Olympus OM-D E-M5 was released in the year 2012 and I think it was one of the most historically significant cameras for Olympus in the modern day digital era. Not only it revolutionized mirrorless cameras, the E-M5 Original has a magical charm that is difficult to replicate in other cameras. Even after all this time, using the E-M5 for my shutter therapy session recently in Kuala Lumpur, it is still such a wonderful camera to shoot with - it has decent image output, fast AF, good handling and ergonomics, 5-Axis Image Stabilization and all that made into a small, compact form body that looks super stylish. I hope OM Digital Solutions can recapture this charm in their next releases. I also made a POV video for my street shooting session, you can view it here (click). 

Gregory, a participant of my Kuala Lumpur Street Photography Workshop invited me for lunch with him at Park Lounge restaurant on the 75th floor of Merdeka 118 Tower. Not only was it my first time dining in a restaurant elevated so high above the ground level, but it was also my first time stepping foot into the iconic Merdeka 118, the second tallest building in the world! It was quite an experience dining at Park Lounge - the food was excellent, restaurant service was exceptional, such beautiful views of KL from 7th floor and the experience could not have been better shared with incredible friends. Matti Sulanto, one of my partners for the workshop was also there. I made a vlog to commemorate this, you can watch it here (click). 

I found this really cool Sony R1 from 2002 and I got to say, Sony made really cool cameras back in the day. They dared to be different and innovate their cameras, pushing boundaries and pushing the development ahead. The Sony R1 was the first large-sized sensor format camera (APS-C) to feature Live View, something that was unconventional at the earlier days of DSLR. It also features electronic instead of optical viewfinder. Perhaps the weirdest thing on the Sony R1 was the top mounted tiltable LCD screen, which works in some situations, but definitely not for high angle shooting. Having large sized 10MP APS-C sensor and bright zoom lens, this "prosumer" grade camera not only has a clear advantage over smaller sensor advanced compacts at that time, but it also challenges entry level DSLRs, with a strong proposition of built in lens with longer reach and brighter aperture compared to most kit lenses bundled with entry level DSLRs. I made a video to talk about this here (click). 

I have mentioned several times about me disliking the color rendition from Panasonic cameras, but that does not mean I cannot enjoy using them shooting in black and white instead. That was exactly what I did recently with the Panasonic GF7 and pairing it with the Olympus 25mm F1.8, I did some street shooting purely in black and white. I also made a video to show the POV of this session and shared my personal reasons on why I love shooting with smaller cameras for street photography. You can check out my latest video here (click). Black and white was so much fun, I should do this more!

I have been scouting the used marketplace for cheap digicams, sometimes I get lucky and found something interesting. I got this Pentax Optio RS1500 at such a good price I just could not resist, and it was still in such a great condition! There was nothing to shout about this camera really, it was a basic compact digital camera with very little controls and it was designed to be used as a point and shoot. As such, I did not have high expectations and I just let the camera do all the jobs and I merely clicked the shutter button, treating the camera as what it was - a point and shoot. I thought the images came out really well, in fact I prefer the images I got from this outdated compact than any modern smartphone cameras out there. I also did a POV street shooting video with this Pentax digicam here (click). 

My current flash, the Olympus FL50R is aging, I have been using them for 15 years. I thought it would be wise to get some new flash, but I am not willing to spend so much on a new flash system because my current photography does not require much flash. I don't use flash much for my client shoots these days, and the most I need flash is for occasional product shots, or group human shots, and they are far in between. I do use flash for my insect macro shooting, so I thought a budget flash makes more sense. I found the Godox TT600 (full manual flash), and I bought it immediately since it was only USD50. It has high power rating of GN60, and recycles reasonably fast, I find the performance to be quite good with consistent color output from shot to shot. I shared my thoughts about the Godox TT600 in my latest video here, which was the first insect macro POV shooting video, you get to see the camera screen before I click my shutter button!

I still have the Olympus E-1, the first DSLR made by Olympus Four Thirds and it is still fully operational. From time to time, I'd bring it out to do some shutter therapy. This time I paired it with the Olympus 14-54mm F2.8-3.5, roaming around Chow Kit area, one of my favorite street hunting grounds. I just cannot help but to admire the color output from the E-1's images, there is just something unique about the old Kodak CCD sensor. The colors are not exactly accurate or true to life, but has some exaggeration baked in, looking more vibrant and punchier. The skin tones are just so beautiful, and I can see why many people regarded the color output from the E-1 so highly! I made a new street shooting POV video with the E-1, you can find it here (click).  

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