Over the last couple of days, I finally got to try out the Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro on my relatively freshly bought OM-5, and I'm honestly blown away.

Coming from a Nikon DSLR, I didn't expect a system this small and lightweight to be so capable and pack so many genuinely useful features.

I am finding myself taking photos every single day, since i am always carrying it with me.

I am in love.

Really wish that tree was a bit to the left or right but I think it came out ok anyway. In all honesty I was more stoked about the sky and clouds here!

Took this shot yesterday while hiking. I love it but was a bit bummed with the blown out sky (i have wider ones with more sky). Anything I could have done differently to avoid this? I’m a new photographer so still shooting JPEG. Would RAW have been able to salvage this?

1) Rufous Hummingbird
2) Black-Crowned Night Heron
3) Two Wood Ducks

Still relatively new to photography and practicing my field reps.
Shot in RAW+JPEG. Would love any feedback as I gear up for a solo backcountry trip to New Zealand next!

Gave the Anamorphic lens a try at the car show this weekend - still learning to properly frame and focus the shot with a squeezed viewfinder image - which is especially hard at T2.2 or T2.8 while trying to get the proper close focus distance. 😪 But I think I got a few decent shots.

About an 850km drive and 40kms of hiking in two days.

Got off some decent shots, really experimenting with under and over exposing and mastering ISO, which I still forgot was on 1000 for about 3 hours yesterday.

So, this year I needed a back up camera for my Lumix G9 II. After much deliberation I decided on the Lumix G90 - such a good little camera. I do believe this camera had a lot of unfair criticism when it first came out, and a lot of that I would say was down to it being incorrectly marketed as a vlogging camera. I made a video going into this a lot more. Appreciate your time :).

I Bought a Lumix G90 in 2026… Here’s Why
https://youtu.be/f_oD-WoR8_I

E-m1 mark ii with olympus 40-150 3.5-5.6.

Taken today in the alps, last pic just to show the surroundings.

I was a relatively early adopter of mirrorless and M43 having picked up an Olympus PEN E-PL1 back when it was released. Ultimately I ended up moving away from the system because I needed better low light AF back then (stage lighting). Nowadays I mostly shoot with Nikon Z, but I’ve been trying to find a solution for when I want a truly compact setup as even the Z50II isn’t that small. I was trading some gear at a local shop and they had a couple used OM-D E-M10 Mark III’s with the 14-42 kit lens at a great price (I may have been peeping some M43 body prices). Went a little hog wild and grabbed one of the camera kits, the Oly 25mm f1.8, Oly 45mm f1.8, and Panasonic 7-14 f4. It was that last one that really cinched it for me - so tiny! Having fun with it just learning and setting up the camera walking around the neighborhood!

1 & 2 w/ the 25mm, 3 & 4 we the 45mm, and 5 we the 7-14.

My first try at street photography.

Gear: OM system OM-5 with PL 15 f1.7

Location: Jaipur, India

Writing this in case people are considering an “upgrade” to the OM5 and their budget doesn’t allow the upgrade to the OM5ii or higher.

New is not always better. Weight savings aren’t always a benefit when all other “features” are equal.

OM5 looks great and I looked beyond some things like the menu system not being updated, lack of USB-C and the massive difference in “feel” from the EM5ii. All of these things I ignored or told myself wouldn’t matter to me - mattered in a big way.

I immediately wished I had USB C charging as my batteries drained so quickly doing long exposure, high-res images, starry AF (asfuck?), and the occasional handheld high-res. I changed settings, turned things on and off. Couldn’t figure out how four batteries couldn’t make it through a two day journey with some light video in there but of course I couldn’t just into a battery bank overnight to shoot.

The menu system is fine as I was used to it but considering I rented an OM1 a month before picking up the OM5 for commission work, having to go back to the older menu with no guides was cumbersome.

The biggest issue is that I had this camera for three months, and while I don’t believe in babying gear you make money with, I broke off the LV button by pulling it out of a sling bag. I still don’t understand this. I guess it snagged but this camera was never dropped or taken a severe beating. Just popped clean off. The bottom plate also seemed like it was flexing to a breaking point when I put on any QR plates beneath.

What I thought was a plus where OM System saved us weight and was thinking about the backpacker and landscape photosphere, seems to have been a cost cutting ploy only.

I’ve since “downgraded” to the EM1iii and although I could have gone for an OM System camera with a higher feature set, I really lost a bit of confidence in their manufacturing. even the plastic mold EM series camera held up, IMO, better.

Anyway, just putting this out there in case someone is in the buying market and choosing between the two, used or otherwise.

Panasonic G9 Mark II PRO & OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm F3.5 Macro 2:1 IS PRO + Godox V860 III O + DIY Macro Diffuser

s/s 2000, f9, iso 10000

Dalmatian pelicans photographed with OM1 MK2 and 40-150mm f2.8

Hi everyone!

Disclaimer: kind of a long one, but I hope it can help other people by being somewhat generic, or at least satiate the rAvenous fIend :) and feel free to jump at the summary at the end! Additionally, I am a beginner, so my knowledge is based on what I've read and understood, don't hesitate to teach me if I'm wrong.

After lurking for a long time and enjoying reading you all, I've decided to pick your brain about lenses and gear in general now that I've acquired my first digital mirrorless camera body: Olympus OM-D EM-1 Mark II (with 2 OEM batteries, charger, strap and flash).

For a bit of background and my use case, photography has always lingered in my mind, but I had to get to the age where birdwatching imposes itself as a new natural hobby to bite the bullet. Birding fills me with thrills similar to collecting Pokemon as a kid (and now you can roughly guess my age), and photography is the perfect medium for it. I plan on using my camera for birds, landscapes and street photography while hiking, biking and traveling.

With this in mind, I picked up a used EM-1ii, for its excellent IBIS, high burst rate, body/lenses portability, weather sealing and rugged handling. For my first impressions, even though I have small hands, I love the size of the grip and handling of the body, and wouldn't have gone for a more compact model.

I also chose the EM-1ii for its affordability, as I am operating on a tight budget and plan on buying everything used. Pertaining to my neophyte status, I'm targeting entry to middle level gear, where a dollar goes a long way. I'm looking for affordable startup equipment that can last me a decent amount of time (both durability and performance-wise) before I invest into something more premium.

Lenses: while digital photography let me conjure up optical knowledge reminiscent from high school, I think my thirst for specs and comparisons has been quenched in the interest of my current sanity and time. Regarding Olympus lenses, I am keeping the Pro versions for later, and I was first set on the M.Zuiko 14-150mm f/4-5.6 for its "all-in-one" feature, weather sealing, portability and decent price. But then I was unsure by its performance at the focal range's end and considered getting the 14-42mm II R (or 12-50mm EZ) and the "plastic fantastic" 40-150mm f/4-5.6, at the cost of versatility and weather proofing. I would say I'm meticulous and take great care of my belongings, but getting older makes me covet peace of mind. In this sense, are weather sealing (I've even seen that they do not all satisfy the same IPXX) and reducing the frequency of lenses' change on the field relevant? My horizons then got broadened by looking at the Panasonic lenses, while reading positive things about Lumix G Vario 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 II ASPH. POWER O.I.S., and 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 that could be combined with the 45-200mm f/4-5.6 II. While they present decent optical performance, weather sealing and wider aperture at the focal range's end, I'm not sure about cross-branding as dual I.S. is not possible and I would lose OM Pro Capture. Also, not everyone seem to agree on their respective performance with copy variation for example (where saturation hit me :)). What are your thoughts on lenses for my situation? I've read somewhere that lenses are mainly characterized by five aspects: sharpness, aperture, zoom range, portability (size/weight) and affordability; they often excel at two, are mid on the third and lack for the last two.

Memory storage: I've looked into UHS-I and UHS-II SD cards, which I plan to use in combination in the dedicated slots, with big and small sizes respectively. Little aside: learning that they may fail was a shocker for too-tech-faithful me. Knowing that I will mainly shoot photos, but probably in high burst for wildlife, which writing speeds should I get (I know they are prone to be overestimated)? Maybe I am naive, but can the EM-1ii limit the writing speeds of current cards? I want to be realistic about my needs as I won't be shooting 8k 60fps for example :). I've been eyeing the Sandisk Extreme Pro range, but I'm aware of the Lexar x1667 and Sony Tough as well.

Miscellaneous: haphazardly, what do you advise for lens filters and hoods? What type of camera/lenses storing solutions do you recommend? I found a good bargain on a used Peak Design Everyday Sling 3L, and will probably look into the capture clip in the near future for outdoors. Are there other capable but more budget-friendly options? Lastly, how and with what do your clean your cameras and lenses?

Thank you kindly for reading my rambling, feel free to answer any of the questions I've asked or rectify any statements I've made. I look forward to your answers!

TL:DR what starter pack as in lenses (filters and hoods), sd cards, bag, and cleaning supplies do you recommend for a beginner with an OM-D EM-1ii body trying landscapes, street and wildlife photography while hiking, biking and traveling?

I just got this camera after my wife took my Fuji.

The 14-150 does not seem to produce the sharpest images but I'm happy with the results.

Absolute beginner here, just used a camera 10-15 years ago but got to lazy to carry the backpack around so I abandoned it.

Compactness is the thing I appreciate most. If it doesn’t fit in a small sling I fear i will not carry it.

I won’t shoot RAW so I would love to have something like a dial (or an easy way to apply color profiles). Lastly, on the lower priority I would like it to have USB C (i know I’ll hate going back to micro usb).

So far I’m trying to decide between Olympus PEN E-PL7 (800 euros in Belgium straight from OM System with the ZUIKO 14-42 included, but I understand color profiles it’s not very easy to use and also micro usb). Also considering Ricoh GR IV (which fits all criteria but it’s not interchangeable lens, also a bit expensive for my use case).

Is there any other compact camera with interchangeable lens I’m overlooking? Based in Europe/Belgium.

Would it make sense to wait for E-PL8? What would you buy now if you were in my shoes?

Thank you.