Olympus OM-D E-M1 fixed

Horray! My E-M1 is back from being repaired, and is fully functional once again! Yay!!! I'm super excited to have it back (can you tell?).

Homeward bound. Olympus OM-D E-M1 with Lumix 12-35mm f2.8.  f/6.3 @ 1/640th, ISO 200

I'm even more excited to have it back so that I can now, finally, use it with the Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 lens that I purchased recently. The lens arrived while my camera was away getting repaired, so I haven't been able to shoot with it yet. But that all changed yesterday (as I write this), when we made an emergency trip back home to Greymouth from Christchurch. 

Emergency trip you say? Yes, I do. Let me explain...

My wife and I had traveled to Christchurch the previous weekend, to meet our beautiful new baby grand daughter, Arabella. I had planned to stay for a week (and had taken the week off from work), while my wife was going to stay on a bit longer to help our daughter and her partner with looking after their two-and-a-half year old as well as the new baby.

But then COVID hit New Zealand again. And we went into a nation-wide Lockdown. The Delta variant of the virus was picked up in Auckland, but the people had traveled extensively, so the whole of New Zealand went into Lockdown.

Southern Alps Panorama. Olympus OM-D E-M1 with Lumix 12-35mm. f/6.3 @ 1/800th, ISO 200

Initially, the South Island where we live, was placed into Lockdown for three days (until midnight Friday), with a 48hr window of opportunity from the Tuesday when Lockdown began for people who were away from their places of residence (that would be my wife and I visiting in Christchurch), to get back home.

Adding to the urgency (if that wasn't enough), was the fact that it also happens to be winter in New Zealand. The roads that we needed to travel on to make it back home are often closed due to snow and ice. A quick check of the long-range forecast indicated that more snow was indeed likely over the next few days, so we had a very narrow window of opportunity to return home - or remain in Lockdown at our daughters in Christchurch! Most people think that this is only the beginning of a larger, extended Lockdown period. So we made the decision to pack-up immediately and both head home.

Canterbury hills dusting. E-M1 with Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8. f/6.3 @ 1/320th, ISO 200

In one sense, this is very bad timing. I still had three days to go of my time with our new grand daughter, and my wife was intending on staying longer. But in another sense (getting back to my camera), the timing was perfect. I had an email from Greg at Photo and Video on Monday afternoon telling me that the camera was back from repair, and was I still around to collect it. Of course I jumped in the car and went straight there, delighted that it had been repaired and I just happened to be in Christchurch to collect it. And the very next day, the country went into Lockdown. If I'd decided to wait until the next day to collect it, then it would have been too late.

One-lane Bridge ahead. OM-D E-M1 with Lumix 12-35mm. f/6.3 @ 1/200th, ISO 200

Of course I would of rather had the camera, been in Christchurch for another few days, came back when originally intended, and not been in Lockdown! But going into Lockdown knowing that my repaired camera was in Christchurch, just sitting there, and couldn't get to me, would have been torture! Fortunately that's not the case.

The repair slip from A&E Electronics states that they 'dismantled removed and replaced rear encoder dial', which is exactly what I thought they would do. Total cost of repair - $250.87. Photo & Video split the costs with me (which they didn't have to do) so I payed $125.00 NZ for a repaired rear dial on an E-M1. Fingers crossed that it stays repaired, and that I have no more issues with it.

I am thrilled that I have it back. I am delighted that it's now repaired. And I do love using it. But now there's that little niggle....

Lake Pearson, Winter. Olympus OM-D E-M1 with Lumix 12-35mm. f/6.3 @ 1/320th, ISO 200 

I had assumed that I would get to try out the Panasonic Lumix lens in Christchurch, with portraits of my grandson and grand daughter, at the f2.8 range. Which it would have been brilliant for. But again, the best laid plans...

Instead, I got to use it on the trip home to the West Coast, through Canterbury, and some stunningly beautiful evening landscapes. And I ain't complaining! On a good day (which fortunately this was) the landscape in winter is simply spectacular. The light isn't too harsh, the white mountains are crisp and clear against the blue sky, and the views are gorgeous.

I think the photo above - 'Lake Pearson, Winter' is my favourite from the trip. I love the play of light and shadow through the hills, the way the lake glows blue from the sky, and of course the white dusting of snow on the surrounding hills, perfectly lit by the early evening light.

Alpine glow. OM-D E-M1 with Panasonic 45-150mm. f/6.3 @ 1/250th, ISO 200

Most of the images shot on the trip home were taken with the Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f2.8. For one, I wanted to test the lens out for the first time. And two, the scenery fits the wider 24mm end of the lenses focal length. But for some - as in the image above - I needed to zoom in closer on the distant mountains to achieve the composition I was after. For this, I used the only lens that I kept when I was selling lenses to buy the 12-35mm - the Panasonic 45-150mm f/4-5.6. With the 12-35mm and the 45-150mm I have an excellent combination of small, light (relatively speaking) lenses with a focal range from 24 to 300mm (basically). I would like to get the 35-100mm f2.8 Panasonic Lumix at a later date, as it's the prefect compliment to the 12-35mm. But that's probably a lot later down the track. If I stick with micro four thirds?

It's too early to give a definitive answer on whether I like the Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 or not, and whether it was worth selling almost all my other lenses for. Early indication of IQ is very promising, although I don't think I enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 pro. But as I said, it's very early days.

Now that I have my E-M1 back from repair (woo-hoo), and some time to really try out the 12-35mm f2.8 (thanks to Lockdown), expect a further analysis of this lens soon. Thanks for reading, and stay safe everyone.

Oh, and by-the-way... Happy World Photography Day! 📸