The Last Big Thing Is The New Good Idea

If you are allergic to cynicism, switch off now. The next couple of paragraphs are going to make you itch. If you can stand it, read on.

Any sales network makes money for itself by selling you things - which you know perfectly well. In many trades this can be a seasonal or annual effort - look at what the clothing fashion people do to you four times a year - and think what the automobile makers try to do with yearly model changes and annual sales. If you've lots of money and the psychological need for novelty then all is well - you suit the trades and they suit you.

On the other hand, if you want to, or have to, be careful with your money you are not quite the market that the manufacturers seek...first off. The wise factories will realise that you are in the majority, and produce goods that match your buying power - the unwise will produce top-price items but then wonder why the boxes need so much dusting on the warehouse and shop shelves.

In any run of cameras there will be three types of goods; The Next Big Thing, The Current Big Thing, and The Last Big Thing. The technical abbreviations for this are NBT, CBT, and LBT. { NBN is different and no-one yet quite knows what it stands for... )

Any rate, the NBT is always coming. You can count on there being a NBT with more certainty than you can count on sunrise. That's where the big-money will be looking, ( oddly enough it is also where the no-money looks...) and no specification will be overlooked, as long as the number is better than the CBT. As no money is needed to speculate or pontificate, everyone can spend up hypothetically and be an expert.

The CBT is actually here. It works, at least well enough to get in the shop door, and with a bit of luck well enough to get out the shop door as well. Some people will purchase it to use, some to brag, and some to merely possess it. No matter - it is the current state of the art at the current going price.

The really interesting area is the LBT. It might be superseded by only months, but the mind of the public in many cases has set up a prejudice against it that blinds them to the true worth. The camera, lens, or other accessory may produce brilliant results but as they are older results...

This is a shame. People neglect perfectly good equipment on the basis of fashion or novelty - and they forget that they are getting equipment to make images with. Which brings us up to the camera and lens in question - the Olympus OM-D E-M5. Micro 4/3 mirror-less system camera with a Zuiko 12-50mm f:3.5-6.3 macro lens. I suggest that this would be a very desirable acquisition for the sensible photographer - in particular because Camera Electronic have quite a number of them and the prices have been reduced to an attractive level.

Why? There is an Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII currently sold that is quite wonderful. At a higher price...

This camera and lens are perfect for close-up workers who wish to carry lighter loads - no bellows, no extension rings, no giant bodies. Results that enlarge to A3+ superbly. Convenient touch-screen controls as well as full manual dial wheels. The ability to shoot full HD 1080 video with an electronic-zoom lens for steadiness. A myriad of interesting image-modifier programs built into the camera for different scenes. And a fantastic image stabilising system. In short - fun to use and excellent results.

And for the people who have other Olympus lenses or other micro 4/3 bodies...an instantly-useful spare body.

Here are some results taken around the newly-opened British-American gas station in Wet Dog, Alberta. Note the precise focusing and the increased depth of field. Micro 4/3 may be one of the best compromise formats for macro work that there is. Note that these are hand held.

As usual - we say come in and see, or ring up our sales staff to discuss these cameras. The bodies are also available with other Olympus Zuiko lenses and kit combinations.