Today's outing...

[Puma Cat]

Went up the California coast today with a fellow photographer, between Bodega Bay and Jenner. Just some pics taken with the OM-D and Panny 12-35/2.8 zoom.

[JJinID]

Great pictures Stephen! Thanks for sharing!

[Puma Cat]

Thx, JJ!

[TommyC]

Stephen, that's amazing!

[bart]

[Yamaki]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them.

[jdandy]

Stephen.......Lovely photos that capture the scenic beauty of the area very well. I always enjoyed the drive from Healdsburg along the Russian River through Guerneville down to the coast at Jenner and the Sonoma Coast State Beach. I love the coast highway drive up to Mendocino, too.

[OldTex]

Nice scenics. I always told myself I was going to get into that but never seemed to get started. I was heavy into birds and such for a few years but loading up all that gear got to be such a production.....kinda took the fun out of it.

When you said you used an OM-D, is that an old Olympus or am I just out of touch on Canon terminology?

[Puma Cat]

Tex,
No, the OM-D is a new Olympus digital that was introduced in 2012...it's one of the new class of "mirrorless" interchangeable lens cameras, like the Fuji X-series, which are coming on very strong of late. The OM-D is a 16 megapixel Micro Four-Thirds camera that is a "retro" design that harkens back to the Olympus OM4 Ti film camera. It's 2X crop factor camera, so any lens effectively doubles the focal length compared to 35mm; a 14mm lens is the 35mm equivalent of a 34mm lens. It is very small and compact (smaller than an OM-1) camera that can use any of the Olympus, Panasonic, and other Micro Four-Thirds lenses, e.g. Leica and Voigtlander. It can also use the spectacularly good Olympus Four-Third lenses with an adapter. It's an all-metal body camera that is extremely well-made and fully weather-sealed. It has 5-axis in-body image stabilization, and an articulating LCD rear screen that is touch-sensitive, and you can fire the camera from simply touching the subject of interest in view in live view on the LCD screen (as well as access the menu system via the touchscreen). It has a VERY good electronic viewfinder with extremely low levels of "lag", extremely fast autofocus, and is very responsive in real-world use, amongst the most responsive cameras I've ever used. It is very much like using a pro-level digital SLR, except it is MUCH smaller, lighter, and more compact. The body is as rugged as any pro dSLR I've ever used...we're literally talking Canon 1D and Nikon D3/D4 ruggedness here.

Here it is the with Olympus 17mm/1.8 prime installed. There's nothing to give a sense of scale here, but it is very small for being an interchangeable lens camera.



It's Micro-4/3" sensor is larger than the 1" sensors in the Sony RX100 or Nikon V/J-series, but not as large as an APS-C camera, like my Fuji X-Pro1.

It's image quality ranges from excellent to "frickin' rocks", but it cannot match the MAGIC my Fuji X-Pro1 produces for image quality (nothing that I've personally owned or shot can, FWIW). It has excellent, natural, color, but it cannot match the Fuji X-cameras, e.g. the X-E1, X-Pro1 for color, image quality, noise or dynamic range.

It's a fully professional-level camera with access to a very wide range of lenses, several of which are truly superb optics. It also has a excellent flash system comparable in performance to the Nikon SB-system.

I bought one because some pros I've been corresponding with and trust, are using these for the majority of their professional work now, and have been absolutely raving about it. I bought mine used, but in like-new condition for $750. I will be using it whenever I need "dSLR"-like functionality, but in place of getting the expensive Canon 5D MKIII or using my warhorse Canon 1D MkII N, which is pretty much relegated only to motorsports photography, these days.

It's VERY good camera and camera system, but it doesn't appeal to me emotionally as much, or provide nearly as much pleasure in use, as my beloved Fuji X-Pro1 "rangefinder"-style camera, which is one of most gratifying cameras I've ever used. For example, when I went on my recent trip to the Eastern Sierra, I used my Fuji 90% of the time.

[Puma Cat]

Just to provide some scale, here's a pic of the OM-D next to my venerable OM-1 (my first camera and the one I learned photography with...), and my Canon 1D MkII N with the smallest lens I use on it, the Canon 17-40/4 lens. This was taken with my POS Fuji X20.



Here's a pic with the three lenses I own for it: the Oly 17/1.8 (on-camera), camera left, the Oly 45/1.8 (equivalent on this camera to a 90/1.8), and on the right, the Panasonic 12-35/2.8. The Panny is the equivalent of a 24-70/2.8 for full-size dSLRs, but compare it in size to my Canon 17-40/4...it's quite a bit smaller, and an actual 24-70/2.8 would be about 20% larger than the 17-40.