Staying on Brand ???

Brand images can inspire emotional responses, and I freely admit my fondness for what was formerly Olympus. I'm not certain that makes me a sucker.

My first 35mm camera was a Konica 35mm compact rangefinder my parents bought me for graduation or something. When I decided I wanted something better, I bought a Canon AE-1 Program. Never bought a lens for it, didn't shoot with it as much as I did that old Konica. Later had a Canon "Snappy 50" for carrying about on shore leave.

When digital arrived, I was more interested from the technology end than the photography part. I started out with a Kodak DC210, followed by a DX6490, then a P820, P880 and finally a P712. There was a Canon Powershot A70 in there briefly, before it got the dreaded stuck lens error. I bought all of them new, but near the end of their market period when they were marked down. Digital was expensive.

I enjoyed shooting the Kodaks a great deal, but wanted something more capable, something with interchangeable lenses. Did my homework online, and the Olympus E-520 seemed to represent the best value in terms of features, if not "capability" in terms of sensor performance. I figured no matter how bad it was, it was going to be a lot better than the tiny Kodak sensors I was used to.

And it was. And I loved that E-520. The first lens I bought for it, it came with the 14-42 and 40-150 kit lenses, was the 70-300mm zoom. Then I wanted a "serious" lens, and I bought the 14-54mm/f2.8-3.5. Some friends liked what I did with it, thought I had a "good" camera and asked me to shoot their wedding for them. I did. You get what you pay for, but they seemed pleased. I realized I'd need a flash for a wedding, so I bought the FL-50R. As I recall at the time, it cost more than the camera.

I enjoyed shooting that wedding, scary as it was, and so I wanted a more capable camera. Naturally, the investment in lenses (and flash) made me look at Olympus, and the E-30 was not long out, so I bought that (flippy screen and all), and I think I was pretty much in camera heaven at that point. Shot a couple more weddings and saved a third. Bought more lenses, the 50-200mm/f2.8-3.5 being the most expensive and had a ball, walking my Golden Retriever around the condo property, shooting wading birds, sunrises, sunsets, lizards, roses, spiders, parties.

Micro four thirds arrived about the same time as I got the E-30. Pricey. Did make me want something small. I knew Olympus. I had Olympus lenses. I understood the menu system, I understood how the camera worked. I bought a used E-410 and the 25mm/f2.8 pancake. Went with me when I travelled for work or home.

Kept watching the E-PL series, but it was the E-PM1 as a refurb that made me take a chance. Kit lens, but bought the Lumix 20mm/f1.7 for size and brightness. Shot the outdoor night reception with that at the second wedding, which I'd shot with the E-30.

By now I have a fair amount of money invested in lenses, and more in terms of time and experience in how the camera works. When Olympus released the E-M5, I read the reviews and was impressed. I was making the most money I'd ever made in my working life and kept looking at the E-5 versus the E-M5. In October 2012, I bought the E-M5, the grip and battery holder and a factory demo 14-150mm/f4-5.6.

I retired in May 2013. I watched the Olympus DSLR forum and read the speculation about what the E-6 would offer, but it was not to be. I pre-ordered the E-M1 in September 2013, based on my experience with the E-M5 and to preserve my investment in 43s lenses.

Since then, I've sold all my four thirds bodies and lenses, bought back another 25mm/f2.8 and adapter, and have been fortunate enough to buy many other Oly bodies as used or refurbs, while buying the PEN-F, E-M1 Mk2, E-M1x and E-M1Mk3 as new. Somewhere in there I bought a Lumix GM1. I could never figure out the menu system and I didn't like the jpegs. It was small though. Sold it.

I'd say it's the investment in understanding the camera, and the satisfaction with how it performs, that really makes the commitment for me; although the lenses and other bits of kit are compelling as well. And with each new body, or each new software update in the case of the E-M1, there were a lot of new things to learn, and there still are. I don't feel I've mastered any of the E-M1s in the way I felt I had with the E-520/E-30. Not sure I ever will, but it's fun to explore features I haven't really figured out yet. I bought the E-M1x just because I thought it was probably going to be the last, best body ever made by Olympus the camera company, and I wanted to own it.

It was just pure GAS that made me buy the E-M1 Mk3. Having Live ND in a smaller body than the E-M1x would be fun hiking the gorges in the Finger Lakes, though I usually seemed to get away with a small aperture/low ISO. But hey, Starry focus!

I'm pleased and satisfied with what Olympus, now OMDS, offers. I've bought a couple of Fuji compacts to try and get a feel for what that's about. Hard to adapt to, never felt they offered anything the Oly compacts couldn't offer. So although I confess to being somewhat Fuji-curious, not enough to make the investment in time and money to find out.

Olympus the camera maker is no more, and it seems like parts of this forum are a dead pool for OMDS. Not sure where that leaves "the brand." For me, I have the cameras. I expect they'll work probably as long as I'll be able to reasonably hold them. Still plenty of pictures to take, and a lot more to learn.

I have no reason to look elsewhere.