Monthly Archives: December 2010

Olympus E-P2 Full Review

Posted on December 26, 2010 | 5 comments

A man feeds bread to seagulls at London's Southbank by the River Thames. January 30, 2010. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Evolution is a wonderful thing. My first introduction to the Olympus E-P2‘s forefather, the E-P1, left me impressed. This camera has now evolved into a very lovely camera. I’ve been testing the E-P2 for a couple of weeks now and I’m completely taken by it. The obvious first difference is that it now comes in black; actually more of an attractive gun metal dark grey. This was something most pro photographers, myself included, had been asking for. The other major change, this time a little less noticeable is the inclusion of a data port on the rear of the camera, just below the hotshoe. This brings some superb accessories to the E-P2, making it rather unique and infinitely more usable.

The Micro 4/3 interchangeable lens camera works without a mirror, so the whole camera is smaller as are the optics. With the announcement of the E-P2, Olympus also added to it’s current Micro 4/3 lens line-up of the the 17mm f2.8 pancake and 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 zoom lens, two new zooms; 9-18mm f4-5.6 and a 14-150mm f4-5.6. My review was done with the excellent 17mm (equivalent 34mm) pancake and the surprisingly good 14-42 (equivalent 28-84mm).

Images around London's Southbank. With the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens. May 08, 2010. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

One of the beauties of the Micro 4/3 system is the ability to use lenses from both Olympus and Panasonic who have developed this system. I was extremely keen on trying out the Leica designed Panasonic 45mm f2.8 Macro lens which Panasonic kindly supplied along with the DMW-MA2ME Leica M to Micro 4/3 adapter, allowing me to use my Leica M lenses on the camera; naturally in manual focus. This ability to get the best optics on the camera, add to this camera’s attractiveness as a quality creative tool. There are also countless other adapters around for mounting a variety of 35mm camera manufacturers lenses, including a couple from Olympus allowing the use of OM lenses as well as 4/3 lenses on the E-P2.

That Data Port Thing

When I used the E-P1, the ability of adding other manufacturer’s manual focus lenses seemed a good one, but slightly lost on me, as I like to shoot using an eyepiece and not the camera’s back. With this little data port comes the optional VF-2 electronic viewfinder which mounts on the hotshoe. This allows you to see through the lens. During my testing of the camera, I attached my Leica 35mm f2 ASPH Summicron to the E-P2 and produced some stunning images. Using the VF-2 I could focus on the run and shoot just like a “normal” camera, without having to hold it like a digital compact. We all have our favourite old lenses in the back of our cupboards and this camera will let you use them again. Its not all rosy though as firstly the focal length is doubled, and secondly focusing can be a little tricky. When using the supplied Olympus lenses in manual focus mode, the slightest touch of the focus ring magnifies the image, allowing for precise focusing. As the camera is not aware that you are manually focusing when using a lens on an adapter, this magnification doesn’t happen. I imagine that this can easily be fixed with firmware and the handy “Fn” button could perhaps be programmed to magnify the screen to aid focusing.

London's Southbank by the River Thames. January 30, 2010. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

However the one thing that truly sets this camera apart from the E-P1 and Panasonic GF1 is its ability to use external microphones for video, using the optional SEMA-1 microphone adapter set. This is a very neat adapter which sits in the hotshoe. It comes with a tiny stereo microphone which plugs straight into the adapter, or can be placed closer to the sound source by using the supplied extension cord and lapel clip.

In Use

This is such a well made and nicely designed little camera. Just like the E-P1, it just encourages you to pick it up and go shooting. The viewfinder adds so much to the appeal and usability of the camera. It also makes using zoom lenses a possibility. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I am of the school where a camera is held up to the eye and not at arm’s length. Whilst initially I would still have preferred to have optical finders matched to fast prime lenses, the electronic finder has made me change my mind. It’s not completely perfect as it blacks out at the moment of exposure (just like an SLR) and very fast panning causes a little blurring which resolves itself in a millisecond. However it opens up so many other uses, and the ability to use manual focus lenses with the camera to the eye has sold me on the idea.

I’ve been using the camera mainly in aperture priority and must say that the exposure meter is superb. There were occasions when I used the perfectly placed exposure compensation button (just by the shutter release) but in large, it’s spot on. Image quality from 100 to 1250 ASA is great with 1600 ASA being usable.

The AF is very snappy. Although with the E-P1 I missed a small percentage of shots due to the AF, the E-P2 works better for me. I’m not sure if anything has been changed in this respect, but just having an electronic viewfinder and seeing exactly where the focus point is makes a world of difference; with the E-P1 and the optical finder it was a case of guessing where the point was when set to centre.

Images around London's Southbank. (Images shot with Tilt and Shift adapter and not enhanced). The London Eye. May 08, 2010. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

The Leica designed Panasonic 45mm f2.8 Macro lens was stunningly good. Pin sharp, great contrast and tone with pleasing bokeh. The only thing I had against the lens was the rather slow focusing. Portraits sang and macro shots stunned. It’s a lens I would definitely recommend for considered photography.

Video on this little camera is astonishingly good. It shoots 720p HD video. Viewing some test footage on a 46” Plasma TV left a very pleasing feeling. It’s no Canon 5D MkII when it comes to video, but it really is impressive. The ability to plug in an external microphone makes this a capable tool for video. The optional stereo microphone which comes with the adapter captures too much ambience. However when I plugged in my Rode VideoMic (which is a shotgun type) the difference was unbelievable.

The E-P2 just makes photography fun. It’s so straight forward and simple, feeling like an extension to one’s eye. It makes you less the “camera guy” and more the photographer; you just take nice picture after nice picture. Can’t ask more of a camera.

Links:

More images on my Flickr E-P2 Set

Homage, a short film shot on the E-P2

5 Comments

Posted in Camera Equipment, Review

Tagged m43, micro 4/3, micro four thirds, olympus, PEN

Canon iPF6300

Posted on December 23, 2010 | 1 comment

Large Format Printer Review

A while ago Canon contacted me asking if I’d be interested in evaluating a new printer they were about to launch. At this early stage things were pretty hush hush, but I showed my interest and as time went on, it turned out to be a new 24” roll printer, part of the large format printer range, the iPF6300. The main reason they had approached me turned out to be that this is the first large format printer they are pitching towards photographers as opposed to graphics studios or labs.

The Canon iPF 6300 Large Format Printer shown with a 24" roll of paper. Photo: Canon

With it’s 12 Lucia EX inks which are reported to last 120 years, the 24” width (meaning prints can be as long as the roll of paper will allow at 24” width) and infinite paper media handling abilities, it seems very apparent that this was indeed aimed at us and my appetite grew as I awaited its delivery.

As most photographers who look into printing in-house, I’d owned several A3 printers and was happy with my current printer, an A3+ capable Canon 9500 MkII. This “little” printer performed admirably, gaining complements from several quarters. However my appetite was for bigger prints and the timing of the iPF6300 was spot on perfect.

On setting up, a special calibration roll of paper needs to be installed in the printer. A special pattern is printed on this reference paper and the built in calibration device reads this pattern of shapes of colour to adjust and set itself up for all of the Canon papers for one’s geographical region. This means that as long as the correct ICC profile is chosen, the print will be perfect.

Although Canon’s gloss paper is very good and the Glacier paper (which is a heavyweight lustre paper) is now a favourite, my main interest was to try some third party papers, and specifically the Hahnemuhle range. Canon bundle a media configuration software for just this purpose when using papers outside of the Canon family. Once the roll of paper is installed (very straight forward – do use gloves though to keep your paper clean), the paper’s surface finish and weight are input into the software and an option to do an automated setup is offered; highly recommend you use this option. The printer then prints a test pattern, reading the pattern as it prints. This helps the printer set up the advance rate, vacuum strength and printer head height, optimising it for this paper. All this info is saved and sent to the printer for future use and is only done once for a new paper type. As long as this setup is done and a correct ICC profile is used, prints are printed to perfection.

One downfall of testing a printer which has not yet been announced is that ICC profiles are not easy to get hold of. Hahnemuhle kindly supplied their profiles before going live with them, but the papers I was testing from Innova and Olmec didn’t have profiles. X-Rite however came to the rescue lending me a ColorMunki calibration tool. I used the device and software to calibrate my screen and set about making my very first paper ICC profile which proved to be extremely easy. In no time I had profiled all the papers and dove into to the task of testing the printer with colour and black and white images, on 12 rolls of Canon, Hahnemuhle, Innova and Olmec papers I had to hand.

After printing my first A1+ sized print, once the awe of it’s size had subsided, I realised just how good this printer was. In my rush I’d just wanted to do a rough test print just to see. However this test print was stunning! The printer was showing it’s abilities straight from go, the media configurator and superb Canon Photoshop printer plugin working swiftly and efficiently. To finish, the ColorMunki had set up perfect ICC profiles.

A1+ sized print, printed on Canon's Glossy Photo Quality Paper from the Canon iPF 6300, in a park. London. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

I threw image after image at the printer. Bright, highly saturated colour images, gentle, pastel coloured subtle images, contrasty and punchy black and whites and gentle and soft mono shots. Time and time again, the prints left me speechless. It didn’t matter what kind of photograph I was printing, or if the paper was matt or gloss, it performed brilliantly, time and time again. The only problems I had were one darkish and muddy print which turned out to be my fault as I hadn’t chosen the correct ICC profile in the printing plugin and an occasion where the heavyweight Innova FibaGloss 300 paper had scuff marks on one part of the print. I suspect that this is because of the curvature of the heavyweight paper and it’s gloss finish and that setting a stronger vacuum setting would hold the paper flatter. I also had issues with the Olmec Photo Satin 260 which if viewed from an angle produced a solarised look. Lastly the printer driver constantly crashed Aperture 3, but this I’m sure will be fixed by Canon in time as their other printers work perfectly with Aperture.

In the printer’s plugin (as in the print driver), there is an option to set the print quality to standard, high or highest. My initial reaction at seeing the option was to use highest for all my work but decided to explore further. Having made prints from the same image on all settings, initially I couldn’t see any difference; they all looked good. On further and close scrutiny, I began to see some very subtle differences. The image was from a model shoot on a 50 megapixel Hasselblad H3DII. On inspecting the pupil, the highest setting had rendered some of the subtle changes in tone and fine detail better; but only marginally when compared to the standard setting and the high setting produced an almost similar result. This is great news as it means that printing on lower setting produces much quicker prints and also saves on ink. On the subject of saving, apart from the initial outlay, running costs are cheaper when compared to smaller printers.

Upon ejecting the paper, the printer can be set to print an identifier barcode which contains information of the paper type and also length of roll remaining, which I found extremely useful and an idea that is to be commended; with good quality papers demanding a premium, the last thing I would want is to mix up papers which would lead to wastage.

I also must comment on the printer’s quietness in use. My office is generally pretty compact. Considering the size of prints it’s capable of, the unit’s relatively compact and quite when printing. The fact that it’s also such a speedy machine means that the printing’s done quickly and total silence returns with haste; a must in a creative environment.

As the days went on, I began to start to admire some of the papers more than the others. I need to add though that all the papers, once setup, worked admirably well. My favourites ended up being the Canon Glacier and the Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308 and quite possibly my absolute favourite, the Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta. Every highlight detail, every shadow subtlety was printed with absolute precision.

Having been a photographer for over 20 years, I’m from the school of hand printing, for which I have a couple of Kodak Press Awards. Having spent over a month or so with the Canon iPF6300, it’s the first time that I can confidently say that I can match anything I could do in the darkroom. For me, a higher accolade for a printer would be hard to come by.

1 Comment

Posted in Photography, Printer, printing, viewpoint

Tagged archival, exhibition, print, printer, printing

Secure Your Gear

Posted on December 23, 2010 | 9 comments

Combination padlocks are extremely practical. Attached to a Think Tank Photo Urban Disguise shoulder bag. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Photography equipment is expensive; everything from cameras to lenses to computers, is expensive. We often spend months or even years saving to get a particular piece of equipment and once we have it, we stop looking after our investment once at work, instead focusing on the assignment. Thankfully there are certain products and practices to help us safeguard our equipment whilst working. After all, we need to concentrate on our assignments and not on the safety of our gear. Most theft is opportunistic; these measures will stop the opportunist thief.

Out On The Street

I have known of press photographers having their backpacks containing laptops and spare camera equipment swiped off the street whilst they concentrate whilst working long doorstep type jobs (at courts, hospitals, politicians homes and so on).
It’s easy to put our bags down as fatigue sets in. A very simple precaution is to make sure that all the zips have padlocks on them. I personally use combination locks which means that there is no need for keys. This is good practice as it will stop a thief from opening your bag in crowded places like the tube.
To stop the bag from being stolen fully, I also make sure that my bags have cables with combination padlocks on them. These are available from most good outdoor shops, luggage shops or bicycle shops. All that remains is to find street furniture (fencing, posts and so on) or a tree to lock the bag too. Worse case scenario, you can also lock several bags together, making it impossible for someone to do a runner with them.

Hotels

Showing my travel set-up for an assignment in Canada using ThinkTank Photo's Airport International 2, padlocked to a bath tub handle in my hotel. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Whilst on foreign assignments, it’s often the way that equipment is transported using roller type cases and then use either pouches or a shoulder bag to work from whilst on the ground. The roller bag then being left behind in the hotel room. We also leave the roller bag fully kitted out when popping out to eat. Again, we are taking huge risks, leaving essential gear at the mercy of anyone who has or gains access to the room.
Thankfully Think Tank Photo roller bags have built in security measures with padlock zips and importantly a security cable attached to the bag’s chassis. It’s then a matter of finding something solid in the room to padlock our cable to. My personal favourite are bathtub handles.
These same security precautions should be carried out at press conferences, fashion weeks and so on.

Cafes

Cafes have turned out to be favourite wiring places for photographers; they provide essential coffee and broadband. I was in a situation where a colleague sat in front of me in a Starbucks had his Canon 1D MkII with 70-200mm f2.8L stolen from under his chair. The thief was so gentle and swift that neither of us noticed until long afterwards. My general precaution is to make sure that I put my leg through camera and bag straps when placing items on the floor.

The Car

PacSafe Exomesh secures two bags to luggage hooks in the boot of a car. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Our cars are another place where we leave lots of kit. Firstly, make sure that your doors are locked; this will stop the opportunist if they see a bag or camera on your seat when stopped at a red light or parked up in a street. Naturally, never leave any of your equipment in view, making sure that everything is in the boot, if you are parking the car and away from it. This also ensures that your insurance company will pay out if there’s a theft from an unattended vehicle.

One of the ways we are targeted by thieves is if someone observes us taking equipment from our boot; if possible, it’s always better to take away gear in a shoulder bag, or make sure no one is watching if you’re just grabbing a couple of cameras. The other is purely opportunists hoping to find a laptop; estate cars are especially at risk as the rear covers are easily ripped open after the rear window is smashed.

The cheapest way to secure your gear, especially if you have a Think Tank Photo bag is to lock it’s security cable to a luggage hook; this will stop the opportunist especially if they set off your car alarm. The next best and more secure way is to use a PacSafe Exomesh which covers your bag and allows you to attach it’s cable to a luggage hook in the car. The advantage with system is that it’s mobile so you can take a PacSafe Exomesh with you when abroad and use it in hire cars. They are also useful for hotel rooms.

ATHAG Guardsman custom made security cage. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Next comes the more secure metal cage approach. These are custom made for your needs and for your car. Anything from small hatchbacks to large estate cars and 4x4s are catered for. These are then secured to luggage hooks or even to the car’s chassis making them extremely secure. To top things off, they have multi point locks making the opening solid and secure. The two leaders in this field are Athag (my personal choice) with their Guardsman range and Barjo.

Look after your gear so you can get the job done.

9 Comments

Posted in Bag, Camera Equipment, viewpoint

Tagged equipment, photographic, safety, security, stolen, theft