Aaron, our youngest son, graduated high school last Tuesday. It was really hot and they moved the ceremony back to 7pm to beat the heat. It was still plenty hot at 7 pm but that was a smart move.

I usually just take my iPhone with me if I plan to take some pictures, but for an event like this, I typically pack up my Olympus E-PL5, which is a 3/4 mirrorless I got over ten years ago. One of the main reasons I take it is because I have a cheap-if-effective zoom lens for it. So for a situation where I’m physically back in the bleachers on the football field, but want to get a nice shot, I can.

This is a pic I took of the school principal at the beginning of the ceremony. That’s probably full magnification. Pretty amazing to me; it’s very clear (not always a given, depending upon the steadiness of your hands).

That’s one use case for the E-PL5, but my favorite usage is sneaker zoom using the Lumix G II prime lens I bought. It cost more than the camera back in 2015 when I purchased it, and it takes wonderful shots. As with the zoom lens, it’s not good for everything, but it’s perfect for portrait-style shots.

I caught myself at one point totally in everyone else’s way: a bunch of parents were taking pics (with their phones) from a distance back, but I was up in the kids’ faces because that’s what you do with a prime lens. I said sorry and backed up after I got my shots, but I love the results I get.