Thank you everyone for your kind words! I have to return them right away: Overwhelmingly, it was a joy to organise this challenge due to all the supportive and engaging attitudes I had the pleasure to witness! It was truely rewarding, thanks you all very, very much.
My personal wrap-up is a bit of a lengthy one (who'd ever thunk it ... duh). I'll start with a couple of personal observations and finish with more general things.
First and foremost, I truely loved seeing everyone's images and felt empowered by our collective efforts. We gained many interesting insights (pun intended) and saw wonderful creative work as well as praiseworthy perseverance. Congratulations to all participants - fantastic turnout, great outcome!
As for myself, I was virtually forced to give up on my original project, getting to know the GR III and make it work for me, because the camera caught some serious dust that I can't seem to remove with the means I have at hand. After that, I dithered - and made that a part of the challenge by using another neglected camera with seriously neglected lenses for the last 10 days. The results I was able to get from all this feel mixed, but very much worth it - mainly because I had to push myself at times to go out and shoot, and for the most part, I succeeded, and that's a good thing in itself in these trying times. My impressions, summed up:
- The Ricoh GR III is superbly capable, but fiddly and just not my style - and frankly, it just doesn't meet my expectations as to how I should be able treat such a camera; I certainly didn't rough it, so the outcome is very dissappointing. Time to move on (i.e. to move *it* on once it's been restored to good working order).
- As much as I like the Nikon 1 V1 in principle, it certainly feels a bit sluggish by comparison, as well as fiddly in actual use, even though I have to confess I like shooting with it a bit better than using the GR III, mostly because of the EVF and the quick AF action. I'm a bit lukewarm about the 10mm f/2.8, though: It's an okay lens, but doesn't have the magic of the 18.5mm f/1.8.
- The last phase with the Nikon D750 was the most revealing and interesting: Shooting a DSLR with old style AF (screwdriver action) was interesting, though I have to state here that so far, three of the four old lenses left me somewhat cold: The 28mm f/2.8 AF (I), 35mm f/2 AF and 50mm f/1.8 AF (I) aren't that reliable optically, though the 50mm f/1.8 is quite capable (I just don't like its signature much) - even though sometimes they pleased me with distinctive classic rendering - they can be fun, but not much more. The 50mm f/1.4 AF (II) is a mixed bag (which definitely explains its somewhat controversial reputation), though a surprisingly enjoyable one: It's sharp wide open in the images center *at closer focussing distances* (under roughly two meters/six feet), but really mushy for higher distances - so, it's a solid enough people lens wide open and nice for documentary work, but not so good for mid-range subjects. Stop it down to f/5.6 to f/11, and it really starts to deliver at all distances; f/2.8 is the "safest" wide aperture - which is fast enough for most outdoor work. That's good enough for me on the whole - definitely a keeper, and worthy of my fond memories of it from my film days. Finally, the 20mm f/2.8D, really merits the "sleeper" moniker for me - it's a much more interesting lens to shoot with than I had thought, and quite a good performer, too.
All in all, I was lucky that the rules were less strict this time around; however, I'm ready for a different kind of challenge next time (as in: A true traditional "Single in" would be something to try and get through again; but maybe that's just me).
Now, the outlook:
The next official "Single in" Challenge is set to be held in October. This stands as long as, and I don't say this lightly, the community doesn't wish for an earlier date. Furthermore, a couple of our senior members, among them long-standing participants, have voiced their desire for a more restricted format - and called for a traditional "Single in" round; I think that should be doable, but we still have to keep in mind that it's much, much harder with any kind of lockdown in place (too many restrictions can kill the best of intentions), so I leave it to you to tell me what would work for you - and when. On a more personal note, I'll definitely do a personal project come July, so opening that up for the community wouldn't be too much trouble. However, a formal Challenge needs careful considerations and manageable conditions - it wasn't easy (or even possible) to balance *all* needs this time, but we got there for the most part, again, thanks to everyone involved.
And now, another little incentive for those interested (and only for them!): If there are enough takers, I'll continue the daily shooting and posting routine for the foreseeable future - simply because it's something I almost always do anyway, and because I think it's something useful, considering ... Anyhow, if you want (and I'm talking about a handful of people here, that's good enough for me), there'll be daily threads in the "Challenges" subforum (or in a dedicated sub-subforum if necessary). The only condition:
one single(!) shot taken on the day you post it. It'll be impromptu otherwise, so no obligation to participate or to restrict your gear choices. And as for duration: If it peters out, it peters out ... but why should it? I definitely think it's worth a try ...
M.