kit

Looking ahead, not back

1 Feb 2025

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The Lumix S5 kit is ready for 2025! 

The newest addition is a used Lumix-S 85/1.8. So much for my perpetual search for the Pentax-M 85/2 that's been ongoing for about six months! The plan was finding a 35mm first, but a Pentax 40xs will do fine.. for now.

The Pentax set is reborn!

A white K-01 is coming along with an 18-50re kit lens. This will be quickly introduced to the many K-mount lenses on hand. I've also ordered a Q-ray 28-90 1:2 zoom, which performed very well with earlier versions of this kit. Update: a 50-200wr is also coming. Most people select the 55-300 and it's a great lens, but for this kit the 50-200 will be enough reach.

The sample below looks great in my album!

sure why not

I made a straight trade, essentially: eM1 and a couple of lenses for K-01 and 18-50re (both white!).

What I lose:

• weather+chill sealed body
• some compactness
• a complex menu structure
• PDAF focusing

Do I gain? I believe I did!

• a very familiar Pentax operating system
• a camera that can use Very small DA lenses (DA40+70 on hand) with no adapter!
• a 'casual' body that looks silly not serious
• flash available at a button press

And the similarities are good ones:

• decent image stabilization inside
• acceptable HD video with optional mic input
• spare batteries on hand

The loss of weather protection is covered by the S5, so one camera it another can compensate. 

Once again, my keeping Pentax lenses around drags a PK body back into my kit. I looked at a K200d, but the K-01 also has happy memories, and a more up-to-date sensor means nice results and simple video. Nothing magical by modern standards, I grant you, but still respectable dXo test results - far higher than the eM1 could manage with its smaller scale.

Should be a fun team. 

And most of the Pentax lenses will serve time on the S5 in "classic" manual or A-priority modes.

the Snow Month looms

 Well, it's almost February - our historically snowiest month on the hill-top. January has mostly been dry, cold and clear, with about 1/3 of normal precipitation. The pattern change is right on schedule!

I have surgery scheduled for mid-March based on our February snow history; looks like it was a good idea.

It's still about a week away, so no doubt the numbers will dance a while before the event unfolds.

Update: a respectable forecast! We had 2" in the 2nd, melted half of it then added two more! Quiet on the 4th but more showers on the 5th. No big dump (which was not predicted) and it was gone below 400'.

My First Sensor Bath

Until now I've been able to dislodge dust with a squeeze blower. Last week I took many images at the local park/lake and after further review, I saw spots! 

When I saw the images I knew just what to do - until I saw the spots. These were not dusty bits holding on to the sensor glass by electrostatic magic, they were once-liquid blobs. Like rain on a windshield. I dabbed at them gently but they were not persuaded to leave, and once I applied a touch more pressure I had a smear. 

It was clearly time for a wet cleaning!

I was not afraid of the process, but it hadn't been necessary until now. I learned that newer designs like rakes are common now, and my kit arrived in a short time.

The kit was simple, just a cleaning solution and a dozen or so long-handled rake/trowel thingies each wrapped individually. Two drops on each side, a swipe back and forth at a rather shallow angle (no poking!), and .. done!

I'm not sure if the camera came to me that way; I should think I looked at the sensor last month when the S⁵ first arrived but I'm not certain. And I don't know what the firm liquid was: I remember the Nikon D600 and its oil issues, but I'd expect the odds of oil spatter is much greater on an SLR than a mirror-free design.

But what do I know about it? Can't believe everything I read in the virtual world. Not even my own work, especially when I claim to own the perfect kit and will shop no more. Oopz.

I shall be watching my sensor more closely now!