Way back in digital camera history (circa late 2008), if you wanted to have an interchangeable lens camera system that produced great image quality, your only choice was a large DSLR system by Canon, Nikon or other companies. Enter the Micro 4/3’s system. This was a system built from the ground up using a smaller sensor than DLSR’s and also eliminating the mirror box and pentaprism as well. This results in a system that is markedly smaller than traditional DSLR’s. I quickly bought into the system and hoped it would be everything I had in a big DSLR in a small compact package. My first foray into m4/3 was with the Panasonic GF1. While it was a great little camera, it just didn’t quite produce the image quality I was hoping for. So I sold all the gear and kept using my Nikon D700. Panasonic iterated numerous models over the next few years and another one caught my eye, the G3. This had an all new 16MP sensor and the performance seemed to finally catch up to a DSLR. I bought back into the system and soon my D700 was sitting on the shelf more and more. While the G3 wasn’t perfect, it was good enough at the time and let me carry a small camera that I felt did not compromise on quality. So I sold all of my Nikon gear and never looked back. The G3 could never compete with a DSLR in terms of controls and speed of use, but I knew that eventually, a m4/3 camera would be released that would satisfy those criteria.
So I couldn’t resist any longer and needed to acquire an OMD. After calling about 20 stores across the nation, I finally got lucky one night and noticed Adorama had a black kit in stock. Immediately I ordered and a few days later it arrived. I’ve only had it a few days so far, but from using it this limited time, I think I can safely say that micro 4/3’s has finally come of age.
Here are a few shots from camping this past weekend of my friends dog jumping from a dock chasing a rubber duck. The speed of the autofocus and the 9 frames per second really let me capture what I wanted.
Last week I got a text from a friends little brother asking if I could take some pictures of him and his girlfriend before their prom. I agreed, we set up a time and I started to pack the gear. We were going to meet a little after 4, so I knew the afternoon sun was going to be rough. As with all the prom-goer’s in our town, they wanted the pictures at a local park area. Almost all of the area was exposed to the bright sun and there was very little shade. I felt fairly well prepared for this since I had a plan going into it. Here is the first shot in a very harsh mix of shade and beams of light coming down through the tree’s overhead.
When Olympus first announced their new flagship mirrorless camera, the OMD E-M5, my first thought was to preorder one as soon as I could, and I did. Only after reading more about it and thinking that maybe I should wait until other, more informed people than I post opinions on it should I buy it. Since then, I’ve not read anything negative about it and finding one to buy is turning out to be a tough challenge. Maybe I should have kept that preorder after all.
The problem is, I don’t need yet another camera. The ever marching tides of technology will not cease when I get my hands on this camera. It will be supplanted in mere months by something new from Panasonic or Olympus itself. Knowing this and seeing how good the files have been looking coming out of my G3 has helped to temper the urge to order the E-M5. This got me thinking back to when I first started into photography. My first ‘real’ camera was the venerable Nikon D50. It was a workhorse that went with me across the country and back. Looking at some of the pictures is reminding me that essentially any camera in the past 5 years can take an acceptable and even great picture. Below are some shots from that road trip and my first experience out west. I need to go back and see more.
