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Olympus Tag

20 Sep

Posted at 07:49h in Blog, Dick's Rant by

I have to be careful with that title - I tried typing in Olympus Superzoom to the net to see what help it could be and it routed me off to old eBay sellers who have 35mm cameras for sale. Eek. I wanted to see if there was a comparable model from them that matched other major makers - something that had a small sensor but an enormous lens out the front. The sort of thing that cruise and safari tourists take overseas. It looks as though they might have had something like that some while ago, but are concentrating now on the things that can be done with their Micro 4/3 line of mirrorless cameras - and that they have just come out with a new lens to do it. The lens Carlos showed me is the Zuiko 12-200mm f:3.5-6.3 - possibly the longest zoom range lens for any mirrorless camera. It's the 35mm film equivalent of 24mm to 400mm. And we never thought of that in the day...

10 Jul

Posted at 09:07h in Blog, Dick's Rant by

I stopped dead opposite the Olympus binocular shelf at the Murray Street store this last week - and that's exactly what the Olympus designers intended me to do. That's why they made the 8 x 21 RCII WP field glasses in four colours. For visual appeal outside to match the optical appeal inside. Other makers have done this as well with smaller sets of binoculars. I won't detract from Olympus here by adding another brand name but suffice it to say that if you had wanted their small field glasses in bright yellow or aqua you would have been set back a considerably higher price than these. If you want style for value, Olympus are your go. Who needs 8 x 21's? Race goers who don't want to carry massive glasses with them. Tourists on Alaskan cruise ships who want to see the bears or moose close-up. Mountain hikers - indeed anyone who has to hoof it and wants to see further without bearing weight. Who needs colourful 8 x 21's...

08 Mar

Posted at 08:53h in Blog, Dick's Rant by

The heading image is not manipulated, apart from increasing contrast and dropping tones to give a silhouette. It shows the newest of the Olympus micro 4/3 mirror-less cameras alongside a workshop example of my first digital camera - a Nikon D1x. They are continents apart in digital performance and capability but look how close they are in physical size...

20 Nov

Posted at 07:57h in Blog, Dick's Rant by

Like the nose you need not pick, the fight you need not pick is a dark place, best avoided. This can be difficult for photographers when the manufacturers of cameras would like you to become passionate about something. In most cases, the passion they would like to foster in you is the desire to spend money. Of course you understand that this refers to the recent introduction of 24 x 36mm sensors into mirrorless cameras...

21 Sep

Posted at 08:16h in Blog, Dick's Rant by

Well, that's what the pack reminded me of when I saw it on the Olympus shelves - the Micro 4/3 specialists have decided to make an especial offer for people buying their OM-D E-M10 MkII cameras - three matched lenses in one box. This is both wonderful and dangerous...

23 Aug

Posted at 09:38h in Blog, Dick's Rant by

I sound too boastful - I defeated it only by one day. It doesn't pay to be lazy when the sun is out in winter - you only get small windows of possibility. The student flyers at Jandakot know that well. I was sure that, as Tuesday was fairly fine, they would be circuiting as hard as they could go to get time in before the big fronts hit the coast. Sure enough - the rotary as well as fixed-wing students were up and down as fast as they could taxi. The M Zuiko ED 300mm f:4.0 IS PRO is the angular equivalent of using a 600mm lens on a full-frame camera. That's well into shake territory, but there is stabilisation both on othe lens and in the body. I have no idea which mechanism was working, but as soon as I took a half pressure on the shutter button the EVF image settled down and I could clearly frame the subjects. I read the manual and set the camera to do a pre-shot continuous focusing as well - As I kept the rig pointed...

22 Aug

Posted at 08:40h in Blog, Dick's Rant by

You might be wondering if I was going to pair the title with a lead line that implied there are times when they get it wrong. Relax - nothing of the sort. I am in a positive mood despite the wintry weather. My goal was to try out a longer lens on the Olympus Micro 4/3 system than hitherto. Oh, I've shot with long lenses on bridge cameras and even gotten out to 400mm on a APS-C sensor but this time I lusted after the M Zuiko ED 300mm f:4.0 IS Pro. As it has to be used around the metro area - no hauling it to Bali for surfing shots - the local airport scene was going to be the testing ground. But first the other part of the test bed - the camera body. Olympus make a number of OM-D models that could handle the lens - generally labelling them as E-M1, E-M5, or E-M10, with different target markets, price points, and specifications. There are now Mk II variants and I noted one camera was up to a Mk III...

20 Apr

Posted at 10:23h in Blog, Dick's Rant, Promotions by

Once you find it, go get the piggy bank and the cookie jar. Bash them into fragments, collect the saved-up money inside, and head to Camera Electronic today. They've got a special deal on the Olympus OM-D E-M10 MkII and three lenses - you'll get them and a spare battery for just under $ 1200. It's the best money you'll spend all year. This, coming from a dedicated Fujifilm user, is high praise indeed. The camera and lens combo means that nearly any photoshoot you want to do is within your grasp straight away. The results from the Micro 4/3 sensor on the Olympus are superb - I've tested these cameras in the Little Studio and would rate them equally as good, if not better, for my close-up specialty. The inclusion of the 14-42mm zoom lens in the kit means that your travel shots are taken care of and the dedicated portraiteur can leave the 45mm prime on the camera forever. Sporty types may elect to do the same with th 10-150mm lens. Whatever, you have them all there ready to go today. Make...