ROBIN WONG

This is a continuation from the previous blog entry about shooting low light stage photography using the Olympus E-M1 Original from 2013. I did share some tips on managing low light environment using Micro Four Thirds in my latest video (click). I use mainly prime lenses, Olympus 25mm F1.8, 45mm F1.8 and 75mm F1.8 to maximize the amount of light gathered, hence enabling faster shutter speeds without increasing ISO numbers unnecessarily. I shot mostly ISO1600 and below in this session, which was perfectly fine for the E-M1 original to handle, and some dimmer shots I used ISO3200. I also relied on the powerful 5-Axis Image Stabilization for scenes with little or no movement, slowing down the shutter speeds to 1/30 or 1/15, still getting tack sharp images while getting away with much lower ISO numbers. In fast action sequences, I would not hesitate to ramp up my ISO numbers to achieve fast enough shutter speeds to freeze action, and I emphasized the importance of capturing the moments over anything else. Moments matter more than technical perfection. High ISO noise is not the end of the world! Also, I talked about how moving around as much as you can will get you better, more dynamic framing and composition opportunities than being lazy staying still at one spot. Stage photography is fun, sometimes a bit more difficult than usual due to low light but still super exciting to shoot!

Last Friday, I was invited by OM System Malayia to speak at YL Photo Fair, sharing my experience using their latest OM System PEN camera. I chose to talk about street photography with the PEN, since that was a topic I was most comfortable with. It was a Friday, a working day, in the afternoon 2pm close to Muslim prayer time, so I did not expect a crowd. However, the turnout was bigger than anticipated, the room was filled and there were people even standing all the way at the back! I saw many familiar faces, friends who came all the way to show support, for that I am truly grateful. I feel blessed with the love and support shown. This was my first time speaking for OM System ever, and I hope for more future collaborations and opportunities with OM System Malaysia. It was fun to be on stage again, both nerve-racking, but at the same time it was also very fulfilling, feeding off the energy of the lively crowd! All images taken by Andrew (IG @andrew_hsien), used with permission

I shot a recent show at Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center (KLPAC), and a friend who happens to be a full frame shooter commented on how daring I was for using Micro Four Thirds to shoot in such a challenging environment. In fact, I have been shooting many times in similarly difficult conditions for KLPAC over the years, and my Micro Four Thirds gear delivered each and every time without fail. I intentionally chose to use the Olympus E-M1 Original from 2013 to prove my point further, if such a dinosaur camera can shoot good enough images, I am sure newer and more capable Micro Four Thirds cameras that came after can do a better job. I brought along my prime lenses Olympus 25mm F1.8, 45mm F1.8 and 75mm F1.8 for this session, most images were taken with either 45mm or 25mm F1.8. I also made a video to share some tips on shooting low light stage photography here (click). 

During the 5 short days I had with the OM System PEN camera loan from OM System Malaysia, coincidentally SUKMA (Malaysian Sports Games) was happening, and I had some opportunity to put the camera to some serious torture. I borrowed the Olympus 300mm F4 PRO lens to be used on the OM System PEN. Initially, I had some very grand plans - I wanted to shoot Muay Thai and Gymnastics, but there was only so much I could do in a few days, and I managed to shoot tennis and weightlifting, both locations not too far from where I stay. I was happy to put the human AI subject detection AF to test, and it did splendidly in following the fast-running tennis players chasing the ball all around the court. Mind you, it was indoor court, because it was raining and the game went on, so I had to ramp up the ISO numbers. Sure. the OM System PEN is not a professional grade camera and should not be recommended for use in such straining environment, but hey, I thought if it can handle some serious sports shooting, it should handle day to day situations without any issues. 

While I welcome third party manufacturers making AF lenses for Micro Four Thirds, which is a rarity these days, we already have so many 25mm lens options that another 25mm F1.8 lens from SG Image does not exactly scream excitement. Well, I did get curious due to the extra low price tag of USD99 only for a new lens, and at that price, I thought what could possibly go wrong? I guess I had to find them out the hard way. I bought one and tested the SG Image 25mm F1.8 AF on my Olympus PEN E-PL7. I have also made a YouTube review, in case you prefer video version, you can check it out here (click). 

This is a continuation from previous post about outdoor shooting session using the OM System PEN camera. An important note - all images were shot in JPEG instead of RAW, because at the time of testing the camera there was no RAW compatibility with post-processing softwares yet. It instantly reminded me of how amazing the JPEG engine of Olympus/OM System cameras are, the images come out very optimized straight out of camera. I simply love the color rendering, they look so natural and true to life, and the skin tones look very pleasing too. I did some minor post-processing, mostly adding contrast and correcting some exposure imbalance (my own fault really, I am not a perfect photographer, I make mistakes). Here are the remainder shots of the outdoor session with Lily, taken with OM System PEN and Olympus 45mm F1.2 lens. 

I was very happy when I found out that OM Digital Solutions managed to include the human AF Subject Detection AF in their latest OM System PEN, though the camera uses older internals. I was curious to see how that human subject detection AI AF works, so I brought the camera with the Olympus 45mm F1.2 PRO mounted to shoot my beautiful friend, Lily in an outdoor setting. The AI AF worked so well, it was super-efficient and sticked to Lilys face throughout the entire shoot, and I got to say the reliability of the AF surpassed what I managed to get from even the OM System flagship cameras like OM-1 and OM-3. I was so impressed, go job OM Digital Solutions! I did a POV video to show how effective the AF works; you can check it out here (click).