Warm greetings to my fellow Picture taking Life readers! My name is Sharif and am the photographer behind Alpha Whiskey Picture taking . I have been very kindly inquired by Nasim to write an article regarding Photography Life, which has proved to be a great resource for photographers all over our planet. Nasim specifically invited me to write regarding my experience with my Olympus Tiny Four Thirds mirrorless camera, the particular lenses I choose to use with it, plus why I prefer it to my DIGITAL SLR system, along with some examples of pictures I have produced with it.

Panasonic 20mm F/1. 7, ISO 200, Practically the first image I shot along with my EM-5

Panasonic 20mm f/1. 7, ISO 200, Virtually the first picture I shot with my EM-5

While I might be the first to assert that photo taking equipment has little to do with the particular creative process behind seeing plus constructing a worthwhile image, we have to acknowledge it does have some influence in the way we capture it.

Panasonic 14mm f/2. 5, ISO 200, twenty secs. Design Country, Wales.

Nasim has rightly said that lots of people will buy expensive and heavy equipment that they don’t necessarily require, and then try to justify it in order to themselves. In a sense, I have gone another way, downsizing my gear, plus hopefully I can explain the value of doing this.

Panasonic 20mm f/1. 7, ISO two hundred, 2 secs. More info.

Getting used DSLRs for quite a few years, the twist of fate led myself to the world of mirrorless last year, and I haven’t looked back. After photographing a few birds of prey with our Nikon D600 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2. 8, both that digital camera and lens fell out of the open camera bag, and the bodyweight of the lens drove the digital camera body into the parking lot tiny rocks. Hard! And even though Nikon repaired the particular camera free of charge, it took all of them six weeks and that’s an eternity for every photographer to be without a camera. The sister’s wedding was soon nearing and, of course , I was the specified photographer. I needed a digital camera!

Panasonic 14mm f/2. 5, ISO 200, zero. 8 secs hand-held. More info.

So I used the opportunity to act upon my growing desire for a smaller program. I had been looking for something lighter and much more compact but still packing enough high quality, and which didn’t feel like I had been hauling a space shuttle up Attach Everest every time I went out in order to shoot; preferably a world away from the particular massive, cumbersome camera bags having a ton of gear compressing the spine.

Panasonic 14mm f/2. 5, INTERNATIONALE ORGANISATION F¨¹R STANDARDISIERUNG 2500, 1/50 secs. More info.

After all the inevitable research, We purchased the Olympus EM-5 plus three primes: the Olympus 45mm f/1. 8, the Panasonic 20mm f/1. 7, and the Panasonic 14mm f/2. 8.

Panasonic 14mm f/2. 5, INTERNATIONALE ORGANISATION F¨¹R STANDARDISIERUNG 200, 0. 8 secs hand held. More info.

The EM-5 was obviously a revelation to me; it was the perfect mixture of size and quality. The more recent Olympus EM-1 approaches DSLR dimension, which I was trying to get away from; as well as the smaller PEN cameras were as well small for me and lacked the viewfinder. The feature set of the particular EM-5 was actually useful, not merely a glut of gimmicks plus megapixels to look good on a specification sheet. It was as if someone sitting down and thought about what a professional photographer might really need for the shooting encounter.

Olympus 45mm f/1. 6, ISO 200. My friend Genka.

Furthermore, the available lens choices for the Micro 4/3 system are usually vast, with access to both Olympus’s and Panasonic’s inventory, much of that is excellent.

Olympus 60mm f/2. 8, ISO 200, My friend, Jena, an excellent photographer herself.

My two favorite features on the EM-5, which helped clinch my choice to purchase it, include the excellent picture stabilization, allowing me to make exposures as slow as 1 2nd hand-held! This means I can take night time shots or slow down waterfalls with no tripod. And as I enjoy taking lengthy exposures at dusk, the Live Period feature, which allows you to see the publicity developing on the LCD, is a fantastic period saver. I no longer have to wait around to see the result and then take it once again at a different shutter speed.

Olympus 60mm f/2. eight, ISO 200. Heron in Regent’s Park, Greater london.

The real shock, however , was the terrific quality from the sensor, complemented by the superb lens. Yes, the sensor is smaller sized than FF or APS-C detectors, but I have printed images produced at ISO 6400 and they look solid. The noise pattern and powerful range of the RAW files are in my humble opinion. Many people obsess over noise, but it has never actually bothered me. If anything, this adds an aesthetic texture in order to (especially black and white) pictures.

Olympus 60mm F/2. 8, INTERNATIONALE ORGANISATION F¨¹R STANDARDISIERUNG 800

Olympus 60mm f/2. 8, ISO eight hundred. More info.

Depth of industry is another issue for some, and while I really like the creamy DOF from our FX Nikon and primes, Olympus make some beautiful fast glass, like the 45mm f/1. 8 (which We used almost exclusively on the Greater london photo walk with Nasim) as well as the 60mm f/2. 8 macro, each of which have excellent sharpness plus beautiful bokeh.

Olympus 60mm f/2. 8, INTERNATIONALE ORGANISATION F¨¹R STANDARDISIERUNG 200. Richmond Park, London.

One disadvantage of the Micro 4/3 system in contrast to DSLRs is the constant AF. While fast for stationary subjects, the AF on these types of cameras can struggle with moving topics. It is possible to achieve focus on a shifting subject, but it often involves pre-focusing and a little luck. Certainly, not really the hit rate of a DIGITAL SLR.

Olympus 45mm f/1. 8, ISO 200. More info.

In addition , I occasionally miss ultra broad shooting with my DSLR, plus I’m waiting for Olympus to bring out there its 7-14mm f/2. 8 therefore i can get back to some wide-angle enjoyable!

Olympus 60mm f/2. 8, ISO 200. View from Cam Top, Gloucestershire.

The particular Panasonic 14mm is a great little quick pancake lens, and some of the pictures I have made with it have been released in magazines and leaflets. Yet I have since sold it plus acquired the Olympus 12-40mm f/2. 8, which is wider at the broad end, and has less distortion plus chromatic aberration. I have happily used and shot with my 3 primes overseas and all over the UNITED KINGDOM, but the 12-40mm will make a great take a trip lens, albeit bulkier. I am maintaining the Olympus 45mm f/1. almost eight, which is excellent, and may keep the Panasonic 20mm f/1. 7 simply because of the particular fast aperture and its amenability in order to street photography. The Olympus 60mm f/2. 8 macro makes a great portrait lens without forfeiting AF speed like most macro lenses.

Olympus 45mm f/1. 8, INTERNATIONALE ORGANISATION F¨¹R STANDARDISIERUNG 6400. Not really a bad result for such a higher ISO.

It will seem that my lens options are slowly making the system heavier again, especially as I hope to get the impending Olympus 40-150mm f/2. 6 and 7-14mm f/2. 8, somebody these are all much smaller than their own DSLR counterparts, and would just be used for specific subjects. The majority of my shooting is done with the little primes, since having a compact package makes shooting more efficient, more challenging, and much more enjoyable.

Panasonic 20mm f/1. 7, ISO five hundred, 0. 4 secs hand-held. More info.

Despite the few limitations of such systems, I can see myself ultimately selling off all my remaining DIGITAL SLR gear and sticking to mirrorless. Designed for my hobbyist needs, and more and more the needs of many professionals, it has demonstrated itself capable of excellent quality in the smaller package, and I can see mirrorless cameras becoming ever more popular.

Panasonic 20mm f/1. 7, ISO 5000, 7-shot composite. Due to EM-5’s burst rate.

As much as I stress the significance of composition, framing, timing and ability, I hope my photographs demonstrate (perhaps reassure) what can be achieved with this program and the range of subjects it can be used with regard to, and perhaps even save a few more compacted spines and achy arms as you go along.