Thanks, all good and sound advice. There was a period in my photography journey when I was influenced by the influencers. They would gush that a new version of a camera had 100% better focus or twice as good low light performance than its predecessor. I would buy the camera only to discover that in the real world it was (at most) marginally better. Lesson learned. It also finally dawned on me that photographers were taking the most amazing photos using "in the day" cameras that were now obsolete (like the Nikon D200), as well as fantastic action shots with cameras that only had 9 focus points and a burst rate of 4 FPS. Yes, a camera can make a difference, but the photographer makes a much bigger difference. I have too many cameras, but I now accept that they are my hobby and I can enjoy them for what they are. However, I'm not racing to buy the latest and greatest gear. Influencers will wax about the best camera ever only to do the same with another model that comes out one a week later. It is kind of like watching the home shopping club. Happy shooting!
An excellent video with a message that is not heard nearly often enough: ignore those who criticize the gear you have, more than half of them have no idea what they are talking about. This goes double (or triple) for the MFT system. I am so disgusted with all the misrepresentations of MFT by so many on UA-cam out of ignorance or malice. They are only dogs barking because other dogs are barking, so "tune out the noise." Great, great insights, Don.
I had bought an E-P5 2 years ago with the 17mm f2.8 and really liked the camera! After slapping on a dumb grip, to date it's the most comfortable and a great camera to use with one hand. I liked the system so much that I sold all of my fuji cameras and lenses and took advantage of the hype, made a profit and was able to get an OM-D mark ii with the 12-40mm f2.8 and the 40-150mm f2.8, as well as the 60mm macro. BEST lenses I have ever owned and the om-d mark ii is a beast of a camera that will serve me at least a decade, if not longer. I also came across of a $100 EM-5 and a $70 Lumix G-X1. building up a collection now
Same here. Thanks for the video Don. Good points and like you I stopped listening to all the negative press/background noise years ago. I do recall some prominent people on UA-cam saying/predicting m4/3 was dead. Well here we are years later and the system is still going strong. It’s probably only now that the FF cameras have caught or surpassed what Olympus and Panasonic were doing years ago with the mirrorless system. Newly subscribed. Cheers
The amazing positive of UA-cam and the internet is access to this kind of content. The downside is, the former bargains triple or more in price overnight! That's ok, makes the treasure hunting more challenging in a fun way sometimes. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, experience, and opinions.
Thank you for this video. It was unfortunately sent to me by a friend AFTER I went crazy and bought a whole high-end olympus set up, haha. I used to be a dedicated amature canon shooter and had collected thousands of dollars worth of lenses and such over the years, piece by piece, Only to have the bulk of my system stolen in one event, which really sent me into denial and depression for a couple of years. By replacing my gear sort of like for like but from a different manufacturer I was able to get a significant amount of it covered by my home insurance policy, So that's cool. My teenage son has embraced the hobby and has been pushing me to get back into it as well. Never one to miss out on opportunities to connect more with him, I said ok and started trying to figure out what's out there that could be interesting and a good fit for me. The M 4/3 started to look like the way to go, and when we took a trip to our local high-end camera store, and they sneered at the idea of this format, telling me I would regret it terribly, and that lens selection is terribly poor, and there's only two manufacturers, and blah blah blah, that locked it in for me, and I bought my kit the very next day. I'm only in the first week of ownership, and like your dad, I have been just fiddling with everything whenever I have free time. I've also been careful to support my son in his choices, who has been for some time really scouring and exploring the vintage lens category. So I really agree with everything in your video, and I greatly appreciate you sharing your perspectives and journey with us. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words. I am betting you will greatly enjoy the Olympus system. You might look into some of those vintage lenses with your son. Best of luck, and thanks for watching and commenting!
I have bought all of my equipment used in like new or excellent condition. There's a significant price difference from new. You make great comments about the noise. I watched all the videos about equipment and fell into the trap of validating my choice of camera and lens choices. I'm a hobbyist and not a pro, so I don't need all the high end equipment that they say you should have. I will never spend over $300 for a tripod and they all say that the Peak Design tripod is the only one you should get. You make excellent points and it is very nice to hear. Keep up the great videos.
Great video Don. I totally agree with you about not listening to what other youtubers say. I shoot mainly wildlife and shot Canon for years. As I got older I wanted to get the weight of my gear down. I tried full frame Sony and APS-C Fuji set ups and was never happy with the results. Moving to Olympus was a game changer. I am now getting tack sharp images straight from the camera and a much higher hit rate with the OM-1. I've now found a camera that I am happy with.
So true about avoiding all the crap that is thrown at the micro 4/3 format and the hype about megapixels! The micro 4/3 system is all that most photographers need, especially amateurs and by shopping used, you can get some great gear at very reasonable prices. I've acquired quite a few of the excellent lenses, more than I really need because of the affordability factor. For someone just starting out, purchasing a used M10 Mark i or ii along with the kit lenses can be done on a "beer" budget and it is a great kit for exploring photography. It takes time and experience to learn what gear may really help you and which gear could end up being a waste of money. And if you keep your cost down on the camera body, you gain more by buying better lenses.
Don, I want to thank you again for recommending the E-P5. I find it to be my prefered walk-around camera. I have an OM-1, E-M1iii, E-PL9, and a Pen-F but I find myself almost always grabbing the E-P5 with the 30mm macro lens when I walk the dog around my neighborhood or just want to destress after work by taking pictures of flowers and insects in my yard. What a wonderful camera! I bought a used Premium E-P5 (the one with the wood grip) in mint condition on eBay from a seller in Japan. I love the build quality, ergonomics, compact size, and simplicity of operation of the camera. I also like that you can install an external viewfinder. The only downsides of the E-P5 are a front dial that sometimes doesn't register changes (I heard this is a common issue with some of the cameras, probably a bad batch of dials from the supplier) and the AF is a little dated (but with patience and knowldge of its AF limitations you can work around it). My BEST flower and insect shots are with the E-P5 and the 30mm. It's wonderful and it all fits in a small Belroy sling bag. Thanks again for the recommendation!
Thank you for this video. I totally agree that the only things that matter is to know your gear, composition and image processing. I have been shooting M43 for 5 years too and it was my first digital camera. I chose M43 because the gear and price are smaller, and I am more than happy with the quality. I have also been watching a ton of videos on camera gear. Now I am looking for real photography world howtos. One of the reason I suscribed here.
I've been using Oly since i picked up a half frame in the mid 60's. I currently use an E-M1X, E-M5 III and a pair of OM-5's. They do everything I need to do. I keep the 5 series cameras in one camera case along with a 12-45mm f4, 40-150mm f4 and a 60mm f2.8 macro. I can grab that one compact case and meet 85% of my needs. I have a number of other cameras but, these go with me more often than not. The ergonomics on these cameras are great for Me. I have neuropathy in my hands and have difficulty using some bodies (including My E-M1X). Affordability is good too. I don't personally care who the camera was made by or what format it is. If it captures the image I want without getting in My way I'm good with it. Thank You for Your excellent content.
I've only recently started using m4/3 and quite getting into it. Got an OM-D EM-1 and pair of the Panasonic kit lenses, 14-45 and 45-150, with OIS, in case I pick up a Lumix body at some point. Also got an adapter from SRB-Griturn for EOS to m4/3, so that I can use some of the drawerfuls of classic glass I have. So far, it's working out well, the only thing I'm not a fan of is the small battery, but a battery grip goes some way to curing that, at the cost of losing the very thing that makes the system so nice - it's small size.
Great video, I've been shooting M43 for 4 years now alongside my Nikon DSLR, the Em10ii with vintage 50mm primes (Minolta Rokkor & OM Zuiko are my faves) are a joy to shoot and produce very sharp images. I also use a G9 for all types of photography. Thanks for sharing 👍
Hi Don, I agree with most of your point,s. I have the OMD EM1 MK II, great camera but so complicated not helped by a rubbish instruction manual. Find myself useing the Pen EPL 5, more, it,s more straightforward. Olympus has the best Jpeg engine of any make, saves time in lightroom! Recently bought the 12-40 pro, superb len,s and weather sealed, with the OMD not precious about the weather here in the UK. You don,t go to Scotland for a suntan!
I agree the manual is poorly done. I find it better to just go through the menus and get familiar with what is there. I Google search anything I am not familiar with. The 12-40 f2.8 is a lens I have been looking at. The weather sealing would be nice to have. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@dongummphotography the best manual i found is the "Complete guide to the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II " by Tony Phillips.437 pages. Found my copy on Amazon
Check out Rob Trek’s older UA-cam videos where he goes through em10, em5 and em1 menus and talks you through how and what certain menu functions do or how to set up custom buttons etc. I gave up on the Olympus manuals years back when I picked up an em5-2. The menus on my Panasonic body seem to be a lot easier and intuitive to use. Having said that, if you just spend the time familiarising yourself (as Don said about his dad) and playing with the camera when sitting around home, you start to get a feel for where things are.
Hi, some good points there. I`ve been using M43 since 2011 with E-PL1 then E-M5 Mk1 & 2 and E-M1 MkII. I get great image quality, love the IBIS and as you point out the ability to use just about any vintage lens with the system and the IBIS also works with the old lenses! I love the art filters too and the ability to shoot JPEG in art filter and still get the original unmodified image in RAW. Good advice you give with ignoring all the rubbish talked about the system and get to know how to use your equipment. A great system. Thank you for your video.
Thanks so much Don! This is the wisest video I've seen and listened to in a long time - maybe ever! I truly enjoyed your advices! Embrace the m43 look!
I've thought a lot about what you said, Don, about you liking the look of the m43, and so do I (despite having full frame and APSC cameras, I basically only use the m43) - so what about the look that do it? As I see it now, the slightly greater depth of field with m43 makes the look in the images much more reminiscent of how I see with my own eyes than any of the other formats. (Nowadays, I mostly think they are arty and usually quite boring!) So for me m43 is much more like seeing with my own eyes! Thanks for mentioning it in the video! Cheers!
@rikardpersson9493 that's an excellent point. We don't normally see the world around us with a shallow depth of field. M43 does come closer to mimicking our natural vision. Thanks for sharing that thought! If you don't mind, I may use that as the basis for a future video.
I promise not to troll you Don this one is just for fun! If you look at the optics of the human eye, it gets really interesting: the lens has a focal length between 17 and 24mm (depending on the person) with a human average of 21.5mm. Now we don't use the whole retina to see. The sharp part (the telecentic part) is significantly smaller and this means that the effective focal length is approximately 43 mm. The aperture for the eye is between f/2.1 and f/8.3 (the fact that the eye cannot stop down more is probably due to diffraction being avoided!). A perfectly sighted person does not perceive pixels, but if one were to try, the eye has a resolution of 5-15 Mp. These are all numbers we m43 photographers recognize, don't you think? Cheers!
I went through such a similar journey. Did my research, got an Oly EM5 iii, read too much about full frame sensors, but stuck with the Oly and expanded My lens collection to include the 12-40 pro and then vintage lenses, which are a wonderful new world to explore and give more unpredictable results, usually of the good sort. I am even learning to pull them apart and clean the fungus out, but beware of lenses like the Zuiko 1.8 50 mm of which most models have a sealed unit Which cannot be cleaned. I have also got some bargains with the 4/3 mount previous generation Olympus lenses such as the 50 to 200 mm which is a pro level zoom and works fine with an adapter.
I got the same 4/3 lens, complete with M43 adapter. It's chunky, clunky, and isn't compatible with procapture, but I'm very fond of it! I was shooting a heron with it the other day, got some nice fishing moments. I've been waiting for the new 50-250mm that's supposedly on OM's roadmap, but it'll have to be top notch to pull me away from the older lens.
Went fully M43 from Canon in 2019, never looked back. Have 4 bodies and 7 Mzuiko and 2 Lumix len's. It's a more fun system to use and as I now enjoy photography more, (professional and hobby(, the quality of what I now shoot is so much better than my Canon days. And you are right you don't have to follow the trend, use what's best for you whether a car, phone, computer or brand of beer.
Hi Don, great Video, I had OMD EM10 MK II and still have it, the only things I wish that the battery life was better, special if you are shouting other modes that simple A Mode, also I leave in tropical country it happen the camera over heated because of high out door temperature, and water proof would have been nice. I purchased eventually an OMD EM1 MK III, used two year ago. I fully agree the importing things is to know your equipment, I shoot a little of everything and a play online Guru shoot game, and I could see that my photo taken with the OMD EM 10, perform as good as the one's taken with the more advanced camera. Waterproofing was the main drive to buy a new camera, because when I had my OMD EM 10 MK II knew I was on trip to the jungle and it was light raining, so I was scared to use the camera, instead I used my old compact Casio instead.
Tropical climates are always a challenge. Battery life is always a thing with modern cameras. I have had best luck with real Olympus batteries but they bought are expensive. Thanks for watching and commenting.
hi Don, thank you for your insight. Spot on I have just started out on my MFT journey. I always had a point and shoot and then the phones came with cameras and used that. I always wanted to learn photography and get a real camera. I tried X-E2 Fujifilm, Nikon Z30, Canon M6, Lumix GX85 a great camera that got me hooked on MFT. My thumb is a bit big for the buttons on the GX85 so swapped it for a Panasonic Lumix G95. I love it and the images it gives me for half the price of Fuji or Nikon setups. Also the small compact size for travel. We are retiring and are going to travel all around New Zealand in our converted Bus. So with my search over and a camera that is light years ahead of me your video has been reassuring with very good advice on my way forward, learning journey. Cheers
@@dougmeyer5715 Wow, your retirement plans sound amazing! I bet you will capture wonderful images! I am glad you found a camera that really works for you. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Hello, thank you for the sharing ! It seems to me that m4/3 format is very underated. Olympus offered fonctions that no one did (and still not do). I like to take pictures in manual mode. So i bought some vintage lenses (like your pentacon) to mont on my olympus cameras (e-m5 mk2 + e-m1 mk2). I'm very happy with both (vintages lenses and cameras). In the same way and because of a short budget i don't buy new camera model. But i had the oportunity to find 2nd hand cameras very cheap : fujifilm x-pro1 and canon eos 5d mk2. With adatators all my lenses go on all my cameras, no need to buy a lense for a brand or a format !
Great points Don, have enjoyed my EM1 mkII for almost five years now too, bought it used on eBay with the 12-40pro at a very good price, have slowly added a bunch of Oly lenses over the years too, ... good to hear your advice, cheers, Steve :)
Thanks Don for a video that obviously took a lot of effort to execute. Very much appreciated 🎉🎉🎉. I recently acquired an OM mount 135mm f4.0 and it is really beautiful. I am also waiting for my new purchase to be delivered, an E-M1 mki. I believe that this will enhance the look of the images from the 135mm.
Thanks Don. I feel disappointed when a reviewer says buy another camera that is not micro four thirds if you want the best image quality. And I have full frame cameras, and APSC cameras. I love micro four thirds cameras and I love them for the images they produce. So I will tune out that noise too. Micro four thirds cameras produce high quality photographs in my opinion. In fact I often find them easier to use than other sensor sized cameras. I use an Olympus camera for my exhibition openings and photography of the exhibition art. With the 5 axis image stabilisation of the camera and f2.8 plus an ISO of 400-800 I can photograph anything at the exhibitions and get great results.
Whoa! How can you get a gazillion clicks on UA-cam without touting the latest most expensive gear with some controversy? Actually, by video like this, instead, I hope. I am just getting in to Micro 4/3 and this was the video I really needed to see - thanks! And subscribed - I really like the look of your photos, and am looking forward to learning to take awesome pics with my new Olympus when it arrives.
@FreedomToRoam86 thank you! I have greatly enjoyed Micro 4/3 cameras. They have performed great and have been a lot of fun. I hope you have great success with your new camera!
One question please: Can you use an old macro lens and do focus stacking on a single photo, manually,or is it exclusive to modern Olympus af macro lenses? , which automatically does the entire process in lens-camera symbiosis. Except for the basic 12-32 mm zoom, I use Nikon AIS lenses with my old Lumix, but watching your olympus omd5 , warms up my brain.....and now it's at a good price.....
The only way you can do focus stacking with a vintage lens would be to manually take multiple images, shifting the focus a tiny bit each time and then combining those images in post processing. You would also need software that has that capability.
Great to see you back Don. Sound advice. Learning to live with what it is..... Still ringing in my head. I love m43rds i got an Ep5 off your previous advice love it. Loved em5ii too but my bricked and was replaced with omd em1ii......don do i really have to learn to live with the magenta i seem to get in skin tones? Or maybe im doing something wrong. Great video thanks for the making
I've never had an issue with magenta skin tones. I would review all settings, and if nothing obvious was found, I might try a factory reset to make sure all settings are at factory spec.
I really enjoyed your musings here so thanks for uploading. I have an E-P5 with the two kit lenses on the way from a Japanese dealer at the moment and really looking forward to my first foray into M43. Longtime Olympus user, my first was a new OM-1 bought for £150 with 50/1.8 fifty years ago and another was an AX, they were the two most noteable. Landscape, nature, our pets, and macro are my main subjects. No longer satisfied with smartfone snapshots.
I was out this morning, taking photos and, for the fun of it, I switched to one of the B&W Art modes. I thought I would only take a couple photos, but ended up taking photos for the next two hours in the Art mode. I had forgotten how good the mode was. And I didn't need to spend a bunch of time post-processing.
Very good reflection with which they agree 👌. Surely we are of a similar age, also in the past I used photosensitive film equipment. I love the color and image quality of the micro (they should have named it "super") four thirds system. I would add that... curiously, and ironically, Leica implemented the 24x36mm format as a reduction of the chemical support format of the time of 60x90 and 60x60mm (medium format) to achieve smaller, discreet and easier to transport camera bodies... What It represented a great revolution in “analog” photography and blurring and equivalences in apertures/focals were not considered, with respect to "medium format", to consider it invalid in certain disciplines... It seems that the second revolution would be the reduction of the dimensions of the old 35mm reel, to give way to the micro four thirds (a new standard open to all manufacturers and the only one designed entirely digital). Then a question arises: why are most companies so stubborn in wanting to sell the sensor with the “classic” 24x36mm (now renamed full frame) as the best? The answer I think is quite obvious: those manufacturers (the old well-known manufacturers of cameras and new ones that Minolta bought) want to continue taking advantage of their investment in optical designs from the past... (it does not seem that they are looking to do the photographer a great favor, because in this new digital age it turns out that they are going to have to continue carry equipment just as heavy as in the last century, at the time of the film). These manufacturers have made it clear when they have called it “full frame”, that is, they have only bothered to fill their bodies with a sensor the size of 35mm film to obtain economic benefit, at the cost, in many cases of ignorance and manipulation. of the consumer, justifying these prices in the larger size of the objectives (even more expensive, larger and heavier)😅
I bought an old 4/3 Olympus e-420 with 2 kit zoom lenses and a macro for 50$ just to use for travel photography. And God was I amazed by the colors. I am a Fujifilm shooter since 2015 and I always struggle to get the colors right, especially the reds which are often too orange. Olympus does it right in camera so I am now thinking about going into the micro 4/3 system. Fujifilm film simulations are not my thing, it is over hyped in my opinion. I shoot quite a lot of B&W film instead.
I have a bunch of old Zuiko MF-lenses, including the 55mm F1.2, the 50mm f3.5 Macro and the 100mm f2.8. Got them at flea-markets before film-photography became trendy. I paid more for a used Olympus OM-M43 converter than I did for the lenses! Absolutely amazing lenses on the OM-D EM5, E-PL 5 and E-P1. Got those cameras on a fleamarket, including 5 really good M43 lenses, for 250 US$.. I do have a Nikon D200 and the classic Nikkors, 28mm,35mm,50mm,85mm and 105mm, but I hardly ever use them, to large and heavy to carry around, and I can't say the IQ is better. It IS a bit different, but I honestly can't say one is better than the other..
The Olympus film lenses have a stellar reputation. That is one of the reasons I chose Olympus for my digital gear. They are also much more compact than other brands too! Sounds like you have quite a kit put together. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I've been shooting adapted lenses on my Fuji X-T3 exclusively for the last couple months, I have a Nikon mount Tokina 28-70mm f2.8 on top of a Zhongyi speedbooster that produces such beautiful images that it lives on my camera most of the time now, even with the heft of it. I may just end up selling off the Fuji 50mm and the 23mm Viltrox and grab some other vintage lenses for it.
Hi, Don, and thanks so much for the great channel and advice. I recently moved to micro 4/3 because of its adaptability and usefulness, & I see lots of material on your channel about vintage lenses. I happen to have some of those, and I was wondering how you focus on amanual lens with. No viewfinder? My E-PL-5 has no viewfinder, and I assume you must be using manual lenses with your Olympus PEN series, since they seem to be favorites. In reviewing your photos, it's obvious that they are in focus. Is there a trick to that, or is it just practice? In the past, I've always used a viewfinder, but if it's only a matter of getting used to it, I'll just work thru it. THANKS, Steve Bradley.
With an EPL5, you have to practice focusing using the screen. I believe the EPL5 also has a magnifier feature, so you can critically focus. When I had an EPL5, I got pretty good at simply watching the screen. Models like the EP5 or EM5 Mkii have focus peaking, which helps as well, but I still often just watch the screen while focusing.
I started buying vintage lenses for my M43 cameras and got a couple of pips (like a really nice Sigma 24mm Canon FD fit) but I quickly found out that a lot of those things are easy to clean out, impossible to reassemble! That quickly ended my idea to get deals on dusty or sticky-aperture lenses. Then I started recieving lenses in that condition that were promised to be in top condition. Cheap, yes, but the cost adds up if you keep buying duds! I might dip my toe again, but in the meantime my compromise was to check out some Chinese manual lenses. I've yet to be really disappointed by them. Just ten minutes ago I was appreciating the swirly bokeh on my TTArtisan 25mm.
@vermis8344 TT Artisan makes some very impressive lenses! I love vintage lenses, but buying online has its challenges. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Don, I know you've answered this, but I can't remember. Which of the cameras you use ,do you like the best and use the most? I have the E-PL1 (like it a lot) and a PEN E-PL5. I like them both a great deal, but both are a bit long in the tooth. I enjoy the simplicity of the PEN format, and the ones I have take excellent pictures. Thanks in advance, Steve Bradley.
I had an EPL5 and really liked it. I like the Pen format too, but if I could only have one camera of those I have owned and use, I would choose the EM5 MkII.
I appreciate your suggestions. The more I shoot M4/3 the more I fall in love. Any recommendations for someone working a full time job who wants to make a living in photography?
I guess the first question would be what type of photography you are interested in. Some genres of photography are best accomplished on a self employment basis. What area of photography are you interested in?
@prizepictures1 I had a very wise man once tell me, "Find one thing you have a passion for, focus on that one thing and be the best there is at it." I would figure out where your greatest passion is and focus on that. It doesn't mean you have to totally give up on other types of photography, it just means that your primary focus is on that one genre.
I never had any reason to worry about m4/3 image quality. I have an EM5-MkII and a 12-40 pro lens and it is no different at most apertures than other sensors. I’ve stopped using it though because I could never remember how I’d set the camera up. I don’t photograph often enough to remember which way to rotate the dial to change the aperture etc. so I moved to a camera (Leica) that had the traditional analogue controls. I’ve kept the Oly for telephoto work though
You have to avoid the 'My Cats Blacker than your Cat'' syndrome...l re-entered interest in photography when l bought a E-PL6 with two kit lenses sold at a Electrical hyper market here in Spain.. l was amazed at the quality ...'Straight out of the Box''...My biggest influence .... long before UA-cam Influencers...Was l think, having owned a Leica M6 back in the nineties. l feel in love with the small well made, quite rangefinder style Camera...I've since added a few new lenses plus my latest acquisition a E-P5....
After spending 300$ on a used Olympus em10 mark3 and using it for 2 years.... I just went and got another mark2 in Silver for 300$.(the electronic shutter is way better and it looks great) I thought I might move up to an EM 1 or a G9 but I have found the small form factor combined with great image quality is why micro 4/3 is better than APSC or full frame. Better. I would encourage OM Systems and Panasonic to market the hell out of their built in advantage.
I was able to trade for an omd em10 mk iii, 17mm olympus len,ms, 14-42mm panasonic lens and 40-150mm olympus lens as a bundle. Since then I have bought adapters and use all my vintage pentax and nikon lenses, I love blending vintage glass with my newer camera. Very cool photos.
Important point about having “default settings.” Don’t forget about MySets that can be assigned to buttons and mode dial positions. I have my default settings assigned to “iAuto” on my E-M10 II and C1 on my E-M1 II. No way to override iAuto on the E-M1 II 😕
Yes, noise and pixel count can be compensated for in Lightroom, e.g. under Photo, at the bottom of the menu, improve. If I've exposed correctly, I can after the data extraction, it's quick and easy if you have enough graphics and working memory. Then I can send for printing in size 70-100 cm with excellent quality. So, better to spend on affordable computing power instead of expensive full frame camera
For vintage lenses I'd still prefer FF or at least 1.5-1.6 crop. Most affordable vintage lenses I've seen were in 50..200 mm range. I've tried them on Canon APS-C DSLR with AF confirmation chip - very convenient. But 50..200mm would be too narrow for micro four thirds and resolution of these lenses isn't always great to make good use of the central portion.
I always recommend, if you can't afford a lot of expensive Lenses, buy one Quality, multi-purpose lens.. it's like having a lot of dull knives that don't cut the cheese right, or one Quality, multi-purpose one that does!
@dizzybuizzy9347 There is an old saying; "beware the man who only owns one gun, as he probably knows how to use it well." Certainly a different context, but one could apply the same thinking to the photographer who only owns one camera and lens. Thanks again.
I shoot using a Lumix GX9 and G9 with great results. Your ' Leica look' is adding to the 'Noise' that you are talking about. A bit disingenuous in my openion
Sorry you feel that way. It isn't necessarily a Leica look but rather a film look I was referring to, and I do feel that micro four thirds does a better job than other formats when it comes to emulating a film look. That look is also best obtained using vintage lenses as well.
@@dongummphotography - All other things being equal ... a smaller sensor size is inferior to a larger sensor size, regardless of the number of megapixels. Stuffing a 50 megapixel capacity into a sensor the size of the end of a pencil eraser, for example, will surely NOT increase the overall image quality - if QUALITY is actually your goal. Even the best 2 cycle engine can't haul a semi truck. I have a 24 megapixel DX format camera, and a full frame 20 megapixel camera ... and I much prefer the 20 megapixel camera, as far as image quality goes. Better dynamic range, lower digital noise. The only thing I don't enjoy so much are the larger, heavier, more expensive Full Frame lenses. However, it's not as if I hate my 24 megapixel camera because it's surely NOT a slouch. Likewise a nice camera.
@scotthullinger4684 you miss the point. Great images are not dependent on pixels or lines of resolution, dynamic range, or levels of digital noise. Great photographers like Henri Cartier Bresson, David Douglas Duncan, Imogen Cunningham, Robert Capa, Tony Vaccaro, Margaret Bourke-White, Edward Steichen and many others did not have all our current technology. They had very simple, mechanical cameras, a great understanding of the photographic process, and how to deliver images with that technology and, most important, an ability to see and compose images with what they had. Tony Vaccaro carried an Argus C3 throughout his time in Europe from Normandy to Berlin, documenting the war, processing film in helmets at night. He shot images that spoke of the untold horrors of war like no one else has. Some of the greatest images I have seen were shot with a simple Pinhole camera. They were great images because of composition, mood, energy, emotion, and lighting, not pixels, dynamic range, or resolution. I recommend you get a Pinhole camera and a few rolls of film and see what you can create.
@@dongummphotography - No, you miss the point. A discussion of cameras is precisely that. It has nothing to do with the art which can be produced with the cameras. Technical quality is one thing, and artistic quality is another thing. But quite often, the artistic quality does indeed depend upon the technical quality which might be available and which can be produced with one camera, but not with another. Even a box camera or a Holga camera can produce "art" - but not a whole lot of it. As for pinhole cameras ... I can create my own by drilling a tiny hole into the body cap of my digital camera.
@scotthullinger4684 I will respectfully disagree. A great violinist, Fritz Kreiseler, once played a concert with a cheap violin. The audience cheered and applauded his performance. He wanted to prove that it wasn't the Stradivarius violin that made his music great. It was the artist. A great artist can create amazing art with the simplest of tools.
The first pic I took when I bought a "real" camera, in m43, I have framed -- it blew my mind, still does, looks like some "professional" took it. With reinflation incoming I just went into debt, hopefully it pays off, but other than big holiday sales I bought used -- lens wise, haven't tried a used body(but I'm recent, little over a year with my m4/3, convert from cheap point and shoot garbage - finepix and mobile phone shooter for the past 20 years[basic film and polaroids before that oh yea and about 7 years of disposables somewhere in there "crraannnk craaank craaaaaaaank"). I just look around will pay 20$ more(im still mostly budget) for a reputable seller/site with it being well documented -- pics and description, and I haven't been let down yet -- as far as condition of the item, some I just wasn't impressed with but were in great condition.
@@dongummphotography nah thank you sir! I enjoyed your video and myself M4/3 shooter and I use my beloved original EM-5 Oly camera, and I'm only a hobbyist photographer and I agree with you 100 percent on the best color science is Olympus in the business and not the Lumix, Sony, Canon nor the Nikon for my taste I need the beautiful and realistic but at same time rich colors of the Olympus digital... Thanks 👍💯❤️
@@dongummphotography ps I'm using primes with my em5 and for landscape I love to pair it with my 25mm f1.7 Lumix g lens and I watched your other video about the first Olympus prime the 2.8 17mm and I also have the same lens and I love it. I only have one body the em5 but I own 5 lenses, and the zooms I have is the kit lens come with the em5 the 12-50mm, lovely macro capable zoom and the plastic fantastic 40-150mm and in good light condition it's also capable of making magically beautiful images, thank you for your videos, very supportive towards the M4/3 community, thanks.
Thanks, all good and sound advice. There was a period in my photography journey when I was influenced by the influencers. They would gush that a new version of a camera had 100% better focus or twice as good low light performance than its predecessor. I would buy the camera only to discover that in the real world it was (at most) marginally better. Lesson learned. It also finally dawned on me that photographers were taking the most amazing photos using "in the day" cameras that were now obsolete (like the Nikon D200), as well as fantastic action shots with cameras that only had 9 focus points and a burst rate of 4 FPS. Yes, a camera can make a difference, but the photographer makes a much bigger difference. I have too many cameras, but I now accept that they are my hobby and I can enjoy them for what they are. However, I'm not racing to buy the latest and greatest gear. Influencers will wax about the best camera ever only to do the same with another model that comes out one a week later. It is kind of like watching the home shopping club. Happy shooting!
I think lots of us have had to learn these lessons the hard way. Thanks for watching and commenting!
An excellent video with a message that is not heard nearly often enough: ignore those who criticize the gear you have, more than half of them have no idea what they are talking about. This goes double (or triple) for the MFT system. I am so disgusted with all the misrepresentations of MFT by so many on UA-cam out of ignorance or malice. They are only dogs barking because other dogs are barking, so "tune out the noise." Great, great insights, Don.
Thank you, and thanks for watching and commenting too!
I had bought an E-P5 2 years ago with the 17mm f2.8 and really liked the camera! After slapping on a dumb grip, to date it's the most comfortable and a great camera to use with one hand. I liked the system so much that I sold all of my fuji cameras and lenses and took advantage of the hype, made a profit and was able to get an OM-D mark ii with the 12-40mm f2.8 and the 40-150mm f2.8, as well as the 60mm macro. BEST lenses I have ever owned and the om-d mark ii is a beast of a camera that will serve me at least a decade, if not longer. I also came across of a $100 EM-5 and a $70 Lumix G-X1. building up a collection now
@versescapes4385 Once you try the Olympus system, it is easy to understand the attraction. Sounds like you have a great setup!
Very good Don, great advertisement for our beloved M43 format!
Thank you, and thanks for watching and commenting too!
Glad my algorithm picked this channel up
Me too! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Same here. Thanks for the video Don. Good points and like you I stopped listening to all the negative press/background noise years ago. I do recall some prominent people on UA-cam saying/predicting m4/3 was dead. Well here we are years later and the system is still going strong. It’s probably only now that the FF cameras have caught or surpassed what Olympus and Panasonic were doing years ago with the mirrorless system.
Newly subscribed.
Cheers
@dingoeatswolf3663 couldn't non agree more! Thanks for subscribing!
The amazing positive of UA-cam and the internet is access to this kind of content. The downside is, the former bargains triple or more in price overnight! That's ok, makes the treasure hunting more challenging in a fun way sometimes. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, experience, and opinions.
Great advice. Problem that I see is some (many) people spend more time in the camera shop/website/forum than they do actually using their camera!
You're probably right! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thank you for this video. It was unfortunately sent to me by a friend AFTER I went crazy and bought a whole high-end olympus set up, haha.
I used to be a dedicated amature canon shooter and had collected thousands of dollars worth of lenses and such over the years, piece by piece, Only to have the bulk of my system stolen in one event, which really sent me into denial and depression for a couple of years.
By replacing my gear sort of like for like but from a different manufacturer I was able to get a significant amount of it covered by my home insurance policy, So that's cool.
My teenage son has embraced the hobby and has been pushing me to get back into it as well. Never one to miss out on opportunities to connect more with him, I said ok and started trying to figure out what's out there that could be interesting and a good fit for me. The M 4/3 started to look like the way to go, and when we took a trip to our local high-end camera store, and they sneered at the idea of this format, telling me I would regret it terribly, and that lens selection is terribly poor, and there's only two manufacturers, and blah blah blah, that locked it in for me, and I bought my kit the very next day.
I'm only in the first week of ownership, and like your dad, I have been just fiddling with everything whenever I have free time. I've also been careful to support my son in his choices, who has been for some time really scouring and exploring the vintage lens category.
So I really agree with everything in your video, and I greatly appreciate you sharing your perspectives and journey with us. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words. I am betting you will greatly enjoy the Olympus system. You might look into some of those vintage lenses with your son. Best of luck, and thanks for watching and commenting!
I have bought all of my equipment used in like new or excellent condition. There's a significant price difference from new. You make great comments about the noise. I watched all the videos about equipment and fell into the trap of validating my choice of camera and lens choices. I'm a hobbyist and not a pro, so I don't need all the high end equipment that they say you should have. I will never spend over $300 for a tripod and they all say that the Peak Design tripod is the only one you should get. You make excellent points and it is very nice to hear. Keep up the great videos.
@mikeg2916 thank you! Thanks for watching and commenting too!
"Setting it back to those default settings," is awesome advice. TY!
Great video Don. I totally agree with you about not listening to what other youtubers say. I shoot mainly wildlife and shot Canon for years. As I got older I wanted to get the weight of my gear down. I tried full frame Sony and APS-C Fuji set ups and was never happy with the results. Moving to Olympus was a game changer. I am now getting tack sharp images straight from the camera and a much higher hit rate with the OM-1. I've now found a camera that I am happy with.
I'm happy to hear that you found a good fit for your needs. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Into my third week with om-1mII from a Sony full frame and couldn't be happier, so much fun to use!
So true about avoiding all the crap that is thrown at the micro 4/3 format and the hype about megapixels! The micro 4/3 system is all that most photographers need, especially amateurs and by shopping used, you can get some great gear at very reasonable prices. I've acquired quite a few of the excellent lenses, more than I really need because of the affordability factor. For someone just starting out, purchasing a used M10 Mark i or ii along with the kit lenses can be done on a "beer" budget and it is a great kit for exploring photography. It takes time and experience to learn what gear may really help you and which gear could end up being a waste of money. And if you keep your cost down on the camera body, you gain more by buying better lenses.
@@stephenbrasure4331 Absolutely!
Don, I want to thank you again for recommending the E-P5. I find it to be my prefered walk-around camera. I have an OM-1, E-M1iii, E-PL9, and a Pen-F but I find myself almost always grabbing the E-P5 with the 30mm macro lens when I walk the dog around my neighborhood or just want to destress after work by taking pictures of flowers and insects in my yard. What a wonderful camera!
I bought a used Premium E-P5 (the one with the wood grip) in mint condition on eBay from a seller in Japan. I love the build quality, ergonomics, compact size, and simplicity of operation of the camera. I also like that you can install an external viewfinder. The only downsides of the E-P5 are a front dial that sometimes doesn't register changes (I heard this is a common issue with some of the cameras, probably a bad batch of dials from the supplier) and the AF is a little dated (but with patience and knowldge of its AF limitations you can work around it).
My BEST flower and insect shots are with the E-P5 and the 30mm. It's wonderful and it all fits in a small Belroy sling bag.
Thanks again for the recommendation!
@@FierceSleepingDog sounds like you enjoy your EP5 as much as I enjoy mine! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Thank you for this video. I totally agree that the only things that matter is to know your gear, composition and image processing.
I have been shooting M43 for 5 years too and it was my first digital camera. I chose M43 because the gear and price are smaller, and I am more than happy with the quality. I have also been watching a ton of videos on camera gear. Now I am looking for real photography world howtos. One of the reason I suscribed here.
Thank you, and thanks for watching and commenting, too!
Very good.
Moved to OMDS/Olympus last year. I still have my Nikon DSLRs (D500 and D850), but I like my MFT gear better.
The M4/3 platform is winning over lots of people! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I've been using Oly since i picked up a half frame in the mid 60's. I currently use an E-M1X, E-M5 III and a pair of OM-5's. They do everything I need to do. I keep the 5 series cameras in one camera case along with a 12-45mm f4, 40-150mm f4 and a 60mm f2.8 macro. I can grab that one compact case and meet 85% of my needs. I have a number of other cameras but, these go with me more often than not. The ergonomics on these cameras are great for Me. I have neuropathy in my hands and have difficulty using some bodies (including My E-M1X). Affordability is good too. I don't personally care who the camera was made by or what format it is. If it captures the image I want without getting in My way I'm good with it. Thank You for Your excellent content.
@qphase49 Thank you! I had and loved the original half frame Pen F and FT. I may have to find another one... Thanks for watching and commenting!
I've only recently started using m4/3 and quite getting into it. Got an OM-D EM-1 and pair of the Panasonic kit lenses, 14-45 and 45-150, with OIS, in case I pick up a Lumix body at some point.
Also got an adapter from SRB-Griturn for EOS to m4/3, so that I can use some of the drawerfuls of classic glass I have.
So far, it's working out well, the only thing I'm not a fan of is the small battery, but a battery grip goes some way to curing that, at the cost of losing the very thing that makes the system so nice - it's small size.
Great video, I've been shooting M43 for 4 years now alongside my Nikon DSLR, the Em10ii with vintage 50mm primes (Minolta Rokkor & OM Zuiko are my faves) are a joy to shoot and produce very sharp images. I also use a G9 for all types of photography. Thanks for sharing 👍
@@74leogambo thanks for watching and commenting!
Hi Don, I agree with most of your point,s. I have the OMD EM1 MK II, great camera but so complicated not helped by a rubbish instruction manual. Find myself useing the Pen EPL 5, more, it,s more straightforward. Olympus has the best Jpeg engine of any make, saves time in lightroom! Recently bought the 12-40 pro, superb len,s and weather sealed, with the OMD not precious about the weather here in the UK. You don,t go to Scotland for a suntan!
I agree the manual is poorly done. I find it better to just go through the menus and get familiar with what is there. I Google search anything I am not familiar with. The 12-40 f2.8 is a lens I have been looking at. The weather sealing would be nice to have. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@dongummphotography
the best manual i found is the "Complete guide to the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II " by Tony Phillips.437 pages. Found my copy on Amazon
Check out Rob Trek’s older UA-cam videos where he goes through em10, em5 and em1 menus and talks you through how and what certain menu functions do or how to set up custom buttons etc. I gave up on the Olympus manuals years back when I picked up an em5-2. The menus on my Panasonic body seem to be a lot easier and intuitive to use. Having said that, if you just spend the time familiarising yourself (as Don said about his dad) and playing with the camera when sitting around home, you start to get a feel for where things are.
thanks for your advise
You're welcome! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I have to a camera I love more for photos & video than my GH5ii. Great content
Thank you!
often thought about getting into micro four thirds,thanks for the video
good advise!
Hi, some good points there. I`ve been using M43 since 2011 with E-PL1 then E-M5 Mk1 & 2 and E-M1 MkII. I get great image quality, love the IBIS and as you point out the ability to use just about any vintage lens with the system and the IBIS also works with the old lenses! I love the art filters too and the ability to shoot JPEG in art filter and still get the original unmodified image in RAW. Good advice you give with ignoring all the rubbish talked about the system and get to know how to use your equipment. A great system. Thank you for your video.
Thank you, and thanks for watching and commenting, too!
Thanks so much Don! This is the wisest video I've seen and listened to in a long time - maybe ever! I truly enjoyed your advices! Embrace the m43 look!
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed the video.
I've thought a lot about what you said, Don, about you liking the look of the m43, and so do I (despite having full frame and APSC cameras, I basically only use the m43) - so what about the look that do it? As I see it now, the slightly greater depth of field with m43 makes the look in the images much more reminiscent of how I see with my own eyes than any of the other formats. (Nowadays, I mostly think they are arty and usually quite boring!) So for me m43 is much more like seeing with my own eyes! Thanks for mentioning it in the video! Cheers!
@rikardpersson9493 that's an excellent point. We don't normally see the world around us with a shallow depth of field. M43 does come closer to mimicking our natural vision. Thanks for sharing that thought! If you don't mind, I may use that as the basis for a future video.
@@dongummphotography Please do!
I promise not to troll you Don this one is just for fun!
If you look at the optics of the human eye, it gets really interesting: the lens has a focal length between 17 and 24mm (depending on the person) with a human average of 21.5mm. Now we don't use the whole retina to see. The sharp part (the telecentic part) is significantly smaller and this means that the effective focal length is approximately 43 mm. The aperture for the eye is between f/2.1 and f/8.3 (the fact that the eye cannot stop down more is probably due to diffraction being avoided!). A perfectly sighted person does not perceive pixels, but if one were to try, the eye has a resolution of 5-15 Mp. These are all numbers we m43 photographers recognize, don't you think? Cheers!
I went through such a similar journey. Did my research, got an Oly EM5 iii, read too much about full frame sensors, but stuck with the Oly and expanded My lens collection to include the 12-40 pro and then vintage lenses, which are a wonderful new world to explore and give more unpredictable results, usually of the good sort. I am even learning to pull them apart and clean the fungus out, but beware of lenses like the Zuiko 1.8 50 mm of which most models have a sealed unit Which cannot be cleaned. I have also got some bargains with the 4/3 mount previous generation Olympus lenses such as the 50 to 200 mm which is a pro level zoom and works fine with an adapter.
Sounds like you are growing in knowledge and experience. I need to get an adapter and try out some of the 4/3 lenses. They can be a real bargain.
I got the same 4/3 lens, complete with M43 adapter. It's chunky, clunky, and isn't compatible with procapture, but I'm very fond of it! I was shooting a heron with it the other day, got some nice fishing moments. I've been waiting for the new 50-250mm that's supposedly on OM's roadmap, but it'll have to be top notch to pull me away from the older lens.
That was a wonderful video presentation. I’m going to pull my M43 camera out now and go take some photos. 😊
Thank you! M43 cameras have a lot to offer.
Went fully M43 from Canon in 2019, never looked back. Have 4 bodies and 7 Mzuiko and 2 Lumix len's. It's a more fun system to use and as I now enjoy photography more, (professional and hobby(, the quality of what I now shoot is so much better than my Canon days. And you are right you don't have to follow the trend, use what's best for you whether a car, phone, computer or brand of beer.
Your story is like many I've heard. I'm glad you are as happy with M43 as I am. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Hi Don, great Video, I had OMD EM10 MK II and still have it, the only things I wish that the battery life was better, special if you are shouting other modes that simple A Mode, also I leave in tropical country it happen the camera over heated because of high out door temperature, and water proof would have been nice. I purchased eventually an OMD EM1 MK III, used two year ago. I fully agree the importing things is to know your equipment, I shoot a little of everything and a play online Guru shoot game, and I could see that my photo taken with the OMD EM 10, perform as good as the one's taken with the more advanced camera. Waterproofing was the main drive to buy a new camera, because when I had my OMD EM 10 MK II knew I was on trip to the jungle and it was light raining, so I was scared to use the camera, instead I used my old compact Casio instead.
Tropical climates are always a challenge. Battery life is always a thing with modern cameras. I have had best luck with real Olympus batteries but they bought are expensive. Thanks for watching and commenting.
A really great video with sound advice.
Thank you!
hi Don, thank you for your insight. Spot on I have just started out on my MFT journey. I always had a point and shoot and then the phones came with cameras and used that. I always wanted to learn photography and get a real camera. I tried X-E2 Fujifilm, Nikon Z30, Canon M6, Lumix GX85 a great camera that got me hooked on MFT. My thumb is a bit big for the buttons on the GX85 so swapped it for a Panasonic Lumix G95. I love it and the images it gives me for half the price of Fuji or Nikon setups. Also the small compact size for travel. We are retiring and are going to travel all around New Zealand in our converted Bus. So with my search over and a camera that is light years ahead of me your video has been reassuring with very good advice on my way forward, learning journey. Cheers
@@dougmeyer5715 Wow, your retirement plans sound amazing! I bet you will capture wonderful images! I am glad you found a camera that really works for you. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Hello, thank you for the sharing !
It seems to me that m4/3 format is very underated. Olympus offered fonctions that no one did (and still not do).
I like to take pictures in manual mode. So i bought some vintage lenses (like your pentacon) to mont on my olympus cameras (e-m5 mk2 + e-m1 mk2). I'm very happy with both (vintages lenses and cameras).
In the same way and because of a short budget i don't buy new camera model. But i had the oportunity to find 2nd hand cameras very cheap : fujifilm x-pro1 and canon eos 5d mk2. With adatators all my lenses go on all my cameras, no need to buy a lense for a brand or a format !
Sounds like you have a great setup! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great discussion.
Thank you!
Great points Don, have enjoyed my EM1 mkII for almost five years now too, bought it used on eBay with the 12-40pro at a very good price, have slowly added a bunch of Oly lenses over the years too, ... good to hear your advice, cheers, Steve :)
Thank you!
Thanks Don for a video that obviously took a lot of effort to execute. Very much appreciated 🎉🎉🎉. I recently acquired an OM mount 135mm f4.0 and it is really beautiful. I am also waiting for my new purchase to be delivered, an E-M1 mki. I believe that this will enhance the look of the images from the 135mm.
Thank you, and thanks for watching and commenting, too
Thanks Don. I feel disappointed when a reviewer says buy another camera that is not micro four thirds if you want the best image quality. And I have full frame cameras, and APSC cameras. I love micro four thirds cameras and I love them for the images they produce. So I will tune out that noise too. Micro four thirds cameras produce high quality photographs in my opinion. In fact I often find them easier to use than other sensor sized cameras. I use an Olympus camera for my exhibition openings and photography of the exhibition art. With the 5 axis image stabilisation of the camera and f2.8 plus an ISO of 400-800 I can photograph anything at the exhibitions and get great results.
Thank you! I believe in the M4/3 system and many like you are discovering it's benefits.
Definitely easier to use.
Hey good stuff, I have been shooting almost all the Olympus digi cams since the E500. Cheers!
Whoa! How can you get a gazillion clicks on UA-cam without touting the latest most expensive gear with some controversy? Actually, by video like this, instead, I hope. I am just getting in to Micro 4/3 and this was the video I really needed to see - thanks! And subscribed - I really like the look of your photos, and am looking forward to learning to take awesome pics with my new Olympus when it arrives.
@FreedomToRoam86 thank you! I have greatly enjoyed Micro 4/3 cameras. They have performed great and have been a lot of fun. I hope you have great success with your new camera!
One question please: Can you use an old macro lens and do focus stacking on a single photo, manually,or is it exclusive to modern Olympus af macro lenses? , which automatically does the entire process in lens-camera symbiosis.
Except for the basic 12-32 mm zoom, I use Nikon AIS lenses with my old Lumix, but watching your olympus omd5 , warms up my brain.....and now it's at a good price.....
The only way you can do focus stacking with a vintage lens would be to manually take multiple images, shifting the focus a tiny bit each time and then combining those images in post processing. You would also need software that has that capability.
Great to see you back Don. Sound advice. Learning to live with what it is..... Still ringing in my head. I love m43rds i got an Ep5 off your previous advice love it. Loved em5ii too but my bricked and was replaced with omd em1ii......don do i really have to learn to live with the magenta i seem to get in skin tones? Or maybe im doing something wrong. Great video thanks for the making
I've never had an issue with magenta skin tones. I would review all settings, and if nothing obvious was found, I might try a factory reset to make sure all settings are at factory spec.
Love your philosophy.
Thank you, and thanks for watching and commenting, too!
all good points!! another great video. thanks!!
Thank you!
I really enjoyed your musings here so thanks for uploading.
I have an E-P5 with the two kit lenses on the way from a Japanese dealer at the moment and really looking forward to my first foray into M43.
Longtime Olympus user, my first was a new OM-1 bought for £150 with 50/1.8 fifty years ago and another was an AX, they were the two most noteable.
Landscape, nature, our pets, and macro are my main subjects.
No longer satisfied with smartfone snapshots.
@@philiptownsend4026 the EP5 is a favorite of mine. Hope you enjoy it!
I was out this morning, taking photos and, for the fun of it, I switched to one of the B&W Art modes. I thought I would only take a couple photos, but ended up taking photos for the next two hours in the Art mode. I had forgotten how good the mode was. And I didn't need to spend a bunch of time post-processing.
How cool. If you post the images somewhere I can see them like Flickr, send me a link. I would live to see them.
Very good reflection with which they agree 👌. Surely we are of a similar age, also in the past I used photosensitive film equipment. I love the color and image quality of the micro (they should have named it "super") four thirds system. I would add that... curiously, and ironically, Leica implemented the 24x36mm format as a reduction of the chemical support format of the time of 60x90 and 60x60mm (medium format) to achieve smaller, discreet and easier to transport camera bodies... What It represented a great revolution in “analog” photography and blurring and equivalences in apertures/focals were not considered, with respect to "medium format", to consider it invalid in certain disciplines... It seems that the second revolution would be the reduction of the dimensions of the old 35mm reel, to give way to the micro four thirds (a new standard open to all manufacturers and the only one designed entirely digital). Then a question arises: why are most companies so stubborn in wanting to sell the sensor with the “classic” 24x36mm (now renamed full frame) as the best? The answer I think is quite obvious: those manufacturers (the old well-known manufacturers of cameras and new ones that Minolta bought) want to continue taking advantage of their investment in optical designs from the past... (it does not seem that they are looking to do the photographer a great favor, because in this new digital age it turns out that they are going to have to continue carry equipment just as heavy as in the last century, at the time of the film). These manufacturers have made it clear when they have called it “full frame”, that is, they have only bothered to fill their bodies with a sensor the size of 35mm film to obtain economic benefit, at the cost, in many cases of ignorance and manipulation. of the consumer, justifying these prices in the larger size of the objectives (even more expensive, larger and heavier)😅
@@salgado_fotos all very good points! Thank you for watching and commenting!
I bought an old 4/3 Olympus e-420 with 2 kit zoom lenses and a macro for 50$ just to use for travel photography. And God was I amazed by the colors. I am a Fujifilm shooter since 2015 and I always struggle to get the colors right, especially the reds which are often too orange. Olympus does it right in camera so I am now thinking about going into the micro 4/3 system. Fujifilm film simulations are not my thing, it is over hyped in my opinion. I shoot quite a lot of B&W film instead.
@michelk5 I LOVE Olympus color science. It is one of the big reasons I use Olympus cameras.
I have a bunch of old Zuiko MF-lenses, including the 55mm F1.2, the 50mm f3.5 Macro and the 100mm f2.8.
Got them at flea-markets before film-photography became trendy.
I paid more for a used Olympus OM-M43 converter than I did for the lenses!
Absolutely amazing lenses on the OM-D EM5, E-PL 5 and E-P1.
Got those cameras on a fleamarket, including 5 really good M43 lenses,
for 250 US$..
I do have a Nikon D200 and the classic Nikkors, 28mm,35mm,50mm,85mm and 105mm, but I hardly ever use them, to large and heavy to carry around, and I can't say the IQ is better.
It IS a bit different, but I honestly can't say one is better than the other..
The Olympus film lenses have a stellar reputation. That is one of the reasons I chose Olympus for my digital gear. They are also much more compact than other brands too! Sounds like you have quite a kit put together.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I've been shooting adapted lenses on my Fuji X-T3 exclusively for the last couple months, I have a Nikon mount Tokina 28-70mm f2.8 on top of a Zhongyi speedbooster that produces such beautiful images that it lives on my camera most of the time now, even with the heft of it.
I may just end up selling off the Fuji 50mm and the 23mm Viltrox and grab some other vintage lenses for it.
The EM5mkll was great! Recently it failed and the On Off doesn't work reliably but I will miss itl
I've found Olympus repair facilities do a much better job than Nikon. I sent a film camera back 3 times and it was never repaired.
Hi, Don, and thanks so much for the great channel and advice. I recently moved to micro 4/3 because of its adaptability and usefulness, & I see lots of material on your channel about vintage lenses. I happen to have some of those, and I was wondering how you focus on amanual lens with. No viewfinder? My E-PL-5 has no viewfinder, and I assume you must be using manual lenses with your Olympus PEN series, since they seem to be favorites. In reviewing your photos, it's obvious that they are in focus. Is there a trick to that, or is it just practice? In the past, I've always used a viewfinder, but if it's only a matter of getting used to it, I'll just work thru it.
THANKS, Steve Bradley.
With an EPL5, you have to practice focusing using the screen. I believe the EPL5 also has a magnifier feature, so you can critically focus. When I had an EPL5, I got pretty good at simply watching the screen. Models like the EP5 or EM5 Mkii have focus peaking, which helps as well, but I still often just watch the screen while focusing.
@@dongummphotography thanks. If it's learning, I can do it.
I started buying vintage lenses for my M43 cameras and got a couple of pips (like a really nice Sigma 24mm Canon FD fit) but I quickly found out that a lot of those things are easy to clean out, impossible to reassemble! That quickly ended my idea to get deals on dusty or sticky-aperture lenses. Then I started recieving lenses in that condition that were promised to be in top condition. Cheap, yes, but the cost adds up if you keep buying duds!
I might dip my toe again, but in the meantime my compromise was to check out some Chinese manual lenses. I've yet to be really disappointed by them. Just ten minutes ago I was appreciating the swirly bokeh on my TTArtisan 25mm.
@vermis8344 TT Artisan makes some very impressive lenses! I love vintage lenses, but buying online has its challenges. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Don, I know you've answered this, but I can't remember. Which of the cameras you use ,do you like the best and use the most? I have the E-PL1 (like it a lot) and a PEN E-PL5. I like them both a great deal, but both are a bit long in the tooth. I enjoy the simplicity of the PEN format, and the ones I have take excellent pictures.
Thanks in advance, Steve Bradley.
I had an EPL5 and really liked it. I like the Pen format too, but if I could only have one camera of those I have owned and use, I would choose the EM5 MkII.
If I were to choose a Pen camera it would be the EP5.
@@dongummphotography thanks, Don!
I appreciate your suggestions. The more I shoot M4/3 the more I fall in love. Any recommendations for someone working a full time job who wants to make a living in photography?
I guess the first question would be what type of photography you are interested in. Some genres of photography are best accomplished on a self employment basis. What area of photography are you interested in?
@@dongummphotography : Hi. Street, nature, landscapes, events, candid. Not even sure where to begin.
@prizepictures1 I had a very wise man once tell me, "Find one thing you have a passion for, focus on that one thing and be the best there is at it." I would figure out where your greatest passion is and focus on that. It doesn't mean you have to totally give up on other types of photography, it just means that your primary focus is on that one genre.
I never had any reason to worry about m4/3 image quality. I have an EM5-MkII and a 12-40 pro lens and it is no different at most apertures than other sensors. I’ve stopped using it though because I could never remember how I’d set the camera up. I don’t photograph often enough to remember which way to rotate the dial to change the aperture etc. so I moved to a camera (Leica) that had the traditional analogue controls. I’ve kept the Oly for telephoto work though
The Leica is certainly more traditional in it's approach to controls and who can argue against their quality! Thanks for watching and commenting!
You have to avoid the 'My Cats Blacker than your Cat'' syndrome...l re-entered interest in photography when l bought a E-PL6 with two kit lenses sold at a Electrical hyper market here in Spain.. l was amazed at the quality ...'Straight out of the Box''...My biggest influence .... long before UA-cam Influencers...Was l think, having owned a Leica M6 back in the nineties. l feel in love with the small well made, quite rangefinder style Camera...I've since added a few new lenses plus my latest acquisition a E-P5....
@BrianLesliePerry I have owned both M and screwmount Leicas and that is what drew me to the Olympus Pen cameras. A sense or feel of quality.
After spending 300$ on a used Olympus em10 mark3 and using it for 2 years.... I just went and got another mark2 in Silver for 300$.(the electronic shutter is way better and it looks great) I thought I might move up to an EM 1 or a G9 but I have found the small form factor combined with great image quality is why micro 4/3 is better than APSC or full frame. Better. I would encourage OM Systems and Panasonic to market the hell out of their built in advantage.
@@scottkiborn9142 I couldn't agree more!
Agree! I had mirrorless mft, apsc, FF, MF cameras and its true
I was able to trade for an omd em10 mk iii, 17mm olympus len,ms, 14-42mm panasonic lens and 40-150mm olympus lens as a bundle. Since then I have bought adapters and use all my vintage pentax and nikon lenses, I love blending vintage glass with my newer camera. Very cool photos.
Thank you! Sounds like you have quite a setup! Have fun!
Can you use an Olympus lens on a Pentax camera if so with what adapter? I bought a used Pentax K 5-11 and have quite a few Olympus lenses.
I don't believe the Olympus lenses will adapt to the Pentax K5-11.
Totally agree with what you say!
Thank you, and thanks for watching and commenting, too!
Important point about having “default settings.” Don’t forget about MySets that can be assigned to buttons and mode dial positions. I have my default settings assigned to “iAuto” on my E-M10 II and C1 on my E-M1 II. No way to override iAuto on the E-M1 II 😕
Good point! Thanks for mentioning it!
Yes, noise and pixel count can be compensated for in Lightroom, e.g. under Photo, at the bottom of the menu, improve. If I've exposed correctly, I can after the data extraction, it's quick and easy if you have enough graphics and working memory. Then I can send for printing in size 70-100 cm with excellent quality. So, better to spend on affordable computing power instead of expensive full frame camera
Good point! Thanks for watching and commenting!
For vintage lenses I'd still prefer FF or at least 1.5-1.6 crop. Most affordable vintage lenses I've seen were in 50..200 mm range. I've tried them on Canon APS-C DSLR with AF confirmation chip - very convenient. But 50..200mm would be too narrow for micro four thirds and resolution of these lenses isn't always great to make good use of the central portion.
The man speaks the truth.
Thank you!
Do all old film camera lenses fit M4e?
M4/3 adapters are available for almost all vintage lenses made for 35mm SLR and rangefinder film cameras.
I always recommend, if you can't afford a lot of expensive Lenses, buy one Quality, multi-purpose lens.. it's like having a lot of dull knives that don't cut the cheese right, or one Quality, multi-purpose one that does!
Interesting perspective. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@dongummphotography - i didn't expect such a quick reply - Thank-you!
@dizzybuizzy9347 There is an old saying; "beware the man who only owns one gun, as he probably knows how to use it well." Certainly a different context, but one could apply the same thinking to the photographer who only owns one camera and lens.
Thanks again.
I shoot using a Lumix GX9 and G9 with great results. Your ' Leica look' is adding to the 'Noise' that you are talking about. A bit disingenuous in my openion
Sorry you feel that way. It isn't necessarily a Leica look but rather a film look I was referring to, and I do feel that micro four thirds does a better job than other formats when it comes to emulating a film look. That look is also best obtained using vintage lenses as well.
after 5 years i learned m43 was a con and got into fullframe and apsc. never looked back.
Olympus makes great quality cameras. However ... the micro 4/3 format is bizarre and is not too desirable.
Regarding the M4/3 format, I think a lot of people would disagree with you
@@dongummphotography - All other things being equal ... a smaller sensor size is inferior to a larger sensor size, regardless of the number of megapixels. Stuffing a 50 megapixel capacity into a sensor the size of the end of a pencil eraser, for example, will surely NOT increase the overall image quality - if QUALITY is actually your goal. Even the best 2 cycle engine can't haul a semi truck. I have a 24 megapixel DX format camera, and a full frame 20 megapixel camera ... and I much prefer the 20 megapixel camera, as far as image quality goes. Better dynamic range, lower digital noise.
The only thing I don't enjoy so much are the larger, heavier, more expensive Full Frame lenses.
However, it's not as if I hate my 24 megapixel camera because it's surely NOT a slouch. Likewise a nice camera.
@scotthullinger4684 you miss the point. Great images are not dependent on pixels or lines of resolution, dynamic range, or levels of digital noise. Great photographers like Henri Cartier Bresson, David Douglas Duncan, Imogen Cunningham, Robert Capa, Tony Vaccaro, Margaret Bourke-White, Edward Steichen and many others did not have all our current technology. They had very simple, mechanical cameras, a great understanding of the photographic process, and how to deliver images with that technology and, most important, an ability to see and compose images with what they had. Tony Vaccaro carried an Argus C3 throughout his time in Europe from Normandy to Berlin, documenting the war, processing film in helmets at night. He shot images that spoke of the untold horrors of war like no one else has.
Some of the greatest images I have seen were shot with a simple Pinhole camera. They were great images because of composition, mood, energy, emotion, and lighting, not pixels, dynamic range, or resolution. I recommend you get a Pinhole camera and a few rolls of film and see what you can create.
@@dongummphotography - No, you miss the point. A discussion of cameras is precisely that. It has nothing to do with the art which can be produced with the cameras. Technical quality is one thing, and artistic quality is another thing. But quite often, the artistic quality does indeed depend upon the technical quality which might be available and which can be produced with one camera, but not with another.
Even a box camera or a Holga camera can produce "art" - but not a whole lot of it.
As for pinhole cameras ... I can create my own by drilling a tiny hole into the body cap of my digital camera.
@scotthullinger4684 I will respectfully disagree. A great violinist, Fritz Kreiseler, once played a concert with a cheap violin. The audience cheered and applauded his performance. He wanted to prove that it wasn't the Stradivarius violin that made his music great. It was the artist. A great artist can create amazing art with the simplest of tools.
The first pic I took when I bought a "real" camera, in m43, I have framed -- it blew my mind, still does, looks like some "professional" took it.
With reinflation incoming I just went into debt, hopefully it pays off, but other than big holiday sales I bought used -- lens wise, haven't tried a used body(but I'm recent, little over a year with my m4/3, convert from cheap point and shoot garbage - finepix and mobile phone shooter for the past 20 years[basic film and polaroids before that oh yea and about 7 years of disposables somewhere in there "crraannnk craaank craaaaaaaank"). I just look around will pay 20$ more(im still mostly budget) for a reputable seller/site with it being well documented -- pics and description, and I haven't been let down yet -- as far as condition of the item, some I just wasn't impressed with but were in great condition.
💯❤❤❤❤❤💯
Thank you!
@@dongummphotography nah thank you sir! I enjoyed your video and myself M4/3 shooter and I use my beloved original EM-5 Oly camera, and I'm only a hobbyist photographer and I agree with you 100 percent on the best color science is Olympus in the business and not the Lumix, Sony, Canon nor the Nikon for my taste I need the beautiful and realistic but at same time rich colors of the Olympus digital... Thanks 👍💯❤️
@@dongummphotography ps I'm using primes with my em5 and for landscape I love to pair it with my 25mm f1.7 Lumix g lens and I watched your other video about the first Olympus prime the 2.8 17mm and I also have the same lens and I love it. I only have one body the em5 but I own 5 lenses, and the zooms I have is the kit lens come with the em5 the 12-50mm, lovely macro capable zoom and the plastic fantastic 40-150mm and in good light condition it's also capable of making magically beautiful images, thank you for your videos, very supportive towards the M4/3 community, thanks.
@@zoltanvarga1967 thank you! I really like the M43 platform and intend to keep promoting it.
@@dongummphotography ❤️ thank you! ❤️