Yongnuo RF-603 + Olympus OM-D: Reloaded

Do you remember my RF-603 modification post? In that post I was able to modify my Canon version of the Yongnuou RF-603 trigger to make it work with my Olympus camera to trigger external flashes.

Now thanks to member Earlack and his post in this dpreview thread, I was able to further modify the camera cable of the triggers so that they can also wirelessly trigger my camera. Full details after the jump.

Below is a typical YN RF-603 kit, except that there is another transceiver. I have bought two kits, so I have four transceivers in total. With these, I can trigger up to three external flashes, and I can even trigger the camera (from one of the other triggers) using the supplied cable, however, this cable has only a Canon connector, and Yongnuo doesn't sell cables with the Olympus USB connector.

This brings us to the modification, thanks to dpreview member mentioned above, I did exactly what he did, and instead of buying a USB connector and connecting it, I bought the cheapest wired trigger for Olympus I could find, the one shown in the opening picture.

Here's the Olympus USB connector, this is what I bought the intervalometer for, to salvage the USB connector (don't feel sad for the intervalometer, I have a much better one, with an on-off switch, not fully-on-until-the-battery-runs-out like this one).

Operation begins by cutting the two ends of the RF-603 cable, and the intervalometer. Thankfully, they both have the same color code.

I connected both whites together, red with yellow and yellow with red, the picture below is not the final one, just roughly made for demonstration.

 

 

 Once done and tested, I insulated each of the wires separately.

 

And because I didn't have a good black sealing tape, I used Gaffer's tape to hold both ends of the cable together. I will be removing the ugly looking tape and using a more elegant solution.

And it works, however not fully as expected, the half-press doesn't do anything, and only a full press initiates the focus and triggers the shutter, but I don't mind since most probably, when remotely triggering the camera as such, I will use fixed focus. In case you're wondering, it doesn't matter if the RF-603 is mounted to the camera hot-shoe or not, and I also tried connecting the reds and yellows together, but when I tested it, the camera had the shutter "half-pressed" all the time.

This modification will give me two important uses:

1. I can trigger the camera wirelessly, useful for group photos, self photos, camera positioned far away (on a pole for example with a fisheye for a unique perspective).
2. I can trigger both the camera and flash together, for example if I'm light painting a large area with flash, I can leave the camera on the tripod, and take the flash with me and point it at different areas of the photo, and every time I trigger the flash, the camera will snap a picture. How cool is that?

Finally, all these pictures were shot handheld with the OM-D and the 12-50 lens in macro mode, ISO 3200, shutter speeds ~ 1/10 to 1/20 seconds, ACR standard noise reduction.


RELATED POSTS

Yongnuo RF-603 + Olympus OM-D

Read More

2013: The Camera Year

Blockbuster

This year has witnessed an incredible range of very interesting camera releases (can you guess how many?), there are a lot of tidal shifts in the market, players that are becoming stronger, and others that are referred to as stagnant and old fashioned. I am not attempting to analyze the market and company strategies in this post, instead I will be thinking aloud, analyzing what is going on around, what to do regarding any further camera purchases, and where to head to. The more I think about the new camera releases in 2013, the more I get confused, so I decided to get a white paper and a pen, and jot it all down so I can be able to make a clear analysis. Hit the jump to continue reading, and be astounded with the sheer amount of cameras released in 2013.

Before I begin though, one word about the opening picture, this is my niece in the foreground, and my daughter at the back. I have been trying to emulate movie images and posters recently (as a result of seeing some beautiful cinematic-looking images, but more about that later), and this was one of my favorites. I will be posting another one midway.

Back to the cameras. I headed over to the internet to find out what cameras have been released this year, and I found dpreview's camera releases timeline very helpful, so this is where I started. I decided to skip any camera with a sensor smaller than 1/1.7" (the one found in Canon's G and S series cameras), so what you're going to see below are cameras with the following sensor sizes: (1/1.7", 2/3", 1", Micro Four Thirds, APS-C, Full Frame). I will write a very short description beside each camera, so here goes.

P.S. Cameras are sorted in ascending order by the release date, starting from Jan 2013 till Oct 2013.
P.P.S. ILC = Interchangeable Lens Camera, usually goes with a mirror-less compact camera.

1. Samsung NX300 (APS-C, 20MP, ILC, no VF)
2. Fuji X100S (APS-C, 16MP, 23mm f/2 fixed lens, hybrid VF)
3. Fuji X20 (2/3", 12 MP, 28-112mm f/2-f/2.8 fixed lens, OVF)
4. Nikon 1 S1 (1", 10 MP, ILC, no VF)
5. Nikon 1 J3 (1", 14 MP, ILC, no VF)
6. Sony NEX 3N (APS-C, 16MP, ILC, no VF)
7. Sony SLT A58 (APS-C, 20MP, DSLT, EVF)
8. Nikon D7100 (APS-C, 24MP, DSLR, OVF)
9. Nikon Coolpix A (APS-C, 16MP, 18.5mm f/2.8 fixed lens, no VF)
10. Canon 700D (APS-C, 18MP, DSLR, OVF)
11. Canon 100D (APS-C, 18MP, tiny DSLR, OVF)
12. Panasonic GF6 (MFT, 16MP, ILC, no VF)
13. Samsung NX1100 (APS-C, 20MP, ILC, no VF)
14. Ricoh GR (APS-C, 16MP, 18,3mm f/2.8 fixed lens, no VF)
15. Panasonic LF1 (1/1.7", 12MP, 28-200mm f/2-f/5.9 fixed lens, lousy EVF)
16. Panasonic G6 (MFT, 16MP, ILC, EVF)
17. Samsung NX2000 (APS-C, 20MP, ILC, no VF)
18. Olympus E-P5 (MFT, 16MP, ILC, no VF)
19. Leica X Vario (APS-C, 16MP, 28-70mm f/3.5-f/6.4 fixed lens, no VF)
20. Pentax K-500 (APS-C, 16 MP, DSLR, OVF)
21. Pentax K-50 (APS-C, 16 MP, DSLR, OVF)
22. Pentax Q7 (1/1.7", 12MP, 23-69mm f/2.8-f/4.5 fixed lens, no VF)
23. Galaxy NX (APS-C, 20MP, ILC, EVF, Android OS)
24. Fuji X-M1 (APS-C, 16MP, ILC, no VF)
25. Sony RX100 II (1", 20MP, 28-100mm f/1.8-f/4.9 fixed lens, no VF)
26. Sony RX1R (Full Frame, 24MP, 35mm f/2 fixed lens, no VF)
27. Canon 70D (APS-C, 20MP, DSLR, OVF)
28. Panasonic GX7 (MFT, 16MP, ILC, great EVF)
29. Canon G16 (1/1.7", 12MP, 28-140mm f/1.8-f/2.8 fixed lens, lousy OVF)
30. Canon S120 (1/1.7", 12MP, 24-120mm f/1.8-f/5.7 fixed lens, no VF)
31. Sony NEX 5T (APS-C, 16MP, ILC, no VF)
32. Sony Alpha A3000 (APS-C, 20MP, ILC, poor EVF)
33. Sony QX100 (1", 20MP, 28-100mm f/1.8-f/4.9 fixed lens, no VF, mobile phone add-on)
34. Olympus OM-D EM-1 (MFT, 16MP, ILC, best EVF)
35. Fuji X-A1 (APS-C, 16MP, ILC, no VF)
36. Nikon 1 AW (1", 14MP, ILC, no VF, waterproof)
37. Pentax K-3 (APS-C, 24MP, DSLR, OVF)
38. Nikon D610 (Full Frame, 24MP, DSLR, OVF)
39. Sony RX10 (1", 20MP, 24-200mm f/2.8 fixed lens, EVF)
40. Sony A7 (Full Frame, 24MP, ILC, EVF)
41. Sony A7R (Full Frame, 36MP, ILC, EVF)
42. Panasonic GM1 (MFT, 16MP, ILC, no VF, tiny)
43. Nikon D5300 (APS-C, 24MP, DSLR, OVF)
44. Fuji XQ1 (2/3", 12MP, 25-100mm f/1.8-f/4.9 fixed lens, no VF)
45. Fuji X-E2 (APS-C, 16MP, ILC, great EVF)

Olympus Stylus (1/1.7", 24-300mm fixed lens, EVF)?
Nikon DF (Digital Fusion) Hybrid (Full Frame, OVF, F-Mount, D600 AF)?

Can you believe that? 45 new cameras with large sensors released till now, and there are still two full months remaining in 2013. The rumors about the new Nikon full frame compact, and the Olympus Stylus are almost confirmed, it's just a matter of time, we'll see them in November.

Now let us do some quick stats, out of 45 new cameras:

• 10 have mirrors (DSLR/DSLT), 21 mirror-less ILCs, 14 fixed lens compacts (except for the RX10).
• 4 have Full Frame sensors, 23 have APS-C sesnors, 6 have MFT sensors, 6 have 1" sensors, 2 have 2/3" sensors, 4 have 1/1.7" sensors.
• The most common APS-C sensors are 16MP (variance from 16MP to 24MP).
• 23 have built-in view finders, 11 of them are optical (9 DSLRs + Fuji X20 + Canon G16), and 12 are electronic.
• A handful of the ones without a built-in VF have the option of an accessory EVF, or even an accessory OVF (Sony RX1R).

Cinema Style?

And now is the time for some quick thoughts on a few select cameras and systems, this is where I think in a loud voice.

1/1.7" AND 2/3" SENSORS

These cameras were great and sought after two years ago, maybe even one year ago. But with today's tiny and much larger sensor cameras (RX100, Olympus PEN, Panasonic GM1, fixed lens APS-C or FF like the Nikon Coolpix A or the Sony RX1), they are not the rave anymore. Don't get me wrong, they still produce great images, and with a camera like the Canon G16 with a fixed f/1.8-f/2.8 zoom lens, it is a great choice. There are people (even proffesionals) that still buy them and use them, but for me, having owned a G11 and used it's RAW files, they are behind the larger sensors.


FIXED LENS APS-C OR FULL FRAME

Doesn't make sense to me because of the 35mm equivalent focal length, no matter how great the camera and the lens are. I said before that I wish Sony made their RX1 with a 50mm f/1.4 lens, and that would be something I'd buy and use exclusively (I know I can sort of do this with the A7 and the Zeiss 55 f/1.8, but I'll keep this discussion for later).

Famous cameras in this category are the Fuji X100/S, Sony RX1/R and to a less degree, the Nikon Coolpix A and the Ricoh GR. However they make sense to street photographers and people who make use of such a wide focal length, not me.


DSLR CAMERAS

After living with the OM-D EM-5 and great small lenses for almost a year, I have lost all feelings and attractions towards DSLRs. Whenever I handle my brother's 60D, it feels too big and bulky, and when I don't see the playback of the picture in the viewfinder, I am a little taken back, when I don't see the blinking highlights and blocked shadows when composing, it feels ancient.

That's not to say that I don't miss my 5D Mark III when I'm shooting my running kids and the EM-5 fails to track them, or when I want to completely eradicate a busy background with the 50mm f1/.4 lens. As I see it now, the main attractions for DSLRs is that they are getting better and better sensors, they have a huge range of established lenses to pick from, they produce great video footage, and they are becoming more affordable at the same time. Canon's 100D is a good try in providing the DSLR experience but in a small package.

As I see it now, MFT sensors are competing with APS-C sensors image quality wise, they are not behind anymore, and the DOF difference is not really that different, and most MFT prime lenses have exceptional image quality starting from wide-open. That puts an APS-C DSLR out of my radar forever. However, that being said, the falling prices of full frame DSLRs, along with the increasing prices of high-end MFT cameras are really appealing. Assuming that size and weight are not an issue, wouldn't you be inclined to get a $1,400 Nikon D600 or a $1,500 Canon 6D over the $1,400 Olympus OM-D EM-1? Just for that full frame look? Tough choice.


FUJI X, SONY NEX AND SAMSUNG NX (ALL APS-C CAMERAS)

Great performers, great image quality, interchangeable lenses and comes in a small package. What's not to like? The lens line-up, that's what. Fuji has produced very good lenses, and are doing good work developing more, but right now, there are like 5 lenses, and if they don't cover what you need you're out of luck. The Fujis also have that famous X-Trans sensor, the internet says it has very high quality, but there are RAW issues when used with Adobe's Camera RAW engine, which is what I use for 100% of my photos.

The same lack-of-lenses argument goes for the Sony NEX, I've been following Kirk Tuck's adventures with the NEX series (BTW, he sold all of them after a long love story), and before I decided on buying my EM-5, I was really considering the NEX 6 (as it was the cheapest one with an EVF), but the lack of lens choices, the weird flash hot-shoe compatibility issues and my general feeling that Sony won't be in a hurry to improve the issues, I decided to head to MFT instead. And now Sony have ditched the NEX series completely.

As for the Samsung NX, funny enough, Kirk Tuck is testing them out for us, he's the one who brought it to my attention. I didn't notice before that Samsung had an APS-C interchangeable lens camera. He tested the finder-less NX300 and the Android powered Galaxy NX, and is reporting they have great image quality, and that the 18-55mm kit lens is very good. However, lens choices for these cameras are very limited, and quite expensive in my opinion. I had a chance to shoot a friend's NX1000 with the kit lens, and it is erm.. bad.


SONY A7/R FULL FRAME MIRRORLESS GOODNESS

Sony is a mega electronics company, and they used to make (still make) great weird gadgets, I have always lusted after their products in the 80s and the 90s. So when they came up with the RX1 35mm f/2 fixed lens full frame camera, the internet went berserk, and despite the lack of a built-in VF and the astronomical $2,800 price, it sold very well and was praised in the reviews.

And now they've done it again. What was the hottest ILC camera on the internet a few months back? The Olympus EP-5 with the exceptional VF-4 viewfinder. Then Panasonic released the cheaper, better looking, tilt-able EVF GX7, and the EP-5 sort of went down the drain, as if it was never announced, I can't remember reading a blog about the EP-5 one month after the GX7 release. Next comes the $1,400 Olympus EM-1 and the whole world applauds, but the GX7 didn't have anything to fear because of the $400 price differential. A lot of people pre-ordered the EM-1.

Then Sony comes a little late to the party, bag in hand, shows everyone two full frame mirrorless cameras that are the same size as the Olympus EM-5 and (sorry for the expression) pisses on the party, or at least that's how it felt when they announced the $1,700 and $2,300 prices for the 24MP A7 and the 36MP A7R respectively. The internet went even more berserk, people were cancelling their EM-1 orders, and pre-ordering the Sonys.

For $300 more than an EM-1 you can get a full frame mirrorless camera that is smaller in size, has a built-in VF that is quite good. Who wouldn't want that? The crazy thing is that the entry prices are much much cheaper than the big boy full frames, the Canon 5D3 and the Nikon D800, and the 24MP A7 is even cheaper than bot the Canon 6D and the Nikon D610! Want to know a more crazy thing? The Sony A7 plus either the Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 or 55mm f/1.8 is cheaper than the Sony RX1R. And when Sony released the A7, it claimed that it focuses much faster than the RX1R, now that's a company that's innovating, not afraid of competing with its self and not crippling it's own products to make you buy another of its products.

So after all this gushing, am I going to buy one? Nope, won't happen I'm afraid. For starters, it is a very new product that is not available yet, and is destined to create a huge tidal wave in the market, during which I would prefer to be eating popcorn and watching the market go crazy. Then there are the lenses, the only interesting one right now is the $1,000 55mm f/1.8 Zeiss, I'd rather wait and see, remember, it's Sony we're talking about here, they have no issues killing or creating a whole eco-system whenever they feel like it. And then there's the Nikon DF that shall be announced by the 6th of November, the key advantage I see here is the F-Mount, with all their lenses available for immediate use. We'll see.


MICRO FOUR THIRDS

And I finally reach my current system of choice. The EM-5 is serving me really well, and I'm extremely happy with the images I am getting, if you haven't seen my 43rumors article, please do, it is the perfect summary of how I feel about the MFT compared to owning APS-C and FF DSLRs.

I have posted before about the GX7, and my expectations from the EM-1 before, so I'm not going to repeat them, but I've not commented on the EM-1 yet. I still have doubts about the looks of the EM-1 leather finish (top view looks even sexier than the EM-5 though), it just looks odd in the photos or the videos I've seen, maybe it looks better in hand, but that will have to be a leap of faith. I have promised myself since the day I bought my EM-5 and discovered the faulty eye-sensor that I would buy it's successor. The EM-1 is not the EM-5's direct successor, and at $1,400, it is expensive for a MFT camera, so I am not yet sure I am ready to buy one, especially with all the shifting in the market. Maybe the $1,700 full frame Sony A7 will force the EM-1 to lower its price? I have a feeling that Olympus might quickly drop $200 from the EM-1's price after the holidays, or even earlier, but that's just a hunch based on zero facts.

As for why I'd want an EM-1, here are the reasons in the order of their importance:

1. Focus tracking that works, and 6.5 fps with continuous focus, 10 fps without.
2. The best EVF ever, detailed, true colors, large magnification (same as FF DSLR).
3. Better ergonomics and customizable buttons.
4. Wi-fi, would be very useful during product shoots, where I can show the pictures on my iPad immediately.
5. Better video options, mic input, levels, someone said you can touch to focus during recording.
6. Better LCD resolution, the EM-5 weakness appears at 100% magnification.
7. Larger buffer, the EM-5 gets filled up in two seconds after a 9 fps burst.
8. Better IBIS and focusing speed.
9. Slightly better image quality.

So, unless sudden GAS hits me (with my friend traveling to NYC mid-November, it might just happen), I won't be getting the EM-1 that soon. We should hear about an EM-5 successor next year.


Now that I've said all I have, what do you think?

P.P.P.S. I have not had time to proof-read the post, so please excuse any mistakes, it took me a long time to prepare and write this post.

Read More

I'm Back, Olympus 75 f/1.8 & Some Camera Musings

First of all, I would like to apologize for the long hiatus period, I was (and still am) deeply bothered with the events taking place in Egypt, and with a 7 pm - 6 am curfew, which has been in effect for almost a week now, and shall continue for 3 more weeks, there is barely an energy outlet for me or my family, especially the young kids who get bored by sitting still for just one minute.

That's why I decided to spend a few nights (despite my heartache) taking photos at home, and posting on this blog again instead of going crazy. As for Mic, he's quite busy nowadays and has no time to post here, I (or he) will let you know if there are any updates, but for now, you'll have to bear with me.

I received my Olympus 75mm f/1.8 last Saturday, and it's given me enough spark to ignite my interest in photography again during these hard times. As expected, I didn't have enough time to shoot with it in real world situations, so I will keep the full impressions for a later time. The lens feels quite hefty and well-built, and with a relatively huge front element, it looks classy and very cool, it immediately reminded me of the Canon 85 1.8 and the 200L 2.8 which both have a large front element. As all reviews have mentioned, it is very sharp wide-open (it might even beat the 200L, but I have yet to shoot more photos). Focus is not as instantaneous as the Olympus 45 1.8 or the PanaLeica 25 1.4, but I consider it a quick focusing lens, considering that I only shot with it indoors.

And to let you know how lucky US citizens are when it comes to purchasing electronics and gadgets, here's a snapshot of what I paid for the lens (by the way, after I placed my order on Amazon, the lens price got reduced to $799 the day after, lucky me).

The "Our Fees" part are the fees of the shipping company, and I ended up paying $15 for international shipping fees, it is calculated after the item arrives and gets weighed, you pay $7.5 for each 0.5 kg. And at the end of the day, you don't get local warranty because it is bought from the US of A. And no, it is not available from Olympus Egypt (which doesn't exist).

You've all seen the new Panasonic GX7 camera, now that's a well-specced, very good looking camera, especially the silver version. I've said before that I would buy the OM-D EM-5 successor which was rumored to be announced next month. Would the GX7 be a worthy upgrade for me? Reviews said it has comparable image quality to the OMD, a viewfinder inferior to the Olympus VF-4 (which is the major point for me), inferior image-stabilization system compared to the EM-5 and the EP-5, and it doesn't have phase detection auto-focusing. Additionally, my Olympus flash and intervalometer would probably not work with it, so it is not worth the hassle.

However, if I were in the market today for a new high-end MFT camera, I would consider the GX7. The EP-5 is a great camera, but when you add the VF-4, it becomes oddly large and expensive, and the VF-4 takes up the hot-shoe, I use my OMD a lot with my Olympus FL600R flash mounted on top. And that brings us to the upcoming Olympus camera, the leaked OM-D EM-1, it will supposedly sit above the EM-5 and cost somewhere around $1,500!!! It better has some super capabilities at this price point. Rumors say the EM-5 successor will come some time next year, hmm.

I would consider the EM-1 if it achieved the following points (sorted by order of importance to me):

• Size not larger than the EM-5 with the hand grip installed.
• PD focusing that works and can track moving subjects like a DSLR can.
• Similar EVF to the current VF-4.
• Lower base ISO and higher maximum shutter speed.
• Better video options (mic input, manual audio levels, focus peaking, touch to focus, 1080p @ 60 fps, etc...)
• Better image quality (they say it won't have an anti-aliasing filter).
• Uses same battery as the EM-5.

Otherwise, I would wait for the EM-5 successor, or wait until GAS hits me. Which brings us to a more important point. With the increasing price points of high-end MFT cameras, and the expensive quality glass, what edge does the MFT system have over an APS-C camera other than the obvious size and weight difference? You can get a D7100 or a 70D body for $1,200, and you'd get a larger sensor, more resolution and higher image quality.

As I see it now, high-end MFT systems are facing tough competition, with a few advantages that can be argued both ways, but I will leave that to another topic. I will be away for a while. I am preparing a guest post for 43rumors.com that will take some time to finish, I will let you know when it's up.

Read More

The Olympus EP-5 Announcement

So, you've already heard about the new pen from Olympus, here's what I think about it as a 6 months old OMD user.

I won't go into details about the camera, you can read Ming Thein and Robin Wong's posts about it here (MT) and here (RW), they are an enjoyable read. Here's what I really like about the new EP-5:

- The looks, that retro "Olympus Pen" logo with the old font looks really cool, and I agree with Ming that the black version is superb looking.

- Improved shutter, up to 1/8000, finally, is it that hard really?

- Lower ISO 100 limit, although it's not native and will be a pull down, but this and the improved shutter speed will finally help me shoot my lenses wide open in daylight, it was/is a pain, I usually had to move my subjects in shadowed places to shoot wide open (where applicable).

- Higher resolution LCD and larger size, it was a downgrade for me to go from the superb 1.1 million pixel LCD on my 5D3 to the 0.6 million pixel unit on the OMD.

- Higher resolution VF-4, a 2 million pixel EVF, the 1 million pixel EVF in the OMD could use the upgrade, it is ok but the text looks a little coarse. It also quite large, larger than the OVF of most full frame cameras.

- Wi-Fi, sometimes I wished to shoot tethered to an iPad or a large screen, but I didn't want to pay money in a wireless SD card with a limited capacity and speed, since I already have 45 and 90 MB/s cards, this will be a good feature to have.

That's about it, I am not excited about the 5 fps continuous focusing speed (CD-AF totally sucks at tracking moving subjects), nor the focus peaking, since I don't use manual focusing lenses on the OMD, and Ming Thein reported it is not very well implemented yet, I have it in my Sony RX100 and used it once or twice just for the novelty of it.

I am not sure the EP-5 has a touch screen, but I'd rather see an improved video mode with focus peaking, touch focus and 14x magnification similar to the stills mode.

So, is it an upgrade from the OMD? If you're buying a new m4/3 body, you have to consider it if the price of the body plus the optional VF-4 is similar to the OMD, or if you're not going to use the EVF at all, at the end of the day, it has the same OMD sensor, same class leading IBIS, and improved everything else, except for the built in EVF and the weather sealing (still not sure about the touch screen though).

On the other hand, if you already have the OMD like me, then there is no pressing reason to switch, on the contrary, this makes me more confident that I will buy the updated OMD whenever it is released, it will feature at least the same updates in the EP-5, plus others, I just hope we see a better movie mode, and better focus tracking.

As a side note, I have ordered the 75mm 1.8 (the silver one, not the newly released black one), I received a nice monetary gift, and it goes towards that lens.

P.S. Excuse any typos, this post is written on my phone through Google's official Blogger app. I got a new Galaxy S4 (the S3 went to the wife), there will be another post about that later, I like what it's camera does in good light.

Read More

A Tale Of Seven Cameras, And One Subject

One camera to rule them all!

Welcome to one of my fairly long posts, but I promise you this will be an interesting one. There has been a lot of changes in my life recently, in some ways, I am re-calculating my priorities in my life, a lot of changes have resulted from this, selling all of my full frame gear was one of those changes, it's not about money, but rather time and much needed optimization, for example I sold my iPad since it consumes too much time that I could spend with my family instead, another thing I did was to remove a lot of blogs from my RSS feed. I am now giving less priority to photography (and photography blogging) than I used to do, that's why my last post was almost one month ago, and I apologize for this delay, but I admit I cannot spare time to blogging more than once or twice a month (there might be exceptions of course), and this takes us to the main topic of this blog, the tale of seven cameras, and my daughter.

Now that my older daughter is almost five years old, and since this is nearly when I started digital photography, I stopped for a while to take a look back, and see how how my photography has progressed through out the years, and throughout the different cameras, seven cameras in total, not including the various mobile phone cameras over the years. I wanted to see how getting more expensive cameras and lenses improved my photography, and how much did I lose by abandoning the full-frame club and carrying on with micro-four-thirds, as a lot of people would believe.

I believe this is one post that really fits the name of the blog, I give you the tale of the seven cameras, and the pursuit of better family photos, and we start with my first ever digital camera I bought from my own hard-earned money.

---

1. SONY DSC-T10

Sony T10, room lights (incandescent) + fill flash, 1/50, f/4, ISO 320

Sony T10, available evening light + fill flash, 1/50, f/3.5, ISO 125

As you can see, pictures were sort of mmm-kay, and mind you, I've picked the best two examples of the usual shooting scenarios, first picture is indoors, lit with room light and direct fill-flash, the second picture makes use of the soft evening light as the sun goes down.

I have had my share of horrible flash lit photos with the shadows on the wall behind the subject, mixed white balance and all that. The Sony T10, just like regular P&S, didn't have any advanced controls beyond the program mode, where you can select exposure compensation and other stuff like white balance and so on, this was the extent of my skills.

The camera didn't focus quickly, nor did it perform well beyond base ISO, the faster my daughter was able to move, the more I yearned for a better camera, until the day came where I broke the bank and bought the Canon G11, and sold my slim Sony T10 to one of my friends.

During the time, I used to shoot with good camera phones (Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N86 & Sony Ericsson C905), the picture below is taken with the C905, I did a comparison once to one of the famous mobile phone blogs of yesteryear (wow, just checked now and the post is still up, check it here, you can see how photography-ignorant I was back then), and the C905 was as good as my Sony T10 apart from the fact that it didn't have optical zoom.

Sony Ericsson C905, evening light, 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 64

---

2. CANON G11

Canon G11, evening light + fill flash, 1/60, f/5.6, ISO 200

Canon G11, 1/25, f/4, ISO 1600

Canon G11, 1/100, f/4.5, ISO 100

I was very happy when I got the G11, I was learning all about aperture, shutter speed and ISO, I also heard about depth of field, and understood that I would not get the backgrounds blurred like a DSLR could, but I didn't care, I imagined the G11 would outlive me and that we'd be partners forever.

I learned advanced shooting and lighting with the G11, I bought a couple of Canon flashes (a used 580EX and a brand new 430EX) and went all strobist style, this was when I posted my first post here after I stumbled on Mic's blog when searching for flash tutorials. One other important thing I learned with the G11 was RAW processing in lightroom, thanks to Zack Arias, it made a huge difference in my photos.

The G11 lived a relatively long time with me, and after trying out a few of my friends' DSLRs, I finally decided to buy a DSLR because of the incredibly slow focusing speed and the usual back focusing issues. I was choosing back then between the Canon 550D and the Nikon D90 since their price were similar, and I decided to go for the new Canon sensor, better video modes, and keep both my Canon flashes.

---

3. Canon 550D

Canon 550D + 50mm f/1.8 II, room light + bounce flash, 1/80, f/2.5, ISO 400

Canon 550D + 60mm Macro, 1/800, f/3.2, ISO 200

I suppose my portrait shooting style have become obvious by now, I love shooting tight head shots and they are my favorite types of pictures, and sometimes I do wider shots when there is context that I want to show through the picture.

I learned Neil's bounce flash technique with the 550D, and it quickly became my favorite shooting technique whenever possible, I became quite good at getting the pictures I need with just one flash and started abandoning the more complicated light setups since they required time and space. My favorite lenses were the 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.8 and the 60mm f/2.8 Macro that replaced it.

Next came my trip to Malaysia, and I took the chance to sell the 550D and upgrade to the 60D with it's better focusing system, better controls, tilt screen, top LCD, and just about everything else, this was also when I bought my 3rd Canon flash, a brand new 580EX II.

---

4. Canon 60D

Canon 60D + 35mm f/2, available light + bounce flash camera right, 1/160, f/2.5, ISO 500

Canon 60D + Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 (adapter & manual focusing), 1/200, f/2.8 probably, ISO 800

Canon 60D + 85mm f/1.8, 1/1600, f/2.2, ISO 100

Canon 60D + 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/250, f/2.8, ISO 100

The 60D was a much better camera to use than the 550D ever was, and this was the second time I believed I'd live with the camera forever, it was really good, all I had to do to fulfill my gear lust was to buy more/better lenses.

One of those lenses that I bought against my own logic was the Canon 85mm f/1.8, I wanted to see for myself what was all the fuss about, what creamy backgrounds were people talking about, and after the initial wide-open-insane-purple-fringing shock, it quickly became my favorite portrait (read: head shots) lens, and I discovered that I enjoyed the background compression a telephoto lens caused.

Living happily in my Canon world, Michael started messing with my mind, until I surrendered against all my logic, once again, and bought into the full frame world, dreaming to go up another step in the photography ladder, little did I know. I sold all of my EF-S lenses and bought a 5D Mark II (the Mark III was just released and I didn't like the price) with the 24-105 kit lens and the famous Canon 50mm f/1.4.

---

5. Canon 5D Mark II

Canon 5D Mark II + 50mm f/1.4, 1/100, f/2.8, ISO 200

Canon 5D Mark II + 50mm f/1.4, bed light only, 1/60, f/1.4, ISO 3200

Canon 5D Mark II + 200mm f/2.8, 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 200

You can immediately notice the difference, shallow depth of field everywhere, even at f/2.8, a huge step up in the noise department, the 60D sucked at ISOs above 800, while the 5D Mark II had insanely clean files at ISO 800, and was very good up to ISO 3200, this gave me more opportunities which I would have discarded with the 60D. The best advantage for me was the excellent auto WB and the pleasant skin tones in mixed lighting scenarios.

I sold both of my 35 f/2 and 85 f/1.8 remaining from the 60D days, I didn't like these focal lengths, instead I got the 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS and the 200mm f/2.8L primes, both lenses are easily the best Canon lenses I have ever used, ever. I did enjoy shooting with the 50mm f/1.4 after getting it to focus correctly, but it had to be stopped down a bit to be sharp, not a problem for the high ISO capable 5D Mark II. This camera quickly became my favorite, and I really fell in love with it, and if I was in the market for another full frame, I would probably choose this one again.

However, life wasn't all flowers and chocolate, through the incremental upgrades, everything got slowly heavier and larger, the bag that used to take my 60D with two lenses and a flash can now only take the 5D2 and one lens, lenses became longer, larger and heavier, even the lens hoods became larger, people started being more alert when I got the camera out of the bag, but having my feet already deep in the mud, I only looked ahead, more is better, isn't it?

The internet kept messing more with my head and showing how radically better the 5D Mark III was compared to its predecessor regarding everything, focusing, speed, better noise performance, dual cards, better screen, better movie modes, etc... Once the price reached $3000 at my local camera shop, I bit the bullet and made the switch.

---

6. Canon 5D Mark III

Canon 5D Mark III + 200mm f/2.8, 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 800

Canon 5D Mark III + 50mm f/1.4, 1/200, f/2, ISO 3200

The 5D Mark III was technically better than the 5D Mark II in almost every conceivable way, but I never really warmed up to it. It handled high ISO really good that I never thought twice about choosing ISO 3200. Bounce flash indoors? ISO 3200. Hand holding the 200 f/2.8, even in good light? ISO 3200. Want a high enough shutter speed? Why think, ISO 3200. And so on.

AWB, colors and skin tones were slightly better than the 5D2, but I started suffering from the weight I had to lug around, the fear factor of losing expensive camera gear, or having it stolen, and the need to close down the aperture and lose valuable shutter speed to get adequate depth of field, mind you, apart from the 100mm Macro, all my other lenses that I used had no image stabilization, and this forced me to use as high a shutter speed as I can to get sharp photos, for example when shooting the 200mm f/2.8 indoors with available light, I had to increase the shutter speed up to 1/800 to get a sharp shot, etc...

Then in a sudden turn of heart, I decided to sell everything and switch to micro four thirds for the reasons I have stated in great detail in the full story of my switch.

---

7. Olympus OM-D EM-5

OMD + 45mm f/1.8, 2 light setup, I wish I had introduced any sort of catch lights, 1/200, f/1.8, ISO 200

OMD + 45mm f/1.8, 1/2500, f/2.2, ISO 200

OMD + 45mm f/1.8, 1/4000, f/1.8, ISO 800 (a mistake, forgot to reset the ISO from a previous shot)

OMD + 25mm f/1.4, 1/320, f/3.2, ISO 200

OMD + 25mm f/1.4, lit with an iPad with a white screen, 1/20, f/2.2, ISO 800

OMD + 45mm f/1.8, ugly street lights, it was too dark, 1/13, f/1.8, ISO 3200

Before I talk about the OMD, please, have a look again at all of the images I have shown here, and give me your honest opinion, have I lost, or missed anything by switching to a small MFT sensor, given my shooting style and the illustrative pictures shown here?

In my opinion, not much, maybe I have lost the obviously shallow DOF (especially at wide angles, and large apertures) a full frame sensor easily generates. The other loss is obvious, and it is tracking rapidly moving subjects.

On the positive side, the gains are HUGE, the whole system is really tiny, and the OMD is a fantastic camera:

• Very quick to focus, even in low light.
• Focuses on faces and the near-eye on its own, I don't care anymore about focusing points, I just compose and shoot.
• Amazing image stabilization (the best I have ever used), I usually now shoot at 2-stops lower shutter speed than the "1/eff. focal length" rule dictates.
• Amazing noise performance, I dare say it is almost as good as my 5D2 at ISO 3200, and it tolerates shadows pushing way better than all of the Canon sensors I have used.
• Olympus colors, now I understand where did this phrase come from, I really like the colors I am getting out of this camera.
• Magical AWB, the best one I have ever used, and it is the only one that gets accurate colors under tungsten lighting.
• Did I mention it's small and tiny?
• The EVF shows you real-time exposure and color effects, when I shoot in B&W, I see everything in B&W, it shows you a live histogram, it shows you blocked shadows and clipped highlights in real-time, it shows you horizontal and vertical levels, it plays back the picture in the finder without having to remove your eye.
• For some reason the MFT prime lenses are sharp wide-open, I just checked all the pictures I've taken with the 45mm f/1.8, and 71% of the shots are taken wide-open, there is no reason for me to stop-down anymore, unless I need more DOF, obviously.
• And that brings me to shutter speed, having no need to stop-down the lens, and a smaller sensor with adequate shallow DOF, I can easily shoot at higher shutter speeds or lower light conditions than a full frame camera could.
• I can get shallow DOF if you want, not as difficult as the internet would make you believe.
• Cheap, the whole kit I have bought (OMD + 12-50 kit lens + 40-150 zoom lens + 25 1.4 + 45 1.8 + FL-600R flash + Sony RX100) are cheaper than what I paid for the 5D3 body alone.

So, to draw a conclusion, by looking back at the pictures of my daughter over the years and the different cameras, I don't see a huge difference or advantage to one camera over the other since I started using DSLRs, of course each camera has its pluses and minuses, but the end result is the same, I like each of the pictures shown here since I started using a DSLR equally, and that is what matters.

If you are not a working photographer, and you seek better photos, then learn to use what you have and don't fuss a lot about what more expensive equipment will gain you, they all work just fine.


RELATED POSTS

First Impressions: Canon 60D + 35mm f/2 in Malaysia
Canon 60D vs 550D (and 600D): Real World Usage

Canon 5D Mark II: First Impressions
Story & Review: Canon 5D Mark II vs Canon 60D & Canon 6D
A Tribute To The 5D Mark III
The Truth Behind The Migration
Olympus OM-D: First Impressions & Comments on DOF
OM-D: Macro Fun @ Home
OM-D, Bits & Pieces
Review: Sony RX100

Canon Lenses Chat - Part 1: Standard Zoom Lenses
Canon Lenses Chat - Part 2: Telephoto Zoom Lenses
Canon Lenses Chat - Part 3: Prime Lenses
Canon EF 35mm f/2 Review
Hands On: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake
Macro Talk: Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Quick Review: Canon 85mm f/1.8
Canon EF Lenses Chat: Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM Review
Canon EF Lenses Chat: Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Review
Flash Series - Part 1: Canon Speedlites Chat (580EX II vs 580EX vs 430EX)

Read More

OM-D, Bits & Pieces

 
Today I will talk for a bit about my recent experiences with my OMD, and I would like to start with the image you see above, this was taken during an auto-cross event that I attended last Saturday, it is a wheel of a Mitsubishi Evo wearing a slick tire as you can see, the car was stationary for a moment before starting the race.
 
I captured the image you see above @ 300mm equivalent with my Olympus 40-150mm f/4-5.6 lens wide-open, I like the lighting, the grooves on the brake disc and the worn out slick tire. That lens is quite sharp and incredible considering the $100 price when purchased as a kit.

 
I am hardly using zoom lenses anymore, I find pleasure when using a fast prime, it gives me fast shutter speeds, shallow DOF and one less thing to think about when shooting (focal length, obviously). However, I wanted to get to know my zoom lenses more, currently the Olympus 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 lens and the 40-150 tele-zoom I mentioned above, the first lens I hardly used other than for macro shots and video, and I still have to get used to it, maybe when I go to desert next time.
 
The 40-150 I have tried a couple of times, and I am impressed with the sharpness and contrast so far, it's no secret that I love portraits with long focal lengths, I love that background compression effect and the shallow DOF that results from the extra background magnification, so I was apprehensive I wouldn't get that with the small m4/3 sensor, but looking at the portrait shown above, I say nice, not as nice as my 200 f/2.8 on the 5D of course, but quite good, and that was 105mm (205mm eq.) @ f/5.6.
 

 
I gave it another try as you can see above, this one was taken at 62mm (124mm eq.), great colors, contrast and sharpness, so good so far except for the lousy zoom ring, which is too stiff right now, but I bet will get smoother with more mileage.
 
One thing to mention when shooting portraits, I almost forgot how to focus on the eye, the OMD's auto near-eye detection and focusing is simply the best invention in all of the recent cameras in my opinion, I leave it on all of the time, and I just compose and shoot, never worrying about the whereabouts of my focusing point, it immediately snaps to the nearest eye and gets it in focus no matter how shallow the DOF is, I'd say the hit rate is 85% with another 5% lost for focusing on the wrong eye.
 
I was using my friend's 60D with the 200mm f/2.8 the other day, and I immediately remembered how hard it was to get sharp eyes with such a combo, 320mm equivalent, no image stabilization; so the finder is wobbly, and I have to put one of the nine tiny dots on my subjects eye while I hit the shutter button, if Sony's A99 has that feature, I would consider it next time I am going back to FF, it makes life much easier.
 

 
And here's one last shot from that auto-cross event, a dandy-green handsome looking VW Beetle, I have special love for this car having owned a 1972 VW Beetle 1300.
 
One thing I am learning about with the OMD and the RX100, those Sony sensors doesn't give as much highlight recovery headroom as I am used to from my Canon sensors, while on the other hand they are extremely tolerant for extreme shadow pushing without showing banding or noise blotches, and in the worst cases noise shows up as fine grain that I can easily cleanup, this caused me to start under-exposing the images with very bright highlights like this shiny VW Beetle, and push the shadows later on post. That's exactly the opposite of what I was to do with Canon, where I usually exposed for the right instead, interesting, and will see how it works, Mic tells me that he's used to the same behavior from Nikon sensors.
 

 
On a different note, we went to a burger restaurant called Fuddruckers, I believe it is American, it was a lot of fun for the kids and for me, since it presented me with a new environment to take pictures of my kids in, the shot you see above is taken there, and this gave me a pleasant surprise regarding the OMD's AWB for the second time.
 
The first time (if you read my posts carefully) was when I used it under incandescent light at my home, for some reason the correct WB under my home lighting is around 2500 kelvin, and none of the cameras I have ever used was able to get the correct WB except for the OMD, this list includes several P&S and mobile phone cameras, the Canon G11, 550D, 60D, 5D2, 5D3, Sony RX100, Nikon D3100 and D7000. Back to the restaurant, there were lots of light sources, incandescent, CFL, flourescent and deeply colored walls, we had a deep yellow wall to the camera left, and you can see the red wall in the background, and the OMD got the WB perfectly, the image you see above is the RAW output with some blacks added and highlights reduced.
 

 
As usual, I was shooting with the Panasonic 25 f/1.4 lens, which my favorite focal length, I don't find much reason to stop-down this lens at all (unless I need more DOF, obviously), it is quite sharp at f/1.4, add that to the OMD's auto near-eye focusing, and you always get sharp eyes, the obvious benefit (which is one of the main reasons that got me thinking about MFT in the first place) is that I get a fast shutter speed and enough DOF at the same time to get the eyes in sharp focus, and a comprehensible background which is still convincingly out of focus. I was shooting wide-open @ ISO 1600 and was getting 1/125 shutter speeds that enabled me to get sharp shots of my girls.
 

 
TTL flash, finally!
 
I received my Olympus FL-600R finally after a long waiting period, first impressions are:
 

• It's tiny, incredibly tiny, I will show it in a separate article beside Canon's 600EX behemoth.
• It features a quite powerful continuous LED light (with variable power).
• Head rotates 180 degrees both sides, though it is quite stiff.
• Plastic foot with the new quick locking mechanism, not an issue if the head wasn't so stiff.
• Touch button for power, it powers on with the camera, and turns off when I turn it off.
• Not as powerful as a 580EX, obviously, but I was used to pushing the 580EX hard by bouncing indoors at sync speed and ISO 400.
• Accurate TTL metering, more so than the Canon.
• When I press the shutter, the camera hesitates for a split second before firing the shutter, TTL measurement?
• It can act as a full featured master or a salve, and can be triggered with the OMD’s accessory flash.

The above shot was taken with the 25 f/1.4 lens (wide-open as usual) and bounce flash to camera right and a bit behind my shoulder, who said MFT can't get shallow DOF?
 
More to come soon.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Read More

Home Pastries With The OMD

 

That looks tasty, my wife was baking these pastries at home and I immediately remembered a short movie Phillip Bloom made of his mother cooking, it was brilliant, so I decided to do something similar but with stills, and document the main parts of the process. It will be also a chance to talk about the OMD for a bit.

I am not ready yet to give my final impressions on the OMD since I haven't had enough experience with it like other cameras, I am now at around ~ 1200 shots on the clock, back to our topic.

 

I find it easier to pick up the OMD and take shots around the house than I did with my 5D3, don't read this as an advantage for the OMD over a DSLR, it's not, this is an advantage to my current storage camera bag over my previous Lowepro Pro Runner 200AW DSLR storage solution, it's just easier for me to lift the cover on my Thinktank Retrospective 5 bag and pick the OMD with my favorite do-it-all lens attached, the Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens (50mm equivalent), the result is that I'm shooting more at home than I used to.

 

So why didn't I pick the Sony RX100 that is always at hands reach, just beside my keys? A couple of reasons, I still don't like holding the camera and shooting through the back LCD compared to a viewfinder, it is not as stable, and the Sony lost aperture quickly once I zoomed in, and I wanted some shots at fast apertures, so I picked the OMD since I was planning to do all shots using available light, at the lowest ISO possible, hand held.

 

 

This is the core flour paste used to make the goodies, in all of the shots there are two equally strong light sources, flourescent ceiling lights, and tungsten spot lights over the kitchen top, you can notice that by looking at the top and the inside of the paste in the image above.

 

I was shooting at ISO 200 which is the lowest ISO setting, and despite planning to shoot close to wide-open, I found myself shooting @ f/3.5 or thereabouts for adequate DOF, this of course resulted in ~ 1/10 sec shutter speeds, but the IBIS dealt with that quite nicely. You can also see that the AWB have dealt with the mixing color temperatures quite nicely.

 

 

This is the filling, white cheese mixed with small mint pieces, you might not believe it until you try it, but it gives those pastries their main flavor and taste. Also despite planning on using the viewfinder, I used the tilting LCD for some of the shots to get more interesting angles.

 

 

Here's the cheese put on a piece of the paste, the image is not sharp because I was holding my daughter with one hand, and shooting with the other hand using the back LCD, not the best scenario when the shutter speeds are slow.

 

 

And here's a full set almost ready to get in the oven, just one more addition remaining.

 

 

Before they enter the oven the top parts of the pastries are painted with raw eggs to give them a brown glow when they get in the oven.

 

 

In the oven, as you can notice, she made several sets of pastries, different shapes and different fillings, the oven light was a weird deep orange color, I guess they made it that way to look similar to fire glow.

 

 

And here's the final product, see that brown crisp on the top? That's the egg paint.

 

Overall, I am very satisfied with the OMD, it has certainly exceeded my initial expectations coming from a 5D3, and I am still learning more of its characteristics everytime I use it.

 

Read More