There are a few reasons for the decline of the mall. The first has to do with the decline of retail stores in general, which have been replaced to a large extent by Amazon and other online shopping. Enclosed malls are also hotbeds for crime and gangs. At least open air malls are easier to police. Finally, malls were overbuilt in the 70s and 80s. Malls have been in decline for at least the last decade but they will probably never disappear completely. My medium sized city (Albuquerque, NM) is still able to support two enclosed malls, although the one on the west side, which opened in 1996, has a significant number of vacancies. (But actually fewer than five years ago.) The oldest of the enclosed malls here (Winrock Center) has been transformed into an open air mall.

I have read so many negative comments, here and elsewhere, about the customer service of most camera companies that I thought I would post something positive for a change. In early January, I purchased a reconditioned 75 mm f1.8 M.Zuiko lens directly from OM System. I have read so many great reviews of this lens and it was hard to pass it up at the price they were offering. I noticed fairly early on that I was getting overexposed images on the manual and aperture priority modes whenever I set the lens to any aperture smaller than about f8. This suggested that the lens was not stopping down properly. I called and got the instructions for returning the lens for warranty repair and shipped it back to them in the original packaging, which fortunately I had kept. I asked the rep for her best estimate of the turn around time. Her response was one to two weeks. I got it back within two weeks of the date they received it, which included shipping time from New Jersey to New Mexico. The aperture mechanism was replaced and lens firmware updated. It appears to work perfectly now. I have had some apprehension about to change from Olympus to OM System but if this is any indication, my concerns are not justified. Does anyone else have something positive to say about a camera company's customer service that met or exceeded expectations?

A propos the above, online "magazines" may be sufficient to convey information about new gear as well as tips and tricks. However, there is no substitute for seeing a fine art photograph printed on high quality paper, assuming we have no access to the original. One of the reasons "Lens Work" cited for cutting back to quarterly is that they did not want to print on lower quality paper. This is lamentable but understandable. Humans are corporeal beings and have an innate desire to touch and handle things. Even the smell of the paper is part of the aesthetic experience. You can view the "Mona Lisa" online. Yet people will travel thousands of miles to go to the Louvre to see the real thing.

There are to my knowledge only two U.S.-based hard copy photo magazines being published currently, "Lens Work" and "Click." I recently subscribed to "Lens Work" only to find out a few weeks ago that they are cutting back the hard copy issues from monthly to quarterly. Online supplements will be issued monthly. Not surprisingly, increasing paper and publishing costs were cited as the reason. This is a disappointment to say the least. "Lens Work" focuses on photography as an art form and not at all on gear. "Click" is a photo magazine published primarily for women (the PhotograpHER.) Nevertheless, I find some issues to be worthwhile. I used to be able to pick it up at Barnes and Noble but they have not had current issues recently. I believe it is published every two months. It apparently is still available in hard copy. Barnes and Noble does carry a few hard copy British photo magazines.

The Nikon Z-mount has a relatively large diameter, which allows them to make lenses with a maximum aperture of f0.95. This was not possible with the F-mount. I have been a Micro 4/3 (Olympus/OM System) for a number of years now. One of the reasons I stick with Micro 4/3 and have not gone full frame is the size and weight of the lenses. This is an issue with all full frame mirrorless cameras. Even though the size of full frame mirrorless camera bodies has gotten smaller, lenses are still rather large and often do not balance well on the smaller bodies.

I have never dealt with KEH as a seller, only as a buyer. I have generally had good experiences with them. My only complaint is that I thought some of the glass I received from them could have been cleaner. What you described, if true, may be an unfair and deceptive trade practice. If you are really upset about this, I suggest you contact the consumer affairs division of your state's Attorney General's office. The information you provided would make me think twice about selling any equipment to this company.

"I love the M43 format it is my go-to hiking and adventure, travel, and carry around everyday camera. I had 3 OM-Ds EM-5 bodies and they are a bit fragile. All 3 failed after about 2 years. I have the new OM-1 and time will tell if it is more robust."


Interesting. I never had any problems with my EM-5 or with the EM-10, although perhaps you are a bit rougher with your cameras than I am. I have been tempted by the EM-1/OM-1, which are a bit more rugged. But I have resisted because you lose a lot of the size/weight advantage of M43 with these larger and heavier bodies.

I know I have between 750 to 800 vinyl records and I would guess I have around the same number of CDs and maybe a couple hundred DVDs, including a few Blue Ray discs. I have a CD player in my 2010 car but I rarely listen to CDs in the car anyway. I have three audiophile quality (or close to it) CD players in my home stereo systems. This is the best way to enjoy CDs in my opinion. You can get a great home CD player for $400 to $600. Marantz and Rotel are good quality, high value brands. But you have to have a good amp/receiver and speakers to get the full benefit. I don't do audio streaming at all except with headphones on the computer.

For digital, Olympus EM-5 Mark iii. I love the size, weight, and handling. To me, it is more reminiscent of the original Olympus OM-1 film camera than the new digital OM-1. For film cameras, the Nikon FM2n for ease of handling compared to larger Nikons. If I need a heftier body to support a long telephoto, I can just attach the motor drive.

T-Max 100 is a nice film but I never cared for T-Max 400. I had problems with blocked highlights and did not care for the film's overall tonality. I find Delta 400 to be much easier to work with; it also has a more appealing tonality in my opinion. I find Delta 400 to be not unlike Tri-X but with much finer grain. HP-5 is a great film and may have the most beautiful tonality of any film if processed properly.

You can if it is E-6 process. If it is E-4 or earlier, I believe it cannot be processed now. There are still labs that process E-6 film. I use Denver Digital Imaging in Denver, CO.

The FM2n is certainly a better camera. It is better made with all metal construction. The FM2n was made for pros and serious amateurs. The FG was really a consumer grade camera. I got my first FG as a hand-me-down from my dad. I was able to pick up a second body very cheap. It has program and aperture priority modes and TTL flash if I need them. But I was also surprised how much fun the FG is to use on the manual mode as well. I had the FG's Canon counterpart, the AE-1 Program, previously. They were equivalent in terms of build quality but I prefer the design and operation of the FG. The FG also has a backup mechanical shutter speed, which the AE-1 Program lacks.

Nikon FM2ns and Nikon FGs, if I want auto-exposure. I shoot Ilford B and W film exclusively and "new" Ektachrome 100 slide film and occasional Fuji Velvia when I can get it. I don't shoot a lot of color print film but when I do, I shoot a mixture of Kodak and Fuji.

I am considering subscribing to "LensWork." I used to buy it regularly at Barnes and Noble right up until COVID. I have not seen it there since Barnes and Noble reopened after the lockdown. I was afraid it had gone under. I will go for the in-print version. "Outdoor Photographer" was the last of the in-print photo publications I was receiving and I need something to replace it with. I still have some back issues of "LensWork" and found the work in it to be exceptional. It is not gear-oriented, which is actually a good thing. Apparently, the camera companies don't have the money for big advertising like they used to and I would guess that this contributed to "Outdoor Photographer's" demise.

If you are happy with what you are shooting, there is no reason to change. I shoot Micro 4/3, which is a mirrorless system, but this is because I like the compact size of the cameras and lenses. If I wanted to shoot full frame, it would be a harder choice. I sometimes miss the optical viewfinder of my film SLRs and have many Nikon F-mount lenses. As you noted, live view is an option also, giving you the best of both worlds. Hopefully, some DSLRs will remain on the market for the foreseeable future.