I’m not sure this first part will be the whole post, but I wanted to get it started anyway.
I went with the G7 for three main reasons. One, I could not find anything credibly starter-professional for less. Two, the ecosystem of good lenses for it tend to be very modestly priced compared to bigger names like Sony, so it’s both budget, and flexible in creative growth terms. Three, the people who have owned and reviewed it generally speak of it with a certain fondness, even though most of them have moved on to cameras costing two, three, four times as much.
I went with this particular bundle because for six hundred inclusive I got the three things I really needed–camera, lens, and an audio solution that might work out–plus some other things like a bag and a tripod that may or may not work out. Also, this version of the bundle came with a “Silver” camera. Which means that part of the body is silver, but of course the name of that color has a metaphorical significance as well.
Thinking about the bag makes me remember the potential downsides to this purchase, including the fact that the G7 is not weatherized at all, so I’ll have to treat it very gently when there’s wet in the air.
Also, everybody agrees that the auto-focus on this camera, and most all Panasonics, is garbage. I plan to get around this learning to manually focus effectively, and just pretending it’s a feature instead of a bug.
One guy had an opinion that the audio with this camera would always be shit even with an external mic. If he is right, it will be a dealbreaker and I will return it. But … no one else mentioned anything like that, and his review was uncommonly negative in other respects too. We’ll see. Here’s hoping he was a shill, or just wrong. I want this decision phase to be over for a nice long while, and to not have to go back to agonizing between a G85 or an M50 or a ZV-E10. I’ve had my fill and then some, on that score.
Either way, I’ll do a review on it eventually, and maybe dip my toe into the waters of affiliate links. Because the more I learn about YT and money, the more evident it becomes that those links are where the living wage comes from, and not YT ad revenue. The excellent content creator Justin Reves has generously taken the time to explain that fact in detail (he’s also a huge G7 fan).
It’s hard news to hear for me. I feel like I’m already slipping down the slope a bit by using Google’s platform, and now I’m supposed to bitch myself to Amazon’s too? Hiss hiss spit spit. Look at Vairtere and his first world problems! But of course don’t cry for me Americagentina, either. I’ll find a way to live through this, because that’s what fieldhands do–survive, and maybe sometimes even overcome.
***
Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.
Meltin’ in a pot of thieves
Wild card up my sleeve
Thick heart of stone
My sins my own
They belong to me. Me.
It’s not my family
In your head, in your head, they are fighting
With their tanks, and their bombs
And their bombs, and their guns
In your head, in your head they are crying
***
Whether or not some house job comes through, I’m taking This much more seriously.
Right now I’m in the process of replacing the militantly ugly home page of vairtere.com with something that doesn’t hurt to gaze upon.
Compromises will be made.
***
As I started putting up the new homepage, there was a tremendous crash of thunder right overhead. That was a couple of hours ago and it hasn’t stopped pouring down since. The street is slowly becoming a creek.
