My Kit

Here is my current Micro Four Thirds (MFT) kit and related accessories (updated 1.7.2018) listed. I do not intend to review every item but just give brief comments how they suit my system. If you want to know more, feel free to ask questions. As I am an amateur, I tend to look for good value for money in my kit. However, I must admit I like my toys so it is not always about common sense when making buying decisions…

Here is a list of my current kit with brief comments. Later on I have written few words about MFT system in general and comments of lenses I have tried or had before.

Cameras and lenses

• Cameras
  • Olympus OM-D E-M1 mark II
    • Main camera body at the moment. Extremely capable and feature-rich camera.
  • Olympus OM-D E-M5 mark II
    • I left this as my second and backup body. Sometimes it is nice to grab just this smaller body along with 17mm or 25mm prime lens.
    • I have a dummy grip to use with larger lenses.
      
• Lenses
  • Olympus M. Zuiko 12-100/4 Pro
    • All-round workhorse. Superb lens, if a bit big and heavy in MFT terms. Very sharp and versatile. Pricier than other general purpose zooms but considering it suits almost any photographic situation, well worth it.
      
    • Has its own image stabiliser that works together with M1II or M5II IBIS for even better stabilisation. Stabilisation especially with M1II is simply amazing.
  • Olympus M. Zuiko 17/1.8
  • Olympus M. Zuiko 25/1.8
  • Olympus M. Zuiko 45/1.8
    • These three form a prime set for low-light conditions. I pick 17 or 25 also when I want a small setup without the big 12-100 zoom.
  • Olympus M. Zuiko 60/2.8 Macro
    • Excellent macro lens. This is a new addition to my kit and first attempt on macro so more comments coming.
  • Laowa 7.5/2
    • Ultra-wide rectilinear (not fisheye) lens, fully manual and tiny. New addition to my kit, more comments coming.
    • I have noticed some issues with E-M1 mark II which I suspect are due to slight incompatibility or wrong settings of the stabiliser system. More tests are needed to decide whether I will keep the lens or sell it.
  • Panasonic 100-300/4-5.6 Power O.I.S.
    • Long tele zoom, also newer addition to kit and do not have extensive use experience yet.
    • I have noticed that choosing between lens and camera stabiliser can be confusing and results a bit inconsistent, so more tests are needed to decide whether I will keep the lens or sell it.

I am not going to review every single item, internet is full of reviews. Briefly I can say these cameras are great for capturing stationary or slow moving subjects. In-body image stabiliser is excellent so there is no need to increase ISO too much if subject is stationary which is often the case in my photos. While focusing is very fast, focusing system is not good for tracking moving subjects so these are not the best cameras for capturing action. Olympus is known for extensive feature set which also means that menus and all configuration options may be overwhelming; I do like the high configurability, almost anything can be customised. These cameras as well as the 12-100 zoom are weather-sealed.

E-M5 mark II stands somewhere slightly above middle of the OM-D product range. For more pro features and significantly improved focus tracking, look at E-M1 mark II. And while pricey, this camera is extremely capable and have very extensive (and even overwhelming) feature set. You cannot find much bad reviews of this camera.

In terms of bang-for-buck, Olympus E-M10 mark II is the best pick. It is a superb camera, close to M5 mark II but for half the price. I had it before the M5II which mostly offers weather sealing, slightly more advanced IBIS that works together (Sync IS) with some Pro lenses, HiRes shots, and few other features over M10II. Image quality is identical.

Panasonic’s MFT cameras are excellent choices as well, I am just used to Olympus now and know their models, menus, and features well. Overall, I highly recommend MFT system unless you really need or want the image quality of a full-frame system. Personally I wouldn’t pick cropped-sensor DSLRs anymore unless you own good set of lenses. But that is just my opinion after getting used to mirrorless.

I have tried a lot of MFT lenses and have written very brief comments at the end of the page.

Tripods

• Sirui N-1004kx + Giottos MH5012 3-way head
  • I’ve recently only used at home where I have it extended ready to use all the time. 3-way head is handy for product photography I do for my other website.
  • This is also my travel option if needing a bit sturdier tripod; it is still relatively small.
  • Giottos 3-way head is cheap and unfortunately it also shows, I only use it at home. Locking a position just does not feel confident.
• Amazon cheapo Chinese Q666C carbon fiber travel tripod
  • My current travel tripod. I have written a review of this. Briefly, good value for (little) money but also feels a bit cheap.
    
• (Very) old Gorillapod with small ballhead from my old Slik tripod
  • This is the one I may pick for a trip if I think I most probably do not need a tripod at all. It is handy to attach on handrails or so (see newer models). Works nicely on smaller lenses but becomes front-heavy with 12-100.

I have mentioned cheap feel few times regarding tripods. Overall, the choices have been decent and have given good value for money. However, now I would probably pick something better in the beginning. Quality does not come cheap though. But for example, I recently tried 3 Legged Thing Corey which is similar size to my Q666C and the difference in feel is significant, it feels something you can rely on even on a more demanding trip. But of course, it costs 2.5 times what I paid for the Q666C and being aluminium is still heavier.

Filters

I use filters occasionally for long exposure photos (see another post). I do not use protector filters except on the 12-100 lens.

• Round filters
  • 72mm protector for 12-100
  • 72mm CPL for 12-100 where I have the square filter adapter attached
  • 46mm ND8 and ND1000 to use with 17/1.8 or 25/1.8
• Square filters
  • Formatt-Hitech 85mm filter holder + adapter rings
  • ND8 (3 stops) and ND1000 (10 stops) 85mm filter
    • I need to get one ND between those, probably 7-stop one
  • 3-stop grad and reverse grad 85mm filter

Lights

I use external lights mainly for product photography for my other website.

• Olympus FL-600R flash
  • For occasional indoor events. I used this more when studying and photographing more events but not much anymore. It feels a bit plasticy and laggy compared to Canon what I used before Olympus. Not sure if newer Olympus flashes (and/or cameras) respond faster to a shutter release. Again, not really for shooting action but otherwise good automatic flash with lots of functions.
• 3x Yongnuo YN560III flash + YN560-TX transmitter
  • Cheap Chinese manual flash set. This is really good for manual flash work as you can adjust the power of each flash using the transmitter on your camera hotshoe. I have been using this only for product photography, and using less now due to the Amazon portable studio. This whole set costs significantly less than one Olympus flash.
    
• Amazon Portable Photo Studio
  • Very simple, space-efficient and excellent bang-for-buck solution for product photography as it includes lights inside the tent. We got this as my partner also needed an easy-to-use light kit (which the 3x Yongnuo flash + controller is not). Quick and easy to set up and collapse. However, light is not perfectly even and less controllable as in individual tent + lights setup.

Bags

Camera bag is like camera and lens – perfect solution just does not exist. It is either too small, too big, too something else, or missing features. And it is impossible to own only one camera bag. I have also tried plenty but here is what I have at the moment.

• S-Zone (Amazon) small messenger bag
  • I mostly use when travelling somewhere by plane, and I may use these inside a bigger bag or as a second bag on plane. I am not the biggest fan of messenger bags overall.
• Lowepro Photo Sport 200 AW (old discontinued model)
  • Has been my main bag for a while. Fits enough camera stuff, I can fit my travel tripod inside or outside, and also some non-photography things inside. Very light, does not seem too durably though.
• MindShift Gear Rotation 180 Horizon
  • I have had this for three months now and will write a brief review at some point. I really like this bag! The rotation system is brilliant and actually works very well. It is quite big though, fits a lot of extra things inside. But that’s why I wanted it – I can do not only day trips but also weekend trips or even short plane trips with only this bag.
  • I am considering replacing the Lowepro bag with a smaller MindShift Rotation model (Trail).

Other accessories

• Extra batteries for camera, I have 3 Olympus batteries (2 from cameras and 1 extra bought) and one ExPro battery
• Memory cards, 2x 16 GB Sandisk Extreme and older 8 GB Sandisk cards
  • I like to have few smaller cards instead of one huge. After a trip I change memory card but I do not format the used one before I have edited and backed up the photos.
• Lens wipes, Lens pens, microfibre cloths, lens pouches
  • Take care of your expensive kit!
• Cable release
  • I mostly use 2s self-timer with tripod but sometimes cable release is handy
• Pouches, bags, and wallets for lenses, filters, and memory cards

The list became surprisingly long, especially considering I am only a hobbyist. However, I have slowly collected these within the last six+ years. Buying something, then maybe selling it and buying something better and so on. Buying second hand gear is also good way to save money, especially if you are not sure what piece of kit exactly do you want.

MFT System

I have been using Olympus cameras since 2012 when I changed from Canon APS-C to Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system. MFT standard was released by Olympus and Panasonic who are still the main contributors of the system although there are cameras, camcorders, and lenses from several manufacturers. MFT sensor is smaller than APS-C used in Canon and Nikon entry-level and prosumer cameras: crop factor is 2 compared to 1.6 in Canon and 1.5 in Nikon. This means the size compared to a 35mm sensor. This also means that for example 12-40mm MFT lens corresponds 24-80mm field of view in full-frame or 35mm camera.

You can find thousands of debates all over internet but briefly the advantage of MFT is size and weight – lenses covering similar field of view in a larger system are a lot bigger and heavier. This is just physics. Smaller and lighter does not always mean cheaper though – new lenses providing good enough optical quality to fully utilise the small sensor are not cheap. There is also huge size and weight difference between lenses within the MFT system; you can find tiny pancake lenses, while weather-sealed fast pro-grade lenses are not small anymore. Flexibility is definitely big strength of the system.

When I swapped to MFT back in 2012, one of the biggest selling points of these was the in-body image stabiliser (IBIS, as Olympus call theirs). Olympus really nailed it when introducing E-M5 which was my first OM-D camera. This was something no-one else had at that time. Image stabilisers back then were optical, in lenses. This IBIS meant you could have IS with every single lens. Fast-forward to 2018 and it is not a speciality anymore – not only Panasonic in MFT system but also Fuji and Sony have in-body stabilisation in their own systems.

Lenses I have tried or owned in the past

I have tried a lot of lenses in the system, bought second hand and sold again after my preferences have changed or I simply wanted to have something different. From the kit at the moment I would say the four Olympus lenses are keepers. 12-100 Pro is just so versatile for travel and walk-about photography that the only reason I see getting rid of it would be if I moved onto a different system altogether. I don’t use the prime set 17, 25, and 45 that much at the moment but they are nice to have for indoor events and when there is not too much light and subjects are not stationary. Or if you just want to have less obtrusive system.

Lenses I have tried and some comments why I do not have it anymore

• Olympus 12-40/2.8 Pro
  • Definitely a keeper, excellent lens, but I sold it to fund the 12-100 Pro.
• Olympus 40-150/4-5.6
  • Also a keeper considering its price; recently even new ones have been around £100, used even less. It’s very plasticy and gets a bit softer and loses contrast at tele end but excellent buy for the price. However, I did not use it anymore after getting the 12-100.
• Olympus 9-18/4-5.6
  • Affordable wide-angle option, very plasticy and not optically superb; shows quite some purple fringing and is a bit soft. However, still a lot cheaper than many other wide-angle options. But must say this lens used to be a lot cheaper, nowadays maybe slightly overpriced.
• Olympus 75/1.8
  • Superb lens, always very pleased with the results. However, this is a special lens; long fixed focal length is not a walk-around lens. If you’re not sure you need it, you probably do not need it. Bokeh is of course nice.
• Olympus 12/2
  • Had it years ago when shooting mainly with primes, and this is the only reason one would want this after Pro zooms were released. It is overpriced for what it is, for example 12-40 is optically better. Zoom is larger and slightly slower of course.
• Olympus 14-150/4-5.6
  • Ok all-around lens but gets a bit soft and loses contrast at tele end. But decent option if you cannot afford the 12-100 Pro which is in completely different league.
• Samyang 7.5 fisheye
  • Nice little lens, cheap and optically good. But fisheyes are special purpose lenses, the effect is nice sometimes but in almost all cases unwanted in my opinion. I prefer rectilinear ultra-wide-angle. Remember this is also manual lens.
• Panasonic 12-32/3.5-5.6
  • Tiny pancake zoom. Not optically superb but decent. Good option for a pocket-lens as this is truly tiny, and can be grabbed used for quite good price.
• Panasonic Leica 25/1.4
  • A bit faster option for 25mm. Slightly bigger and slower in terms of focus than Olympus 25/1.8. I also had slight focus problems in my old M5 body. However, good option for 25mm especially if you get it good price second hand.
• Panasonic 20/1.7
  • Nice little pancake lens with large aperture. Optically good, focus is a bit slow compared to newer lenses. There was also some strange banding issues with Olympus bodies at high ISOs. Even if these issues were small, I felt a bit that I couldn’t trust the lens 100%.
• Panasonic 14/2.5
  • One of the smallest, if not the smallest MFT lens. Therefore, good choice for pocket-lens for a small camera body. As 20/1.7, focusing is already a bit outdated.
• Panasonic 14-45/3.5-5.6
  • Some years ago this was one of the better kit lenses, beating Olympus and other Panasonic models, and it could be bought for quite low price off eBay. I am not sure what is the situation now compared to newer kit lenses.