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.

a mostly high and dry February

 

What's wrong with this picture?

We're the coldest location on it, that's what?!?

We've been through a couple of quiet weeks here, weather wise. Fog is burning off slowly in our area until today, when an east wind arrived and cleared us out. That means downslope winds at the beach, and a site near Tillamook was at 70° in the past hour. Yet we are straddling the 50° number after a high of 51. It's pretty though for mid-February, and buds are tinting the sticks on rose bushes and hydrangea plants. The skunk cabbage has been up for about two weeks - although 'up' means they are visible not that they are carpeting the creek bed by any means.

A shower or two are expected for Valentines Day, then several more dry days are likely. A pattern shift should hit by the last week of the month, but it's going to be a dry one. We've had less than an inch in a month that typically has about six! So it appears that our snowiest month of the year is taking 2022 off.

The dry weather has helped me clean up the December storm debris though. I still need to hack down the main body of the tree that rested on our truck, but the higher branches have been removed to the large debris pile. The maple branch has also been pared down to a mighty stick. I need to replace the chain on our saw to complete those tasks, as the original has slipped away several times this season.

a new number one

 January sixth turned in a very surprising 4.82 inches of rain which takes over at my lifetime #1 spot - though just barely. It's odd that 0.06 inches separates it from #2, then another inch below to #s three and four, and then another one-inch gap. Curious. 

And one more curiosity: the top three contains two January sixths!

The forecast was for about three inches for the two days of 1/5 and 6; the 5th was spot on at 1.34 but clearly the following day overperformed. Big time! The new 2-day record was set, but the 3-day record still belongs to October 2017.

So as of the 6th our January total was already above average! As of today we're 2½" above. A stretch of fairly dry weather is coming for the next week. I cannot bring myself to complain.

Yard work today consisted of removing limbs from the two major tree events that the snowstorms of '21 brought down. Others came down elsewhere on our property but landed in areas that really aren't accessible - so they can behave as nature intended and r.i.p. = rot in place. One truck-load was added to the debris pile, and the large maple limb will probably be hauled slightly up the hill and act as a lawn definition enhancement and slope break.

Plenty more debris can be had at the bottom of our driveway, where the entire tree fell slowly on to our truck. What a fine mess that was - yet only the front windshield shows any mark. It definitely needs replacing.

another wet spell

January 2022 will begin with a quiet day. 

Just one.

Crazy times begin immediately after: a bit of snow at dawn followed by about two inches of rain. That mix will sit atop, and drain into, about 12 inches of snow that began Christmas day and continued for the next five. It's been fun (well not the tree landing on our truck) but things will turn ugly. A flood of slush will be heading down from the hill-tops all around as the freezing level rises above 3000 feet for the week. Interesting times!

December ends with over ten inches of moisture, comfortably above both 30-year averages. The new average is lower (1991-2020) so it was well covered - and it looks like January will be off to a wet start.

oh dear: omicron

 

What can words add to this chart? Not much.

My mom left us 2 weeks short of 99 years old, and today Betty White followed just 18 days short of 100. A large TV special was planned for her 17.Jan birthday celebration; presumably the jokes will be muted and tributes will be plentiful.

So many deaths from many sources - but so much suffering worldwide from the Covid Reborn /omicron variant. 

It isn't 'reckless hate' doing the killing like Theoden's orc-quote from Tolkien, just reckless indifference to public safety  - and a claiming of 'rights' and 'freedoms' that echo from his great friend CS Lewis in The Great Divorce.

Enough. Please.