Hunting Butterflies With A New Toy

The CCC Digital Techniques group can be an expensive one to attend.  It's not the meetings themselves, it's the stuff  you see and then want to buy.   Usually just a great piece of software, but occasionally something more substantial.  June's meeting covered mirrorless cameras, with demo kit provided courtesy of Campkins.  There was lots of hands on.  Lots of talk about the benefits of mirrorless.  And, well, there you go. 

In truth, I have been thinking of getting a mirrorless camera for quite some time.  It was just a case of which one.  Lots of articles read and options considered.  In the end, like 60% of the club who have made the switch, I have opted for an Olympus.  An OMD E-M1 Mark II, with 12-40mm and 40-150mm lenses, to be precise.  I was very tempted by the new Canon full frame ventures.  And Fuji has it's evangelicals.  But, in the end, I think Olympus best matches what I do and what I want to do.

The first outing of the new camera was to Sharpenhoe Clappers in search of butterflies.  I was using the 40-150mm lens.  I found a few different species, including some newly emerged Chalkhill Blues.  Compared with the weight of a 100-400mm lens on a Canon 7D Mark II, the weight of the new system was a joy.  I was also impressed by the sharpness (helped by all the image stabilisation).  I just need to work out the minimal focus distance.