Tag Archives: panasonic

*Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye, get wide.

by in Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , | 38 Comments

IMG_3776

In the world of photography, a fisheye lens to me is kind of like a purse is to my wife.  Follow me for a second here.  You only use it on certain occasions and for certain purposes, with certain outfits if you will.  For the other times, you have a plethora of other purses to accessorize to your need.  For the times that you need that one, zany purse, the only one that goes with that crazy belt, then the fisheye is the ticket.  Since I’ve become re-enamored with photography, I have stopped asking about and wondering why my wife has as many purses as she does (and constantly wants more…sounds kinda familiar right?)  Don’t worry, I’m not turning this into a fashion blog, c’mon in and I’ll show you some shots of and from the stellar Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye lens.

Continue reading →

*Against the grain on the new Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro lens

by in Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 55 Comments

oly 60mm f/2.8 macro on the omd em5

I’ve been debating a dedicated macro lens for either my full frame setup or my micro 4/3 setup for a little while now.  I wanted to try out the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 dedicated macro lens as I felt the micro 4/3 system really played to its benefits with a macro setup.  It really had to work to supplant the idea of acquiring the PanaLeica 45mm f/2.8 OIS Macro lens in the micro 4/3 realm, or some more illustrious full frame macro lenses for my larger system as well.  Now, I may be the odd man out as every review seems to really like this lens, but I was not impressed.  Read on to hear about why…

Continue reading →

*The Dark Side of Amsterdam

by in General ramblings, Travel and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

follow me deeper and you shall see (Pana G3 + Lumix 25mm f/1.4)

While the title may allude to a sinister, Imperial-esque characterization of a city known for many a questionable, extra curricular activity, I mean to speak quite literally.  For anyone who’s read my blog for more than a year, you may know that I travel to Amsterdam once a year on business.  Because of said business, coupled with the late time of year and Holland’s geographical placement, I rarely get to experience it in the light of day.  With a +9 hour difference to tackle, and tiring hours spent working while there, my window for photographic opportunity normally falls within about an hour and a half between when I get done working, and the inevitable collapse into a jet lagged coma that prematurely greets the end of each day.  Luckily, this year, this window happened to open while the weather was crisp, but dry as it gave me the ability to wander around, camera in hand to document a bit of my annual stay in what has become my home away from home.

Continue reading →

*Panaleica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH, I couldn’t help myself.

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 58 Comments

It’s a hard thing to admit to myself really.  Being that I’ve been in love with the Lumix 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens for so long, I never really thought about acquiring a lens for the Micro 4/3 format that provided such a similar angle of view.  Now that I have, I must make a decision, which do I keep…

Continue reading →

*OM-D E-M5 vs G3… what’s this about a new sensor?

by in Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

The Micro 4/3 system has really grown up in the last year. Sensor tech has taken a substantial step forward and the lens lineup has rounded itself out very nicely. Much has been eluded to regarding the origins of the OM-D E-M5 sensor, is it a reworked Panasonic sensor, a Sony sensor, an inhouse super secret sensor??? Oly came out and admitted that Sony is the manufacturer of the sensor in the OM-D E-M5 quelling the rumor mill, and of course, the G3/GX1 (and quite possibly the soon to be G5) sensor, built by Panasonic, is in fact different. That all said, I really wanted to see how these two sensors compared to one another as I have been very impressed by the G3. C’mon in and we’ll take a closer look at a few files.

Continue reading →

*Lumix G3 vs Canon 5Dmk II

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

I know that on paper this is a crazy comparison.  It’s also not fair in that we have two very different sensors, one, a 21 mega pixel full frame at the end of it’s 3+ year life cycle and the other about a quarter of the size and which is not even 10 months into its own.  Well, these are the two cameras that I have and use on a regular basis.  As I’m contemplating leaving one home for an upcoming trip, I wanted to see just what I was going to be getting.  This is purely a fun/bored post, but one that I thought might be at least somewhat interesting to a few of us out there.  How does the new 16mp G3/GX1 sensor stack up?

Continue reading →

*Micro4/3 Holy Trinity: It’s not the size of the boat, it’s the motion in the ocean.

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

I’ve had a little time now with the absolutely minascule Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 pancake lens and I have to say, I have no problem proclaiming that I have a tiny lens. A truly impressive optical feat considering it’s being used on a 17.3mm x13mm 4/3 sensor. Of course, there is the beautiful Olympus 12mm f/2 lens, but at 2.5x the cost, could one be satisfied with the trade offs and savings? Beyond that you have the much ballyhooed 20mm f/1.7 pancake which is amazing in its own right, but for a bit more coin you can get the Panaleica 25mm f/1.4… And then of course, the Oly 45mm f/1.8 which has been universally praised for both quality and price, but the other Panaleica lens, the 45mm f/2.8 macro should certainly get some attention too. Folks, I think we have a few candidates for the micro 4/3 holy trinity.

Continue reading →

*Lumix G3 vs the mighty might GF1, or why I chose to upgrade my MILC.

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 58 Comments


When it came time to upgrade my beloved GF1, I waited for its true successor to be revealed.  The GX1, not the GF2 nor GF3, is seen by most GF1 users as the camera that has had the GF1’s torch passed to it.  I’ve spent two solid years with the GF1 and have finally felt that the current crop of mirrorless system cameras out there have upped the game enough for me to trade it in.  I surprised even myself when I decided on the G3 over the GX1, NEX5n, EP3 or NEX7.  A budget conscious option which I feel punches well above its weight.  I’ve got some low light test shots, size comparison shots and the like.  C’mon in and I’ll explain why I feel the G3 was the best option for a shooter like me…

Continue reading →

*Sony NEX5 vs. Panasonic GF1, the showdown.

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Hello and welcome to my blog!  For those of you who’ve read some of my other articles I’m sure you know how I feel about the GF1, and for those who are just stumbling across the blog, welcome and thanks for taking the time to stop by.  While I’ve been shooting with the GF1 for over a year now, I have just recently been gifted the opportunity to use, and review a Sony NEX5.  Thank you Sony, and my friends at Lensbaby for making this happen.  While new cameras are continuing to be announced and released, I still feel that these two cameras provide the most compelling overall packages if you’re looking for a high performance compact/pocketable camera.  Getting to extensively use the NEX5 has gone a long way in dispelling some of the shortcomings I’d felt it really exhibited upon my first interaction with one a few months back.  I feel that the GF1 is the best balance of function and size in the micro 4/3 realm, so I was very curious to see how it stacked up against a very cool camera in the NEX5.  I do feel there are some serious pros and cons for each of these cameras and depending on your needs, one may be head and shoulders above the other.

Continue reading →

*G-FD’d Up From the Feet Up! (or, how I saved thousands buying FD lenses)

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 94 Comments

Looking down the barrel…

Recycle, reuse, reshoot.  As long as you don’t mind manually focusing and establishing your exposure, why pay a ton of money when there are so many used, high quality lenses available?  Sure there are many optical and automated benefits to modern lenses, but sometimes, for the money saved, I can deal with the shortcomings of older, out of date lenses.  Using older, “legacy” glass on multiple cameras, either via a proprietary mount or adapter, can provide a fun, reasonably affordable and beneficial experience… Continue reading →