This $300 street photography camera cost me £238 in the UK from MPB
in 2023. And that is including this great compact portrait lens. So why is
nobody talking about this camera and lens set up? And more importantly, why is
this camera so good for street photography? The strangely tragic thing
about this camera is the reason nobody's talking about it is also the reason
that it's so good for street photography. How can the core feature of this
camera be something that deters people from considering it, while also making it
ideal for street photography as a genre? When we consider different cameras for
different genres of photography, we might look at things like wildlife, sport,
weddings, portraits, but when it comes to street photography, it's a very specific
thing that we're looking for. The unique thing about street photography cameras
from the past and up until today is that having a smaller and lighter
camera setup is always going to be an advantage when you want to do
some everyday carry street photography. If you're searching for the golden ideal of
an everyday carry camera, that is a camera that you can carry with you
every single day and it doesn't get in the way, I think this Olympus
might be the exact thing you're looking for. Now look, as soon as you
hear the word Olympus, you probably know what this massive problem advantage
actually is. And for those unsure, we are talking about the Micro Four Thirds
sensor. Now, the sensor inside this camera is half the size of the full
frame sensor, which brings with it its own challenges. But that also brings with
it certain advantages that make it unique for street photography. If you've been in
the camera community for a little while, then you're probably aware that.
Microphone third users there is a certain breed of photographer. And if you say
anything negative about.
This, this amazing elite camera system, damn.
It can get a little bit touchy.
As a quick demonstration of the size and flexibility of this camera system,
we're going to weigh up against a full frame counterpart just at first
glance, looking at the size of these two cameras. Comparing the Sony A seven
C, which is full frame, and the Olympus OMD Em Ten, which is Micro
Four Thirds, it's wild just how much more compact this Micro Four Thirds camera
is compared to what is probably the most compact full frame camera you can
get with an interchangeable lens. The centre sizes between these two cameras
could not be more different. Typically, we see full frame sensors as the most
flexible and the centre size to aim for. And they tend to be better
in most ways when it comes to better dynamic range and more light coming
in through the sensor. But within street photography, there is one big letdown with
full frame sensors. One very large Jared let down. This letdown of full frame
cameras in a street photography setting can be seen most clearly when we
look at the lens mount and lens sizes. Here we have my A seven
C, which I love dearly, and my 50 millimetre, which I love equally. And
when we actually look at the size of this 50 millimetre, we immediately see
the problem. We've got a very large centre to COVID here, and that means
we have a very large lens. Aperture on the rear of this lens. This
is to accommodate lens mount and to be able to provide enough light to
COVID that 35 millimetre sensor. But this is a 50 millimetre 1.8 and it's
quite a chunky bit. Of glass and they get much bigger than this in
the red corner in micro four thirds world. This is a 45 millimetre
1.8 lens and this has a full frame equivalent focal length of 90
millimetres. Due to that. Half sensor size. Being able to get a long
focal length of 90 millimetres in something that is smaller than a full
frame 50 millimetre lens is mind blowing. If you want a similar focal length
in full frame world. This is an 85 millimetre Sony emout lens, albeit it's
a third party manufacturer. The Sony version of this is a bit shorter,
but still we are looking at the same focal length in your final image.
And look how much difference there is in the size. This benefit, which I
hadn't really considered in terms of street photography until getting this
camera, has often been overshadowed by the disadvantage that comes from a smaller
sensor size. And that is the amount of light that gets into the centre.
Full frame sensors can perform much better in lower light scenarios because they have
more surface area for the light to hit on the sensor, whereas the micro
four thirds has a much smaller sensor size. But if you're someone like me,
and you tend to shoot street photography generally out during the day with lots
of light, this shouldn't be a problem. This gorgeous little portrait lens is
actually the Olympus Mzuko 45 millimetre f one eight. And this is what gives
us that great 90 millimetre portrait focal length. And this lens aesthetically has
been designed to be able to go with cameras like this OMD em ten.
And I'm starting to see why.
I'm starting to see why the microphone earth.
People are so fanatical about this amazing large sensor. Totally big enough
sensors, totally big enough camera system. Let's take a look at this camera
both inside and out. And first, we're going to start with the outside of
this camera. Of course, exterior and ergonomics are completely subjective. And
as you can see from the thumbnail, my hands are giant and this camera
is tiny. But for me, with a little bit of customization of the dials
and buttons, I've found a really good rhythm when shooting with this camera in
the street. Starting with the lens, I'm using this camera in autofocus all the
time, so I'm never needing to touch this focus ring. And that means that
I've got my thumb and my finger free to be able to adjust the
shutter speed on this rear dial and then the aperture on the front dial.
That front dial actually has a triple function, so we have our aperture. When
we tap the function two button, it becomes our ISO. And in the centre
of it we have our shutter button. Considering that I bought this camera in
good condition from MPV in the UK, which I will show you a couple
of links to this model on MPV right now, and the second generation and
fourth generation. This camera I bought in good condition, which can vary wildly
depending on what MPB deemed to be damaged or cosmetic marks. I was very
lucky to get a camera that had perfect condition. LCD screen. This LCD is
also a tilt screen, which means for very nice low angle shooting when you're
sort of holding it centred on your body. On the rear of this camera,
I have one more function button that I didn't mention before. And this I
have set to the crop mode. On the Olympus, we actually get the original
image as well as a previewed crop, so we get to see what it
would be like if we cropped in. But if we decided in post we
wanted the full centre coverage, you can still use that. Besides, this camera's
devilishly good looks. It also offers a lot in terms of, ergonomic, simplicity in
everyday usage. But that's why Micro Four Thirds fans love these cameras. They're
small, lightweight and easy to use. But now it's time to look inside at
the internals and.
See if it's actually any good. Why are the specs decent? Because the sensor
is tiny.
But let's have a look at this massive great sensor and see how good
it is in the world of street photography. As we get into the internal
specs of this camera, I would like to get out of the way straight
away. This camera does shoot video, but it's only one thousand and eighty p
and it maxes out, I believe, 30 frames a second, so we're not going
to go into that. The sensor that we do have in here is a
16 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor from January 2014, which is only a few
months before the LX 100 that I reviewed, which came out in September 2014
with a Micro Four Third sensor. One of the more surprising features of this
camera being the mark one of this model series, is that it actually has
built in three axis sensor shift stabilisation, which the later models
actually then are given five axis stabilisation. And while it's not full
five axis for something that costs less than £200 to the camera body, I'm
totally happy with three axis, considering there are many DSLRs with a crop
sensor that you can buy that don't have any of this. We touched briefly
on the rather generous tilting LCD screen, but also this camera has quite a
nice EVF. It's not the highest resolution at 1.44 million dots, but when you
actually look at it, it appears to be quite large within the viewfinder
compared to something like the Sony A seven C, which the EVF itself has
a higher resolution, but actually appears a lot smaller. The fact that we
have an EVF in here that's nice to use. Means that day to day
shooting street. If it is a bit too bright, you can look in here
and it's a very nice option to have. As I mentioned previously, we have
a great LCD screen on the back. Of here, but it is not touchscreen.
But luckily you can just move the DPAD to move around the autofocus points.
That makes it very simple to set up your shots. And when you compare
this to DSLRs of the same age. You get 121 autofocus points on here
that you can literally pinpoint to the exact point that you want to use.
And you typically only find yourself using those single pinpoints when you're
shooting your environment. As soon as there's a person's face. The face
recognition is also very, very quick. Taking a look at the images that
I've taken so far since having this camera. And I think this camera does
something very unique for me because having something pocketable usually has
meant having something fairly compact in terms of lens sizes. And usually that
then limits you to something of 50 millimetre or shorter in terms of focal
length. Being able to carry something with this long of a focal length at
this low of an f stop in your pocket just feels alien and a
bit surprising. And it starts to make me think about should we be sticking
to one sensor size when we pick our cameras? My other main two cameras
are full frame. This is full frame. May 7. C is full frame. But
I have dabbled with crops. My first couple of cameras are Crops. And dabbling
with this and the LX 100 earlier this year is making me start to
see a lot of benefits to shoot a micro four thirds in street photography.
Specifically the affordability and the flexibility of this particular camera. And
then what came later with the later versions with higher megapixel counts are
really worth checking out for anyone that is on a budget when it comes
to picking out a street photography camera. I've got to admit, I now
see completely.
What the night of four thurst guys love about this. It does something that
we can't get in full frame or even ABS world.
And it's the best sensor size I've ever seen. And if you want to
get something around this sort of price, but this camera doesn't, you fancy go
cheque out this video where I compile a list of five cameras under $400
that you can buy today.