A little firmware update...Man, what a difference!

The EPL1 had a firmware update available. The docs said it would help in focus confirmation. Wow, what a difference.

The two kit lenses used to hunt around for focus. Now they both focus (the 14-42 and 40-150) with authority. There doesn't seem to be much difference in the Panasonic 14. It focused quickly before the update and still focus' quickly.

Adding a Prime Lens to the EPL1 stable, the Panasonic 14mm f 2.5

I'd been wanting a "Normal Prime Lens" for my Canon bodies, that equates to about a 30mm lens, which is a rare thing. There are 28mm lenses which is a little short, but doable. However, I would still be left with a large camera with a fairly small and light lens. There is of course the option of going to the Canon EOS M. They've gotten very cheap $279 for M body and 18-55 STM lens. I have an 18-55 lens, it's not all that small.

Enter the Olympus EPL1. The system I bought included both kit lenses, a 14-42, and a 40-150 both seemed very nice, good color and sharpness. Neither was small. I started looking on CL and saw Oly 14mm's, Oly 17mm's, Panasonic 14mm's and Panasonic 20mm's and a Pana 12mm. All were fairly priced. The Pana 20 is billed as a "Normal" lens, and I would liked to have had it, but it was a bit more expensive than I had or wanted to spend at $280. The Pana 12mm was very expensive at $560, I wasn't looking for a short wide lens. This left the 14 and 17, the 14 was cheaper at $180.

I tested the lens fairly thoroughly before buying it. I was very undecided, the lens was a little shorter than I wanted, the crop factor is 2X so the 14 is actually a 28mm, not terribly wide but not normal. It's a relatively fast lens it's very light at 1.9 ounces, and very short in size, making a very small package to carry on the EPL1. It focus' much faster than the kit lenses, has better color and sharpness.

I decided to bite the bullet, especially since I didn't pay the asking price.

First and foremost it meets my need for a small package that takes good pictures. My whole outfit will fit in a small camera bag that would only fit one Canon body with one lens, not a telephoto.

It's a good kit.

I "Finally" did it, strayed from the Canon way, the Olympus E-PL1

I may have looked at this camera when it was new, almost 4 years ago. When comparing it to a DSLR, the Olympus E-PL1 seems slow, to handle, focus and shoot. When I looked at it I didn't have the luxury of testing it with the electronic viewfinder, an option.

There was also the rumble of gossip and expectation of a Canon Mirrorless Interchangeable lens Camera or MILC. I held off on the purchase of a non canon MILC. Canon did release a mirrorless camera, the Canon EOS M. There were mixed reviews. The camera was released with only two native lenses. Unlike the many price barrier breaking intros, Canon brought the camera in at, I think, $799 with the Kit lens, then the 18-55 STM; a better lens than it's predecessor but nothing to write home about. To use EF or EF-S lenses an adapter was required, which was over $100. This made the system price very high for a marginally functional camera with very few native accessories, like an Electronic Viewfinder (EVF). I chose not to buy an EOS M. The EOS M body and lens kit is now selling for $279! It's almost worth it to get the lens which retails for $139. As a follow up and answer to the poorly performing EOS M, Canon introduced the EOS SL1; the smallest lightest DSLR ever produced. It has been received well. It uses all lenses, poor kit lenses, great heavy L lenses. It still makes the loud slapping mirror sound.

As with many Canon fans, I was looking for a camera that was as fast as a DSLR but smaller and lighter. In the end the EOS M and it's possible replacement is that, although the camera itself is light all the lenses that we own, love and use are still very heavy. I want something lighter and fast handling. When I travel, I carry a rolling carry on bag that weighs about 40 pounds! The bulk of this is lenses.

What's an aging, Canon L lens photographer to do? Bite the bullet and try a MILC, in this case an Olympus E-PL1, a three year old 12 megapixel MILC camera. I found the camera on Craigs List for sale at $255. I read the reviews and checked pricing. The camera was listed with the two kit lenses the 14-42 and 40-150, along with the EVF-3, UV filter for the long lens and 3 batteries. I got it for $200.





 




The reviews say that the Jpeg engine is one of the best ever seen. All things about the camera work well. The two faults are that the menus seem hard to navigate and that there is no orientation sensor; you have to re-orient portrait pictures after download. I haven't had a problem with the menu system. Like anything new, it takes time to acclimate to any new system be it car, gps, camera or computer. I'm not too worried about turning photos, photoshop and does it easily.

Last night I started testing the 14-42 kit lens. My process is to set up a still scene with colors, fibers, and type. I start at the low end of the focus range and shoot through the f stops, working my way up the focus range. I look for center and corner sharpness, white balance, color rendition and any other aberrations.

I don't typically shoot with raw on as it needlessly takes up space on the hard drive. However, I had raw turned on and shot a few shots in raw format which turned out to be a fortunate happenstance. First, my copy of Photoshop Elements 9 for mac didn't import the raw photos. It flagged them as broken files. I had to go online to Adobe and run a patch. Afterwards Elements did fine. I'd also taken some shots of the dogs and Kari with out flash. Our family room is lit by a mixture of CFL bulbs and firelight, the photos had a bit of a yellow cast. I don't blame the auto white balance, this is tough light and the photos were probably true; our eyes and brain automatically make this right for us. I was able to adjust both the raw and jpeg photos easily to render a more pleasing look.

I also took some flash photos and was immediately disappointed they were way too dark. But, searching the menu items, I found the PO had set the flash on 1/64th flash power. After adjusting it to full ( I didn't understand the menu choices) the shots were too hot. Going back to the menus I finally found the Auto setting which brought the shots into an acceptable performance (I really don't care for any flash shots).

After running the lens through all of the f stops at the different focal length settings I found that the lens and camera performed exceptionally well. I was hoping to use my Canon EOS XSI with the 18-55 kit lens on the same targets to compare the quality of the two systems. It was getting to be two am, I just couldn't stay up any later.

My first impression is that if the kit lens is this good with the camera, better lenses would be great. The one possible drawback is that the E-PL1 being a 12 mpx camera it's native photo size around 13x11 inches. I've lately been testing poster size enlargements and these may not make the grade.  We'll see.

I now need to test th 40-150 lens and the actual handling in use.

A couple of hours later:

I wandered out to the backyard with the dogs to get some semi-action shots and some shots of all the winter "brownery", no green here. My other test is to try and run out a fully charged battery, little was said about battery life. I know that Canon, on DSLR's seems to try and get about 300 shots out of a battery.

A couple of shots with the 14-42

I started with the short lens, the 14-42. The dogs were somewhat compliant. I'm using the EVF-3 for capturing the shots. I'm not an action photographer and framing in the EVF seems a learned skill. The first annoying thing is the blackout, it seems longer than any of my Canon bodies. I then switched over to the 40-150, the long lens. I was a bit awkward with it. I think my hands are probably on the large size, the camera is small as is the lens. I first had a problem zooming, the PO has a cap keeper strap around the barrel of both lenses. I like these for keeping caps, but I dislike the band around the barrel and when changing lenses you can't sit the lens on the front cap to put the rear cap on. For now they'll stay.

 Some shots made with the 40-150

 

Secondly, to zoom from one end of the range to the other seems to require a full revolution of the zoom ring. Again, with my large hands and the close proximity of the ring to the camera, it felt tight for me.

I'm heading out for a "walk/drive about" to further test the camera and run out the battery.

I didn't run down the battery on my walkabout, I did however run it out later in the evening when we went to dinner at the inlaws. Although the use of the rear screen is almost mandatory, or the EVF, it did seem that around 300 shots is a good estimate. Most of the daytime shots were at 40*F, which would have run down the battery more quickly.

At dinner I shot the obligatory birthday shots of both nephew and grandad. I didn't put much work into them, I didn't use a flash often. The pictures turned out as expected, not very good.

But, to be fair, I didn't expect miracles, and it's not my kind of photography. I've been researching fast primes for this little camera. As I was looking for a fast "normal" prime for my Canon bodies. My search has led me to the Panasonic 20mm f1.7. It is rated very highly. Again I don't expect miracles just nice photos in lower light at decent shutter speeds and ISO's.

The Next flashlight....55 hours on a single D Battery

Back to Wally world, looking again at flashlights; once again Rayovac is a winner in their value brigh flashlight line. A single D battery powers a LED bulb for 55 hours! Why do I find this exciting?

Once again either on a boat, car or in the house, this has the potential of a great light. We have a house in Florida. You might have heard that Florida, in particular, possibly because it sticks out into the ocean, sea, and gulf, like a turkey whattle, gets hit by hurricanes, often. Along with storms come power outages. A hand light that gets 55 hours on a single D battery is a great thing.

In the car, if you get stuck; having light for 55 hours is a good thing,. think about it; that's more than two days of light. In the summer that could be three nights, in the winter a bit less.

Oh the light in a single pack is $2.50! In a twin pack $2.25, $4.50 for two!

No, again they aren't waterproof, shock proof or anything else, but for a couple of bucks and a couple of days of light, you can't beat.it.

Oddly, you would think that the company that builds a better mouse trap would shout it from the roof tops. Not Rayovac they have the higher priced lights on the website, but not the value bright LED line. The nice thing is that these lights use single D or AA batteries.

A Flashlight, A Flashlight, My Kingdom for a Flashlight

I am "Holic" about a few things. Flashlights are one. I'm a FlashlighAholic. I didn't always used to be that way. Not until the LED's entered the lineup.

My first interaction with an LED flashlight was many years ago, as early as 1994 no later than 1996. I was working at West Marine. I consulted with many cruisers out of the Annapolis store. This is back when the company valued knowledge and experience. I had a customer who "invented" an LED flashlight/anchor light. This thing had a single LED bulb and was powered by a single AA battery. These things were going to sell for over $100. I have no idea why my customer chose me to test the thing.

When you are a cruiser on a sailboat power is everything. You only have so many amps in a battery to power essential systems; engine starting, refrigeration, lighting to name just a few. Those amps need to be replaced when used. They can only be replaced in a number of ways; shore power, engine generation, solar, wind, there are others but these are the major ways. Most people don't think of this as a critical situation; after all, you walk into a room, flick a switch and you have light. Not so on a cruising boat. If you do a long cruise or ocean transit there is a finite amount of power that can be manufactured. For this reason each amp used is guarded. Enter the LED anchor light.

If you are anchored you need to post an anchor light for the 8-10 hours of dark to be safe and legal. If a standard anchor light consumes 5 amps per hour you could burn 50 amps in one night. That is power that can no longer be used for critical or luxury functions; starting the engine or generator, cooling food in the fridge. An LED light could cut that usage to 1 amp.

Fast forward to 2013. Led lights are common in flashlights and are now replacing incandescent and CFL light bulbs.

Flashlights, portable light. With LED's long lasting bright light. So many choices, what to buy. With endless funds, there are endless possablities. However, if you want to spend as little as possible and still get a good reliable light the matter becomes more poinient.

For many years I depended on the venerable Photon Keychain light for $20 www.photonlight.com/. 

It used to be made in the US (possibly no longer), virtually indestructible. The LED leads used to be  coated in gold to resist corrosion. I've taken these lights offshore up and down the coast, to Bermuda on races. I've washed them, they've been rained on and dowsed with sea water. They came through with flying colors. The worst that happened is that the wet closed the contacts and the light stayed on. Dry them out and things go back to perfect.


But what if you want to go cheaper. Harbor Freight sells a 9 led flashlight in two packs that are usually on sale for about $1.75 each. They're pretty nice they have aluminum bodies, 9 LED's, they use three AAA batteries in a little tri pack. I haven't tested these for water intrusion. The thing I don't like is that they use the AAA batteries. These aren't as common as AA batteries.

If I had a wish for a perfect light it would be a Mag Light Solitaire that uses a single AA battery with an LED bulb. I've yet to find it.

But I did find at Wally World for $1.49, the Rayovac 2AA Economy Flashlight. It has a single white LED and uses two AA batteries.  With alkaline batteries it has a life of 3 hours. Oddly, their website doesn't say that it is an LED light. This light has a center focus spot in the lens that projects a bright beam in the center and a nice round flood about the center. They don't bill this light as waterproof or even water resistant. Why is it a good light. It's just over a buck and it does the job. At this price you should put one in each car, every nook and cranny on the boat or around the house, just in case the power goes out. But... keep a Photon Micro Lite on your keychain.
               

My First Love Photography

My first love was/is photography

My first camera was a little mini camera purchased for me by my parents for a good report card, it was either 1963 or 1964. I'm leaning towards 63.

It was a little snap shooter with a shutter lever and a film advance knob. In total, I think I had two or maybe three rolls of film developed. I know the pictures don't exist anymore.

The next camera was a Minolta Mini 16mm "Spy Camera". I don't know the year. It was a knock off of the Minox. I had more rolls developed. Again, I don't think the pictures survived, but the camera did, I still have it.

The next camera was an SLR, I don't remember which make, maybe a Petri. Then came my Nikormat, purchased in the Virgin Islands when I was 17. I took that camera to Europe in 1979. I don't remember what happened to it. I think I sold it.

I was in college when I bought the first camera love of my life, a Hasselblad 500CM. Man, what a camera, what a piece of equipment. This was the camera that I dreamed of. I sold it after my daughter became mobile around 1990. You just can't take pictures of kids with a fully manual camera outside of a studio setting.

After selling the Hasselblad, I bought a Nikon N6006. It was auto everything. It could catch my two year old daughter in mid stride. I still own it. By the time I decided to part with it, it wasn't worth selling.

In 1999 I bought my last film camera a Contax G1 viewfinder stye camera. I was tired of lugging around SLR's. I'd had some point and shoot cameras that did an acceptable job, but good glass is good glass. This was my transition into Digital Photography.

I'd been scanning photos since the mid 80's. Film scanners were out of my fiscal reach. Scanning actual photos was less than pleasing. However, in the late 90's this changed. I could scan photos decently and reproduce a larger print on the desktop. The printers were also a hindrance in the past.

I didn't keep the Contax long. I used it to finance my first digital camera, a Canon G1. This along with an Olympus model were the first consumer models available. Oddly, after doing my research I went to buy the Olympus, but they were out of stock. I bought the G1, which was a nice happenstance. Canon has always included a nice software suite with their cameras and I've always recommended them.

I've been digital since about 2000, and I have hardly looked back. I've done a little back sliding, that's another story.

My girlfriend, now my wife, bought me a Canon 20D. When we were going to Paris to see my daughter for her high school graduation, I bought a Canon XTi. This was just in case the 20D body died.

Both those cameras were sold and replaced with a Canon 50D and a Canon T2i. I recently augmented them with a Canon XSi.

Reviews to follow

As I see it... Reviews of Stuff Raison d'être

I used to think that I was a hoarder, a collector. I'm really not. I am however a perfectionist. And, in the search for perfection, sometimes accumulate items in the search for along the way.

There are levels of perfection, simply because there is no ONE perfect item. You don't buy a two person convertible to haul horse manure, you buy a truck. Buying the perfect truck is another matter.

There are also constraints on perfection. Sometimes it's economics, logistics or size, there are probably many more constraints. And constraints vary for each and every person or family.

In my search for the "Perfect" anything I've found the web in general to be very helpful and sites like youtube can be of the most help, or sometimes a waste of time. To help augment others out there in web land I thought my insights might help them to follow a path.

I realize that what is perfect for me may not be right for others. They should realize that too. And, as I've sadly found out, what is perfect now, often doesn't stay perfect as my needs and situation change.