Some of the older photos shown on this site were taken with the Olympus® C-2500L digital camera in the pre-dSLR era! I switched to the Olympus E-300, a dSLR, in December 2004. I chose Olympus instead of the more mainstream Nikon or Canon because I like some of the new technologies that Olympus introduced, as well as the excellent lenses.
In November 2007 I traded in the E-300 camera body for the Olympus E-510 because Olympus was offering a good trade-in deal at that time, and I wanted the new features such as the live-view and in-body image stabilization. Unfortunately a camera gadget addiction has caught me, and I ended up purchasing the Olympus E-3, the top of the line Olympus dSLR, in May 2008.
E-3 with 12-60mm lens
I purchased two new zoom lenses that feature the SWD (Supersonic Wave Drive) auto-focusing which is very fast.
Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm F2.8-3.5 SWD
Zuiko Digital ED 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD
I find that these lenses to be excellent. In addition to the above two lenses, I have a Zuiko Digital ED 50mm macro lens because I used to photograph orchids which I used to grow.
I used the 50-200mm lens on my Ecuador trip in March 2009, and found its fast auto-focusing mechanism to be excellent. Of course, on many occasions I wished I had had a longer lens, but such a lens would cost $$$ and be very bulky. Also, a tripod is almost a must for such a very long zoom lens. Since I would like to minimize the amount of equipment to carry on a trip, this lens will have to do.
When Olympus instroduced the E-5, I wasn't going to purchase it for a while because I thought the E-3 which already owend was good enough, but I talked myself into purchasing the E-5 in February 2011. Although very similar to the E-3, Olympus implemented many improvements, and I am very happy with it.
I decided to keep both models, and thus I can now have a camera with a telephoto lens and another with a standard zoom lens! The photo below shows the E-5 with the 50-200mm F2.8-3.5SWD lens, and the E-3 with the 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD lens. I used both cameras on my recent (February 2011) trip to Death Valley and the Grand Canyon, and I am pleased with the new acquisition.
E-5 with 50-200mm lens and E-3 with 12-60mm lens
I, also, purchased a new tripod (Manfrotto 190CX3) and head (Giotto MH 1300). Since the tripod is made of carbon fiber and thus fairly light, I may start taking it on some of the trips in the future. I will really look like a geek, then!
Since my cameras are much better than my photographic skills, I'm trying to learn more about photography - especially nature photography. I just finished reading Nature Photography - Photo Workwshop" by Nat Coalson. What an excellent book! The photos used to illustrate various discussions are fantastic, and I highly recommend the book if you don't already own it. After reading the book, I realize that I have been pretty much a point-and-shoot photographer with expensive cameras!
Inspired by the book, I've purchased some filters with which I am beginning to experiemnt: a few graduated and solid neutral density (ND) filters and a polorizer by Singh-Ray Filters. This means that I will definitely have to start carrying the tripod on some of the trips, and practice many of the tips I learned!
For the Galapagos trip (March 2009), I wanted to have an inexpensive camera for under-water photography. Thus, I purchased the Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 which is rated to be waterproof down to 33 ft. (10m) and shockproof. It's somewhat disconcerting to have to shoot without a viewfinder, but it did prove handy and I even took some video underwater with it.
I used to shoot video with the Sony DCR-SR20 (prior to March 2008) and the Sony HDR-SR11 (since then), but I wanted to be able to take good photos and videos with one device. Since I learned that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 digital camera does excellent jobs on both videos and photos, I purchased one in the fall of 2009. It came with a nice 15-150mm lens which is suitable for recording HD video.
I like the fact that it is very compact (see this side-by-side photo of Panasonic Lumix GH1 and Olympus E3), and yet it takes great photos and HD videos - especially the videos. The kit lens, a 10x (14mm - 140mm) zoom lens, is pretty handy, too. Another handy feature is that one can select an image aspect ratio to suit ones needs from 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9. The 16:9 aspect ratio is perfect when shooting a panoramic scenery.
I took the Lumix DMC-GH1 on the Botswana/Zambia trip so that I could use it to record videos and to shoot wide-angle photos while I used the Olympus E-3 with a 50-200mm lens for telephoto shots. This was very hand in that I didn't have to switch lenses in dusty conditions. Also, it took great videos in HD (720p at 60 fps).
Now that I have purchased Olympus E-5 dSLR which can also record video in HD (720p at 60 fps), I decided to sell the Lumix DMC-GH1 while it still had a good resale value. Starting with the Death Valley/Grand Canyon trip in February 2011, I started taking videos with the Olympus E5 dSLR.
