Hi folks,
A while back I bought one of those Dymo labellers to label some household items and it has come in really handy for labelling various photographic gear items and I’m sure that I’ll keep on finding new uses for it. 🙂
Kind regards,
Leigh
Hi everyone,
For years now I’ve steadily been pursuing my quest for my own Holy Grail, that is to get my gear down to the lightest and most compact setup that I can achieve. In addition to my small camera bag and small sized camera gear such as my PEN-F camera and a few lenses, my Lumix 12-32mm, 35-100mm zooms and two faster Lumix prime lenses, my 14mm f/2.5 and 20m f/1.7 there are other items that I like to carry that can’t all be accommodated in such as small bag such as one of my small dual-port USB power banks, a couple of USB charge cables, one of my small USB camera battery chargers, my USB data logger and a small USB rechargeable pen torch (surprising how often this comes in useful) 🙂 and other somewhat bulkier items that I feel “obliged” to carry such as my mobile phone. Normally I stuff these into various jacket pockets but this isn’t ideal for a hot day, like yesterday, when I want to go out dressed for the weather wearing a T.Shirt and a pair of shorts and not encumbered by extra clothing worn solely for the purpose of accommodating these items. I don’t want to be a slave to my camera gear, I want it to serve me and not vice-versa!.
Some while back I bought one of those small MOLLE pouches, intentionally to house a small camera such as my TG5 and a couple of spare batteries. The camera bag has a grab handle on the back and I hit on the idea of putting these items into the pouch and attaching it through the grab handle on the back of the bag. It works very well, of course the pouch is still detachable and could be put onto a belt if one wished or even hang from a lanyard or suchlike as it has a loop on the top. The MOLLE pouch has two good-sized zip up compartments each with a separate smaller pouch pocket, a front compartment with a buckle clip into which I have put a 2-port USB power bank and also a pen sized pocket for my torch.
Thanks to the beauty of USB charging I can charge a camera battery and/or my torch, my phone or my datalogger in-situ, on the go, perfect!. 🙂 I’ve also almost finished standardising on small rubber collapsible screw-in lens hoods for some of my lenses as they’re so compact can be left fitted and take up less room in the bag. The 14mm, 20mm and 35-100mm lenses all share a 46mm filter thread which is also useful for interchanging filters.
Kind regards
Leigh
Hi folks,
I’m very impressed with my JJC pistol grip. It really is extremely useful for handheld HDR shots with longer lenses (for me that is) like my M.Zuiko 14-150mm when at maximum telephoto. Cheap, cheerful and effective, makes 300mm equiv. focal length shots easier. 🙂
Best regards
Leigh
Hi everyone,
I like to organise my gear into different loadouts to suit my preferences, mood and different occasions.
First off there’s an ultra lightweight day out, “I don’t want to carry anything” kit comprising of my Olympus E-PL5 camera and two zoom lenses. A Panasonic Lumix 12-32mm and an Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm which together weigh next to nothing, you don’t know that you’ve got this one with you. The camera accepts my Olympus EV4 viewfinder so I can fit this and thus avoid using the LCD screen as I’m not fond of these screens especially in bright light.
Next, a one camera, one lens weather-sealed setup comprising of my Olympus E-M5 mk 1 and Olympus M.Zuiko 14-150mm. A great all-weather travel combination.
For a fun day out with manual focus lenses my Olympus E-M5 mk II, TT Artisan 17mm and 35mm prime lenses and my Olympus M.Zuiko 12-40mm PRO zoom lens which, along with the camera body, gives me a weather-sealed option in case the weather takes a turn for the worse. This is my heaviest loadout because the 12-40mm is, by far, not my lightest lens but these lenses are all very sharp and a lot of fun to use.
For the times when I like to just go out with a camera and all prime lenses. My Olympus E-P5 camera with EV4 electronic viewfinder and Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm, 30mm macro (which is tack sharp and doubles as a very good all-round “street” lens) and 45mm lenses. I chose the 30mm over my M.Zuiko 25mm and Panasonic Lumix 20mm lenses for it’s macro capabilities as it focus down to an amazing 1cm!.
Lastly, probably my favourite day-to-day loadout, my Olympus PEN-F and three zoom lenses, Panasonic Lumix 12-32mm and 35-100mm and Olympus M.Zuiko 9-18mm lenses.
All of these loadouts except, where noted, are lightweight and very portable, versatile and fit in a small camera bag. Maybe it’s given you food for thought.
Kind regards
Leigh
Hi folks,
If you have a quick release plate fitted to your camera and you’re like me and never seem to have a coin handy, let alone a screwdriver 🙂 when you need one to fit it or remove it then this tip might be handy. Find yourself a metal washer that fits the screw and attach it to your camera bag. I’ve done this with all my bags, shown here attached with a small locking carabiner, job’s a good ‘un!. 🙂
Kind regards,
Leigh
Hi,
A small free plug for Brian, the maker of these Cordweaver camera straps. I just took delivery of two more neck straps and they came next day in the post. Excellent quality and first class service as usual. I now have five of the neck straps and two of the wrist straps on my cameras and I can thoroughly recommend them.
Original Post July 23rd 2019:
Hi everyone,
I’ve standardised on these great camera neck and wrist straps by a company called “Cordweaver” – https://www.cordweaver.co.uk/ . The straps are very light and strong and are available in a choice of two colours, red and black and various lengths, the leather ends are hand-sewn with strong polyester waxed thread. Connection to the camera is via the fitted 16mm diameter split rings and the wrist straps are made out of Type III 550lb Paracord with 7 internal strands.
Great service, very quick dispatch and very high quality merchandise. I used one on my EM-1 and one on my TG-5 for my recent trip to Porto and it was great, so good I’ve since bought another three, 🙂 very comfortable to wear and strong and it would be very hard to cut through should someone try and grab the camera.
Additional: The wrist straps come in two types, with Peak Design style connectors (as fitted to my EPL-5 on the top left) and, without, (as fitted to my TG-5). It is also supplied with a spare Peak Design connector, a nice touch.
Lastly, I really like how flexible they are and tuck in nicely in my camera bags unlike some of the stiffer and more bulky neck straps I’ve used. The wrist straps act like slip knots at either end so they tighten at both the camera end and the wrist end should the camera slip from your grip, the addition of a rubber grommet is another nice feature.
Kind regards
Leigh
Hi folks,
Another test of my new TT Artisan 35mm f/1.4 lens,it’s sharp! 🙂
https://www.flickr.com/photos/leighkemp/51314338995/in/dateposted-public/lightbox/
Tomorrow I’m looking forward to putting my latest acquisition, a used Olympus PEN E-P5 camera through it’s paces.
Kind regards
Leigh
Hi folks,
I thought I’d do another video after all if anyone ever watches them that is 🙂
Kind regards
Leigh
Hi folks,
Just for fun I thought I’d do a quick image quality comparison between my £85 TT Artisan 17mm f/1.4 manual focus MFT lens and one of my all time favourite prime lenses the £450 M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 lens, list prices from the company’s official web stores not including any promotional discounts and shipping charges. In fairness there are reasons other than price why one may prefer the M.Zuiko lens over the TT Artisan lens such as auto focus with manual focus clutch, considerably smaller size (without lens hoods fitted), weight, build quality? etc. but it’s interesting to see how they stack up against each other. Both 100% crops taken in quick succession shot with manual focus, the camera mounted on a tripod, self timer, same lighting, same ISO and same aperture f/5.6. The two lenses have a very slightly different FOV. Identically processed with no sharpening or other corrections applied in post processing.
First the M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8
Now the TT Artisans 17mm f/1.4
There is, I think, a slight difference, the M.Zuiko is perhaps a tad sharper overall but is it £355 sharper?, but with a little sharpening applied in post then that’s easily counteracted, the choice, as always is yours. 🙂
Kind regards
Leigh
Hi everyone,
I thought that I’d put a few of my thoughts to paper so as to speak. Firstly, and in no particular order, are my thoughts on cameras and lenses. Like cars, maybe one’s choice of camera reflects to a certain degree one’s personality. I’m a self-confessed lover of retro designs, thus my passion for my Olympus PEN-F and my latest acquisition, an Olympus PEN E-P5. but not at the exclusion of the modern features that I find most convenient, if I’m anything, it’s that I’m certainly not a Luddite. For me it’s a matter of form and to a certain extent nostalgia but absolutely not form over function. Occasionally I get sick and tired of all the “this camera model/format is better than that/your camera model/format” arguments. I use the term arguments lightly as there’s often absolutely no logic associated with such comments. What there often is is a demonstration of total lack of understanding of even the most basic principles of photography from some people who haven’t even invested a few seconds in learning how their camera works let alone how to use it as a creative tool. That’s all cameras are, tools, and like any other tool, an easy target for a poor workman to blame. It’s a form of tribalism that isn’t unique to camera gear and exists in many other shapes and forms. To sum it up I firmly think that just about ANY modern camera, irregardless of make or model is more than capable of taking excellent photos, and the same goes for most lenses after all, the lens is, in my opinion, ultimately a lot more important than the camera body in achieving results. Taking interesting photos, is, however, a totally different matter.
So that leads me onto lenses. I have a nice collection of lenses for my chosen system that I’ve steadily acquired over the years. Unlike camera bodies where one does generally get more features with more costly models, whether one has a use for them or not is another matter, lenses aren’t so easy defined. I have a few “Pro” badged lenses, they are good lenses and they are weather-sealed which I sometimes find useful but I also have many budget-friendly lenses which are more than capable of producing excellent image quality that is very often impossible to distinguish from their “Pro” stable-mates in real world terms, and I’m not talking about all those laboratory testing type sites full of graphs and charts. Sure build quality is a big issue if one chucks them in and out of a bag all the time but I’ve never had a problem with any of my lenses, they’ve all served me very well as I look after them and they look after me. I simply don’t believe that the difference in optical quality between cheaper and more expensive lenses can, as some might have one believe, be justified in terms of price alone. I have achieved optically excellent results time and again from lenses which, if one chose to believe the reviews, were only fit for the dustbin.
Zooms versus primes, an argument as old as the hills. I used to be a dedicated user of prime lenses and I’m still very happy with mine but a big component of my thinking was based on the old zoom lenses that I was using many years ago which were inferior in just about every respect compared to prime lenses of the time, it’s a completely different story today. I find that I’ve been using zoom lenses a lot more than prime lenses over recent years. There are three principle reasons for this, firstly, I want to frame the image as I want it when composing the shot, I don’t want to habitually crop in post-processing, why have a high resolution sensor and then crop a large chuck of this and throw it away?. Secondly, it’s often difficult to impossible to change positions to frame as I wish and thirdly, by the time I’ve fumbled around changing lenses, assuming of course that I have the lens that I want in my bag, the moment has long since passed. There is also a fourth reason and that’s simply, in my chosen type of photography, one rarely seems to have the right prime lens on the camera at the right time 🙂 and lastly there’s also the question of weight, something that’s very important to me, it’s a simple equation, more glass = more combined weight = more fatigue.
Lastly, I watched a very interesting video the other day on the theme of originality in photography and how some folks like to copy the style of another photographer in the belief that this makes for better images. I think that the exact opposite is true. As you all know I love processing my images more so than taking them. This is where one can experiment to one’s heart’s delight. I really like to think that if I have any style it is that I don’t have a style that I stick to ad-nauseum. What’s the point of that?, where’s the fun in that?. If I did so then I’d be bored faster than you can say the word. One of the joys in photography for me is that it gives me a fabulous artistic freedom to do what I like and not what some erroneously believe is a guaranteed pathway to an award winning formula.
Well, that’s enough from me, I very much look forward to hearing your views on the subject.
Kind regards,
Leigh
📷 Digital Art Photography 🎨 : "Paintography" ✈ 👍 