Zuiko and Monotone Filters

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Not much to do. I am sick today. Caught the flu bug, as the weather here in Klang Valley has been total haywire the last few days. Tropical sun and thunderstorm mingling interchangeably during days and nights without end. Time for some rest.

Red Filter

Good thing my E-5 is around. Nothing much to shoot, though. Thus, resorted to playing around with the E-5.

Do you know that all Olympus DSLRs allow in-camera processing of RAW files for any JPEG style you want? Yes you can!! You can do anything the camera allows, like different color profiles (Natural, Monotone, Art Filters, etc.), different image parameters (sharpness, contrast, etc.), and also different JPEG compressions and various aspect ratio crops. The possibilities are more than I can fathom, and I don't have to worry much if I don't have my PC to post-process the RAW files.

Yellow Filter

For this blog entry, I am showcasing the monotone filters. All of the JPEG files are treated with Red, Yellow and Green filters with Large SuperFine JPEG files (pretty large at 8MB, and no other manufacturer offer this JPEG quality!).

Green Filter

Well, nothing much to say as the pictures tell the story. Nevertheless, I always preferred the Red filter for brighter skin tones rather than Yellow and Green. And, with E-5 much better image quality, the noise often associated with older DSLRs like the E-3 is much controlled with the Red filter.

Time to shoot more monotones!

Zuiko and a Touch of Soft Monotone

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Simple photography. Get back to basics. I always remind myself.

Composition.

Mood.

Story.

In my journey to recover and rejuvenate, I am resorting back to simple basic stuff. Always go back to solid composition with the typical rules and lines and curves and contrast and tones. See the light, and the pictures will come.

I like this picture. It's not a complex fast-action nor close-up nor low-light nor portrait nor landscape shot. It's neither of these that makes it interesting to my eyes. It just simple composition, with the correct mood and outline to the story. The mood is quietness, something that I find serenity in the picture. I am not sure why. I took more than a dozen shots, but I am stuck with this shot. Somehow this has character, a story waiting to explode from the frame. But, the amazing thing is I cannot put why and where. That's what makes it interesting to my senses.

I overexposed the shot, blowing out the sky with the priority not to blacken the subject. Furthermore with the High Key curve profile, the shadows were minimized. A minimal crop to bring the subject closer, use of Red filter to highlight skin tones in monotone, and a touch of Soft Focus Art Filter effect was all it needed to tighten the loose ends. The low vantage point, the contra of subject with background, the curves of the pool and gazebo, the diminishing twin towers, the empty cabana chairs, and the placement of children made the quietness deafening.

Back to basics, take note of the subtleties in details, and just pray for the best.

Somehow, I am inclining to explore the works of Sam Abell....

Zuiko and The Aquaria at KLCC

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E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD

14mm, f/2.0, 1/50s, ISO2000, -0.7ev

It was the school holidays, and we asked the kids about a visit to The Aquaria. And of course, they were ecstatic.

The vari-angle LCD coupled with class-leading IS system enabled this handheld shot from the top angle. The E-5 + HLD-4 + 14-35/2 lens was not light either!

It turned out to be a packed place; though we were quite early arriving there. We took the Family Package for RM99, which saved us up to RM21. The small space was easily filled with people within minutes. And, to have a stroller to strap my youngest kid in place put me in a tough situation for making some great shots in the cramped and dark fish-filled facility. Having one hand manning the stroller, and the other coping with the E-5 required some creative handling manoeuvres.

Tracking this large shark was good even though it was dark. Ramped up the ISO to 2000 and let the lens wide open at f/2.0 made the shutter fast enough to capture at 1/100s to freeze it.

It turned to be a nightmare for photography, and I resorted to video shooting towards the end. But, I did manage to get some shots. It was tough. Kids control was top priority as I did not want them to stray more than 10 feet away, and managing the E-5 with the Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD was no easy feat.

It was tiring, but worth it!

Zuiko and Hello Goodbye

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Well, the decision was made.

E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED 14-35mm F2.0 SWD

30mm, f/2.5, 1/320s, ISO200, -0.3ev

With the coming of E-5, the E-3 and E-30 had to go. There's no two-ways about it. I don't really shoot that much. The thing is, when the buyers asked about my shutter count, I found both cameras registered low figures. The E-3 only had about 17k and E-30 a meager 5k. With the E-5 being rated at 150k, I believe consolidating into a single body is the way to go.

From the 2 cameras, I find more nostalgia with the E-30. This is because of this camera was when Olympus found me. I remember vividly to this day the events that happened. The day when they asked me to review the E-30 in December 2008. Boy, was I proud to be an Olympian - to be recognized by the camera makers themselves. What an honor.

Now, with the E-30 gone, a new chapter in image making surfaces. I need new ideas, new perspectives, new point-of-views. The E-5 should push me to new limits of imagination and creativity. I wonder how to do that, though.

All dried up!

Sadly, I actually went into photographer's rut and malaise during the middle of this year. With dearth of ideas and inspiration, I rarely picked up the E-s. Maybe it's a natural progression, I was not sure. One thing for sure, I was glad it was only for a few months.

I need a push. A push of inspiration.

Some friend advised me that inspiration comes with effort. Maybe that's how I should approach the E-5. I should put more effort to explore the things that are foreign to me. Naturally, fresh new ideas should flow, and my work should flourish into a newer dimension. That's my motivation with the E-5!

E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED 14-35mm F2.0 SWD

14mm, f/8, 1/320s, ISO200, -0.3ev

For now, I bid farewell to my E-3 and E-30... May you find good use with your new masters!!

Zuiko and Dramatic Tone for Landscaped Portraits

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I am still warming up with the E-5. Though it is mostly based on the E-3, the technical jump has challenged my creativity to a new level. Notably on the technical improvements are the image quality ranging from ISO100 to ISO1600 with the excellent sensor pixel sharpness. With my collection of F2 zooms, this has opened a plethora of situations with regards to exposure value parameters (aperture, shutter speed, and sensor sensitivity). On the creative improvements, the addition of Art Filter 10 Dramatic Tone and Hi-Def video at 720p have pushed a new level of imaging possibilities.

E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED 14-35mm F2.0 SWD

22mm, f/8, 1/100s, ISO200, -0.3ev

Recently, I have been focusing a lot on the Dramatic Tone art filter. And why not? This new filter beckons to be explored. I started with simple landscape shots during my E-5 review. The 3-day loan was not long enough for me to explore its creative possibilities. Only now do I have the time to explore the beauty of the E-5.

The previous blog entry showed how the Dramatic Tone art filter interacts with wireless TTL flash setup. The diffused lighting seems to bid very well with the filter. I really like the output. I am looking forward to explore different lighting setup with this filter.

In this entry, the exploration of the Dramatic Tone filter with portraiture against strong backlight; in this case direct sunlight, was done. It's simple, actually. I put my composition setup as shooting landscape, meaning small aperture (f/8 or something like that) and pseudo hyperfocal distance focusing technique (not that I use Manual focus, but during Auto Focus, I keep in mind the hyperfocal distance relationship towards the subject to achieve image in-focus sharpness across the frame).

And I purposely did not use the flash for fill-in, as I really wanted to explore the capability of the filter to lift the near silhouette subject, in this case my ever-willing son.

To my surprise, the filter did a very good job. No doubt there was still noise even at base ISO200, but considering that the filter lifted easily about 3 to 4 stops of exposure, I considered this to be very good indeed. I doubt whether the E-3 or the E-30 can deliver this quality (just take a look at the SAT output). The TruePic V processor really shines!

In case, if you noticed, the solar ghosting and flares were also tamed. With the Dramatic Tone tendency to exaggerate contrast, I was smitten with the clear and crisp output. This was practically due to the Zuiko Digital ED 14-35mm F2.0 SWD lens. The optical properties for this lens was just phenomenal!

Hmmm.. what's next? Maybe shooting with the Circular Polarizer (C-PL) with wireless TTL Flash. That sounds interesting. The color saturating properties of the C-PL should produce more vivid output to the already eye-popping Dramatic Filter effect.

Now... where did I put my filter pouch?!!!

Zuiko and Flashed Dramatic Tone

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Yesterday, I bought a back-issue photo magazine, if I was not mistaken it was the American Photographer. I like to read up old pro-grade magazines because to buy them new is very expensive, in the territory of RM40 for an issue. The old ones, about 5-6 months old, is about RM10.

I was particularly interested to read the article about lighting technique by Joe McNally. Apparently, the magazine showed Joe's work in Petaling Street right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Now I remember, Joe came here for a workshop early this year. The article was very interesting, especially about the part that he shot with full wireless TTL flash. That's very me, too!!

E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD + FL-50R

19mm, f/6.3, 1/125s, ISO200, -3.0ev

Looking at his techniques and gears, I could not stand the fact that he used the Lumiquest Softbox III on his SB-900's. Prior to this, I did not hear pleasant comments about this box. I checked with a few flash shooters that I knew, and none have much good to say. But, looking at Joe's results, I might be missing something here. A quick rush to the nearby camera store, J-One at AmCorp Mall was a Godsend! They had a unit. Without hesitation I bought it immediately. On the box, it literally stated that it only works with full TTL flash.

Duh, now I get it why there were some unpleasant comments about it. Lucky me, I am a full TTL flash shooter. I just couldn't stand Manual or Auto flash settings!

Now, having gotten the E-5 a couple of days back, I couldn't resist waiting any more. Quickly I set up the flash on the Manfrotto table-top tripod, and do a rapid TTL flash exposure setting (-3ev on the body, +1 on the flash); this setting will get me the blue sky background. All I needed was the subject. A good thing though. My kids were in a very good mood for a photoshoot. Without much hassle they did the Ultraman and Barbie poses. Shooting was a breeze, both on the photographer and the models.

E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD + FL-50R

17mm, f/10, 1/250s, ISO200, -3.0ev

I just loved the combination of Dramatic Tone effect with Fill-flash effect. The subject and background just popped up. No post-processing required; the output was just right!!

The E-5 continues to intrigue me in ways I have yet to fully phantom!! This is indeed the best camera Olympus have ever produced, even easily trumping the OM-4!! ( I have the OM-4 in the dry box, the shutter is jammed and I have yet to get it fixed. Bummerrrr!!!).

Zuiko and the E-30

Two days back, I picked my E-30 from the Olympus Service Centre. Again, I was not charged for the service. Thanks, Olympus Malaysia. The problem with my E-30 was the jumping shooting mode, particularly the A, P and Art Filter mode. The technician claimed that the mode dial contacts are dirty. After a whiff of cleaning, true to his word, the mode dial is working normally.



With all the hype of the E-5 running around the forums, I still find myself at awe with the E-30. Clearly designed for the advanced amateur, this little wonder surely deliver the great images. It is in most technical aspects far more superior than the E-3, in which I already sold to a charming gentleman.

After more than 21 months with it, I admittedly still not able to use it to its most capable potential. I remember when Olympus Malaysia explicitly wanted to tout its blazing fast continuous AF with 5fps, and its groundbreaking Art Filters. This was when the rest of the world already shooting with 7-8 fps and hi-def video. Call Olympus nuts, but the E-30 stood by itself. By a far margin it's not the best seller, but I bet it is still the finest designed 4/3 camera.

Why?

Because it does not have the aura of complication like the E-3/5, or the bias of rank-beginner like the E-620. This little gem is so refined that many of the things it can do are directly adopted to the E-5, without further development. To hear that Olympus is going to cease its succession really break my heart. Come on, this great camera, the finest in Olympus stable deserves a successor. Call it the E-35, and be done with it.

This jewel is not big nor small, is not heavy nor light; all powerful, it is just right!!!

And that's all it takes to make a great camera.