Back to answering the questions I get asked a lot on social media and to the theme of what kit I carry in my bag whilst I travel. In a previous post I showcased the camera of choice I use on the road, the Olympus OM-D E-M5. A Micro Four Thirds camera, perfectly sized for taking around and with fantastic pictures perfect for my needs both online and even in print publications where my pictures are used. Of course the lenses play a huge part in the final picture quality. I have a few that I always keep ready in the backpack, the small size of them means this is no stress or great weight unlike a mirrored DSLR. Here I will start with the one not for landscapes or expansive sea views, but the one that is sublime for close up views and portraits. The M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 60mm 1:2.8 Macro
I must stress again that, for the purposes of showing what I get from the lens, all the photos in this post are Jpeg, straight from the camera! No Raw, no touching up, no photoshop, just taken then cropped to fit this site.
Although I am often in places fit for landscapes or on open mountaintops, I never leave home without this lens. You never know! The small things in life that often go un-noticed can be captured at a very close range, via macro photography. With the ultra fast auto focus of the camera together with a nice wide aperture of 2.8 I find it a breeze to sneak up on little bugs and creatures and get a shot in before they fly off. The colours are great without touch up for my needs and the circular bokeh produced in the defocused background is way beyond any previous lens I have owned.
Portrait Perfect – The lens has some great manual settings. It takes pictures life size 1:1 for some real close close-ups. Also 0.19-0.4m and even 0.19m/0.4-infinity although realistically used up to only a couple of metres. I have no need to go out and buy a separate fixed lens for portraits, this, at 60mm together with the picture quality fits my bill.
All in all the small size and little weight, plus the quality of picture in both macro and normal mode I use for portraits, means I can carry it around in my pocket or in my bag ready for those little moments of wonder.
More info can be found on the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 60mm 1:2.8 Macro via the Olympus site. Of course, you have also been asking about what I use for the landscapes and the other bird/animal shots. I will be sharing which lenses those are for sure soon.
In the meantime here a few more examples as straight JPEGS.