OM-D Olympus

As much as I want to stop myself from getting the expensive and over-hype OM-D EM-5 from Olympus, I finally give in out of the curiousity and temptation.

2 years ago, as I was going around shooting with my then Ep-2 Pen, I spot a old Om-2 SLR on a street market. Admired it and ask the owner to have a permission to shoot it.. Back then, my mind was thinking why not Olympus re-design it with the new mirrorless technology. Then, all the Pen do not have any view finder and can be attached as a accessories. The idea is good but it still lack the toughness as the fit on EVF tends to be flimsy etc.

1) The old OM-2S

Fast forward, I am glad Olympus has came out the OM-D. It is still out-of-stocks in USA due to the popularity. In Singapore, the stocks seems to be healthy.

This camera hold memories as I always remember my first hand experience with my Dad's Om-1 which uses film. With this camera, I sold my EPM-1 but kept the Panasonic G1.
I never believe in keeping equipment due to the depreciation in cost etc.

My first hands-on to this camera is very postive. I can confidently say this design and built is comparable to the Fuji X100 which I consider one of the best design camera for the photographer. X100 disappointment is the Autofocus speed and unable to do fast manual focus. X100 however is the camera which I am very Impress with the image output. Olympus m4/3 cameras was unable to complete in term of image quality until OM-D or the new Panasonic G3/GH2/GX1 came out. More of the image quality comparison can be found in dpreview.com and it is the only m4/3 camera to receive GOLD award. 4/3 and m4/3 camera since 10 years ago have never impress reviewers until this OM-D came out.
 From my initally hands-on, I found out OM-d has some top-end features like the shadow/highlight adjustment (great for difficult lighting like sunrise/sunset). It has a built -in level guage (great of landscape) which can be found in top-end cameras like x100 /EP-3etc. The dual dials on OM-D is a welcome as my G1 or EPM-1 only has one which can be difficult to adjust . The Electronic viewfinder is good and seems to be better in refreshing rate than my aging G1.
Some reviewer mentioned the buttons are packed too closely but personally I find it well placed. The Autofocus speed of OM-D is super fast and positive. I have yet to see the actual images from it but I hope it can be as impressive as my X100.

Overall, this camera gave me a very soild feel and it is a leap over my EPM-1. I believe those who owns EP-3 may not feel the same as me. EP-3 it also a very well thought camera IMHO.

2) OM-D side by side with Pen EPM-1 (with EVF) . Not as big as some may thought of.

3) Small buttons but well thought n well placed

4) great over metal built.

4) With the well priced and great quality lens (45mmf1.8)

5) OM-d

I will post some shots later in the week and see if the hype over this camera is really there.

Gardens by the Bay

This brand new park was offically opened on the 29 June 2012. It is built next to the Marina Bay Sands Resort. This location was once the Marina South Park. Back then this park was a plain park with a  few ponds and small hills. Bird life was good there too. The whole park was revamped and now there are a few indoor gardens. The main attractions are the Super trees (artifical trees). There are also a few resturants.

 All photos are shot with EPM-1 and 7.5mm and 14-42 RII lens. I chose to wake in the morning 545am and made my way there. My target was to shoot the area during the first light to get the best lighting.
Again to highlight that photography is still about lighting. Many so call photographers still pursue HIGH Iso performance. In such case, I still uses the lowest iso200 (for EPM_1). The best image stabliser is still the old school tripod.For me it's still back to basic by chasing the natural light and continue to use basic cheap camera like the Olympus EPM-1.

Bintan Lagoon Resort

As continued from the last post, this will be more of the activities and scenes around this resort.
Basically, we took a ferry from Singapore Tenah Merah Ferry jetty to Bintan island. It took about 1 hr to reach there. Clearing the immigration was smooth and there was a bus transfer direct to the resort which took another 15mins. This resort is big and we had lunch in one of the new "by the sea" resturant. The rest of the days will be swimming and kids activities in the resort itself. Staff were friendly and helpful.

Magic Hour in Bintan Island

As it is the June School holidays, my wife and I had booked a 3 days stay in our neighbouring country, Indonesia Bintan Lagoon  resort.
Had a good time there and spent good quality time bonding with my children through games and kids activities. As for my photography equipment, when such trip comes, I am always happy that my system is the m4/3. These tiny system can be packed in my waist pouch and excess lens in my kids diaper bag. I brought the EPM-1, 20mm, 7.5mm fisheye and 14-42mm lens there. The G1 and 45mm were kept at home.

I had some time to capture the sunrise and sunset in the resort too. It require some last min preparation as I need to check the compass direction and waking up in the wee hours in the morning to capture the sunrise. These magic hour shots are done by EPM-1, 7.5mm fisheye and mounted a small flexi tripod. With a small camera and large sensor like the EPM-1, a smaller tripod is possible. ISO is kept at 200 and use a small aperture setting.

Cold storage kids run 2012

My wife and son joined the run organised by Cold Storage (a supermarket). It is a 800m run around Padang (City Hall) in Singapore. The weather was HOT but the mood there were great. Kids and parent alike were looking forward for the run. The estimated participants were more than 5000.
The photography were all done by Panasonic G1 and Olympus 45mm 1.8 lens. Like I mentioned in the last few posts, it's a great combo.

St John's island

1 May 2012, it was a public holiday. Brought my family to one of the southern islands around Singapore. Had a simple pinic and explored the island. The island was historical as in the early years, it was once used as a quarantine centre for immigrants before they are allowed to come to Singapore. Now it is used as a beach gateaway. There is a small detention camp there at this moment. The beach around the island is very peaceful.

Using a EPM-1 and fisheye lens (Dramatic filter), I capture the old jetty on the island. It is not in use anymore.

Uni Friends gathering

In year 1998-2000, I made a decision to further my studies in Scotland, University of Aberdeen. Took on a degree in Mechanical Engineering. The experience during the 2 years there was good. More than 10 years on, the friends I have known are still in contact, and it's great to be able to meet up once a while. Many of us have started a family. Today's gathering were more towards our Indian friend Kunar's farwell dinner as he will be staying in Hongkong with his chinese wife

We had our dinner at a Thai Resturant located at Beach Road, Golden Mile complex. This area is famous for the Thailand's product and food.

All entries are by Olympus Pen Mini with Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens.

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