Feedback requested on new M43 resource

[DeeJayK]

As I've posted about elsewhere in the forum, I've recently started building a wiki-based M43 reference site I'm calling Taken With M43. My basic intent is simply to create a place that can be a centralized location for information on all the various cameras, lenses, accessories, etc. that comprise the M43 system. At this point I've constructed the skeleton of the site and am starting to add and organize content.

One thing I'm trying to decide is just how in-depth I want to go with this site. As part of that exercise I've created an article on the first M43 model the Panasonic G1. This article contains a breakdown of the G1's specs, a few paragraphs about the G1's introduction and technology, provides some information about how it compares to other contemporary models, includes links to a few notable online reviews, provides downloadable user manuals and relevant catalogs, and lists the additional functionality provided through firmware updates.

Do you think this level of detail too little? Too much? About right? If too little, what would you like to see added? If too much, what would you excise?

- K

 

[aussieg]

For me definitely about right. Enough information to make it worthwhile to visit bc i will learn something but not overkill like reading a detailed technical PDF article you come across on the internet

 

[Toddster]

Wow! Looks fantastic; I'd say you hit the level of detail perfectly.

 

[Aushiker]

A couple of small suggestions if I may

[1] Social share buttons really are a must today;
[2] Year is spelt yesr on https://wiki.takenwithm43.com/index.php?title=Category:Browse

Looking good otherwise.

 

[DeeJayK]

A couple of small suggestions if I may

[1] Social share buttons really are a must today;
[2] Year is spelt yesr on https://wiki.takenwithm43.com/index.php?title=Category:Browse

Looking good otherwise.

1) Good callout. Hadn't really considered that as I almost never use those things, but that should be pretty simple to implement.
2) Fixed. You really dug through that category hierarchy. I wasn't sure anyone would really use those.

Thanks for the feedback!

- K

 

[Mountain_Man_79]

Wow. Lot’s of info here and clearly a ton of work. Well done.

 

[Variable]

Since it's a wiki, you can hand over the amount of detail to the contributors, unless you plan to curate edits.

For me, I'm often trying to understand things about gear that the specs don't reveal. For equipment I think categories like "common challenges" or "debatable features" would appeal to many who seek wisdom or experience in these forums. As an example, the autofocus of the Panny 20mm 1.7 could be a topic in a common challenges category. There's a lot of info buried in forums that can take a long time to read and extract. If it were quickly accessible in a wiki format, then at least the wiki could serve as common reference.

Other appealing categories under a camera page might be known-good settings for certain purposes, like sports or astro.

 

[DeeJayK]

Since it's a wiki, you can hand over the amount of detail to the contributors, unless you plan to curate edits.

For me, I'm often trying to understand things about gear that the specs don't reveal. For equipment I think categories like "common challenges" or "debatable features" would appeal to many who seek wisdom or experience in these forums. As an example, the autofocus of the Panny 20mm 1.7 could be a topic in a common challenges category. There's a lot of info buried in forums that can take a long time to read and extract. If it were quickly accessible in a wiki format, then at least the wiki could serve as common reference.

Other appealing categories under a camera page might be known-good settings for certain purposes, like sports or astro.

In my experience there are vanishingly few people who choose to edit these types of wikis. Realistically, I look at the wiki software as functioning as the platform that makes it simple to connect the various articles together and offers some sort of consistent wayfinding mechanism. So while I'd love to have a broad community of users adding information, I don't see that as likely to any major degree. As such, I expect that most of the content will be whatever I add.

I love the idea of adding sections in these articles to document the sorts of challenges or limitations you suggest; I don't want these articles to read as though they're advertising copy written by the manufacturers, which is an easy trap to fall into. The difficulty is trying to figure out that balance so that the article doesn't get too bloated still remains useful for the casual reader who may just want to get a sense of the specs or try to understand the differences between the various models. Maybe we can create some sort of sub-pages or tabs to capture the sorts of details you're talking about.

Another idea I've had is to create a simple interface where users can share images taken with various cameras or lenses. I think that could we a useful resource and also a way to encourage user engagement.

Obviously there's still a lot of work to be done here, but part of the reason I'm doing this is to create a spot to document all of the information and wisdom buried in forums that's all but impossible to find.

Thanks for the suggestions. Feel free to try to take a crack at adding the information you're looking for. Otherwise, I'll kick your ideas around and see if I can find a good framework to make it work.

- K

 

[DeeJayK]

A couple of small suggestions if I may

[1] Social share buttons really are a must today;
...

I added a basic social media toolbar that appears at the top of articles. I'm not sure I'm in love with this particular implementation, so I may play around with it a bit more.

Does that look like sorta what you had in mind?

- K

 

[Henk van Slooten]

Here is perhaps some information regarding the origin of the term 4/3. Whether it's true or not, it's interesting to see.

 

[DeeJayK]

Here is perhaps some information regarding the origin of the term 4/3. Whether it's true or not, it's interesting to see.

I agree it's an interesting video. Thanks for sharing.

As for its veracity regarding the origin of the term, I'm not certain either. I'd long ago heard that the name comes from the fact that the sensor measures 4/3", but since that wasn't actually the dimension of the sensor, I had discounted that. Now, Mr. Undone's explanation has me wondering again. I'll have to do some more research to see if I can find a solid source.

As for the rest of it, he makes some good points about the advantages and disadvantages of the smaller sensor. I'm not sure I totally buy everything he says about relative DOF and bokeh, though.

- K

 

[DeeJayK]

Well, that was a lot easier to confirm than I expected. He's correct about the fact that it's a "4/3-Inch Image Sensor Size".

And also that the size (not the aspect ratio) of the sensor provides the origin for the system's name.

- K

 

[JonSnih]

Do you think this level of detail too little? Too much? About right? If too little, what would you like to see added? If too much, what would you excise?

- K

Good work. Gary Ayton had/has something similar. You can get some ideas here.

 

[DeeJayK]

@Aushiker

I swapped out the extension I used to implement social sharing buttons with one that offers a simpler, more streamlined look that is more in line with my personal vision (see below)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

I've kept it simple with just Facebook, Twitter and Google Translate (not so much social sharing as a level of additional accessibility). What other services would you like or expect to see represented?

- K

 

[DeeJayK]

Here is perhaps some information regarding the origin of the term 4/3. Whether it's true or not, it's interesting to see.

I agree it's an interesting video. Thanks for sharing.

As for its veracity regarding the origin of the term, I'm not certain either. I'd long ago heard that the name comes from the fact that the sensor measures 4/3", but since that wasn't actually the dimension of the sensor, I had discounted that. Now, Mr. Undone's explanation has me wondering again. I'll have to do some more research to see if I can find a solid source.

As for the rest of it, he makes some good points about the advantages and disadvantages of the smaller sensor. I'm not sure I totally buy everything he says about relative DOF and bokeh, though.

- K

Just to close the loop on this, I've updated the section where I discuss the Four Thirds name and I've also linked Undone's video in the External Links section of this same article because he does such a solid job of explaining the derivation of the name.

- K

 

[Aushiker]

I added a basic social media toolbar that appears at the top of articles. I'm not sure I'm in love with this particular implementation, so I may play around with it a bit more.

Does that look like sorta what you had in mind?

- K

Thanks. Works fine for me.

 

[DeeJayK]

As it's been a month since I posted this, seems like it's time for an update.

I'm continuing to add and enhance content on the site, although progress is slower than I would like. I made the decision that the most logical order to attack the chaos is to iterate through the various model lines in chronological order.

Since I started this effort with the G1 and GH1 I decided to start with those two lines. I've made my way through the GH line, updating the articles to a common format (including the addition of a "Suggestions for settings and use" section, @Variable ) and creating a few new articles (DC-BGH1 & DC-GH5M2). For the G line I've made it up through the G6 and I'm shooting to have the rest of the G models updated/ added in the next week.

Unfortunately today I discovered that the site has attracted a spambot attack, so I'm spending my time deleting the thousands of spam pages that have been created and blocking the thousands of spam user accounts. Unfortunately I was away over a long weekend and not monitoring the site, so the activity took place over several days.

I'm trying to do this is a way safe way so that legitimate edits and users aren't impacted, but it's a big effort and there's a small chance I'm being overzealous in the nuking of garbage content. If anyone here has created an account and finds that they can no longer access the site, please reach out and I can help.

I'm confused as to the intentions of these spammers. Most of the content is just machine-created jibberish (common themes being Minecraft servers and online gambling), but I'm not finding any external links. For now, I've essentially locked down the site to editting. Once I get the spam content dealt with, I'll implement some control measures and open it back up.

- K

 

[Mike Wingate]

Looks great. The more info the better. Cannot wait to log on and enjoy and learn.

 

[DeeJayK]

...
Unfortunately today I discovered that the site has attracted a spambot attack, so I'm spending my time deleting the thousands of spam pages that have been created and blocking the thousands of spam user accounts. Unfortunately I was away over a long weekend and not monitoring the site, so the activity took place over several days.

I'm trying to do this is a way safe way so that legitimate edits and users aren't impacted, but it's a big effort and there's a small chance I'm being overzealous in the nuking of garbage content. If anyone here has created an account and finds that they can no longer access the site, please reach out and I can help.

I'm confused as to the intentions of these spammers. Most of the content is just machine-created jibberish (common themes being Minecraft servers and online gambling), but I'm not finding any external links. For now, I've essentially locked down the site to editing. Once I get the spam content dealt with, I'll implement some control measures and open it back up.

...

Finally got all of the spam accounts and pages cleaned up. It included deleting nearly 4,000 pages of gibberish and blocking some 1,500 user accounts. That was a fun day of lost productivity.

I've added some preventative measures including requiring answering a simple Captcha to create an account or a new page. Hopefully this will keep the bots somewhat in check and also not be too big of an annoyance for legitimate users. If anyone has trouble creating an account, logging in or accessing the site, please let me know.

- K

 

[DeeJayK]

A quick progress update on this wiki effort:

As of this morning I've made my way through all the Panasonic Lumix G camera models. Articles on all 35 of these cameras have been updated to include:

• a common format
• a set of reasonably comprehensive specs including video resolution options
• a comprehensive set of English-language manuals (locally hosted PDFs)
• links to selected reviews
• details of firmware updates, and
• in some cases, links to information on suggested settings and information on awards received

Obviously little or none of this information is unique to this wiki, but my hope is that these articles serve as a quick and impartial one-stop-shop of information on these cameras.

Next I'll turn my attention to the 31 Olympus/ OMDS models. While all of these cameras currently have articles, the level of detail, layout and design of them is a bit disparate. My goal will be to bring these articles up to the standard set with the Panasonic models.

The steps I initiated to deal with last month's spam attack have so far proved successful in preventing a recurrence of that activity. Hopefully with vigilance that pattern can continue.

As always, I welcome any feedback or contributions. If you see something that you know to be incorrect, please feel free to correct it or reach out and let me know.

- K