A Ramble: From Canon to Olympus and then Fuji
Hello,
Today I want to talk about my transition in the equipment I use in Digital Photography and why I have done what I have done.
Firstly I started in photography with a Canon EOS 600D which I bought late 2011. I got a twin lens kit with an 18-55mm and a 55-250mm lens. I then went on to buy Canon's nifty-fifty the 50mm f/1.8. My reasons for Canon where simple, I was doing a BA in Film and Television Production and at the time Canon where leading the DSLR film-making revolution.
My friend owned a 60D, another a 550D, 650D and so on. Our Uni stores lent out Canon equipment and lenses to film with. However one think happened that I did not foresee. Upon my entry to University I was driven to be a writer, mainly a screenwriter and I chose my modules accordingly. However I became disillusioned by my lecturers and accidental ended up acting in front of the camera more than I was behind it.
It was around this time I slowly started researching into Photography. I became hooked on the idea of street-photography and learnt as much as I could. My first port of call was Henri-Cartier Bresson. I know he is one of the most researched and spoken about photographers but for me self-teaching I was hooked on what Bresson could teach me. So I started taking candid pictures of people, I would transverse the weekly market in the town my University was located.
However it wasn't until I was filming my final project and I was walking to location that I looked down at the camera around my neck with a Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 and thought to myself: 'There has got to be something smaller.'
Enter years of research and I ended up at the Olympus OMD E-M1. I bought the kit with the 12-40 f/2.8 (24-80 equiv) and I fell in love. I shot weddings with it, portraits even video. It is a beautiful piece of kit. It never let me down, its IQ was amazing and its auto-focus fast enough for what I needed. I loved the camera so much I started collecting old 35mm Olympus Cameras. Aesthetically they are my favorite cameras. My original Pen-F which is currently away for repair is a thing of beauty.
However I recently purchased a Fujifilm X-Pro2 with a 23mm f/2 WR lens. And I would like to talk about why.
As I stated above I love Olympus, I love their cameras old and new, I love their lenses and the features they pack into their cameras. I even recently got a chance to use the E-m1 Mk II. I used this camera solidly for two weeks. My main use of the camera was shooting the behind the scenes of a shoot some work-colleague were doing for on of their Uni deadlines.
I did a mixture of video and photography and I was impressed. Except in one area. ISO noise performance. Now my day job is that of a Camera Salesman, and I hear a lot of snobbery against Olympus. Image quality and build wise they match anyone else out there. Features wise I would be hard pushed to mention someone else. But my main issue with the noise was not that it didn't do well. When I shoot weddings or portraits I can control for the most part light. No it was that the difference between generations of which there is about a four year gap was minimal.
This annoyed me slightly. For all the innovation and technology put into the Mk II it was lacking in this area. I had been looking to upgrade my E-m1 was becoming sluggish and at four years old I felt it was time to upgrade. I'm not one to upgrade every year but around four to five sounds about right for me.
But if I was'nt happy with the E-m1 Mk II then where to look. Panasonic was out and Sony was out due to lens prices and just the size of the lenses themselves. Canon and Nikon hadn't innovated enough for me. Though I liked the Pentax K-1 sales of Pentax made me worry about the future of an investment like that. Especially with news that Ricoh may be shutting its camera division down.
So I looked to Fujifilm. My assistant manager owned the X-Pro1 and the X-T10 and the original X100. So I held debates with him and I just couldn't shake the quality I was seeing and the vast difference in low-light from the E-m1 Mk II.
But this was a jump into a new system. So I wanted it a simple as possible. I don't need anything for Landscapes my Mamiya supports that for me. So I settled with the X-Pro 2 and the 23mm f/2. My reasons for this are simple the X-Pro 2 allows me to get work done whilst also being a great camera for street or urban photography. Though I currently prefer a 50mm forcing myself to a 35mm equivalent lens allowed me to shoot wider whilst not being too wide.
My eventual plan is to grab an X-T20 and either a 50mm f/2 or the 56mm f/1.2 and have that as my second camera at weddings or portrait shoots. The combination of the due would allow me wide-angle and distance whilst keeping weight and gear to a minimum.
So there it is. From Canon to Olympus and then Fuji. I will give a review of the X-Pro 2 at a later date. I won't be in-depth just my general thoughts.
Today I want to talk about my transition in the equipment I use in Digital Photography and why I have done what I have done.
Firstly I started in photography with a Canon EOS 600D which I bought late 2011. I got a twin lens kit with an 18-55mm and a 55-250mm lens. I then went on to buy Canon's nifty-fifty the 50mm f/1.8. My reasons for Canon where simple, I was doing a BA in Film and Television Production and at the time Canon where leading the DSLR film-making revolution.
My friend owned a 60D, another a 550D, 650D and so on. Our Uni stores lent out Canon equipment and lenses to film with. However one think happened that I did not foresee. Upon my entry to University I was driven to be a writer, mainly a screenwriter and I chose my modules accordingly. However I became disillusioned by my lecturers and accidental ended up acting in front of the camera more than I was behind it.
It was around this time I slowly started researching into Photography. I became hooked on the idea of street-photography and learnt as much as I could. My first port of call was Henri-Cartier Bresson. I know he is one of the most researched and spoken about photographers but for me self-teaching I was hooked on what Bresson could teach me. So I started taking candid pictures of people, I would transverse the weekly market in the town my University was located.
However it wasn't until I was filming my final project and I was walking to location that I looked down at the camera around my neck with a Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 and thought to myself: 'There has got to be something smaller.'
Enter years of research and I ended up at the Olympus OMD E-M1. I bought the kit with the 12-40 f/2.8 (24-80 equiv) and I fell in love. I shot weddings with it, portraits even video. It is a beautiful piece of kit. It never let me down, its IQ was amazing and its auto-focus fast enough for what I needed. I loved the camera so much I started collecting old 35mm Olympus Cameras. Aesthetically they are my favorite cameras. My original Pen-F which is currently away for repair is a thing of beauty.
However I recently purchased a Fujifilm X-Pro2 with a 23mm f/2 WR lens. And I would like to talk about why.
As I stated above I love Olympus, I love their cameras old and new, I love their lenses and the features they pack into their cameras. I even recently got a chance to use the E-m1 Mk II. I used this camera solidly for two weeks. My main use of the camera was shooting the behind the scenes of a shoot some work-colleague were doing for on of their Uni deadlines.
I did a mixture of video and photography and I was impressed. Except in one area. ISO noise performance. Now my day job is that of a Camera Salesman, and I hear a lot of snobbery against Olympus. Image quality and build wise they match anyone else out there. Features wise I would be hard pushed to mention someone else. But my main issue with the noise was not that it didn't do well. When I shoot weddings or portraits I can control for the most part light. No it was that the difference between generations of which there is about a four year gap was minimal.
This annoyed me slightly. For all the innovation and technology put into the Mk II it was lacking in this area. I had been looking to upgrade my E-m1 was becoming sluggish and at four years old I felt it was time to upgrade. I'm not one to upgrade every year but around four to five sounds about right for me.
But if I was'nt happy with the E-m1 Mk II then where to look. Panasonic was out and Sony was out due to lens prices and just the size of the lenses themselves. Canon and Nikon hadn't innovated enough for me. Though I liked the Pentax K-1 sales of Pentax made me worry about the future of an investment like that. Especially with news that Ricoh may be shutting its camera division down.
So I looked to Fujifilm. My assistant manager owned the X-Pro1 and the X-T10 and the original X100. So I held debates with him and I just couldn't shake the quality I was seeing and the vast difference in low-light from the E-m1 Mk II.
But this was a jump into a new system. So I wanted it a simple as possible. I don't need anything for Landscapes my Mamiya supports that for me. So I settled with the X-Pro 2 and the 23mm f/2. My reasons for this are simple the X-Pro 2 allows me to get work done whilst also being a great camera for street or urban photography. Though I currently prefer a 50mm forcing myself to a 35mm equivalent lens allowed me to shoot wider whilst not being too wide.
My eventual plan is to grab an X-T20 and either a 50mm f/2 or the 56mm f/1.2 and have that as my second camera at weddings or portrait shoots. The combination of the due would allow me wide-angle and distance whilst keeping weight and gear to a minimum.
So there it is. From Canon to Olympus and then Fuji. I will give a review of the X-Pro 2 at a later date. I won't be in-depth just my general thoughts.
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