2598 - Change Of Heart

Remember my pragmatic statement regarding the OM-D E-M1 in “2530 – Right Now”? The elegant and succinct conclusion that “I won’t buy it”?

Well, John D. Linn had his doubts, so should I have had. Ladies and Gentlemen, here’s the first Image of the Day taken with the OM-D E-M1 and its kit lens, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO 😛

Now you may ask, what the hell made him change his mind? And not only the camera, also the big and heavy kit lens!

The problem is, I held it in my hands. The camera, I mean. I saw it in a local store of a big electronics chain. It was locked behind glass and it had the other, the cheaper kit lens mounted, the slow 12-50, that has been released along with the OM-D E-M5.

I liked the look of the camera, but the long and narrow lens looked ugly on it. I was already turning around when the devil tempted me, disguised as a pretty, young woman who asked me if I wanted to try it. Sure, I thought. Let’s get over with this. I turned the camera on, looked through the viewfinder and … was shocked. Utterly shocked. Shattered.

I simply had not been ready for the size and quality of the viewfinder image, and now I knew I had a problem. I wouldn’t be able to get that view out of my head. And not only that. The E-M1 just feels like a precision tool. You know, I am an engineer. I write computer programs, but in school I have learned all kinds of metal works and mechanical engineering. Not that I was ever good at it, but at least once I have cut a screw and filed a piece of iron for an exact fit. I know mechanical quality when I see it. And now I saw it.

To my defense I can proudly say that I didn’t give in for another day or two, but checking my bank account didn’t reveal any solid obstacle, and it was also clear that the craving would not go away.

I was not interested in the kit with the 12-50, as I don’t need it, and I am sure that lens does not sell well either. Too much has the market been flooded with kit lenses from E-M5 kits. Now I could just order online, wait until next week when I’m back to Vienna, or drive to the nearest dealer who has it in stock.

Waiting was out of the question, the delay of ordering online and waiting for the delivery sounded like torture as well, thus I drove the 150 kilometers to Graz. A dealer there had it, and now there was the next question: body only or the kit with 12-40/2.8?

Actually I don’t need the lens, but then, it has a stellar reputation, reviews tell only superlatives, and in a way it would be cool to have a weather-sealed fast pro zoom as an option for travel or just for rainy days. And finally, as part of the kit, the lens is so much cheaper, that I could easily sell it with profit, and when I keep it for a while, I can at least sell it without loss after a year. Here you have it, that’s how it happened 😄

The Song of the Day is “Change Of Heart” from Willy DeVille’s 2004 album “Crow Jane Alley”. Hear it on YouTube.