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This is a perfectly valid point of view (= no AI whatsoever) and I certainly understand anyone who chooses this approach. I have always used technology to alter my pictures according to what I want to achieve. Red filters for dramatic skies on b/w film, polarizing filter for crystal-clear water on my Ektachrome slides, shading and burning when making prints in the darkroom … and the non-AI part of our image processing programs have a slew of sliders that can do all this and more. I see no harm in using an AI-tool to remove noise and improve sharpness/contrast. This does not alter the composition, it “only” makes the image look like I had a better camera and lens when I released the shutter. I think this is a much less invasive step than e.g. manually “stamping” away unsightly backscatter. I also have no problems declaring that I used the tool should that be asked for: I simply spent money on a software tool, rather than excellent & heavy glass. The results are very similar. Using AI to alter the composition, like removing objects or inserting a beautiful sky, is a very different thing. I am not ready for that kind of manipulation, even though I used the red filter back in the aRgentic days and of course I remove backscatter. I am also a big supporter of the EU rule that fully AI generated images now need to be marked. I have not bothered to find out whether a sky-swap falls into that category as well, but the touch-up I am doing certainly doesn’t (but no problem if it did). Most of the latest-generation camera bodies will have some sprinkle of AI in their jpg engines and our smartphones a lot more. It may become difficult to fully escape from AI at some point, but that remains nonetheless a valid goal. There is no good or bad in all of this, just personal preference.

Same doing as in the new topic... didn't work.

@RichN Here it seems to work

I didn't have any "File upload" option when I make a new post. To be sure that I didn't have a problem with the framework of the forum I try to post in the same way at Plongeur.com. It work well.

@Dave_Hicks with the Maxi's - what power levels are you typically using when doing macro shooting nudis etc using the Nikkor 105mm?

It requires a double push to activate the auto-off feature in any mode. LOL, I have to read the instructions every time I use the darn thing. But I like my Kraken 1800FSR Focus Light and it works good. Or maybe it was a single quick push, darn it!

It was my go-to lens when I shot M4/3 and honestly I doubt anything else on any other system is quite as versatile. That said it was never particularly sharp and I personally am averse to using AI in any way.

It's noticeable for me at night. My Kraken light doesn't switch off although it's claimed to.

I have not used the MFO3, however the longer length should be easier to light than the 30mm. But that also come with a lot more bulk. The 30mm can also be used with the MWL-1 or Weefine equivalent which is a very versatile set-up (as can 12-50).

Im not seeing anything in logs with errors. maybe just try to upload a file from the desktop rather then pasting and see if that works.

My take is that it is not visible in 90+ percent of all shots. I have used the Fix Neo with NO auto off and the S&S version of the same light with auto off and can't see a difference.

I think the IQ of the 45 is the best of all the macro options, but in Black Water it misses lots of shots trying to focus. It is probably my most used lens.

I should say first that I only shoot video. I have the 45mm and even if the quality is stellar, it's one of the slowest lens I tried on M43 (maybe the old 20mm was worse). Once they lent me the 30mm and it seemed faster than the 45mm to me. The flaw that everyone blames on the 30mm is that it reaches maximum magnification practically on the glass of the port. However, it can also be a false problem if you do not necessarily look for maximum magnification. In the end it depends on the type of environment and critters.

I’ve toyed around with an Olympus 12-50 mm EZ lens today. I got this together with an OMD-EM5 (the original one) for a really good price. I love the EM5 but had not given the 12-50 much attention. The lens has been discussed a lot when it came out in 2012, also for UW use, and I suppose pretty much everything has been said and posted about it. It’s a slow, decent but not brilliant lens with a moderate macro mode at 43 mm focal length. Some of the users here might have it lying in a drawer, collecting dust. So why do it over? Something has changed since 2012, and that is we now have AI-powered image touch-up possibilities. My approach is to use an algorithm that promise to recover unsharp shots (a myth) at a low intensity setting to improve the IQ of modest kit lenses. I explained this before in more detail on this site, many companies offer tools like that. Let’s see what this can do for the macro-mode. The 43 mm focal length is interesting as it is not too far away from the 60mm + MFO3 combination that many here like for the flexibility and outstanding image quality. The M43 30 mm macro lenses are great for the somewhat larger things but a bit limited for high-magnification by short working distances. The 45 mm Panasonic (Goldilock's compromise?) was sometimes described as a bit slower focusing. I only have the Panasonic 30 mm for a direct comparison and it’s all in air (can’t dive this year). I took the shots (sunflower) at a kind of UW-reasonable setting – hand-held, ISO 200, f 10, 1/200 sec and light coming from a flashgun. I tried to do this at the minimal focusing distance of the 12-50 EZ macro, so should be 1:3’ish. These are 100% crops from close to the center, a bit of "classic" noise-reducion & sharpening applied. 12-50 EZ in macro mode: Pana 30mm with a roughly similar field of view: The Panasonic 30 mm has better IQ, I think, though the focus may be ever so slightly different (try to look at the stigma to the left). But the difference is not all that big in this center part. The f 10 probably limited the Panasonic 30 mm somewhat, but realistically that's what many of us will use for sufficient depth. Now how does this look after my ON1 touch-up? (same raw-files, 65% AI noise reduction, 23% detail, 15% AI sharpening) 12-50 EZ macro: Panasonic 30 mm: Conclusions: 1) BOTH lenses benefit from this treatment. The 12-50 gets better than the “native” Pana 30 mm but after touch-up the Pana still wins clearly. 2) While I insist that recovering blurry images with this tool doesn’t work, it looks like the procedure CAN extend the focal depth a bit. Won’t save a truly ruined shot, but can be pleasing – or not, if shallow depth of view is what one wants. The Bokeh definitely gets busier for things that are just out-of-focus. AF performance: In air, I found the Olympus 12-50 EZ (macro mode) to be slightly faster than the Panasonic 30 mm. Both lenses will hunt occasionally, but the 12-50 will only focus out to ~1.2 m in the macro mode. Maybe that makes a difference? I only have bodies with contrast-detection AF, the newer phase-decetion systems may give different results. But the two lenses are not far apart. If you think that this might be an interesting 43 mm macro option for you, look around in the local classifieds as this lens has been discontinued. Reasonable prices will be 100-120 € if you buy from a private seller or less if you're lucky. I would not spend more than that. The lens should fit in any port designed for the 60 mm macro (12-50 EZ is just 1 mm longer). Add a +5 diopter if you need higher magnification. I certainly don't expect this to reach the IQ of the 60mm + MFO3 combination (those two lenses bought new are about 10x the cost of a pre-owned 12-50). I can't compare but that would be against all common sense. Nontheless, I think the image quality is good enough out-of-camera for sharing on social media and it can be improved post-processing for larger prints.

Yes / no it is depending... But also with the VPN deactivate it doesn't work, And until the last picture at the top of this topic ... all was fine... I posted it... made a second with a cut in the pieces to show you how this parts are build... and that's it. Maximum 2 minutes after the first.

Are you using any sort of VPN? Sometimes these can cause odd issues due to filtering that takes place on the web server or CDN middleman.

Although not everybody agrees, I prefer the Pana 45mm over the 30mm. The working distance is far much better and I have no AF issues for macro.

"In the context menu i have the option paste... when I click on this item... nothing" With text in the clipboard it works

In the context menu i have the option paste... when I click on this item... nothing

No nothing ... I use Greenshot, allways copy to the clipboard and paste it. Exactly the way i used for the first picture in this topic. I've try on a second PC same. I'm using Win11 last update. As browser I'm using edge and I have no other browser on my PCs

It didn't work... the file has only 947 Kb really small

Thanks all , especially the backscatter argument resonates for me. The Kraken 1800 WSR looks perfect for me, small and simple. The EU common market helps me out, i'll order one from Spain.