Olympus E-30, f/3.4, 1/1000s, ISO 400
Latest
Tuesday Lomo
Olympus Stylus Lomo 830, f/4.5, 1/250s, ISO 125
Photo Friday
Olympus E-30, f/10, 1/250s, ISO 200
Tuesday lomo
Olympus Stylus Lomo 830, f/5, 1/500s, ISO 200
Tuesday lomo
Olympus Stylus Lomo 830, f/3.3, 1/8s, ISO 200
Photo Friday
Olympus E-30, f/4, 1/2000s, ISO 200
Tuesday lomo
Olympus Stylus Lomo 830, f/5, 1/800s, ISO 200
Photo Friday
Olympus E-30, f/3.5, 1/320s, ISO 200
Tuesday lomo
Olympus Stylus Lomo 830, f/3.3, 1/50s, ISO 200
Newer, better. But only in some ways…
“Why does the ‘latest’ in advertisements mean ‘best’?…I submit that what has imposed this climate of opinion so firmly on the human mind is a new archetypal image. It is the image of old machines being superseded by new and better ones”. – C.S. Lewis
While capturing photos over the past year or two, I’d been noticing that my hands aren’t quite as steady as they used to be when I was a younger. The issue becomes much more apparent at telephoto focal lengths, when even the slightest movement of the camera gets exaggerated. I knew that at some point I’d want to look into a new camera body with built-in image stabilization.
So a few months ago I picked up a (lightly used) Olympus E-30 DSLR. Developed in 2008 and released in January 2009, it represents technology that is 4 years newer than my E-300 (developed in 2004 and released in January 2005), which I’ve been shooting with since 2006. And the E-30 is a great camera. In addition to image stabilization, the Panasonic-made sensor does much better than the E-300 in low light, it has an additional control dial for quickly changing settings, it offers 12 megapixels rather than the 8 megapixels of the E-300, the viewfinder is larger and brighter, and the rear LCD is larger. I enjoy using it a lot.
Still, there’s something about the color and “depth” of the images produced by the Kodak-made sensor in the E-300. When given plenty of light, it yields superb results. I really don’t see myself completely abandoning the E-300 for its newer brethren. And I’m not alone. In perusing some of the online photography forums, it seems that many people have chosen to hold on to their E-300 (or E-500, which uses the same sensor) camera due to the unique quality of the Kodak sensor. Some have even gone back and re-purchased a used model after previously selling theirs for an upgrade.
And I think I’ve found a solution for keeping the E-300 in my regular line-up. A few years ago, Panasonic made a four-thirds model camera (sharing the basic Olympus sensor/lens configuration), but Panasonic chose to put the image stabilization function into their lenses rather than the camera body. The Panasonic lenses worked on Olympus bodies, and vice-versa. So now I’m going to be on the lookout for a good deal on a used Panasonic lens or two.
The good old Kodak sensor AND image stabilization. That will be a mighty match.
SocialVibe