*Olympus 75mm f/1.8, all it’s cracked up to be?

After my recent disappointment with the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro (read here), and my ongoing ups and downs with the Olympus OMD EM5, I have been looking to be convinced by Olympus.  I hear so much about Oly’s stellar reputation, but I’d not personally felt those plaudits justified through my experiences with the few Olympus products I’ve owned (hopefully the fanboys will be kind to me here).  In comes the M. Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 lens.  A solid, sharp, 150mm EFOV lens with quite a reputation of its own, even being less than a year old has come onto the scene.  After returning the 60mm macro, I wanted to make sure that the investment in the 75mm lens would be worth it to me…

*Against the grain on the new Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro lens

I’ve been debating a dedicated macro lens for either my full frame setup or my micro 4/3 setup for a little while now.  I wanted to try out the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 dedicated macro lens as I felt the micro 4/3 system really played to its benefits with a macro setup.  It really had to work to supplant the idea of acquiring the PanaLeica 45mm f/2.8 OIS Macro lens in the micro 4/3 realm, or some more illustrious full frame macro lenses for my larger system as well.  Now, I may be the odd man out as every review seems to really like this lens, but I was not impressed.  Read on to hear about why…

*Panaleica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH, I couldn’t help myself.

It’s a hard thing to admit to myself really.  Being that I’ve been in love with the Lumix 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens for so long, I never really thought about acquiring a lens for the Micro 4/3 format that provided such a similar angle of view.  Now that I have, I must make a decision, which do I keep…

*Olympus OM-D E-M5 Firmware Update, please.

As much as I do love this camera, I find myself absolutely frustrated with it in certain situations.  While the squeaky wheel is normally the most annoying, it is also the one that gets the grease.  Let us become a loud enough wheel so that Olympus may take notice and deliver some updates to make this camera all it can be.

*How do aperture and focal length affect the DOF or exposure on different sized sensors?

Okay, much like the “effective focal length” discussions, there seem to be many “effective aperture” discussions going around as many of these mirrorless interchangeable lens compact system cameras begin to really round out their lens offerings.  Well, I guess the micro 4/3 system has while the Samsung NX is getting there and Sony NEX system users still have a small handful of options, but not really here nor there.  The fact that so many lenses can be adapted across various formats can complicate the discussion.  Along with those who shoot with APS-C DSLR cameras, all references for focal length and depth of field seem to fall back to a full frame/35mm sized sensor as the benchmark.  There are some misconceptions as to how the aperture, or focal length affects the exposure or depth of field in these varying formats.

C’mon in, we’ll straighten this all out.

*Lensbaby Composer Pro for MILC Cameras, a system within a system.

April 2nd, 2012 – Lensbaby has announced it’s second MILC dedicated product which now gives the MILC (Mirror-less Interchangeable Lens Compact) systems, micro 4/3, NEX, and NX users access to every optic and add on in the Lensbaby system.  Where the Tilt Transformer  for Micro 4/3 and NEX cameras allowed for the Composer Front to be used, it was limited to the Lensbaby optics that were compatible.  Now, the Sweet 35, Fisheye, Edge 80, Macro Converters and all standard optic swap inserts are entirely compatible!  It’s like immediately gaining access to a bunch of new lenses for these young systems clamoring for more affordable and diverse options.  More after the jump…

*G-cubed in Chi-town

High above it all - G3 + FD55 f/1.2

Where else in the world would one want to be than Chicago in the depth of winter I ask you?  I know it may sound somewhat sadistic, but I’ve really come to enjoy walking around the windy city when the river is frozen over, the streets are coated with a salted crust and the wind makes your face feel like someone repeatedly smacked you with a frozen fish.  I’ve also come to realize the genius of having the largest sail show in the midwest at the same time every year.  It may hurt to go outside, but when you get into the boat show, your thoughts immediately transport you to warmer times, and you feel any potential financial inhibitions start to ease with the promise of a midsummer breeze on the lake, the water lapping against your bow and the only ice you encounter is inside your cooler.  On the business side of things, orders in January mean that you can actually get everything built before sailing season starts.

 

Read on for more shots and mumblings…

*Micro4/3 Holy Trinity: It’s not the size of the boat, it’s the motion in the ocean.

I’ve had a little time now with the absolutely minascule Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 pancake lens and I have to say, I have no problem proclaiming that I have a tiny lens. A truly impressive optical feat considering it’s being used on a 17.3mm x13mm 4/3 sensor. Of course, there is the beautiful Olympus 12mm f/2 lens, but at 2.5x the cost, could one be satisfied with the trade offs and savings? Beyond that you have the much ballyhooed 20mm f/1.7 pancake which is amazing in its own right, but for a bit more coin you can get the Panaleica 25mm f/1.4… And then of course, the Oly 45mm f/1.8 which has been universally praised for both quality and price, but the other Panaleica lens, the 45mm f/2.8 macro should certainly get some attention too. Folks, I think we have a few candidates for the micro 4/3 holy trinity.

*Your Micro 4/3′s camera + your existing lenses = limitless fun.

so much for compact...

Who cares that Olympus and Panasonic have released relatively few lenses, mainly slow zooms, for the micro 4/3′s cameras?  Adding m4/3 mount adapters to your bag opens up a bevy of hundreds of lenses.  What you gain in variety though, you may loose in automated functionality. 

*Panasonic GF-1, my new obsession.

The start of a new decade brings with it a shift in digital image capturing technology.  From an ambitious snapshooter’s perspective, perhaps the most versatile system has presented itself.  While the discerning professional may not consider the micro 4/3 system cameras heavy lifting tools, it is at least an intriguing compact system for lighter shooting.