If you are going to take pictures you need something to take them with. The pictures from my last blog post were taken using my Nikon D40. Later I got a Nikon D5100 with a larger lens and more pixels. The last camera was ten years ago. In digital technology terms that is about back to the last Ice Age.
While I was in Ecuador in April 2022 I was taking pictures of birds, as I do, and was pretty happy with the results. Our guide was Andres Vasquez. His name was familiar. It turns out that our guide had literally written the book on wildlife of Ecuador. The book is called, Wildlife of Ecuador. https://press.princeton.edu/our-authors/vasquez-noboa-andres
He was sponsored by Olympus Cameras and while he was showing us the wonders of the cloud-forest of Ecuador he was occasionally taking a few photos himself. One evening after a wonderful day of birding he was sitting at his laptop editing his shots from the day. We both took photos of a group of three toucan barbets. I had been very happy with mine. Until I saw his. The clarity and focus and detail were as if they were still in front of us.
Well. Maybe it was time to look at a new camera. The Olympus was a mirrorless camera with newer software. It could automatically identify the eye of the subject and focus on that. It could take a burst of photos while changing the focus point and later stack them together to allow everything to be crystal clear. And it could connect to my iPhone.
I finally ordered my new Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV with a 12-14 mm 1:2.8 Pro lens and a 75-300 mm 1:4.8 - 6.7 telephoto lens. I wanted to be comfortable with it before out next trip (in an upcoming blog), so I took it out to a nearby bird sanctuary to practice. Unfortunately the camera did not want to do what I wanted it to do. Sure I got some good shots, but there was so much time spent trying to get the focus where I wanted it and so many missed shots that I was close to giving up on day one.
Poor exposure. Out of focus. Could have been a good shot.
But then I would get some real winners and it made me realize that maybe it could be just a matter of learning to use a new system.
The old Nikon weighed 3 lbs. 1 oz. The Olympus weighs 1 lb. 14 oz. When you are holding a camera for a long time waiting for just the right light, or for a bird to come from behind a branch that weight makes a difference. Not to mention, although I will mention it, when you are walking for miles in the hills or forest carrying all that gear it is nice if it isn't beating on you and sucking the joy out of your adventure.
I won't be getting rid of my Nikon D5100. I haven't even parted ways with my D40. But I will really try to be ready to pack my Olympus for my upcoming trip to... I almost said it, but you will have to wait until my next post to see where we are going next.
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