new record?

I still blush to look back at my kit in recent years, and the speed at which it mutated. I've really been reckless and I see very few times where the kit could be defined as a poor one. Many of those cameras barely had my finger-prints on them before heading out again.. and often at a small but ever-accumulating financial loss.

Given my lousy track record, it's noteworthy that I have now gone Four Months with no real kit changes!
OK that's not quite accurate - my October 9th post says a lens is on its way, and that one left again soon thereafter. The photo that I posted on that day is still my kit though :^/ - so near enough. Yes I also admit to a newer faster memory card - but given the speed of previous gear changes it's pretty good.

Of course being confronted with essentially zero budget for gear, perhaps pride is misplaced here.

ins & outs

As funds tighten again the GX7 and two primes departed, leaving the team photo a bit less full.

With the GX1 missing out on stabilization the primes become less useful despite their improved light-capture and overall IQ - so OIS lenses are more useful. A Sigma 19/2.8 is on its way though for 1-lens shooting days.

more trading of horses

I found someone with a GX1 and interest in our GM1. Neither of us was interested in parting with much cash, but in the end I get the body and a 14mm Lumix pancake. That's a lens with a good reputation and pairs nicely with the 30mm Sigma.

This nearly brings the team-camera concept back in alignment. Not quite though, as we have a 12-32 and 14-42ii for the two GX1 bodies. Close enough for now I think, and quite handy for trips where those wider or longer focal lengths would be missed! I do wish one were silver for the 14-42 though, both bodies are black.

The whole two-system mess was quite an accident, really. 

I planned to get another GM1 once the GX7 left, but nothing could be found for under $500! I then found the K-5 for just under $200, I already had lenses covering 28-300 in K mount, and a 50-200WR came silly cheap for $50.  Yaay! But then I decided the 12-60 sealed lens made little sense with a GM1 so sought out a trade - and a GX1 was offered a day after the K-5 deal. 

And why not give it a try?  The GX1 uses an older 16Mpix sensor compared to the GM1/GX7, but still a talented one. And the clip-on viewfinder came along in the trade, which was a nice touch since it can be removed for a simple camera. This made me wonder how much my wife really liked 'her' GM1 since a viewfinder has been a big deal to her. When the GX1 arrived I handed her both cameras and she immediately remarked that the GX1 was the best fit of any camera I had given her; that's important since we'd tried Pentax Q, Samsung NX300 and smaller K-body SLRs. The viewfinder clinched the deal - and here we are now.

• Pentax: K-5, 28-80 1:2, 55-200WR, 70-150, 100-300, 50/1.7 and 100/2.8

• µ43: GX1×2, Lumix 12-32, 14-42ii, 14/2.5 and 30/2.8 (also a 46mm adapter to make the 14 into a 10.5 and the 30 into a 23?) plus 45-150mm zoom and any Pentax lenses I choose to adapt!

micro's last stand

I've tried and enjoyed the micro 4:3 gear, but it's clear that Pentax gear fits my hand and brain just right. I've tried Lumix at least 3 times, and recently gave Oly gear a full workout. Since the NX300 is my wife's clear choice I let all that go, so we're pretty locked down for small-body big-sensor imaging.

from imaging-resource review

 A post recently spread around about the demise of the Lumix GM series. It's since been clarified to mean that Panasonic is redefining the product lines and only the letters "GM" may be demising. Anyway, the GM is truly as tiny as can be with the 4:3 sesnor, and especially when paired with the 12-32m, owners have really liked it.

As I was unable to sell all of my micro gear, a used GM1 is coming soon in order to make use of the 'spare parts'. It can be the telescope cam (with my 1¼" eyepiece to m43 adapter), the ultra-tiny cam (with 9mm body-cap fisheye lens), and a true pocket camera.

I chose to skip is the 12-32mm collapsible lens though. It's wonderful and all that, but the 20mme difference for longer shots is too much to bear. I found a 14-42mm lens at a great price - but which one is it?? It was labeled as the 14-42 II, which I've tried and liked; the shipping order shows the X-Vario 14-42, another collapsible design that would be handier for pocket travel & also gets good reviews. I won't lose as either 14-42mm will serve nicely.

In Samsung news the 16-50 PZ now has a 50-200 III to keep it company, and the 16/2.4 will be here in a bit. Other than the 30/2 that should be enough fun for that setup. Easy to say, now prove it..

the temporary trio

Interesting how the new Lumix lenses have contracted, compared to both earlier versions and the Olympus counterparts! It's decently smaller but still has OIS inbuilt. The 14-42/II shows the same reduced-cubic-inch design philosophy, and reports are great about improved IQ for both lenses.  Nice!
That 14-42/II will arrive early next week, racing the silver em10 to my door.

So much for sense

Many options exist for the wide end of µ43. Tiny 12-32mm, fast 12-35 or 12-40, versatile 12-50 or 12-60 - or simple 14-42 or 14-45 kit lenses.

Of the 14-42s this makes the most sense to me:

This is 14-42/II, the 3rd-generation Lumix 'kit lens', assuming the PZ version is #4. This one has neither 52mm filter threads nor an OIS switch, but it's smaller sharper and better made than the others in this range - even the Oly IIr that I own now, according to reviews (ir, pz). Sounds like a good match for the 45-150. I'll survive with two filter sets, I have done so before.

No to go back and edit the last few posts to match up with reality. Yes i am rewriting history, again.

Equiv. focal length.     28-84mme
Optical construction    9 elements in 8 groups inc. 2x aspherical 
No. aperture blades    7 (circular)
min. focus      0.2-0.3m (max. magnification: 1:6)
Dimensions    56x49mm
Lens Weight    110g
Filter thread    46mm (non-rotating)

updates, down-dates

I pulled two recent posts after seeing that they both referred to non-events.  A busy two weeks of gear swapping with no actual results to show.. well, not yet!

First up/down was the Sigma 60mm DN Art, whose purchase coincided with news of more medical bills in the near future.  A great lens was returned in preparation for that.  I must say that the Sigma Art series has an issue for shooters who use AF with MF override: with the entire lens now a focus ring I have no place for my left hand without actuating the MF zoom feature.  Turning off the zoom or going just AF or MF aren't great options for how I shoot. So I love the images the Sigma 60 takes but its design is a poor fit for me.
edit- the answer came later in the mu-43 forum: keep the hood on and hold the lens there.  Good idea!

Another recent non-deal was a K-7 with some AF issues.  I was unable to get a single image with the camera in any mode, and the seller agreed that was not how it was when he listed it - so another refund and more thoughts for later.  I also bid on a silver Limited K-5 but that was trumped as well.  That would have been cool to own, but budget limits are in play. My consolation in the Pentax world (and m43 as well) is a good deal on a smc-M100 f/2.8; it looks a bit worn but some day it will get a fresh coating!

However! A twice-used em5 came up at mu43.com with Three batteries, several valuable extra features and for a net cost of $120 - assuming the ePM2 sells.  So yes that deal actually did happen, and it might stick!  It should arrive on Monday. For now it will do fine with the 14-42 and 40-150, as the 17/2.8 should help the ePM2 sell.  I really like that little camera, but adding a mode dial, second control wheel, viewfinder and tip screen will be great steps up.  Bummer that the batteries are not compatible with the ePM2..

more gear shifting

The former owner of the ePM2 also had a few other lenses to sell, so I relieved him of those this week.  The home equity loan went through, so while things aren't fantastic financially at least they are more clear!  With that last bit of gear I'm ready to stop for a while, since the missing piece in my mind (Samyang's 12mm f/2) is not on supersale now anywhere and it's too new for owners to let go of their copies.

Left to lower right: Sigma 30 and Oly 40-150r, Oly 17/2.8, BCL9 body-cap fisheye, and 14-42rII on the ePM2.
This 18-300mme kit can fit in a lunchbox, and I can choose primes or the 14-42 for the wide range!

While I find the Samyang 7.5mm fisheye appealing (as I did with the G7) the bargain BCL9 is a 9mm f/8 fisheye that will stand in just fine for most applications. I had figured on 7.5/14/20/30 as the primal set but I've had a soft spot for the 17/2.8 for several years, so its return makes the 12mm a better fit.

On the Pentax side the kit has slipped away.  I still have the 10-17 fisheye which hopefully will find a new home soon.  The micro4:3 replacement set has taken most of the Pentax funds so taxes and medical bills still await - but some improvement has taken place with the gear swaps. I still have the 28, 50 and 135mm primes also; the 28 isn't needed for the Oly kit but fast 50 and small 135 could see some time there.  The 300mm mirror lens might be quite fun as well!

ding!

Time's up.

Samy's camera went with others on the sub-$600 deal for a new G7 with 14-42 lens.  By doing so it forced a still lower price for their demo model (in silver) with ~280 shutter count.  Well below, like $470ish!  This was lower than buying a new one elsewhere with $100 credit, so this was hard to overlook.. so I didn't.  Yes those deals included bundles with additional lenses, but not lenses I was seeking.  I could settle for a 25/1.7 .. but I didn't.

They also threw in $10 speed shipping, not free but quite good for a 'used' item. Thanks folks!

For a brief time I worried that the 14-42 lens was type-I not type-II; that was not true though.  The newer lens does not say II on the nose, but it says HD and .2m-infinity on the focus range, definitely type-II parameters.  Yaay!

For the future I'll seek a spare battery and that 7.5mm f/3.5 fisheye*.  First things first though: I have thirty days to be certain this is a camera I can enjoy and make use of for my kind of shots, both old-school and newfangled 4k types.  Should be fun, and a joy to carry such little weight.

* another thought is the 12-32mm retractable zoom; that lens gets very high marks for its image quality and silly-small size.  Even if I stop at 24mm or so it might be worth having!