Dave Jenkins
Loose Canon
- Local time
- 12:44 PM
- Joined
- May 21, 2010
- Messages
- 661
My wife and I went to Israel and Jordan in April of 2010. I carried a basic Canon outfit, a 5D with a 17-35 f2.8L, a 70-200 f4L, a 50mm macro, and a 20D with the 24-85 f3.5-4.5 for backup and for my wife to use. One of the places we visited was Petra, Jordan, the amazing city carved into stone cliffs.
Trudging up a hill toward some impressive temples on an oppressively hot afternoon, cursing my increasingly heavy camera bag with every step, I chanced to meet a European who was carrying nothing but an Olympus Pen E-P2 with the 14-42mm kit zoom and the VF-2 electronic viewfinder. We talked for a few minutes, and since I had been reading about the Pen micro 4/3s cameras, I asked if I could look through his camera.
"Wow!" I thought to myself as the weight of the little camera rested comfortably in my hand, "I'll bet this thing and two or three lenses wouldn't weigh any more than a 5D with a 50."
Well, I got an E-PL1 and have had it for about a year now. Am I happy? No, not really.
What do I like about it?
1. It’s small and light.
2. See No. 1.
Is the image quality as good as my 5D? I don’t think so, but Thom Hogan rates it as high as his Nikon D700, which is pretty good. In any case, it’s probably good enough for stock sales, book illustrations, and reasonably large prints. I have the kit lens and an OM 50 f1.8 and 75-150 f4 which I use with a Fotodiox adapter.
What do I not like about it?
1. It is a major battery hog. If anyone knows how to reduce battery usage without greatly reducing convenience, I could use your help.
2. It seems to change settings on its own and without consulting me. Again, if anyone knows how to keep it from doing that, I would appreciate the help.
I travel quite a bit on book projects and would like to make the Pen E-P series my basic travel outfit. But if I can’t find solutions to the problems, that won’t happen.
Trudging up a hill toward some impressive temples on an oppressively hot afternoon, cursing my increasingly heavy camera bag with every step, I chanced to meet a European who was carrying nothing but an Olympus Pen E-P2 with the 14-42mm kit zoom and the VF-2 electronic viewfinder. We talked for a few minutes, and since I had been reading about the Pen micro 4/3s cameras, I asked if I could look through his camera.
"Wow!" I thought to myself as the weight of the little camera rested comfortably in my hand, "I'll bet this thing and two or three lenses wouldn't weigh any more than a 5D with a 50."
Well, I got an E-PL1 and have had it for about a year now. Am I happy? No, not really.
What do I like about it?
1. It’s small and light.
2. See No. 1.
Is the image quality as good as my 5D? I don’t think so, but Thom Hogan rates it as high as his Nikon D700, which is pretty good. In any case, it’s probably good enough for stock sales, book illustrations, and reasonably large prints. I have the kit lens and an OM 50 f1.8 and 75-150 f4 which I use with a Fotodiox adapter.
What do I not like about it?
1. It is a major battery hog. If anyone knows how to reduce battery usage without greatly reducing convenience, I could use your help.
2. It seems to change settings on its own and without consulting me. Again, if anyone knows how to keep it from doing that, I would appreciate the help.
I travel quite a bit on book projects and would like to make the Pen E-P series my basic travel outfit. But if I can’t find solutions to the problems, that won’t happen.
