A few months ago, I started losing shots late in the day because the BP-SCL6 battery would die without warning while one bar was still showing on the camera’s battery meter. Turns out that was almost a luxury. Today I lost a shot because the battery died after 24 shots during just under three hours of being powered up, with power saving settings enabled. Oh, wait…this happened with manual focus lenses attached, no power drain from autofocus.

Doesn’t matter how weather-resistant a camera is if battery life is so poor. And these batteries are not cheap—not the price, that is. Writing on the wall says my time with Leica-branded cameras may be coming to an end. Trouble is, Panasonic doesn’t have anything that interests me at the moment. Too, their cameras so far place more emphasis on video than on still shooting.

So what’s left? Well, Canon has endeared no one by preventing third parties from making lenses for their RF mount. Nikon…a poor imitation of Leica’s business model of making overpriced cameras from subpar components.

Sony? Well, I’ve owned more of their cameras over the years than of any other brand. I’ve also had my gripes with the way they do things. But one thing that’s been obvious in recent years: they listen and react to users’ criticisms of their products. And from their beginning with mirrorless fourteen years ago, they’ve allowed other companies to build lenses using their mount. Which is why they will likely soon topple Canon as the number one player in the market.

Yeah, I know. There’s no perfect solution. But change, for sure, is better than slowly moving backwards.

SL2/180mm f2.8 APO-Elmarit-R . . .