No posts or email responses from April 7th to April 23rd
A whole bunch of new cameras have popped into my hands lately. Specifically, the Nikon D800 and D4, plus the Sony NEX-7 and Fujifilm X-Pro1. (With plenty of notice, I asked Olympus* for a review copy of the OM-D for this period and was declined. So when the other products get reviewed here before that camera, don't complain to me, complain to Olympus.) I've got a lot of testing to do. A huge amount of testing and shooting to do, as there are some new lenses in the hopper, too.
As many of you know, testing for me isn't shooting a bunch of test charts (though I do that, too). Testing for me means using these cameras in the field, often under tough or even brutal shooting conditions, and pushing them as far as I can in every way possible. I can't do that with distractions, and it also requires that I not sit in the office!
Thus, I'm about to go off the net for two weeks. Starting on April 7th I'm going completely Internet-less, which means no posts and no responses to email. I'll be off shooting and testing. My computer will get a nice rest while the new camera equipment gets a wicked beating.
When I return to the net on April 23rd, I'll first catch up with the news that occurred during my absence. I'll then work on getting my NEX-7 and X-Pro1 reviews up, though that may take a few weeks more if much else has happened that I need to catch up with.
If you're new to my Web sites, this "going dark" thing is probably new to you, too. I tend to do it once or twice a year, sometimes for as long as a month (typically when I'm in Africa shooting, when I'm essentially forced off the Internet due to lack of infrastructure). Typically I do I always do my summer break in August or early September. Long term bythom.com readers know that I always come back from such breaks with lots more reviews, information, and a fresh, lively voice. I think it actually helps my writing by forcing myself not to do any for protracted periods of time periodically. It certainly keeps me saner.
So, my apologies if this is unexpected or you don't want to go cold turkey on mirrorless news. The benefits will outweigh the drawbacks in the long term.
*Normally I don't ask companies for review units, I just purchase them. But knowing that Olympus's likely ship date fell into the period when I knew I'd be off testing, I chose last month to ask if they would supply a review unit so that I could test it in the field, too.