It would be Panasonic Lumix GX8 with the 15mm 1.7 lens.

Hal

I am now 75 years old and have been a photography hobbyist since I got my first good camera in 1956 when I was 13 years old. Some years ago, I had health issues and could not enjoy carrying my heavy DSLR and lenses. I decided to try micro 4/3 and have been very happy. I am now using the Panasonic GX85, and Panasonic GM5. I just got back from a trip to Costa Rica with my grandchildren. I carried the GX85 with either the 14-140 or the PL12-60 lens, on a sling strap with extra batteries in the pocket of my Scotte vest. I also had a 15mm 1.7 lens with me for indoors or darker areas. I had it on the little GM5 which I put in my pocket and took it at night. The pictures were good enough to blow up to 13 x 19. Very comfortable to carry. i like the Panasonic cameras better than the Olympus because of the much better menu system. I have had both and the IQ is fine with either...just a matter of which menu system you prefer.

Hal

Without a doubt, the Standard Poodle. I almost always take my Standard Poodle with me on photo shoots. She is very intelligent and will walk without having to be on a leash or if necessary will walk on the leash. She is friendly and non threatening to other people. She never gets tired and seems to enjoy every minute of our excursion. This is my fourth Standard Poodle and they have all been great dogs and wonderful companions.
Hal

I had the Oly 9-18 lens. The trouble with the wide angle lenses is that when they are not being used for their purpose, they cause so much distortion. I do not like to be constantly changing lenses. I have been much happier using the PL 12-35mm lens and doing panoramas. There is a lot of good software for pans even LTR does a good job with pans. I ended up selling my 9-18 on ebay because I used it so infrequently. The PL 12-60 is also a wonderful lens.

Hal

Beautiful. I love it. What camera and lens?


Hal

In my reply, I told you about the places that were my favorites but I did not tell you which lenses I used the most. I did basically use two lenses. My cameras were Panasonic GX8 and a GX85. These are m43 and the multiple for the lenses is 2 to 1. I used a 12-60mm on the GX85 and a 45-200mm on the GX8. I do not like to change lenses when I am on a tour. Most of the pictures were taken with the 12-60mm except when I was in an area where we had wildlife. I also had my favorite 15mm 1.7 for inside and night.

We were on Caravan Tour which was very nice. There were several "must sees". Manuel Antonio National Park...beautiful beaches, wildlife, sunsets, hiking. Cano Negro Wildlife Preserve boat tour very good. Crocodile Safari... excellet boat tour. All of these places very photogenic. I also liked the Coffee Plantation tour. I expected to not like it as I did not like the Kona Coffee tour in Hawaii. This was very pretty and a lot of photo ops. You will have a great time. I would do it again.

I was looking at some of the pictures that I took on a recent trip to Costa Rica. There were several sunsets that I liked. I processed them differently in lightroom. Which do you like better and which to you dislike?

Whenever I go to Florida to visit my wife's sister and her husband, I spend a lot of time at the Delray Beach wetlands. This time I wanted to check out my new 45-200mm lens that I had bought for my trip to Costa Rica. I had the perfect opportunity when I saw the mother bird protecting her nest from an Iguana. This turned our very good for me....and the mother bird. She pecked the Iguana in the head and the Iguana had enough.

Hal

I am 74 years old and have been taking photos ever since my father bought me a "good" camera for my Bar Mitzvah. It was a Kodak Retina IIIC and I took slides using Kodachrome Film which had an ASA of 10. I still have many of these slides, which I have scanned, and the color is still good. My grandson asked me "what is a slide?". I definitely am the "family historian". Many of the older pictures have become incredibly valuable to both myself and my family. Two of my grandchildren enjoy taking pictures with me and they have the patience to take 10 or more pictures of the same object. In fact, one of them is a Sr. in High School and is editor in chief of his yearbook.

Most important, I think that photography has made me a much happier person. I see and appreciate things that other people do not see. I observe the world as a series of pictures. I absolutely love photography, cameras and photo software.

I have enjoyed this forum because the members seem to be more respectful of their fellow members than are the members of some other forums.

Hal

The last time I ordered anything from them was in 1998. It still has not been delivered.

The best way to get a decent camera for a good price is to get a used camera from a reliable source such as BandH or Adorama. I know, for a fact, that they will stand behind the camera and often it will look and act like new. Camera hobbyists are constantly trading in the cameras and upgrading. I have bought several cameras for my grandchildren and have never been disappointed.

Hal

When I decided to shoot in RAW, the best program available was Lightroom. I bought Scott Kelby's book on lightroom and I watched Anthony Morganti's Youtube instructions. These made it possible for me to use what was, to me, a very daunting task. When you use Kelby's book, you do not read it from front to back, you use it as a manual for what you are doing at the time. Both of these men are excellent teachers and will save you countless hours of learning.

Hal

I have learned more from Anthony Morganti's Youtube instructions than from any course I have taken. He does answer questions.

Hal

Lumix GM5 with 20mm pancake lens.