The Gear

"Wow, fantastic photo, you must have a great camera!"

"Erm, well, you see...   ...never mind, thanks, I do" 

Go on, how many of you have ever received this back-handed compliment? Occasionally I'll be asked what gear I shoot with. As a photographer who takes pride in his work I'm duty bound to say that the camera is only a tool and that the craft is knowing where to point it and what settings to use, but you knew that, didn't you?

As important as the gear is, the reasons for my choice are just as critical. Olympus and the 'micro Four Thirds' (m43) format is a real niche among serious photographers. Where most people will chase megapixels and large format sensors, when I was looking into replacing my bridge camera at the end of 2018 I was concerned about a number of issues. Sure, resolution was a factor, but the system needed to be portable without compromising quality. A lot of my photography takes place in the mountains, making size and weigh important considerations. If the camera was going to be so bulky that I was going to think twice about taking it with me, it wouldn't make any sense. Not only are m43 cameras smaller than their full-frame equivalents, the lenses are much smaller too. Along with the size comes a reduced price tag in comparison to the bigger boys, also a welcome advantage.

There are a couple of technical compromises involved in the m43 format, mostly involving light sensitivity, but Olympus also come with some of the best image stabilisation in the filed, meaning that that I can shoot without a tripod most of the time - another weight saving. The E-M1 Mk III comes with two further super-powers; a high-res mode, letting me to shoot up to a full 80 MP (!) and an on-board simulated neutral density filter.

Current Gear

Cameras 

Olympus E-M1 Mk III

Olympus E-M1 Mk II

Lenses

Olympus Zuiko f/4 12-100 mm
Panasonic Leica f/2.8 8-18 mm
Olympus Zuiko f/5-6.3 100-400 mm

Olympus f/2.8 60 mm macro

7Artisans f/2.8 7.5 mm Fisheye

Tripod and Filters

Tiltall TC-254 6070 with a BP40 head
Benro GD3WH Geared Head
3 Legged Thing 3 QR11 L-Bracket
Hoya circular polarisers
Lee Seven5 filter system

Other Bits

Peak Design Capture Plate v3

Move Shoot Move Star Tracker

Bags

Rollei Fotoliner holster , Large
HAMA Pittsburgh 135 camera/lens bag
AmazonBasics Waterproof Camera Lens Bags
Osprey Stratos 36 rucksack

Post-Processing

ON1 Photo Raw 2021
(Photoshop Elements 2019 - hardly use this at all any more)

So let me tell you what I'm using right now and how I got here. My camera evolution has always been driven by a shot I couldn't get:

How I got Here - My Camera History

200?-2014: The Canon Era

In 2013 I was on the Säntis in North-Eastern Switzerland (fantastic mountain range for photos by the way, I’ll have to blog that some time). At the time I had a Canon 450D with a Tamron 18-270 mm all-rounder – I generally don’t like having to change lenses too much in the field, and I’m a hiker first and photographer second. Coming down off the top we were walking through rocky territory and came across a brace of ptarmigans. The 270 mm Tamron didn’t give me enough reach to get the shot I wanted. I needed a longer lens.

Ptarmigan below the Säntis

2014-2019: The Age of Panasonic

The Gokstad Longship in Oslo

So, longer range, good IQ, no having to change lenses. What are my options? The Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 had just come onto the market. I must have picked one up in the first few months of it being on the market. I can certainly remember waiting for it to appear in the shops so that I could hold it in my hands and get a feel for it. For many years the FZ1000 was my trusty companion all over Europe. It still functions well including a wonderful summer vacation in Norway in 2018. In fact Sharon now uses it as her camera of choice (I did suggest she get something newer, but she hasn’t listened yet). It was gratifying to read recently in a German photo magazine that it’s still one of the most highly regarded bridge cameras. But I wanted to up my game…

2019-20??: Olympus for the Win

I turned 50 in 2018. My present from the family was a landscape photography workshop. It didn’t happen in ’18, but I finally organised a course for spring 2019. It was strongly recommended that attendees should bring a DSLR with them, that a bridge camera would do at a pinch, but that to get the most out of the course a higher-end camera would be better. Months of weighing up the pros and cons were leading me towards the Sony alpha6000 range until a chance conversation with a colleague, who suggested I take a look at the Olympus EM range, particularly at the EM1 Mk II. All of a sudden I found myself looking at a camera that ticked (almost) all of my boxes (image quality, good stabilisation, solid choice of lenses on the market, compact size and sufficient MP). It hadn’t been on my radar as it wasn’t scoring as high in my go-to photo magazine, but now it was. And a few months later it was on my table together with the Zuiko f/4 12-100 PRO lens.

The Zugspitz Reflecting in lake Eibsee