Whenever I think about the current camera situation, my brain goes into
an endless loop.
I love my Leica M8. Except for the fact that I'd like it to render at ISO
3200 or 6400 the way it does at 640. So I keep thinking about getting
another camera to use for low light. And I'd like a better "other
camera" than my current Panny G1, which is still viable but showing its
age. The problem is, everything else out there would require me to
sacrifice things I don't want to give up, or has a deal-breaker aspect.
I'm really not an SLR person except for occasional long-lens work, so
that simplifies things a bit. But the other things I want are
distributed among several cameras.
Now Leica comes out with the "M," which checks most of the boxes. That
is, assuming the sensor is on par with the other cameras with that
wonderful current Sony sensor. And that there are no major problems
discovered once it meets the real world. But it costs more than I can
reasonably spend, and that's without the EVF and adapters that would
make it a one-camera solution.
Now, I gotta tell you. I did an informal shootout with a friend who has
an Olympus OM-D EM-5, and I am *very* impressed with that little Oly. At
ISO 200, using the Panny 20/1.7, the image quality is in the same
ballpark as the M8 with 35/1.4 ASPH. At ISO 3200, the OM-D's IQ is not
much less than the M8 at 640. And it, too is a camera that checks most
of my boxes. I put some Olympus OM and Leica lenses on it via adapters.
Me like. Image stabilization... gooooood.
On the bad side, it's too tiny for my big paws, and the user interface
is menu purgatory. Though it does have enough discrete controls to set
it up to operate like a real camera. But it isn't a rangefinder, it's a
computer with Japanese Zen paradox soft buttons. Still, it autofocuses
fast, and a 20/1.7 plus 45/1.8 makes a small, sweet package with very
good IQ.
And now the Fuji X-Pro-1 got a firmware fix which might just merit a
second look. And some of the work I've seen with the Leica Monokrom M
makes me lust for that.
I'm confused again. I think I'll go practice my bassoon. At least it's
paid for.
(Am I making any sense at all?)
--Peter
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