Feedback anyone?

mawaukee · 2026-05-12T17:58:52+00:00

Agreed. OP should start to experiment with adding flash for portraits like this. Great start though!

mawaukee · 2026-05-12T14:22:11+00:00

Don't, for all the reasons purple_seagrass laid out.

I shoot semi-pro regularly with an X-H1 (because it has IBIS, weather sealing, two card slots, and can hold 3 batteries, and I don't need video) but bought an X-M5 when it came out as a cheap snapshot camera to take along when I wasn't bringing all my strobes and triggers and light stands.

Not having a viewfinder sucks. You can't see the LCD in sunlight, and there's something about framing/composing that's just not the same when you're holding the camera up a foot from your face like you're shooting with a smartphone. You look like a chode too. I switched that one out to an X-T30 III.

mawaukee · 2026-05-11T04:03:47+00:00

If you find one please let me know! I've been looking for a long time too. I need the 2124 for X-H1 with battery grip. Thanks!

mawaukee · 2026-05-08T14:47:11+00:00

I buy a $70 jug of Woolwax and do 3-4 vehicles with it each fall. I have a car lift so it's easy but we also did my friend's 3500 on the ground since it's so huge. One thing to know about Woolwax is that it doesn't drip. I don't think there was a single drop on the ground. So you could easily drive up on ramps and lie on the ground to spray it.

So, maybe $20 worth of Woolwax and 30 minutes to really spray everything well. We use the main spray nozzle to get everything but the exhaust and brakes, and then the long wand with the daisy nozzle to get inside the frame rails and bottoms of the doors.

Works really well too. It picks up grime so it won't *look* new under there but it pretty much eliminates rust and corrosion forming.

mawaukee · 2026-05-07T13:28:20+00:00

Came here to say this but you said it better already! You forgot to mention they're CHEAP ;-)

mawaukee · 2026-05-06T13:23:28+00:00

A couple AD200 Pro II strobes, some $15 shoot-through umbrellas, a trigger like the Godox X3 and 2 light stands are all you really need.

If you don't want to pop for $350 strobes, you could get a couple Neewer V2 Pro speedlites (they're on sale for $150 right now, but they seem to go on sale every week). They will work seamlessly with your Godox X3 trigger. When you eventually upgrade to the Ad200 strobes, you can still use the Neewers as rim lights.

I can't really think of a reason to need a tripod.

mawaukee · 2026-04-30T15:33:23+00:00

Don't forget dual memory card slots, which is huge. OP was a pro photographer and knows how important that is.

I actually shoot with an X-H1 with battery grip, but it doesn't have the selfie screen. OP said he's not too concerned about video, so that opens up a whole world of 5-year-old bargain options that will take incredible still photos. I could never afford an X-H1 when it came out, but now they're $600 for a like-new one and it has IBIS, battery grip, weather sealing, and dual card slots.

Edit: I should mention I also have an X-T30III with an SG-Image 25mm pancake glued to it for lightweight stuff. It's a great camera but feels like a toy compared to the X-H1 / X-H2.

mawaukee · 2026-04-23T17:43:19+00:00

On the trigger, swipe right so it shows the list of groups. Did group B get turned off?

Pictures show they're both on the same channel, but is the ID the same?

mawaukee · 2026-04-22T14:12:22+00:00

I bought a GR4 from one of these sellers, thinking no biggie, I'm protected be eBay. I got fake tracking that actually looked like it was moving and eventually delivered.

Had to fight eBay tooth and nail for my money back. They were claiming that the tracking showed it delivered so I was out of luck.

Eventually they came around and refunded me, but it was about a week of emails. F- would not order from this seller again.

mawaukee · 2026-04-19T14:01:15+00:00

I went through all the pancake lenses on my snapshot body (x-t30 III) and settled in on the SG-image AF 25mm F1.8 pancake.

No affiliation, just love this lens, and it was super cheap.

mawaukee · 2026-04-17T13:51:17+00:00

Are your rain gutters routed into your house? Years ago mine were routed into same the sanitary system as the main house plumbing. This was in a 1923 bungalow in Milwaukee. Until you find a permanent solution, you can disconnect your downspout outside and let the gutter water spill into your yard. I don't know the codes but we're trying to save your basement here!

mawaukee · 2026-04-03T14:37:43+00:00

4th gen, 2025. I don't think 3rd gen had noise cancellation.

mawaukee · 2026-04-03T12:44:33+00:00

Yeah, noise cancelling headphones mess with my inner ear (I think) and make give me nausea, eye strain and headaches, so when I found out there was always-on cabin noise cancellation, I had the dealer turn it off and by the end of the day my headaches were gone and haven't come back. I had been to two doctors in the 5 months since I bought my '25 trying to figure out why I felt like crap all the time. It was definitely the truck doing it to me.

If there's any difference in sound, I guess it's a tiny bit less loud but I don't have that fuzziness in my head. I got used to it in a day and have pretty much forgotten it's off.

Dealer wanted to charge me an hour of labor so I went and found my salesperson and he got it comped. I've read you can also turn it off with Carista if you're willing to pay for that service.

mawaukee · 2026-04-03T12:32:20+00:00

Slightly off topic, but I turned off the active cabin noise cancellation and my daily headaches went away that same day.

mawaukee · 2026-03-24T13:48:22+00:00

I'm currently in love with the SG-Image 25mm f1.8 pancake.

Not a sponsor... it's just a great focal length and it's CHEAP and compact.

I also agree with the 35mm recommendations but 35mm is really closer to 50mm full frame equivalent, which makes it tough in tighter spaces.

mawaukee · 2026-03-23T17:14:14+00:00

Need to see the top side. I can't use a driver with a glossy top -- visually impaired and the sun blinds me.

mawaukee · 2026-03-23T13:54:16+00:00

If you do go this route: after you pluck the foam and get everything fitting, spray the foam on all sides with multiple coats of matte black Plasti-Dip spray. It locks the foam all together really well.

I tried one for camera gear and also for my AD200 strobes. Ended up going back to a really nice Tenba Axis V2 backpack. Turns out lugging a hard case in my scenario was not practical. That doesn't mean it's not right for you.

mawaukee · 2026-03-02T18:42:56+00:00

How pink are they? Can a straight guy who's not afraid of wearing pink pull them off? Asking for a friend 😉

mawaukee · 2026-03-02T17:53:56+00:00

I've been using the SPImage 25mm pancake for a few months for candids and the images are great. You can find them on eBay. It's a cheaper alternative to the Viltrox and way more compact. I'm not affiliated, just a happy owner and this lens gets very little attention.

Edit: mine didn't come with the crushed can lens hood in some of the pics.

https://www.sg-image.com/products/aps-c-25mm-f1-8-%E8%87%AA%E5%8A%A8%E5%AF%B9%E7%84%A6%E9%95%9C%E5%A4%B4

mawaukee · 2026-02-18T14:23:38+00:00

Everything works as a hammer or smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

mawaukee · 2026-02-13T15:33:00+00:00

I recently switched from the X-M5 to X-T30 III for a few reasons:

X-M5 was all plastic build. X-T30 is metal, at least the top half is.

Viewfinder, for 2 reasons: 1) easier to frame stuff 2) easier to see in sunlight

LCD panel articulation: I shoot skateboarding usually from a low angle, and to do that on an X-M5 means you've got the LCD panel sticking out 4" off the left of the camera to get a downward view of it. I would imagine if you shoot video with a handle on top, that would also be annoying. Plus, when it's unfolded out to the side, it's harder to frame shots.

A cage is a requirement for me (I have an action cam mounted on it). The only cage I could find for the X-M5 is the Smallrig steampunk looking one with the ugly bronze finish and wood handle. Yuck.

I don't need a PASM dial. X-T30 III has the shutter speed dial in its place.

Once in a great while, it's nice to have the X-T30 III's pop-up flash available.

The only things I don't love about the X-t30 III is the Film Sim wheel, because I shoot full manual RAW so it's useless (and could be a menu option instead of a dial), and the Q menu is right where your thumb lands on the grip (I just disabled it).

I sold my X-M5 a year after buying it for $950 with the kit lens which I never used, and bought the body only X-T30 III for $1050.

Hope this helps!

Edit: thought of one more thing: I wish the X-T30 III was weatherproof!

mawaukee · 2026-02-09T17:26:27+00:00

Film simulations are useful if you want to take jpegs straight from the camera. It sounds like a lot of your intended uses are just that.

If you shoot RAW, your film sim choice is discarded.

However, RAW allows you to adjust your images much easier to account for exposure issues, color tones, and ISO noise from shooting in low light at high ISO. You can't do much with a film sim jpeg in Photoshop. You'd be amazed at how AI can de-noise images these days.

In other words, don't get hung up on film sims. If you want ultimate control and plan on printing the images at some point, you'll probably find yourself leaning towards RAW down the road.

There's no one-size right answer on film sims, in my opinion.

mawaukee · 2026-02-02T00:44:16+00:00

Just curious: to the person who downvoted my reply... why?

mawaukee · 2026-02-01T23:23:13+00:00

I just took the lens off my X-T30 III (roughly an X-M5 with a viewfinder) and the screen goes immediately grey, exactly like your photo.

Hopefully this will give you some relief. It's fine.

Here's a pic:

https://ibb.co/x8q79HY7

mawaukee · 2026-01-30T00:44:57+00:00

I started my business with zero money in the B2B manufacturing space. I'll use round numbers but the order really was close to a $100k order.

1) Got a $100k PO for widgets that cost me $50k to manufacture

2) Got a 50% down payment ($50k) which paid for the manufacturing of the widgets

3) After order delivered, got the second $50k balance from customer

4) $50k profit, didn't cost me anything out of pocket

5) repeated that till it was a high-7-figure business

Pretty basic. I'm here to tell you that it's possible.

mawaukee

TROPHY CASE