Hi everyone,

A first for me to be on the other side of a camera, done in one take 🙂 and shot with my E-M5 Mk II and M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 lens. This is why I love the Micro Four Thirds system cameras and lenses, so small and light. As to the “why”, all this gear is extremely compact and light and chosen to suit my photographic interests which specifically include travelling. The bag is so small that it easily qualifies as carry on luggage on aircraft and fits at one’s feet under the aircraft seat in one’s front or on a tray table on a train etc. and carrying it around all day I hardly notice that I’ve got it with me, which, for me, is the Holy Grail.

Obviously, as the saying goes, “you mileage may vary” it depends entirely on your photographic interests but,  personally, this combination of kit gives me a super lightweight and highly flexible travel setup. If I’m sacrificing anything in the way of image quality and I believe it to be debatable and at worst, marginal, it is easily outweighed in importance by the super portability of the equipment. Heavy, and this usually also means bulky, gear that habitually ends up getting left at home isn’t of any good when one’s out and about!. I’ve reverse engineered the idea of “I’ve got lots of heavy, bulky gear and now I need a big (and probably relatively heavy) bag to carry it all around” into “I’ve got a small bag and I want to find the best compact and lightweight gear to squeeze into it”. 🙂 . I already had the gear what I needed and, after lots of experimentation, ultimately found was the bag!.

Why these lenses?:

• 12-32 mm Lumix. A very sharp and ultra-lightweight pancake zoom which covers my most frequently used focal lengths. I’ve been very impressed with this tiny lens. I have the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 and also the Lumix 12-60 mm both of which are excellent lenses, especially the 12-40 mm but they’re both quite large and somewhat heavier and there’s no way that I could accommodate either of them along with a camera body and still have room for other lenses in a bag so small.
• 25 mm f/1.8 Olympus. This 50 mm equivalent focal length is my absolute all-time favourite. I’ve really tried to get to like my 17 mm f/1.8 (35 mm) and my Lumix 20 mm f/1.7 (40 mm) both of which are excellent sharp and small lenses but they’re both just too wide for my preference as I’m not into street photography. The 25 mm is fast and sharp and good in low light and for me it is a better all round option especially as one can get closer to the subject without distortion.
• 14 mm f/2.5 Lumix. A tiny super-lightweight pancake lens that is fast, sharp and light and gives me a wider (28 mm equivalent) F.O.V especially useful in tight, often poorly lit, spaces, indoors etc.. I also have the Olympus 12 mm f/2 but that’s bigger and heavier and it’s a bit too wide for most of my shots however it is another great small sharp lens but the 14 mm wins out both in terms of size and weight and ultimately, all round usefulness when travelling .
• 9-18 mm Olympus.  Ultra-wide angle zoom really handy for scenic landscapes, and covers a good focal length range (18-36 mm) as an alternative walk-about lens that I can sometimes leave fitted.
• 35-100 mm Lumix. Although I don’t often need a telephoto lens option this one is such a small, light and sharp lens which I occasionally find useful when travelling and it compliments the 12-32 mm very nicely. Most useful to me in the 35-50mm (70-100 mm) focal length range. If I choose to carry a telephoto lens with me, which almost inevitably doesn’t get used, then its got to be very compact and light and this lens fits the bill perfectly. I might be tempted to swap this over for my Olympus 45 mm f/1.8 which remains my favourite telephoto lens or maybe my 60mm f/2.5 Sigma ART which I think is sharper, but, when travelling the zoom offers greater flexibility for the occasions when I need a telephoto focal length.
• 9 mm Olympus body cap lens. Certainly not the best fisheye in the world by a margin but great fun and so tiny and lighter-than-light that it commands a place in my bag even though I don’t very often need a fisheye lens. At a fixed f/8 aperture it’s not that good in low light but, given good light, it’s capable of producing some quite acceptable images if one remembers to get one’s fingers and feet out of the shot. 🙂 . Along with my 14 mm and 35-100 mm lenses it’s a “just in case I need it” type lens.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi folks,

Five invaluable bits of kit that I wouldn’t want to be without when travelling. Most of these are useful when travelling whether you’re into photography or not and you need to charge or power multiple USB devices and perhaps need a travel router to share a hotel WIFI or a portable NAS to share movies or music etc..

1. Jonkuu Two port USB 10000mAh Quick Charge 2.4 A Power Bank as one cannot have too much power for on-the-go USB powering and charging. I chose this one specifically  for its high capacity, ultra compact size, light weight and its handy charge level readout as it’s nice to know how much one has left in the tank.  Link.
2. RAVPOWER FileHub, Travel Router AC750, Wireless SD Card Reader,  Photo Backup, Data Transfer, Portable NAS, 6700mAh Battery. A very versatile, multi-purpose, bit of kit. This is great for, amongst other things, SD card backups to flash drive or hard drive, it has a one key backup function which copies files directly  from the SD card to the attached  storage device and it also doubles as an extra power bank. It’s also handy as, on one’s return,  one doesn’t have to download files to the computer from multiple SD cards, only from the portable hard disk. It makes a new time and date-stamped folder for each backup. Note: the model that I have, unlike my other devices, takes a USB Type C charge connector. To give you an indication I did a speed test and copied 498 RAW files (approx. 28 GB) from a class 10 SDHC card to my portable USB 3 hard disk drive in a little over 30 minutes. I’ve taken to using smaller capacity SD cards and backing the card up at the end of the day before storing it and fitting a new one ready for the next day.  Link.
3. Anker 5 port USB charging hub. This little gem has travelled hundreds of miles with me and is great as you don’t have to pack multiple mains USB wall chargers. It is capable of charging/powering up to 5 USB devices simultaneously up to a maximum of 2.4 A per port from one mains wall socket. This is such a useful bit of kit that some time back I bought a second one for everyday use at home and also as a spare. Link.
4. Neewer USB camera battery charger, the only 100% dedicated bit of photography kit. I usually travel with two of these to charge my OM-D/PEN-F BLN-1 camera batteries and a  similar model to charge my TG-5 camera batteries. Although the TG-5 has USB charging I like to have an additional charger allowing me to charge a total of two batteries at the same time. They’re very small and lightweight and immensely more useful when travelling than the camera manufacturer’s considerably bulkier and heavier mains-powered chargers and of course, hooked up to a power bank or other mobile USB power source,  one can charge a battery on the move. 🙂 I have, on occasions, had one of these chargers in a jacket pocket connected to a power bank charging a battery as I’ve been walking around, cool huh!. Tip: I use a re-usable adjustable cable tie to make sure the battery doesn’t get dislodged when moving around. Link.
5.  Western Digital Elements 1 Terrabyte portable USB hard disk drive and cable for SD card backups when connected to the RAVPOWER file hub. As I very rarely shoot any video I don’t think that I’ve ever returned from a trip with anything approaching 1 TB of image files but it’s better to have more capacity than needed rather than less. It’s also nice to use it to store and access files like equipment manuals and music etc. which otherwise take up space on my phone. Link.

Throw in some USB charge cables and a suitable figure-of-eight type mains lead for the charging hub and I’m good to go. 🙂 . Just as I’m continually refining my choice of travel camera gear to absolutely minimize size and weight and maximise versatility,  I have also given a lot of thought to my other travel gear. I neither want to carry heavy gear around all day nor do I want to have to wait around for hours until my various device batteries have all finished charging and/or I want to backup my photos.

At the end of the day I want to get these things done as quickly as possible and to relax and chill with a nice meal and a cold beer (or two) 🙂 , travel ultra-light and switch over to taking some shots with my pocket-sized TG-5.

I have no affiliation to any of these manufacturers, all links to products on Amazon provided solely for your convenience.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi folks,

With careful consideration I have found a way to pack a camera body and five lenses into my small Manfrotto bag with only a tiny increase in weight as it still comes out at less than 1Kg. Three zooms and two faster primes.

Lefthand side: PEN-F with Lumix 12-32 mm plus lens hood fitted.

Righthand side top layer: M.Zuiko 9-18 mm plus lens hood and Lumix 20 mm plus hood in a neoprene case.

Righthand side bottom layer: my less frequently used Lumix 35-100 mm with hood reversed in a soft case and Lumix 14 mm plus hood (now swapped over for my M.Zuiko 45 mm) .

The thing in the middle is my LCD shade folded flat.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi folks,

I think that you all know that I’m always looking for a small lightweight tabletop type tripod to accompany me on my travels and I think this is my best effort yet, the Slik Multi Pod 3×4 Multi Purpose Compact Tripod Kit, catchy name 🙂 , which incorporates a ball head. Tripods are not something that I often get very excited about but this one holds a lot of promise

Tripod with integrated mobile phone mount, telescopic center column attachment/selfie stick etc., GoPro (I don’t have one) mount attachment thing or cold shoe mounting gear like perhaps a microphone, LED light or small field monitor etc.,  and mesh case. If you’re a Vlogger then this might well prove to be a very versatile setup.

With legs not extended and mobile phone mount flipped up.

With legs fully extended and mobile phone mount retracted as it would be to mount a camera. The large knurled knob makes tightening/loosening the tripod screw fairly easy.

With tripod legs fully extended and center column extension fitted and not extended.

Center column/selfie stick fully extended. I wouldn’t risk one of my MFT cameras on this but it should be fine for smaller cameras like my TG-5 or a mobile phone.

Mobile phone attached, you can see the cold shoe on the top of the mobile mount. This is where the GoPro attachment fits or maybe another cold shoe mounting device. I very rarely take pictures with my mobile phone, that’s what my cameras are for 🙂 , but I know that an ever-increasing number of folks do, and it’s still handy to have an integrated mount for a phone, just in case.

E-M5 mk II , grip and M.Zuiko 12-40 mm mounted with legs not extended. This is just about my heaviest combination of body and lens and it supports it well.

As above with tripod legs equally fully extended. The legs don’t add much in height but they increase stability and can be individually adjusted in 5 locking stages to suit uneven surfaces.

I think that it’ll also work well with my diminutive Tough TG-5 and you can of course also use the legs folded flat as a grip. I think that it’d also work as a chest pod. It’ll also be very useful in conjunction with the TG-5’s amazing telescope macro mode.

So a pretty versatile, well thought out, bit of kit. It wouldn’t be well suited for large, heavy DSLRs and/or lenses but it’s perfect for my MFT gear and also my TG-5. Lastly it very much ticks the “it has to be small and light” box. 🙂

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi folks,

Although I’m not a follower of fashion, only retro fashion perhaps, if that’s not too much of a contradiction in terms 🙂 . I just couldn’t resist this Birthday present to myself a really nice black faux leather half case with red stitching to match my red/black Cordweaver neck strap for my PEN-F. A bargain at £17 on Amazon. It’s nicely made, fits beautifully and finishes off a beautiful looking camera as well as providing a nice grip and a bit of extra protection which can never be a bad thing. It has a press stud fastening flap allowing access to the battery and memory card compartment so it can stay fitted all the time, nice as I don’t want to have to keep taking the case on and off. It also comes with a matching wrist strap which I’ll probably find a use for.  It has an aluminium section in the base which gives added protection to the underside of the camera but doesn’t add excessive weight. I’ve always liked black, red and silver colours they go together very well.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi folks,

In many ways my wife is always an inspiration to me. I’ve often joked with her that her handbags are like Dr. Who’s T.A.R.D.I.S. Full of “useful things” that she “might just need” just like my camera bags are for me. So I set myself a small challenge to see just how much small lightweight camera gear I could fit into one of my tiny Manfrotto camera bags and here’s the result, oh and for the record, my packed camera bag  weighs in at less than her packed handbag and at the less than princely sum of £7 my camera bag cost me considerably less than any of her handbags. 🙂

First off to give a sense of scale, the bag is approx. 8 inches wide –

Back pocket: memory card case for 6 spare cards, 4 moist lens wipes, 2 spare camera batteries in a neoprene case, a 52-58 mm step up ring which adapts my ND filter to fit my 9-18 mm lens and a pair of filter wrenches.

Main compartment left: Olympus PEN-F with Lumix 12-32 mm (37 mm filter thread) and JJC hood (which will accept 58 mm filters), hard case (originally designed for stereo ear buds) containing Olympus 9 mm fisheye body cap lens (or maybe my 15 mm body cap lens) and a 58 mm variable ND filter.

Main compartment right: M.Zuiko 9-18  mm (hood fitted), Lumix 35-100 mm (hood fitted). Underneath these lenses my Lumix 14 mm or Lumix 20 mm, Olympus M-CON macro converter (fits the 12-32 mm, 35-100 mm , 14 mm and 20 mm lenses) and the hood for the 14 mm or 20 mm into which the M-CON sits neatly.

Lastly I fitted two sticky pad/feet things to my lens back caps to cushion them. So my camera, a total of six lenses (I’m counting the M-CON as a lens) and other vital stuff that that I “simply must carry with me and I might just need” all into a small, discrete, lightweight bag. Whilst I was taking these shots she came into the room, saw me sitting on the floor taking pictures of the bag and it’s contents on the carpet and said, with a smile on her face and a look that one usually reserves for animals and small children,  “I won’t ask!” and then walked out. She knows me too well!. 🙂

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

Following on from my post yesterday I thought I’d do a posting with a selection of shots taken with my M.Zuiko 9-18 and 14-150 mm lenses.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

If you’ve been following my blog for a while then you’ll know that I have an obsession with compact and lightweight kit for travelling and I’ve been experimenting again and I think that I’ve probably arrived at my best load out yet. My new Olympus PEN-F, M.Zuiko 9-18 mm and 14-150 mm lenses and my Olympus Tough TG-5 as a second camera which is weatherproof and rugged and which can also serve as a backup. I’ve used the 14-150 mm quite a bit in the last few years and it’s very sharp and light. All of this in one of my  very small Manfrotto shoulder bags which were bargains at £7 each 🙂 🙂 and which are small enough to just about squeeze into your average hotel room safe.

So coverage from, in full-frame terms, 18 mm ultra-wide angle through to 300 mm telephoto. The TG-5 also has an amazing macro mode which focuses down to 1 cm! as well as USB charging and a useful 24 mm- 100 mm zoom range. Throw in a couple of spare batteries for each camera and spare memory cards and I’m good to go. Another bonus is that this bag is easily small enough for air travel carry on luggage to fit under the seat in front and still allow leg room, I don’t like putting my camera gear in the overhead lockers unless I’m forced to do so.

Another of my obsessions is rain protection so I dug out an Olympus camera wrap thing that I got in with something that I bought as well as a couple of my small red nylon waterproof  drawstring bags. Even though the 14-150 mm and especially my TG-5 are both weather-sealed,  two lessons that I learned the hard way a long time ago on a boat in Greece is that, prevention is much better (and a heck of a lot less costly) than cure and you’ve got to have somewhere to keep things separate if and when they get wet and my PEN-F and 9-18 mm are not weather sealed so they add an extra layer of protection in transit which is never a bad thing. It’s a snug fit but it works. 🙂 Pull a rain cover over the bag and one has three layers of protection against the elements.

If this all sounds like paranoia and overkill, if you’ve ever been caught out in the open in heavy rain storm or drenched by waves out at sea in rough weather, you’ll appreciate that it isn’t !. I’m not really overly concerned about my TG-5 as it’s waterproof down to a depth of 15 meters which is a part of the reason why I bought it and what makes it a good choice of a lightweight all-weather backup camera but my other gear wouldn’t take too kindly to a soaking.

Best wishes,

Leigh