Jan 12, 2022

Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm F2.8-3.5 II - Shooting Portraits

Happy New Year 2022! I know I am late to make that wish here, but if you have followed me elsewhere, you would have known I have updated a few videos and some posts on YouTube and Facebook page. I don't know, it is now 2022, does anyone still come here any more?

In December 2021, I went home to my hometown in Kuching, Borneo for half a month holiday, to spend some time with mum, catching up with friends and of course eat some good food! I brought along only one camera for this trip, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II as I did not expect to do any shoots. The lens I had with me was borrowed from dear friend Jackie, the Zuiko Digital 14-54mm F2.8-3.5 II, which was made for earlier Olympus DSLR cameras. I adapted the lens onto my E-M1 Mark II via MMF-2 adapter, and I shared my experience using the lens on an OM-D body here (click to video) if you are interested to know. 

In this blog entry, I shall just share some shots taken from a short portrait shooting outing. It was tagging along Kieron Long (Leica Ambassador, Malaysia) and stole a few shots with my E-M1 Mark II with the 14-54mm II attached. If I knew I would have done a portrait session, I would probably have brought along the 75mm F1.8 and 45mm F1.8 for this trip, but the only lens I had was 14-54mm II. Not that I was complaining, the lens was more than adequate to do some casual, non-commercial environment shoot, and I was happy with what I saw coming from the lens. 

Do take note that I did not have full control over this shoot, it was organized by someone else, and there were half a dozen other photographers present shooting the same one model in a span of less than 2 hours. My opportunities were limited and I did not want to step on anyone's toes, as everyone seemed really passionate in getting the best shots. I just did what I could to get some sample shots with the lens, knowing I will make a video content discussing the AF speed/reliability and image quality from the 14-54mm II used on E-M1 Mark II. What I am trying to say is - these are not my best work, but I am putting them up here to demonstrate what the lens can do, and I must say - my artistic input (or the lack of it) aside, the lens does shine!

Special shout out to model Wendy Ling (IG @wendy_wendyling) and thanks Kieron for having me along. 












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8 comments:

  1. I still enjoy reading blog posts and have you in my feed reader for a while now. Please dont stop posting 😊

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  2. Yes, some of us still wait for your blog posts!

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  3. Thanks guys, much appreciated! Video production takes out a huge chunk of my time, but I will try find time to sit down and write some entries once in a while.

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  4. Still checking here first, Robin! Although I do watch your videos once in a while, I'm not really the kind who sits and watches videos. Also, for various reasons, I don't wear headphones and have things playing in the background, either, which I imagine is the way plenty of YouTube videos are consumed. That might horrify their creators if they found out: all that work on visuals and people treat it like a podcast!

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  5. The written word is sooooo much easier to navigate when you need to flip back and forward between articles, and being able to cut and paste information/details that I find interesting and/or useful is really important - try that with video!!
    Your videos are better at showing how to do something, but PLEASE keep the blog going Robin.

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  6. Thanks Paul and David for the feedback. I do prefer to write and share my photographs in blog article format. However, the harsh truth is - monetization. YouTube ads make a lot more money. In the months of lockdowns in Malaysia recently the only thing that sustained me was YouTube. Hence priority shifted to making more videos, unfortunately. If and when my photography business recovers one day and I may not have to depend on YouTube, I will shift my focus back to blogging more.

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    Replies
    1. Just keep doing what makes you happy and makes you money, Robin!

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  7. You did a very good job Robin!!
    I'm mainly a portrait photographer and my main lenses for outdoor portraiture are the Olympus 75 and the Olympus 45mm, but I'm very pleased to see what you did with the 14-54mm.
    Thank's for sharing.

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