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Iglesia San Francisco, Granada  |
Image Quality
For such a tiny, lightweight camera, it's amazing what it can do. The quality and color signature from this 4/3 chip is astounding, and the jpeg engine is nothing short of amazing. I've been shooting a large jpeg + RAW on this trip as being pretty much a full time RAW shooter I wanted to flexibility in case I needed it. So far I have not been able to replicate the near perfect color, noise correction and sharpness of the jpeg files after spending a good amount of time on my RAW files (which still look good). In short, the jpeg files render excellent images that look like the scene that I shot, i.e. little or no work involved. Very cool.
I haven't yet made a lot of prints from these files, but the ones I have made have blown me away. The detail and color in these prints (nothing larger than 11x14 yet) is amazing even compared to prints from my 5D MkII.
Handling and Performance
Here's where the trade-offs happen. The way I shoot on the street depends a lot on autofocus. The E-PL2 is definitely a step up speed-wise in this category with the new improved 14-42mm, but let's face it, it's not designed for action photography. For most of street photography you don't need that kind of speed, but here I have had a few instances with horse carriages or bicycles where it was not up to the task. Then again, would my DSLR have nailed those shots? Unless I replicated the exact situation I cannot be sure. I expect that in some cases it would have had to be so instantaneous that few cameras would have captured said scene.
Another important aspect of shooting speed is how easy it is to make adjustments to aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc., on the fly. For me that was a bit of a learning curve on this camera as I am used to the big dials and buttons on my DSLRs, and I found it to be an adjustment getting used to not only an entirely different menu, but the small dials and buttons. At first I found I was inadvertently hitting the wrong buttons at the wrong time, but after a few mistakes, I adjusted. One thing that I still do is hit the "movie" button by mistake. Other reviewers seem to love it, but for me it sits too close to where I grab the camera. It would be nice if they could put some of those buttons on the left side where they are are still accessible but not in the way.
An extremely important advantage with this camera is its size and light weight. Sitting in my camera bag, with both the 14-42mm and 40-150mm zooms it's hardly noticeable on my shoulder (I frequently check just to make sure it's still there!). My back thanks me for that, and I really believe that my shooting time is much longer and more efficient (especially in the Nicaraguan heat!) due to the reduced fatigue potential.
One of the main reasons I got the E-PL2 is that it was available with an optional electronic viewfinder. I had found on my previous trip to Nicaragua when using my little Canon S90 (a great camera in its own right), that I could not compose well using an LCD, not to mention that it was difficult to see the darn thing in daylight. After all these years being a photographer, my natural compositional sense comes from my eye looking through a viewfinder, and I doubt that will ever change. The VF-2 is an expensive little option at $250, but in this case, I think a necessary one, and it worked wonderfully. With an electronic viewfinder you see just what you're going to get when you shoot it, which is a nice change from optical viewfinders.
For long lens and low light images, the image stabilization system works extremely well. I shot numerous images with the lens cranked all the way out to 300mm equivalent, and all images came out sharp as a tack, hand held.
The Stealth Factor
Other than its small size and light weight, one of the main reasons for taking the Olympus with me to Central America was it's relatively inconspicuous appearance. Essentially it looks like a largish, retro point and shoot. It seemed to make a big difference. To most people I think I just looked like a geek tourist snapping a few pics. Even when I asked people whether I could take their picture, it just seemed like they were much less intimidated by such a little non-serious looking camera. Another advantage of having this type a camera with you as you roam the streets of a relatively poor, third world country is that it makes you much less of a target for potential theft, as opposed to having a giant, expensive DSLR hanging around your neck. It doesn't scream "rich gringo" quite as loudly.
Conclusions
There are a lot of great cameras to choose from in the 4/3 mirror-less category, and most of them are pretty damn fine cameras. But there are always trade-offs. For me the combination of light weight, flexibility in focal length, image quality, inconspicuousness, and let's face it; cool retro looks, makes this camera perfect for me as a street photography/travel/take everywhere camera. Now that I'm back from my Nicaraguan trip, I still carry it with me, and I've gotten some great images just goofing around.
More Images.....
For such a tiny, lightweight camera, it's amazing what it can do. The quality and color signature from this 4/3 chip is astounding, and the jpeg engine is nothing short of amazing. I've been shooting a large jpeg + RAW on this trip as being pretty much a full time RAW shooter I wanted to flexibility in case I needed it. So far I have not been able to replicate the near perfect color, noise correction and sharpness of the jpeg files after spending a good amount of time on my RAW files (which still look good). In short, the jpeg files render excellent images that look like the scene that I shot, i.e. little or no work involved. Very cool.
I haven't yet made a lot of prints from these files, but the ones I have made have blown me away. The detail and color in these prints (nothing larger than 11x14 yet) is amazing even compared to prints from my 5D MkII.
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| Granada, Nicaragua |
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| Street life, Granada |
Handling and Performance
Here's where the trade-offs happen. The way I shoot on the street depends a lot on autofocus. The E-PL2 is definitely a step up speed-wise in this category with the new improved 14-42mm, but let's face it, it's not designed for action photography. For most of street photography you don't need that kind of speed, but here I have had a few instances with horse carriages or bicycles where it was not up to the task. Then again, would my DSLR have nailed those shots? Unless I replicated the exact situation I cannot be sure. I expect that in some cases it would have had to be so instantaneous that few cameras would have captured said scene.
Another important aspect of shooting speed is how easy it is to make adjustments to aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc., on the fly. For me that was a bit of a learning curve on this camera as I am used to the big dials and buttons on my DSLRs, and I found it to be an adjustment getting used to not only an entirely different menu, but the small dials and buttons. At first I found I was inadvertently hitting the wrong buttons at the wrong time, but after a few mistakes, I adjusted. One thing that I still do is hit the "movie" button by mistake. Other reviewers seem to love it, but for me it sits too close to where I grab the camera. It would be nice if they could put some of those buttons on the left side where they are are still accessible but not in the way.
An extremely important advantage with this camera is its size and light weight. Sitting in my camera bag, with both the 14-42mm and 40-150mm zooms it's hardly noticeable on my shoulder (I frequently check just to make sure it's still there!). My back thanks me for that, and I really believe that my shooting time is much longer and more efficient (especially in the Nicaraguan heat!) due to the reduced fatigue potential.
One of the main reasons I got the E-PL2 is that it was available with an optional electronic viewfinder. I had found on my previous trip to Nicaragua when using my little Canon S90 (a great camera in its own right), that I could not compose well using an LCD, not to mention that it was difficult to see the darn thing in daylight. After all these years being a photographer, my natural compositional sense comes from my eye looking through a viewfinder, and I doubt that will ever change. The VF-2 is an expensive little option at $250, but in this case, I think a necessary one, and it worked wonderfully. With an electronic viewfinder you see just what you're going to get when you shoot it, which is a nice change from optical viewfinders.
For long lens and low light images, the image stabilization system works extremely well. I shot numerous images with the lens cranked all the way out to 300mm equivalent, and all images came out sharp as a tack, hand held.
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| Family on bike, Granada |
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| San Juan Del Sur |
Other than its small size and light weight, one of the main reasons for taking the Olympus with me to Central America was it's relatively inconspicuous appearance. Essentially it looks like a largish, retro point and shoot. It seemed to make a big difference. To most people I think I just looked like a geek tourist snapping a few pics. Even when I asked people whether I could take their picture, it just seemed like they were much less intimidated by such a little non-serious looking camera. Another advantage of having this type a camera with you as you roam the streets of a relatively poor, third world country is that it makes you much less of a target for potential theft, as opposed to having a giant, expensive DSLR hanging around your neck. It doesn't scream "rich gringo" quite as loudly.
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| A typical evening scene in Granada |
Conclusions
There are a lot of great cameras to choose from in the 4/3 mirror-less category, and most of them are pretty damn fine cameras. But there are always trade-offs. For me the combination of light weight, flexibility in focal length, image quality, inconspicuousness, and let's face it; cool retro looks, makes this camera perfect for me as a street photography/travel/take everywhere camera. Now that I'm back from my Nicaraguan trip, I still carry it with me, and I've gotten some great images just goofing around.
More Images.....
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| San Juan Del Sur sunset |
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| Home to dinner...San Juan Del Sur |
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| Granada horse taxi |
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| Granada |
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| Catedral de Granada |
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| Granada |
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| Granada |
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| Cashews, Leon |
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| Woman in mercado, Leon |
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| Iglesia de Recolecion, Leon |
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| Good Friday procession, Leon |
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