diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7c0769b..209c208 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,20 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.5.6] - 2026-06-15
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Pagination runaway on all-non-dict page**: the empty-page break in `fetch_all_assets` now fires after non-dict filtering rather than before, so a page whose items are all non-dict (e.g. all nulls) correctly terminates pagination instead of looping to MAX_PAGES.
+
+- **Non-dict API items upgraded to warning**: items skipped in a paginated response are now logged at `WARNING` (previously `DEBUG`) so silent asset loss is visible at default log levels.
+
+- **Single-pass page filtering**: `fetch_all_assets` now partitions valid and invalid items in one loop instead of iterating `page_assets` twice with inverse predicates.
+
+- **Reconciliation checks Frigate before sleeping**: the poll loop now performs an initial check immediately after upload, then backs off with `_RECONCILE_POLL_DELAYS` only if needed. Previously the loop always slept ≥1 s before any check.
+
+- **Reconciliation set subtraction computed once**: `current_files - known_files_before` was computed twice per poll iteration (once for the count check, once for the final mapping). It is now computed once and reused.
+
 ## [0.5.5] - 2026-06-15
 
 ### Changed
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index d68ba5b..dfb00c6 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "winnow"
-version = "0.5.5"
+version = "0.5.6"
 description = "Selects diverse, high-quality photos from Immich as training data for Frigate face recognition."
 license = "AGPL-3.0-or-later"
 requires-python = ">=3.13"
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 6553ac3..f301810 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -862,7 +862,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "winnow"
-version = "0.5.5"
+version = "0.5.6"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "croniter" },
diff --git a/winnow/immich_api.py b/winnow/immich_api.py
index 3357268..97dd0e9 100644
--- a/winnow/immich_api.py
+++ b/winnow/immich_api.py
@@ -115,16 +115,25 @@ def fetch_all_assets(person: dict) -> list[dict]:
             if isinstance(page_assets, dict):
                 page_assets = page_assets.get("items", [])
 
-            if not page_assets:
+            page_count = len(page_assets)  # raw count for termination check before filtering
+
+            # Single pass: partition valid assets from unexpected non-dict items
+            valid_assets, skipped_count = [], 0
+            for item in page_assets:
+                if isinstance(item, dict):
+                    valid_assets.append(item)
+                else:
+                    skipped_count += 1
+            if skipped_count:
+                logger.warning("%s: skipping %s non-dict item(s) in page %s", name, skipped_count, page)
+
+            if not valid_assets:
                 break
 
-            skipped = [a for a in page_assets if not isinstance(a, dict)]
-            if skipped:
-                logger.debug("%s: skipping %s non-dict item(s) in page %s", name, len(skipped), page)
-            assets.extend(a for a in page_assets if isinstance(a, dict))
+            assets.extend(valid_assets)
             logger.debug("Fetched page %s, total: %s", page, len(assets))
 
-            if len(page_assets) < page_size or len(assets) >= _MAX_ASSETS_PER_PERSON:
+            if page_count < page_size or len(assets) >= _MAX_ASSETS_PER_PERSON:
                 break
 
         except (requests.RequestException, ValueError) as e:
diff --git a/winnow/reconcile.py b/winnow/reconcile.py
index 77aaf39..d6659d5 100644
--- a/winnow/reconcile.py
+++ b/winnow/reconcile.py
@@ -38,10 +38,12 @@ def reconcile_frigate_mappings(
     the cost of occasionally missing them when another client is active.
     """
     target = len(uploaded)
-    current_files: set[str] = set()
+    new_files: set[str] = set()
 
-    for delay in _RECONCILE_POLL_DELAYS:
-        time.sleep(delay)
+    # Check before the first sleep so a fast Frigate response returns immediately.
+    for delay in (None, *_RECONCILE_POLL_DELAYS):
+        if delay is not None:
+            time.sleep(delay)
         fresh = get_frigate_person_files(person_name)
         if fresh is None:
             logger.warning(
@@ -50,14 +52,9 @@ def reconcile_frigate_mappings(
                 person_name,
             )
             return
-        current_files = set(fresh)
-        new_count = len(current_files - known_files_before)
-        if new_count == target:
+        new_files = set(fresh) - known_files_before
+        if len(new_files) >= target:
             break
-        if new_count > target:
-            break  # external upload already visible — no point polling further
-
-    new_files = current_files - known_files_before
 
     if len(new_files) == target:
         def _ts(fname: str) -> float: