The Olympus "Hump"
A few weeks ago I was at an historic low point with my gear situation.
Much of the problem was me and nothing more, but a perfect storm of mediocre results at a time when I had money at hand to potentially go full frame Canon or Fuji again, left me stressed and uncertain.
What a difference a few weeks can make.
Choosing the path well trod (again), I found myself putting a decent amount of money into Olympus and a little into Panasonic gear again, really cementing my commitment to that path and effectively cutting out any others. This is my five year plan, which I feel will likely see me out photographically and if it does not, then we will see when we get there.
What changed my mind?
Testing, reality checks and looking back at previous work, plus the discovery (even after the fact) of a superior processing option.
Comparing Fuji and Olympus surprised me with a solid win to Olympus in Fuji’s home playground (low light and jpeg). The Fuji had an ISO, pixel count and lens advantage (2.8 vs variable), but I still responded much more positively to my Olympus quick test images.. Both cameras were shooting jpeg’s, so a fair playing field.
The 300mm revelation, which came in the form of an honest exploration and a reality of my needs while out walking the dogs, allowed this lens, literally right under my nose all these years in the shop where I worked, to float to the top. I have not been in a “what do I really need” situation with the means to follow through for a while now, so it took a shift in thinking processes. Spending that much on a lens is always a tough period for me (and my wife), especially when my first results were poor, but I worked it through.
Mother and Baby Tawny Frog Mouth (the habit is to add “Owl”, but apparently they are not). This is the result of a new lens and processing path, and a little to do with camera and I feel is an unlikely shot for me to pull off only a month ago. The shadow and highlight recovery are excellent, noise well controlled (not mushy) and high, natural sharpness a given.
EM1 mk2, firmware 3.0 (then EM1x) jpeg handling of higher ISO’s gave me great heart at a time when I felt that the EM1 mk2’s mushy high ISO quality was a backward step from my previous Olympus cameras.
The EM1x High Res, high ISO performance, showed me that there are more ways to skin a cat…
Finally Capture 1 allowed a similar handling of RAW files, sealing the already done to deal.
Have I been rewarded for my loyalty, or is it more a matter of having been down this road enough times to subconsciously ignore the false signs and battle through?
Either way, I have never felt more powerful photographically.
Two new cameras, two solid new lenses, an improved processing workflow are exciting and reassuring.