This Old Blog

E-PL3, Lumix 14mm, and FL-FM1 Some men pass the time by chasing women. I did that and wound up married, and we all know how expensive that gets, especially when you add in some children. Some men pass the time with hobbies like fishing or golf, and wind up spending considerable sums on expensive boats, expensive fishing gear, or expensive golf equipment (some very expensive). Some men even have photography as a hobby, and we all know how expensive that can get. I, on the other hand, with my limited budget, have a hobby collecting and using older cameras that have passed their prime (no pun intended). So I wait, usually several years, until all those former new hotness cameras become old and busted in the eyes of the market and they go on considerable markdown. The Olympus E-PL3 is one of those cameras. Introduced the latter half of 2011, it was the last of the 12MP µ4:3rds cameras (the other two being the E-P3 and E-PM1). The next cameras to come out of the Olympus camera chute...

Top view: Nikon Df vs. Nikon FM3a (via TheOnlinePhotographer ) I came across this scale comparison on the Internet's today. In one simple picture it summed up why the Nikon Df isn't the digital FM3a so many want it to be. It also illustrates in part why (outside of the price) I won't purchase the Df. If you look at the top plates of both cameras, you can see the top plate outline of the FM3a literally sticking up from the Df body. The Nikon Df is much deeper than the FM3a from the front (the lens mount) to back (the LCD). What we have here is an odd-ball digital camera design that appears to have bits and pieces of the FM3a stuck on it like a collection of spare parts someone had lying around at the time. When old people like me say they want a digital Nikon FM3a (or in my particular case, a digital Olympus OM-1), we want the film sized body with a same-sized digital sensor replacing 35mm film. And as the Nikon Df illustrates so eloquently, that won't happen...

The affordable, discrete, rugged, and always-ready Panasonic GX1 with 14mm pancake. I have experienced a barrage of new camera announcements for the last few months and today I reached a point of saturation. I realized just how well past tired I was of it all when the final official reveal of the new Nikon Df (which must stand for "Dumb fools", as that's the marketing niche it's aimed at) occurred today. When I read faux-tography sites such as Forbes gushing about how wonderful the Df was, then read the reactions of real photographers such as Tom Hogan ( The Df very well may be the first camera marketed and sold to the AARP crowd ) and Mike Johnston ( Omigod, be careful what you wish for ), I knew for certain that Nikon had finally jumped the shark . And a $3,000 dollar shark at that. Me, I just wait at the trailing edge of photography, where everybody drops their  old and busted gear for the new hotness , and then I just pick up perfectly good equipment for pe...

Sony α7R There are some interesting posts coming out now about the success (or not) of adapting alien lenses to the Sony α7/α7R dynamic duo, in that it might not be what everyone has initially hoped for. Right now is the honeymoon phase of the Sony α7 releases, where a golden light shines over the universe and the Sony α7 can do no wrong. One of its vaunted features in the minds of its most ardent supporters is that it's a better camera body for every other lens ever made, especially Leica lenses. All you need is an adapter... Perhaps, and then perhaps not. The first word of caution I read comes from The Online Photographer (yes, those guys) and a post made back last Wednesday titled " Two Reasons... " Give credit to Mike Johnston for publishing both sides of issue, in this case the use of Leica lenses via an adapter on the Sony α7 bodies. The first reason in the post is a link back to Roger Cicala's article " There Is No Free Lunch, Episode 763: Lens A...

Sony α7R It's been a week since Sony introduced the α7 pair of cameras to a giddy hyperbolic audience of camera gear dweebs. You would have thought it was the second coming of Christ in some quarters. After the dust settled surprisingly quickly, I came to the same conclusion about the camera and system that a number of others hinted at between the lines of their various hands-on previews. It's too expensive for what the system currently delivers. That's not to say that, from an engineering perspective, it's poor. Far from it. From an engineering perspective it's something of a tour de force. Sony took its fixed lens RX1, a 135mm sized sensor fixed lens camera, and essentially combined it with the E mount to create the α7. In one fell swoop they asserted their leadership in this specific domain over both Canon and Nikon. But that's just in this one particular domain (a pure mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with a 135mm sized sensor). The digital ...

Rumor has it that the kit price of the Samsung Galaxy NX mirrorless camera will be a rather lofty US$1,700. (Body-only is a measly $100 less). Yes, a rather lofty $1,700. What do you get for your hard-earned 1,700 simoleons ? Along with the body you see above you get the Samsung incomparably made precision 18-55mm kit lens, the Samsung made 20.3 MP APS-C sensor (not all that bad, really, but one of many APS-C sensors competing in a crowded space, especially when compared against Sony's nearly invincible offerings), and the fabulously fabulous Android Jelly Bean 4.2 (nearly one year old, not the latest and freshest 4.3 JWR66Y build), with WiFi, Bluetooth 4, and 3G/4G LTE connectivity, all delivered to you through a 4 inch-plus screen that runs across the entire back of the body. I've been wanting (some) wireless connectivity, and I've been wanting (something like) Android in a camera for a while now, but this particular implementation isn't exactly what I had in...

OM-D E-M1 with MZuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO zoom lens About a month ago I wrote a long soppy post about how I was tired of buying cameras and I wasn't gonna buy no more new cameras, no way, no how. I managed to keep that promise through the Olympus E-P5 and the Panasonic GX7. While the E-P5 was pretty, the design of the GX7 left me cold. And then Olympus leaked (yes, they did) the video of the E-M1 with the Zuiko Digital 12-35mm f/2 mounted on it. I looked at the blurry video and found I could resist the siren's call. And then, over on 43rumors , there appeared these two, much much clearer, more professionally produced photos of the E-M1 with the equally rumored 12-40mm f/2.8 constant aperture zoom. You're probably thinking "Here it comes. Here's where he falls off the wagon and makes wild claims about buying the rumored E-M1 no matter what." Maybe. I certainly like the design of the E-M1. It has an incredibly attractive chiseled look that spe...

Good shoes are more important than a good camera. It's better to have the same brand of camera as the people around you in your life than to have whatever is momentarily latest and greatest. "More Zoom" is never the correct answer to any question. If you're an aspiring Canon camera owner, it's important to know that "2.8L" is not a measure of volume. Spending money on new gear means getting less use from what you've already paid for. One lens will do most of the work. A second lens will do most of the rest. A third lens will do very little at all. Start simply and add complexity as necessary. Extra batteries and memory cards are cheap. Flip-out screens work. Ken Rockwell is a troll. Never associate with a photographer who doesn't realize this. Factor in the price of a small fast prime when budgeting for a superzoom lens. A 50mm prime is the original all-purpose lens. Leave the bandolier camera s...

I've been thinking long and hard about my photography lately, and I've come to realize I spend way too much time (and precious cash) on equipment and far too little on the art of photography itself. Right now the most sophisticated camera in my collection is the one at the top of this post, the Olympus OM-D E-M5. I also have a collection of µ4:3rds lenses, the majority of them small primes. I carry them around in a bag, yet I spend too little time using it, and have too few quality images to show for the equipment investment. Funny thing is I've managed reproduce, with µ4:3rds lenses, the type of 35mm film system I used back in the 1970s and 1980s, before I pretty much sold it all and bought a Nikon N90 and a single Nikkor zoom in 1989. The Nikon is what I used, in decreasing frequency, until I took up with digital cameras in by purchasing a Canon A300 point-and-shoot in 2003. Over the last ten years I've traced a blazing trajectory from the Canon A300 point and ...

Panasonic Lumix GX1 with Lumix 1:2.5/14mm pancake prime I posted part two of my review on thewsreviews: http://www.thewsreviews.com/2013/06/panasonic-lumix-dmc-gx1-silver-part-2.html Nothing changed from part 1; I still believe it's a great little camera, especially now that it's heavily discounted. This time I used it with the Lumix 14mm. Whether the GX1 + 14mm is on the same photographic footing as the Nikon Coolpix A, Ricoh GR Digital V, or Fuji X100s is open for discussion, but for about US$450 body and lens, it sure does a great job for me. And when the 14mm doesn't suit me for whatever reason, I can switch it out for something else, such as the 20mm or M.Zuiko 45mm. Such is the real power behind an interchangeable lens system.

Olympus E-P5 with M.Zuiko 1.8/17mm lens, all in black It's now official. Olympus has released the next true Pen, the E-P5. I say the next "true Pen" because the E-M5, which I own, is a different model line altogether, and doesn't have the word "Pen" anywhere on it, not the body nor the box it was shipped in. This Pen is a far better camera than the two-year-old E-P3, which I was not at all happy with when it was introduced. Olympus took all that is good about the E-M5, especially the sensor, mixed in the best bits from the Pen line (both the old film Pens as well as the newer digital lines), fixed what needed fixing and produced this current iteration. And from what I can tell so far it's a pretty decent iteration of the Pen side of the Olympus camera lines. The only problem is the cost. The body alone is $1,000. You can pick up the still-excellent E-M5 for about $100 less. If you buy the "super kit", which includes the new black 1.8/1...

Blackmagic Design's Pocket Cinema Camera caught me by surprise when I first read about it on Thom Hogan's sansmirror.com web site . Up until yesterday I was pretty well settled about not buying any new camera gear, until I came across this announcement. What's scary is that the $995 suggested price isn't a problem with me. My first line of defense, my inherent cheapskateness, has failed to protect me and my wallet. What is remarkable (to me) about this camera is that it appears, on paper at least, to be a real digital cinema camera, not a stills camera with video bolted onto the side. I'm certainly no video expert, but I've been dabbling in video with the Pens as well as the NEX-5N. And I have not been particularly satisfied with the results. I'm now going to commit the timeless amateur photographer's sin by saying that I would get better results by buying a different piece of equipment. I'd be the first to look askance at anyone making that kin...

I have over the last few years written about my wants in a camera. And then today, for whatever reason, I realized I pretty much have what I've yearned for. How did that happen, you ask? The sensors, specifically the Sony sensors, came along and gave me pretty much all I ever asked for with regards to image quality, my biggest want. In particular, the sensors in the NEX-5N and E-M5. They're pretty well matched where it matters to me. Yes, yes, the NEX-5N scores slightly higher numerically than the E-M5 according to DxOMark, but in practical use, they're essentially equal, and compared to the three Pens in my collection, they are well beyond what I'd been working with in regards to overall sensor capability. And to be honest the Pens aren't all the bad to start with. Model DxOMark score color depth, bits exposure range, EV low-light, ISO Year announced NEX-5N 77 23.6 12.7 1079 2011 E-M5 71 22.8 12.3 826 2012 E-PL2 55 21.4 10.2 573 2010 E-PL1 ...

I won't be the first person to comment negatively on Sony's latest lens , the Carl Zeiss T* 1.4/50mm for the α DSLT series. A lens that costs $1,500 US. I won't be the first to question why I should buy a heavily plasticized 50mm lens for that much, especially from Sony. I will try to be a bit more reserved, more " fair and balanced " in my criticisms. Carl Zeiss didn't build the lens itself. It's a "Carl Zeiss Optics and Planar Design ," meaning that it was built by Sony or a Sony partner ODM . Looking at the Big Two (Canon and Nikon) for comparison, I find the most expensive Nikon 50mm is the NIKKOR 50mm f/1.2 AIS manual focus lens for a measly $650, while Canon wants to sell you an EF 50mm f/1.2L USM autofocus lens for $1,500 US. Of course the Canon supporters will tell you their $1,500 50mm is worth every penny. Every. Penny. So maybe Sony is jealous of Canon. This isn't the first Sony/Carl Zeiss expensive lens. The last time I clut...

Daughter #2 spent a long weekend with her mom and dad. Because of the state of the 1994 Volvo, she drove a one-way rental down to Orlando. Then her boyfriend came down from Tallahassee for New Years Eve. Today they packed up his car with her all her things and they drove back together. Before they left we all enjoyed a great brunch at First Watch on Sandlake Road. It was a great day and an enjoyable moment in time. While my daughter was in town we went to a movie (The Hobbit) and grabbed a few moments here and there photographing the general area. As she gets older our dual photography sessions are more and more interesting. I look forward her showing me what she took while she was here. One spot we stopped at was downtown at City Hall and the Dr. Phillips Art Center construction site. I grabbed a few photos and found the old grove beginning to come back. The knee surgery was a time for me to just drop back and chill out, concentrating on physical and mental healing. As I...

Nikon D600 with 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR zoom  Olympus OM-D E-M5 with M.Zuiko 12-50mm zoom and HLD-6 grip system I have been holding back purchasing replacement equipment for my stolen 4:3rds gear for quite some time. I wanted to wait as long as possible before making any kind of commitment to any camera, let alone a given vendor or product line. I wanted to be sure I was making the right purchase. To that end I've gone through a considerable amount of foot work and research, pinging a number of knowledgeable folks, at times pushing the limits of friendship with endless questions (sorry, Matthew). I have yet to make the purchase, but I've narrowed my choices down to just two cameras, the Nikon D600 and the Olympus OM-D E-M5. Nikon For some really odd reasons, Nikon sellers (B&H and Adorama, just to name two) have been selling the D600 body with the 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR zoom for a smidge less than $2,000, the same price the D600 body only was first introdu...