Useful with Old Manual Lenses

By JOHN K.

Like most people, I built up the basic Canon EOS 35mm film package back when I first got married and started a family. I did not justify purchasing the Pro series lens back then, so I opted for the gold line EF series with ultrasonic motors. Basic coverage, I got 3 lens. 28-105, 100-300 and the Nifty 50. During the days of film shooting, you really had motivation to make each picture count because you had maximum of 36 tries to get a picture that you like. I jumped onboard late in the digita...l DSLR world, and naturally I wanted to use my Canon lens investment so went with a Canon 4Ti body. It worked great, except for the APS-c Crop factor. The Olympus Pen series caught my eye back in the days when they started their heavy ad campaign. I always bonded with the Olympus brand because back in High School, I had and loved my OM-10. I started with the PEN EPL-5, and loved the size and look of it. The quality of the pictures were more than acceptable for my needs, but there was always something missing. It is every photographer's dream to take good, nice pictures that you and others would look at, over and over again. I am not a fan of amateurs just buying the most expensive equipment and never using it to its potential. (3.0 tennis players using Roger Federer's Prostaff 90 model, Beginner table tennis players buying a $200 Butterfly Paddle, 16 year olds getting their hands on a GSXR1100...) BUT, in order to have a chance of improving at anything, the equipment has to have the potential to let you do things at a higher level. In photography, the most direct way to improve one's skills through equipment is, I believe, the LENS. Good quality glass that is sharp, and allows a fast, large aperature size opens the key to a whole new world. The main reason that I got the new EM-10 II was so that I could use and experiment with old manual lenses. (Canon FD, Olympus, Pentax screw mounts (especially the Takumar) I first started using these lenses with my EPL-5, but the main issue was on focusing. The EPL PEN cameras only have a Live View screen, and in the field, it is not easy to use. The only way to get accurate focusing was to use the "Magnify" button, but out in the sun, the screen was hard to see, and on average a picture that needed focus adjustment took on average 5 seconds to prepare, compose and shoot. It did not have focus peaking. With the EM10, I mainly got it for the focus peaking ability. Prior, I had never used focus peaking, except when I was playing around with samples at a camera store. The EM10 is great because it is small. Compared to my EPL-5, the body is not much bigger. It is slightly thicker, and it just sticks out a little higher because of the viewfinder. It is a great looking camera, and it makes me feel happy just to hold it. I always felt like that with all Olympus OM cameras in the past. (Even in the old 35mm days, the OM were so compact than others) If you are new to micro four thirds, all things considering, it is a great format. It is a camera that you will love carrying all day long, and the quality of the pictures are great. I would suggest getting the "GOOD" lens in your arsenal, but if you don't want to spend a lot of money on good lens right now, go find some good quality old lenses that you can pick up for less than $100. (We're talking about lenses that the pro's used in the 60's and through the 80's. These lens make a lot of difference.