So, it was school vacation week recently, and we spent three days down in Boston.
This is "ol' stompin' grounds" for us, as my parents met there, I was born there, we were engaged there, and my wife attended undergrad there. It's a favorite city for the family for sure.
We arrived just two days after the Marathon, but you'd never have known...the city hosts so many events and cleans up so quickly.
Highlights were a Red Sox game...which they unfortunately lost...the Hayden Planetarium, and the Common and Garden. It's a great walking city.
I took the GX85 and Leica DG 9mm [e-18mm] f1.7 ASPH along for the visit. Mainly as a trial run before our upcoming vacation in Canada. [I'd like to say 'annual visit', but covid ruined that tradition as soon as it started.]
The 9mm is quite a departure from the other short Leica DG primes for MFT. It has a very noticeably plastic barrel for one, and more importantly lacks an aperture ring. When street shooting, which is broadly what I use these lenses for, I really appreciate the option to quickly select a rough aperture on the fly...without having to verify my choice on a screen or in the view finder. Move from bright sun to shadow? Open up a few. Done. And vice-versa.
This lens does not allow for that. I've often described the GX85 paired with a 15mm Leica DG f1.7 as the digital equivalent of my M3 and 35mm Summichron. And it is. And it's small and light. But.
I think the G9 is going to make the trek to Halifax. I really enjoy the larger finder and controls. And it handles the zooms much better. And the 15mm as well. It has an aperture ring for quick snaps. All the better.
So, the GX85 is fun for a quick trip or around town, but I'll stop doubting the G9 when it counts.
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