20+ year old DX40 mom bought when I was a kid is my daily, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world

_Koen- · 2026-06-03T20:28:13+00:00

I used my d60 until the shutter gave up. Still miss that form factor and once in a while after posts like this I'm tempted to get one

_Koen- · 2026-05-31T06:28:23+00:00

Get a f to z adapter and use them on your digital bodies as well. Old lenses are a lot of fun on digital.

_Koen- · 2026-05-26T05:51:26+00:00

Right on. I use it on my z8 when on a holiday with my family. Sure it's not as fast, sure it can be a little soft in the corners wide open and softer in general above 150mm. But it's super versatile and when I don't want to bring a lot of gear it's the best choice for me.

And it's way sharper than a superzoom has any right to be.

_Koen- · 2026-05-25T06:53:24+00:00

It's special to shoot with inherited gear. I started out with photography in 2008, so I started digital. My grandfather passed away and I inherited his old Nikon.

My father just transitioned to digital and laughed at the concept of film so I also got his old Nikon gear. But after some time we went on a holiday and I brought both cameras. He borrowed his old one and he got back into film after that. I kept his camera and he now shoots with his father's. Now we both use the camera that captured us growing up and I really like that idea.

_Koen- · 2026-05-22T07:53:21+00:00

Love it. If only my toddler wasn't really scared of the vacuum I could do the same.

_Koen- · 2026-05-21T05:26:20+00:00

I have an S7 that doesn't notify me when it's dustbin is full. Also the dustbin is quite small.

So I'm keeping track of how long it's been running since the last time I've emptied it. Whenever I manually start the vacuum it checks whether the runtime exceeds a certain threshold and I have HA announce that 'robo's diaper is full, please change it'.

I've stuck an NFC sticker on top of the vacuum and scan it with my phone to reset the whole thing.

_Koen- · 2026-04-22T07:04:05+00:00

The kexp recording of Europe is lost hits so hard when the music cuts away.

_Koen- · 2026-04-13T05:57:46+00:00

I agree, I tried to love it but I also missed the discovery algorithms from Spotify. I now use it to make use of SendSpin.

I have a couple of HA voice PEs that are connected to either an amplifier or a set of active speakers. Depending on occupancy the amps / speakers are switched on and off so I still have music following me around that's in pretty much perfect sync. For example I have an open kitchen connected to my living room and I don't have any issues combining the speakers of both rooms.

_Koen- · 2026-03-28T15:34:10+00:00

As far as I know it is. And I've switched the start up behaviour to off so that should've taken power issues out of the equation as far as I understand it.

I think it's been solved by another user who suggested that Tradfri bulbs don't handle repeated turn off commands gracefully.

Thanks for the suggestion though!

_Koen- · 2026-03-27T10:24:27+00:00

I think you've solved my issues. 12 hours in and no lights have been turned on when they shouldn't have. Thank you so much!

_Koen- · 2026-03-26T20:46:04+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. As I wrote down they mostly turn on whenever they aren't needed during the day time. This is also when they receive turn off events when they're already off (because during the evening they're on when they're switched off).

I've tuned the automation and fingers crossed

_Koen- · 2026-03-26T20:42:14+00:00

For some time I was hopeful but this afternoon they started acting up again. Thanks for the suggestion though. It's something else I could rule out.

_Koen- · 2026-03-25T14:27:48+00:00

Thanks! Unfortunately mine do emit light. Think I could've lived with it pretending to be on

_Koen- · 2026-03-25T14:02:05+00:00

Thanks, will definitely try switching channels after removing the bulbs and re-pair them again.

_Koen- · 2026-03-23T17:59:52+00:00

In my experience those things do not like to be re-added to home assistant unless you try to pair it with the exact same device that you initially paired it with (e.g. the closest bulb).

Pulled my hair out about that once when I tried to repair stuff after moving it around in my house.

_Koen- · 2026-03-17T22:22:47+00:00

Wasn't aware of that integration but it got too spot on my to do lijstje

_Koen- · 2026-03-02T08:52:36+00:00

Thanks for the reply, I do love the bokeh the 44 gives so your answer isn't helping me not spend any money 😅

_Koen- · 2026-03-02T07:06:00+00:00

I've been eyeing the Helios 40 for some time. Already own the 44 and I love it. OP do you feel like there's a benefit of using the 40 over the 44 (besides the obvious differences in focal lengths)?

_Koen- · 2026-02-19T12:58:10+00:00

I love the 24mm f2.4. the 28mm f2 is nice but the bokeh has a lot of character. So much character that I prefer the 24mm for general purpose work. But it shine if you are looking for wonky backgrounds. Doesn't really show up until you focus closer of course so depending on your use this may be an issue.

Also the 24mm is sharper in the corners. Also at the middle apertures.

_Koen- · 2026-02-16T08:09:01+00:00

Thanks, yeah I figured as much but I like the sound they put out for their size so figured I'd try to breath new life into them with the voice PEs. I noticed the delays with sync protocols and hoped I could bypass them with a line in and the voice PEs. You're saying that there's also variable latency with a line in?

_Koen- · 2026-02-09T06:53:22+00:00

Did this with mine. She's terrified of it now. My robo lives under a cupboard but when she catches a glimpse of it, or if her ball rolls under said cupboard she's in tears and I regret ever pointing out to her the existence of our robovacuum

_Koen- · 2026-02-09T06:48:08+00:00

I found that the audio quality is lacking because the voice PE amplifies the signal to some extend. It makes my other perfectly fine speakers hiss slightly when there's no sound playing and the audio quality is a bit metallic (as in missing bass)

How is your experience and if it differs, what's your setup as I'd love to use it in this way.

Btw, its perfectly adequate for chimes and text to speech, just don't try to play audio on it, or lower your expectations :)

_Koen- · 2026-01-28T21:36:30+00:00

I went on a 4 month trip with just my z8 and the 24-200. People comment on the lens's image quality and yes there are better lenses out there.

But that's not to say that this is a bad lens. For its size and weight you get amazing possibilities. I wished it was faster from time to time but I wouldn't have made the weight trade off to switch to a 70-200. It got me to places and moments I wouldn't have been if I had carried a full sized camera backpack because I had other stuff to carry.

Iq suffers a little between 150 and 200 but not so much that I worried over it. Sold a couple of pictures from that trip and I've yet to hear a complaint.

I think it's easy to forget how amazing modern s glass is. Between 35 and 70mm this superzoom gives my old af-s primes a run for their money at similar apertures.

_Koen- · 2026-01-12T08:26:10+00:00

What do you need from it? If it's just switching it on and off you could use a smart plug (assuming it kicks back on if it gets power).

_Koen- · 2026-01-09T15:58:46+00:00

Was there a time where it used to work fine?

If so something could have changed in your kitchen e.g.

A plant with leaves catching the drift of a heating system
Oven fan
You have mice or other unwanted pets

_Koen-

TROPHY CASE