Been mostly mirrorless for ten years

 It's been about ten years since I was mostly using mirrorless cameras.

I had the Olympus OM-D E-M1 in the summer of 2014 and the Panasonic GH4 in December.  I'd been using the Olympus E-1 since April 2004 and the E-5 since 2012, along with the Panasonic GH3.

 

I photographed sports with the E-1 for quite a while.  When I got the E-5, I also got the ZD SHG 35-100mm f/2.0, which was amazing for swimming and basketball photography.  You could practically hammer nails and dunk the equipment and it would still work.

The GH3 was a bad choice for me.  I didn't do video and it excelled at video and didn't do quite that well for stills photography.  The EVF had a purple tint.  The Panasonic X 35-100mm f/2.8 was 2/3 the price of the Olympus 35-100mm f/2.0 but it was 1/10 the lens.

In late 2013, I got a call from Olympus and they invited me to see some unannounced camera.  That camera was the E-M1.  It was supposed to take my lenses and make them work as well as on my Four-Thirds equipment.  That didn't work as expected.  I had my backpack with two SHG lenses and more HG lenses.  They worked but the E-5 was much faster to focus.  I declined to promise that I would buy one but that I would keep quiet about my experience.  I hoped that a production model would be much better.

In early summer 2014, I was frustrated with the GH3 and traded it for an E-M1.  It was better than the GH3.  The color of the viewfinder was more like real life.  The GH3 was purple-tinted.  The E-M1 responded like a real camera, not just a video camera with a modification for still photography.

I moved to California and my first week, I was photographing at skate parks.  My timing plus a fast burst mode got me a lot of winners.  I still used the dSLR and did just fine.  Having just the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 and the Panasonic X 35-100mm f/2.8, I didn't have as much lens versatility as I did with the dSLR.  I had an adapter but the speed just wasn't good enough.  It was better to use the dSLR and get the shots than to miss them.

When the GH4 was available in December, I started recording video.  It was cumbersome because the GH4 had no In-Body Image Stabilization and the Lumix X 35-100mm f/2.8 had Optical Image Stabilization that made video worse.  The Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 didn't have any problem but it was too wide for what I needed.  That Olympus Pro 12-100mm f/4.0 would have been ideal, if they'd only had it sooner.

In the last week, I've seen quite a few videos on the E-M1.  The latest OM-1 Mk II seems very much like the original E-M1 but better.  To me, the E-M1 was the reason to have a mirrorless camera.  I remember trying the Fujifilm X-T1 but it wasn't very good and the mirrorless camera bodies from Sony were worse.  Photographing sports, I didn't spend 45 minutes photographing a flower.  I also didn't spent a lot of time in post processing.  I had a certain look and that took a little while for each, and I could put some samples up and wait for orders.

 When you look for cameras now, you'll see many more mirrorless cameras and lenses than you will dSLRs.  The dSLRs still exist and a number of them are being sold, but most of the old is being retired.  You can thank Panasonic and Olympus for this revolution.

I have continued with the Panasonic S5 Mk II, which is 135 Format and heavier than I've had for a while.  That Olympus E-5 in the photo was rather heavy and so was the 35-100mm f/2.0.

Update 2024.12.01: I was thinking about how much has changed.  They were trying to find a good way to identify mirrorless camera systems. ILC, MILC, CSC, and more were used.  I remember going to a store in Dayton, Ohio.  I'd been to one of the same company's stores in Cincinnati, Ohio and they had a decent selection and no brand fanatics.  A salesperson greeted me and asked how she could help.  I said that I was looking for micro Four-Thirds equipment and she took me to the Sony equipment.  I said "no, I want to see micro Four-Thirds equipment.  Olympus and Panasonic are the brands." and she replied "It's all micro Four-Thirds." and I walked out of the store.

Many people back then couldn't differentiate between mirrorless cameras as a category and micro Four-Thirds as a sub-category since Panasonic and Olympus developed the idea and made it a reality.

Solo Leveling: Arise, the first end, later, Jeju Island

 I’m nearing the end of the game, until the new content of Jeju Island is added anyway. I’m partway through Hidden Chapter 4. My character level is 87 and my Reputation level is 55. Just having passed half a year, that seems a lot.

 

I’ve also been through quite a bit on Hard mode and also on Reverse mode. It always seems a bit of a struggle but I continue to play. Part of the struggle are all the !@#$ delays. I noticed with the new outfit, the delays were worse, so I switched back to the summer outfit.

I’m not certain the reason that they have to animate everything. The Shop doesn’t need the stickers and the words animated, do they? We see them anyway.

Back to game play, I’ve been leveling up skills for Weapons and Hunters. I’ve been trying to get Legendary Runes but Heroic seem to be more easy to Fuse. I’ve got two or three Legendary Runes and one or two Legendary Blessing Stones. I’ve adjusted which are being used, to increase power.

I have six level 100 Sung Jinwoo weapons now and one level 100 weapon for Go Gunhee. Level 80 weapons with several Advances are good, but aren’t placed as high, for whatever reason.

I’m writing this just now because I need a break. It’s somewhat exhausting to play and then, to lose at the end of an episode. I’m running out of time and die occasionally. I’m sure we all try to do things differently or analyze the strategy too many times to fix things. Sometimes, that works wonders.

 

Last night, I went through the early Chapters in Hard mode and got more trophies completed, along with Custom Draw Tickets. If I get to the end before the new content arrives, I will have time to complete more.

 

Well, there is more to come.  I completed Hidden Chapter 4 and the side chapter.  Sung Jinwoo barely survived, but level 74 battles are a little rough some times.  I still have much to do to complete these episodes, but that will take higher skills, weapons at level 100, both for Hunters and Sung Jinwoo.

Next week for the new battles, or next month?

Update 2024.11.27: We're not going to Jeju Island yet.

Simulation mode seems a copy of Honkai: Star Rail's Simulated Universe.

They have reduced some of the requirements for meeting daily goals.

Tuesday, I moved up to Difficulty Level 31.  I'm a bit hesitant to take on S-ranked gates.  I've done them with ease tonight after their changes.  Red gates today were no problem.  We'll see about the red-eyed ice bear.  I should probably push it to Difficulty Level 32.

I finally messed with the Armory again, after wasting all my Essence Stones back when they were few, to open up slots.  There is an enhancement to each weapon, and seven levels of enhancement.

Before I used the coupon codes, I got Custom Draw Tickets--273 of them.  I got a few Advances on my level 100 weapons.  I still need a second Light oriented weapon.  After two sessions with the Guild Boss, I got more tokens toward that weapon.  I'm nowhere near 100, though.

Update 2024.11:30: I've moved the Difficulty Level to 32.  Reputation Level is up again to 56.  My position in the rankings is in the 60s.  I will move higher but not that much higher.  I've been using all those artifacts above level 70 to move those Hunters higher.  Getting enough artifact enhancement materials has been difficult, though.  I bought 100 of the second level enhancers for US$6.99 and the game tore through those 14-20 at a time for one level.  They didn't even last two minutes.

Still, at Difficulty Level 32, I'm finishing gates much more quickly.  Finally got Thetis' Grimoire to level 100.  Having two water oriented weapons that freeze is helpful.

Update 2024.12.01: Got my first Cores.  One for Sung Jinwoo, one for a Dark Hunter, and another for a Water Hunter.

 

Update 2024.12.02: Up to Difficulty Level 33.  Battle Tier is up to Level 31.  Army of Shadows is up to level 47.  Reputation Level is 57, and I'm at number 58 overall with 1948 trophies.  The Guild should be at Rank D1 on Wednesday when the reset occurs, which isn't bad considering that there are only three of us.

Update 2024.12.11: There are trailers for the game awards, showing the Jeju Island bits and the Ant King.  Why isn't it an Ant Queen?  Of course, Sung Jinwoo goes up against that one.  One of the videos mentioned version 3.0, but since we haven't gone to version 2.0 yet, I wonder if they're just throwing out numbers or planning something big.

I'm up to 2051 trophies and I've slid to number 62.  Reputation level is up to 58 and getting through Character level 89 somewhat quickly.  The Guild is up to Rank D1, which is awesome for three people making progress.  I need to fill the blanks and keep going.

I've created a couple of the SSR-ranked weapons for Hunters, so things are better.  Resources are somewhat better recently.  Army of Shadows is up to level 48 and some of the shadows are more powerful.  I can't decide about the Diffficulty level but I'm 90% certain that I need to increase it to level 34.

Update 2024.12.18: Another livestream event and there is a future.

 

More codes, more characters, more weapons have arrived.

 

Now, we know that there is much more planned, although things could change in the gaming industry.

Panasonic micro Four-Thirds to Panasonic 135 Format

 I've recently made the jump to the Panasonic Lumix S5 Mk II after quite a while with Four-Thirds and micro Four-Thirds using Panasonic and Olympus equipment.

I've heard people going on about "Full Frame" for the last 20 years, even if they didn't have any of the products. I used 135 Format back in my film days. I couldn't wait to get rid of film after spending 6 hours at a time repairing scanned photos and/or negatives.

I got into Four-Thirds in 2004 and into micro Four-Thirds in 2012. I got into video in late 2014 with the Panasonic GH4, even though the GH3 was fully capable of 1080p recording.

For US$1699, the GH4 was an overachiever. It's still impressive but the goals have changed, and 4K is more easily achievable with a 4K TV in many homes. Fast forward to 2024 when I saw a deal for the Panasonic S5 Mk II with 50mm f/1.8 and 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 lenses for US$2247.99. The S5 Mk II body itself really isn't much more expensive than the GH4 was in 2014.

I almost bought the G9 Mk II because there was an incredible trade-in deal and I would have saved a lot of money, and wouldn't be looking for lenses. However, I wanted something different, and I wanted to keep my Panasonic GM5.

Still, I wanted two things from a new camera body: PDAF and IBIS.

The G9 Mk II and the S5 Mk II have both and they're the best that Panasonic has done. I could have bought an older, used body without the PDAF but I struggled on occasion with the GH4 and the GX8. I recorded video on the GH4 quite a bit. I was photographing a scooter tournament at Woodward West with the GH4 taking video and the Olympus E-M1 taking still photos--the best tools for the job. At a later date, I went back to photograph a free day there and took a Nikon D7200, as well. It could not keep up.  I looked at the Z50 and the Z5 and the Z6, but didn't think that they were quite right.

I've had the S5 Mk II for a couple of weeks. It's a handful. Getting it set like the GH4 has been an incremental process. It's worked beautifully during the day and struggled at night. For all those people chanting "Full Frame", telling me that micro Four-Thirds wasn't getting enough light, each sensor needs the same exposure to light. The Panasonic 50mm f/1.8 on 135 Format is more difficult at night than my Leica/Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 was. Depth of Field doesn't matter if you can't get the shot. Image quality doesn't matter if you can't get the shot.

The difference between the Panasonic 50mm f/1.8 and the 50mm f/1.4 Pro lenses is about US$1500. Holy !@#$ I might as well go another thousand or four for the Leica lens. I really miss my designed-by-Leica-hand-assembled-by-Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 that was a Four-Thirds lens designed for the Leica Digilux 3. I was so afraid to take it out in bad weather, though. There was no weather-sealing at all.  Knowing that lens, I'm certain that the Panasonic 50mm f/1.4 Pro is an extremely capable lens.

Converting from the GH4, I am reminded that the video is going to be an easier transition than the still photography will be. I haven't worked with a 3:2 ratio since 135 Format film. Four-Thirds and micro Four-Thirds used 4:3 ratio, just like Medium Format. Kodak, the maker of the original sensors, was big in Medium Format.

Now, the big deal is the weight of the lenses. If you look back at the family portrait photo at the beginning, you'll notice the rather big lens. That was an Olympus SHG ZD 35-100mm f/2.0 lens. I would say that it's the finest lens I've used on any equipment. It has a 77mm filter size and it is heavy. The rest were quite easy to hand hold without IBIS or OIS but I handheld the 35-100mm f/2.0 on an Olympus E-5 to photograph swimming and basketball. I did not handhold it with any micro Four-Thirds body, including the E-M1 that was supposed to support all of the SHG lenses but was far too small for reasonable balance.

The Panasonic 50mm f/1.8 and 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 are big and heavy for their apertures. They're weather-sealed and have Auto Focus, but they are shamefully large compared to lenses from the 1970s. Find a 50mm f/1.2 from Nikon, Olympus, or Canon and you'll find them rather small. Obviously, there were no electronic connections, no AF, no weather-sealing, but the optics were good, not great. A maximum aperture of f/1.2 meant that f/2.0 was good; f/1.4 meant that f/2.8 would be good, and it wouldn't be until later that there were amazing, regardless of the price.

Panasonic seems to be pushing daytime performance. The usual f/1.4 lenses aren't there, except for the 50mm f/1.4. As well, the telephoto zooms are few, although that's not unusual for Panasonic. I like that they all work with Dual I.S. so that the lens OIS works in conjunction with the IBIS and you can get a sharp image because of stabilization.

One thing I might do is to buy an adapter and use Canon or Nikon dSLR lenses. With micro Four-Thirds, you could buy an adapter with a focal reducer for increased effective apertures. No such tricks exist from 135 Format to 135 Format.

There are a few Chinese brands such as 7artisans, TTartisan, and Meike that are starting to make manual lenses for L-mount. Meike I trust. I had a 7artisans 55mm f/1.4 for micro Four-Thirds and it was good but heavy. The lens reviews I've seen for 7artisans and TTartisan seem evenly good and bad. Some seem to mention "falling apart", which doesn't give me confidence. Samyang has a 35-150mm f/2.0-2.8 that is appealing, if I can work with the weight. It also has auto focus, but I'll probably need a tripod or monopod to use it.

Update 2024.11.30: I was watching some video where a person had gone from Fujifilm X-T3, X-T4, X-T5 to one of the Nikon Z mirrorless bodies and then, to Fujifilm GFX 100.  He was feeling unhappy about not having any recent telephoto shots.  Instead of going back to a Fujifilm X-T5 with a better chance for better reach, he was going back to a Nikon Z body.  Does that make sense?  Why not stay with a brand you like?

On the adapters, Adorama had a deal on a Canon EF to L-mount adapter.  They also had a used Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 lens (not Milvus) for a bit under US$500.  That would have been about US$800 with tax and shipping.  The lens was rated Excellent but didn't include the lens hood.  Zeiss is not a brand I'd ever considered, but on their own, they're good and sometimes, great.  Partnering with Sony, as Panasonic and Leica are partnered, I lost some respect for them.  As well, Leica has some interesting fixed focal length lenses, but I wouldn't buy one of their zoom lenses.

TTartisan and 7artisans both have 135 Format fisheye lenses, 11mm f/2.8 and 10mm f/2.8 respectively.  The 7artisans lens is a redesign.  The company does that a lot, as if they make and sell a lot of mistakes with the first release.  They're both under US$300 and they're both manual lenses.  I miss my Olympus 8mm f/1.8 Pro for micro Four-Thirds.  That should have gone to the grave with me.

Update 2024.12.03: Watching another video from an S5 Mk II user trying a G9 Mk II, he states that the f-stop is really a f/5.6 for a 135 Format f/2.8.  It isn't.  The Depth of Field is like that, though.  However, it requires the same exposure calculation for any format.  If it really did take less light for the 135 Format sensor, Medium Format would have crushed 135 Format and 135 Format would have crushed APS-C and micro Four-Thirds.  I'm a bit shocked that such misinformation is still happening.  My Intro to Photography professor would have been surprised.

I've ordered a Tamron SP 180mm f/3.5 macro lens.  It isn't something new, as they don't really have any current dSLR lenses on their website any longer.  I ordered it with a Viltrox brand Canon EF-mount to L-mount Pro adapter.  Hopefully, it's enough so I stop whining/whinging about the lack of a telephoto lens.  It's heavy enough that I will be whining/whinging about carrying the extra weight in my backpack.

The latest video review I saw about it was in 2017 and I saw that the lens was introduced in 2003, but I'm hoping for the best and it was a rather expensive lens at one time.  Can't see spending money on one of the Panasonic telephoto zooms at this moment.

Update 2024.12.08: It's amazing how many videos I've seen on the S5 Mk II.  A few of them are people saying that they've switched from Sony equipment, just because support for video is so much better on Panasonic.  Some of what they're claiming are technologies that Panasonic incorporated to the GH* series of micro Four-Thirds bodies a few years ago.

By the way, I'm still waiting on my EF-mount to L-mount adapter that includes support for auto focus.  UPS failed me again.  I suspect that they misplaced the item after receiving it 12 hours after the lens.  I ordered a manual mount adapter which really isn't any good with a lens that doesn't include an aperture ring.  Guess what the Tamron lens doesn't have?

I need to photograph more.  I may need to work out to carry the new combination.

Trouble with Blogger, Probably done blogging

I recently went into one of my blog entries and it wasn't the typical text editor I normally see. It was the HTML editor and it said that I had problems with the HTML that needed to be corrected. I have never messed with the HTML side all of the years I've been using Blogger. I went to some entry that I'd done over a year ago, and that text was shown in HTML mode with an error message that there was a problem with HTML coding.

Just now, the entry looks completely off, as if they've made a change without testing it. I need to finish now, as I won't be able to trust the editing process. I would notify them, but they don't seem to make it easy to do that. I'm not sure that it's worthwhile to continue blogging, as only a handful of people read what I write. Some of the older entries have nearly 1000 views but that's over a rather long period of time. 

Be well!

 I will be at my new blog. 

Update 2024.11.18: Interesting.  Someone at Blogger must have noticed a problem.  The editor seems to be happier with my text now.

Six Months of Solo Leveling:Arise

 It's been about six months since I started playing.  I got the 180 Days of Logins achievement the other day.

 

My Character level is 86 (just today) and my Reputation level is 54.  My last ranking showed me getting closer to the Top 100, but far enough away that it will be a while.

 

I have three weapons for Sung Jinwoo that are level 100.  I have most of the SSR-ranked characters, except for Cha Hae-In, but have her weapon.

 

Our guild moved up to E2 from E3.  I haven't looked to see what's good about that.  There are only three members in the guild, whereas most guilds above us have 50 members and some are by invitation only.  In other games by Netmarble, I avoided organizations because other people would join, suck away the resources, and leave.  That isn't possible with this game.

 

The Army of Shadows has been changing somewhat rapidly lately with more characters and more characters being leveled up.

I've been progressing in the story past the Hidden Chapter 1 and its side chapter.  I'm at the end of Hidden Chapter 2 but can't quite finish yet.

Playing some of the other modes, I'm starting to see all of the extra magical creatures that are hidden later in the stories.

I like the game, especially when the Story mode mixes battles with manga/manhwa or anime.  Seeing things develop makes it more interesting.  It could use more locations.  Most of the arenas are the same with artwork added, but still there might only be four different arenas.  They could use more variety. Later chapters in Story mode seem to tie the same outdoor areas together.  It doesn't seem to be as big as Honkai: Star Rail.  Obviously, it's not big like Genshin Impact.