Goodbye Olympus E-M5...

After a short 7 month relationship, I have farewelled my Olympus OM-D. My primary reason is that I could never really get a good connection with the camera. With the Leica X2, it was instant connection. I knew and now am certain, that it really connects with the way that I would like to operate a camera. Another words, it gets out of the way. With the OM-D, it was completely the other way around. I should've loved it, compact size, excellent AF speed and great image quality. But we never became best friends. Well, it is off to a new home, where I hope it will find new loving owner, who will be able to connect and appreciate it more than I could.

The good news is that I now have funds for another camera! The first one that has popped into mind is the Fujifilm X-Pro 1 or X-E1. They both feature very simple dial controls for the essentials, but both still lack an ISO selector. Some of the high ISO images I have seen from either camera is pretty amazing. Just looking at the sample image at ISO 3200 at dpreview.com and it seems to have less noise than the D700! My only fear is the slow AF. But having got used to the X2's slower than DSLR AF, I think that it may not be an issue. But right now, the question is X-Pro 1 or the X-E1....

Bokeh

Long time between posts. But this is a short one about bokeh. For me it has two qualities - the aesthetic look and the degree of blurring. The former can only be decided on a per lens basis and is highly subjective. The second factor, which is degree of blurring, is primarily based on the objective size. That is, the true aperture size. The larger the physical size of the diameter, the more the blur. For example, a 50mm f/2.0 has an aperture size of 25mm. A 200mm f/2.0 lens has an aperture size of 100mm. In most circumstances (i.e., same image size) the blur on the 200mm at f/2.0 will be far more than the 50mm f/2.0.

Given this, and the fact that I love blurred out background, I can make an informed choice between lenses as to which one will give me the most blur - but not necessarily the most beautiful blur. Some interesting conclusions is that the smaller the format, the larger the aperture needs to be to have good background blur.

In principle, my choices of lens for bokeh (for full frame D700) ranges between 50mm to 300mm. In this example, the following is a measure of the theoretical aperture size for various lenses. Noting that the large the aperture, the more blur.

50mm f/1.0 = 50mm (e.g., Leica Noctilux)

50mm f/1.4 = 35mm

85mm f/1.4 = 60mm

85mm f/1.8 = 47mm

100mm f/2.0 = 50mm (e.g., Zeiss ZF2 Planar)

135mm f/2.0 = 67mm (e.g., Zeiss ZF2)

200mm f/2.0 = 100mm (e.g., Nikon 200mm f/2.0 )

200mm f/2.8 = 71mm (e.g., f/2.8 70-200 zooms)

300mm f/4.0 = 75mm (e.g., Nikon 300mm f/4.0)

Updates

Been some time since my last entry, and lots happening in the photographic world. In short, I thought Photokina 2012 has some really interesting products, but also some missed opportunities. Anyway, I recently purchased DxO Mark Pro and now have the five major RAW convertors and photo editing platforms; Aperture, Capture One, DxO, Lightroom and RAW Developer. I would like to do a comprehensive comparison between the two. The only drag at the moment is that DxO does not support the X2. A shame, but hopefully that will change soon.

High ISO Olympus OM-D Samples

Here is a simple image set from ISO 1600 to ISO 25600 on the Olympus E-M5 OM-D. The exposure wasn't consistent - and was handheld from the car - whilst waiting for drive through take away. In my opinion ISO 6400 is useable, and ISO 1600 and 3200 is pretty good.

ISO 1600

ISO 3200

ISO 6400

ISO 12800

ISO 25600

Comments by Olympus Management

There has been a press release from Olympus indicating that they are committed to the top pro lenses that they have developed for the 4/3 system. This is great news instead. Having used and loved the E1, I think an E7 would be a welcomed addition. However, I think to better capitalise the market, they should really develop a 4/3 to m4/3 that allows full speed operation of the lenses on the m43 body. Either that, or they release new versions of those lenses that can accommodate properly (i.e., full speed) contrast detect AF. Again, just my two cents worth.

Leica X2 with Canon 250D

Here are some shots with the Leica X2 and the Canon 250D diopter - DNG straight into Aperture - no changes. Very rough. But gives you an idea of sharpness and distortion. Not too bad at all! They were all at f/2.8 and hand held. Not sure about the shutter speeds - you can check the EXIF data. 

Quick update

It has been a while since my last post - I guess work and family got the better balance. But the good news is that my combination of the Kiwi 49mm tube, 49mm-52mm step up ring and the Canon 250D has all finally arrived. So I did some quick shots and should be able to post some initial comments in the next few days. On a side note, the step up ring cost all of US$1.50, it was shipping from HK. I ordered it on the 18th of July and it arrived to me in HK on the 16th of August. Almost one month! I was very disappointed. The item was post stamped 10th of August, but the seller had marked the item as posted on the 18th of July. Typical. That is the kind of trashy sellers that gives eBay a bad name....

Quick thoughts between Leica X2 and Olympus OM-D

After having used my Leica X2 for a little over 1,000 photos and around 2,000 on the OM-D I have some initial observations between the two cameras. The Olympus is a technically excellent camera. It has great sharpness, responsiveness, autofocus, exposure and sensor noise. The Leica has excellent handling, portability, lovely files, exposure and good sharpness. I do want to point out that they are both inherent very different cameras. Designed for different uses, and aimed at different users. In my opinion, they are mutually exclusive.

In short, I find the X2 files a joy to process and finish. The colour, tonality and 'mood' have so much more life than the OM-D. The files with the X2 need less attention to get looking right. A curve adjustment here and there, some levels, and then the usual sharpen and noise reduction reviews. The OM-D tends to need more work to get the 'look' of the image. I find that the sharpness of the X2 is very good, but the OM-D (especially with the Leica 45mm f/2.8) to be just that much better.

On a day out with the family, which would I take? The X2. What would be in my go bag for every day photos? The X2. If I was going out for a night out, the X2. For me, I find the X2 a perfect match. For a photographic trip, I would consider the X2, and along with the OM-D mated with the 12mm f/2.0 and the 45mm f/2.8. Of which, it should cover me for most of my shooting needs. This all fits nicely into my Think Tank Restrospective 5 bag. The alternative would be the X2 and D700 with the Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 and Nikon 24mm f/1.4.

With the X2, there are two inherent shortcomings (that cannot be changed) and a few areas that can be improved with firmware. 

1. It doesn't do macro very well. On such a compact camera, surely it would've been easy to allow focusing down to say 15cm from the current 30cm.
2. It doesn't do a equivalent 70mm-ish FOV. Obviously no fault of the X2, but if Leica would introduce an X2 version with the longer focal length lens (and perhaps a wider one as well), it would allow people like me to build a system simply based on multiple bodies. No more lens changes!

If item 1 was to be addressed in the next version, and a new X2 released with a narrower lens, I think it'd be even better suited to me. Things I would like to see improved in the firmware;

1. Allow minimum shutter speed for Auto ISO to be set to 1/250, rather than just 1/30.
2. Allows the two dials to be customised to change EV, ISO, Flash ISO, etc. by the user.
3. Allow fro DNG only.
4. Buttons to be a little more response, especially the INFO button, when I am using the OVF, it sometimes takes around 1 second for the screen to come on.
5. Have a special screen display mode for when you are in OVF (as an option to no display) that will show all the critical camera settings (ISO, EV, WB, photos remaining, focus point, etc.). Even better would be to allow the photographer to select which ones to show.

Without sounding too poetic, I find that the use and results of the X2 to be have more 'soul' and emotional connection, despite it being noisier and not as sharp nor as fast as the OM-D; and for me, that   is why I think the X2 will be my long term photographic friend.

Leica X2 Battery Life

The first charge of the battery on my Leica X2 just died. The camera shut down. The photo count, 884. Impressive! I mainly use the Voigtlander OVF, so the screen usage was very minimal. Maybe used the screen about 15% of the time, and the after shot preview was set to 1 second. There was even some flash usage, say 5%. All around I'd say that this was a very impressive battery capacity, and two batteries should last for most short multi night trips.

Pier

A day at the beach/pier with my Leica X2 - Mui Wo in Lantau Island, Hong Kong - to be exact. Terribly bad day. Very bright, hazy, smoggy, feel like you are in a tanning booth... A few comments. CA is fairly well controlled - red and purple fringes can be seen from about 50% upwards. There was a lot of CA along the horizontal members of the gantry, the vertical posts had very little (not sure which is the exact optical phenomena that is, but there is a name for it...).

Loading Platform.
(Leica X2 1/500 f/5.6 ISO 100)

Sharpness again is generally quite even across the frame. But I do not that DOF, even with a 24mm lens set at f/5.6 is not everywhere. In my eyes, the  field that appears to be sharp and in focus extends from the bottom of the rusted steel platform; all the way to the end of the timber platform. If you look carefully at the light blue rendered wall on the right hand side. The wall surface appears to be rendered with very good detail and sharpness. But if you move down towards the concrete pier itself, a lot of that becomes softer - which it should, cause it is on a similar focal plane.

A few notes about the colour and exposure. It was difficult lighting conditions, but still, the Leica X2 files were very easy to work with. In this particular photo, it had an exposure of -0.65, had RGB, Blue and Lab Luminance curves applied; along with some contrast, saturation, tint mid tones and tint highlights applied in RAW Developer.

Full frame mirrorless

There have much speculation of a full frame mirror less system coming. With the Canon mirror less finally been leaked, I think the rounds by the manufacturers are completed. In the past there have been two standout Japanese manufacturers always doing something different; Fujifilm and Ricoh. The Fuji has released X series, very innovative and very different to the mainstream. Ricoh chose the GXR route, with different modules.

At this time, I want to speculate a bit about the GXR future. I think Ricoh will come out with updates to the body and the GXR A12 M module in the following in the next 3 to 6 months.

• A new body with a build-in EVF. 
• Updated GXR A12 M-mount module. It will have the same 16 megapixel sensor as their new A16 module. 

And my prediction is that they are working on one, or will work on a full frame M-mount module. But my thoughts are this is maybe one to two years away. 

Pimp my X2

Recently got the following extras for my Leica X2. 

1. Auto lens cap.
2. Kiwi filter tube.
3. 49mm to 52mm adapter.
4. Canon 250D 52mm diopter lens.

Items 1 and 4 are on hand, and waiting for eBay sellers to deliver items 2 and 3. All I can say about item 1, I got was - crap. Plastic and the threads aren't even full diameter. The Canon 250D on the other hand - good quality. I hope that someone makes a better quality (i.e., metal barrel with plastic cover) version of the auto lens cap. Am still indecisive about the case, and since I got the grip, I am finding it indispensable for good holding at lower shutter speeds (for me, that means at 1/30 and slower). 

Some test of RAW Processors

Some test black and white shots from the Leica X2. Please note this is in-progress testing.

Test 01 - RAW Developer: Everything off

Test 02 - RAW Developer: Everything off Enable Soft Look On

Test 03 - RAW Developer: Enable Soft Look On an RL Sharpening

Test 04 - Aperture: Fully edited - Obviously different exposure to the above.

Lightroom - Fully Edited

RAW Developer - Fully Edited

Prediction for Leica M10

There are currently two photos allegedly of the new Leica M10 circulating around the net. Here is what I produce for the M10, launched I think at Photokina later this year.

• Liveview and/or EVF (same as the X2). 
• 28 MP KAI-29050 sensor from Truesense.
• 920k dot screen.
• Very low chance; but introducing an electronic lens contact to facilitate auto aperture. Which I think is required for the EVF. This would mean that some/all existing lenses would be upgraded to one that can have auto aperture. Obviously larger, but will enable proper live view operation.

Western Market

Image of Western Market in Hong Kong with the X2, on a bright sunny morning. Processed with RAW Developer.  With this image, I did notice a slight unevenness in sharpness across the frame. Generally quite sharp, but not as what I had imagined, i.e., sharp across the entire frame. Also interesting was a stepped edge that came up during the sharpening process. Not sure if it is a function of the file, sharpening process or the RAW de-mosaic process.

Leica X2 ISO 100 f/4 1/640

Another day...

Another day comes to a close.

Blue Skies

Part of my job takes me to the Dongguan area of China often. In most of those time, I only see hazy skies, or rainy skies. But lay night - magnificent. One of the best skies I have ever seen in the past 7 years or so of going there. It is such a shame that China, a naturally beautiful place, is so encumbered by man made effects.

Location:Dongguan, China

More test snippets from the X2

Please find some more snippets from some test shots with the Leica X2. 100% crops. All process within RAW Developer. No colour correction, purely noise and sharpening applied. 

Leica X2 1/125 f/2.8 ISO 1250

Leica X2 1/2000 f/5.6 ISO 400

Leica X2 1/125 f/2.8 ISO 800 (Focused section)

Leica X2 1/125 f/2.8 ISO 800 (unfocused part from above photo)

Capture One - Leica X2

Processed with Capture One, Leica X2. I noticed that the white balance was off and there was a strong green tint. The sharpening also played strange things with the vertical balusters around the rotunda. Of the three so far, the least easy to operate (due to my least amount of recent experience with it) and also has a very heavy user interface.

Leica X2 100 ISO f/5.6 1/250

RAW Software

I now have four different RAW processing software. Aperture, RAW Developer, Capture One Pro and Lightroom. For the early part of my digital years, I was Capture One, and then moved to Aperture when it was released. Since then, Aperture has been my software of choice. Two years ago, I started to play with RAW Developer for two reasons; black and white processing and its RL Convolution Sharpening. Early this year, there was a great deal for Capture One Pro, and I purchased it. Finally, I got a license for Lightroom as part of the Leica X2 package.

Over the next few months, I want to do a review and comparison between the four RAW packages. I do not necessarily just want to concentrate on final output image quality, but also on its usability and how well it can produce B&W images. As soon as DXO supports both the X2 and the OM-D, I will be acquire that also.

X2 processed with RAW Developer

Here are the same Leica X2 image processed with RAW Developer; one in B&W and the other in colour. I have to say that the sharpness across the frame is very even. Also, using RL Convolution sharpening, it tends to accentuate grain, which was causing some strange 'stepped' artefacts with angled lines. The B&W image does have an excellent tonality to it, and reminds me of real B&W film scans.

Leica X2 100 ISO f/5.6 1/250
(B&W RAW Developer)

Leica X2 100 ISO f/5.6 1/250
(Colour RAW Developer)

First X2 Image

Find attached my first Leica X2 image processed through Aperture. I only had a quick chance to process the image. I tried RAW Developer, and found the edges to be a little bit too stepped, and found Capture One to have weird greens. Aperture also had its own issues, but I think they were limited to Aperture and not the processing of the file.

Leica X2 ISO 100 f/5.6 1/250

Photography Basics

If one puts aside camera brand, format and medium, what are the basic parameters that a photographer can control? The answer lies in two parts: perspective and exposure. That is, how you see it and how you capture it.

Perspective
This is effectively a combination of the lens used (to control the field of view) and the position of the camera relative to the object(s) one is trying to photograph. As many will know, the choice of focal length will only affect how much of the current scene or perspective is captured. It doesn't alter the perspective per se. Perspective is purely about the relationship between the photographer and the scene. Fir example, in a crowded room, moving further away from the crowd will generally make the people appear closer. Move closer in, and the gaps between the people will become more apparent. This, and in tandem with the 'critical moment' is the most important aspect of our craft.

Exposure
Exposure is a combination of shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity of the medium. The latter, in the old days, was simply controlled by the ISO of the film. We were stuck with whatever we have loaded and brought with us. In the age of digital, the ISO can be varied and changed on the fly. An thus, becomes something that is as critical to exposure as the other two. We can now have, or should have; aperture priority, shutter priority and ISO priority. And a good camera sold allow the photographer to easily set, change and know these parameters easily. I have yet to see any digital camera that has all three controls as dedicated dials.

The final important control is exposure compensation. Unless you are using fully manual exposure, this is a very key control to enable the desired exposure. For this, the Fuji X100 and X-Pro 1 includes, which is nice, but I think Leica needs to include for the X3.

I think, that a camera that has all four dials as physical controls; easy to access and change, will make a camera eminently more useful and easy to operate. The kind of thing where the camera gets out of the way of photography.

My prediction for the rumors for Leica mirrorless and Hasselblad mirrorless

Have been reading about two particular rumors of interest. One is concerning Leica and the other Hasselblad. Both are about an upcoming mirrorless - here is my take.

The Hasselblad mirrorless, I think, will be a rebadge of the Fuji X-Pro1. Why? The current H system is made by Fuji. The Xpan was made by Fuji. Since the original V series, not much has been made by Hasselblad themselves and due to the long term tie up between Hasselblad and Fuji, I think the launch of a rebadged, and tweaked X-Pro 1 is very strong. This is the fastest way for Hasselblad to get in on the mirrorless market. They may add a few features, and add a few bonus items, but I think it'd be inherently a Fuji.

The Leica mirrorless, I think will be like the Contax G system. A high quality, interchangeable lens system, albeit a point and shoot. But the would add good manual controls. I don't see the sensor being full frame, but probably APS or even the M8 size. I am sure they will release a M mount converter, but it will probably be a new mount. I would absolutely drop dead if it was a m43 mount, but I don't think so. I reckon there will be an EVF, rather than a zooming OVF.

Here you go, my take on the upcoming cameras.

Why I chose the Leica X2

After spending 15 minutes with the Leica X2, reading about it for hours and paying the cash for it; I wanted to lay out the reasons for the purchase. There was no desire to buy the Leica based on 'brand desire', but I think it was based on a number of very rational reasons, of which I would like to lay out. The primary reason was to look for an digital equivalent to the Contax T3 - my much loved compact film camera. Most of the following reasons outlined below will have references back to the T3.

1. Compact. The X2 is small, light and compact. Everything I look for in a camera. Although the lens barrel does provide a hump of sorts, it is reasonably minimal and not too offensive. It can still easily fit into a bag or a jacket pocket. It is definitely not as compact as the T3, which retracts into a package not much bigger than a deck of cards.

2. Simple. The X2 has simple and easy to use controls. I can see my aperture and shutter speed without have to turn anything on. I only wish that in the X3, Leica would also include an exposure compensation and ISO dial. That, would be the magical final addition for me. The button layout on the Leica is simple. As many people put it; I want to use a camera, not a laptop. As a photographer, I only need to set my camera up once (really) and then only need to change the exposure controls.

3. Optical quality. There was little doubt that the T3 had one of the best lenses in its category. It was a 35mm f/2.8 and suited my photography just fine. Even in the days of 400 ISO film was my standard, and 1600 ISO was pretty grainy already. The Leica's 24mm f/2.8 provides the same angle of view and same aperture, and it can go up to ISO 6400. I don't expect the lens to be a problem. Of course I would've loved a f/2.0 or faster lens. But that would've meant a heavier, bulkier and more expensive camera. I think they struck a good balance.

4. Tactility. The T3, with its fit and finish, was second to none. The Leica X2, feels good in the hand - but not quite at the quality of the T3, or the M's. But it feel solid and well built. The controls are in easy to access positions. I can change both aperture and shutter speed with one hand. If only I could can exposure compensation and ISO with one hand also - that'd be ideal.

So, not have the opportunity to open the X2 yet, I look forward to charging the battery and running through its paces in the coming weeks. Look forward to test pics and hopefully test pictures with the Olympus OM-D.

Leica X2

Just found stock in Hong Kong, and got spousal approval! Very exciting, will be picking it up later today. On a side note, the official price of the X2 in Hong Kong is HK$18,400. Wen you convert this, it is about US$300 more than the going price in the US and Australia. Darn the Mainland China demand!

E-M5 and 45mm Macro

Up close and personal. Find some test shots I did this morning using the OM-D and the Panasonic Leica DG 45mm f/2.8 Macro lens. Handheld and natural light. Using the built in body IS, with the lens IS turned off. All I can say is wow, the image quality is superb. I did notice that when getting near to 1:1, the front of the lens and the lens hood gets quite close to the object which is really an issue. But then again, the working distance offered by a 45mm lens at 1:1 is not great. The image has beautiful transition from sharp to blur and renders the overall image so well. On a side note, even with such low shutter speeds and high magnification, the IS seems to be doing its job really well. Enjoy.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 with Panasonic Leica 45mm f/2.8 Marco (ISO 200 f/4 1/100)

Olympus OM-D E-M5 with Panasonic Leica 45mm f/2.8 Marco (ISO 200 f/8 1/100)

Optics

For this (long) blog entry, I want to explore a little bit about optics and how it affects us photographers. It will be part of a series of blog entries about optics. With the more high resolution sensors and high density sensors being brought into the market, I was curious to see how the laws of physics will limit high resolution photography.

The first concept that is required to be covered is that of the Airy Disk. Now, Wikipedia covers this topic quite well, and I will try not too verbose. But very simply, the airy disk is an optical phenomena. It is the result of an optical system unable to reproduce a point source as a true point. Instead, it appears as an airy disk. That is, a point source, technically having no linear dimensions, becomes a circular disk of a finite and definable size. The size of disk is depend on a few basic parameters of the optical system - aperture and wavelength.

But for photographers the most important aspect is that the size of this disk is proportional to the f-number. The larger the f number (i.e., smaller the physical size of the aperture), the larger this disk becomes. The table below shows the airy disk size for different wavelengths of light as it changes with the f-stop. The units of the airy disk is μm, and for the keen reader, you will also note that most sensor pixel pitch is given in μm. 

Aperture	350 nm	450 nm	500 nm	750 nm
f/32	13.7 μm	17.6 μm	23.4 μm	29.3 μm
f/22	9.4 μm	12.1 μm	16.1 μm	20.1 μm
f/16	6.8 μm	8.8 μm	11.7 μm	14.6 μm
f/11	4.7 μm	6.0 μm	8.1 μm	10.1 μm
f/8.0	3.4 μm	4.4 μm	5.9 μm	7.3 μm
f/5.6	2.4 μm	3.1 μm	4.1 μm	5.1 μm
f/4.0	1.7 μm	2.2 μm	2.9 μm	3.7 μm
f/2.8	1.2 μm	1.5 μm	2.0 μm	2.6 μm
f/2.0	0.9 μm	1.1 μm	1.5 μm	1.8 μm
f/1.4	0.6 μm	0.8 μm	1.0 μm	1.3 μm
f/1.0	0.4 μm	0.5 μm	0.7 μm	0.9 μm

For the purposes of comparison, we shall use the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum (which ranges from about 350nm to 750nm) which is around 750 nm - red light. The assumption is that we are working with colour images in the full visible spectrum (no UV or IR photography, but the formula and concept apply equally). We want the take the most stringent criteria - that is the airy disk being the largest in the visible spectrum. Form this point onwards, all the various commentary and tables will be based on the airy disk at 750 nm wavelength of light.

What this airy disk describes is that no matter how good or perfect the lens, the highest resolution possible if limited to the size of the airy disk. This is where diffraction limit comes in. Any optical system in which the ability to render a point souce is only limited by the airy disk, is said to be diffraction limited.

To make another conclusion, if the airy disk size for a given aperture is less than double the pixel or sensor size (i.e., to capturean airy disk requires four pixels, two in each direction), it too is said to be diffraction limited.

Monument

Nikon D700 with 24mm f/2.8 (ISO 200 f/2.8 1/5000)

From memory to today

Remembering back to the old film days, I tried to remember what was my favourite gear to use. Long trip down memory lane later, I felt that for me, the Mamiya 7 and Contax T3 was a perfect fit for me. One was ultra high quality images using 6x7 film format (the film, or sensor was 56x69mm) and the other was ultra portable and high quality. Both cameras were so simple to use, and devoid of any 'frills'. Just the way I like it. So further to that, I wanted to find an equivalent in this digital era. I came up with the following.

• Leica X2
• Leica M9-P or equivalent full frame rangefinder.
• Leica 21mm f/3.4 Super Elmar
• Zeiss 35mm f/2.0 Biogon or Leica Summilx f/1.4
• Leica 75mm f/2.0 Summicron or f/2.5 Summarit

Pier

Another photo when I was out on a nice (cold) stroll by the beach.

Olympus E-510 14-42mm  f/3.5-5.6 (ISO 100 f/10 1/500)

One of my interests is in macro flower and plant photography. This was taken at the Melbourne International Flower Show in 2010. Handheld shot with the D700 and Nikon 60mm f/2.8 Macro. Part of The Compact Photographer is to be able to capture these kinds of shot (ones that I enjoy, and hope you will also) with easy to carry gear. I went with my young family and given the crowds, it would've been impossible to us a tripod or larger equipment. I went with just one camera and one lens. Easy.

Nikon D700 with 60mm f/2.8 AF-S (ISO 450 f/5.6 @ 1/125)

Sample Shots with OM-D E-M5

Here are some of my first shots with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 using the 12mm f/2.0 and the Panasonic Leica 45mm macro. They were shot as RAW and processed in Aperture. Post processing has been applied - I am not interested in what I get directly out of the camera, but what I can get out of the files.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 with Olympus 12mm f/2.0 (f/4.5 ISO 200 1/500)
Taken from the apartment balcony. Possibly a little over sharpened. But again, look at the detail in the windows and the metal balustrades. 

Olympus OM-D E-M5 with Leica 45mm f/2.8 (f/2.8 ISO 250 1/100)
Look at the focus point - it sits between the 5.6 and 11 aperture indicator on the right. You can see the small surface of the 12mm lens. Super sharp. Also move the creamy background.

What is a Compact Photographer?

No, I am not referring to a photographer who is physically compact… The Compact Photographer refers to who in which their equipment allows them the utmost flexibility and mobility when catching that 'decisive moment'. Another words, a photographer who can go anywhere and take any photos they desire. Be it a sweeping panoramic or a gentle portrait of their family, through to a extreme macro in the middle of the Amazon. The Compact Photographer is one who isn't encumbered by their equipment.

To this end, the very nature of each compact photographer is different; but their differences are not rooted in their equipment, but rather in their style and context. Inevitably, the question of equipment does come into play at some stage, but to be honest, that is not the hardest question. For me, the hardest question is what do I want to achieve with my photography [today], and as a philosophical realisation of The Compact Photographer; what is the least and lightest (i.e., compact) equipment I can carry to achieve that.

For the above statement and basis to the definition of The Compact Photographer, I shall be discussing over the next few months, and I hope will provide some thoughtful ideas and commentary on what I have espoused.

The Compact Photographer

My journey in photography begun in my early teens, when I discovered my father's Nikon EM SLR with the 28mm and 50mm E series lenses. From the first moment of learning to use the camera, taking the first photo and receiving the first prints; I was hooked. Call it a hobby or what you will; but since then I have been an avid photographer and seriously guilty of the 'gear acquisition syndrome', or GAS.

Through the many years since the EM, I have used almost every conceivable system under the sun. Everything from a Toyo 45 view camera to travelling round the world with a Contac G to Nikon/Canon/Contax/Leica/Olympus 35mm systems; through to Mamiya 6 & 7 and Hasselblads and all the way to my current setup. I have probably used it all. Prior to the advent of the digital medium, I primarily shot with colour E6 (or slide film) and black and white (mainly Ilford Delta 100 and 400) and process my own B&W film. But now, I am solely a digital shooter - mainly for convenience and cost.

Through the many years I have done a bit of travelling both locally, in Melbourne Australia, and internationally. One thing that has been the thorn in my side was the weight and bulk of the equipment. Having once carted the Toyo 45 with 10 DDS, light meter, focus cloth, suitable tripod, etc. on a short 30 minute hike to a water fall and back - now older and wiser - will never happen again!

My quest since then, like many other photographers out there, was to find the ultimate system that was able to deliver high quality photos, be versatile and easily transportable. This quest and question has been part of my photographic journey for the last 6 or 7 years, and now I want to share this on-going journey with you.

At present, my gear is based around two primary systems; Nikon Full Frame and Micro Four Thirds. My other gear include; a Hasselblad SWC system, Contax RTS system and an assortment of compacts (e.g., Contax T3 and Ricoh GR1s). This is my cumulative collection of gear over the last 20 years. Like many of my peers, I have probably spent too much money on new gear, and lost more on selling them. But, the one (very important) redeeming aspect, are my photos - priceless.

What I would like to do with this blog is to share with you my on-going journey; and share with you some of my images; past and present. I would appreciate and welcome any feedback and my lofty hope is that this blog will be of relevance and a positive resource for the photographic community.