Scattered Thoughts . . .

I recently picked up a used Panasonic 45-200mm G Vario OIS lens to pair with my Panasonic G3 camera body. As some opportunities present themselves, I've been giving this combo a whirl and I have to say that, so far, I am impressed. Don't get me wrong... This lens is not even close to being my sharpest, most impressive lens. However, for its cost, size, weight and format, it is pretty impressive though.  This lens has a decent amount of reach being equivalent to a 90-400mm in full frame terms and that means a lot considering the small size of this lens. Also, having OIS (optical image stabilization) is a pretty huge plus. This image stabilization could come in handy in less-than-ideal light.   If I could find some birds or wildlife in my yard, I would test this lens in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, our neck of the woods seems to be void of wildlife lately. It is actually pretty quiet out there... no birds calling, no squirrels chattering, nothing. I've come to the conclu...

Our moon captured using a Panasonic G3 camera with a Panasonic 45-200mm (90-400mm equivalent) G Vario lens. Anyone who follows this blog knows that I have a bit of an infatuation with the moon and an active interest in aerospace which involves continuous study and research. Consequently, I often will be pointing one of my cameras toward the moon on those seemingly rare clear nights with no clouds obscuring the sky.  Last night we had a sky with a light, wispy cloud cover but our moon was bright and beckoning through our living room window. Needless to say, I grabbed some of my camera gear and headed outside. As I've written in recent blog posts, I just picked up a used camera and lens in the tiny Micro Four Thirds format. I really haven't had much of an opportunity to test it out though for numerous reasons. This was one camera and lens combo that I knew I should test on the moon last night. Most of the night I had to struggle getting clear shots of the moon becaus...

My new used Panasonic 45-200mm, f4-5.6 lens mounted on my new used Panasonic G3. Capturing crisp photos of wildlife requires considerable knowledge, skill and years of practice as well as the physical ability to effectively control the appropriate camera gear. Having the right photography gear for this task, or any particular task for that matter, helps considerably just like having the right tools for a carpentry job helps a carpenter get the job done effectively. Using a hammer and a screwdriver to drill a smooth hole just won't work!  Needless to say, I am always researching to learn the best tools for each task I hope to accomplish and for the knowledge to refine the skill needed for each task. As I've written in previous blog posts, I needed a long telephoto zoom kit that would be suitable for shooting photos of the wildlife here in our neck of the woods so I did a lot of research and searching online for available products and finally ordered a used Panasonic ki...