The good life

Olympus E-P2 + Panasonic Lumix 20/1.7

Remembering the time when I used a Pentax DSLR

I had not used my Pentax K10D for over a year. The Olympus E-P2 does everything I need, taking less space and weight. The only reason why I still considered using the Pentax was to enjoy my beloved Zeiss Planar 85/1.4, which I had converted from C/Y to M42 mount.

So recently I took the Pentax and the Zeiss out of the closet and took them on a weekend family trip. The K10D has excellent ergonomics and it was nice to feel it in my hands again. But after a while I became aware of the reasons why I am now enjoying a mirrorless camera system so much: small size/weight combined with a good electronic viewfinder with large image size and the possibility of magnification and live histogram display.

But the Zeiss Planar continues to produce beautiful images on the K10D. And yes, a 5 year old digital camera (with a decent sensor) is able to create images as good as last week’s model. It might have fewer pixels, no video mode, no live view, painfully slow frame rate, and awful noise above 400 ISO. But it takes nice pictures if you point it in the right direction and set the aperture properly. What else is really necessary?...

Pentax K10D + Zeiss Planar 85/1.4

Caged pigeon

Olympus E-P2 + Zeiss Sonnar 135/2.8

Insect

Olympus E-P2 + Zeiss Sonnar 135/2.8 + extension tube

I've never been particularly interested in insect photography. But when I seat in a garden with the Sonnar 135 attached to the E-P2, it is impossible to resist pointing it at any bug I see. It is actually a good exercise in composition, as the subject position and the type of background (colour, detail, etc) have to be carefully managed.

However, it is a bit frustrating posting the photos without properly identifying the insects. That might be a job for my retirement...

Lake (II)

Olympus E-P2 + Panasonic Lumix 14/2.5

Lake

We've been here before.

Olympus E-P2 + panasoinc Lumix 14/2.5

Low saturation

Olympus E-P2 + Zeiss Sonnar 135/2.8 + extension tube

High saturation

Olympus E-P2 + Zeiss Sonnar 135/2.8 + extension tube

The new Olympus E-P3

The new Olympus Pen E-P3 has just been announced. The design is quite similar to the E-P3, but it supposedly has some technical improvements. You can learn the details here.

But do you know what I really would like to see on a new Pen? Only three things:

•  Better ergonomics. It is virtually impossible to carry the camera in one hand without accidentally changing the position of the two back dials. I actually had to disable some of the functionalities of the round dial, in order to limit damages due to inadvertently switching settings. This did not change in the E-P3.
• A dedicated button to turn the histogram on and off in live view, in all viewing modes. Not available in the E-P3.
• The ability to zoom in the image right after taking a photo, using the top dial, in order to check for focus accuracy or image blur. This is absent in the E-P3.

Things I don't really need:

• Better high ISO image quality. It seems to be better on the E-P3, but I suspect it is still not great, unlike current mid-range DSLRs. Anyway, I don't need to go above ISO 1600 on most of my photos.
• A built-in viewfinder (electronic or optical). The external, tiltable,VF-2 electronic viewfinder is superb. OK, it looks ugly, but it does its job perfectly. The E-P3 has no built-in viewfinder and is compatible with the VF-2.
• Tiltable LCD screen. It is not present in the E-P3, but it is on the E-PL3. But I use only the VF-2 to compose. I've been taking photos through a viewfinder for more than 20 years. I'm not gonna start framing on a LCD screen now!

So I am going to wait for the "Pen Pro" that has been rumoured recently...

Canyon

Olympus E-P2 + Panasonic Lumix 14/2.5