Olympus OMD EM10

I have always liked Olympus Cameras.  It all goes back to a Stylus Zoom in the 1990’s.  At the time I was using a 35mm Canon Rebel and wanted a compact camera to carry around.  I don’t know why but that little Stylus zoom took pictures that were just as good or better than the Rebel.  The Rebel went into the closet.
Fast forward to the modern era and I decided to upgrade my Digital photography equipment and I went back to the Canon line of cameras.  When I was done I ended up with a Canon 40D a couple of Sigma lens and a flash.  The 40D takes great pictures is built like a rock and can take some abuse.  I’ve fallen flat on my face while trying to keep it from smashing into the ground, the camera faired better than my face.  There were some disadvantages to my 40D though. It is fairly heavy.  It does seem to attract dust on the sensor.  And to buy a Canon lens takes a lot of money.
I had my eye on the mirrorless digital cameras as they came out and I started recommending those to people that wanted a better camera than a point and shoot.  One day I decided to go and look at one myself.  Probably came from walking around China trying to take pictures of my kids and stuff with the 40D.  It is a bit of an ordeal to get it in and out of my Lowepro Slingshot Bag.
When all was said and done I walked away with an Olympus OMD EM10 and a couple of lens.
Why?
It feels right in my hands.  I’m left eye dominate and a lot of cameras feel uncomfortable when I hold them up to my eye.  Sometimes there is something poking me in the right eye.  The EM10 minimized this.  There were also a number of instant rebates available at the time that made the cost more manageable.
The Electronic Viewfinder was a must, as I approach 50 years of age my eyes want to see things further and further away.  It is getting harder to hold a camera at a comfortable distance if I’m trying to use just the LCD screen.  The EM10 has a diopter on the EVF so I can adjust it to clarity for my aging eyes.
I  can carry the camera and a number of lens's the charger and a number of other items in my Lowepro Slingshot 100AW (no longer made, but the best one).  The weight is very manageable.  When I carried the 40D with all of the lens's I liked the weight would drag me down.
I really like to take Landscape Photos, the EM10 takes great Landscape shots with the OLYMPUS M.14-150mm F4.0-5.6 II.  It covers all the focal lengths I like for Landscape and gives very nice results.  But that particular lens is not so great for Action Kid shots, with my Kids most shots end up being action.
What I don’t like.
The eye cup keeps popping off in my bag.  Luckily it has been popping off in the bag.
The affordable zooms are pretty slow lens's.  They make taking photos of my kids a bit hard.
The focus is just not as fast as the 40D.
The Prime 25mm that I have is faster,  takes very nice pictures and focus’s faster.  I just like zooms a bit better, It is what I’m used too.  I’m working on this.
I suspect that the Pro lens’s are better but outside of my budget right now.
Would I buy it again?  Yep..  Is my 40D in  the Closet?  For more than a year.

Grand Sable Dunes

 

Grand Sable Dunes Log Slide

We recently traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. One of the most spectacular sights is Log Slide of the Grand Sable Dunes.  It is near a city called Grand Marais.  This is just a spectacular bit of scenery. 

Union Pacific 6944

 

Here is a photograph of the newly restored Union Pacific 6944 at the St. Louis Transportation Museum.  It looks like it had just been there a short time as it is still on the track that comes of the main line which runs by the Museum.  This is one of the largest diesel electric locomotives ever made.  It has two diesel engines on a single deck that appears to be about double the length of most trains.  This locomotive after it’s restoration looks great.

One Lonely picture

_MG_3004_corr
Originally uploaded by reboot95

I'm really getting interested in Geotagging photos. This is accomplished by syncing the time between your camera and a GPS device. Then using the tracking feature of the GPS to keep a log of your coordinates. I then use Gpsphotolinker to match the log file with the pictures and presto you now know where your pictures were taking.

I took this particular picture of an old Baptist Church out in a rural area called Handy. This is near Doniphan MO. When I started to look at the map data on flickr I realized this was the only picture geotagged in a large area. Sort of cool to be the first someplace.

Unsharp Mask I see Clearly now

Before Unsharp Mask


After Unsharp Mask

You really need to look at larger sized images to see results.

I have learned one of the most important aspects of taking photos with a DSLR, they inherently make soft looking photos. But I've seen pictures that people have taken that look crystal clear. I was always disappointed that my pictures were just a bit less clear. I figured I was just not very good at selecting the aperture or my focus was off a bit or I was jerking a bit when I pushed the shutter button.

Then I read this article Understanding USM started playing with Unsharp Mask in Photoshop and it was like a veil was dropped from my pictures. All of a sudden I too had those Razor Sharp images that I was so envious of.

Go ahead click on the link understand the mystery that is Unsharp Mask and you too will be amazed at the results.

Img_0232 and post processing

Okay here is something I've done more than once get my camera out play around with some settings on it then put it back in the camera bag. Soon after that I'll grab the camera bag to go out and shot some picutres. Usually after 10 or so shots I will figure out something doesn't look exactly right. The pictures might be a bit too light or a bit too dark. Maybe they are all a bit fuzzy or other some defect. This is usually due to the fact I left the exposure compensation a few clicks off 0, the iso some where around 1600 or I've gotten creative with white balance. While these little issues can be a pain they may not have to ruin a great photo especially if you are shooting in RAW format.

Here is an example of such a photo. The night before I went out to the St. Louis Zoo I was playing around with my camera in my office trying to see how exposure compensation effected my photos with a flash. I deleted the test photos and put the camera away forgetting the exposure compensation was a bit off.

Next day I walk into the zoo pull out my camera get the lens cap off and see a Grizzly Bear posing for photos. Here is one of the photos I snapped.


I bit over exposed this is the jpeg off the camera
Well that was not what I was hoping to capture.

Enter Adobe and Camera Raw here is that example.


Better I think.

Then tonight I was playing around with the photo in Canon's Digital Photo Professional. Here are the results from that tool.

The Best?

Something about the third photo just freaked me out. The Bear's eye seems to be penetrating right to the core of me. This is the emotion I wanted to evoke with one of these Bear images.

This was all made possible because I was shooting in RAW and had the best source to post process. I used to think that working with a photo after you had taken the picture was cheating. I'm quickly changing my mind about that.

A trip to the zoo

Bear2_IMG_0224
Originally uploaded by reboot95

I took a trip to the St. Louis Zoo Saturday. Another opportunity for the Canon 40D and Geotagging. I had a great time and my friend turned out to be an excellent guide.

We started off on a trip to the Japanese Festival at the Mo. Botanical Gardens but there was just no parking what so ever. So I dropped some friends off at the entrance and the rest of us headed to the Zoo.

One thing of note about the St. Louis Zoo is the fact they do not charge anything to enter. This is a one of the great things about living in St. Louis. They also have a pretty good amount of free parking around the Zoo. If that does not work out there are some big lots that charge a fee.

You might think that a free Zoo would not be that good. Not so, from what I understand the St. Louis Zoo is on par with any other Zoo in the Country. So all of you that live in other cities, it is alright for you to feel just a bit envious.

If you would like to see some of the pictures I took head over to my flickr account http://www.flickr.com/photos/reboot95

St. Charles Photowalk 8-23-2008

IMG_0002
Originally uploaded by reboot9I too5

I took Part in Scott Kelby's nation wide photowalk. Saturday Aug. 23. It gave me an opportunity to make use of my new Canon 40D (I bought it for my upcoming Birthday). It turned out to be a very enjoyable experience. I met some nice people from around the area, there was a group from the O' Fallon Camera Club.

The Photowalk in St. Charles only had about 18 people sign up for it so it was a very small intimate affair. I think that worked out a bit better than the other walks that were full to the brim.

If you get a chance to go on a photowalk take it.

Sigma 18-200 OS

I've been using the Sigma AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS since June now here are some of my thoughts.

Pros:
Optic Stabilization
Lowish Cost
Comes with Lens Hood
Great Zoom range
Compact size.

Cons:
A bit heavy
Slow Auto Focus
Can't nudge the Auto Focus

Nutshell:
With an 18-200mm zoom range this works well as a lens that can stay on the camera most of the time. This is a good thing with the "dust on sensor" problems inherent in a DSLR. The lens ends up being a number of compromises. The price on Amazon is great, the Optical Stabilization works well and is a real plus in shooting. The Autofocus is sort of slow and hunts a lot in low light. The lens could be a bit faster but all and all for the Amazon price of around $462 it is a good buy, and has become my primary lens. Oh yeah, and the pictures turn out pretty good too.

Shooting Raw

IMG_3462_bw_red_blue
Originally uploaded by reboot95

After hearing over and over again just how versatile shooting in RAW can be I decided to give it a try. Friday 8-8-08 I headed up the river road with a friend to do a bit of photography and outdoor fun. I purposed to shoot all my photos in raw format and try different things in the editing process.

I've been using the Digital Photo Professional software that came along with my Canon EOS Rebel XTi. It has a few features that I like. And works really nicely with raw images that come out of the canon. The software allows you to choose different picture styles that mimic the ones available on the camera. The feature I've liked the best is to switch the picture to monochrome and then apply filters to give it different "Black and White effects".

Another thing I have noticed shooting in RAW with JPEGS turned on sure makes a 4 Gig card seem small. My 8 Gig card arrived a few days ago.

With this picture I selected monochrome added a red filter which really made the clouds look great. I then added a bit of blue tint to it. I sort of liked the effect and the way the picture turned out. A number of people have looked at it with puzzlement and asked why it was Blue.

This photo started life as a Canon Camera Raw image with these settings.

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 154 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV

It is all Black and White

IMG_3599_bw
Originally uploaded by reboot95

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 200 mm
While on a road trip I happened upon this cemetery in IL. The starkness of a Tombstone with the word Wedding on it captured my attention. I felt it would look better in Black and White. I used Canon's Digital Photo Professional to create the Black and White image.

Photoshop Recipes

img_1547_pinhole
Originally uploaded by reboot95

I've taken a class in Photoshop I've played with photoshop, I've read blogs on photoshop and listened to podcasts about it. Yet I have no clue what I'm doing. Still I like the way this turned out even though it was mainly a photoshop recipe I followed.

Take a look at this post from the Photowalk pro blog. If you would like to try it yourself http://www.revellphotography.com/blog/?p=982

I did not follow his recipe exactly I exercised some creative license and I'm sort of happy with the way it turned out. I sent it to a friend and he thought I had gotten a pinhole camera.

Still on the quest to be comfortable in Photoshop. But for now I am happy to follow recipes.

Know any good ones?

Canon Rebel XTi one year later

I have now owned the Canon Rebel XTi for a year now. Here are some thoughts.

Pro:
Features both full automatic modes and a full manual mode with various in between modes.
Self cleaning Sensor.
Wide array of available lens.
Takes very good Pictures.
Good Battery life.
Widely used.

Con:
It is like a gateway drug to more and more accessories, lens, bags, etc.
Could be a bit more rugged.
Tends to get bits of stuff on the focus screen.
Did I mention you end up spending a lot of money on it.

Nutshell: Despite it's expensive care and feeding this is a very good starter Camera for the aspiring/consumer photographer. It allows you to stretch your creative side but you can rotate the dial and have all the automatic features of the best point and shoot available. There is the instant satisfaction of looking at a photo on the 2.5 inch LCD and going "oh yeah nailed that" or thinking ick glad I can delete it.

This is no lite weight point and shoot when you start toting it around with you. You will want a nice Camera bag. I've become a big fan of the Lowepro Slingshot series of bags I went with the 100 model since it forces you to stay sparce. You will still want a stick it in your pocket so you can snap photos whenever, compact.

With the new Rebel XSi prices should be dropping on this model. If you are wanting a camera that allows a lot of creative options here is a purchase you won't regret.

Fountain at Tower Grove Park St. Louis Mo.

IMG_3015_Darkened
Originally uploaded by reboot95

I've changed the balance of this photo using photoshop express. It did a nice job but did not copy any of the Exif information so I lost the Geo Tagging. This is the same photo as img_3015 from this set.

So what did I do to get this. I set my camera on an old cement railing set the timer so I would not jar the camera with the shutter button. Set the shutter speed to as slow as allowed by light went to where the F-Stop Flashed then back a notch and took the picture. It was washed out some so I used photoshop express to fix it.

Oh yeah the the Gorilla Pod was in the Explorer. Duh

Update:

I've been playing around with the orginal picture a bit in Photoshop Elements. I know I needed to adjust the levels to darken it a bit. Now I really don't know much about how to use Photoshop Elements but I was never really able to make it look as good as the image that Photoshop Express produced. Go Figure.

Still really disappointed that Photoshop Express killed all of the Exif information especially the Geotagging stuff. But I was able to use flickr to at least get back the location stuff but placing it on the map.