spring cleaning

In the very near future I shall commit an act of Organization. Those often scare me, and in this case it's a big one: sorting all my images from a plethora of folders into a set sorted by year/date. Several programs can do this dirty work now, and I have a poly-terabyte backup drive to send this to. Once that looks sane I can do a boat-load of deletions, reformat my Imaging hard drive, and pull the de-chaos-ed data back there. Perhaps I can reset my cameras to monthly folders as well to make this process more fluid in the future.

I don't know it the automation of it makes this more or less spooky. So many of these images are truly junk (e.g. comparing shots taken with two or three lenses which I haven't owned in years) or just bad (taken after dark from a moving vehicle).

I've now gone a decade or more by simply making up a folder name as I go. Picasa made such decisions too easy for me - and now I'm firmly entrapped by my laziness. For example: I have a Pentax folder in the images area, with several subfolders for lenses and cameras I have used. I also have Pentax gear that is not under the Pentax folder. And other shots with Pentax cameras on the 'Pictures' folder of the c: drive! And why do I need to know it's a Pentax image by stuffing it into a specific folder, if the image data already has that label embedded within it? Plenty of thinking needs to go along with the new storage technique.


And yes, I can add labels within these sorting programs later; even Windows can do that. I can even add stars! I've always found that to be a bit odd, as why exactly would I keep 1-star images at all?

Better late than never.. maybe!

learning the GX7

After a few weeks and too little use, the GX7 still feels unusual to me. I'm hoping to change that, and also change a few settings to make it more precisely mine!

Once the basics were fleshed out (date & time, focus preference, image size/quality and such) it was time to toy with the function buttons. I've tried a few choices already but time needs to be spent before deciding which items stay or go. I've set the eye-sensor to High in the hopes that the main screen will go blank less often when my thumb passes near the viewfinder, and that custom button has returned to its original spot rather than shifting WiFi there. My custom Q-Menu is now mostly set as well. With four hard buttons and five more on the touchscreen, plus Q-Menu and 4-way pad presets, it's incredible how many settings can be accessed!

from review at cameralabs.com

I've discovered one new interactive item that I like very much - I can pop into and out of spot metering at the touch of a button! It's a touchscreen feature that you can select to change the exposure point for an image. Point to a bright object and watch the screen darken, then point elsewhere (or turn off) to return to matrix or center-weight metering. Very cool!
On is set to Fn2, reset at Fn3!

And finally - at last! - on to the Custom settings. Three positions on the mode dial can be preset to however you choose. I've owned many cameras with this feature, but have almost never put them in play - so it's time, and well past time, to make sensible use of them!

again from cameralabs

For now at least, here are my settings:

1. Aperture priority, auto ISO to 3200, AF via rear button not shutter, standard image type
2. Shutter priority, auto ISO 800-6400, AF on shutter (birds and other action setting)
3. Aperture setup similar to #1, shoots RAW plus jpeg monochrome

The third position actually has two other options that are accessed via C3+touchscreen; I'll contemplate the possibilities later on those.

So far I'm holding strong on the 2-zoom, 2-prime kit. It fits quite snugly in my Tamrac Jazz 36 bag, though any additions will put me over the top. That might not stop me from buying more, but it does provide some incentive at least!
It has two compartments plus the center section for cam+attached lens; when a prime is attached the 2nd prime goes below it, otherwise the primes stack in one of the side compartments. The side pockets hold lens hoods while the front pocket has extension tube and spare batteries with a USB charger. I need to determine which filters need to come along; if many are needed I'll have to reassess my pocket uses for a safe place. 

Fun fact: GX7 plus the four lenses rounds nicely to 1 kilogram!

resistance is difficult

I feel very good about the current µ43 kit - which is a good and a bad sign.

For some reason it's the last few pieces to my kit that have forced a reassessment and ultimately the utter derangement of said kit. Adding a single item can make others look in need of an update. Yes that sounds bizarre and counter-intuitive, but I've been there, more than once. A new piece makes old ones look old - or too large/slow/irrelevant - and suddenly the kit spontaneously combusts!

I'm sitting pretty with 17 and 30mm primes, cute little things that can fill in when the 12-60 isn't the right choice. Both f/2.8 primes are faster than the 12-60 at any point in its range, so low light makes them worth having. They also work nicely with the 45-150mm telephoto zoom: (almost) 15-30-45mm steps.

But what about the low end? Shouldn't something in the 8-12mm range be a good fit? Well.. maybe. For that matter a 24mm Wesley could give me (almost) 8-16-24-32 steps, and more steps means less gaps..

-no No NO!! This way lies madness. Take the 12-60 and NO gaps happen!
I was overjoyed in my film days to go as wide as 24mm - what has changed to make me so FL-greedy?

Primes are 'better' for image quality in general but zooms exist for a good reason. The 12-60 can focus closely with no attachments and keeps me from changing lenses in the field. And Lumix cameras can do panoramic shots, meaning that the 12-60 can be used in portrait mode for wider, stitched shots.

Yes I'd love a fisheye type, and at some point one may appear. I also really like the Sigma 60mm. I like gear, OK? Just don't get back into the rut of acquisitions that force other sensible choices to fall apart.