Dear All,

My current 'establishment' consists of a Canon 60D with 50mm 1.8; EFS 55-250; EFS 18-135; Sigma 17-50 2.8; and also an Olympus OMD E M5 II with 14-150; and an Olympus TG5.

I live in the Caribbean, (= humidity, Sahara dust, sand, salt!), so zooms makes better sense than constant lens-changing. I am miles, and flight hours, from the nearest camera shop or service agent.

My lenses are stored in boxes with silica gel, and are free of dust and fungus. Only the Sigma is reasonably new: do lenses deteriorate with age or in the heat? I do not leave them in hot cars.

With the Canon, I only get reasonably sharp pictures with the 50mm, which I seldom use. The 18-135 is so reliably UN-sharp that I have given up using it, though it is exactly the focal range that I most use. The TG5 takes sharper pictures! Two years ago I went to the UK and had the Canon serviced in the hope that it would become sharper: minimal improvement. Both Olympuses outshine all the Canon lenses in sharpness. And now the Canon has developed an intermittent 'Error 20', which renders it effectively useless. I know other happy Canon users here and in England, and it seems that I have been 'unlucky'.

I need another camera, and was undecided between a Canon 90D, a Panasonic G9 or another Olympus. Since I have no intention of travelling, for obvious reasons, I shall have to have the camera and lens(es?) shipped from the USA.

Having read good reports about B&H on UH, I asked their advice. They were swift and sensible. In essence, they said that I should go for the 90D, and consider a sharper lens to go with it.

An arsenal of prime lenses would break my bank, and invite dust etc. damage. There is too much informtion on the internet for me to make a decision. I would not want a lens to cost substantially more than the camera body. B&H said I should look at the Canon L range, or Sigma Art. I have considered the 17-40 L f4, the 24-70 by both Canon and Sigma; but I have heard that the more recent 18-135's are better than my old one. Or should I ignore B&H's advice and abandon Canon altogether? I am reluctant to do that because of existing lenses.

I would be profoundly grateful if you could help me decide.

Canon Has Officially Stopped Using the Terms ‘Master’ and ‘Slave’

As protests against supposed "systemic racism" swept the globe this year, there have been calls by some photographers for ending the use of the terms “master” and “slave” in the industry. Now Canon has come forward as the first camera company to officially stop using those terms on its camera gear.

In photographic lighting, a “master” device is one that is able to control/trigger a “slave” device. While these terms have been standard in the industry for decades, some have argued that they’re unnecessary ones that could easily be replaced with alternatives (e.g. “transmitter” and “receiver”).

Photographer Jason Parnell-Brookes of Fstoppers reports that Canon began ending use of “master” and “slave” in 2017 and has officially discontinued their use moving forward across its product lines.

“Canon started to phase these [terms] out since the end of 2017,” a Canon Europe spokesperson tells Fstoppers. “[In] all new products and materials, these terms are no longer used.”

The change will only be found on new Canon gear, as the terms are permanently baked into existing gear.

“Products released before this time, and still available, will still have the term as it’s often a physical part of the LCD display so can’t be changed by firmware, etc,” Canon tells Fstoppers.

As Canon is the leading manufacturer in the camera industry, it seems likely that other brands, both big and small, will follow its lead, and that this change in naming conventions may be a permanent one in the industry moving forward.

Our house has been the target of a lot of cleaning since Safer at Home started not quite four months ago. So far, none of it has threatened nor come close to any photographic equipment, but it has nevertheless set me thinking, especially in light of the question asked in a recent post around why photographers shave multiple cameras.

I have been fortunate to progress through a number of cameras since switching from film in 2006. That certainly doesn't take me back to the beginning of digital photography, but it does reach way back into the period of more rapid development and progress in the medium. My recent thinking has been this: If you were required to go forward with only one digital camera and one lens, which ones would you choose? I realize that some of us may have only one camera, and may have only had one camera. Others of us may have worked through more different models than were ever necessary (or even beneficial). As an example, here is a list showing the path that I have followed. I'm only going to list cameras, because my lens library is pretty typical. It covers 14mm - 500mm, with f/2.8 capability at 200mm and below. And there are some slower lenses also. Anyway... here is the camera list. I still have those below the solid line.

Nikon P3 (zoom point & shoot from somewhere around 2005 used at work)
Fuji S3 Pro
Nikon D200
Nikon D300
_________________
Nikon D300s
Nikon D810
Nikon D850
Nikon D500

These are listed in the order that I acquired them.

So here are the rules (or guidelines, for those of you who don't like rules) for responding.

--You don't have to provide a list like the one I made just above. It was meant to illuminate your thinking.
--The camera you choose must be one that you own or have previously owned.
--No salivating over some camera that has always been on your wishlist (although you can also tell us about it)
--Some statement validating your choice is required. Doesn't have to be a dissertation, just give us an idea.
--Keep it civil. This question is about what you would do. It does not require that you critique someone else's choice, especially mine.

One of the reasons that I am posing this to the group is that my choice was a little bit of a surprise to me. I would keep the D500 and my 24-120 mm f/4 Nikkor lens. The reasons are pretty simple...outstanding images, reasonable file sizes, durable construction, excellent performance, high "usability." The 24-120 lens provides a good mix of flexible performance, reasonable focal length range, and good quality images. Is the combination perfect? NO, but it is manageable and will cover a very high percentage of what I shoot with a little bit of accommodation. I'll have to adjust my approach to night sky photography, but will not have to give it up. Things will just require a little more work and time.

I'm curious if any of you make a surprising choice when you stop to think about it. I'm anxious to read what you would do.

I like to watch movies that are made in foreign languages, with closed captions, of course. I like seeing life in other countries, and I like hearing the languages. What surprises me is that the speakers will occasionally throw in a sentence in English, "Have a nice day." "See you later." Sometimes it's just an English sentence thrown in randomly. Another thing I noticed is that Asians tend to call older people "uncle" and "auntie." It's worth watching foreign movies just to see how different societies work. Laughter and humor are the same, though.

I occasionally surprise myself by turning up the volume.