Video: How I am doing with this street photography set-up?

Olympus Pen E-PL2 + Lumix 14mm f2.5 is something good in 2023/2024?

Pros:

• A light camera that fits well in the hand

• Mechanical Shutter Sound

• A pancake lens

Cons:

• Limited autofocus. The EP-L2's autofocus system is not as sophisticated as some other Micro Four Thirds cameras, and it can sometimes struggle in low light or with fast-moving subjects. Sometimes the AF fails completely giving you a total blurry image.

And i know this point may horrify many of you but I believe that a photographer should be able to take even obvious defects in a pragmatic way. Limitations are part of the game, especially in street photography. A few years ago, a camera like this was praised and photos were taken with it and of course in the past also with less powerful cameras. Today there is the trend of shooting cameras with CCD sensors, old point & shoot cameras which have now been renamed digicams. And even if I don't agree with this bad name, I share the challenge of those who choose a dated camera with many limitations because the results in terms of experience and also pure aesthetics are often very fascinating.

The limitations of a camera force us to pay greater attention to the instrument used, pushing us to find the best way to overcome these problems. Often the results are imperfect and this imperfection turns out to be gold on a creative level. I am not pretending this idea is shared by everyone: there are those obsessed with the perfection of the result who will never be able to understand this approach. They always want the best performing and most sophisticated camera.

Feature Specification of the Olympus Pen E-PL2

Sensor 12.3MP Live MOS

Image processor TruePic VIISO range

ISO 100-12,800

Shutter speed 1/4000 to 60 seconds

Continuous shooting 3 frames per second

Autofocus Contrast-detect

LCD screen 3-inch, 460,000 dots

FlashBuilt-in pop-up flash

Weight 334g

Dimensions 115.5 x 64 x 33mm

The camera results to be very easy to use and wth a very small learning scale. And once you become familiar with the system it becomes really intuitive. We often tend to forget how important familiarity with the camera is and how essential it is that the camera truly feels like an extension of our arm. For street photography in particular we should have a camera always ready, which allows us to shoot quickly.

I've sometimes learned to consider autofocus falling asleep as part of the experience. After all, there is no street photographer capable of capturing a photograph with every shot. And failure is 98% for many in street photography. With better performing cameras I still failed many shots. There are many variables at play which often also derive from the simple emotion and urgency to shoot, releasing the shutter button too quickly. I think Street Photography is also a matter of patience and for patience I mean also to be used to manage with some frustration.

Long-range results are what matter and what helps you create consistent, personal work. And this also passes through the type of camera chosen.

One of the reasons I prefer Olympus to Panasonic when it comes to Micro Four thirds system is because of the colors of Olympus cameras. When photographing direct jpgs and without doing too much post-production work, I need to rely on results that are natural, organic, perhaps even similar to certain films. The colors don’t scream and are not lacquered like other camera manufacturers.

Olympus's image processing algorithms are carefully tuned to enhance color accuracy and preserve details. They use techniques like multi-pass noise reduction, adaptive sharpening, and color gradation adjustments to achieve a film-like look.

• Color Balance: Olympus cameras tend to have a slightly warm color balance, which can give images a more pleasing and natural appearance.

• Skin Tones: Olympus's image processing is particularly adept at rendering skin tones accurately, producing a natural and healthy complexion.

• Shadow Detail: Olympus cameras excel at preserving detail in shadows, which can help to create a more three-dimensional and realistic look.

• Highlight Rolloff: Olympus cameras have a gradual highlight rolloff, which means that highlights don't blow out as easily, resulting in a more pleasing tonal range.

I am sorry guys, but I see how another camera brand making yellow white people and orange black people. I don’t see this with my Olympus camera.

Switching to Olympus Pen E-PL2 after more recent cameras can be a tough blow. Clearly all the limitations of a camera produced in 2011 come to the fore, yet these very limitations result in images with a very interesting, grainy aesthetic, more similar to film.

While with a newer camera, even my Canon EOS Rebel T7, I can produce more consistent work, with many photos at an acceptable image level, with the E-PL2 many photos have to be thrown away. But those that remain stand out for having a lot of character. At night I opted for black and white, obviously directed by the camera. Mindful of my nights in Los Angeles I wanted to go back and see how I could achieve certain results with a Pen.

The photographs you see give me a certain mood that I find particularly suitable for narrating the atmosphere of the barrios at night.

Here are some specific examples of how Olympus's image processing contributes to its film-like black and white JPEGs:

• Contrasting Edges: The E-PL2's image processing accentuates the contrast between edges, which gives images a sharp and defined look.

• Smooth Tones: The E-PL2's image processing smooths out tonal transitions, which results in a pleasing and film-like look.

• Grain Texture: The E-PL2's image processing adds a subtle grain texture to black and white images, which gives them a more authentic film-like appearance.

Overall, the Olympus E-PL2 is capable of producing black and white JPEGs that are both pleasing to the eye and reminiscent of film stock. This is achieved through a combination of sensor design, image processing, and Picture Styles.

Even though we are talking about a very old digital camera, or perhaps exactly for this reason, the night photography appears to be really genuine, respecting the darkness even though I was working in semi-automatic exposure. I worked in Shutter Speed priority, making some shots even from the bus with whom I was returning home. I think the results are luxurious. I love the black and white here. I just adjusted the contrast a little in post production. Nothing else.

Conclusions

This is only the second real walk made. In this case, during the afternoon I was busy with one of my one-to-one workshops. I haven't felt any lack of working with other cameras like my M200 or the DSLR. This speaks volumes about how much I'm enjoying this new phase and this is thanks to a very old digital camera. Creativity comes from within us, but a camera can make you find new stimuli and new ideas.