Friday, August 15, 2025

Practical considerations join the battle

 

Upper left: S1 +70-150mm +1.5x converter + nF-Z adapter. That's 690g of tube on a 1kg body.

Lower-right: Tamron's 70-300 f/4.5-6.3 (590g) attached to the 680g Z6. More range for 450g (and several cubic inches) less - plus the Z6 pair has autofocus and weather seals! Something tells me I'm trying too hard to justify the S1 beast...

So what does this do for me? It simply shows the choice isn't easy- which I knew long ago. 

The amazing S1 feature set carries its baggage, and the Z6 isn't my perfect beast either. I haven't tried every feature and arrangement yet, but ergonomically the Z6 has proven easier to deal with. That's not just due to bulk, but to several features that meshed with my mind more quickly.

As I noted in the first post for this battle, a third option exists: dump it all and plow some of the proceeds into better 4Thirds gear. I could have an eM1 mark 3 and faster zooms, and thereby achieve a somewhat similar bokeh end result. I'd also get a smaller system, nearly all the S1's aspect ratios (for stills at least), and know that I tried my best to get a 'better' camera system. I could keep the GX7 with its familiarity and fine features, re-add the 12-60mm and have a nice kit with decent low-light usability.

Arguments in opposition:

  • Prices. Thanks to our 2025 economic chaos  used μ43 bodies are a hundred dollars or more higher than the last time I checked. The Mark-1 body was listed for over $425 at one place I looked, and $700 will get you a nice v2 or a weary v3. 
  • Also, bulk. The contest between Lumix and Nikon is a matter of a few hundred grams, but a Z6 is only about 90g lighter than the em1³. That isn't persuasive. They both are 134mm wide, too - so selling and buying gear right now is really not persuasive when output difference is big but the weight penalty isn't!
I do have nice μ43 lenses, though the 70-300  (effectively 140-600mm) is heavier than the Tamron Z that does very nice work on ~4x the sensor area. (My 28-300mm/eq lens is quite a bit lighter though!) 

Also, the gx7 is talented and familiar (and very lightly used!) - and saves almost as much weight vs the z6 than Z6 does vs the S1. An oldie but goodie, with iStab within, AF in very low light, tilt screen+VF.






No comments:

Post a Comment