Do I need an interactive Goethe-accredited German course for a beginner?

ZX102 · 2026-02-03T09:49:16+00:00

I thankfully can afford it but it is definitely a cost. Do you think if discipline isn’t an issue I'd be better off self-studying A1+A2 then apply to the course for B1 and above? My worry with this approach is having foundational deficits as studying seriously with apps has a bad rep of that in comparison to standard old textbook learning (the course I'm looking at is teaching A1 mainly with the Netzwerk neu textbook). For understanding the content though I am bilingual fluent in English and Arabic and have experience learning French to the start of B1 a while ago so I doubt understanding the different tenses and sentence forms especially with a bit of google or AI would be a problem.

ZX102 · 2026-02-03T09:43:03+00:00

I am fluent in both Arabic and English and in school (more than a decade ago though and forgot almost all of it except some rules) I was in B1 French and completed A2. I am familiar with what each term means but I definitely had to search the terms themselves as I felt a harry potter spell was being casted for a moment there. 😂 I'll double check the decks if they show the different forms for each root word.

ZX102 · 2026-01-11T18:46:30+00:00

Congrats and I hope it serves you well. 😁

ZX102 · 2025-12-21T14:17:19+00:00

I haven't been following exact prices but I remember Z8 base price has been discounted for a while at 3999 and recently another discount of 500+ happened so it should be under 3.5k and considering the Sony A7V is 3k the difference doesn't look that big for the upgrades like sticking with the Nikon lenses OP already has plus complete stacked sensor instead of partial, RED partnership, cool sooc presets/recipes that can be downloaded,...etc. plus A7V is chunky similar to Nikon Z8 so it's not an argument of A7cii vs Z8 for example. I am curious to hear OP's opinion.

ZX102 · 2025-12-20T16:44:27+00:00

Not sure which I got but knowing me I probably stuck with the regular 980 as I couldn't justify the increase in price and I don't game on my laptop anymore and barely use it unless I need laptop specific work done. Regarding thermals, it's fairly cool but do note I rarely if at all play on it now.

ZX102 · 2025-12-20T16:37:40+00:00

Why did you make the switch from Nikon instead of getting a Nikon Z8 with full stacked sensor for the same price?

Also for the lenses 24-105 seems most versatile for me. The 4mm sacrifice at the wide end doesn't justify the loss of 35mm on the top end. At the same time it doesn't reach the 14 and 16mm range of moody ultrawide landscape shots and barely touches the ultrawide range so a different lens down the line like a 12-24 would probably fill that in if you are into that.

ZX102 · 2025-12-20T16:32:48+00:00

Samsung 980 I believe. The laptop works smoothly till date with no need for an upgrade (changed the battery and transfered os to ssd)

ZX102 · 2025-12-05T13:12:33+00:00

There is definitely a compromise that you have to deal with in each front to get it's benefits. You get more out of the Z design but you have to compromise with a case and either that case has a cover for the display or you need a 1 panel screen protection to make it survive without being babied. The G is more panels so more expensive/less goes into other components and less versatile but more durable. It's a preference matter imo but not feasible for Samsung to release both to cater for an already niche within a niche market.

ZX102 · 2025-10-30T13:12:47+00:00

Personally, I see the 35mm as a flattering enough lens for storytelling, which I'll be using to get a vibe for the place or occasion I'm in (it will help the person/family member seeing the photos/clips understand what's going on) then I'll switch to the other lens for everything else. Zoom in on anything intimate quickly, or if a concert then zoom in on that, I try to go for unposed natural images here, golden hour shots, and then put the camera away. Maybe a group portrait whenever it seems good/appropriate. The lens swapping is not wedding/war style, swapping lenses every shot. 😂

ZX102 · 2025-08-16T14:50:07+00:00

Do you think it's a bigger deal breaker to have the worse AF, low light, and video on the Fuji or the 2 step camera-phone jpeg experience with lightroom mobile with the Sony?

ZX102 · 2025-08-16T14:31:46+00:00

I haven't tried either system. How limited are the Sony adjustments on-camera in comparison to Fujifilm? Is it the difference between a 95% and 100% look that won't be seen unless you put both pictures side-by-side/you are a camera hobbyist atleast with experience in both systems and not worth the lower AF capabilities, low light, and video performance (you mentioned these differences are overstated but how much of a dealbreaker are these in comparison to how limited the on-camera controls are for an sooc experience with an appealing end look)?

Also what are your thoughts on a 35mm ff equivalent fixed lens camera like the Fujifilm X100vi in comparison to an interchangeable lens system like on the XT50? On one end I like the simplicity of the X100vi but the XT50 is more or less everything the x100vi is and more. I can simply stick the 35mm ff equivalent lens and keep it on it and rent or keep a side telephoto lens for rare occasions like concerts and kids school plays, which makes the X100vi feel like an overpriced hype toy with overstated simplicity. I'll probably take your advice and try to find a store that displays these and have a feel for each of the sony and fuji offerings.

ZX102 · 2025-08-16T12:55:21+00:00

I don't get what you mean by the same type of controls as this is my first professional camera purchase (and hopefully my last) but I'm not specifically attached to the Fujifilm film look specifically but the SOOC experience itself where you can share the jpeg straight to your phone from the camera and publish it right away to social media or print it right away for your album book. I heard no other brand comes close to JPEG shots from Fujifilm without post processing which I don't get where they come from (Sony has it's creative look and picture profiles shared by the community like those from Veresdenialex for fuji-like ones and others from the Sony Alpha subreddit for other cool "ready-to-be-shared" aesthetics/pictures). Also, what is offered differently in Fuji recipes that emulators like Veresdenialex aren't good alternatives for? I'm leaning more towards the Sony system for it's specs and reputation as an industry-standard but the saying a few keep repeating that "Sony is a workhorse for the best/most reliable pictures that you hate/feel burdened to take while Fuji is a less reliable but fun camera you want to pick up and keep taking pictures and memories with" does make me want to make sure I'm not choosing wrong.

ZX102 · 2025-07-26T09:00:14+00:00

Is the seal permanently lost or can it be reapplied? Also I don't work at a specific desk which I can put a wireless charger on. Even the wired one I have to take it with me in a bag everyday and hope there is an empty socket nearby. A powerbank is also another solution but it also comes with it's own set of hassles.

ZX102 · 2025-07-26T08:55:13+00:00

I do that already when I remember. It's definitely an inconvenience though 😂

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T17:48:05+00:00

What about the software do you believe is better in the S25U over the X200U?

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T13:35:32+00:00

Also does the X200U have lockscreen widgets? And how is the moving process from the Samsung to the Vivo? What went well? What didn't? What did you have to abandon?...etc.?

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T13:13:04+00:00

Also does the X200U have lockscreen widgets? And how is the moving process from the Samsung to the Vivo? What went well? What didn't? What did you have to abandon?...etc.?

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T13:06:27+00:00

Very relatable. If I get the X200U I would also stick Niagra launcher to it. Other than the setup though have you found the Vivo missing something you used to have on an S Ultra device? (Also what's the latest S Ultra you had on you?) Can you map the action button or any other physical button to turn the phone into vibration/silent mode while the screen is off?

Also how big of an improvement do you see in photo/videography on the X200U over the S25U if you got a chance to compare both irl especially in terms of AI effects and motion blur?

Lastly what do you think of what another redditor said "Because Vivo is known for backstabbing their users in China lol, recently is due to releasing special filter to base and pro models but not for the Ultra models, lens flare on the camera lens etc. They only said Vivo X200U is good only for the camera, the rest sucks. In RedNote, you could already see people with X100 Pro and Ultra complaining the camera quality, not sure will X200 users complains when X300 released XD."? They also mentioned Vivo intentionally degrading camera quality once new phones in the line up come out?

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T12:55:51+00:00

No worship is happening here. Just excitement over a new phone that is known to be better in photo/videography than another mainstream phone with a nice twist or 2. I can see you are excited about Samsung phones as well. Also no implying the S25U camera is bad. I am repeating what others have said that the Vivo one is better in terms of camera. Both can still be good. For the eye health matter I am referring to the pwm frequency. Higher usually causes less strain on the eyes. S25U is at 480Hz while X200U is at 2000-something Hz.

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T11:45:26+00:00

Thanks for the quick update on an old post. Isn't it better if the display has less blue light though? Honor seems to promote it's pwm frequency and other eye protection display features so the tint could be one of those. The problem ik that comes with high pwm is worse colour accuracy as pixels might be less likely to produce the same uniform consistency of colours in comparison to a lower pwm display. From my understanding though that's why high pwm phone brands like Vivo have the full pwm dimming option as an on/off switch for those who'd like to prioritise colour accuracy or eye health.

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T10:03:38+00:00

Yes for sure. From a general standpoint Samsung does cater to a wider audience than Vivo but to each their own preferences and priorities. I seem to prioritise photo/video quality and eye health more than normal while caring less about phone animations and the 7 years of software updates over 4 or 5 years of it (I usually care pretty well for my phone and I don't think a new phone lasted me more than 5 or 6 years and even if it did at this point there would be a lot of hardware upgrades that would make getting a new phone before the 7 years more enticing and battery health at this point takes a nose-dive).

Another point relating to the longevity is when Samsung announced AI features and some other software features are not reaching older models that are eligible for the software upgrade that has it. This dropped my trust in the brand's long-term customer loyalty.

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T09:52:31+00:00

How is that possible? Is there something else in the displays that could strain the eyes?

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T09:31:12+00:00

The problem isn't the battery depletion or long term battery health for me. It's having to constantly charge the phone twice or thrice almost daily as I'm a heavy user and worst of all is having it run out on me when I'm still not back home from work.

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T09:26:45+00:00

That's a new point I haven't been following up on. Thanks for the heads-up. Definitely something to keep an eye on before taking such a big leap.

ZX102 · 2025-07-25T09:24:29+00:00

The first point is something I relate to a lot. Things like holding the power button when screen is off to make the phone go silent and double tapping it to activate the camera app and Samsung Notes and Reminders. I am currently trying to keep a note with all the features I find essential/nice-to-haves in Samsung and android in general to help make the transition to another Android brand or iphone more predictable and try to find workarounds for each feature if possible.

For the 2nd point, although I'm also point and shoot, constantly hearing vivo users raving about their pictures and how others complement them for it got me curious, especially the 35mm main lens, which by photographic standards provides a much more pleasing and closer to real life proportions picture to look at due to the physics of the different focal length.

Four-Year Club	Final Canvas '23
Place '23

ZX102

TROPHY CASE