Paul wrote:
> There ya go. For a moment I was wondering what happened to the real Ke….
> I feel more better now.
Me too, Paul, me too.
I think this illustrates my level of mental and physical exhaustion.
Photography is my #1 therapy. It has always been my #1 therapy my
entire life. For me to bottle it up and deny myself access to it is
absolutely mindboggling. I have no idea if I'll take more than five
pictures the first week. The way my brain and body is shutdown, it
would not surprise me if the camera never escapes the bag for a few
days. But the moment I step off the airplane in Honolulu in 78 degree
weather, (just a few hours away, as I type this on the airplane), it
is possible that my brain will instantly get in gear. It happens.
I bought a lot of camera gear the past 8 months or so. With the 70+
hour workweeks, it was a nice reward for myself, and also it addressed
my frustrations with my existing gear. 2024/2025 acquisitions:
Used Alpha 9 (Mk1). What a beast. That autofocus is insane. The newer
models are even better! Image quality is not as good as the A7ii
because of the massive matrix of PF detectors that give pattern noise
in extreme ISOs or extreme image munching. But it's "good enough" for
me. It had only 300 or something like that shutter actuations, and
wasn't even fingerprinted. Got it for an insanely good price. Came
with the battery grip.
Used 24/2.8. This lens is a gem. It's old-school film-lens good. I
really like it, but I did leave it home for this trip because of the
20-70/4. I highly recommend the 24/2.8. It's a lens that just "feels
right."
Used 70-200/2.8 GM (Mk1). It's needing to go into service. I'll just
say that this lens is a huge "WOW". It's the best 70-200/2.8 I've ever
used. I love the Canon's, but this one is even better (on the A9, the
A7ii focus just isn't fast enough for it). Yes, it is sharper than my
new 70-200/4, but not by much. I'll get it serviced and depending on
how I get along with the 70-200/4, I'll pick one of the two to keep.
New 200-600 G. As I've said many times, it's not just one of the
sharpest telephotos I've ever used, it's the sharpest I've ever used.
Yes, even sharper than the bonkers DZ 300/2.8. Any focal length, any
aperture. No need to stop down. It just nails it. (Side note, the
stabilization of this lens, combined with the A9's stabilization, does
not like diesel engine vibration). This is the one lens that is worth
switching systems to Sony to get. It is that good. Is it better than
the 100-400 GM? Oh, my, yes!
New 20-70/4 G. My 28-70 kit lens that came with the A7ii wasn't very
good to begin with and I almost killed it in August/September when I
was photographing in a RIB in rough seas. Salt water everywhere. The
A9 is just fine. This lens is too new for me to have done anything
with it other than test images. But the test images show that this is
a VERY GOOD lens. However, the lens distortion is pretty severe, so
the correction is doing a lot of work. Doesn't matter, because the
results are still solid. I don't like 70 on the long end, but 20 is
definitely where it's at on the wide end. Same lens cap size as the
70-200/4.
New 70-200/4 G. I can tell that it's ALMOST as sharp as the 70-200/2.8
GM. At 5.6, I think they are matched. I suspect the contrast is a
little different too. Other than a few test shots, I'm going in blind
with it. I absolutely love how this lens balances in the hand. Sony
nailed it in that regard. At 200mm, this is possibly the most
comfortable 200mm I've ever used.
SIRIU Carbon-Fiber Tripod with Benbo ball head. The last time I bought
a quality TALL tripod was 36 years ago. It was time. I got several
arca-Swiss plates that have AirTags hidden inside.
Lastly, but certainly not leastly, I got a new camera bag. It's up in
the bin, so I don't want to go look to see what brand model it is, but
it's a really nice backpack style that is JUST big enough to carry all
three of my zooms and the body. I could slip in a second body (capped)
if I wanted to. I really like how it fits and is really compact
without being compact. I'd say that they got the sizing just about
perfect.
Lots of new stuff, but I needed to reward myself for doing 168 gigs
last year with something that wasn't music related.
Hmmm.... I'm starting to get a little excited!
AG Schnozz
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|