Wolfgang Lonien

So my camera is in Hamburg, at Olympus German headquarters to check what’s wrong, and to estimate how much a repair would cost.

And without borrowing any of my older cameras from Zuleikha who now has most of them (my E-520, my E-PL1, and Mitchie’s E-PL5), I still have what almost everyone has (and carries around, I normally don’t do that) – a “smart” phone with built-in camera.

In my case that’s Mitchie’s old Google Nexus 5 which she gave to me after I bought 5X models for her and for Zuleikha. So this evening I just grabbed that phone and took a photo of Mitchie’s:

Not too bad for a really small sensor 8MP device – if you don’t “pixel-peep” (and who in his or her right mind would do anything like that? 😉 ), it’s actually usable.

So now I’m waiting for Olympus Germany to tell me a number…

And as always, thanks for reading.

I was thinking loudly about photography gear end of October because someone over at Imaging Resource wrote about benefits of ‘crop’ sensor cameras, meaning those with a sensor smaller than 24x36mm. And my resumée was that if my camera died today I’d probably just go and get its successor, or a Pen-F.

And since yesterday my camera is dead. I tried several batteries, and with or without lenses, but the thing just doesn’t properly switch on anymore.

I took a photo with Mitchie’s E-M5 Mk2 yesterday, which is a pretty camera, lots faster than my first generation E-M10 was, and it’s weather sealed. So should I get that one instead, while my heart would still choose a Pen-F? Here’s someone who has both:

After watching this, and seeing those breath taking black & whites from the Pen-F, for me the choice is pretty clear. And yes, I know, shoot raw and do the b&w conversions later – but there’s more to life than time spent in front of your computer…

I think I’ll just jump for the Pen-F. That back LCD focus point moving while looking through its viewfinder (without touching your nose against it), and those gorgeous black and whites directly out of camera, that’s just my cup of tea. Yes, it’s expensive. And yes, for video, or for taking photos in the rain, Mitchie’s E-M5 Mk2 is the better one. Still… for me, this is the modern day Leica (especially with those Panasonic built but Leica branded lenses), and if you compare a Pen-F to those German rangefinders, then the Olympus is a steal.

And yes, I also know that these days you could get a cheap “full frame” for the same amount of money. But I wouldn’t want to carry any of these around (except maybe, a Leica M. But I’d rather buy a car than a Leica).

Thanks for reading.