New Morning (Blog Notes)

By the way, my new morning routine is going well. I get up at 7:00 or 7:30, take the dog out and feed him, sneak off for my walk while he's distracted with his breakfast, shower and change when I get home, then drink my tea whilst I get the comments up to date. (They're all done for this morning.) Then I have breakfast myself and only then, after breakfast, start in on a new post.

Last night I could have posted a bunch of comments before bed, but I opted to wait instead. Hopefully, going forward, you will learn to expect updated comments to appear every day mid-morning U.S. Eastern Time, and you'll know that they'll be up to date at that time.

I'll try to keep this up.

By the way, I'm going to wait to post my impressions of the Leica D-Lux 7 until the D-Lux 8 is shipping. Just in case some kind soul who wishes to buy one might be nice enough to use my link. My income from link sales is way down from the peak, but it is if anything more important to me and TOP than ever.

What camera should I try next? I was thinking maybe I should try a Q3, as those cameras have been getting so much authentic buzz for years now. I need to try a Z camera at long last, too. The time might not be propitious for that. The Z6III is so new it would be hard to get, and the Z7II is probably soon to be replaced. The Z8 might be a little too high-end. I'm thinking I might wait and try a Z6III in the Fall.

Open to alternative suggestions, though.

Mike

A link to Danny Lyons' great classic The Bikeriders

Original contents copyright 2024 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)

Featured Comments from:

Bear.: "If you haven't used a Leica Q[x], I do recommend you try the Q3. It's a rather special camera because it is beautifully designed to do what it does, it does exactly what it's designed to do exceedingly well (I won't say perfectly, but it's close enough for me), and doesn't really attempt to do more. Fortunately for me, what it does do covers 90% of my photography. I'm slowly coming to grips with abandoning the other 10% of my photography instead of upgrading a whole system to support it. Learning to work within the limitations of the tools I have is proving to be difficult, but the Leica is such a joy to use that it takes away the sting."

Comments

[Bob Keefer]

Since you're asking, how about test driving a Pentax K-3 III Monochrome?

[Grant]

Have you checked out the Alice Camera. It appears that it might be a good blend of M4/3 and iPhone technologies. Panasonic already has an app to do this combo bit, but it requires one hand for the camera, the other hand for the phone. I occasionally use it and find it useful, but cumbersome.
https://www.alice.camera

[Jeff]

Whatever happened to the M Monochrom you had on loan? (The Q has monochrome versions too.)

[Chris Kern]

Mike: What camera should I try next? I was thinking maybe I should try a Q3, as those cameras have been getting so much authentic buzz for years now.

I’d be interested in reading your take on the Leica Q3. It strikes me as a rather unexceptional compact camera (albeit with what apparently is an outstanding lens)—except for the handling, which just about every reviewer raves about. If the ergonomics are as good as the reviewers say, hopefully it will inspire copycats. Perhaps an updated Fuji X-E-series camera with a 40 Mpx sensor and an updated 27mm pancake lens for a little more than a sixth of the price of the Q3?

[Ken James]

Uh, why does Butters not go with? First thing in the morning?

[Ken James]

Uh . . . again. I was thinking about it. I never go anywhere without my dog, but when we go for a walk, for me it is usually standing around while dog smells stuff, especially now that he is old. Not much walking involved. I answer my own question.

[Just so. I'm supposed to be walking for my heart, so I need to get my heart rate up and keep it there. Having Butters along defeats the mission! --Mike]

[John Krumm]

Well, if you just want to try a Z camera, you could try the ZF. People seem to really like it. It has many of the Z6III improvements, but without the new sensor. It even has a dedicated monochrome mode on a top dial.

https://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon-zf

[Ben]

Q2 monochrome, to compare with your Sigma? That’d be fun!!!

[Mark]

Hi Mike. Just curious why you sneak out for your walk when your pup is eating instead of taking him with you. Perhaps he’s too old or fragile?

[James]

Why don't you try one of the Fuji instant cameras in the meantime? Just pick one at random. They sell a bunch of them, and maybe an old photo dog wants one for a kid or grandkid.

Plus, they come with prints!

[James]

Or, you could rent a Z6III like the rest of us plebs. It's cheaper than buying one, and you'll feel the price more viscerally.

[Stephen S.]

The Z7II made sense at the time, but with the Z8 after it, and now the highly-capable Z6III, I do wonder if Nikon plans to abandon the 7 line altogether, at least for a while. In other words - you might be waiting a long time if you're holding out for the Z7III!

[s.wolters]

Maybe a Fujifilm GFX? For most purposes I can't see big differences between FF, APS-C or m4/3. The size that we call medium format now, which isn't in the middle at all, seems a big jump to me. I would't say the quality becomes better because of the extra detail, but it certainly is an interesting way to produce images. We don't need more pixels but we could use some more variety by using larger formats.

[Graham]

I second Bear's comment above - sums up EXACTLY how I feel about my Q3.