Three months since my last post, three months of basically silence from the publishers after resolving the image rights problems. An edited version of Volume 1 has gone off for another run past them, along with the first complete draft of Volume 2 and both sets of captions. I’m now in limbo until I get a reply. Considering I’ve already seen off two commissioning editors, I won’t hold my breath.
After lugging round the very nice but ultimately slightly heavy full-frame Nikon and one additional lens (as in, the only other lens I’ve got) on holiday, I started looking at going back to travelling a little lighter. The beauty of my old Olympus E-M5 was the size and the weight or rather the lack of it, even with the slightly hefty 12-40 Pro lens attached. I looked at a few options, including the Nikon Z5’s little brother the Z Fc, Sony’s well respected A6000 series and even the retro design Fuji X’s, all available at reasonable prices used.
Trouble is , much as I love the 35mm camera style Z Fc, it suffers from the same problem as the rest of the Z series; limited lens availability, especially used and their cost. There’s also fewer dedicated lenses for the small APS-C sensor Nikon’s, so you’re back to using full frame lenses and that means full frame size and weight. One down. The Sony may have the best autofocus system, but I’m not keen on the ergonomics, on top of which the full frame A7II is now readily available used at similar prices to the newer A6000 series, let alone lower prices than a used Z Fc, but we’re back to full frame lens weights, sizes and costs. Two down. The Fuji’s were eliminated for pretty much the same reasons as the A7II. Three down!
Consequently, I’m back full circle to Micro Four Thirds. There’s plenty of good used stock of both bodies and lenses, the system is a known quantity to me and if you pick the right model, it doesn’t scream “expensive camera, steal me!”. So after further eBay shenanigans, I now have a fairly anonymous looking boxy black camera for half the price of the Olympus Pen F I’d really like, but with the same sensor, plus a really small travel zoom and a pair of equally petite fast prime lenses, for little more than a Z Fc plus the basic standard zoom lens.
What have I bought? A Panasonic Lumix GX9. All I need now is a bit of travel, preferably somewhere where it’s not perpetual rain like the UK….
