. . . well, at least this once. Or more if I feel the need to keep myself reminded of what I think.

After passing the better part of a year with the fewest gear changes in recent memory, the itch for some changes needs a scratch. A big part of it is that the SL2, the best camera I’ve ever used for manual focus, took a sharp downhill turn with firmware 6. Profiles were not restored properly afterwards. And since the update, random setting changes occur, resulting in a number of lost shots.

The most egregious, failure of the electronic shutter to fire, cost me what would have been my best shot of the day the other day. It wasn’t the first time it happened, either. The SL2-S appears to have escaped the glitches unscathed, being one of the most stable cameras I’ve owned over the years.

With bird photography having comfortably settled into being a part of my photography pursuits rather than the vast majority, I’ve been using glass that’s high quality but a bit short and heavy, not ideal for traveling. There are other options that are lighter, longer, and a bit easier to carry.

Too, while manual focus has helped me acquire some nice shots through foliage, its slowness has cost me some. And with the EVF of the SL2 just too dim in the luxury of the bright light I’ve enjoyed frequently in recent months, I’m missing shots because I literally cannot find the subject in the finder. Time to return to AF.

A logical choice would be an R5, currently a bargain with release of the R5 II anticipated within a few months. RF mount now has plenty of options for shooting long, and my experience with Canon has been mostly very good. A strong temptation, though, is the a7rV, which can shoot at lower resolution when I don’t need the megapixels for reach. Sony’s long options, though, are not quite as portable as some of Canon’s.

There’s plenty of time for thought, as it’s still a couple of months before there’s a break from the current moving about. And with an extended spell of mostly landscape shooting in the forecast, the SL2-S and M glass are fun and rewarding to shoot. Still have to cart the SL2 around, though . . .

On a different topic, WordPress seems to have removed my “expand on click” slider recently. Until they figure out how to put it back, photos will once again be too small and not expandable. Still, I’d rather have this than a site with big photos cluttered with blocks of advertising. Can’t have it all, so I’ll take what I can get . . .

SL2/180mm f2.8 APO-Elmarit-R/APO-Extender-R 2X . . . yes, it’s wild . . .