Thursday, July 4, 2013

Making friends with my OM-D

A while ago I posted how I was a bit frustrated with the image quality of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 (what a horrible long name!). I just call it the OM-D...
I decided I had to do something or I was either not going to use the camera anymore or I was going to sell it so I bought the Panasonic Lumix 25mm f1.4 lens. This ended up being a good purchase. One that has kept the OM-D alongside me at all times. I am even using for shooting some work! For those who are not sure, the 25mm lens on the OM-D Micro 4/3rds body gives you the equivalent to a 50mm lens on a full frame body. The aperture of f1.4 on the M4/3rds body gives about the same depth of field as f2.8 on a full-frame body.
Primarily, it is my fun and family camera. The small size makes it great for carrying along and the image quality is pretty darn good.

The lens is of Leica design so camera snobs can appreciate that. The lens hood is a funky rectangular style which takes some getting use to but it makes sense from a functionality stand point.

Here are a couple photos I shot with the OM-D and 25mm at a recent wedding. I now know what this camera's strengths and weaknesses are so I try to use it accordingly. Creating dreamy images with some lens flare and soft, blown-out highlights are where this one shines. My Canon 5D comes out for everything else.


 I have tried a couple studio shots with the 25mm f1.4/OM-D setup and the results are good. Not what I would expect from my 5D but definitely good enough for most uses.

And here is a good example of what I primarily use the camera for. Family fun. The in-body stabilization comes in more handy than I would have thought. I once took a photo with my OM-D using a 500mm lens (equal to 1000mm on full-frame) hand held at 1/30th of a second and it was clear, no blur from shakiness! Quite impressive. Very fun. The OM-D is a gem as long as you treat it with a nice lens!
 
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