Introduce Yourself to the New Olympus Compact Camera Talk

[John McCormack]

I was John McCormack on the DPReview forums. I shoot with a Stylus 1 and TG-6 (also OMD-EM10 II for u4/3 but my true love is the Stylus 1.)

• OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP. - STYLUS1,1s
• 64.3 mm
• ƒ/3.5
• 1/800 sec
• Center-Weighted Average
• Auto exposure
• ISO 100

 

[InkedMarie]

I‘m InkedMarie on all forums. I have a Stylus 1s but have been keeping a list of the Oly compacts that people have talked about on DPR.

 

[fotosean]

Here hoping somehow that OM Systems will see fit to put out a successor to the TG-5/6...

 

[Hike Pics]

I'm who I have always been, I reckon. Several cool old timer Oly models to play with : 720SW, C-2100, C-8080, C-4040, C-7000, SP-350 and a 7010.
Also have an E-500 (my favorite DSLR) as well as an E-PM1 that's going to get traded.

 

[Michael Meissner]

I've been shooting digitally since December 2001. I've been a poster at dpreview since January 2002 (originally just Olympus Talk Forum, though these days, I primarily hung out in the micro 4/3rds forum). I've also been posting at mu-43.com since September 2018.

In early December 2001 (or late November), my family (wife and then 12 year old daughter) went to mouse land (i.e. Disney World). In those days, we didn't use credit cards that much, and I had brought cash (perhaps in the forms of traveler's checks). Now when we checked out of the Port Orleans hotel at Disney, the scanners that they presumably use to see how much money you have left in your pockets to prevent you from leaving if you still have money, must have malfunctioned, and when I got home, I had some amount of cash left over. Instead of doing the 'smart' thing of putting the money back into the bank, I had heard about these new fangled digital cameras, and I decided to treat myself. After doing some searching around, I settled on the Olympus D-510Z.

I shot with it for a few months, and it became apparent to me, that I was out growing the D-510Z (external flash was one of the reasons). I looked around, and I settled on two cameras: The Olympus C-2100UZ and the Minolta Dimage A5 were my primary two choices. The old dpreview OTF (Olympus Talk Forum) was one of the primary reasons I went with the UZI (C-2100UZ). I shot actively with it for a little over 10 years (2002 through 2013). In the first 3 years, it was my primary camera, until I got the E-1 in December 2004. The E-1 became my primary camera and I used the UZI for telephoto shots. When I got the E-510 (ugh) and later the E-3, both of which had sensor shift stabilization, it signaled the end of me actively shooting with the UZI. I would go back to it from time to time, but I had moved to DSLR (and later micro 4/3rds) camp.

That being said, the Stylus-1 is really the UZI upgrade. I like to carry it when I don't want to carry around the full micro 4/3rds gear, such as family gatherings where I only take photos if a decisive moment type shot comes up. I wish that there had been a Stylus-2 that was at least splash resistant and it used an OLED viewfinder.

I have bought several of the fixed lens bodies:

• D-510Z as mentioned (I eventually gave it to my daughter)
• C-2100UZ as mentioned (I still have it, but I'm starting to get memory errors on the smart media cards, and I've only shot 5 pictures with it after 2013)
• D-40Z (gave it away -- the D-40Z had a habit of corrupting smart media cards, making them unusable)
• Stylus-1 (bought in 2014, I still use it from time to time)
• SP-550UZ (2007-2010, I gave it away, I was frustrated with its focusing and lack of IS, and I just used the E-m5 mark I and 14-150mm lens)
• TG-2 (bought in 2013, used through 2015 -- I still have it, but I don't use it)
• C-8080WZ (2007-2009 -- I bought this because of the great admiration, but frankly it just didn't work for me -- the colors seemed off, and perhaps something was messed up)
• VG-120 (2011-2013 -- I bought this as a simple carry around camera, replaced by TG-2, and then the Stylus-1)
• TG-5 (bought refurbished in 2018, still have, but I don't actively shoot with it, but I've used it for really wet situations where I don't want to carry other gear and also using wifi to be able to capture birds at the feeder)
• TG-860 (bought in 2016, sold in 2018 -- the TG-5 was just a better camera, and I sold the TG-860 as part of an upgrade). For bird feeder photography, the TG-860 was great, because it had a second 1/4-20" screw thread on the left side, so you could mount in portrait orientation.

One of my hobbies is attending steampunk events with my steampunk camera. Here are two pictures from 2022. The camera inside is the E-m5 mark I and Sigma 16mm f/1.4 lens. The next festival is next weekend, and I hope to switch to the E-m1 mark II and Sigma 16mm f/1.4 lens.

• samsung - SM-A326U
• 4.6 mm
• ƒ/1.8
• 1/20 sec
• Center-Weighted Average
• Auto exposure
• ISO 1250

• OLYMPUS CORPORATION - E-M5MarkIII
• OLYMPUS M.12-40mm F2.8
• 27.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/60 sec
• Center-Weighted Average
• Manual exposure
• -0.3
• ISO 320

 

[Smaug]

I don't have what we would call an Olympus Compact Camera any more. I sold my XZ-1 years ago to finance a Pentax MX-1. Sold the MX-1 a few months ago, as it wasn't getting used and I wanted to turn it into cash while the battery was still good.

Instead of either of those cameras, I now just bring the Olympus E-M10.3 w/ Panny 12-60 if I need zoom or the Ricoh GR III if not.

I was/am a moderator of the subforum of the similar name (Smaug1, I think) over at DPR.

 

[RetCapt]

My first digital was a 'tough' (before the term was coined) Olympus 1030SW in 2009. I knew of course that this passing fad of digital would never replace film. Nevertheless I was intrigued by a water/shock proof camera. I have always been an outdoor person. We live in a rugged, but beautiful, isolated mountain area. I am constantly in environments adverse to conventional cameras. From 1985 when I bought it, my main camera in such environments was a Nikonos V. I am not a diver, although as a fly fisher I have taken some submersions, so water proof is a necessary feature.

I was intrigued by the prospect that a very small could possibly replace my Nikonos (and thus by extension my other film cameras).

After taking the 1030SW out the first time, I never exposed another frame of film. So much for a passing fad. I have since added a TG-4, because I wanted the f2 lens. But I still use the 1030SW, and still functions perfectly.

I now have a number of cameras available to me, including APS-C and full frame formats. So no shortage of options. The key I have found with my 'tough' cameras is sufficiency of good light. All my photographs that I will print (my photographic objective) are processed using PSE. I routinely print small sensor cameras to 11X14". At that size, and given that these are the best I can produce with these cameras, they are indistinguishable from my APS-C prints.

All this from cameras the size of a deck of cards that are pretty much immune to the elements.

I am as impressed now as I was in 2009.

 

[Fishrman]

Don't know if I belong in this forum or not but just picked up a new OM-1 Mark II.