Samyang 7.5mm fisheye

It has been quite a while since I have added anything to my blog - yep, I am still alive and taking photos - maybe not at quite the same rate.

My latest acquisition is a Samyang 7.5mm f/3.5mm fisheye for my Olympus MFT cameras. It is a lovely little lens and well scaled to the Olympus E-P3.

The proof is always in the photographs and here are a couple...

The first is a fairly standard street scene, the second, I am up close to some flowers. The crimson waratah flowers are about 15cm (6") each. There is a spiral staircase that tapers to look like a rocket and the top-right corner shows part of a dome that is overhead. On the left, an arch takes on an s-shape. Quite interest.

The lens is easy to use but is is manual focus and requires stop-down metering. Neither of these are issues with the fisheye on the Olympus Pen. For focusing, just set to an aperture of f/5.6 or more and focus about midway between the infinity marking and the 0.8m mark and all will be fine. Of course, a depth of field marking for say f/5.6 and f/11 would have been nice and also very easily engraved on the dress rim next to the focus scale. The Olympus Pen cameras work perfectly with stop-down metering and require no fancy electronic connections or menu settings. Just use aperture priority or manual exposure and away you go.

In conclusion, the Samyang 7.5mm f/3.5 is a joy to use, and loads of fun. Outstanding value for the $299 including express courier postage.

What is the best time to photograph?

Most people starting out in seaside photography with any real intent favour either the pre-dawn to sunrise period or the sunset to last light period. Certainly my most dramatic shots are from those time periods.

After a while, it all gets too easy and it is just photography by numbers and it is good to try a bit at those times generally deemed to be less suitable. Yesterday, with storm clouds moving overhead I grabbed my camera and strolled down to the beach. The accompanying photo was taken just before 3pm, almost 3 hours before sunset.

Haywards Beach, Bermagui - taken with an Olympus E-P3 with Olympus 12mm f/2 and 2-stop soft grad.

What happened to March?

I try to post something every month but seem to have missed March.

Well on the very last day of March, I did something I hadn't done before - a bit of light painting with lit steel wool.

I organised a late afternoon/night shoot at Little Bay which is a quiet beach in the Eastern Suburbs that few people seem to know about. After the sun went down, the real fun began. This is a group exercise with one or more people required for the light-works. It was fun and very effective.

Nikon D90 and 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR set to 18mm. Set to f/8 at ISO200 for 26 seconds.

Black and White or Colour?

Sometimes I take a picture and it truly amazes me. Compositionally, this image is a bit flawed as it was a grab shot but the most interesting thing of it is the colour, or lack of it.

This photo is in colour but looks like a sepia toned black and white image. The colour is essentially that out of the camera and it was just a brief moment in time after sunrise where this 'monochromatic' shot came into being...

Taken with an Olympus E-P3 and Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens.

Olympus OM-D - interesting

The Olympus OM-D certainly seems an interesting camera. I am not 100% certain that I like the faux SLR styling from a practical point but it certainly ticks a number of boxes for me. A mix of controls not unlike a film camera with more modern stuff on the back, a fold out OLED display - similar to the one on the E-P3 (which is outstandingly good), an integrated EVF, a tough alloy body and a weather sealed body to go with the lenses.

Olympus OM-D on Facebook

Pity I won't be flush with cash.

The other thing of interest would be the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 which would go nicely with my E-P3. That would give me a fast 150mm equivalent lens with autofocus which would be ideal for one of the jobs I have up my sleeve.

Guess I better start saving.

Using window light – part 1: The basics of light shaping

You can find an interesting article on using window light with portraits here...


Using window light – part 1: The basics of light shaping

Olympus E-P3 vs Nikon D90 (just for fun)

I have two main camera bodies at the moment, the Olympus E-P3 and the Nikon D90. I use the two cameras in slightly different ways with the Olympus being my light, go anywhere camera, particularly useful when I am travelling or need to be discrete. The Nikon gets first choice when shooting ultra-wide and also very long.

Then Nikon also gets the nod for really low light work although coupling the Olympus to the fabulous Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 or even the new Olympus 12mm f/2 and Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lenses, combined with the lovely OLED display and convenient manual focus controls (particularly with the Olympus 12mm lens), the Olympus is a joy to use.

Overall, the Nikon still wins on image quality and generally less work is required during post processing. The Olympus is definitely the fun camera.

Over the past week I have used both cameras in similar circumstances, and here are some of the results.

Olympus E-P3 and Olympus 12mm f/2

And now for one from the Nikon D90 and Nikkor 10-24mm zoom

Of course it is a bit unfair to compare any of these images as the lighting was quite different in each and there are evening and morning shots too.

Despite the camera and the lens, if you know the limitations of your kit, you can work to get great results. Obviously some things can be more difficult with some combinations of camera and lens but that is where your imagination can take over.