The Warsaw Experience – Olympus OMD EM1 and why I left my Ricoh GR in the Hotel. By Roger Odermatt

25 Comments

1. hello !

   not to late to get back to an old post. I’l about to buy this camera for some lumix lenses. As a a 2nd body.
   Thank you for the pictures and comments.
   Great !!

2. beautiful images. I like the final look of the images.. using any particular filters or just adjusted to taste?

   I had to get the E-M1 and 12-40 f/2.8 when it was first released.. and it was pretty much my only go to camera and lens combo 85% of the time.. Sure, there are smaller and faster primes, but I found I really didn’t need the faster max aperture and the full range of 12-40mm at f/2.8 renders very nicely as is. Solid combo.. complimented it with a 40-150mm f/2.8 about a year later when it was released.. also switched from the original all black to silver e-m1 just because it looked really nice in silver, as well.

   I did eventually make another switch to e-m5 mkii for some of the newer features, but afterwards, in retrospect, I wish I didn’t and had kept my e-m1 instead.. the e-m1’s buffer is much better, the best of all the om-d’s and the start up time is the fastest.. it took barely over 1 second to turn on the e-m1.. where as the e-m5 on average took at least 4 seconds to start up. The e-m5 mkii had very nice build quality, but the e-m1 definitely feels more solid.. i think due to the built in hand grip.. admitedly, i wasn’t a fan of the look of the built in e-m1 grip, but ergonomically it felt great and because the rest of the camera body including the grip was constructed out of 1 solid piece of magnesium alloy, overall, the camera feels super solid which was nice. The e-m5 mkii, especially once you put on the 2-piece battery grip did not feel as solid.. you have 3 pieces holding the camera together instead of 2 (if you included the battery grip with the e-m1).. it held, but the e-m5 mkii I could feel some slight bit of play even with the grip components tightened as much as possible.. e-m1 is best build and performing Olympus camera to date.. and laters, my bit of regret in trading up the e-m1 for the e-m5 mkii came when the E-M1 got a fat ass firmware upgrade which basically brought nearly all the specs up to the same as the e-m5 mkii.. in a way better as it could process focus stacking in camera where as the e-m5 mkii (& other Olympus models which had focus stacking) could not.. had to process afterwards on a computer.

   Anyways.. great images and I enjoy reading and seeing what is still being done with the E-M1 even though I’ve since sold mine and using Fuji now.

   Looking forwad to seeing what the e-m1 mk2 can do.. looks really nice, the best ever.

3. I love the compositions. I think any camera in your hands in these locations would yield great photos.

   I think the colors and processing have a bit, or more than a bit, of a Hipstamatic look to them. I like the look, and at the same time, think you could get the same, or similar shots, with an iPhone and Hipstamatic, or other mobile phone application. That isn’t intended to be a slam, but rather, a complement to your talent.

4. Thoroughly enjoyable!

   I like your colour palette, too – these don’t have the typical digital candy-coloured look of 90% of, say, the snapshots on flickr.

   In case you don’t realize it: “Bubble Girl Joy” is a masterpiece! So glad you caught that moment. I’d be thrilled with a shot like that every decade or so. :^)

5. I love the look of the colors. Some folks do not, and that’s OK. Vignetting is a little heavy for me in a couple of instances, but that’s OK too! I’ll echo what Chazz asked and ask what processing presets did you use? The colors in this set of photos set off the environment in a very film-like way. Having started my photography with Kodachrome II and Plus X, I get a nostalgic enjoyment from such renderings. I think of Warsaw as a city rich in history, and such a rendering seems very appropriate.

   I, too, enjoyed the Nuns. Thanks for sharing.

   • Wow, thank`s for all the comments! I really appreciate them all. Processing the photos in LR I tried some in B&W and in color and they looked good. But I wanted to try something else and I must say I still like the old film look especially for street photography. Warsaw is definitely a city with a rich history and a great city to explore.
     For processing in LR I use presets from BeArt and VSCO as a startup and did the rest by my own.

     Thanks
     Roger

     • Oh, man, maybe you should it either keep colors as in JPG or turn to BW… That’s my city and you made it look to me so sad, dull and unlivable. But no offence – that’s your vision (and most probably my pics of foreign places would be unbearable or at least strange for local folks).

6. I too love the image of the nuns at the ice cream place. Thx for sharing these!!

7. Nice set of shots. Thanks for posting. The girl and the bubble wins for me too!

8. Very nice images and processing!!!!

9. I like the colour pallette, Roger. Did you use a film preset or similar in Lightroom?

10. Enjoyed these images and whatever processing you did was excellent.
    Thanks for posting.

11. what happened to colors ?

12. Great pics, love the one with the nuns 🙂
    Purchased my EM1 + 12-40pro in 2013 and never regretted this step!

13. I really like allot of these shots thanks for sharing
    And as far as the filters or whatever preset you used
    I think if it looks right and you like it why not pre
    Digital people have forgotten their was allot of trickery done in the darkroom just done now with a few clicks and
    Strokes of the mouse

14. And from the look of it you took some pictures in the rain with a splash proof sealed camera and lens. I also got rid of heavy Canon and L lens for EM1 and pro 12 – 40mm f2.8 lens and love the outfit and IQ. LIKE THE SOAP BUBBLE the most but all are nicely done. Also looking forward to MKII version.

15. Nice images with plenty of interest and very well composed, but what’s wrong with the colours ? Most look like a “Lomo camera effect” has been added in PP. Sorry to be a little negative but the colours do spoil what could be really nice pics. Regards Ken r.

    • I’m going out on a limb here and guessing he likes the Lomo camera effect… seeing as he chose to do that.

      I really like the one with the Nuns buying ice cream, that’s the best of the bunch.

      • Agreed about the nuns. Colors are obviously a matter of choice in PP, not product of camera itself.

    • I like the effect actually. Adds a nice mood which suits the scenes.

16. Very nice set. Did you use any particular brand of presets or your own processing?

17. Girl and the bubble is very cool.

18. Beautifully caught and framed, all of them! But I must say my favourite is number 5 with the happy child and balloon/soap bubble.

19. Great shots Rob–the shot with the nuns had me laughing.

20. Very nice set of images, Roger! Enjoy your new Oly; and, please post more photos.

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