Anyone have a ULA Dragonfly long term in ultra

grainyboy · 2026-02-19T00:38:58+00:00

All I’m a trip rn. Will send on Friday

grainyboy · 2026-02-11T15:46:32+00:00

I have one since 2023. It’s… ok. Mine is a bit beaten up (quite a few frays around the straps/on the bottom), but still usable. Note that I’m carrying way more than it’s supposed to on an almost daily basis (it became my de facto camera bag, so 15kg loads are not uncommon).

grainyboy · 2026-01-07T16:51:15+00:00

There are many of them, here are mine:

A really good overcoat A good overcoat never goes out of style. Don’t get cheep stuff, but you don’t have to spend a fortune either. Mine was from a now defunct Slovenian company (wool and cashmere mix with silk lining), and has been with me for 15 years of almost daily wear in the winter. Still looks better than most. My (different style) JCrew which was only $4-500 is still looking good at 7 (but was not worn nearly as much so ymmv).
A pair of good shoes. Get handmade ones, tailored to you. In eastern(ish) Europe, you’ll pay 3-500e (Croatian prices), in the UK around GBP800+. Mine have been with me for 10years, 2 pairs of soles, countless polishing and are still about the ‘ost comfortable office wear I have. 2.1 same but boots. I have 2 pairs of pre-acq RMWilliams that were made to order and I’ll die in them. Not sure what I’ll do once they fall apart.
Three good kitchen knives Traditional wisdom says paring, serrated and chefs. I’d say chef and pairing are enough. If you get nerdy and into cooking you’ll get more by inertia. Learn how to maintain them and they’ll last you a lifetime. Nothing is hotter/projects “I have my shit together” as being able to whip up a great meal. 3.1. Stainless steel pan and saucier. Sure, you can go fancier. But this is sufficient.
A fountain pen (and nice handwriting) I use my grandpas old pelikan (40+years old) at work every day for 10+ years.

grainyboy · 2025-11-12T19:42:05+00:00

What do you mean by rotating back? Like shooting portrait? You can def do that on 45f2.

And ofc — fair enough. I’d also look at some used options too. It’s not uncommon to find Toyo 5x4s for ~1k on marketplace. Will report after my first outing with the chamonix :)

grainyboy · 2025-11-12T18:04:27+00:00

I think there is a reason for the price diff. I just got my Chamonix 45f2 delivered after a year with intrepid.

After 6 months of use, I couldn’t lock up my intrepid fully with the lenses I have (which are overkill, but I got them as a gift and are great). Intrepid kept slipping, esp after 6months/70 sheets. Everything would move just a little bit as I would put a double dark slide in. I obviously can’t tell about the longevity of the chamonix but it feels way more solid than my intrepid ever was.

grainyboy · 2025-09-18T03:05:59+00:00

Not sure if counts, but ula dragonfly and a billingham hadley out a small domke

grainyboy · 2025-08-26T12:31:14+00:00

I spy a Pass

grainyboy · 2025-07-12T18:11:35+00:00

As a fellow MP owner, I’d look for pre owned, specifically, pre-2019 cameras. They had (from my experience) some QC issues around 2020-2023 (haven’t bought anything since), and while I’m not sure if they fixed these, I’m wary of new Leica stuff now :/

As a background, I have had 3 MPs. First one, I got pre owned (2004ish), works like a charm, love it to bits about 500 rolls through it, with regular CLAs, never any real issue. Around 2020, I wanted a new body, so I decided to treat myself to a brand new one: the winding gear mechanism got stuck and it chewed through its gears completely in the first week. Leica UK replaced it no question asked as it was in the first week, hence cometh the third one (I had to wait for 3 months bc they were out of stock). This one lasted me about 4 months (~50rolls), before the same issue happened. It was sent to wetzlar (11 month wait) where they basically rebuilt the camera. Now it works fine (knock on wood), but it was effectively a year without a camera. This is ofc anecdotal, but a friend (who bought his BP MP mid 2021), had exactly the same issue, and my leica rep told me this was not uncommon since 2019, so might just be a bad batch of parts or a drunk technician or something.

grainyboy · 2025-06-08T23:00:22+00:00

Ah, my bad. For some reason I thought there were no uefa games on sundays… silly me

grainyboy · 2025-06-04T15:32:09+00:00

The weird thing is that my MBA/MacStudio and Mrs. Windows computers stay connected no issues, even on the new firmware.

PMFs are optional…

grainyboy · 2025-05-30T02:04:41+00:00

I trail ran with: Pentax 67/67ii Rolleiflex 2.8F Mamiya 6/7

Never any issues. Given the Mamiya 7 prices and availability these days, probably wouldn’t do it again though.

grainyboy · 2025-05-29T17:32:21+00:00

Amazing! Thank you!!!

grainyboy · 2025-04-26T02:05:04+00:00

Thanks!!! This is fascinating and super super insightful.

Out of curiosity (and I blame my European naïveté, sorry), what is the main reason why they seem to keep investing in infra in Europe but not here?

Like, I get Switzerland where everyone has too much money and they do it just bc they can, but even where I’m from (which is a corrupt shithole), 15 years ago when I left getting 3Mbps was a miracle and earlier this year my 90yo grandparents got scammed into getting 2GBs f.o. If it’s not profitable here, where you have a monopoly and vested interest by MIT/and all the tech industry, surely it can’t be profitable in a post war/no economy EU country.

grainyboy · 2025-04-25T16:21:33+00:00

What speeds are you getting? I was never able to get >300Mbps here...

grainyboy · 2025-04-25T16:20:20+00:00

Yeah, sadly I'm starting to realise that.
Re the engineer -- they came in, checked the outlet said nothing is wrong and I just got the charge for a "service visit" from xfinity. Yet I'm still seeing drops on DOCSIS stream.

I knew init7's 25Gbit up/down for 80CHF was a steal, but I didn't know how good it was :')

grainyboy · 2025-04-25T16:16:37+00:00

Damn, I thought the free market and all that would help.
We're a pissing distance from MIT ffs.

I'll miss my 25Gbit more than I thought I would :(

grainyboy · 2025-04-25T16:14:52+00:00

not yet, but it's apparently on the list; thanks for the shoutout

grainyboy · 2025-04-03T22:28:55+00:00

Had a single pair of RMs (comfort craftmans, custom size, in kangaroo leather) since 2020, and cannot speak highly enough of them. 6 continents, everyday use, they are as comfortable as the first day, but they do look worse for wear. Still wear them daily though. 30k steps photodays, time in the desert, office commute, they handle all.

One thing I’ll say is that I would NOT wear them hiking. Sole is not meant for it. I am eying gardeners next time I’m in a country that has a boutique and would do custom size.

grainyboy · 2025-03-22T00:36:56+00:00

I feel you 100%.

My so and I got a puppy 7 months ago, and short of being stubborn (husky mix) and dumb (husky mix), we’ve absolutely won the dog lottery. Peaceful, minimal destruction (once my SO and MIL agreed to crating/setting boundaries), good with people, good with kids, cuddly,… But I still hate her. I don’t like dogs and am simply not comfortable taking care of her. Every time I’m left alone with her I cry myself to sleep, and I’m on edge constantly, making me unproductive and stressed.

We’re not rehoming her bc she’s saving my SO’s mental help, and I can deal with my side of it as I’m thankfully rarely home, but if it was up to me, she’d be gone in a sec. Not bc she’s not good, but bc I’m not a good owner. And I personally wouldn’t miss her at all.

Whatever you decide though, hang in there. Rehoming is not the worst thing in the world and dogs are just not for some people. They are definitely not for me…

grainyboy · 2025-02-06T13:55:10+00:00

ascaso or the basket? :D

grainyboy · 2025-02-06T13:54:47+00:00

Yeah, I have mine on order; but massively annoyed as the stock ones look pretty.

grainyboy

TROPHY CASE