January '26 = dry

We got off to a wet start, but since the 12th we've had just 0.02" - and that had to be fog condensation as we had no storms. We did finally reach freezing though! December's low was 31.1° which barely qualifies as freezing, but 27.6 this month is decently chilly.

We're at 2/3 of average precipitation for the month, and that's about where we shall end; the storm for this weekend has fizzled out and we might see another after the 28th. That breaks the string of above average months at three, but those three are the wet ones so we're in decent shape. As to snowpack, it's pretty  bad - the volcanoes are purely white, but roads through the mountains are frosty not snow-packed.

We'll see what February will bring!

Solar smash relents

 

The timing this week's solar storm was good and bad. Skies were clear, but conditions were slick and frosty for our sloped viewing area. Worse was the time zone: europe and the eastern us hit peak time for two nights, but the west us was declining both nights. One could stay up and be rewarded, but the cold was most unappealing.

This 4-second shot at iso2000 is far fainter than last year's events. The timing was vital; clearly many folks got very bright flareups but the chill did not bring me patience!

gear adjustments: 2026 edition

The Lumix-S era is over. For now.

As I noted before, if S didn't work out I would just revert to the µ43 kit and enhance it.  Well, as is often the case, I was half right. I gave it my best shot, but it couldn't be comfortably managed.

I'm getting back several hundred dollars, nearly all my S investment. And in exchange I spent $220 on a new body.

Oops: it's a Pentax!

It simply isn't possible to deal for a choice µ43 body ($600+) without spending the same amount of cash. And in effect my PK lens set is fully fleshed out - but it lacked a body. My K-01 shutter may repair itself (as many people report after it sits a while) but I won't bet on it. 

I found a low-shot black K-s1 body, with its nice 20Mpx sensor and odd but small body. I've owned it before and lamented its limitations, but for this time and price it will serve.  (I spent $40 more on a spare solenoid.) 

It has 'better' pixels (more, and larger ones) for duplicating my piles of slides and negatives. Somewhere around here I'm sure I have seen a spare Li190 battery too.

It's no better than the GX7 for video, but in other ways it will do nicely. In fact, my wife's GF9 now takes over as the sole 4k video camera - and it charges live from USB too. 

No weather seals for now with either system, so I'll wear a jacket more often. The two Pentax zooms are WR, but not the body.

So here we are.

ending '25 with a splash

We set a new personal best for rainfall.. or perhaps the worst?

 This month has edged out October 2017 as our wettest month here on the hill-top. Since Octobers are drier than Decembers around here, that month still wins on percent of normal, so it keeps its trophy for that record! 

We still have over a week to go, but that %-normal record looks safe. The forecast for now through New Years Day looks relatively dry. The previous two Decembers came in around 10 inches, just above average.

For 2025 minus a week, we are nine inches above the annual average. That's a comfortable number, about 20" above our driest year and 18" short of the calendar-year wettest. 

  Year-end update: 67.99"

sorting out the 2026 kit

 So now I have a decent setup with plenty of coverage. Some things aren't ideal, but it will do for as long as it must.

The most recent lens is an older Tamron Di 28-300 VC. It's not the newest and it's used, but the AF speed is a bit better than the Canon lenses. Its close-focus skills are very good, about 3/8 life size. The nose does spin when focusing.

Here are a few simple kit options, and some clarity on specific lenses.

• The 20-60 has weather seals so it's a clear option when the weather could make a difference, the Meike 35mm has a seal at the mount but no others. This suggests I can bring primes for the lower end and zoom after 70 or 100mm, whichever seems appropriate. 
• I cannot imagine enough times when 20mm isn't wide enough - and I can stack my own panorama in those rare cases. Also, 20mm f/3.5 seems sufficient for astronomy compared to an f/2.8 lens, so the 20-60 plus 35/2 and 70/2.4 should suffice for sky images.
• As to zooms, I have a few more than I need. The Vivitar 70-150/3.8 works very well and its push-pull makes for nice video zooming. It's not worth much on the used market so its place is safe for now, along with the Nikon-F to L adapter. The 100-300 isn't top notch at its long end, but for now it can stay. The 70-210 is a definite keeper until someone brings out an L-mount model with superior AF, some weather protection and hopefully OIS. The Tamron claims to have VC but my tests showed very little benefit, so perhaps its implementation isn't happy with S5 and adapter. With it turned off it's not a low light champ either, so that might turn off the S5 internal stabilizing; the 70-210usm definitely shows better shake reduction overall.

It's nice to have more functional options! The EF-L is greatly superior to SA-L that I tried earlier, since my old SA lenses were not sufficiently compatible for autofocus. 

But wait! More sky fun

After a foot of rain this past week from two skyrivers, another awaits! 

Today and tomorrow are almost dry - but by Monday afternoon another arrow of tropical punch has the PacNW in its sights. It appears to slide south sooner (map of tue at 4pm), which would be a great relief to Washington. Still a bit early to say.. though last week's modeling was very good! 

Monday will be wet in any case. Our forecast is for 4" by Thursday. Ug. If the moisture sags south, we get to be on the cool side, meaning the snow that departed last week will start to rebuild. That would be good news!

p.s. It's interesting to see that Monday 12/22 (8-9 days out) shows cooler air at the Canada border and a low-pressure system drifting SSE along the BC coast! All three models (GFS, ECM, GEM) show a very similar pattern. That pattern is our typical low-elevation snow pattern for winter - and Winter begins the day before!

We'll see how they treat things in subsequent runs.. but it's undoubtedly "interesting"..

A good day's work

My EF-mount lens collection has brought me useful information as to L-mount adaptations. 

Today brought a second copy of the Canon 70-210usm (3.5-4.5). That was necessary because the first copy is wildly off with autofocus; it successfully meshes with my S⁵ for passing focal length and aperture but I have other good options for manual focus. 

The second copy was similarly cheap to the first, but for a different reason: a cloudy front element. It was described as dust, but I feared fungus. I figured I could swap that front element with copy #1. Thing 2 arrived today and focused correctly, so after testing I prepared the operating/dining table for surgery. 

I have definitely performed my share of such, including a Pentax body with a bad shutter solenoid. I'd improved a few lenses also, but nothing major - so in I went!

• I was pleased to find just six screws in my way: 3 to detach the lens' nose and 3 to pull the lens group from its housing. 
• I was even more pleased to find it was dust not fungus scattering the light!

Several minutes of soft cloth, cleaner and squeeze bulb cleaned the front group front and back plus the front of the next group. It would take a lot more work to break into other lens elements, but they appeared less in need of intervention. 

In less than an hour I had a clean and sharp 70-210mm lens!

And I mean that. Its images looks better even wide open at 210mm than the 100-300usm at 200mm (and ½ stop faster). It might win against the Pentax 135/3.5 + 200/4 primes since it can AF (but AF-s only) and max aperture is similar to both. It definitely outpoints the all-manual Minolta 100-200/4.5 and the massive K-mount 80-200/3.5, so many spares in my kit can depart. 

Plus I still have 70-210 copy #1.. but no clue as to fixing its focus issue. That now becomes Somebody Else's Problem, as Douglas Adams once said. 

This compact yet speedy 70-210mm lens is A Big Deal because an L-mount lens of this sort is still does not exist! And that sucks!! Yes, fixed-aperture 70-200s and a vari-ap 70-300 do exist - but not at 660 grams or under $750. 

At some point they will exist, and I shall rejoice! But until then, the EF lenses will serve me well -- and give me the patience to wait! :√)