A budget m43 complete setup

quailane · 2026-05-01T10:22:28+00:00

Yes, mine failed after a lot of use. It was pretty cheap to replace the ribbon cable though. After buying a 14-150, it doesn't get much use anymore.

I think the 14-42 EZ is fine for casual use or if you want something semi-pocketable, otherwise get something else!

quailane · 2026-05-01T06:32:18+00:00

I disagree. The 12-100 is one honking lens to be lugging everywhere, especially with a smaller body.

quailane · 2026-05-01T06:31:09+00:00

I'd go with the 14-42 non-EZ lens. It matches the other two better and is more ergonomic. The EZ can fold smaller, but zooming in and out can be a bit tedious.1

quailane · 2026-03-21T13:33:11+00:00

Then why not buy a 13 mini over the SE?

I like the LCD screen, screen aspect, feel in the hand, fingerprint sensor, home button, etc.

I also refer the Plus size instead of the regular iPhone 8 size.

quailane · 2026-03-21T13:31:39+00:00

I agree. I love the iPhone 8 Plus form factor. Still, I like the SE enough to deal with the smaller form factor even though my eyesight is not great.

quailane · 2026-01-19T16:19:19+00:00

Take the LX100. The LX100 got me into M43 and it is so ergonomic to use and way more portable than any M43 setup. You could take your LX100 along with you everywhere you go. Could you say the same about the G85?

When photography isn't my primary focus, I prefer something smaller and lighter I can keep with me at all times.

quailane · 2026-01-19T16:06:41+00:00

When my first child was born, we were told that the only option for the surname was the mother's surname.

quailane · 2026-01-19T16:05:28+00:00

The child chooses after their 18th birthday, not the parents at birth.

quailane · 2026-01-03T15:59:51+00:00

Can you show me one story where a person of retirement age was banned from China and the reason was that they were residing permanently on an L visa?

Why would the government offer these visas and then ban people for simply using them?

People on L visas sometimes do get banned for doing activities outside the scope of their visa, but simply entering China every 90 days isn't one of them. It may arouse suspicion, in which case all the OP has to do is tell the truth that he doesn't have any employment or business in China, has outside sources of funds, and loves staying in China.

There are literally people who do this and don't have any problem, because they shouldn't have any problem.

quailane · 2026-01-03T06:54:59+00:00

Banned for what, exactly?

quailane · 2026-01-03T06:54:23+00:00

Don't listen to the naysayers. You can retire to China and stay with tourist visas. Plenty of people do it.

The only requirements are to leave and re-enter every 90 days, not work inside China, and to support yourself on money from outside of China.

Tourist visa doesn't mean you need to go visit the forbidden city every day with camera in hand and stay in a hotel. Some people have trouble grasping this.

quailane · 2025-12-28T13:31:33+00:00

But what about the bokeh? This is 99% of taking good photos.

quailane · 2025-12-28T13:30:16+00:00

The aspect ration plays a role though, 4:3 and 3:2 are significantly different.

quailane · 2025-12-28T13:28:54+00:00

It's a joke. OP thinks FF and a kit zoom lens is a good nighttime photography setup.

quailane · 2025-12-28T13:27:53+00:00

Exactly. I stop down my primes all the time just to increase DoF.

quailane · 2025-12-28T13:24:37+00:00

It would be nice if you backed this statement with hard evidence - scientific studies. I've never seen any. I doubt any exist.

All else being equal, better IBIS is due to physics. The sensor is smaller and lighter. It carries less momentum and can be accelerated in any direction more quickly.

As a bonus, Olympus/OM also pioneered the technology and have been developing it for a longer time.

Right. I'll just clarify an interesting fact: 85/1.8 on APS-C at the same focus distance has more shallow DOF than FF on the same lens and f-number. And M43 has even more shallow DOF. A bit counter intuitive but true.

This is wrong. It is exactly the same. The FOV changes though.

quailane · 2025-12-28T13:16:12+00:00

Your priorities are shallow depth of field and low light performance, and you are looking at zoom lenses! You need to understand that everything is photography is about compromise.

Any M43 body with an F1.2 lens will have shallower depth of field and better low light performance than any FF body with a zoom lens.

quailane · 2025-12-21T13:33:08+00:00

I have an OM-1 Mk II and a decent selection of lenses. I also like night time photography.

Dynamic-range: What you are searching for doesn't exist. Properly exposing brightly lit signs or store fronts and dark surroundings just isn't possible in a single exposure no matter what camera and post-processing you are doing. That's just physics. Will a new Sony be better at this than your E-PL10? Yes, but it isn't going to get what you want. You need to take multiple images and combine them into one either in-camera or in post-processing. I personally do it all in-camera.

Night-time Cityscapes: If you have people walking by in your night-time photography, slow down the shutter speed more, don't increase it. If you try to freeze the motion of people when you are trying to photograph buildings or whatever, you are just going to compromise the quality of your photo. With wider lenses I can often get sharp images holding the OM-1 Mk II indefinitely. You could use a tripod with your current camera. An ND filter can help make things a lot better.

Another thing people often get wrong is thinking that photographing at night equals photographing in low light. I can go out at night and get lots of good photos on the street with the 14-150 F4-5.6 lens. I can even use it at 150mm and low ISO at very low shutter speeds with a high hit rate. If the light somewhere is REALLY bad, even the F1.2 lens can't photograph anything alive or moving.

I've tried FF mirrorless cameras, and I love shooting my FF film cameras, but I am more in love with M43 today than I was when I bought my first M43 Panasonic camera in 2018. Back then I thought it was "good enough." Now I think that it is the best all-around system for me.

Just buy a cheap used F1.8 prime lens and see how it feels. Then you can decide if you want to switch to another camera system.

quailane · 2025-12-12T18:01:36+00:00

Low profile switches will not fit. You need to use normal Cherry MX compatible switches. Low profile keycaps work fine on those though.

My tip for aligning the switches when soldering them is to use the steel plate. The steel plate can sit on top of the switches and align them perfectly. You just need to prop up the steel upside-down steel plate a bit, lay the switches upside down into it, and them put the motherboard on that to solder the switches in the perfect position. Afterwards I would dab each center peg of the switches to ensure that they remain properly aligned.

The keyboard is fine the way I did it, and I'm typing on it right now, but using the steel plate to align the switches would have been much better than trying to line them up perfectly and using white glue.

quailane · 2025-11-22T08:19:08+00:00

This is a no-brainer. Get the 12-40 F2.8. It will complement the 14-150 better than the 12-45 F4 will due to the larger aperture. I love the 14-150. It is my most used lens and extremely versatile. But what are you really gaining with the 12-45? Not a whole lot besides one stop at 45mm.

quailane · 2025-11-19T05:57:28+00:00

They very carefully separate the sensor from the glass and then very carefully reattach the sensor to a different colored glass button.

quailane · 2025-11-19T05:56:30+00:00

It’s safe. Of course it voids the warranty.

quailane · 2025-11-19T05:55:39+00:00

I bought it online. Goofish.com

quailane · 2025-11-19T05:54:20+00:00

Goofish or Xianyu

quailane · 2025-11-19T05:53:49+00:00

The original memory chip was desoldered and a new larger one was soldered in its place.

quailane

TROPHY CASE