Laying Down On The Job

Cheetah Cub, originally uploaded by http://andrewskelton.net.

I think, by now Dear Reader, you have an inkling that I, like a lot of people, like the retro look when it comes to camera gear but there are limits and I think Olympus – who have released a number of great looking cameras recently – have overstepped the mark when it comes to the new OM-D E-M5. It certainly has all the styling cues from the original 35mm OM SLR range but that’s not necessarily a good thing when you look back to the original – plus these design traits have migrated from a 35mm full frame camera to a much smaller micro-four thirds camera and for me the proportions are all wrong. Of course I’ve only seen photographs of them and am willing to reserve judgement until I see it in the flash, so to speak, but I won’t be going in unbiased.

When it comes to retro camera design the new Fuijifilm X-Pro 1 is, for me, the king of the heap but then looking so similar to a Leica M series of camera it can’t help but look good. In fact, looking at the two camera’s side by side, you might be easily convinced that Leica themselves have produced a new, more rounded version of their classic, so close are the two camera’s in looks. Many people complain about the size and weight of dSLRs – carrying around the 1D4, 600mm, tripod, and a bag full of other lenses – size and weight aren’t an issue for me unless it’s at the other extreme. Instead of the 43lbs of gear I usually lug around with me (I have weighed it!), these new mirror less interchangeable lens camera are too small and too light for my liking. I like to be able to get a firm grip on the camera to help reduce any camera shake (or perhaps create it, as is more commonly the case these days) and these new breed of cameras seem far too small to me. Also lacking view finders, as most of them do, means that the user has to hold the camera at arms length which isn’t condusive for keeping a camera steady.

Blimey, this blog has become a real camera-fest recently hasn’t it! Normal service will resume shortly!

Advertisement