I have two kits: 1. For Oly EM-1 - Oly 12-40/2.8 and Mitakon 25/0.95 2. For Ricoh GXR - Zeiss Biogon 25/2.8 and Pentax SMC A 50/1.2 Boris

It seems to me that the Pentax Limited zoom is ideal Pentaxian zoom. You get 31 mm and 43 mm EFL which gives you two out of three "olden" Limited lenses. If you're slightly less orthodox, you get 35, 50 and if so you have to - 55 or 58 mm EFL, which are more common. In my opinion, a zoom lens needs to be as long a range as the resulting IQ is acceptable by the beholder of the said zoom lens. So, my Oly 12-40/2.8 suits me just fine...

Mike, long time no chat. What an interesting post you made. Let me play the part of old grumpy fellow here, will you? You know, I've subscribed to 500px recently (not giving a link, so I don't appear to be shamelessly pluggin' here). And so I started going through all 12 years of my photos to find the best of the best and post them there. And you know, I don't think that I need new gear. I really don't. In fact, my Oly EM-1 (mark 1) is only marginally second to Pentax K-5, while Ricoh GXR M-module is still my absolute favorite. Now, no need to tell you when each of these cameras was introduced, so... As for lenses, recently I itched to buy Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5 in M-mount for my Ricoh. But then I pulled out Pentax SMC A 50/1.2 and voila - itch totally and completely scratched. This lens is pure gem. I mean - Pentax, of course. Now, there is one (or ten or hundred) step back that I'd like to take here. I'd like to generalize a bit. In one sentence - we jump into the waters and buy new stuff even before we actually get most of the use of the stuff we already have. Why? Because we're supposed to. But the very old adage that the old camera or lens does not stop taking picture when the new one is brought to market still holds. And I want to take even one (ten, hundred, thousand) step further back. Some say that humans are destroying the Earth. The progress is too fast, the population is too many. Whatever. I don't subscribe to all of that, but I do make my own personal resolution - buy new stuff when I really need it. As in: 1. If I were to go to Rome and needed wide lens - then I'd look for one. 2. If my camera broke down - I'd buy a new one. 3. If I completely wore this plastic mechanism of my tele lens - I'd look for replacement. 5. If m43 introduced properly backlit sensor that offered at least 2 Ev more of dynamic range - I'd be really tempted. Do I need new EM-1 mark 2? Absolutely not. It won't get me anything than bragging rights. Do I need new 12-100/4? No, thank you. My 12-40/2.8 is just fine. And I think that I'll be doing a good deal of favor to my fellow humans and the planet by not producing waste by my old gear and adding more to this infinitely self-accelerating progress thingie. When we have is more than enough. So, no itches on this side of the network cable...

Mike, in my very humble and absolutely personal opinion, there are two basic types of people who buy photo gear. First, people who have specific needs and thus they try to find and consequently buy the gear that satisfies these needs. Second, people who buy gear for all other reasons - status, collecting, because they've read out there that this camera is better than that camera, etc. Thus, the people in the first category would simply buy this camera sooner or later, depending on their personal financial situation. The people in the second category would, well, they would do otherwise, in the broadest meaning of the word "otherwise". As for me, I am very happy with my EM1 and 12-40/2.8. Further, speaking of 25/1.2, my Mitakon 25/0.95 is ever so slightly faster, costs 1/3 of Olympus lens and is surely not 3 times worse in terms of results that I am able to produce with it. So I'll pass. I don't NEED the gear just because it has been recently announced and thus it is being extensively discussed on the net.

Funny you mention 35/2.0 lens, Mike. Just recently, I got myself a very nice copy of Zeiss Biogon 35/2.0. It seems that it and my Ricoh GXR-M is pretty much for me what you call OCOLOY. I've been shooting with it past few weeks and naturally, I plan to make it my only camera-lens combo as I want to both study the lens and enjoy its taste, so to say.

I think it breaks down a number of aspects: 1. Big so as to be comfortable to hold. 2. Having sufficient weight to give a feeling of solidness 3. Having a good build quality and/or weather sealing again to give a feeling of being worth the price. I think that these three aspects are really more independent than otherwise. In fact, I would like my camera to have 1 and 3 but not necessarily 2. My almost 5 years old Pentax K-5 is comfortable, but I tend to find it too heavy. Notably, it has battery grips attached at most times. And yes, my wrists are not very strong from all the code that was written by them. I held GX7 and I think that GX8 with 14-35/2.8 could be just the right thing for 95% of what I photograph when I need AF. The Ricoh GXR + Biogon 25/2.8 is still and by far my most preferred camera in terms of ergonomics not to mention astounding image quality I get from it.