Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Olympus E-PM1 w/ 15mm F8 body cap lens

 Picked up an Olympus E-PM1 to go with a m4/3s 15mm f8 body cap lens I bought used and cheap ($35). Even new they are around 50 bucks. I had a couple m4/3s cameras but they weren't really, really small to compliment the really thin body cap lens, so I found a deal from Adorama or Cameta (one or the other) for a used, sample camera for just over a hundred clams, delivered. I had to sell some stuff to swap the equipment/dollars out. I wanted something to carry in my pocket that I didn't need to wait to focus and that could render black and white in a sorta traditional film way. You can slide the focus from a meter to infinity but really, it's more or less fixed focus and at f8, it provides adequate depth of field to just point and shoot most of the time. Put the camera in multi shot mode and shoot away once you slide the body cap lens open and turn it on. I'm not crazy about the interface but after playing with it for a hour or so I have it where I want it. Not so good indoors but I'm going to experiment some more with it. I thought the look of the B&W images from the 15mm f8 lens with its subtle vignetting gave a film like look/feel. I haven't had it long and I want to do some street shooting with it but today threw it in my pocket on the way out the door to ride the bike up to the library. Nothing much to see but I think you can get a bit of the feeling from the samples provided below. I think it's going to be a fun setup. I did merge some shots in PS to add some wide angle interest.














Blowing the shots up shows a speck of dust in the center of a couple of shots. I've since pulled out the giotto's rocket blower and blasted the sensor. Time will tell.







Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Olympus XZ-1 sample pictures & random thoughts

I have too many cameras. When a new camera comes out that I like, I wait six months to a year and buy it used. At that point I should sell off another camera which the newer camera replaces. This is what should have happened with the XZ-1. I liked the size and ability and waited several months after its introduction, and purchased one used. I used it a lot for a few weeks and it got placed on a shelf. I've since moved on and gotten other cameras which I like as well or more. But the thing is, this camera is such a good camera I can't bring myself to sell it. Stupid. Anyway here are some shots from this camera, most of which are untouched and toward the end some that are post processed to please the photographer. I recommend this camera. It is smallish, has a fast lens, can create some bokeh (a little busy but it's there) has a zoom lens which can go wide to portrait and a little beyond and well, it has great controls. In the photo you can see this one has an aftermarket grip (Richard Franiec's) and an add on electronic viewfinder which allows for use in bright sunlight or tilted allows it to simulate a medium format box camera (you look down to take the shot). By now they should be real bargains. If you like the shots, you might want to consider one. I'd sell you mine but I'm too stupid.







Now you see why Elvis wears that outfit. He really stands out in a crowd in it, doesn't he?





Thursday, July 11, 2013

Fuji X-E1 XF 35mm f1.4

Took the Fuji X camera to Prairie Grove to visit a couple of antique stores to see how the 35mm f1.4 renders. I shot jpegs. Most were Provia (standard) and a couple are Velvia (+saturated colors). f1.4 is the allure here.