OM System OM-5 and Seville & Cordoba - Part 2

Been slowly working through my images from Seville and Cordoba and continue to be impressed by the image quality from the OM5. Just a few more images to show you what I mean.

Been a while….

…..since my last post. Other things have intervened including trying to find some old missing images. Eventually found a solution which may help others.

Some years ago I used the Apple Aperture programme for all my imaging work. Sadly Apple discontinued Aperture in favour of Photos. I could not get on with Photos and moved to Lightroom Classic (as it is now called). So far so good especially as Lightroom included a plugin to enable the transfer from Aperture.

But then disaster struck. Nothing to do with Aperture or Lightroom - all to do with a moment of madness entirely down to my incompetence in not thinking things through. The result being I “lost” a large number of images from Lightroom, along with their individual backups, and the Lightroom “backups”. I managed to rescue a few images from other locations, but eventually ran into the issue of needing an old image which was no longer on the system anywhere, or so I thought.

But a week or so ago, was clearing out the large amount of old “stuff” in our loft and came across an old external hard disk I had totally forgotten about. That disk contained old Time Machine backups from years ago, and after managing to access it, i discovered one of the backups was the very very old Aperture library file!

But Lightroom has moved on and will no longer import images from Aperture! Eventually discovered that Photos will do so! So what has followed and taken hours and hours, was to import from Aperture Library into Photos, and then export from Photos to a temporary folder from which I could then import into Lightroom. Actually an easy, if long winded, process, as it appears Photos does not like importing too great a number of images in one go.

So I ended up with some 3000+ images imported into Lightroom, all of which needed cataloging, and still need keywording which will take many more hours.

So what are the lessons.

Firstly think things through before acting - in fact think them through twice.

Secondly backup everything somewhere before acting.

Thirdly, one day, those ancient backups could be useful if you can find them.

Fourthly don’t have moments of madness or incompetence!

And now back to keywording.

Today’s thoughts

Been out a lot recently with the OM System OM-5 and loved it. Great little (i.e. small) camera and happy with the results.

But yesterday went out with the Leica Q2. Obviously a very different camera at a very different price point, but there was just something about it that meant using it was such a joy.

Have been trying to think what that “something” is. Obviously image quality was great, but I was equally happy with the OM-5 images, so it must be something else.

I was trying to explain this to a friend and the best analogy I could come up with was that a low cost “basic” car will do what you want and get you from A to B. But if you compare it to making the same journey in a top of the range car of the highest quality you would still get from A to B, but the experience of doing so would be so much greater, in terms of comfort, quality of the driving experience, etc, etc.

And, to me, that is what the difference is, The build, the controls, the lens, the images, and in fact everything about the Leica Q2 just screams quality. All that just makes the photographic experience so must better.

I will continue to use both, and both have their place, but the Leica Q2 will hold a “special place in my heart”.

OM System OM-5 and Seville & Cordoba

Just back from a few days in Seville (with one day in Cordoba) with the OM System OM-5 and the Olympus 12-45mm f/4 PRO lens.

Overall really loved the small size and low weight of the setup, which fitted easily in my VSGO 3L sling. Image quality was good as the weather was mostly bright and sunny, but the few images I took in lower light conditions showed some noise.

There were however a few downsides. I tend to leave the camera switched on when out, with the OI image share app running so as to capture GPS data - not sure if this is the reason but the battery life was disappointing. Also I found a few settings had changed without my noticing presumably as a result of the camera rubbing or “bumping” as I went along. I tend to leave the focus spot in the centre, but a few times it had moved to a corner which I had not always noticed. Similarily I tend to set exposure compensation set to -3 to preserve highlights, and a few times that had changed. The lesson, I guess, is to double check before taking the image.

Both cities were great. The difference to me that Seville is more of a modern city, whilst Cordoba has more of the “Spanish Olde World”charm.

Still working on the images, but these “snapshots” should give a feel.

Cordoba

Seville

Seville

Street photography

As mentioned earlier I had (and still have) an interest in street photograph. The first one of my most favourite images and was taken in London. It shows a scene outside a wine bar/coffee bar late one afternoon. I love the expression on the man’s face.

London

Lucca, Italy

Eastbourne

VSGO 3L Sling Bag - a few thoughts

As mentioned in one of my earlier blogs this was a recent purchase to carry my OM System OM-5 together with the 12-45 and 40-150 lenses.

It came extremely well packed in a “high-end” looking black box, with the bag inside a thinks plastic(?) bag inside. Gave a very good first impression.

Straight out of the box my first impression was how “thin” it was until I realised I had to loosen the straps on the bottom of the bag to allow it to expand to full width.

It is a black colour (which I prefer) - mostly just black although there is some diamond shaped patterning on the front.

The strap is fully adjustable with a quick release buckle, but there is not a shoulder pad. Given that at 3L I will not be carrying that much so probably not an issue. Interestingly the straps attach to the main bag with an elasticated section at both ends which gives some give/stretch in much the same way that a neoprene strap does. The straps have a double attachment at each end and at one end that can be released to give some give to the main bag opening or to allow an umbrella (for example) to be attached to the bag. So far I have found the strap to be comfortable.

On the rear of the bag there is a zipped pocket with a central divider which has pockets for SD cards sewn into it. Obviously given it is only a 3L bag you could only store slim items in this pocket (I have a microfibre cloth and spare batteries), but would be equally suitable for passports, travel documents, a wallet, etc.

On the front of the bag there is a lift up flap (held closed by a magnet) which reveals a larger front pocket with a key holder inside. This is larger than the rear pocket and could be used to hold filters etc. without a problem. The magnetic closure includes a coin shaped disc which attaches magnetically and is designed to be used as a “screwdriver” for tripod plates etc. A clever idea.

On the bottom of the bag are two straps to attach a tripod or whatever.

The main compartment is quite simple. It comes with two velcro dividers and has a slip in pocket at the back. My OM-5 just about fits with the 12-45 attached and there is space for the 40-150 to stand upright as well.

So my overall impression is very positive - great small size, seems very well made, clever extras like the “screwdriver”, YKK zips, comfortable to wear, great design, and appears to be water resistent.

Of course I would like it to hold more (there is a 6L version) but what I wanted was a small bag for wandering around and it meets that criteria very well.

I have not had the bag that long so cannot comment on how it will stand up to wear, but am very hopeful given my overall impression.

My import workflow

I use Lightroom Classic for most things with an occasional use of Photoshop and Radiant for particular purposes. Mostly I work on my Mac desktop, although I also use Lightroom for iPad on occasions.

Initially I import my images from the SD card directly into Lightroom in the desktop folder organised by year and month. This is setup to import the images into my main image folder on the desktop, with a second copy automatically sent to an external drive (also organised by year and month) - as both the desktop and the external drive are backed up to Time Machine, on a second external drive, I effectively have three copies of the images. I then work on the images in the main image folder, so even if I delete an image from that folder when culling new images a copy will still remain on the external drive. For files from the Leica Q2 I automatically apply the David Farkas Laica Q series preset which I feel gives a better starting point than a “pure” Leica RAW file. For all files I automatically add the Keyword “To be completed”. I then have a Smart Collection that holds all images with that Keyword so I can easily find those images I need to finalise. Obviously I remove that Keyword when I have finished the image.

I should explain that within Lightroom Classic I have a number of “Collections” in an hierarchy organised by subject, place, person, subject, etc.

So on import the files are automatically held in the year and month structure, but the current import will also show in “Previous Import” under the Catalogue heading.

I then go through all the images and delete those I obviously will not be keeping (remember a copy will remain on the external drive). I then “link” the files I am likely to keep to the appropriate Collections so that they sync with Lightroom on the iPad.

I then edit the files - deleting any that I missed, or later decide, I do not want. My editing workflow will be the subject of a later post.

Generally this has served me well, although there is an annoyance around how Collections sync to the iPad. For example on the desktop I have a Collection hierarchy structure as follows: Places - UK - Sussex - Eastbourne. If I add another town under Sussex it syncs to the iPad but as an entirely new top level Collection rather than under Places - UK - Sussex, and has to be manually moved.

I should perhaps also mention that I use both Keywords and Colour labels at a later stage to further refine the details of the image. As an example there could be an image of Eastbourne pier which would be organised under Eastbourne. I might also have an image of a pier in another location. I would add the Keyword “Pier” to both so as to enable me to search for all images of piers regardless of the location. I use a Colour label to show where I might have “published” the image - Flickr, Stock Agencies, etc.

What to take?

About to be spending a few days in Seville and Cordoba - hopefully both will be great photographic locations.

But it is a a few days break with my wife and not primarily a photographic expedition (as has been made clear to me).

Originally I had thought I would take both the Leica Q2 and the OM-5, but then decided it had to be one or the other, primarily to save weight when walking around.

But which? The Q2 for image quality but only a 28mm lens, or the OM-5 with both the 12-45 and the 40-150, which would cover a range of focal lengths but with a lower resolution sensor.

As at the time of writing this I have decided on the OM setup to cover the widest range of situations, but, still think I will miss the sheer joy of using the Leica,

Bags

Like many photographers I seek the Holy Grail of camera bags and have bought, and then sold, more than I care to remember.

Currently I use three bags depending on the circumstances and what I intend to use.

The biggest is a Mindshift Backlight 18 litre backpack. A great bag. Big enough for both my Leica Q2, as well as the OM-5 and two lenses. Extremely comfortable to wear with space for extras.

If I am only taking the Leica I use a Wandrd Rogue 6 litre sling bag. Another great bag - not too big and not too small, and very comfortable to wear.

Finally if I am using the OM-5 I use a VSGO 3 litre sling bag. Just big enough - literally “just” with space for a few extras. Very comfortable.

Would highly recommend any of these all of which are also available in other sizes.

Experiment

Saw a video about intentional camera movement and this was my first attempt. It is sunlight through trees in a local forest. Taken sometime ago with a Nikon D780.

Woodland ICM image

Leica Q2

In September 2024 I part exchanged all my mirrorless APS-C cameras, lenses, and other equipment in order to purchase a pre-owned Leica Q2, which, fortunately, was in very good condition.

I did so with some trepidation - moving from a system that gave me two camera bodies and a variety of lenses with different focal lengths, to one full frame 47.3 megapixel camera with a fixed focal length of 28mm.

Way in the past (pre-digital days) I had a Leica M6 together with a 35mm lens, and had loved the engineering and image quality.  There was something special about that Leica and I hoped this would be replicated in the Q2.

Out of the box the Q2 oozed quality - exceptional build quality, simplicity of design and simplicity of controls.  It felt natural in the hand, albeit, heavier than I had anticipated.

Now, almost two months later when I have taken images virtually everyday, I can give my initial impressions, alongside some of the images I have taken.  I  should say I only take RAW images (DNG format), so cannot comment on the JPG quality

The positives include -

• In good light I have been blown away by the image quality.

• The shutter can be set as barely audible, so I know the image has been taken but I doubt anyone else would have heard the “click”.

• Build quality is amazing.

• Leica will send you a printed manual, at no cost, if you ask via the link on their website.

• It’s a Leica!  What else is there to say?

The negatives include -

• The noise levels (in lower levels of light) have been higher than I expected, although Adobe Lightroom Denoise does a good job.

• Battery life is not great.

• A very poor implementation (in my view) of Back Button Focussing.

• Accessories (including spare batteries) very expensive.

• Lack of an articulated rear screen.

• The menu system is quite intuitive, but I have found that on occasion some of my settings seem to change by themselves, or, it could be my mistakes?

And, not really a negative, but the 47.3 mp sensor produces dimensions of 8368 x 5584, and a DNG file size between 80 and 90 MB, so it “eats” hard disk space.

But to me, image quality is everything, and (in general) that justifies the negatives.

Above all - it is a Leica.

I would also mention that I have also been impressed by Leica’s customer service which has been excellent.  When I went to register the camera with Leica, originally the “system” would not let me do that as it was already registered - presumably by the previous owner.  Leica customer support were very helpful in overcoming this with just a copy of the invoice I had and a photo showing the serial number on the camera.

Using a 28mm lens

Although with my previous system I routinely made images using the wide angle end of my lenses - often at 24mm equivalent - for landscapes and cityscapes, I always had the option to zoom in closer to, for example, isolate a particular part of the view.  I had not, I admit, given much (if any) thought to how best to make images when 28mm was the only choice.  Obviously I realised that wildlife photography would mostly be out of the question, but had not appreciated how much, in the past, I had zoomed in a little, to avoid having an empty foreground.

Of course, as many have said, your body has a built in zoom - just move closer - but that is not always possible.  What is possible, given the 47.3 megapixels, is to crop quite heavily and still have the equivalent of, for example, the 26.1 megapixels of my Fujifilm X100V.

My preference, however, is to change my approach to framing an image so that it is based (as taken) on 28mm.  This has been a steep learning curve, and at times I still wish I had the ability to zoom into the subject.  Generally my approach is to make sure there is something in the close foreground to give a separation between the foreground and the subject, or, to make sure I am close enough to the subject so that it fills the frame.

I guess it is like only having one tool for all the DIY jobs you want to do.  Great if the tool is the correct one for a particular job, but not great if you are trying to use a hammer to saw wood.

I was recently watching a YouTube video on using a wide angle lens where the photographer described the “problem” as a wide angle lens can tend to make the subject smaller in the overall scene, and, the wider angle can include the “boring” elements you do not really want to include.  The answer, as he suggests, is to get closer, and point the camera down more so as to exclude a large amount of sky (unless the sky is essential to the image) and to find a foreground lead into the image.  Also, he suggests, if there is a strong vertical element in the scene to put it in the centre to avoid vertical distortion at the edges.

The lens on the Q2 also has what Leica describe as a “macro” mode, although it is not 1:1.  It is however implemented in an interesting way I have not seen before as physically moving the lens to the macro position also reveals a depth of scale that is linked to macro scale.  I have not used this to any great extent as it is not a particular interest to me.

Software

I mainly use Lightroom Classic for file (catalogue) management and for image editing, supplemented by Radiant, and various presets.  I have access to Photoshop but use it rarely.

I would recommend trying some presets.  I have a few that I return to again and again, and too many that I rarely use!

I always shoot in RAW, and would recommend it.  You can, of course, shoot in RAW+JPG, or just JPG if you prefer.

My editing approach is to adjust exposure, highlights, contrast, etc, crop the image if appropriate, adjust further in Radiant (if required), and finalise the image.  If I feel the image would be suitable as a black&white image I usually make a copy and convert that, often using specialised presets.

Accessories

As I mentioned above Leica accessories tend to be very expensive and I have a mixture of Leica and third party accessories.

UV filter - there are a variety of opinions as to whether an UV filter should be used.  In the end I took the view that some protection for the front element of the lens was important.  I use an Urth 49mm UV Lens Filter (Plus+) — Ultra-Slim, 30-Layer Nano-Coated filter which has very good reviews and is a “sensible” price for my pocket.  I have noticed any decrease in image quality.

Hand grip - The Q2 has no finger grip on the front surface and after some research I purchased, from Amazon, the JJC Aluminum Arca-Type Camera Hand Grip for Leica Q2, which, as with the filter, has good reviews at a “sensible” price.  It has the advantage of an ARCA type baseplate to attach the camera to my tripod, although only in landscape format.  The finger grip is very useful as it makes my grip on the camera feel much more secure.

Strap - on previous cameras I always used a wrist strap rather than a neck strap.  With the Q2 I initially tried the same but there was something that did not feel right, so I started to consider whether I could use a neck strap which I could also wrap around my wrist when needed - the best of both worlds I hoped. I do not like the straps that generally come with cameras and although the Leica strap is better than others I also do not like leather straps, so, after more research, I came to the conclusion that a rope strap could be the answer.  Ultimately I bought a  120cm VKO Climbing Rope Camera Strap, and so far have been very pleased with it.  It feels soft compared to leather, can be wrapped around my wrist if required, is generally comfortable, and looks good.  It also has a small double leather type “cinch loop”, which can be used to put a loop into the rope either to shorten it , or make a wrist loop - hard to explain and not shown on the Amazon page.  It attaches with split rings and is supplied with leather like protectors.  In some ways I wish it was easier to use when, for example, using a tripod, but I prefer the security of the split rings over the quick release version which is also available.

Thumb grip - as I did with a wrist strap this is something I used on previous cameras. I should mention that the downside of a thumb grip is that you fit it into the flash hotshoe thereby blocking any use of a flashgun.   Initially I was put off by the high price of the one made by Leica and the price (somewhat less) of the one made by Match Technical.  I ended up buying a cheaper one via Amazon despite some reviews commenting it was a very tight fit and difficult (some claimed impossible) to remove.  In was indeed a very tight fit and although I would have probably never removed it (in order, for example to use a flash) it left me worried about it.  In the end I did remove it with the aid of Molegrips, and some extremely cautious levering with a screwdriver blade - fortunately with no damage or scratches on the camera.  And then luckily I came across a Leica one, second-hand, online with a reputable photographic shop, swallowed hard, and bought it.  Very pleased with it especially as it has a button on it that pushes on the zoom button on the camera which some other versions block, and gives extra security/stability when holding the camera.

Further thoughts

There are many reviews in internet forums and on YouTube.  Whilst generally they are positive, inevitably some people want different features, or existing features implemented in a different way.

I would recommend Ken Rockwells’ comprehensive review of the camera which includes his recommendations - https://kenrockwell.com/leica/q2.htm#rex , and his tutorial at - https://kenrockwell.com/leica/q2.htm#usage .  The latter is also available as a YouTube video.

I would highly recommend registering the camera with Leica, and also joining LFI which enables you to post images which might get accepted to their Mastershot Galleries  The cost is €49 p.a. (currently) and also gives access to all digital LFI content, LFI magazine issues in the app, the LFI magazine archive in the app (issues since 1949), and LFI+ stories on the website images.  For a higher cost (currently €79 p.a.) you also get print copies of the magazine.  Through both you also get access to a range of other resources.

This post is an abridged version of the text of one of my eBooks which also includes images.

A great day out with the OM-5

.... with the OM-5 at the National Trust property at Stourhead. Weather perfect - very sunny if a little cold at times, but the OM-5 performed well. These two examples are virtually SOOC with only Lightroom "Auto" applied.

New website

After some difficulties have setup my new website. Will be adding content over the next few days/weeks.

OM System OM-5

Bought one as a lightweight everyday kit to complement my Q2.

Very pleased with it so far, but, obviously (?) the sensor does not match the Q2. However in good light the images are very good - less so in poor light.

Have been experimenting with developing images in Lightroom Classic. So far my impression is that less is more.

Used it more today in bright sunny light. Image quality very good with no need for any noise reduction. Exceptionally pleased with how light the kit is and with a holiday to Seville planned it will be great for long walks around Seville, as well as Cordoba where we will be spending a day.

The following image gives an idea of the basic image quality.

Roller coaster