Peter Cripps Photography

I started this blog shortly after attending Focus on Imaging at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) this year where I was so blown away by the Olympus OM-D I immediately decided to sell all of my heavy old Canon gear (four lenses sold, one lens and a camera body to go, where would we photographers be without ebay), buy an OM-D with the excellent Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 lens. and invest into the whole micro four thirds, mirrorless system. Damian McGillicuddy, the award winning professional photographer, who converted to the OM-D soon after it was released, was also at the NEC where he was doing his usual wonderful job of extolling the virtues of micro four thirds. The decision was also helped by the fact that I already owned a Panasonic GF1 with a couple of lenses so I saw the OM-D as extending and building on this.

And yet…

I cannot help feeling a slight nagging doubt that the diminutive OM-D, especially when paired with a pancake lens, somehow does not look like a ‘real’ camera. Will me clients look at me and think I cannot possibly be a ‘proper’ photographer if all I have is a toy camera around my neck? Turns out I am not the only one to have these fears and for an excellent assessment of why we should not worry I urge you to read the post: How to overcome fears using Micro 4/3rds cameras in a professional environment at a new blog I have only recently discovered called Small Camera BIG Picture.

Of course, the real proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the only way to really convince yourself of the merits of micro four thirds is to try it and see. For my part I am not disappointed at all in the technology and, more importantly, the results it produces. I had my first studio session with the OM-D early this week where the model I was shooting actually commented on the camera (a first for me) asking whether it was a “film camera”. Not sure whether that is a praise or condemnation of the OM-D but I do know the pictures I got were great! (Watch this space for some images from that shoot).