Breaking the Rules

E-P2 with VF-2 and the M.Zuiko 40-150mm 1:4-5.6 'R' zoom lens

There should be no doubt in anybodies mind that I am firmly and forever an amateur photographer and will remain one for as long as I carry any kind of a camera with me. There's no getting around that. Whatever opportunity I had to develop into a paid commercial photographer has long since passed.

And with that realization comes another realization, that I don't need heavy expensive equipment for my style of photography. I just need something that's reasonably flexible and Good Enough. By any measure you care to honestly use, µ4/3rds cameras in general and the Olympus digital Pen series in particular are very flexible and more than Good Enough for me.

The new M.Zuiko 40-150mm 'R' turned out to be something of an epiphany for me. It is an example of something light, cheap, fun, and more than Good Enough. I got it over Christmas and from what I've used of it so far it's the kind of lens that can travel with the E-P2 and a few other M.Zuiko and Panasonic µ4/3rds lenses for a tight, compact, lightweight yet complete kit. And all of it is designed to work with the µ4/3rds E-P2 body. No more adapted regular 4/3rds lenses, no more adapted manual focus 35mm lenses. I've experimented with all of that over the past year. All of those adapted lenses were fun under certain circumstances; more importantly they helped me to make an informed decision as to where to move for the future.

I want something that matches my needs and my style and my budget, not somebody else's. I've finally got the nucleus of that type of system building around the E-P2. I've got all the big glass and bodies I need (probably more than I really need), and I don't need any more. The µ4/3rds may grow a little more, but not by much. I need a wide angle lens, something around 12mm. That might be filled with the M.Zuiko 12mm, or I might wait and get the announced 12-50mm in January. The latter sounds better to me because it comes with macro capability as well as a decent 4:1 zoom range.

In gambling or investing they say never bet more than you can afford to loose. Photography is a little like that: never buy more than you can afford to loose. All of the digital equipment has reached the point where I can easily photograph just about anything, without going broke buying equipment. The Pen series is in the comfortable spot. That means if it breaks I can afford to replace it. If something newer and better comes along, I can afford to replace it. Finally, it's inexpensive/cheap enough that I can afford to really enjoy it without worrying about breaking it.

Edit

This is blog entry 399 for 2011, and 1,094 for the all-time entry.