I’ve put a lot of thought into it and slowly I get a feeling for what my new Olympus OM-D system will be like. First of all, I will sell the PEN E-P2 just as I’ve bought it, electronic viewfinder, 17/2.8 lens and spare battery included. This will happen sometime in mid-March.
I’ve paid 550€, this was a “Buy It Now” price and thus on the high side, but the current auction price of the kit is around 430€ and I think I’ll be able to get 350-400€ in a month. But then, maybe not.
Prices for the E-P2 alone are very low, yesterday I saw a body on offer with a starting price of 199€, and it drew not a single bid. On the other hand, the excellent electronic viewfinder alone costs about 170€ new and this should guarantee a reasonable lower bound. I guess I’ll begin with a starting price of 300€ and a “Buy It Now” price of 400€. If I can’t get at least 300€, I think I’ll keep it as a paper weight 😄
Well, you see, one lens in my lineup is the Panasonic Lumix G 20/1.7 ASPH, the obvious choice for a standard lens. I’ve bought it today. The only alternative would have been the Panasonic Leica 25/1.4, but I didn’t want to spend that much money for a much bigger and heavier lens. Not that it’s not gorgeous, but then, I have no idea if it will click and rattle on the OM-D as well. You may have heard of it, there is some compatibility issue, commonly referred to as “rattlesnake sound”. Some people had it on the E-P2, some on the E-P3, I should hope it will be gone on the OM-D, but there is no way to know now. In general I think I like my normal lenses a tad wider anyway, thus the 20/1.7 should be pretty perfect.
The next lens is the Panasonic 14/2.5 as a standard wide-angle. I would prefer the Olympus 12/2.0, but 207€ on eBay, shipping included, that was so much sweeter than 630€ new for the 12/2.0, I just had to buy it. It’s not as wide, but then, the lens is tiny, a pancake about as small as the Olympus 17/2.8. I hope to get it this week.
Lens #3 is an Olympus 40-150/4.0-5.6 R MSC. I’ll get it tomorrow and although it is slow, it is at least extremely light. If I want something fast, I can always use my Sigma 150/2.8 🙂
Lens #4 is of course the famous Olympus 45/1.8. I have it on order and it should come next week.
Well, that’s it. At the moment, with the E-P2, the Nikon lenses are stabilized, but not the viewfinder image. This makes focusing needlessly tedious, but the new stabilization in the OM-D will stabilize the viewfinder as well and then it will be much more fun to use long Nikon lenses.
Btw, I won’t buy it, but Camera 31 in Vienna currently offers a Canon FD 300/2.8 S.S.C. FLUORITE. A cool lens, cheap for a 300/2.8, but of course with an abandoned lens mount they go for below their real value. Still, 970€ is considerable 😄
Now, here we are. The fine thing is, the combined weight of all three primes is only 271g. The 40-150 adds another 190g, and finally the OM-D weighs 425g, battery included. That’s less than a kilogram for the whole kit. Cool 🙂
The Song of the Day is “New Faces” from the 1994 Rolling Stones release “Voodoo Lounge”. Many people hate the album, I love it dearly. Hear the song on YouTube.