Category: Photography

Game Changer – E-P1

In the last few decades we have seen many ground breaking new products that were really “game changers”. That is, they changed the way we do and accomplish something; they changed our habits and many times the design of all the similar products after that game changer. Indeed, they were probably not the best products in the market when they were first introduced, but their visions (and their disruptive technologies) made all their supporters believed that the world was not the same anymore.

The Kindle 2 plus the Amazon books and the Whispernet distribute network is one good example, it essentially change the way I read books. Another example is the iPhone from Apple that basically change the way how a mobile phone (and mobile applications) shall work, look and feel. Yet other one is the Mirrorless Single Lens camera of Olympus and Panasonic (they call it the Micro Four Third system). With already five camera bodies in the past year and a handful of lens, it provides one extremely good DSLR alternative to all photography lovers.

I am a SLR user since 1980 but my current favorite camera is the Olympus E-P1. It’s small, light-weight (but yet with a very solid feeling), stylish, and feature rich. More importantly, it takes photographs as good as many heavy, bulky digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. I still possess two DSLR bodies with numerous lens and accessories but frankly I seldom use them right now, as I can take my E-P1 with me anytime but not the two DSLRs.

Other than the physical appeal, another good reason to use E-P1 is it basically bring back all the fun of photography. I still have full control of my pictures by changing the ISO, aperture, shutter speed easily, but I can also apply many visual effects to the photos via the Art Filters. For examples, the following two photos were taken via the Black & White “Grainy Film” art filters to create a very special mood of Sydney.

Is Micro Four Third the best camera system every created ? No. Is E-P1 the best camera in the world ? No. Is it the most affordable camera in the market ? No. But the camera and its system provide me all the convenience, picture quality and fun I need NOW.

Indeed, the world is not the same anymore.

Sydney Opera House

Circular Quay

Olympus Colors – E-P1 or E-1 ?

As a owner of the legendary Olympus E-1 for almost 6 years now, I am still keeping this camera for many reasons. The rock solid body, the excellent handling, and of course, the signature Olympus color. Even I also have the E-300 and E-510, I still think in most of the times this “old” E-1 camera can out-perform the other two cameras I have easily – as long as you compare the output colors only.

And then six months ago, Olympus released their first Micro Four Thirds camera E-P1 and I am very pleased to find that the straight-out-of-camera JPEG colors are as good as the E-‘s1. In dpreview.com, there was one member gave these two cameras a blind test and it confirmed my findings. Looks like Olympus again did some magic in the latest image processing engine.

In fact, the more I use my E-P1, the more I have a feeling that I can leave my E-1, E-300 and E-510 at home … followings are some E-P1 pictures from Australia.

Sydney Bridge

Hervey Bay pier

Kata Tjunta

Olympus E-P1 – initial impression

To me (or many amateur photographers), the holy grail of travel photography is to have good image quality in a small package. Even though I have couple of small DSLRs and compact digital cameras, it is still a very tiring trip if you need to take two bodies, a few lens, flash, batteries, monopod, digital wallet etc. with you all the time.

And after years of waiting / researching / praying, finally there is one camera can deliver all the goodies I want – stylish, small, good image quality, low noise in high ISO, and some no-brainer idiot-proof special effects. It is the Olympus E-P1. Even I like it a lot, for now, it is not the perfect camera yet. For example, there is no EVF, no flip-out LCD VF, and there are not many good lens available yet. However, I guess I can keep researching / praying …

Anyway, some photos:

Photo of St. Sulpice Church, Paris

It is a rather old photo, taken a few years back. Just resurrected it from the hard-disk and earlier this month submitted to DPreview.com’s “Church Interior Photos” Challenge. And luckily, this photo was ranked number 22 out of the 300 submissions, with 2648 votes.

I then submitted it also to the local Olympus user group’s 5th anniversary photo contest a few days ago and it’s voted one of the top ten. Love it … and I hope you like it as well.

St. Sulpice Church, Paris

照片背後 – 背影

印象中爸爸一向都是一個沉默寡言的人，小時候沒有多少機會跟他說話。只有從媽媽口中知道爸爸少年才來到香港，由不懂廣東話，變了滿口廣東話，再學好英語，上工專，成為一位電機工程師。

為了家庭，每晚就只見他努力地在家中做公司帶回來的工作，默默地在建築的藍圖上劃，劃，劃。記得讀書時他也從沒有罵我們一句，即使考試成績有多差，他都只會說：”供書教學是我們做父母的責任，讀好書是你的責任，下次努力一點吧。”

為了我們，我知道他放棄了很多嗜好，只能夠在發黃的照片中知道他喜歡跳舞，吹口琴。但當唱音機播出 The Platters，Johnny Mathis 的歌曲的時候，他就會閉上眼睛，就像返回了他年青的時候，陶醉地欣賞。

從來不知道爸爸如何可以籌錢供我往海外讀書，但在我離開香港前爸爸還買了一台單鏡反光機給我。。。自始我就覺得好好攝影就是對爸爸的一個交代。就在上飛機前一晚，爸爸還帶我上了太平山頂。兩父子無言的看著美麗的維多利亞港，我就知道爸爸想我讀好書，畢業後回來他身邊。

多年前有一天，爸爸說他的頭很痛，當晚他就被送入醫院。跟著就是差不多一年的與死神搏鬥。已經記不起有多少次的開腦手術，但他也捱過了。奇蹟地，爸爸的腦溢血沒有帶來很大的後遺症，還可以行動自如。只是有一塊頭蓋骨不能再放回原位，自此他就喜歡戴帽子，也不喜歡拍照。另外就是說話比較吃力了一點，不喜歡說話的他，變得更沉默了。

就從那一件事開始，我喜歡拍攝爸爸的背影。