Trying something not-at-all new. That's new!

 In the next few days a ZS-100 camera will join me for a going over. That's a "compact camera" (not a profanity, in fact) with no interchangeable parts. Wow, I haven't had one of those in a while - the Fuji fx550 until it died in 2011, then back to 2006 or so!

This one is different though. It has a one-inch sensor - that means nothing regarding measurements, so let's call it a small step below the µ43 sensors that I've been using a lot lately. It's substantially larger than the 1/2.3-inch sensor (again a meaningless value.. though that means it's probably 2.3x larger than that sensor?) it can capture much more subtle detail and is more efficient when light levels are low. And when shooting in raw mode instead of jpeg, the images can be improved even further.

In fact, comparing this to the GX7 that I've enjoyed several times.. it performs better except in low light, according to the dXo sensor database! Total scores for both are 70 overall, but the ZS100 outpoints the GX7 by a smidge in both color and dynamic range, which I value more than the low-light score anyway.

This little camera has a 25-250mm lens so who needs exchangeable lenses? It can also do 4k video unlike the GX7, and thereby can extract 8Mpxl still images from said video format. I like the concept but have barely scratched the surface of that tech; maybe this camera will be more amenable to exploration..

The zs100 also charges its little battery via USB, allowing it to act like it has a much larger battery. Plug into the wall, the car, a solar panel or battery bank and it's ready to resume any adventure. Well, not the damp adventures: no weather seals on this little thing. It does have a decent screen and a basic e-viewfinder though.

A new thrill!

Favorite cameras?

The voice of waaayyy too much experience speaks!

All of course my own opinions, and hence fairly off the common consensus. Yes have been warned.

Top three: k-5.iiS, nx300, gx7. All with ev-3 autofocus, two mirrorless with tilt touchscreens, two internally stabilized, one weather protected, and all decently small within their niches. At #4 I'd currently put the eM1 original.

How can I skip the subsequent models from Fuji/m43/Pentax, you ask? Hey, I warned you..

My favorites are at each brand's sweet spot, where nice improvements (USB charging, new sensor tech) clashed with my personal dislikes (flip screens and price hikes, mostly) and left me overextended financially and/or disappointed ergonomically.

Price is a big filter for my preferences. Fuji's x-T4 would be ideal if it were to drop $700 (which it won't for several years). Same for the G9 and higher OMD bodies with their flipout screens. In  other words I'm here a few years too soon for my wishes to be available at my prices.

Features I seek most, or miss most when I don't seek them:

• Internal stabilization
• Weather seals
• Tilting touch-screen preferable to full flipout
• Reasonable video specs, HD is just fine for now
• Absurdly reasonable price!

Pentax is the hard answer. The K-1 is simply too much, but the ks2, k70 and KP have their appeal. Some day soon I will repair the defective K-s2 aperture solenoid (bane of the k30--70 era) and update my answer. In the meantime, using it in M mode with aperture rings yield quite nice results.

crushed.

Our new all-time wettest day lasted a mere fifty-five days. And it was beaten by 1½ inches.
The last day of February now takes primacy - by a seriously wide margin.

I recall when two inches was a really wet day in my life! 

It's worth noting that six of my top-eight are in 2020-22, with 2017 and 1996 being the other two. I have 34 days with over two inches, but only the top-5 are above 2.7 inches. My earliest wet record* is #20, on 11/24/60; JFK was soon to take the presidency, a turkey may have been in the oven - and we had 2.31" of rain.

Driving down the hill today I noticed that a tree that leaned over the road after our heavy snow is now gone, the rivulets and creeks are full and the rivers brown. And some new rivulets have riven the ground with fresh channels that are still crossing the pavement in places!

And so February ends at 186% of normal. Three days before we sat at 57% of normal. What a comeback. Including 3/1 our three-day total was 8.05 inches - and yes, that is also a record.

The daily rainfall mapped here was snipped from Cliff Mass' blog and shows the heaviest regional amounts from the deluge. The biggest number I see is Abernathy Mt at 8.64". Right next door, pretty much. That tells me that our measurement is as good as amateurs should expect, so after further review the record stands.

Hopefully for more than 55 days!

That's pretty safe, in fact, as every event on my top-38 has landed between September 14 and February 28. Time to dry out for six+ months!

Another fun fact - we are now above average through June 30th, by six inches. The dry season approaches, but it could stop raining 'til the 4th of July and we still wind up on the plus side.

Amazing.

*from my 1957 birth to 2014 I lived near the Portland Airport, and most of my time near Longview has been measured by onsite instruments.