1945 - New Faces


I’ve put a lot of thought into it and slowly I get a feeling for what my new Olympus OM-D system will be like. First of all, I will sell the PEN E-P2 just as I’ve bought it, electronic viewfinder, 17/2.8 lens and spare battery included. This will happen sometime in mid-March.

I’ve paid 550€, this was a “Buy It Now” price and thus on the high side, but the current auction price of the kit is around 430€ and I think I’ll be able to get 350-400€ in a month. But then, maybe not.

Prices for the E-P2 alone are very low, yesterday I saw a body on offer with a starting price of 199€, and it drew not a single bid. On the other hand, the excellent electronic viewfinder alone costs about 170€ new and this should guarantee a reasonable lower bound. I guess I’ll begin with a starting price of 300€ and a “Buy It Now” price of 400€. If I can’t get at least 300€, I think I’ll keep it as a paper weight 😄

Well, you see, one lens in my lineup is the Panasonic Lumix G 20/1.7 ASPH, the obvious choice for a standard lens. I’ve bought it today. The only alternative would have been the Panasonic Leica 25/1.4, but I didn’t want to spend that much money for a much bigger and heavier lens. Not that it’s not gorgeous, but then, I have no idea if it will click and rattle on the OM-D as well. You may have heard of it, there is some compatibility issue, commonly referred to as “rattlesnake sound”. Some people had it on the E-P2, some on the E-P3, I should hope it will be gone on the OM-D, but there is no way to know now. In general I think I like my normal lenses a tad wider anyway, thus the 20/1.7 should be pretty perfect.

The next lens is the Panasonic 14/2.5 as a standard wide-angle. I would prefer the Olympus 12/2.0, but 207€ on eBay, shipping included, that was so much sweeter than 630€ new for the 12/2.0, I just had to buy it. It’s not as wide, but then, the lens is tiny, a pancake about as small as the Olympus 17/2.8. I hope to get it this week.

Lens #3 is an Olympus 40-150/4.0-5.6 R MSC. I’ll get it tomorrow and although it is slow, it is at least extremely light. If I want something fast, I can always use my Sigma 150/2.8 🙂

Lens #4 is of course the famous Olympus 45/1.8. I have it on order and it should come next week.

Well, that’s it. At the moment, with the E-P2, the Nikon lenses are stabilized, but not the viewfinder image. This makes focusing needlessly tedious, but the new stabilization in the OM-D will stabilize the viewfinder as well and then it will be much more fun to use long Nikon lenses.

Btw, I won’t buy it, but Camera 31 in Vienna currently offers a Canon FD 300/2.8 S.S.C. FLUORITE. A cool lens, cheap for a 300/2.8, but of course with an abandoned lens mount they go for below their real value. Still, 970€ is considerable 😄

Now, here we are. The fine thing is, the combined weight of all three primes is only 271g. The 40-150 adds another 190g, and finally the OM-D weighs 425g, battery included. That’s less than a kilogram for the whole kit. Cool 🙂

The Song of the Day is “New Faces” from the 1994 Rolling Stones release “Voodoo Lounge”. Many people hate the album, I love it dearly. Hear the song on YouTube.


There are 6 comments

Juha Haataja   (2012-02-14)

I look forward to your views on the Olympus OM-D. This camera has crossed my mind also, not only because it resembles the SLRs with which I started but also because this one seems to have most things right. But the devil is in the details... My ideal combo would have 2-3 pancake lenses, one 12 or 14 mm, and one 17 or 20 mm. And then Olympus 45/1.8 which you mention, or perhaps a macro lens. However, then I start thinking how to carry all this stuff... and my interest wanes.

💬 Reply 💬

andreas   (2012-02-14)

With the smaller I always let my camera dangle from a wrist strap and there is always a lens mounted on the camera. This takes care of #1. Let's say #1 is a pancake. That leaves the second pancake and the 45/1.8. Both together would fit into a very small belt pouch, with room for a spare battery as well. Actually I see no problem at all 😄

💬 Reply 💬

Ken Bello   (2012-02-14)

The OM-D looks so tempting to me and your system will be beautiful. It's offered only as a pre-order here, is it in stores where you are?

💬 Reply 💬

andreas   (2012-02-14)

No, but I've pre-ordered it from my local dealer the first day it was listed. It's one of the premier camera shops in Vienna, they will have it as soon as anybody has it in Austria.

💬 Reply 💬

Juha Haataja   (2012-02-15)

You make it seem so easy. What is tempting me most is the idea of using just one lens, and learning it really, really well, so that composing becomes instinctive.

💬 Reply 💬

andreas   (2012-02-15)

Yeah, what we really need for MFT is a 12-35/2.0 zoom. Ok, ok, I'd be satisfied with constant f2.8 🙂

💬 Reply 💬