The µ43 thread - welcome to the really dark side

I love my 12mm, but if you're not worried about the slightly smaller aperture or the larger size of the 12-40 then personally I would opt for the zoom as the picture quality is at least on a par if not better than the prime at 12. I have recently purchased the 12-35 f2.8 which is said to be slightly less sharp than the 12-40 at the wide end and I have been very impressed with it, with it being at least as good as my 12. I will probably sell my 12 now as it is pretty much redundant .
 
Yeah that's what I thought, the aperture is only 1 stop slower than the 12mm prime isn't it? So shouldn't be too much of an issue.

The reason I'm swinging towards it, is it's cheaper and would be easier than buying/carry 3 dedicated prime lenses (12mm, 17mm and 25mm) and also wouldn't have to keep changing the lenses over, it'd probably be on my camera 90% of the time, unless doing Macro specifically or portraits.
 
Its posts like the above that put my mind into a right old tizz!!

I've thought about the 12-40mm as:

A: It's splash and dust proof
B: It covers a good range of focal ranges , as said, 12mm 17mm and 25mm
C: It's not that expensive all things considered if you don't go through Olympus
D: Secretely I wish i'd gone for the OM-D E M1 instead of the PEN EP5 for it's splash and dust proof body - might sell and make up the cash later on.

Will one stop of aperture really make that much difference in terms of depth of field when trying to isolate subjects? (genuinely unsure ,still new to all this).

Wonder if anyone has done a side by side review of the 12-40 to some of the primes listed above.

Also having that 12-40mm would mean less money spent on different filters of different sizes!

Two new lenses coming in the pro range (well three if you count the incoming 40-150mm 2:8) that don't make me question a purchase of a 12-40mm! Oh... If only I made more money grrrrrr! :D
 
Just to make the decision even harder, I believe the EM1 body only on Amazon right now is under a £150 cashback offer if you buy a qualifying lens with it, and the 12-40mm lens gets a £50 voucher. Not 100% sure, but you'd be at least saving £150, maybe £200 if both offers work in conjunction with each other.

Or a free grip and the £150 cashback if you buy the EM1 and 12-40mm as a kit.
 
2nd hand 12-40 pro lens is around the £550 mark. As a theoretical scenario would it be pointless keeping my 25mm F1.8 if I bought the 12-40?

I would miss the Bokeh of 25mm lens for emphasising subjects, but you won't really loose that much going to 2.8 would you? obviously better for low light situations but that aside!

Sod the above.. i'm going to concentrate on getting a tripod first and using the 25mm prime + 40-150mm kit zoom to start taking better photos, but I miss the wide angle! arghhh!
 
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I can confirm...if anyone is interested that this remote switch does work with the EP-5!

Bought from the bay took 2 weeks to arrive from far east.

model number RM-UC1. Has the function to act as a bulb timer too by locking the shutter open. If you can't be bothered with the wifi then this will be perfect, will probably work with the OMD EM1 too!
 
Well, after spending about 9 years with Canon dDslr's, i decided i wanted to shrink, i tried micro 4/3rds camera with the E-PL1 with14-42 and 45-200 kit, i wasn't that impressed then for some reason, i then sold it and went back to a Canon 60D which i sold a couple of months later as i found i was leaving it behind when i went out anywhere, i can't be bothered lugging a big camera and lenses around with me, but i didn't want to be left with no camera so i got a Canon EOS-M, which has served me well for the last year or so, but lack of lens choice has been frustrating, i have the EF-M / EF adaptor but until yesterday, no lens to use it on.

Yesterday, i went to Jessops to look for an Ultra wide, but was also considering changing system totally, so i wanted to try other compact systems too before i commited any more to Canon.

Anyway, after much deliberation, looking at lens choices and falling in love with it, I left with an Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 14-42 lens, and i also bought the 45mm F/1.8 (Believe it or not, in 12 years of photography i have not had a fast lens, not even the 50 /1.8 lol.

I intend on buying an ultra wide (7-14 i think) in the future, and also the 60mm macro as lack of macro is quite frustrating so far (unless there is a way to use some form of macro on it, i really haven't had much chance to play yet.)

15034092453_3d14cdc9df_b.jpg


Hopefully, this will be the best mix of compact camera, DSLR use for me.
 
I have had a read through this thread and the compact discussion here: Best Compact/CSC For ~£400 .

I'm looking to make the change from a DSLR, I have had a D70s for years and have pretty much given up lugging it around unless it is a specific trip in the car.

I'm going on holiday for four weeks in December and want something lighter and more compact for landscapes, cityscapes etc.

I've had a good read through the thread and the Olympus E-PL5 does seem quite good for the money. Just wondering if there have been any changes in the µ43 game recently and anything else worth looking at?

Currys are still doing this deal: OLYMPUS PEN E-PL5 DZK Compact System Camera with 14-42 mm + 40-150 mm II R Lens for £350.

I'd then get rid of my D70s and my Canon Ixus.

edit1; Wifi would be really good but it is doubling the price of cameras to an EP5 or GX7. :(

edit2; Oh or an E-PL7.
 
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Phate said:
Guys I want a remote shutter for my EPL5, but I want one that I can set to say, take 10 second exposures for 3 hours etc.

Any suggestions?

Also it has to be wireless!
Click to expand...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/JJC-Multi-Function-compatible-Description-Compatibility/dp/B002BFDL8U

Maybe? Haven't used it myself. I'm sure there must be others.

Oh wait, not wireless. Duh

This one then - http://www.ebay.co.uk/csc/i.html?_f...nel+giga+t+pro+ii+olympus&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc
http://www.hahnel.ie/contentFiles/products/pdfs/brochures/RemotesGigaT2 A4-21-12-13.pdf

Dunno why I'm doing your googling for you again Phate :p
 
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bsoltan said:
I have had a read through this thread and the compact discussion here: Best Compact/CSC For ~£400 .

I'm looking to make the change from a DSLR, I have had a D70s for years and have pretty much given up lugging it around unless it is a specific trip in the car.

I'm going on holiday for four weeks in December and want something lighter and more compact for landscapes, cityscapes etc.

I've had a good read through the thread and the Olympus E-PL5 does seem quite good for the money. Just wondering if there have been any changes in the µ43 game recently and anything else worth looking at?

Currys are still doing this deal: OLYMPUS PEN E-PL5 DZK Compact System Camera with 14-42 mm + 40-150 mm II R Lens for £350.

I'd then get rid of my D70s and my Canon Ixus.

edit1; Wifi would be really good but it is doubling the price of cameras to an EP5 or GX7. :(

edit2; Oh or an E-PL7.
Click to expand...

You can get that down to £332 at Currys using code CSDSLR5 apparently. Probably still the best m43 deal around, you might want to add one of the fastish small primes for low light/pocketableness. The Panny 14mm 2.5 springs to mind.
 
wez130 said:
I intend on buying an ultra wide (7-14 i think) in the future, and also the 60mm macro as lack of macro is quite frustrating so far (unless there is a way to use some form of macro on it, i really haven't had much chance to play yet.)
Click to expand...

For a cheap interim macro option you might like to consider swapping the 14-42 for the 12-50 kit lens, which has a fairly useable semi-macro mode, optional power zoom and slightly more flexible focal range, albeit at the expense of being somewhat larger. Otherwise the 60mm is brilliant, by all accounts.
 
Well, I'm off to Iceland in 2 weeks for a weekend break. Anyone got any tips for me if the weather and the sun activity miraculously manage to align for a Northern Lights shot?

I've got the Panasonic G3 and the 25mm 1.4 / 12-35mm 2.8 plus a reasonable tripod. I suppose a remote shutter release/bulb might be an idea? Max automatic speed I think is 60 seconds, and 2 minutes with a bulb to hold it open.

I've never tried much serious night photography before, but I'm hoping that with the 25mm I can get a decent image in under 60 seconds? I could also try taking multiple exposures and making a composite image?
 
You won't be able to do multiple exposures, the lights move too quickly for that.

Experiment, tripod is absolutely essential. But generally I was shooting at f/4.0 (17-40L) with experiments of 6-30 second exposures and ISO's ranging from 800-3200

All depends on the condition at the time, but do try and experiment. You will be lucky to see the NL this time of year unless in the utmost North I think, but I could be and hope I'm wrong.
 
An Iceland trip is also on my list of places to visit....one day.

I was just experimenting with using the full moon to light paint Dartmoor a few nights ago. It worked but I had to use an ISO higher than I would have liked as the wind of blowing hard so it was a job for me to hold the tripod steady.

Dartmoor under a full moon by wardo1984, on Flickr

Also from a few nights back on Dartmoor.

Staple Tor, Dartmoor by wardo1984, on Flickr

Staple Tor, one man and his dog! by wardo1984, on Flickr

I'm really liking m43 system. Its good to be able to go hiking with a small tripod, and a bag with a relativity tiny camera with a lens or two, and get pleasing photos.
 
Excellent work :)

Yeah I love the M43 and the Olympus. It's a shame but the 5D doesn't get much of a look in these days! Although I'll never get rid of it. The Olympus is so handy for travelling.
 
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