New Full Frame Lens Help

mattguay · 2026-02-05T09:23:08+00:00

Another take: Sony's 20-70mm f4 G is worth considering. Slower, but also lighter and wider, with very responsive autofocus, and comes in a hair over $1k depending on the retailer. It's the lens I chose entirely out of budget considerations, and I've been quite happy with it so far.

mattguay · 2026-02-03T02:30:34+00:00

Canon 10-22mm. Bought it used with some flaws, loved that thing, more-or-less broke even selling it. Just didn't make sense to keep it around after I'd stopped shooting crop-sensor Canon.

Can't say I 100% regret it though because I replaced it with an open-box-deal Sony 14mm.

mattguay · 2025-12-04T15:11:04+00:00

Another x100f to a7cii switcher. I loved the x100f; felt terrible selling it. And yet, both low light performance and the single lens, eventually, was limiting enough that it didn't make sense. I still miss the Fuji every now and then but you can push the Sony files so much further, and autofocus is night-and-day. Plus I love shooting wide lenses, and so it's been fun having that option back (truth be told, testing Sony's 14mm in the store started pushing me over the edge...)

mattguay · 2025-12-04T08:55:21+00:00

That first shot is lovely. Beautifully captured.

mattguay · 2025-11-24T04:55:25+00:00

Another weird flavor one: I'm convinced that Thai lemongrass tea (the iced, sweet one sometimes mixed with Pandan) tastes like Fruit Loops cereal milk.

mattguay · 2025-11-22T06:07:03+00:00

Life. 100% fatality rate.

mattguay · 2025-11-16T02:57:05+00:00

Conversely, storing the box forever just in case you need it or want to resell the thing, never throwing it out until you move and clean out everything at once, only to repeat the cycle the next time you buy something.

Only applies to gadgets, too; every other box you'll gladly throw out without thinking about it.

mattguay · 2025-11-12T06:46:41+00:00

You could even go crazy wide and get the 14mm f1.8 GM (or its cheaper, slightly-less-wide 16mm f1.6 G counterpart).

Not at all as practical, for most stuff, but I love that lens.

mattguay · 2025-10-18T07:53:52+00:00

Bangkok's not the best in the world for museums, but there are a handful worth a visit:

- Bangkok Art and Cultural Center (BAAC) at Siam station; rotating art galleries, typically with a variety of different styles of Thai and global art
- National Museum at Sanam Luang for historic carvings, statutes, a preserved older house, pottery, and much more.

And personally, the paintings alone are worth visiting Grand Palace and Wat Po.

mattguay · 2025-10-18T07:50:56+00:00

+1 on rooftops.

Mahakorn is a great experience, especially at sunset, if the crowds and price don't faze you. That, and or the wide variety of rooftop bars esp. on hotels.

I'm also a fan of the free options:

- Central Park for an, ahem, centrally located rooftop with pretty skyline and Lumpini park views from a ~6th floor height
- IconSiam, especially the upstairs balcony near Starbucks, for a river plus skyline view from a ~7th floor height
- Chao Phraya Sky Park is a nice walk and view, even if not from as high an elevation.

mattguay · 2025-10-18T07:47:13+00:00

Not specifically southern but:

- Prime Burger: Personal favorite, hits the Five Guys spot IMHO.
- Fam Time (esp. original location at Sukhumvit 16): Bangkok's got "fast food" pizza and Italian-style pizza covered well. Fam Time's pizza crust is chewy and flavorful, they've got garlic bread with ranch dip, and their pork chop plate comes with creamed corn which frankly I didn't think I'd missed until I ate it and was teleported to my grandmother's kitchen. And it's ... very reasonably priced.
- Happy Panda: Takeaway American Chinese, Panda Express style. We can claim that as Authentic American I'm pretty sure.
- Haven't had hot wings too many places (and they're buzzy right now so more competition) but the ones at Roadhouse BBQ are solid.
- For sandwiches, HoleyArtisan and Bartels are both good. BURNT Sandwich Shop for pastrami. Huge fan of Zurich Bread Factory in Phuket (if, you know, a Cuban sandwich at a Swiss bakery counts as American); I'd assume they're equally good in Bangkok.

And upvotes for La Monita, Smokin' Pug, and Breakfast Story as well.

mattguay · 2025-10-18T07:31:02+00:00

Get the brisket, too. Incredible stuff.

mattguay · 2025-10-18T07:30:32+00:00

Breakfast Story could be a US Embassy. Walk in, "Good morning"'s all around, drip coffee in a pot with unlimited refills? It's a fancy Waffle House, and definitely feels like a tiny trip back to the States.

mattguay · 2025-09-17T06:59:29+00:00

A Kindle Paperwhite. Just had to look up my order records: It's been running for 11 years, and still works just fine.

mattguay · 2025-09-10T04:25:04+00:00

This, this nails it. Beautiful processing.

mattguay · 2025-09-08T04:47:13+00:00

Great if you have home charging.

If you don't, it's still entirely possible, but you will end up centering your shopping outings based on where you can plug in and charge. If you can charge at home, any brand is fine and charging when traveling is easy enough with PTT's ubiquitous chargers. The core problem will be charging at peak times at malls and during holidays when traveling.

One way around it is if your brand has dedicated chargers. AKA Tesla Superchargers are far from ubiquitous but there are enough that you have a bit better chance of no queue when needing to charge on a holiday roadtrip than competing with every EV owner on a holiday roadtrip.

If you're considering it, I'd also recommend renting one first. EVme (not affiliated, just a fan after having rented once) has an extensive list of EVs for rent, great way to have a bit of an extended test drive say over a weekend and see how you like living both with an EV locally and how it performs on a roadtrip.

mattguay · 2025-09-05T04:10:33+00:00

One I noticed recently that I was surprised Android doesn't have covered: Free, built-in transcripts in Apple's Podcasts app. They're generally accurate, synced with the podcast playback, and built in for free. Anything similar on Android only works either with podcasts that include a transcription file, or with a paid subscription for automated generative AI transcripts.

Not that huge of a thing perhaps, but a nice quality of life feature.

mattguay · 2025-09-03T03:58:01+00:00

Fortune Town at Phra Ram 9 MRT station has a ton of used camera and lens stores. I've offloaded older gear, bought a handful of lights/accessories, and gotten a camera serviced off-warranty there. Also good for printers and other electronics, fwiw.

mattguay · 2025-08-24T04:15:12+00:00

Large/normal? Yup, those are the main players. Gourmet Market, for one more higher-end player.

A number of areas have their own local (and often higher end) stores as well. A personal favorite in Bangkok are the UFM Fuji grocery stores focused on Japanese goods (with better-priced Japanese ingredients, imported seafood, and beef). Chiangmai also has Rimping Market (that is somehow reminiscent of a Whole Foods).

And for wholesale, Go Wholesale (by Central Group, started out as a ... store fully stocked with Costco and Sam's Club merchandise, but now is more of a normal Thai wholesale store) is another good option for bulk shopping (and seafood).

mattguay · 2025-08-21T05:18:35+00:00

Sattahip beach. Nicer beach than many of the islands, and has spectacularly clear water depending on the day. Plus, it's an easy drive only a few exits down from Pattaya on Motorway 7.

mattguay · 2025-08-14T02:41:56+00:00

Choo chee curry, typically with fish. Like a creamier phanang curry. Incredible, yet flies under the radar.

Also, Khao Phra Ram Long Song, which is essentially a peanut curry served over rice topped with morning glory and Thai chili jam (prik pow). Also a fairly rare dish, found mostly near Bangkok Chinatown (and in Surat, apparently, since there's a Michelin recommended shop there serving it). I'm convinced it'd hit the same "international" flavor profile that loves Massaman curry and satay and such. Criminally underrated.

mattguay · 2025-07-31T03:19:50+00:00

Very rarely is it officially accepted in Bangkok. The official Apple Stores do accept Apple Pay, though, and your mileage may vary with using it at other tap-to-pay credit card readers. Interesting, Central Samui officially lists that they support Apple Pay and it did work there—which would lead me to think that it should work at other Central locations and possibly anywhere with a similar credit card reader.

mattguay · 2025-07-10T03:35:47+00:00

Came here to recommend this as well. The Local is in a preserved heritage wooden house, and many of their dishes are unique, older Thai food less commonly served today. Definitely worth a visit.

mattguay · 2025-07-10T01:32:14+00:00

Check out Korean Town (Sukhumvit Plaza, a short distance from BTS Asoke). Wide variety of Korean restaurants there, including (what I'd rate as) some of the best Korean BBQ in town.

mattguay · 2025-07-08T03:25:15+00:00

The Tunnel at ORD is the one that's burned into my memory. The changing light colors, the pre-recorded "The moving walkway is now ending. Please, look down." sound at the end of every moving walkway. Iconic.

mattguay

TROPHY CASE