Back to Micro 4/3 after 6 years

Year 2020, the whole world is adapting to a new normal in our life due to the Covid-19 virus infecting more than 19million people worldwide. Lives are lost , people are changing their way of life, some business boom and some business burst during this period. Olympus has also announced that they will be selling their photography business to JIP in June 2020. 

I was using the fullframe D750 system and FZ1000 (1inch) bridge camera at that time, when the news of Olympus selling it’s imaging wing was announced. I was once a Olympus m4/3 user. During the 2008-2012 period , mirrorless cameras were launched by Panasonic and Olympus jointly. I had the GF-1, GH1, Pen EP-1/2. It was in 2012 , the launched of OM-D Em-5 finally made the m4/3 a system to consider for serious photography. I had the EM-5 and enjoyed the camera alot. That time, the pro lens from Olympus were still lacking. It was in 2013 that Olympus launched the EM-1 OMD and the f2.8 lens , 12-40mm & 40-150mmf2.8. This was the time when Olympus want their  serious users to moved from the DSLR E-5 to mirrorless fully.

I found the pro lens are too expensive and some older FF pro lens from Nikon are much cheaper,  I then changed my system to Nikon D600(unfortunately destroyed by sea water during a oversea trip) then to Fuji X system and back to Nikon D750 system. In recent years, I started to do more videos using tele-zoom lens (handheld) and I seriously find  D750 with Sigma 100-400mm is not a good system for that. Handholding a super tele zoom while looking at the live view is no joke. The AF-C  focusing during video is very bad on the D750, however the  new D780 has solved the issue. I also prefer looking at the EVF of FZ1000 while handholding during shooting of videos. Pressing the camera against my face also helps to stabilised the video too. 

As the prices of Olympus equipment are dropping in the used market , I began to build up the Olympus system once more and this time my system is  more towards the pro-grade zoom lens rather than the fixed lens which I used to have. The zooms F2.8 are great for low light shooting. The 5axis-stabiliser of  OMD-EM1 works great for handheld video. I used to use the FZ1000 for tele zoom video work but now I combine the photography and videography into one body OMD-Em1.  Currently I have the Em-1 mark 1 which is still a great photo tool and good enough HD 1080p 25 & 30p video. I do not intend to go 4K yet. And if I am going for 4K video, there are many other newer and cheaper bodies to consider from Panasonic or Olympus.  The OM-d Em-1 Is selling at SGD$350-400 in Singapore now, I find it is a great bargain. With it’s new firmware v4, it has some new feature like focus stacking, 4K time lapsed video and many more. Once I master this EM-1, I may upgrade to Em-5miii or EM-1 markII or III depending on my budget. For now the 2014 Em-1 Mark1 is good enough for my use.

The Pro grade M.Zuiko 40-150mmf2.8 lens. This is a versatile, sharp, weather sealed and bright lens, This lens is my main reason why i go back to Olympus. Coupled with the tele-converter Mc-14 and Mc-20, I have basically 3 lens ( 40-150mm f2.8, 56-210 f4 and 80-300mmf5.6) So in term of  FF format equivalent, I have 80mm to 600mm  for my wildlife shoots. I have the first generation  Lumix 12-35mmf2.8 pro grade lens for general use. There is a lumix 45-175mm lens which is for situation when I wanted to cycle with my camera system.

To me, M4/3 will still a place in the photo and video world. In the video below, it is only with Olympus I am brave enough to continue shooting during a downpour. I wouldn’t dare to do the same with Fuji or Nikon system. Big brands are coming out FF mirrorless in full force. But let’s not forget that with all systems, we need to consider the lenses too. Size vs quality vs type of usage are very important criteria to consider. I personally feel the m4/3 bodies and the 40-150mmf2.8 pro lens are a great balance for the photographer’s needs!

Em-1 with 40-150mm f2.8 + MC-14

EM-1 W 40-150mmf2.8 + MC-14

video by em-1 mark 1

EM1 w 40-150mm Pro + MC-20

Em-1 w 40-150mm pro + MC-20

EM-1 w 40-150mm pro + MC-20 

Em-1 w 40-150mm pro + mc-20

M,Zuiko 40-150mm f2.8

M, Zuiko 40-150mm f2.8

M,Zuiko 40-150mm + MC-20

Olive-Back Sunbird nesting 2

This nest was built by the previous sunbird in Jan this year. After the 1st fledging of chick in end of Feb, a 2nd pair of sunbirds came to lay egg but the chick died due to unknown reason. In April, another pair of sunbirds came to use the nest again. To my surprised , in early month of may, I saw 2 chicks popping out to feed. After 1 and half weeks of constant and non-stop feeding from both the parents,  the 2 chicks finally fledge this morning!

Here are the compilation video and some of the photos of the nesting.

Photography by Nikon D750 w Sigma 100-400mm. Video by Panasonic FZ1000 mark1

 

Olive-Backed Sunbird nesting

Early Jan 2020, a pair of sunbirds came to my house and started to build a nest. It took 6-7days non-stop effort from the female bird to complete the nest. It took another 4-5days for the laying and incubation of eggs.

After hatching, it took 2weeks of growing before the chick is able to fly away from the nest.  During the 2 weeks, the male and female kept feeding the chick almost non-stop during daylight. The female will sit inside the nest during night time protecting the chick.

Here are some photos of the nesting and the chick has fledged today. A youtube video of the full cycle is as attached (videos and photographs)

Full Cycle of Nesting

Sigma 100-400mm

A shot of Olive-Backed Sunbird with a prey crab spider.

Shot by the brilliant Sigma 100-400mm with D750 Nikon.

Sigma 100-400mm f5-6.3 OS HSM C

This is the most least choice of tele-zoom lens when it comes to owning and using it. The brand Sigma always turns me off as when I started photography 20yrs ago, I read a lot of negative reviews on Sigma lens. Since then, I always make sure I buy the main branded lens like Canon, Nikon,FujiFilm or Olympus. 

Since I jumped into Nikon DSLR, I used the AF-S 300mmF4D (non-OS), the overpriced AF-S 80-400mm f4-5.6 II and the great AF-S 200-500mmf5.6.

Each of the above lens has it’s pros and cons.

The 300mmf4 is super great if one is just using it for still-photography, it has a  relatively wide in aperture at great Low light Low ISO sitiuations. The sharpness of the lens t is great as it is a prime lens. The size and weight ratio are well balance for carrying and handheld. The greatest  problem is that due to no image stabiliser on lens, for doing video works, one has to bring a tripod or monopod along.  For my nature photography, most of my time is on a bicycle so bringing an extra tripod or monopod is not a preferred option. 

The 80-400mm II is overpriced for its so-so performance in my own view. The sharpness wide open is bad especially at 400mm for that price. It is good only when I stopped down to f8. Could be my copy. During video , the Stabilizer helps a lot but the focusing during video, rattling sound will be heard. I personally felt this lens is not suppose to be at that price point.

The 200-500mm is a great lens. It is sharp wide open at all focal lengths. The price is almost half the Nikon 80-400mm.The image Stabilizer is one of the  best and it can do a 4-5stops of counter shake.

The downside is the size and weight. Weighing almost 2kg, it is not fun carrying with me for Long walk or cycling. I end up using my bridge camera Panasonic FZ-1000 most of the time. This lens is seriously a good buy for anyone who wants a sharp lens, and able to handheld for shooting. Just have to plan for the day that not much walking or travelling with the lens. There are lots of good reviews on this lens.

Sigma in recent years has been producing some good lenses from the ART & Contemporary series etc and has many good reviews on them. I started to take notice of them and impression has improved.

The Sigma 100-400mmf5-6.3 is a lens that can really compare with Nikon 80-400mm. The sharpness , I feel is better than 80-400mm. Although at 400mm , the sigma lens aperture is at 6.3 vs Nikon 5.6, it is redundant as with Nikon 80-400mm, I will always shoot at f8 to get sharper images. To me a sharper image can do more thing later (cropped etc). With the new DSLR sensor where they can do ISO 3200-6400 without much ugly noise , i see the Sigma 100-400 f5-6.3 bigger aperture spec is not a disadvantage at all. 

The size and weight for this sigma 100-400 is very attractive me, it is comparable to the mirrorless Panasonic /Leica 100-400mm and Fuji 100-400mm. I think is is smaller in size then the FujiFilm 100-400mm and the sigma 100-400mm can pair with a  FF sensor vs the FUJI on a (1.5X) APS_C sensor.  This lens with DSLR can be packed into any daypack or sling bag due to it’s size. You get what i mean?However in terms of the Optical Stabilizer Mode on Sigma lens, I feel it is not as good as the 200-500mm. Nevertheless, with the 2-3 times lower price than the NIkon or Canon or FUJI counterparts, it is Super value for money. Importantly it can still gets the job done for a hobbyist like me. 

Here are some of the shots taken from Sigma 100-400mm with Nikon D750 (FF)

Nikon AF-S 200-500mmf5.6 ED VR

I had a revamped on my wildlife photo/video equipment recently. I now uses a D750 and 200-500mm lens mainly on photography and Panasonic FZ1000 for video purpose.

My old primary setup of Nikon AF-S80-400mm VR2 and D750 DSLR was used as a video cam and photography tool for my wildlife shoot (especially for wild otters). 

However, after I saw a friend of mine who uses the Panasonic FZ2500 for his video shooting on wildlife, I began to get interested in this setup. The video quality is very good. The important thing is that the FZ2500 is a bridge camera that uses a respectable 1inch sensor. I cannot really tell the difference between the D750 and FZ2500 video quality. I settled with the older generation FZ1000 which has a zoom range of 25-400mm. It also has the 1inch sensor and capable to shoot 4K video.  Handholding a DSLR and 80-400mm for videography needs some arm muscle as I need to view on the LCD of the DSLR. I need to stretch my arm forward during filming. It is more challenging to get stable filming and hard to view on the LCD when under the sun.On a bridge camera, I can view the scene thru the electronic viewfinder and locking my arms while doing the filming.  It is much comfortable and the setup of the FZ1000 is so lightweight. I enjoysthe video filming process on the Fz1000 much more.

D750 w 200-500mm vs the much smaller FZ1000 Panasonic 

The bridge camera FZ1000 Panasonic that uses a 1inch sensor. I used mainly for video filming.

Since then, the Nikon 80-400mm lens was seems to be a duplicate for video and will be used for mainly photography as a full frame DSLR photo quality is still much better than the 1 inch sensor on the bridge camera. This is especially true when used in low or bad lighting sitiuation. The full frame sensor can stretch more in terms of shadow and exposure corrections etc.

So it comes to a point that I saw the 80-400mm too expensive to hold on to. I sold this lens at SGD$1700 and bought a cheaper 200-500mmVR at $1200SGD. The review for this 200-500mm seems to be good and I decided to go ahead with the purchase. Noted that all my equipment is bought used.

The 200-500mm exceeded my expectations. It is sharp! I am impressed. I once thought that the AF-S 80-400mm with NANO coating,made-in-japan lens should a great buy compared to the  cheaper 200-500mm made-in-china lens.  I was wrong. It seems that Nikon has designed a value-for-money lens on the 200-500mm and didn’t compromised on the glass quality. The VR mode works well during handheld situation and I feel it works better than the AF-S-80-400mm. One key advantage on the 200-500mm over AF-s 80-400mm is that during video shooting the 80-400mm AF-motor will make noises during the focusing while the 200-500mm remained silent .The build quality of the 200-500mm is very similar to the much expensive 80-400mmVR2. The focusing is quick on the 200-500mm. However, the 200-500mm is also heavier than the 80-400mm. To improve the weight distribution while carrying the setup, I bought a extra Peak design plate to mount onto the lens tripod mount and attached the peak design slide strap onto it. It is comfortable as it distribute the weight evenly.

Here are some of the images from the 200-500mm on D750.

Roy