Low Light Needs Full Frame?

Most shooters will follow this logic; low light photography means full frame cameras.

Bigger sensor, less noise. But is that really all the story?

First up, what is really needed?

For most photographers, “hell” is a fast and erratic subject in low light, sometimes ugly, low contrast light. The worst I have had to deal with is a forgotten back room of the local sports centre, probably last done up some time in the ‘80’s and often used for Ping Pong or Badminton. Even to my eyes, it was dim, you know that slightly surreal light that defies comfort, but for my camera it was not at all a pleasant experience (we are still in therapy, poor thing).

If a sport or performance is lit well enough for viewers to see normally, then ISO 32-6400 with an aperture of 1.8 to 2.8 should be able to provide a workable shutter speed of 1/500 of better. If the light is super dark for “creative” uses, then shooting for how it looks is best. In other words, no photographer would be asked to shoot sport in total darkness and drama may have some very dark moments for effect, but no-one expects daylight looking images from these.

A full frame camera can deliver very clean 3200 and more than useable 12800 with little effort, but relying on the fastest aperture lenses heavily reduces magnification. If needed, a lens with an f1.8+ aperture in particular is usually limited to 100mm or so. Because the better performing full frame cameras are currently limited to 20-24mp or so, cropping becomes the limiting factor. So sports like Basketball or Netball are limited to the near third of the court and still need cropping.

In M43, the two or so stops of ISO disadvantage can be mitigated somewhat thanks to the 2x magnification factor and deeper depth of field it provides. It is all in the lenses. By disadvantage, I mean ISO 32-6400 is still pro callibre, but may need work if underexposed, or to be blown up to very big sizes or cropped heavily, but the real difference is not that much these days. Sufficiency is on reach with all decent modern tools, only extremes are out of reach for some.

This, at 6400…

…..from this with minimal work (C1 and ON1 No Noise all at standard settings).

A 75mm lens in M43 for example, which has similar pricing and size to the inexpensive full frame equivalent is a different beast to the full frame version. It has the magnification of a full frame 150mm, with no sensor cropping. The M43 camera offers its full 20mp compared to the full frame that may be cropped down to maybe 10-12mp or so.

Flipping that, have a hunt and see how many f1.8 150mm lenses are out there for full frame cameras and their price.

Secondly, the full frame depth of field is retained, so the 75mm is acting like a 150 f2.8 lens for focus depth while gathering f1.8 light. The norm here for a full frame shooter is a pro 70-200 f2.8, but that comes at the price of 2 stops of light at the same depth of field. The difference reduces.

Wide open at f1.8 (2.8 equiv) allows me to cut out a subject, but get all of them in as well.

Thirdly, the greater magnification means the AF system is focussing tighter on the desired framing, not wider with more chance to grab the wrong subject (which can go unnoticed at the time). For some sports, I have to use a single point or a small row of 2-4 points to cut through a crowd. Face detect can work here, but again, it needs to be tight to keep, well, focussed.

So, no sensor cropping with a f1.8 medium tele with accurate focus and the depth of field of a 2.8 lens. The two stop ISO drop, if it actually matters at all, is mitigated somewhat*

Good enough quality for most uses and similar to what is coming out of the full frame cameras the other togs are using.

A fourth element, but one that the new raft of mirrorless lenses is reducing all the time, is the M43 lens design advantage. The format was choosen for a variety of reasons and the smaller, squarer format, reduces the need to make extraordinary focal lengths** was one of them. All of my lenses perform professionally wide open, even the cheaper ones, becasue all are asked to do something relatively easy. A good medium tele is a sweet spot for most makers, it just goes further with m43.

A final, but less relevant thing in this space is the advantage smaller sensors have with stabilising. Apart from Olympus’ advantage in tech, it is simply easier to stabilise a smaller sensor.

A shot taken with a hand held 600mm at a reasonably high ISO and low shutter speed. Not affordable, nor likely possible with full frame and really, who wants to be “that” guy lugging a huge lump of glass around a school concert. This was taken before No Noise came into my life, so even better is possible.

My standard for indoor sport is my 40-150 pro, but if the ISO’s are hovering around the 6400+ mark for 1/1000th, I will put the 75 or a 45mm on, netting either ISO 1600 or a faster shutter speedor a compromise between the two. I have never run out of options.

*ISO 6400 is very useable with M43 cameras and decent (not Adobe) processing. This handles most jobs fine. Past that, I can still compete thanks to the maths in m favour, but everyone is starting to see reduced quality.

**The Olympus 75 and 300mm and the Panasonic 200 f2.8 are all top of the line in their class, which is quite easy to achieve at these relatively conservative focal lengths. Rare and bulky 600mm lenses for full frames however are not realistic for most (the Nikon 400 2.8 at work is a monster), pushing their price up even further. You could actually buy 2x EM1xs’, the 40-150, 75, 8-18, 300, 200 with matched extenders for the price of the Canon 600 f4 and the bulk of it for the price of the camera needed. At the end of the day, either way you have a super fast 20mp camera with 600 f4 capable of pro results up to ISO 6400, just that one fits in a shoulder bag and costs 1/4 the price of the other.

Clear Wins And Soft Losses

I have made a few purchases and kit choices lately, so here are the wins and losses.

Wins.

A second G9. I loved the G9 on first sight, but it never felt like the right camera for stills. My all Oly lens kit, the price of the smaller EM1 mk2 with phase detect AF and the huge differences in interface put me off the G9, but as a video camera option last year it was and still is a no brainer. This is where the rot set in, well that and the addition of the excellent 8-18 Leica. My video centric set-up for my one G9 was fine, but when it came to fleshing out my kit, another just seemed logical. Closer in many ways to an EM1x than an EM1.2 for 1/3rd the price, with better video specs and a better than average kit lens opton, mad if I didn’t.

A 50% crop from a G9+12-60 Leica, ISO 6400 file. Minimal processing required (nothing done to this outside of C1 import settings). I have often had issues with the white balance of this space, EM1 mk2’s turning it a little green/yellow and I struggled to make the files look clean and bright. The G9 files need minimal fixing.

A single pass through ON1 No Noise, with no other tweaks made. This is a very tight crop and fully useable as is. M43 at high ISO, with movement, dodgy light, instictive capture speed, electronic shutter, then minimal processing? All good.

Leica 12-60. The 12-60 kit is great and for peanuts, probably a must buy, but leica lens matched with a G9 has been a revelation. I was worried it would be a compromise as the variable aperture 8-18 has occassionally felt like, but I had not matched that lens to a G9 and the diference is massive. ISO 6400 is sharp, colourful and clean and all perfromance handicaps disappear. Just magic.

Domke f804. A lucky find and one I would have regretted not getting. I really don’t need it, but I am so glad I had a chance to grab one when it popped up. A bit of practical history at work and a bag I feel will find more uses as time goes on.

Domke 217 case. The back saver I needed and a grat way of just staying organised.

Selens COB 150 lights. Quiet, powerful and cheap.

Zoom F1. This has made the Zoom kit eminently practical. The H5 and H1 are fine for most uses, but basically suck as on camera shotgun setups. The F1 gives me a decent pro shotgun/mid-side with the SSH-6, but also offers an XY capsule, LAV and others, all in a small and well damped rig. It also supplies a backup track. Backups are good ‘k.

Manfrotto 1.8x2.1 Black/Grey collapsible back drop and bracket. Got the portrait job of a life time and it literally paid for itself.

Soft fails.

Crumpler Muli 8000. Good but unnecessary. Lots of bags, many as good or better, just a drain on finances and solved nothing.

Neewer NL 140 lights. These are fine I guess, but they need a cable, can have tendency to blow a fuse and are very cheap feeling. They did not cost me much, but still, not my best purchase and they would have paid for a much better Selens COB with change.

12-60 kit. A great little lens for travel or as a sacrificial lamb in bad weather, but after grabbing the Leica, I could have passed on this one.

Hard fails.

Nothing yet, so my luck has been running with me.

Bag Follow-ups

The Crumpler Muli 8000 is a nice, sound, well made bag, but limited in it’s uses mainly because of the odd inserts and lack of pockets. Even using M43 gear, I find a two camera and three lens kit is its realistic limit. The big front pocket is decent, but that and the computer divider are basically all you have. I could add some pouches to the ends, but I have none that fit the horizontal straps.

This bag has highlighted for me how I have moved away from rigid bags in favour of flexible and soft body huggers.

Uses? A shall job grab bag that looks nice or maybe I will assign it to small portrait or studio kits.

Nice looking bag though.

The f804 is a winner in that it is the first bag I have bought in a long time that is actually exactly what it was advertised to be. It is big, the footprint quite deep, but I have options there when that is too much. If the base panel is removed or exchanged, I can soften it down, an insert can be used for some rigidity or added depth when used as it was meant to be.

The rear panel, used for carrying it on an extended suit case handle will be put to use soon, with the 217 Pro-roller. This was part of the reason I grabbed that bag.

Uses? The school kit, because I tend to use several cameras with a mix of zooms and primes (hate changing lenses in the field).

The big 217 case has arrived and like most of my Domke purchases, it has exceeded expectations, or more to the point, it actually met them.

Not deep enough to take a long lens standing, it can take every other bit of gear without issue.

Sme real wins, some mild losses, but nothing will be wasted.

New Kit Dynamic, Some Thoughts

Today I did my first big engagement for the school with my Panasonic-centric kit*.

In a word….awesome. The G9 is made for this environment. I loved the face detect accuracy and feed back, my custom layout, which included ISO on the back wheel and a few other touches was more instinctive and faster and the 12-60 Leica lens just rocks! As I oved from brightly lit outdoors to mixed light rooms, the thumb just rolled to adjust. For ISO performance, I put it up with the G9, which I put down to the sensor not having to house phase detect pixels. I noticed early on a big difference in sharpness to noise betweent eh G9 and EM1 mk2’s in Lightroom, but C1 bridged much of that gap. The EM1x matched the cleaner sensor with more powerful processing, but only matched it. AF paid the price, but for some tasks, the G9 still beats the EM1.2’s.

The G9 also handles the mixed lighting I have to deal with better, with white balance and ISO quality that generally means less processing. For the school, I shoot quality in bulk, so less processing is a boon.

The electronic shutter seems to be banding free up to ISO 3200 at least. I have not tried it everywhere or at higher ISO’s, but so far, all good.

Even the reversed zoom action is not a big deal. I feel I can get the hang of this by using only G9’s for the zoom lens work and primes on my EM5’s amd EM10’s for the school and limiting the Pro Oly cameras and zoom lenses to the paper, but it may just be one of those things that takes some adjusting to for each job.

Performance with Olympus lenses is surprisingly good. I shot a very speculative sequence with the 75mm in a poorly lit gym and it hit more than I expected wide open. Not sure I would expect better from an Oly camera. This was in face detect and with no specific AF considerations used, so more may be possible. This may put on hold my desire to get a long Pana lens for this kit (35-100 or 50-200).

It’s funny how your needs change. I would have once felt under done in a school shoot without my 40-150 Pro, but now the combination of a 75 prime and slower long lens (40-150, 75-300 kit) is enough. Ironically, I started with these two and felt they were enough, bought the big zoom back off a friend and quickly became dependant on it.

I have pressed the f804 into service for the school. At the school, especially because I use more cameras and with them prime lenses, the bigger bag gives me plenty of room to handle three mounted and ready to go. School shoots tend to be about reacting to and capturing every opportunity, the paper needs more method, less volume.

A beautiful morning in the school gardens.

The f802 is better it turns out for the paper, where I need fewer cameras, but ever changing choices of lenses and lighting. It has two extra external pockets (900 series pouch additions). The f804 is just roomier in the main compartment, but without pockets, it lacks options.

From the long haul 217 roller bag (best purchase this year), I pack the f802 as needed, with the bigger pocket even handling a 200 LED kit or rain coat.

*G9 for stills, G9 for video (both backups to the other), 1 of 2 EM10.2’s and 1 of 2 EM5’s with the 8-18, 12-60 Leicas, 45, 75, 40-150 kit and 75-300 kit lenses, all in a f804 Domke.

Saturday Sports Day

Only a few weeks in, or days really seeing as I only do two a week, I have scored a few Saturdays, which are sports days primarily. Friday tends to be a flurry of editorial, but Saturday is all about things done with balls.

I was allocated the bugbear of all, Netball. the reasons it is not loved by all are several.

The game has a natually stop-start nature, no flow like Basketball with movement of the ball prohibited and the ball carrier is also limited to a few seconds before disposal (not that top end players wait more than a split second).

Add to this generally poor indoor light, a small and reatively crowded court (7 players a side) with sometimes very little movement room around the edges. It is fast at this level only adding to these limits.

And finally, players may switch position every quarter, so their allocated bib may not match the pre-assigned player from quarter to quarter. This last is vital as we have to caption images correctly and my last game had look-alike sisters who played in similar but constantly changing spots, so you may find yourself trying to match action shots to old club team images. At this level, the players do have their names printed on the back, but even then, you need to get the shot, then get the back of the player in the same sequence. Some of the shots below could not be submitted, because I could not be sure.

Tactics?

M43 actually gives you a massive advantage here. My 150 f1.8 equiv 75mm, used wide open still means I need ISO 32-6400 at 1/1000th or so, but with C1 and ON1, that is not a problem and depth of field is nearly ideal, being f2.8 full frame equivalent. I can get the main player(s) razor sharp and some pleasantly softened support characters.

Stalikng one player can be the best way of guaranteeing one player, but you still need to get the others around them (or exclude them). This also requires a certain amount of time.

The EM1x and this lens are almost empathically fast to focus. I set a 1x3 tall AF point pre-set in vertical (I wish Olympus would allow a 2 wide, but they only offer 1 or 3), to cut through groups to the subject I want and it also seems to work ok in horizontal for longer shots.

Many of these are cropped, some quite heavily, but I have my full 20mp to play with. A full frame with the same lens at half the magnification would need to be 40mp+ to match that with a similar lens or you would need to use a longer, probably slower lens and loose the ISO advantage. It would also be focussing on a wider area, so less precise.

So all that taken into consideration, I had to shoot either end of a football match, with Netball in between and the transit time was about 10 minutes either way. I managed a quarter at each contact, which can be plenty. My big error was to try to do the football with only my shorter tele and the 1.4x (56-210 for 110-420 equiv). This proved a little short for only two quarters of the game, relying on all the action being on my side of the ground. Next time I will go back to what works, my 300 and 40-150 in tandem, so much for saving the back!

Practice will make me improve and I am already getting an eye for the editors preference (tight), but on a technical level, all is good.

The EM1x with an EM1 mk2 as my second camera, 12-40, 40-150, 75 (indoors) and 300mm kit is perfect and the lot can be transported in a single shoulder bag!

Last Bag Ever.....Seriously....Last One.....Promise.

I work two days a week at the local paper, three to five with the school, depending on my roster with the paper and then other stuff.

My kit was to be divided equally between the school and paper jobs.

Simple.

Not so simple it turns out. The paper can throw a lot at you in a day and my kit needs to be both all encompassing and surgically specialised, so for me there is no “one kit” option (not one I want to carry anyway). Added to this is the problem of where things can be left.

I cannot leave one kit in one location, because I just cannot predict what a week will bring. This means I need to lug a comprehensive kit back and forth between work places and home, including 2 laptops, all the accessories I may need, flash gear and lenses covering 16-600, both fast prime and zoom and cameras in depth. Thank heavens for M43.

There are things I have duplicates of that can stay in my locker at the paper like some small mics, flash kit, a spare rain jacket and chargers, but that is it.

On the way out the door to a job, I may only need one lens and one camera, but I cannot predict at the start of the day which ones I will need.

The other “Togs” can store their paper supplied gear in the office and have their own private gear should they need it. I can’t, so have chosen to use my own equipment, taking the load off the papers’ gear pool and simply because I prefer to use it (the idea of switching into a Nikon SLR mode for two days a week does not appeal).

So, the problem is, I need to tote a large amount of gear over about a kilometer from my car to the paper twice a week. Currently I am useing a Protactic 350 backpack, a bag I dislike, but it does have it’s uses and a Domke 802 or 804 shoulder bag, both full*. I then feed out of the backpack and carry the Domke. If I have two shifts together, I can leave some or all of it behind, but this is not a regular thing.

The solution.

When looking for the F804 at Photovideo.com.au, I noticed a Domke roller bag. These, like a lot of Domke bags have been discontinued, but at PV, there are a half dozen left at a good price. For a little over $200au, I have a medium sized rolling case that not only holds more than the Protactic (mainly because it is a lot deeper), but it also takes the F804 on the extended handle bars. I can get to work with shoulders free from aches, which will come later in the day.

This bag will be where the bulk of the papers’ kit will live, with bits plucked out as needed to expand my School and personal kits.

I expect the bag will also be useful for bigger private and school jobs where things like 7” diffusers and power chords are needed.

The front flap has room for both laptops inside or out and even a smaller bag like an F2 or F3x.

At the price, I cannot think of a better roller bag, so grab one while you can.

* 2 EM1 Mk2’s, EM1x, 8-18, 17, 25, 45, 75, 12-40, 40-150, 300, 1.4x, 2 Godox flash units and controller, Mac Air, Thinkpad (becasue I like to use one, the paper needs the other and it is sloooow) and assorted stuff and lunch.

The G9 and Leica Go On Holidays Pt3.

We left Hobart after two great days and the weather finally broke for the better.

Taken from a fast moving car. This is a typical scene from the highway between Hobart and Launceston, especially in the southern half.

An ancient gum tree in Ross. The Australian Eucalyptus is a “glowacious” tree as Brett Western would say.

The Leica is a great range for landscape work. The colour is quite different to that of the Olympus, less dense, brighter, with softer greens and blues. Swapping lenses between the systems allows for some quite nuanced colour control from warm and dense for all Olymous to fine and bright on all Lumix.

Winter details are held up to a fine degree.

Genuine landscape grade detail.

A final look at Bokeh

Background is nice, smooth enough, but with some coherent detail and has “snappy” forground edges.

Foreground blurring is also workable. This lens makes me want to use, not avoid Bokeh as a creative element.

All in all a great little mini break and a reassuring trial for he new gear.

The G9 is still a quagmire f options, especially with focussing. I stumbled across the custom AF patterns, then could not find out how to switch between them and I refuse to read the manual (I believe you should not have to), but for regular use I have its measure. It is odd that I customised the camera so quickly for video, but stills has been less easy, mostly because of focussing controls. This was thing giving me jitters for the paper, where speed and control are needed.

The G9 And Leica Go On Holidays Pt 2.

After a morning in Richmond, we travelled back to Hobart proper.

A last shot from Richmond

The Leica seems to add a snappiness.

Hobart, unlike my native Launceston has a harbour to rival most.

More snappy Leica love.

Modern art in an old setting.

This quite high contrast file was easily handled by the Leica and G9 sensor.

G9 And Leica 12-60 Go On Holidays Pt 1.

Unlike me lately, I took some holiday snaps over the last few days. The main reason was a bus drivers holiday in a way, shooting casually as an antidite to shooting seriously, but it was still relaxing and I need to get a handle on the G9’s for stills.

Stuck in traffic on a highway that always seems to be in fux. Every little blade of grass…………

Good signs early on. The view through the view finder is reassuring and pleasant, “snappy” even.

The historic town of Richmond just outside of Hobart was explored better today than previously. A polariser would have been good here to tame the cold blue glare a little, but the lens contrast and C1 managed to bring it back and to be honest, it looked like this.

More quaintness.

Only another few yards down the street,

and just around the corner. Fine detail is extreme, both from resolution and micro contrast. Happy days.

A nice Bokeh transition. It manages that Leica silky smooth and snappy sharp combination.

Bokeh again used to highlight the old head stone in the foreground, without alienating the newer ones (f4 at 40mm). A true story telling lens. Some lenses force a desire to consciously avoid Bokeh as a creative element, others, like this one, push you to use it (more on that later).

A wet day, sometimes a little frustrating, but a weather proof camera and lens was reassuring.

Big Changes In Kit Direction

With the arrival of the Leica 12-60, I have had a massive change of heart kit wise.

The first few days shooting for the paper have been slightly unsettling.

The work is fine, my processes sound enough, but I am feeling like I am still too far away from breaking through and finding my best self in this space. Total confidence in my processes at the school have turned into a slightly rudderless feeling with the paper.

I think I hit on it when writing about the G9. I have not yet fully connected with that camera for stills. For video it is ideal and streets ahead of the Olympus cameras in handling and features, but even there, I had years of familiarity and success with those cameras to compare to (credit to the G9 for standing out).

When pushed into a stills role, it had the double hit of being torn from it’s comfort zone (with me) and having to co-kit with an EM1. Too much difference, too little comfort.

I have decided, thanks mainly to the confidence inspiring Leica as my new standard lens, to only use Olympus cameras for the paper, taking the 12-40 back into the fold, where their strengths (familiarity, stabiliser and AF lens responsiveness) and their weakness (1080 video) can be balanced and use the two G9’s for the school. This allows me to get a handle on the Panas in a more comfortable and far less aggressive environment and use them as backups to each other in both rolls. Other complications like battery compatibilty are also reduced.

Effectively, the EM1 trio will be tasked with nursing me into my new role at the paper, the G9’s will get me nursing them into the more comfortable and less stressful world of school photography and videography.

I will still use the “lesser” Oly cameras for the school, but they are different enough even to an EM1, that they share basically the same dynamic with the G9’s and the news paper kit will still be pressed into service for big sports events, but these are only a handfull of days each year as opposed to every Saturday and more with the paper. Horses better aligned to their courses.

Paper; 2x EM1 Mk2’s (1 gripped, 1 optional video rig), EM1x (action), 8-18*, 12-40, 40-150, 17, 25, 45, 1.4x, Godox flash kit, OSMO and “small” mics. My only point of mild concern is a dislike for the fiddly Godox X1 controller, so this may be upgraded and the “lumpy” 12-40, but I will get over this or just get it fixed.

Searching for an image, I realised, I only went into 12mm territory in the first place for my first job at a different school (this anticipated shot specifically), then I went down the 8mm track for the same reasons. In my perfect world, 14mm (28mm FF), would likely be the widest I would ever need as I generally dislike the overtly wide angle look.

School; 2x G9’s (1 video rigged), 2x EM10’s, 2x EM5’s, 8-18*, 12-60, 12-60k, 45, 75, 75-300, 40-150k, YN flash units and all the other lighting and serious studio kit and sound kit. The Oly cameras like their primes, so they will be matched up.

Bold, italicised cameras and lenses are weatherproof.

I will possibly also add an Oly 8-25 to the papers’ kit so the 8-18 can stay in the school kit exclusively and replace the 12-40 as needed. This lens has several desirable features like it’s massive range, macro versatility and raw quality as well as sharing the same filter thread as the 40-150 Pro. The 12-40 would stay on as the only “one lens needed” option, the two others would be the “full range” kit, but it could also be used in the Pana kit for video.

I have toyed with the idea of a fisheye 8mm here because for newspaper work, fisheye lenses are more “intimate” than corrected super wides, but the damn thing is nearly as dear as the 8-25 zoom. Maybe a Laowa 7.5 or the Samyang 8mm?

Ongoing, I can see the schools’ kit being relatively coddled and settled, the papers’ having additions and replacements as the need arises. Part of the reason for the change is the gorgeous look of the new Leica and near new G9’s, which I am loath to inflict a journo’s lifestyle onto. The school shoots are more predictable and controlled.

*

*The 8-18 is swapped as needed until replaced (if needed). The reality is, I need a true super wide rarely for either, so it will likely just stay in the papers’ kit, then grabbed as needed for the school. I only really bought it for very occassional use, but pressed it into service in preference to the 12-40 with it’s “lumpy” zoom.

Realities And Hopes

I bought the 12-60 kit knowing that, barring manufacturing variances, it was a great “punch above it’s weight” option. I love these, lenses and sometimes cameras that not only justify their modest cost, but often hold their own against “better” gear.

The lens was kitted for next to nothing, so cheap in act that for Australian stock, I could not find a better priced G9, with or without lens.

The Leica came from a desire to replace the 12-40 Oly lens, which is functioning fine, but has a “lump” in its zoom, which just bothers me. The kit lens has tested well and is a “safe” bet for my school kit, but it lacks speed and that certain something that excites me.

It will be used plenty and is one of my best purchases in M43, but there was room I felt for a real pro-grade standard lens.

So, how did I go?

This lens has a metric F%^#ton of goodness in its tiny body. It feels sublime (soooo smooth and tight), is perfectly sized, feeling if anything, slightly better balanced than the 12-40 and the stabiliser and focus lift I was hoping for is clearly there.

I am now as confident with the G9 as I have been with the EM1x. Thanks to a couple of the better G9 bloggers out there (and there are more than you would imaging for just one camera), I have honed my settings and feel the camera is at about its best for stills and video.

Very nice and quickly aquired file. Through the eye finder, it just felt like it would be pretty.

Sharp like my 25, maybe even my 75. It actually produces similar files to the 12-40. This is at the relatively weak 60mm focal length, so I an only guess what the supposedly superior 40mm focal length may deliver!. Worthy of mention is the 1600 ISO which I did not even notice in processing.

This file has been poked and prodded and like those from my best camera and lens combinations (EM1x with 300 and 40-150), it gave back plenty.

If I were to sum up this lens, how would I?

Confidence building. The lack of connection I have felt with the G9’s has been closed slightly.

I was literally working out an Olympus based kit for the paper, simply to get back to what I know best while I find my feet, but I am swinging back to plan “A”, which is a mixed kit. The G9 used for standard and wide lenses (the Leicas) and Oly for long lenses.

Leica Love

As a young photographer, I always had a feeling of lust, awe even for Leica glass. Later, that migrated more to a genuine preference for Carl Zeiss, who it turned out, pre-date leica as the “lustful” brand.

My second* Leica arrived today and mere minutes later I have “quick and dirty” tested it.

Hand held, 1600 wide open at 12mm. The following four are the (slightly distorted by the shooting angle) corner shots with no processing applied.

This thing looks well aligned and seriously sharp.

At 40mm, same “perfect” technique. This is apparently the focal length that blows away some test charts.

Wide open at the long end, nice Bokeh.

A crop from above, it looks sharp enough

Like a lot of high end lenses, it takes sharpening well.

A very nice feeling lens, with silent focus, inperceptible stabilising and great sharpness through the range and across the frame.

So far, my Lumix experimanet has provided me with two excellent cameras and three equally excellent matched lenses for about $4500au.

Nice.

Look Ma, Two Hands!

Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention, or even desperate adaption.

I recently shot a gala ball and plans went south almost immediately. The remit was to cover the entry hall for casual arrivals, mingle, follow the groups into the main hall, do set shots against a pre-printed background then mingle some more.

I have done this sort of thing many times before for the school and my basic process was to shoot flash on camera with a black flagging foam, then use a brolly or two in studio mode for groups and couples who will come to me.

Previous success with the black flagged technique aside, I just needed to go one more step.

Problem:

What happens when the background is so shiny, it lights up like the sun and there is no room to move the lighting off angle enough to fix it?

You pack up the stands, brollies and strobes, determined to work something out later.

*

Too pressed for time to worry then and there, I slotted a flash on to my camera and played the usual dance of (flash) head twisting and flagging foam shifting for vertial and horizontal candid shots.

Suddenly people started asking for a formal shot, so I tried something, not sure why, but something between on camera and stand mounted flash.

Armed with a single flagged flash (YN560 IV) in my left hand, an EM1 and 17mm with flash controller mounted (YN560TX), all set to manual, I tried to fire the light onto the background at a good angle to avoid flare. Turns out the right angle was to bounce it off the ceiling from the middle of the entry way stairs!

This was so freeing!

Camera angle and flash angle were now two separate entities.

A one handed camera is no issue.

This one was bounced off the red floor to give these little devils the right feel. How would you do that with a camera mounted flash?

Even distances and high ceilings can be coped with, simply by raising the ISO, flash power and most importantly, pointing the flash up to the higher ceiling from a good three feet above the camera.

You can run an EM1, even in manual, one handed with a small prime like the 17mm. The 17 only needed to be set at f2-2.8 for plenty of depth for two rows (equivalent to f5.6 in full frame) and 1/60th at ISO 800 provided nice ambient light and plenty of power for the flash unit. Zooming is done with your feet. The flash was zoomed to 42 (I think), then set to 1/2 to 1/8th depending on location and off I went.

The devils own backcrop, flare central. You can get the feeling of it’s brightness in this one, but reducing exposure in post eliminated it. As it turns out, it was too small for its purpose, so angled shots to cope with the shallow passage way would have been likely anyway. Where I am standing (middle of the enntry stairs), was not ideal for a light stand and brolly! On the other side the organisers had a row of tables with wigs to be raffled, so no shifting that.

Shot after shot, with mild adjustments made as needed (it only took a few shots to get the different ceiling heights and wall distances down pat), and no shot was unuseable out of 700+!

The light was usually lovely like this. If not, look to the photographer, who made a few bad choices. No shadows on faces or walls, nothing unnatural about the light and plenty of brilliance without “flashy” hot spots. Basically portable butterfly lighting.

Ok, all very well, but what if you have no wall or ceiling?

I am going to try this, a slightly less convenient, but still one-man-band style trick.

Flash on camera, flagged if needed and pointed at a 60cm 5-in-1 reflector hand held at the desired angle.

Portable, large face soft box.

Another option is a 33” white brolly with a small holder for the flash, but that needs more room than the average camera bag could supply.

Bags, More Bags

The F804 Domke has been good. The size is an irrelevant necessity, but loaded weight is not.

I may take a smaller bag in for my new “lite” kit*.

The Crumpler may be pressed into service, the Domke F3x even, or possibly one of my non-camera bags.

I can go out either “fully loaded” or “fast and light”. Often when I need the long lens, I actually only need the long lens and when I go out without it, but get caught, the super sharp 75 is still capable of producing “extra reach” by cropping if necessary. It is also very fast focussing and allows me to carry the EM1 with the lens mounted on it removing my other major dislike of changing lenses all the time.

There is scope for this lens to be replaced by the 35-100 f2.8 Pana**, but there are some considerations there. The difference between 75 and 100 is negligible in controlled situations (but f1.8 to 2.8 is not), AF on an Oly is less than perfect (I would then leave the EM1 behind), it is weatherproof and has a wide cross-over with the 12-60 (in fact all three zooms have massive cross-over from 12-18 and 35-60).

Looking down the track, I can see the 40-150, 75 and 35-100 all in one place at one time, just never in a bag together. It’s my job, not my hobby, so I need to buy the tools that are needed.

It troubles me going out with only one camera. It does not seem to bother the other more experienced shooters. A near new G9 is likely more reliable than a 12 year old D500 with probably close to a 1,000,000 frame count, so I could get over it! Anyway, the EM1 would be back at the office.

Maybe not a redundant purchase.

*G9, 12-60, 8-18, 45 and 75. This kit actually removes the biggest issue I had in the past, my big Oly kit of gripped Em1 camera and 40-150 Pro, opening up bag options massively.

**this lens will likely be added as it adds good options to every kit I may use. It will up my travel kit, removing the need to carry two lenses, give me a better video tele, a lighter work tele and a point of difference.

Adjusting To The G9 For Stills

I like the G9 for stills, but I am also aware I am not fully in control of it yet. Here is what I can share now about the cameras positives and negatives.

Positives

(compared mostly to the work horse EM1 Mk2’s for context).

Physical controls.

The G9 has a wheel and “nubbin” control, which are both a bonus over the EM1 Mk2.

The wheel takes me back to Canon and with ISO or exposure comp assigned to it. I love this dynamic.

The nubbin is right in line with the later Canons and the EM1x (and EM1 Mk3 if I had one). For video it controls White Balance, in stills it is assigned to the AF area control.

The extra real estate of the G9 allows for specific controls for most functions (somewhere between Nikon on the left side and Canon on the right side), but these are also very different to the Olympus style (like the Canon/Nikon tension). I need to invest some serious time into this camera and assign it to specific tasks to get my head right with it. With the new and old Leicas’s it will be my main camera for the paper, Olympus saved for sports and action.

Touch functions.

I do not tend to use touch controls for anything other than AF/shoot on the Oly’s, but that is something I find indispensable. On the G9, almost every function can and often should (occassionally can only be), controlled by touch. Ironically, the camera often duplicates the physical controls with touch options, which can be too much.

Custom functions.

This is a game changer, especially for video. The customisation of the G9 surpasses the EM1 series for stills, but crucially, all video functions are available as well and the camera allows you to differentiate. Olympus has a hole in their game here, something the OM-1 seems to have addressed partly, but there is so much more available to the Pana user. This is like the difference between brush tool in Lightroom and C1. In C1 you can use basically any processing option, with any processing option. In Lightroom you are limited to a select few.

I can assign a set of video only, very specific settings to any function button, save it (up to 5 of them), then set the camera up for stills very differently. My 2 G9’s settled in very quickly to their video role and it was handy to duplicte these settings (by simply down loading them onto a card and transferring them!), then concentrate on a very different setup for stills. The video-centric one has been left at defaults for stills, the dual role one is an on-going journey.

Handling.

The camera feels more complete without a grip. I could add one, but do not feel the need. To be honest, I fell in love with this camera first time I held it a few years ago, but had mixed feelings about the view finder and full compatibility with Olympus lenses.

Video.

Stands to reason a camera bought for video would be good at it, but I am impressed by just how good it is. I also like the EM1’s 4k in FLAT profile, but the 1080p from the Pana, and the options this opens up (time lapse, slo-mo, dynamic cropping, 180 fps etc), are more than enough for my needs.

Image Quality.

The combination of the G9 and 75mm f1.8 has a nice image balance and extreme quality.

I will rate the IQ as closer to the EM1x/Pen F than the EM1 Mk2’s. The colour is neutral and mixes well with the slightly warmer Oly lenses. It seems to have the same super clear sharpness the Pen F displays, crisper than the EM1 Mk2, and with better noise control than either, possibly because, like the Pen F, it does not share the sensor with phase detection pixels.

I have had good luck with the electronic shutter at high ISO settings and the skin tones are stunning. White Balance can seem off in some RAW files (very yellow under indoor lights), but cleans up very well. Unlike the EM1 Mk2’s I find White Balance fixes are clean and logical.

Information.

The eye detect is clear, the AF point indicators also. The camera has a mountain of display options and is customisable.

*

Things I am not sure about yet.

Controls, touch screen, customisaton, information etc.

Just so much to learn, understand and set correctly. Sometimes this camera does my head in and I have needed to Google several functions. I cannot remember ever having to do that with Olympus.

I feel less “connected” to the G9 (at the moment). It is very capable, but I do not (yet) feel the immediacy I feel with the Oly cameras. It seem to me the EM’s are more workman like, the Panas are more amateur “tech over simplicity” oriented and much busier, almost like over grown compact cameras. I have on occassion just trusted the camera and generally that has been ok, but more than a bit unsettling none the less.

I changed it for stills shooting after one night of familiarity for the big portrait job and that was in hindsight both a great and equally, perilous move.

Power.

Battery life is a hair less than the EM1 Mk2, but batteries are cheap enough. The only two times this is really an issue are video and sporting events. It does not do the latter.

AF and stabilisation.

I do not trust the stabiliser or touch AF for video as much as I do the EM!x, or even the EM1 Mk2’s really, but with the Leica 12-60 coming, I hope this will get sorted. The 12-40 Pro Oly has performed very well on the G9, but not completely faultlessly, like with the EM1x. With later firmware and the Leica lens, most of the bugs seem to be ironed out.

The view finder.

Nothing really to complain about and it is better than the EM1 Mk2 on paper, but still adjusting.

To nutshell it;

The G9 is in many ways the superior camera both on paper and in use. It’s potential is greater with a feature range for a hybrid shooter that is unmatched by the equivalent Olympus or indeed many other cameras (and certainly nothing for the price).

The EM1’s generally (the “X” is special), are the better choice for “rubber meets the road” sports and action AF and are generally less complicated, so they are more intuitive than the Panas, although I am comparing years of Oly use to short months of Pana use. Shortfalls in video, a tiny lag in high ISO performance and a muddier/greener look from the Mk2 sensor are balanced with small size, familiar menues and their raw AF performance.

Somehow, I have muddled my way through to a decent split kit using two, mosty compatible brands, sharing one format, but handing it very differently.

The G9 (8-18, 12-60, 45, 75) will handle all close and indoor work with video and I will get on top of flash.

The EM1 (40-150) will be the sport and action/long lens camera.

These can work exclusively or be combined.

Lots Of Football

I have had a busy week.

New job and a tripple game football carnival on the weekend, which meant six straight hours on my feet, toteing lenses and cameras, then hours of processing (goodby Sunday).

High skill levels and plenty of passion.

Sometimes called “Aerial Ping Pong”, Australian rules has plenty of this.

How To Do A "Quick And Dirty" Lens Test

I have the new kit 12-60 panasonic lens, bought as a filler for my school work (mostly as a wide angle) and the Leica 12-60 is on the way. I bought this lens based on a previous test conducted at the shop I worked for, comparing several lenses with a wide element (15 Leica, 12-60, 14-140 and 12-35 Lumix, 12-100 and 12-40 Oly) and the 12-60 surprised. Only the 12-100/40’s and 15mm clearly beat the pack, the 12-35 was dissapointing for the money.

So, how do you calm the jitters and check that you have a good copy of a lens?

With zoom lenses, the reality is most have some slight optical inconsistency, but modern glass is seldom off kilter enough to be a real issue. For more on this the http://lensrentals.com blog has some great, but scary articles.

My tests, done “in the field” are simple checks to make sure the two most likely issues (three for SLR shooters*) are picked up quickly so you can either exchange the lens or more likely, just be aware of them.

De-centering.

When up to 20 elements of glass are layed down in the barrel of a new lens, there is a slim chance that they will have one or two not perfectly aligned. Designers take this into account and modern manufacturing tends to mean most of a batch are nearly idential, but batches may vary slightly, especially when a line is new.

My tests (EM5 Mk1, 12-60 kit) are done hand held, shifting the focus point onto the corner subject (the pillow on the empty chair).

Corner aligment at 12mm wide open (no post applied apart from C1 import and cropping).

Apart from colour shifts due to my non-scientific process, there seems little difference. If any corner is different at all, the lower left maybe slightly less controlled, but still falls within perfectly acceptible levels. If this was the best the lens could manage it would be fine. The fact some corners seem maybe even better is a win.

Now 60mm wide open

Again, no science applied here, but good and even performance.

Bokeh? Not really a big selling point for a slow M43 zoom lens, but the relality is, most photos have an element of Bokeh (it’s in the definition), and some of my favourite results have come from my slowest glass.

Background Bokeh at the long end is very pleasant. In reality, semi focussed Bokeh is possibly more imporrtant than “full blurr” Bokeh. With maximum blurring, post can easily be applied. When the background is included in an even semi coherent form, poor Bokeh behaviour is less fixable.

Foreground at the wide end is nicely smooth in rendering, making wide open use easier. Focus was on Daisys’ face at f3.5. “Invisible” transitions are ideal here, something the 17mm Oly is good at.

The best thing about the Bokeh is, when I tested the lens it went pretty much unnoticed.

*

Sharpness. I am used to even the cheapest M43 lenses being sharp enough for most tasks, but this lens has shown in my own previous tests and those done by many others, to be very close to the Leica in base sharpness. The question is, what “type” of sharpness is it**?

So, who decides to do a sharpness test at ISO 1600, hand held at 1/15th with a 13 year old camera? Apparently I do. The base image. The flat colour is down to the environment, the camera and ISO, but partly the lens with its “mild” colour rendering.

On the focus point (hair in front of the eye), sharpness is more than enough for publication even at big sizes. No post applied. Bokeh smoothness again shows up here.

Pushed a little with globally added Clarity and Sharpening. This is similar to my 40-150 kit. There is good micro contrast, decent base sharpness and control of other clarity reducing elements. Like the 40-150, it does not need much extra post applied. In Lightroom, I found some lenses struggled with the noise to sharpness balance, but C1 hits a decent level in both. The EM5 Mk1 has a “simple-sharp” sensor, an honest, pleasantly film-like look, but not as delicate as later models, so it may be the camera (especially at ISO 1600).

Other things?

As I tested, I looked for chromatic aberration, flare and glare and other obvious issues and found statlingly few. I was aware the Lumix lens is possibly even better than the Leica at handling flare and would believe it.

From my first day with it, when the sun was shining. Most of my lenses struggle with this one, a good excuse to avoid cleaning the window…... . For context, this was uncomfortable to my eye.

If I look at this lens in relation to it’s intended role, it will be better than fine.

As a wide angle filler, a good light “one lens” and studio/travel work horse, it has all the right characteristics. Would I use it for formal group shots of the school body, to cover jobs like my Telstra portrait shoot, street and travel portfolio work? Absolutely, but I have specialist options for each circumstance. If pushed it would be more than adequate. This lens has reminded me to use my “lesser” enses more. No-one but me knows the difference.

Why the Leica? Build, aperture choice (especially for video), slightly superior mechanics (again for video), the ability to cover the ranges in two kits. Basically that is it. This lens was the smart buy, something I am always happy to do. the Leica is the sensible buy, but always a higher risk to reward ratio.

*

Lens speed, the elephant in the room is always a consideration. Not much is enticing about employing it for low light action (this is when the full frame users start to pull ahead), but aside from that, it has few real weaknesses. At the wide end, it is fast enough and for the uses it will be put to and if used in the studio, speed is irrelevant.

Importantly, it works efficiently within the envelope of what it offers. There is nothing more frustrating than an already conservative lens that has to have special considerations applied. If it only offers f5.6, then f5.6 needs to be useful, otherwise it is actually an f8 lens. I have come across this before and it is a fail mark***.

Would I spend $600au on it? No, I would spring for a little more and get one of the many other standard lenses available like the Oly 12-45 f4, but for $100 in a kit, it is a steal. It’s even weather proof and dual stabilised.

*Calibration of lens to camera focal plane was a common concern with SLR cameras, something I struggled with regularly, but off the sensor focussing in mirrorless cameras has removed this as a consideration.

**To me sharpness comes in several forms based on sensor and lens, from simple/honest to complicted/delicate and results in lenses that do or do not like sharpening, contrast or clarity of different sorts applied. This is subjective, personal even, but a real observation from seeing many lenses and cameras.

***My Canon 17-40 f4L especially on a full frame camera had several “exceptons” including a performance dip in the mid range, effectively zero resolution in the corners wide open at the wide end some CA etc. This did not stop being one of the most popular lenses in the Canon range, but it needed to be used intelligently.

Base Line Quality

My ”high stress” portrait shoot the other week went as well as I could hope. Proving that word of mouth can trump any form of online promotion, I skipped the cue and scored the gig for the Telstra Australia CEO and board headshot and group photos for their annual general meeting and other uses. I am still not sure who recommended me, but it was a school contact, so many thanks who ever you were.

Something that came out of it, not totally unexpected, but reassuring none the less, was the inherent quality of the M43 system at its best.

At normal size, quality is pretty much a given with almost any system, especially with controlled and plentiful light. This is a “straight” shot, not “softened” like the submitted ones.

In close, the true quality is revealed. Big enough, even without software applied for large reproduction.

Fluke?

Nope.

The camera was a G9, chosen on a whim the night before (only used for video up till then), based on the skin tones and extra brilliance it produced under these lights. The lens, the Olympus 75mm at f2.8 is to be fair one of the systems best, but the reality is, I have a half dozen lenses that get very close and there are at least a dozen more available in this landscape.

Yes processing was applied, but it was within very basic parameters. No special programmes or techniques were used, only some mild touching up and increasing of basic sliders, all well within C1’s remit. No sharpeing was added past the import base. I find C1 does sharpening and noise just about right.

One of thousands taken over a six hour football carnival. Out of 3000, 2000 were worth keeping (I do not shoot bursts, so each is not the best of several), of which 500 were submitted, spread over six teams.

Again, plenty of quality to burn.

So, both extremes of the genre, from random fast action to controlled, no excuses studio work are within the systems comfort range, as they are for most modern systems.

One of the things I really appreciate about C1 is sharpening and noise reduction, my two bugbears from Adobe where they were always in conflict. They are now not even a consideration most of the time. If noise is a real issue (underexposed 6400+), or sharpening is to be added to something that is actually soft due to depth of field or movement (C1 can fix this), then I will use the brush tool with Clarity and Sharpening or No Noise as needed.

In the real world, people do not react to the theoretical potential of your gear, only the end product and I am more confident than ever that M43 gives me and anyone on my field more than enough tools to do the many roles it is pressed into.

First Week In, Perceptions Shifted

After a week (2 days) of shooting for the paper I have mixed feeling as to how I have done.

My photography was secondary early on, simply because of the other factors I needed to be aware of. New systems (a Google landscape) and old (Lightroom again!), changing photo styles and processes.

I went in with the kit I felt would be ideal;

EM1x with 40-150 Pro, 1.4x TC and 45 f1.8, which provided sublime long lens speed,

G9 with 8-18 and 25mm f1.8, for wide and video,

Godox 860 flash.

My feeling was, I would shoot either wide or long with the 25mm in the middle and that was the way it has gone to a point, becasue it was what I had. This came with plans to replace the 40-150 with a 35-100 f2.8 II Pana simply to reduce weight.

What I did not realise was the majority of shots could be taken with a 12-60 range lens and often, the extremes forced time wasting mucking around as swapped cameras or lenses.

Compression is nice, so is a bit of extra coverage, but 90% of the time, the needs of these images are within a range you would call “expanded normal”. More important is the “PICS” dynamic (Person, Interaction, Composition, Shoot), which is easier in the “normal” shooting range as communication and compositional imperatives like watching the subjects hands, interactions etc count for more.

Taken with the 40-150, but either the 75mm or the 12-60 could have done it as well and with the 75mm, depth of field could be shallower, or with the 12-60, I could move in to do the next, wider shot without disturbing the scene.

Longer lenses are needed for many distance shots and wider for tight spaces, but these can usually be predicted and a 24-120 equivalent is a decent range for most.

The other advantages of a smooth par-focal zoom lens, with the same 62mm filter thread as my 12-40 Oly filter kit, Leica contrast, build quality and sharpness, weather sealing, DFD focussing and dual IS matched to the camera, will raise my G9’s to another level and there is even enough lens there for indoor sports. The 8-18 is great, really great, but lacks stabilising and is a specialist lens.

If I add the 75mm Oly, I have a much cleaner and smaller kit than the twin extreme zoom kit which still needs supporting primes as f2.8 is not a total soluton. The big 40-150 is the best in class, but I do not need to either replace it nor carry it every time. I can also use just one camera, a G9, using the standard lens the bulk of the time and using the EM1’s with longer lenses only. This increases the life span of my kit as the two G9’s are basically new.

So from;

2 bodies with 8-18 and 40-150 Pro lenses and a couple of fast primes,

To;

1 Body with 12-60, 45 and 75 for the bulk of my jobs. This kit weighs half as much. Even if I add the 8-18, it will still be a light weight kit.

A second consideration is, it offers a massive 24-120 and 65-325mm range for 1080p video, with all the above extras.

Another Nice One Of Meg And Some Thoughts On Portrait Simplicity

My C1 catalogue has been cleaned up. I have a few files I will leave there because they have nowhere else to go. Neither job needs them, but also I have no relevant non-work location at the moment. My workflow has a dead spot and it has some images I like.

Amazing the difference a subtle background change makes.

Portraiture to me has simplified greatly. From my early fears it could not be, I have worked it through, eliminating the overkill options, refining the cleaner and more basic ones.

Best mods; 40 something soft white shoot through/reflected brollies (only outdoors in the wind are these an issue, but that will be the case with most mods). I have settled on a shoot through as main, 45 degrees to the side/45 above (roughly), and a nearly face on reflected as fill. Generally about 1/8 power, ISO 200, f2.8 works as a starting point.

The shoot through adds some brilliance and is efficient, the reversed fills softly, gently, but tends to lack the enough punch as a key light. Both flash units are set the same as the reversed is about two stops less efficient, ideal for fill.

If a separation/rim/hair light is used, almost anything will work. A small LED, another brolly, a small, more focussed 7” reflector or 26” soft box if I have time. This is usually set about the same as the fill and I watch out for obvious “hot” light from these (not a fan), i.e. it should be, but not be obvious.

If large groups are the subject, these can be used together as is. Really big groups could be handled by my set of 4 very efficient silver 4’ brollies (soft boxes with no diffusers), but I have to work on this.

All I need is a couple of YN560 flash units, medium stands and brollies and I feel capable of most looks I want. I have added a black backed brolly recently which allows me to flag light better, but other than that, it is all good.

If I am outside and there may be wind, becasue umbrellas are sensitive to even a slight breeze, I will switch to a pair of soft boxes, large or small by situation.

Events are even more straight forward.

A flash in my left hand, flagged, a camera and controller in the other (often with the 17mm if I am shooting pairs and groups) just works. This means I can employ the flash as I want, pointing it at ceilings, walls, the floor even and the same with the camera. Previously changing shooting orientation and/or flash angle was a real pain in the $%S.

I had to re-orient the flash head, then spin the flagging foam around. The Godox units are very tight to turn, so I used the manual YN’s, which introduced other issues.

The lens thanks to format and Bokeh style can be used safely at f2-2.8 even for two deep groups, increasing flash efficiency (ISO 800 at 1/4 power produces about 1000 pops). Even 1.8 is useable. I use a zoom is the group size may vary a lot, but the 17mm fits most situations.

The beauty of the hand held option is that I can use the TTL Godox, or manual YN’s hand held at consistent distances from reflecting surfaces rather than always from the camera*. This reduces variation from several stops, to one or two and the angle of both flash and camera can be micro managed. I can also switch out flash units etc without having to change anything over on camera (literally drop one in the bag, pull one out). If I put a small tripod on the flash, I can even just sit it somewhere and fire it remotely without issue.

Even using a manual camera to balance ambient light and a manual flash, I shot a huge number of images recently and not one fell out of useable parameters, which goes to show, manual flash can be as intuitive as people say, especially if you are shooting at consistent distances. Generally you quickly learn to judge the ceiling distances after one try.

Two and a bit years ago, I hated using flash. It now feels like the safe and creative option to shooting in natural light.

*I usually set the camera at ISO 800, the lens to F2.8 and the flash to 50 zoom and 1/4 power. M43 makes 2.8 effectively 5.6 in FF terms and the Bokeh of the 17mm is very tolerant of slight misses. If the ceiling is catherdral like (well “like”), I can push the aperture to f1.8 (still a tolerant 35mm f2.8 in FF), the ISO to 1600 and the flash to 1/1, which is 5 more stops of power.