22 January 2019

the value of planning

.. is pretty much zero in this household.

That applies to many things, but here I'll stick to cameras.
The G85 has arrived, which should put an end to acquisitions for some time*. The 12-60 covers most of my needs and seals up the camera for foul weather, and the 45-150 takes care of nearly everything else. For now the zD 70-300, a large 4Thirds native lens, can loiter about as the long-range option; since it does transmit data via the adapter unlike my Pentax options, it can tell the G85 how to best stabilize its images without me typing in a random number that pretends to cover any shot from 70 to 300mm. That's handy.

* But wait -
there's more.

image from review at
https://www.wimarys.com/olympus-pen-e-p5/
The cruel dealers and forum members informed me of a dumpsite deal on the Oly Pen eP5 body. Yes it's pretty old in camera years - but it features the talented Sony 4Thirds sensor, it's tiny, it has a tip screen, and it has Live Time for versatility the Lumix does not offer. It has nearly all the omD-EM5 features except weather seals and an attached viewfinder. Not bad. I've tried nearly every om-D body and found it cramped; I've also tried many PEN bodies and found them less so. The EP5 has dual dials in a sensible pattern unlike the PL versions, so that also will be a positive thing. And I believe I even have a spare battery from my brief EM5 phase!

And if I cannot bear it? 
Off it goes!

Yes the extra expense (and lack of shopping control) hurts - a little. However!
I will soon be offering up the Pentax gear, the YI M1 (and now the GX1) to others. My plan was to grab a 20-25mm m43 lens with that purchase. Well, not so much: it will now pay off the EP5 instead.