The recently purchased Olympus OMD EM1 is pretty much the perfect camera for street photography. I must admit I was in two minds whether to purchase this camera right up to the day I actually went out and bought it.
I didn’t want a camera like this for commissioned wedding or portraiture photography. I wanted a camera like this simply as an everyday camera I can use for personal work and projects, including one of my favourites, Street Photography.
I see Street Photography similar to Documentary Wedding Photography in many ways. Mainly because you are working candidly. The vast majority of images are taken without the subject having any idea what you are actually doing.
I read many reviews, many, many reviews actually. Websites from photographers like Steve Huff gave very good reviews of the new Olympus weeks before its release, and everything I read seemed very positive indeed.
I cannot say I am disappointed with its performance. Along with the 17mm f1.8 and the 45mm f1.8 the results this camera can produce are quite stunning.
This image was shot in a hotel reception in Sheffield, Yorkshire using the Grainy Film Art Filter, shot in JPeg and what you see here straight out of camera. No post processing has been carried out on the image. It was shot with a slow shutter speed to blur the waitress using Auto ISO.
If the camera does have a flaw it is its high ISO capabilities. It seems very well controlled indeed up to a certain sensitivity, but, like all Olympus mirrorless camera’s its high ISO handling is not that great. All in all though, I do not regret this purchase and I am sure it will be out of the bag a lot in the coming months.
Sheffield, Yorkshire – 1/30s @ f4 ISO2500
