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May Olympus Money

If you have ever read a Roberts Blog, you know that we have a few Olympus Camera devotees here. I have both types of Olympus Digital Cameras myself, one of the Stylus 1030SW shock and waterproof models and one of the DSLR Digital Camera kits as well. My Olympus DSLR is the E-520 and I have several camera accessories as well (macro lens, 40-150 zoom and 75-300 zoom as well as the wireless remote capable F-36′R’ Flash).

If you thinking about buying a new Olympus Digital SLR camera May is the month to do so. Starting Friday May 1st and continuing all month Olympus is offering $100 to $200 instant savings on Olympus bodies and kits starting with the E-520 models all the way up to the Professional E-3 flagship model.

If you have read many Digital camera reviews you already know that Olympus has incorporated many ground-breaking features in their recent model lines. Again if you just search our store blogs for Olympus you will see many of the innovations I mentioned.  With the opportunity to take an additional $100 or even $200 off this could be the extra motivation you need to get a spiffy new Olympus Digital SLR like mine or even better a E-3 like Derek’s.



Spring Expo 2009: Olympus

More video footage from Expo 2009, this time with our Olympus tech rep who gives usa quick overview of their new E-620, which is kinda like their E-30 shoved into one of the smallest bodies on the market (the E-30, in turn, is like an ecnomic version of my own beloved E-3). And, it has backlit buttons! Buttons! Backliiiiiiiit! It’s genius, why didn’t this exist before? Seriously!

Ah. Ahem. Sorry. Lost my composure there. Video below.



Did We Mention We’re Having an Expo?

Spring Expo 2009

Spring Expo 2009

So, I somehow miraculously keep not mentioning this, but the 24th and 25th this month at or two Indianapolis (area) stores is our annual Spring Expo. We’re going to have most anybody who’s anybody (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Mamiya, Leica, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Profoto, Induro, PocketWizard, FJ Westcott, RPS Studio, Manfrotto, Gitzo, Lastolite, and on and on and on…) out in our store, showing you the merch. If you’re within traveling distance, it’s really a good time to swing by and give us a visit, because there’re just too many toys to play with. It’s one of the two times a year I get to try one of the f2 constant zooms for my E-3, for instance. (Although, dyed-in-the-wool Oly shooter I am, I think I’ll step down and play some with the A900 and some Zeiss lenses and with Nikon’s under-rated D700, both of which are systems I’d have in a giant rolling case if my pay-grade allowed for it.)

I’m sure specials will abound as well, and for those of you who unfortunately can’t come out and see us I’ll be mirroring as much of them as humanly possible on our website as well, so remember to swing by the site that weekend and check on that equipment you’ve been scrounging for (and maybe some you didn’t know you needed, occupational hazzard).



Sony Alpha 350 – The Whole Shebang

A350 Bundle

A350 Bundle

So, here’s a great idea. Take a solid offering, such as, oh, the A350 from Sony, and then make it a whole, complete, no headches package for the beginner by throwing in the two standard zooms, and to finish the deal, they throw in the vertical grip (harken back to here).

I want more gestures like this. I liked Olympus’ E-3 bundle with the 12-60mm and the essentially free flash. I like this. Barring a bag and a spare battery, this is the quintessential jump-start kit for someone looking to gear up in nothing flat. And, while the A350′s control scheme isn’t my favorite (am I the only one who was sad wehn Sony dropped the dual command dial approach they used on the A100?), it’s definitely hard to argue with the picture quality it spits out. And, if you’re coming from a point-and-shoot, the A350 will have the most satisfying live view for you (although for you studio pros you might find it a little defecient, tricky thing that line companies are walking on how liveview should work.)

Anyway, you get the idea. Convenient bundles = good, gimme more, help us out and buy some of this one. I think that covers it all.



To Safari, or Not to Safari

OK, so, I gotta confess, I’m way confused here.

So, some time back Leica announced the “Safari” edition of their M8 camera:

Leica M8 Safari Edition

Leica M8 Safari Edition

And then, making my rounds today I find out daddy Olympus is displaying a green E-3 over at PEI in Japan right now:

E-3 in Green, Via DCWatch

E-3 in Green, Via DCWatch

And, I’ve heard Pentax made some limited edition green cams. So, apparently Safari chic is in.

Except, oddly enough, if you ask National Geographic, whose bags have thus far exhibited that nice, “let’s go hunt lions” canvas and brass d-rings safari look. Until now, because while camera makers are saying green is the new black, NG has decided their new Walkabout line ought to be black.

NG 2343 Walkabout Small Holster

So, cameras are going safari, and safari bags are going urban. Thank goodness it’s a Friday, this is the sorta quandary that’d throw my whole week off.



Walken about

Derek pondering the puddle before him.

Derek pondering the puddle before him.

So Webmaster Derek and I went meandering around the lovely environs of Downtown Indianapolis in the rain yesterday morning. At his more experienced recommendation I punched a hole in a trash bag and fitted it around my Olympus E-410′s kit 14-42. The protection from the minimal rainfall was sufficient, if unprofessional. His E-3 was unperturbed. Jody tells me today that we have more sophisticated (read: reusable) polyethylene rain covers at the counter. I’ll have to pick one of those up on my way out today, as I discovered a big tear at the bottom of my lens at the end of the shoot -thankfully after the precipitation gave up.

The trick is, I’m stretching my budget to get into this habit and can’t yet afford an Aquatech rain cover. When $200 is five to ten percent, or less, of your kit’s cost it’s an appropriate accessory. A heck of a value, even. Since I’m starting out with a D-SLR kit that cost less than some semesters of text books, the Aquatech will have to wait.

Above is the one picture from my shots that morning which I thought had anything going for it. I was a little disappointed as the Friday prior I felt like I’d taken a fair number of decent shots and that I might not be entirely too inept to own a camera. The only cure, I suppose, is more cowbell.

We’ll be doing it again, for those of you who missed out on the fun, on Monday, March 30. Meeting 8-815am on the corner of South and Meridian, and from there we’ll go exploring, cameras at the ready.

Check our Indy Photo Calendar for more events and happenings in the area. If you’ve got a heads-up on photography/photographer goings on within an hour or so of our fine capitol city, shoot me an email at nhenry@robertsimaging.com.



Walkabout #1: Picture Summary

So, yeah, the first walkabout was damp. Wet, even. Stupid rain. I pick the one day the forecast doesn’t show awful weather and by the time it rolls around it’s the only morning with awful weather. Natch. But, being dauntless, Mr Henry and I did in fact brave the spitting moisture.

E-3 Gets Damp

E-3 Gets Damp

The E-3 and my 14-54 proved as unbothered by the rain as Olympus would have you believe. I’m pretty fond of the above shot I had Nick grab of my camera at the end of the day of shooting. Poor Nick, however, lacking the funds to get a proper rain cover for his E-410 looked a bit odd:

Nick and the E-410

Nick and the E-410

Did that work? Yeah, for a spell. But, an hour later it was getting sketchy and the rain wasn’t that bad. Aquatech = superior idea, in this case.

The shoot? I got a few tolerable shots, despite the flat light and lack of people. More after the jump.

read more



More on the E-620

I tell ya, you spend half a week catching up the website’s FJ Westcott catalog (we now have around 240 Westcott products, all related to professional studio lighting, on our website. Booyah) and you find that your sales manager beats you to the punch on the exciting new Olympus digital camera.

So it goes, but I’m not about to let that stop me from throwing out a few of the interesting highlights of this product from a standing Oly user:

1. Form factor. Phil stated that it’s similar to a 520, which is true enough, but it’s also a bit smaller yet than that, kinda like a chunky 420, making it one of the smallest DSLRs going still, and the smallest going with in-body image stabilization

2. Addressing user complaints: Olympus has a long reputation of including small bits of pioneering, but the E-620 is also a solid show of addressing standard complaints with the intro E system bodies. It’s got a better viewfinder, bigger, with the info at the bottom and not on the right any more. Plus, they upgraded the old 3 point AF to a 7 point system (5 of which are full-time cross style)

3. Oly innovation. Like that swing swivel LCD that made its appearence on digital cams with the E-3. And, here’s my favorite gimmick I’ve seen on a DSLR since Nikon busted out the virtual level on its D3:

That’s right, backlit buttons. Does it add anything to final image quality? Not a lick. Did everyone in the office go “oh yeah, I’m surprised no one’s done that yet?” You betcha.

What Olympus’ plans for their 4xx and 5xx series cam is I’m not sure yet, and I doubt anyone will know until they finally present their Micro 4/3 offerings, but I gotta say, there were a lot of Oly users waiting for exactly this E-620. Good show.



Bullet-Point Updates

Sorry I’m so quiet right now, I’m busy back here getting the help department ready to go and filled with all tose useful shopping tips and technical tidbits I’m famous for wasting your time with.

So, here’s the ultra-super-quick update of things I’m behind on mentioning:

1. My beloved E-3 Olympus digital camera had a recent firmware (which DPReview has so far failed to mention), which improved some focus situations and in a rare move for Oly, added a feature: I can now switch my af point with the 4-way controller, mostly just like you wonderful Nikon digital SLR camera users out there.

2. Speaka Nikon, I’m sure you’ve all heard about the AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G, which for all you DX users will be as close as it’s going to get to the 50mm f1.8′s of ye olden days. That price point is pretty sweet, two, color me envious this time.

3. The Panasonic G1 updated its firmware

4. Canon updated firmware for the G10, and of course there’s the 5D Mk II firmware update that’s been out for a bit.

5. Fuji’s new EXR technology looks poised to change the game if it works as well as they claim (and in general their past tech has, although there usually seems to be one minor niggle that people hang it for, I’m hoping EXR overcomes this because it stands to revolutionize low-light shooting.) I’ll talk about my thoughts on this once I can get a moment to breathe this week.



Olympus E-30 SLR now shipping!

The new Olympus digital camera, E-30 is now starting to ship.  This SLR features a new 12.3 MP FourThirds format sensor.  It is the little brother to the Olympus E-3 camera, and will share the same vertical grip.  They both share in having the worlds fastest AF system when coupled with SWD lenses that are available.

Olympus E-30
The camera has six new art filters.  Select from Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film, or Pin Hole Camera.  You can overlay up to four images into a single image.

Like most Olys, this camera has dual memory card slots offering both compact flash and XD flash memory card storage.




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