Tag: Olympus

  • Happy Birthday OM-D E-M5!

    Today 10 years ago Olympus started a new era, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 was launched. It started the whole OM-D series of cameras. Today there are three different OM-D cameras the E-M10, E-M5, and E-M1. The newest one is E-M1 MKIII.

    Olympus OM-D E-M5

    A powerful small camera!

    OM-D E-M5 was a small but very powerful camera at its time. DPReview wrote about the camera in its review back in 2012:
    ”The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is certainly the most capable Micro Four Thirds camera we’ve reviewed and arguably the most likable mirrorless model yet. It falls down a little bit on its continuous focusing but we have absolutely no complaints about the image quality. It’s small, attractive, and a pleasure to use, and its pictures are equally enjoyable.”

    I can see why they did write about it like that. I remember testing it during spring in April 2014 and was right away blown away by its capabilities. It was a bit ahead of its time, but not too much.

    Olympus OM-D E-M5, M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8, 1/1600s, f5.6, ISO200
    Olympus Om-D E-M5, M.Zuiko 75mm f1.8, 1/800, f4, ISO200

    A new lens mount

    It was also a risk. Olympus introduced a new mount for its flagship lineup. They already had used the 4/3 size sensor in their E-system cameras, but now they had a new micro 4/3 mount and the older lenses needed an adapter to work with the new system. This was not that big of an issue until the next OM-D was released, the professional model E-M1.

    What about the lens selection?

    When launching a new mount lens selection is crucial. If you do not have lenses for the new system it might be in trouble right from the start. Olympus had already launched an m4/3 body a few years earlier, the Pen E-P1. (2009). So there were a few lenses that were available. The only two missing lenses were a fast zoom lens and a standard lens. Especially the missing standard lens at the time was a bit odd. The fast zoom lens came in 2013. It was launched at the same as the E-M1.

    Now that I look back it seems that the lens roadmap has been a bit behind the cameras. I assume that it is the case with other manufacturers too, but have not really looked into it.

    Sample images from my trip to Poland

    I had the E-M5 on a trip to Poland in April 2014. I also visited Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. that was the only time I had small trouble with my Olympus cameras. For some reason, the E-M5 only worked upside down. I managed to get some photos that can be seen here.

    I bought a new E-M5!

    E-M5 is still a quite capable camera to use. I bought a new one a few weeks ago. There is a camera store Optotek in downtown Helsinki that has some older models still available as new.

    My thoughts about the camera on my latest video.

  • 3 photographers that have INFLUENCED my Photography!

    3 photographers that have INFLUENCED my Photography!

    Getting influenced by other photographers is fun! In my latest video I talk about three photographers that have influenced me. My pick are photography legends, but you can be influenced by some one in Instagram or some one in your local camera club.

    Getting influenced does not mean that you copy others. Of course copying some one can be a great excersice too. But for long term photography getting influenced is much better.

    What does getting influenced mean?

    As I already mentioned it is not copying others. It might be picking up subject matters, approach, some times it can even the style to some extend. Usually what happens is that we start copying and end up doing something totally different. The starting point has only been our ,well, the starting point.

    Do not be afraid of copying someone when starting out. But do not make that the goal.

    The 3 photographers that have influenced me.

    These 3 photographers have something in common what it comes to their style. It is not obvious, but the similarities are there. At least to me. In my latest video I talk about these photographers. Who they are, well you need to watch the video.

  • BEST Olympus cameras ever made!

    BEST Olympus cameras ever made!

    Now that the production, service, marketing, and sale of Olympus has been transferred to OM Digital Solutions is a good time to look back.

    Semi-Olympus I

    Semi-Olympus I, 1936
    Semi-Olympus I, 1936

    Olympus corporation started to make cameras in 1936. The first camera was Semi-Olympus I. It had a Zuiko lens.

    Olympus Pen

    Olympus Pen, 1959
    Olympus Pen, 1959

    That was the start. The next big thing was when Olympus hired Yoshihisa Maitani who became one of the legends of camera design. His first design was Olympus Pen. It was meant to be a simple camera that one could use. It was a huge success.

    Olympus Pen-F

    Olympus Pen-F
    Olympus Pen-F

    The next camera that is worth mentioning is Pen-F, the half-frame SLR. It was the first of its kind but was no success. Pen-F also has its digital version that was launched in 2016. It is also a great camera, but what I have heard not a commercial success either. I personally think Pen-F is something the new company should think about and launch an MKII version of it. It is a great camera for street photography.

    Olympus 35SP

    Olympus 35SP
    Olympus 35SP

    One of my favorite cameras from Olympus is the 35SP. It has a superb lens. G.Zuiko 42mm f1.7. It also has a very good metering system. It was so good that even Ansel Adams had a 35SP. It was also the first camera to have both a regular light metering system and spot metering.

    Olympus OM-1

    Olympus OM-1
    Olympus OM-1

    The first SLR from Olympus was the M-1. Its name was changed to OM-1. Leica did not like that Olympus used M-1 because they already had that name. The M comes from Maitani and the O is of course Olympus. OM-1 was the smallest and lightest SLR of its time. It was again one of Maintaini’s masterpieces.

    Olympus OM-4 Ti

    Olympus OM-4 Ti
    Olympus OM-4 Ti

    The next great OM-series camera was OM-4Ti. It was launched in 1986. It was the first focal plane shutter that allows full speed flash sync. It also appeared in the opening scene of the James Bond movie – Licence to Kill.

    Olympus Mju

    Olympus Mju
    Olympus Mju

    The best selling Olympus camera was Mju. It sold over 5 million pieces. It was a beautiful small compact camera. It is also the first Olympus camera I have ever bought.

    Digital Era

    The digital era has not been the best of times for Olympus. They made still some great cameras, like the Camedia E-10. Of course, the E-M5 was a revolutionary camera, and the ones that followed, the E-M1-series particularly.

    Olympus E-M5
    Olympus E-M5

    Olympus has always been innovative. There are a lot of things that they have invented or made a lot better. The first 5-axis IBIS was in an Olympus camera. Olympus also had the first sensor cleaning system. The first 4/3 camera, E-1 had a weather-sealed body.

    Olympus OM-D E-M1X
    Olympus OM-D E-M1X

    It will be interesting to see what the future brings us.

    Below this text there are two videos about the history of Olympus that can be found in my YouTube channel.

    You can find some more about Olympus cameras from their camera museum page. It is in Japanese, but Google Translate will help.

    images: Olympus