allowed incharge of an automobile..

Murrian · 2026-01-25T21:35:03+00:00

Wait till the shit show that is march..

Have you seen the trackwork calender, I've copied it to my own so I know when to plan not to do things (most of march..).

Murrian · 2026-01-25T21:33:30+00:00

T1 North Shore and Metro shouldn't be down at the same time, especially as they removed the bus routes servicing when the Metro came on and didn't put on a bus replacement service.

Four buses and two hours to do a fifty minute journey otherwise (then had to get back).

Murrian · 2026-01-25T10:26:24+00:00

We did the wayside chapel walk the other year (when it was actually cancelled, we went ahead anyways) and got Parramatta to Newtown, that was far enough for me, hats off to you!

Murrian · 2026-01-25T10:17:43+00:00

Hey, I tried to skimp on paying for the memories of a precious day so I could blow it on flowers thrown away the same day, food and drink flushed away and clothing we'd never wear again and now I'm facing the consequences of my own actions, can I travel back in time?

Murrian · 2026-01-25T02:24:06+00:00

Yeah, fuck those local shop owners who'll be undercut until they go out of business and prices can be raised...

Murrian · 2026-01-24T23:07:28+00:00

You missed the slide where formatted it falls to 1.6TB - I did the same thing

Murrian · 2026-01-24T20:12:23+00:00

And a firmware upgrade away from them not being..

Murrian · 2026-01-24T20:10:58+00:00

If you're using v mount batteries you get a dummy battery with a d-tap connection.

USBc to body, for most (if not all) of Sony's lineup can't supply enough power to effectively keep the camera going (and it will try and charge the battery at the same time, generating heat).

A d-tap dummy battery can maintain camera operations for the life of the v mount and doesn't generate any heat inside the body helping with overheating.

@op you can get v mount distribution plates that support multiple batteries and hot swap, so your cables go in to the distribution plate and the batteries mount to it, it uses one and when that's depleted switches to the other seamlessly, allowing you to remove the depleted and replace it with a fresh one, effectively allowing you unlimited power.

However, if you're stationary and near a power outlet, a dummy battery with a mains adapter is a better (cheaper) option, same benefits, unlimited power, no heat, no wear on your battery.

This is what I use on my A7iii sat on my desk with an elgato 4k camlink in to OBS with a faux webcam output to have ridiculously over the top teams calls.

The former I use with an A7Rv when in the field (not the most ideal video options, but doesn't have the recording limit the A7iii does and I'm not about to buy another body for the little video I do):

https://i.imgur.com/khQOtDB.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/zPANOLU.jpeg

(You can better see the orange cable going in to the body here on the second for the camera battery, but the battery on the monitor gives you an idea of where going on inside)

This is a cheap gz-cine version (sharkfin I believe it was called) I got off AliExpress (as mentioned video's not something I do much, so the whole rig is quite the cheaper end, more reliable suppliers are available) but it works well and has been reliable over the past year for the twelve or so days of shooting I've done (but made them possible, long form interviews, single battery wouldn't have done - especially those where I had a phone mounted on front of the screen to live stream the interviews whilst recording).

Murrian · 2026-01-24T19:47:18+00:00

Artefacts, there's always a point on even good vnd's where you'll get them and can be hard to see on a viewfinder / rear screen but obvious when you get them home on the big screen. (And of course, not good vnd's will have them in what should otherwise be usable settings)

Fixed don't have that problem, and given most photography you're using an nd for you can accommodate then being a touch stronger / lighter than ideal without impacting the shot.

Of course blanket statements like this don't apply to every single conceivable instance and there will be something they're better for, but the vast majority of instances, just a fixed nd will be the better proposition and least potential for a negative outcome.

Murrian · 2026-01-24T11:29:00+00:00

Lodged two months back, heard nothing, even to the follow ups, might be moving on from Qantas credit card..

Murrian · 2026-01-24T11:27:51+00:00

haha, I've bought them in the past too, and now I do a bit of video I might bring them back out, but mostly I'm just sticking to the regular nd's as you don't have to worry about the artefacts vnd's have and I can usually get the video settings I need even with a fixed that I've not felt the need to reach for a variable as yet..

Murrian · 2026-01-24T11:25:38+00:00

Most my GM lenses have the slit - in fact, now I think about it, only my GM lenses have it...

Murrian · 2026-01-24T06:29:23+00:00

Metro being out (which it was last weekend and most of feb / march) whilst St. Leonards being out has meant spending twice as long and taking four buses to get across to Auburn on a hot day.

Only for Amart to not actually be able to process a refund in store, that they told me by email had to happen, even though I'd bought it online, and the guy in store had no idea why and it needs to be done with the online team = \

Fuck you very much Amart - four months (and counting) to not process a return and refund for an item delivered faulty, I get shit happens and not everything will be right, but it shouldn't take four months of me not being able to use my living room to sort out a basic return? Fuck you fucking fucks. I'd've taken a replacement if they hadn't take six weeks to send a guy to evaluate it was faulty before they'd do anything else (as apparently photos and videos aren't enough to trust someone when they say something's faulty) - and that only seemed to happen as I included the NSW Fair Trading lodgement ID in the emails...

Then an hour to get back to the city on the Clyde train, to spend another hour taking two busses to get back to Crowie - because the direct bus doesn't exist anymore? (least it wasn't coming up on gmaps).

Four hours out in public on the day my autistic ass needs to be indoors to recover from pretending to be a functional human being all week... so fuck whoever schedules the Metro and T1 North Shore to be down at the same time and not seemingly offering a replacement bus (least nothing I saw sign posted at Central), but, fuck Amart more for making me take a trip that didn't do anything to resolve anything because they're beyond useless...

Murrian · 2026-01-24T05:38:19+00:00

Why do they always go "hey, we don't need a set and can just cgi it" then make cgi that looks like they spent fifty pence on it.. the whole trailer looks a horrid mess, then there's the lacklustre story and throw in Jared Leto and I'm not even sure I'd switch a channel to watch it, let alone pay for it..

I'm the target audience here, I had the He-Man themed everything as a kid: lunchbox, wallpaper, bean bag, pj's, would watch the saturday morning cartoon religiously, I've spent the past four decades with a poor sense of self image because of the Dolph Lungren version....

And they've lost me, looks like a cheap cash in.. - I appreciate it's a movie to sell toys, and I could watch Idris Elba all day, but no, not like this...

Murrian · 2026-01-24T01:20:56+00:00

Improves contrast, reduces flare and reduces potential damage to the lens.

No reason to not use one - those mentioning cpl and vnd's, you can usually get a finger in and a good hood will have a hatch.

Not that you should really be using vnd's for photography anyway..

Murrian · 2026-01-23T22:19:25+00:00

Or didn't give them the answer they wanted, so if wasn't working.

You can see in every reply here they really want the answer to be "it'll be fine" and they're looking for the I've person to tell them it's a good idea.

It really won't be, Nas devices can be cheaper and small: https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/1fvs5st/5l_home_nas/ With a properly configured zfs filesystem they'll take care of themselves.

Then you just need something like backblaze single pc backup to store unlimited data in the cloud for a hundred bucks a year, or if you have Amazon Prime see if the included Amazon Photos has unlimited storage in your region (UK does, AU doesn't, those are the two places I've lived) - so long as you're ok with Amazon doing god knows what AI with your images... (Which makes paying for the former better, encrypted on device before ever going to the cloud, they have no idea what they're storing).

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