I love cold weather. I love walking around with a thick hat that covers my ears and big fluffy gloves that can even keep an old man's hands warm. Cold and snow gives me an excuse to pull out that big pair of insulated hiking boots I bought years and years ago and to relish the fact that I can be ankle deep in wet snow but still keep my toes toasty. But the heat? Once it hits a certain temperature these days the raw yellow/red heat of Summer keeps me indoors. In the air conditioning. Glass of iced tea within reach. As I wile away the hours trying to find something about photography to read or watch on my computer. With very little success.
Swim practice was fun this morning. The water was reasonably cool because of the aerators that run at the club pool all night long. After swim practice I had every intention of making a quick pit stop at home to eat something for breakfast and then rush out to walk the lake or camera stroll through downtown. But I lingered too long and lunch crept onto the schedule and by the time I got organized it was too late. The temperature outside had already hit 103° and with the humidity factored in the weather service said it would feel like 107 to 110°. While I irrationally think I am still mostly bulletproof, in great shape and almost immortal I have to grudgingly concede that I am no longer 20 years old and that, statistically, older people are more susceptible to the effects of heat. And I've become aware that my endurance to that mean end of the temperature range has diminished just a bit.
Far be it from me to tempt fate when my own best interests are involved. Better to err on the side of caution.
Today I am mulling over the purchase of two more lenses for the m4:3 system. I had coffee with a friend yesterday and he brought along two lenses that he feels no longer meet his needs. No doubt he'll make me a good price on either one, or both. So I'm shooting them this weekend in order to make a final assessment of my own needs. ( Perhaps should read: "My own desire.")
"Needs" is a bit of a humorous concept for someone who already owns way too many lenses but that's how I like to couch the little gaps in the inventory of the secondary system in house.
Both of the lenses are ones that I've been interested in for quite a while but never had the final motivation to push the buttons and make the purchases. One lens is the Panasonic/Leica 42.5mm f1.2 lens. It's gorgeous and my friend's copy looks like it just came new out of the box. I've already convinced myself (not a difficult task) that this lens is very much a keeper and one I'll own. I'm only hesitant about the second lens which is an Olympus 75mm f1.8 lens, in silver finish. I love the concept of the 75mm but it's so rare that I shoot with a really long prime lens and I have so many zooms already that cover the actual focal length so well.
The 75mm is the lens I really need to put on the GH6 and get out and shoot with right after swim practice tomorrow morning; before the forecast temperature becomes a sweaty and real 106°. I need to give it a chance to show off, to shine and attach itself to my acquisitive gland.
On these hot days one always imagines that we'll put together an amazingly well thought out photography kit that fits in a small backpack, buy some airline tickets to someplace still cool and not crowded, and crank out a worthy adventure based around taking....more photographs. But there's the magnetic pull of the rambling and cool at all times house. The lure of daily swim practice. The familiarity of the local coffee house with the perfect Columbian Supremo Organic blend; roasted medium. And all the toys in the studio. Not to mention the luxurious couch that just begs one to nap under the quiet currents of the two ceiling fans.
I'll end up calling one of my beautiful friends and invite them for a sitting in the studio instead. That might be the right solution...
The week coming up is filled with normal work stuff of the business. We're photographing the staff of a medium sized ad agency on Monday. One portrait at a time. Post processing and gallery construction following on Tuesday. A hedge fund CEO's portrait on location Wednesday. Portraits of 15 directors of a corporate board down at the Four Seasons Hotel on Thursday and more post production on Friday. All the while trying not to miss scheduled morning swim workouts at the pool or dinners with B. By the end of the week all that will remain to be done is final post production on everyone's selections.
When I finish that I will have fully funded and freed up the rest of my Summer. Then the goal is to get out more and use some of this very nice gear for fun rather than profit. Which would represent a personal, non-fiduciary profit for me....or something like that.
If you own, or have owned the Panasonic/Leica 42.5mm f1.2 or the Olympus 75mm f1.8 and have opinions about them I'd sure like to hear from you. Drop a comment and tell me your experience with them. I'm afraid you'll be too late to dissuade me re: the 42.5mm but there's always hope for some modicum of restraint where the 75mm is involved.... will you be the one whole talks me off the GAS ledge?
Images from Santa Fe. The antidote for too many Austin photos.
26 comments:
Time to move out of Austin, Kirk. The heat is only going to get worse. I've seen the changes in Florida over the last 62 years and I'm getting out of here.
And where will you go? Remember last year when Seattle hit 113°? Calgary, Canada had a heat wave. The middle west broiled. I guess some mountain village in Norway or something. But then we'll just complain about the long winters....
I also have a full collection of M4/3 lenses including the Pana/Leica 42.5 and the 75, and that 75 is the best lens I've got and maybe the best I've ever had. I just hope you don't get a bad sample or something to put you off. And haven't you in past posts talked about shooting portraits with a 135? The effect of a 150 isn't that much different.
Went to a dinner party last night at a friend's house and we spent quite a while talking about where we'd move, and the final answer, with a few qualifications, was "here." Fairly easy winters, and right now is the hottest time of year, with temps topping out in the low to mid-90s and very dry, and that's usually only for a few days around the solstice. Lots of Texans have houses here to get away from West Texas heat.
I guess I need to buy a Summer place in Santa Fe.
OK, Kirk, it's time for me to return the favor. Over the last year (?) that you have been praising the Leica CL/Sigma 18-50mm combination, I resisted for many months. Then I finally broke down and bought the set in March. I couldn't be happier with them both, so I'm grateful "you talked me into it."
I bought into the Olympus M4/3 early on (2012) and bought the F1.8 75mm about a year later. It is a great lens!! For the last dozen years I've been covering political demonstrations and events in my region of Western Massachusetts (esp. climate change), I've used a combination of two E-M5 iis with a 12-80 F2.8 Pro on one and the 75mm on the other. I have gotten many great shots with that lens, several of which have been published in local and regional newspapers (print and on line). So it's pretty easy to highly recommend it. It may not fit your use range, but it sure is a great lens.
It went up to 103 deg F today in the valley we live in. No humidity to speak of (17%) but fire danger- you bet!
I enjoy using the Lumix 42.5mm f1.7 on my Oly m4/3 camera- I like the perspective it provides to a variety of subjects. I use it wide open a lot, nice out of focus areas, very sharp, fast enough focus for me. The Pan/Leica may even be better. Enjoy and stay cool.
I’ve had the 75mm for a while (silver!), use it with an Oly E-M10 mk2. Echoing the other comments, it is great! All the old reviews of it are pretty much spot on, one of the best Oly primes. I did get a 3rd party hood (as the Olympus one is ridiculously expensive) for a few bucks, I’d consider it. Can attach it backwards on the lens too.
Have them both, excellent! The 42.5 just keeps blowing me away. The first time I used it, my breath was taken away. You surely need it (or both) :)
I had both lenses when I was shooting with Olympus cameras and would repurchase them if I returned to m4/3. I liked the PL better than the Oly Pro 45. Mine had better color, contrast and falloff than the Oly Pro. The 75 is one of the best of the Oly lenses. The later Oly lenses lost something special the the earlier lenses had. So, if someone offered me a deal on both I would be real tempted to buy a camera to use them with.
nice colors today Kirk!
I've had both lenses, and they are special
Sounds like you need another autumn vacation in Montreal.
We moved to Seattle (actually closer to Tacoma) after last summer's heat wave. So far in 2022, it has not been warmer than ~ 73 degrees F. And that was this week.
Enjoy the new lenses!
Ken
Hello, 75mm is a very nice lens. I had it. However sold it when I left m43. Beautiful pictures even I used it not so much. Have a nice day. Pierre
I have the Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.7. I was considering the PanaLeica f/1.2 version but decided to save some money and went with the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 instead. I've been very pleased with the Sigma and haven't once thought that I should get the PL instead.
I also have the Olympus 75mm f/1.8. I have had this lens since it first came out and have nothing bad to say about it. Except... I almost never use it. The same goes for most 70-200mm glass or equivalent in APS-C and mu43 mounts.
Mike Johnston wrote about this focal range a number of years ago, saying something about it being relatively easy for lens makers to get very right, optically speaking. He wagered that most photographers will rarely use such a lens - but they'll love it. He has been correct, at least in my experience.
What's the odds on your power grid staying on line?
Both lenses are terrific and as mentioned above, the 42.5 f1.2 finds more subject matter than
the 75mm f1.8. Using the 75 requires adjusting your shooting distance. It also provides a flatter
perspective....providing a look that also mimics full frame image isolation. You should also consider the
12mm f1.4....a rather amazing lens....and a real sleeper, the 25mm f1.4 Summilux....great color and
when used close to your subject, wonderful separation. And they all fit in small Domke Bag....
I had the Oly 75mm f/1.8 and it was a lovely lens, very nice color rendition and it makes the m4/3 format "feel" like you're shooting a larger sensor (i.e. the focal length and relatively bright aperture let it through backgrounds more easily oof). Like others have said, I didn't use it nearly as much as I thought I would, but when I needed it nothing else could quite do what it does.
Had both of those lenses. The Pan / Leica was my "go to" portrait lens for several years. Just lovely. Usable wide open, I used to stop down a trifle to get eyes in focus! Delicately sharp with wonderful falloff.
The 75 is also delightful. Sharp from wide open, light (a great fit for M4/3). Used it mostly for street work / festivals etc, less so for portraits
Where will I go? I am moving to the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee. 2000' elevation so it rarely gets over 85 degrees. 5 inches of snow a year on average. It gets the same 5 feet of rain a year as Florida, yet the humidity is much less. So mild winters, wonderful summers, and no Florida traffic, or hurricanes. Building off grid completely solar/battery power. You got 30 more years in you, Kirk. What is the climate going to be like there, then? Where I live in Florida, there were an average of 44 days above 90 degrees back in the 1960s and '70s. In the 2000s to 2010s, there were and average of 90 days 90 degrees or above, In 2020 it was 124 days.
The 75 is a fantastic lens that I rarely used. As I moved in and out of using m43 over the years I owned it twice. Excellent images but just not a focal length I used that often.
Hi Jerry, I hope that works well for you. I like to be in the middle of a vibrant city. I'd hate to be "off the grid." Where would one get coffee?
I'm more likely to think: "Berlin" or "Grenoble."
But my milage varies...
Mark. Thanks for the feedback and I do already have the latest version of the 25mm f1.4. It's a very good lens. The 12mm has to wait until I see how I like the new 9mm from Panasonic.
The heat dome we suffered under last summer in Calgary sold a LOT of home AC units! Fortunately we have a nice cool basement.
The new 9mm from Panasonic I interests me. Keep us posted.
Eric
Pamplona Spain 9 months of the year, summers on the West Coast of Van Isle. Perfect. Grin.
Had one.....sharp!!....didn't use it so much due to focal length.
I've got the 75. As others have said, it's a slightly unusual focal length (I'd have preferred a 100), but I've got used to it - I had to be patient with myself! And the results are worth it. Great for urban photography.
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