Sony To Olympus And Back Again
Derek Smith • 24 April 2020
Or why I switched from the micro four thirds format.
Butterfly - Olympus OMD EM-10 II
Photo By: Derek Smith
Harvestime - Sony A6000, 16-50mm kit lens
Photo By: Derek Smith
In 2014 I purchased a Sony NEX 3N APS-C mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera. The camera worked very well, and I obtained some incredibly good images with the camera, the main drawbacks with this camera were the lack of a viewfinder, command dial, or a mode dial, all of the settings were adjusted via the control wheel at the rear of the camera.
Eventually I outgrew the camera, I wanted to develop my photography hobby, and not being able to readily adjust the camera settings was a big drawback. My direct upgrade path was to the Sony A6000, but the cost of the camera was some £800, and the paucity of APS-C lenses for the Sony system was also an issue, as Sony at the time seemed to have diverted resources to developing the full frame Sony A7 camera, and lenses.
I had seen some particularly excellent reviews for the Olympus OMD EM-10 II, and I was able to purchase this camera for a shade under £600 with the M.Zuiko 14 – 42mm kit lens. The camera handled excellently, having twin adjustment wheels, a mode dial, and a viewfinder, with several other control buttons as well. The lens selection for the Olympus system was, and still is, wide ranging, I’ve previously mentioned the outstanding M.Zuiko 17mm prime lens, and the 60mm macro lens was simply amazing, the depth of field on the micro four thirds system is greater than APS-C or full frame sensors making the camera system ideal for macro photography. As the micro four thirds sensor is smaller than APS-C, the lenses can be correspondingly smaller, the M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm lens, with a full frame equivalent range of 150 – 600mm, weighs just 423g, and I’ve taken some wonderful photos of puffins at Bempton Cliffs with this lens. However, no camera is perfect, and there were two drawbacks with this camera; the small 16 mega pixel sensor with an image size of 3456 x 4608 leaves very little margin for cropping, and the camera auto focus is contrast detect with only 81 focus points. Olympus cameras, and lenses are very well designed, constructed, and a joy to use, the company ethos is exceptional in that you feel as if you belong to an Olympus “family”, I also liked the 4:3 aspect ratio of the images, which I thought was very suitable for portraiture.
So it was that I spotted a Black Friday deal for the Sony A6000, body only, at £299, which was a giveaway price, simply irresistible, and so at a stroke I was back in the Sony fold again. I bought a second-hand kit lens the Sony 16-50mm PZ for £99 and sold all my Olympus gear to finance the purchase of further lenses for the Sony system. The Sony A6000 has 179 phase detect AF points, which with the 11fps continuous shooting speed make the camera ideal for capturing moving subjects. The image size of 6000 x 4000 pixels allows plenty of room for cropping with the 3:2 aspect ratio, and the image quality is superb, as can be seen from the combine harvester image.
The range of lenses for the APS-C E-mount has drastically improved with third party lens manufacturers such as Sigma with the 16mm, 30mm, and 56mm prime lenses being highly rated by reviewers. Sony have also produced some fantastic lenses the 35mm f/1.8, the 50mm f/1.8, the 18-105mm f/4, and latterly a f/2.8 constant aperture 16-55mm G lens has been produced.
The Sony A6000 is still available as a new purchase, however purchasers may well be advised to consider the newer Sony A6100, the A6400, or the range topping A6600 all APS-C cameras with 425 phase detect AF points, improved image colours, and class leading “Real Time Eye AF”.
Louth Photographic Society
Good Morning All I was having my lunchbreak on the Wolds last week and spotted this tree in a field next to me, it does give the impression it's looking at you. I hope you're all enjoying the summer break, time does fly by and it's time to get ready for returning to the club on the 9th of September. We start with mini lecture, 15 minutes on what you have been doing over the summer. If you want to take part, please email me and we will see how many we have. The September PDI competition is coming up as well on the 23 rd of September, Objects in the air and open, Harry will now start taking your entries, three entries in each subject with an (R) after one of them to be removed if there are too many entries. Derek sent the N&EMPF Exhibition entry forms out; I will again act as organiser for our club. The standard is very high so it's one for your best PDI's. We will view some last year's PDI's that made the grade on the 16 th of September. Regards Graham
NELPS organised an outing to the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft, there was some confusion with opening times, and a few of us arrived to find the gates closed, we went for a coffee!! Once inside and parked up we were welcomed by the volunteer staff, and began to take some photos around the site. A Grimsby trolleybus was running this morning, this bus had been painstakingly restored from a bare chassis, with great attention to detail, even down to sourcing the original moquette fabric to upholster the seats, it was great to be able to ride in a trolleybus again. Trolleybuses have a particular nostalgic memory for me, I lived in Uxbridge, on the outskirts of London, and the 607 trolleybus route ran past the end of my road, with a usual frequency of 5 minute intervals the buses were a common sight gliding along the main road. The 607 route was one of the longest in the country 11 miles to Shepherds Bush, taking about an hour for the journey. The trolleybus was whisper quiet, comfortable, and pollution free, and I took several trips on these. In comparison the conventional London bus the “RT” was not as quiet for longer journeys. The London trolleybuses, and eventually the London “RT” buses, were replaced with the iconic diesel fuelled Routemaster “RM” bus. I had an enjoyable visit, and many thanks to NELPS for organising the outing.
When we see a photograph what do we actually see? Does the image grab our attention? Does the image tell a story, or do we have to fill in the blanks with our own memories, and experiences? If we see a complete picture, or just a detail, which stirs our emotions most? At a recent competition a print was shown of fishing boats pulled up on the beach at North Landing, Flamborough, it was an excellent print, but the judge remarked “it’s just boats on a beach”. Do we feel the same emotion with a “normal” view, or do we want more, a storm raging, or fishermen launching the boats? Anyway, here are a few of my “abnormal” photos, first up a rusted bolt, you see I ask “who put that there?”, “what did it once hold?” Second, a vehicle excise disc, surely that stirs memories? Thirdly, a stone carved column, who carved the details? Was it shaped according to an architect’s brief, or a stone masons pattern? What emotions were felt by the stone mason? Lastly, a door handle. Where does this lead? How old is it, and how many hands have opened this door? Finally, I think that I’ve got my “mojo” back, I’ve been out more with my camera, and enjoying the experience, and surely that’s what photography is all about, the joy of capturing an image that pleases me.
The Exhibition will be in place from 10th - 29th September 2026
I was scrolling through the archives yesterday, and found these "Still Life" images. Still Life is an interesting photographic genre that requires good lighting, and compositional skills, but the results can be amazing. Here are four images of the genre, "Breakfast" showing cereal falling into a bowl, "Four Candles" (no not the ones from the Two Ronnies sketch), the moody "Decaying Tulip", and the simple but effective monochrome "Opener". Perhaps these images might give you some inspiration.
I joined the NELPS outing at Chambers Farm Woods on Wednesday. The NELPS visit to Chamber Farm wood and butterfly garden was well attended, with several members from NELPS, Grimsby, Dunholme and Louth, kind thanks to all that came, although it was very hot the butterfly garden, being rather full and slightly unkept did not let us down with butterflies, two less common were seen, a Comma butterfly and a humming bird moth, with loads of very lively common blue butterflies. Most of the insects in the butterfly garden were highly active, and by the time an insect was spotted, it was off!! I managed to just about get an image of the Comma butterfly, and nobody stood a chance with the humming bird moth, it was too fast. The dragonfly was more accommodating remaining fairly still posing for us. The next NELPS outing will be to the Peoples Park in Grimsby on Wednesday 19th, I'm busy on that day, but I will be attending the meeting at the Sandtoft Trolleybus Museum on Wednesday 26th. Many thanks to NELPS for organising these outings, it was a thoroughly pleasurable morning.
A visit to Whitby for a sunset picture didn't quite go to plan. Unknown to me today is the last day of the Whitby Regatta. Whitby in the summer is usually busy, but today it rivaled Time Square in New York. My planned shoot of the East Pier was a non-starter because for tonight only there's a fun fair along West Pier where I planned to shoot from. I had to re-think and resort to plan b, which was also a non-starter because the East Pier was closed as it was packed with fireworks. Plan c was OK though and I got an image I'm pleased with.
I've been up to RSPB Bempton Cliffs this week, and have taken some excellent photographs, the weather was fine, and the lighting was less harsh than usual. This pair were on the cliff top, obviously well established, and saw off this interloper trying to muscle in on their space, those beaks look very vicious. I hope that everyone else is having a productive summer break.
For club interaction, we are invited to these NELPS photo shoots. So lets start this club interaction, NELPS are now on there summer break, but it does not stop there. The NELPS club president has put together some outdoor photo shoots:- Lincoln 5th Aug meet at the Cathedral 11am Not forgetting the photo exhibition by Lincoln Camera Club in the Usher Gallery! Chambers Farm Wood & Butterfly Farm 12th Aug meet at 10am. Peoples Park Grimsby 19th Aug meet at 10am. Trolley Bus Museum Sandtoft 26th Aug meet at 10am Cadwell Park 10th Aug motorbikes, 24th Aug cars and both are track days so free to get in.
Sutton & Trusthorpe Camera Club have their annual Exhibition at the Meridale Hall, Sutton on Sea, on 29th / 30th August. Drink and a Home-made cake only £3!
