Olympus E-P3 Initial Review

Last post I discussed my purchase of the Olympus Pen E-P3 - ostensibly so I could use the 40-150mm f4/5.6 telephoto that came with it on my E-M1.

But I was also interested to see what the E-P3 would be like as a 'travel' camera. Something small and light, to use when I don't want/need to be carrying my E-M1 around with me. I was also keen to see how the Pen series had progressed - since I had owned the original E-P1, but had sold it for a number of reasons. Primarily because I had found it a bit sluggish and slow (and also a bit too 'fiddly' to use as my main camera).

Well, the E-P3 arrived this week (as I write this), and the weekend weather was looking good. I spent a night going over the camera functions and setting it up for my shooting style (enabling the Super Control Panel etc) and was ready to go on Saturday.

Brunner Bridge. E-P3 with 14-42mm II R. f5 @ 1/100th

I decided to chance my luck again and go back to the place I had tried to go for my first outing with the 12-40mm f2.8 Pro - The Brunner Mine Site. Last time I had to turn back due to intense early morning fog. This time I decided to learn from my previous visit, and go in the afternoon rather than the morning. This worked - kind of. There was definitely no fog, but there was no sun either! The valley was in complete shade, which was going to make for dull, dull photos. Aaarrgghhh!!!!

I was determined, however, to stay for an hour and take some photos. So I had to think 'outside' the box. Colour photos weren't going to look very interesting in flat, dull light - but what about black and white? And if black and white, then what about using the Grainy B&W Art Filter?

Fortunately this just happens to be my favorite of all the Art Filters built into the camera, and it's the one I had already 'pre-programmed' into the E-P3. So a quick rotation of the program wheel on top of the camera to the 'Art' mode, and bingo - Grainy B&W (Mode II) with the filmy-boarder look was set!

Historically I'm not one for using the Art Filters - in fact I don't even know why they are on the E-M1 and I may have even turned them all off. But, on the E-P3 I think they make a lot more sense. I guess I see the E-P3 as being more of a 'fun' point-and-shoot, where using pre-programmed Art Filters in Jpeg mode suits the style of the camera? And I have to say, seeing the grainy black and white image moving around on the rear lcd screen as I composed with the camera at arms length was a heck of a lot of fun. So different to my normal shooting style.

Brunner Mine Site. Olympus Pen E-P3 with 9mm Fisheye Bodycap lens. f8 @ 1/15th sec, ISO 200. 9mm

Things got a whole lot more 'funner' (is that a word?) when I place the 9mm Fisheye Bodycap lens on the E-P3 body. Gimmick lens, meet gimmick art filter. Now go and make some magic! I wrote about the 9mm Fisheye Bodycap lens in a previous blog here, and suggested that it was a fairly decent performer that shouldn't necessarily be written off as a gimmick. Still, I don't use it an awful lot, and with a fixed f8 aperture it is a fairly limited optic (no astro photography for this baby). But when you need to fit a lot into the scene like I did above, and when the use of an Art Filter means that absolute tack-sharp might not be so important, then the Fisheye Bodycap lens comes into its element.

Coke Bins, Brunner Mine. Olympus Pen E-P3, Grainy B&W II Filter, 9mm Bodycap lens. f8 @ 1/15th sec, ISO 200

With the Bodycap lens attached to the E-P3 it also makes for a small, low-profile, practically pocketable combination. Not that I would suggest using the Fisheye as the E-P3's constant and only lens choice. I'm actually considering re-visiting the Olympus 17mm f2.8 pancake lens as a companion for the Pen. Not that the 14-42mm f4/5.6 is a terrible lens - it isn't at all. But I just think that a pancake prime makes a lot of sense on such a small, compact body. And yes, the Pen E-P3 is a very small, very compact body.

Silver Fern, E-P3 with 12-42mm. F5.4 @ 1/60th, ISO 1600

Is it too small? I'm going to go out on a limb and say yes, it is. And I know that it's very much a subjective decision. The E-P3 is not the smallest Pen - the EPL series are smaller still. And some don't even have a grip attachment (the E-P3 does).

But for me, the Pen series are just a little on the 'too small' side of the scale. I'm not a fan of lcd-only viewing (I much prefer a built-in evf), since this encourages the hold-camera-out-in-front-with-both-arms style of shooting that is the least stable way to take photos imaginable! It's just as well Olympus cameras have incredible ibis (in-built image stabilisation).

The buttons on the back are also on the small side, and are a bit too close together - although the top plate has reasonable separation. I understand why this is - but again, it just hearkens back to the whole camera being just a bit too small. And I don't have large hands.

Fortunately, the touch-screen lcd screen helps to mitigate some of the small-button problems, and using the brilliant SCP (Super Control Panel) means that you won't have to access the menu structure too often. Not that I think there's a problem with the menu structure. Olympus have long been lambasted for their camera's menu's, but I actually find them very easy to navigate and quite logical. I don't use the touch screen for actually taking the photo (although you can), as I think this is even less stable of a shooting platform since you are now probably shooting one-handed. But what I do use the touch screen for is touch-to-focus. I can then steady the camera again with both hands while taking the photo with the traditional shutter button on the top of the camera.

Wheel stone. E-P3 with 9mm Bodycap Fisheye.
f8 @ 1/20th sec. ISO 200

Remember how I said at the beginning that I originally owned an E-P1 but sold it soon after for a number of reasons? Well, one of those reasons - perhaps the main reason - was that I found it too small. In the same way as I find the E-P3 too small.

I also thought the E-P1 was sluggish to autofocus, and a little too slow overall. Not so the E-P3. At its launch, Olympus claimed it used the fastest auto focus system in-the-world, of any system! Mmmm. Methinks the marketing team doth protest too much! But yes, it is quick. A lot quicker than the E-P1. In good light. With a strongly contrasted scene (it uses contrast detect auto focus). Within these parameters, it's nigh on instantaneous. Which is a marked improvement on the previous Pens. So kudos to Olympus there.

As stated earlier, I prefer to use a built-in EVF - which the Pen's lack, and have never been a big fan of using the rear lcd screen to compose the image. The SD card slots into the same chamber as the battery at the base of the camera - again not something I'm a big fan of. And my preferred shooting mode - Aperture priority, requires a two-step process (push function button and then rotate sub dial) to add any exposure compensation. Again, just a bit fiddly for my liking.

Brunner Bridge 2. Pen E-P3 with 9mm Bodycap lens. f8 @ 1/50th sec. ISO 200 

So I'll probably get rid of the E-P3 just like I did the E-P1 - right? Well not so fast. Despite all I've said above, I actually really enjoyed using the E-P3 this weekend. It was just plain fun! Despite the many 'weaknesses' I find inherent in the Pen system.

I do think it's too small - to use as my main camera. Which was what I was trying to do with the E-P1. It was the only camera I owned at the time, and as my only camera, it fell short of what I wanted in a camera. I wanted something a bit bigger (but not 1D bigger), I wanted something with an in-built evf, I wanted something that felt snappier to use, and I wanted something that felt at least somewhat SLRish. Enter the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mk2 - and then the E-M1. As my main camera, they suit my shooting style and needs so much more than the Pen's do.

But... as a second, smaller, lighter, more compact travel camera - the Olympus Pen E-P3 is pretty hard to beat. The Panasonic Lumix GF and GX bodies come the closest. Which are, of course, also micro four thirds cameras.

With the Olympus E-M1 and the Pen E-P3, I have a comprehensive system. The E-M1 is my main man. My tackle anything, conquer all, 'serious' kit for anything I want to throw at it. Whereas the Pen E-P3 is my 'have fun', go light, point-and-shoot, travel recorder. A have-prime-will-travel type of kit that I'm really looking forward to taking away on holidays with me. I think it's going to record some very special family moments. And that alone makes the E-P3 worth keeping.

Olympus 9mm Fisheye Bodycap lens - initial review

A few days ago I was lucky enough to receive the Olympus 9mm Fisheye bodycap lens from my wife for my birthday (thanks honey).

Olympus 9mm f8 Fisheye Bodycap lens

I wanted this lens for a couple of reasons. First, it's a 'fisheye' lens, for a very reasonable price (NZ$169). I enjoy using a fisheye on the odd occasion, even pulling them out to use at a wedding every now and then. But they tend to be very specialized (and therefore very expensive) lenses, so I've only ever owned one in my career (a Tokina that was a 'fisheye' zoom).

Second, it's considered a 'fun' lens to have. Something that takes up no room, you have with you all the time, and you use on the odd occasion just for a different effect. The fisheye look can quickly become overdone, although the 9mm (18mm equivalent) Olympus bodycap fisheye has a slightly narrower 140 degree field of view (as opposed to the traditional 180 degree angle of view of a traditional fisheye lens).

As you can see from the specs, the bodycap is only 12.8mm thick, 56mm in diameter, weighs just 30 grams, but manages to fit in 5 glass lenses, 2 of which are aspherical elements for image correction (although the lens is still prone to chromatic aberration in high contrast areas).

Olympus have previously released a 15mm bodycap lens, but the image quality was not up to much, and it didn't really make sense to me since I already own the tiny 17mm f2.8 pancake. But a 9mm fisheye! That's another story. And with the inclusion of 2 aspherical lens elements, Olympus is obviously taking the IQ of the lens fairly seriously. Although having said that, the 9mm bodycap lens is not given the 'Zuiko' brand name. It's considered more of an 'accessory' rather than an actual lens. So given all that, how does it perform in real life?

Home Office. 9mm bodycap fisheye

Surprisingly well, actually. Especially for a very cheap bodycap lens. It's a fixed f8 lens, with no electronic contacts whatsoever. Mount it on the E-M5 MkII and the camera reverts to manual focus, which is controlled by a very simple lever on the front of the lens itself. The first position is lens closed (by a thin shutter), the second position is infinity focus, the third position is for general photography that will cover 90% of shooting scenarios (hyperfocal distance), while the final position is for 'close focusing' of around 20cm.

The extreme edges are a bit soft and blurry, but the rest of the image is acceptably sharp, to very sharp in the central portion. Images from the 9mm bodycap would print up to A3, and maybe even bigger with some localized sharpening applied.

The extreme edges do have some purple fringing, especially in high contrast areas, but this is easily fixed in software like Lightroom.

Coal Creek Falls. Olympus E-M5 MkII with 9mm bodycap Fisheye. F8 @ 500th sec, ISO 200

As can be seen above, the 'fisheye' look doesn't have to be extreme. The figure taking a photo at the extreme left of the image still looks fairly natural, since she wasn't too close to the camera when I took the picture. If you get up close and personal, then things will start to bend and look 'fishy', but give your landscape some breathing space, and everything looks pretty natural. This is partly due to the slightly narrower 140 degree angle of view that the 9mm captures. Colours look good, contrast is ok, and most things are pretty sharp. Overall, very impressive for an accessory :-)

Forest Interior. Olympus E-M5 MkII with 9mm bodycap fisheye. F8 @125th sec, ISO 800

Here we can start to see a little more of the fisheye effect, especially in the trees on the edges of the frame. Surprisingly though, the ferns in the foreground still look relatively natural. Sharpness is still pretty good - depending on your definition and tolerance. Pixel peepers may be disappointed, but we mere mortals should have no problems using this lens on a regular basis. I'll say it again - IQ is very good for a bodycap lens sold very cheaply as an accessory.

Flare is also well controlled.

Some reviewers have complained that the lens doesn't capture the vibrant Olympus colours that the Zuiko lenses are capable of. This may be true, but it's nothing that Lightroom or Photoshop won't fix. And without wanting to sound like a broken record - this isn't a Zuiko lens. It's a cheap, plastic, fully manual, bodycap lens.

Since it's a bodycap, there isn't any thread to attach a lens hood or filters. And with such a wide field of view, it's almost impossible not to include a portion of the sun in some of your images when shooting landscapes. Fortunately then, the 9mm fisheye bodycap controls flare extremely well, although I'd still want to avoid shooting into the sun whenever possible.

I might also try placing a square cokin filter in front of the lens while shooting, just to see if I can use filters without getting my fingers in the shot!?

The photo above shows a small amount of flare in the top of the image, but it hasn't affected the contrast too badly, and the rest of the image is perfectly exposed.

Dinosaur eggs or Fungi? Olympus E-M5 MkII and 9mm bodycap fisheye.

This last image was a bit of an experiment. I came across this patch of fungi that reminded me of dinosaur eggs from Jurassic Park. I wanted to get as close to them as possible, but I kept the lens set to the hyperfocal distance setting, and not the close focus setting. I didn't measure, but I'm pretty sure I was closer than 20cms to the fungi.

The result was exactly what I was after. The lens has kept the middle of the image nice and sharp, but getting up close has really exaggerated the fisheye effect around the edges of the frame. Pretty freaky, but also pretty cool. And a lot of fun. Which is exactly how I described this lens at the start of this post. Just plain FUN.

Maybe you shouldn't take the Olympus 9mm fisheye bodycap lens too serious? Maybe that misses the point of this accessory?

But, then again, maybe the IQ from this lens warrants a serious appraisal. It's a piece of kit that can be used to capture some seriously good images. If you're in the market for a fisheye lens that won't break the bank, you need to seriously consider the Olympus 9mm Fisheye bodycap lens.

Best birthday present ever! Thanks honey :-)