J.C. Leacock Photo Blog

A review of the Olympus E-PL2 in the context of "street photography" in Nicaragua

2011-06-02T15:29:00.001-06:00

For those of you who don't know already, I am first and foremost a landscape photographer, who also dabbles in outdoor lifestyle stock, so for me this new (or at least re-labeled) genre of photography called "street photography" is new to me. Lately all kinds of photoblogs centered on this genre have been increasing in popularity, including Steve Huff's blog, Eric Kim, etc. As it's name implies, it's photography that captures the essence of the street and street culture: people, places, candid, unique moments. At it's height it's the brilliance of Henri Cartier Bresson, at it's worst it's just images of overly random moments called "art". Any photographer who has traveled has done this kind of photography to some degree. Unknowingly, my interest in this style was piqued last year, in February of 2010, when I traveled to the Mexican colonial city of San Miguel de Allende, probably one of the most photogenic cities in the world, and a fantastic place for street photography. My continued interest in Latin America led me to Nicaragua the following June, and I found endless subject matter in the street scenes there, especially in Granada, another Spanish colonial city with amazing architecture, color and bustling street life. As discussed in previous posts, I found my huge Canon DSLR too cumbersome and conspicuous for street photography in Nicaragua, and decided to buy an Olympus Pen system for lightness and stealth. So now I'm back in Nicaragua, and putting my theories to the test....

Iglesia San Francisco, Granada

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.

Granada, Nicaragua

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.

Family on bike, Granada


San Juan Del Sur

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.

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.....

San Juan Del Sur sunset

Home to dinner...San Juan Del Sur

Granada horse taxi

Granada

Catedral de Granada

Granada

Cashews, Leon

Woman in mercado, Leon

Iglesia de Recolecion, Leon

Good Friday procession, Leon

The Search for the Perfect Bag (at least for now...)

2011-03-21T19:06:00.002-06:00

The obsession to find the perfect, lightweight setup for my travels continues. And this time said obsession involves how to carry the stuff, i.e. what kind of bag or combination thereof. I've gone through the usual progression of bags for a landscape photographer, and still have giant Lowepro Phototrekkers and the like, for when I want to carry every bit of my DSLR system. I have also recently been enamored of a smaller Lowepro pack, the Flipside 400AW. It is a smallish backpack with great hip support and of course, legendary Lowepro construction, and it's main compartment opens from the "back" side. For someone like me who is often shooting in muddy or snowy conditions, not having to put your shoulder straps in the dirt is a good thing (it's been an awesome pack for ski photography for that reason). It's also large enough to hold a good amount of gear (2 DSLRs, and 3 or so lenses, with a large zoom such as a 80-200mm), without seeming gargantuan on your back. So as you can see, I had already begun to scale down, at least to some degree. Having the right gear with you is important, but I think simple is better, it's what you do with the gear that makes good photographs. Now that I had the new Olympus Pen system for my upcoming trip I began to obsess about how to carry it relatively easily and inconspicuously. I started looking in all the usual places; Lowepro, Think Tank, Tamrac, etc. All these companies have amazing, cutting edge bags, but they essentially have one glaring problem; they all look like camera bags, and they are all black!! Apparently most photographers WANT to look like photographers, with black bags/backpacks, photo vests, perhaps a floppy sun hat, Gitzo tripods, Arca Swiss ballheads, and a couple of big DSLR's hanging from $100 straps that say NIKON/CANON. In other words, most camera bag makers understandably cater to the status game. But not all. Companies like Billingham, Domke, Tenba and Crumpler pursue a different tack, producing some pretty nice bags that don't all look like they carry cameras. I currently have a Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home, and it's a really nice bag; extremely well padded, well organized and able to carry a decent amount of gear, whilst looking something like a messenger bag. But for the relatively tiny Olympus Pen system it's way too big, and for my travels I wanted something a little more "multi-purpose". This lead me to check out the Tenba Messenger Bag. Available in three sizes, the Tenba's can carry a DSLR system in a removable insert, as well as a laptop. They have all kinds of great pockets, are very well constructed, and come in several (non-black) colors. Many people buy the insert separately and use it in regular messenger bags such as the Timbuk2. So this got me thinking....a simple messenger bag with an insert would look inconspicuous and for travel could serve dual purposes, one as a camera bag, one as a messenger bag when I wanted to leave the camera behind. So...to make a long circuitous story short, I bought a Tenba insert and a medium Timbuk2 Classic Messenger. When I got the two and put them together, I realized that though this would be a good combo for a DSLR system, it was still too large for the Olympus system. So I started looking for a smaller insert. I then landed on a couple of reviews of the Mountainsmith Kit Cube (here and here). The Kit Cube is designed to fit the Mountainsmith Tour lumbar pack, but as you can see in the first review, it is useful in other applications. The Kit Cube is smaller than the Tenba insert, and as you can close it at the top, it is more versatile and weather-proof. In the first review its capacity is stretched to almost ridiculous proportions; it's pretty much made to fit a DSLR and two lenses. For the Olympus system it's perfect; two bodies, 2-3 lenses, accessories, and even my Canon S90. This cool little package fits perfectly in a Timbuk2 Small Classic Messenger, a relatively inconspicuous, easily accesible bag that does not scream: camera in here!

The Mountainsmith Kit Cube and the Timbuk2 Small Classic Messenger

The Kit Cube

Messenger with Kit Cube insert

That package then fit's nicely in my Ortovox Stratus 32 ski mountaineering backpack along with my laptop and there you have it; an inconspicuous, comfortable, functional carry-on with everything I need. The uses for Mountainsmith Kit Cube don't necessarily stop there either. I can see many more possibilities: perhaps fitting into a small daypack with hydration bladder for mountain biking or hiking, or maybe in my cavernous Timbuk2 Commute 2 messenger along with laptop, etc. Essentially the Kit Cube opens up many more possibilities for carrying photo gear by allowing you to utilize just about any kind of pack or bag that fits your needs, whether for comfort, portability, looks or functionality. Mountainsmith also makes the "Kit Cube Traveller", a larger zippered insert that can fit a good amount of gear and fits in a regulation carry-on sized suitcase.

Ortovox pack with messenger and laptop

Ortovox with just the Kit Cube insert and laptop

Fully loaded and ready to rock....

Next up.....a review of the Olympus E-PL2, and a discussion about the rising popularity of the "street photography" genre, as I travel in Nicaragua.....

My search for the perfect travel camera; the Olympus Pen series

2011-03-10T09:04:00.001-07:00

It was my friend John's fault. He emailed me about various point and shoot "throw in the glove compartment" cameras that could yield high quality results, including 4/3 system camera's, and the obsession was on. The timing was perfect because I had just bought tickets for a second trip to Nicaragua and was starting to think about camera equipment and bag options. The last time I went to Nica, I lugged my whole Canon DSLR system around. When out shooting, to be a little less inconspicuous, I carried most of my gear in a Crumpler 7 million dollar home, which basically looks and works like a messenger bag with excellent padding and organization on the inside. However, as I had experienced on an earlier trip to Mexico, that much weight hanging off my shoulder could take it's toll on my back and body. Eventually I left extraneous lenses behind and just hung my 5D MkII and a 24-70 2.8 on a camera strap and cruised around that way. So there I was walking the streets and neighborhoods of Granada, Nicaragua, with huge camera and ridiculously large lense, occasionally taking aim at the hapless Nicaraguenses. I might as well have had a target on my back that said "$4000", come and get it.

On that trip I had also taken my Canon S90, an amazing little camera that had the same sensor (and faster lens) as the Canon G11, and could yield professional quality results. Some of nice images on that trip had been made with that camera (see image below). What John made me realize was that the sensor on the S90, though bigger than your average point and shoot, was tiny in comparison to the 4/3 sensors found on the new Olympus, Panasonic and Sony Cameras.

San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua (captured with Canon S90)

After reading numerous reviews of mirrorless 4/3 cameras, I realized that they would make excellent, inconspicuous travel cameras while yielding DSLR quality results. What better camera to have while wandering around Nicaragua? Immediately I gravitated toward the Olympus Pen series, in part because my first camera as a kid in the late sixties was a little half-frame Olympus Pen EES-2. I still had that camera. To make a long story short, I eventually decided to purchase the Olympus EPL-1 with two lenses; the 14-42mm and the 40-150mm. The EPL-2 is the latest model, however I decided the differences were pretty minor, and the EPL-1 was considerably less expensive as it was no longer the latest model. Here is an excellent review by Kirk Tuck that helped me make this decision: http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2011/01/olympus-epl2-final-installment-kirks.html

Old and new....

As you can see in the above comparison, the EPL-1 is a small, compact and a good looking camera. It feels good in the hand and is incredibly light. I bought a separate electronic viewfinder for mine (it fits on the hot shoe), as I have found that I can compose much better looking through a viewfinder as oppose to an LCD. That was an expensive accessory, but I think worth it in this case. The relatively few test shots that I have captured have been impressive. Handling has been better than I expected given some reviewers calling it too slow as well some complaints about difficulty using the buttons on the back to make adjustments. I found it to be relatively fast (OK, not as fast as my DSLRs) and easy to handle.

Gas meters, Santa Fe Drive, Denver

Peace activists, Denver

Mardi Gras Parade, Crested Butte. (1/250 sec, ISO 1600)

Yesterday, as I was driving home from the gallery, I saw a scene of Gothic Mountain that I had always wanted to photograph, but had never quite been able to get a high enough angle. Our prodigious snowfall this winter provided me with a opportunity in the form of a giant snow bank formed by snowplows that was at least 15 feet high. I clambered up to the top with my little Olympus and the longer, 45-150 zoom, and snapped several shots, hand held with the #2 setting of the image stabilization turned on. The images looked crisp (on the lcd at least), and I was further emboldened to shoot a few more long lens shots as the light improved as I was walking the dogs in my nieghborhood.

Here are the results of both scenes. Both are stunningly sharp and look as if they were shot with a tripod. The second image of Mt. Crested Butte was shot at 1/320th hand held! I've included a 100% crop to show you the detail of the skier's tracks on the mountain. Amazing!!

Gothic Mountain, near Crested Butte, Colorado. (1/1000 sec. at f/6.3, ISO 200, zoom at 200mm equivalent)

Mt. Crested Butte, Colorado. (1/320 sec. at f/8, ISO 400, zoom at 280mm equivalent)

100% crop of above image

Frankly, this last little session rocked my world. To think that a little camera like this could produce such images, without a tripod, is mind boggling. From now on it will be my in the truck, always with me camera, and I'm seriously considering the faster, updated EPL-2, with the EPL-1 as a backup body (hmmm....what else can I sell on ebay...??).

The real test however will be my trip to Nica, because as crazy as it may sound to my photo geek friends, I do not intend to bring any other cameras than the Canon S90 and the Olympus system. I will keep you updated.....

Next stop....the search for the perfect travel camera bag(s).....

Leadville, Colorado

2009-09-02T19:39:00.005-06:00

An image from my most recent photo trip for my Colorado book project, shot just couple of days ago. I've struggled with trying to get good historical architecture images around Colorado, but Leadville, with it's beautiful buildings from the heady days of Colorado's silver boom, made it easy. What a wonderful, historic part of Colorado!

Steven's Arch, Utah

2009-09-02T13:33:00.004-06:00

This is not a particularly current image, in fact I captured it years ago while on a trip down the Ecalante River with my friend Tom Till. I put it up here for the sole reason of shameless promotion of this new version of my blog, just to get your attention. People seem to like this image, so what the heck. It's also a new print I'm selling at art festivals. It was shot with a Toyo 45F on Velvia 50 film. Next post I'll make it more current, and perhaps include an image from my latest Colorado book project......

Red Truck....testing, testing....

2009-08-19T13:51:00.000-06:00

After messing around with the cumbersome wordpress solo blog, I've decided to make it easy on myself, and use blogger.com. Life is complicated enough with all this facebook, blogging, twitter stuff...

Here's an image of a beautiful red international vintage dump truck in Crested Butte, Colorado, with Mt. Crested Butte (and a rainbow) reflected in the windows.