Mirrorless wins! Again.

In my last post I was travelling to Christchurch to choose a new camera. For most of the post I discussed leaving the Fujifilm mirrorless system, and possibly moving back to the Nikon DSLR system. I had my eye on a couple of Nikon D7000s, as well as a possible Nikon D610 full frame. And then, at the end of the post, I made a throw-away comment regarding an Olympus E-M1.

Turns out it wasn't such a throw-away comment after all. When I got to the store in Christchurch (shout out to Greg and the team at Photo & Video) on Monday morning, the weekend had seen a run on their secondhand Nikon gear. Both D7000's were gone! Just as well I did have a plan 'B'.

And actually, the more I had thought about it over the weekend, the more I had come to the conclusion that my plan 'B' was really my plan 'A'. So when I arrived in store and was told that both the Nikon's were gone, I was actually relieved. The decision had quite clearly already been made for me 😄

Helping Hands. Olympus OM-D E-M1 with Panasonic 45-150mm. f6.3 @ 1/250th, ISO 200

My positive impressions of the micro four thirds system had been rekindled with my recent testing of camera sensors (see last post here). Having looked back over a lot of landscape images from the last few years, I was impressed with how good the photos taken with my E-M1 looked compared to other (larger) imaging systems. Turns out that for what I use my images for, micro four thirds quality is plenty good enough. And that's not damning with faint praise.

Above is the first image I took on my 'new' E-M1. And it's sharp. Super sharp. Sharper, I believe, than the files from my X-E2 would have been. Maybe that has something to do with the extra depth of field you get from the smaller sensor - where f6.3 is really more like f13 in full-frame. But I also think that the actual pixel-level detail is clearer and sharper than what I was getting from the Fujifilm X-Trans II sensor. The E-M1 files just look 'crispier'? Not 'overly' digital at all, but certainly less 'smeary' than the  images I was getting out of the X-E2.

Gnarly Tree, Botanic Gardens. Olympus E-M1 with Panasonic 14-150mm. f5.6 @ 1/60th, ISO 200 

I used the Olympus micro four thirds system for about two years - probably about two years ago - first with the OM-D E-M5 Mk2, and then with the E-M1. So I'm fairly familiar with the layout and how they work. Many complain about the Olympus menu system being difficult to navigate, but I don't find that at all. I'd call it 'dense' rather than difficult. But even I will admit to now having to go through a fairly steep 're'-learning curve on the E-M1.

Fortunately, every button and dial on the Olympus OM-D E-M1 can be re-programmed and configured to work exactly how you would like it to. This is great, but is also where some of the confusion with the menu system comes into play. But if you are methodical, take your time, and set things up exactly how you like, then the E-M1 becomes an intuitive joy to use.

Christchurch Rose Garden. E-M1 with Panasonic 45-150mm. f6.3 @ 1/125th, ISO 200

My previous E-M1 was an all-black body, whereas this 'new' one is the more retro-looking silver and black version - which I actually prefer. The camera store did also have an all-black version, for a cheaper price, but it had done twice as many shutter actuation's (42k as opposed to 20k) and certainly looked the worse for wear. So I opted for the slightly more expensive silver-black version, and I'm glad I did.

To my surprise, and great delight, they also happened to have an HLD-7 grip secondhand. It wasn't showing on their website, so I thought I was going to have to fork out for a brand new one - at more than three times the price! But there it was, sitting on the shelf, ready and waiting for me 😊

I've written quite a lot over the years about my struggles with changing to mirrorless - mainly due to the smaller sizes. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to carry around smaller, and lighter gear. But even though I'm not a big guy and don't have large hands, there quickly becomes a point for me where the cameras are too small, and buttons and dials become too fiddly! The Olympus OM-D E-M1, without the grip, is ok. But, with the grip attached, it's perfect as far as I'm concerned. Just the right amount of weight, heft and button/dial sizing.

Some might even say that it's getting a bit too big for a mirrorless system camera? But not me. I'm quite happy to add some weight to the camera body itself, since the lenses are where most of the weight-saving occurs anyway. The Panasonic 45-150mm lens I purchased with the E-M1 body is tiny! It's an ultra lightweight and ultra compact (90-300mm f4/5.6 equivalent) lens with optical image stabilisation included (although the E-M1 reverts to its own superior in-body stabilisation instead). Its overall length is only 73mm and it weighs in at a tiny 200 grams. That's just crazy talk for a 90-300mm, even at f4 to f5.6!

Hansen Park, Christchurch. E-M1 with Panasonic 45-150mm. f5.6 @ 1/400th, ISO 200

When I knew that I was going to replace my Fujifilm X-E2, I sat down and made a list of all of the 'features' I wanted in a camera. Since I mostly enjoy going out and shooting landscapes, I wanted a camera that was suited to this kind of photography. But it also had to be 'general' enough to shoot whatever else I might need to cover - from family snaps to the occasional sporting event.

I thought that the Nikon D7000 fit the bill perfectly - since it's weather-sealed, has a good 16MP sensor, high frame-rate, uses SD cards (dual card slots), and has a live-view function. But then I read more about the appalling implementation of live-view on Nikon's mid-range bodies and I started having serious doubts. You can't, for example, change the aperture value when shooting with live-view enabled! Seriously!!? You don't get a histogram on the back of the screen when you have live-view enabled. AND, what's even worse, you can't see the change in exposure on the screen in real-time with live-view enabled! WHAT!!!???? What's the point of even having live-view if that's the case? These features are available on all other cameras with live-view, at any price point. But Nikon reserves these 'special' features for their top-of-the-line (read expensive) DLSR camera bodies! Bugger that Nikon!

Who you looking at? Olympus E-M1 with Panasonic 45-150mm.

Fortunately, the Nikon D7000 isn't the only camera with all the features I'm after. The Olympus OM-D E-M1 also has 16MP, a weather-sealed body, high frame rates, used SD cards (only one slot though), and has excellent live-view functionality - as well as a tilt screen for helping with ease of viewing on a tripod. A tilt-screen isn't a feature I would have considered a 'must-have' even a few years ago. But the older I get, the more I appreciate any compositional aid that will help me shoot more easily from tricky camera angles. In fact, a flippy-out screen like the one on the E-M1 Mk3 (and many Canon's) would be even better! But I'll certainly make do with the tilt-screen on the E-M1 in the meantime.

Red Rose. Olympus OM-D E-M1 with Panasonic 45-150mm. f5.6 @ 1/25th, ISO 200

The images in this blogpost are some of the first taken with my new E-M1 setup with the Panasonic 45-150mm lens. To say that I'm happy with them would be an understatement. I'm more than happy. They are clear, crisp and sharp in a way that I honestly don't think that the files from my X-E2 were.

So yes, I think I've very much made the right decision switching (back) to micro four thirds. The E-M1 is an incredible camera, and a delight to use. I am enjoying reacquainting myself with it and am very much looking forward to taking it out on its first landscape shoot. I'm hoping that will be this very weekend....