Splashed out on a couple of new Olympus cameras with my punitive banker’s
bonus. The Wolf of Wall Street may have
been able to fritter away his ill-gotten gains on porsches, pills and prostitutes
but my fiscally challenged year end slice of pie didn't even stretch to a camera
case or couple of spare lithium batteries.
But as I’m always reminded at
home, even £500 is better than a poke in the eye. Not bitter at all.
Of course it’s all well and good having the latest gadgetry
if you know how to use it. Trouble is,
my technical know-how is on a par with blancmange and they’re not much good
at using cameras either. It’s all a question of practice so off to the New
Forest I went to fiddle with all the settings.
Camera 1 – Olympus Stylus SH50. Small, compact and pretty much idiot
proof. Has a nice wide screen, plenty of
buttons to press, an impressive 24 x optical zoom and lots of fabulous magic filters/effects
to help you really get arty farty.
My favourite filter effect – dramatic. It’s just perfect for that moody sky or
sinister trees.
 |
| Before - no filter effect |
 |
| Same clouds taken with 'dramatic' filter |
 |
| Fragmented filter - tiles your image |
 |
| Sparkle filter - brings out the spangles |
 |
| Super macro muscari |
Camera 2 – Olympus EPL5.
Can still be used by idiots but largely those with prodigious memories
who can navigate round an extensive set of menus. Less buttons to press but more
menu choices than McDonalds. Other major
difference to the Stylus SH50 are the lenses.
For DSLR virgins like me, lenses are a whole new ball game. Still, I did manage to figure out how to pop
the cap off before taking my snaps.
 |
| Moss - with nature macro setting |
 |
| Sunlight through the trees |
 |
| Tree bark and that's just the pancake lens |
Loving my new toys and can't wait to test out a few more features in the garden.
MORE ABOUT:
No comments:
Post a Comment