A new way to explore Flickr.

I've been a Flickr user ever since the service was introduced as a small start-up in Vancouver, and was subsequently acquired by Yahoo. It is certainly one of the best sites to share and explore photos.

Every now and then, they introduce some cool features. Their latest one allows you to embed the pictures directly into your website, and explore other pictures in your stream in a very seamless manner.


This will certainly change the way I write blog posts in future.

The 5-Axis IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization)

5-Axis IBIS illustration. Image copyright by Olympus Corporation.

Olympus first introduced their 5-axis IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) with the E-M5, and further refined it with the E-M1 (their current flagship camera).

When I purchased the E-M1, the IBIS feature was not on my "must-have" list. I purchased the camera because of its other features (weather sealed body, 10fps shooting speed, great viewfinder etc.). My understanding was that image stabilization that is done on a lens (favored by Nikon & Canon) is always better than image stabilization done in the camera body (by moving the sensor, as shown in the illustration above). I was very skeptical that this type of stabilization would give good results.

I was completely wrong.

The Switch to Micro 4/3rd

My current micro 4/3 system.

Photography has become a lot more interesting for me recently, and it has to do with one tiny gem of a camera from Olympus. The rather odd sounding OM-D E-M1.

Up until now, I have shot mostly with Nikon D800 and have managed to collect some really beautiful Nikon lenses. I still love shooting with the D800, and I know its controls like the back of my hand. But it has one disadvantage that makes it impractical as an everyday camera. It is big and it is heavy.

I wanted something small and light that I could carry around with me, especially while travelling. About 2 years back, I decided to try the Olympus E-P2. It was a nice and slick camera, but its underwhelming auto-focus speed left a lot to be desired. I also tried the much revered Panasonic GF1 (which has great auto-focus speed), and even invested in the Panasonic GX1 (improvement over the GF1). I still have the GX1 and occasionally do use it, but all of these cameras fall woefully short in terms of image quality, when compared to the mighty Nikon D800.

I became very interested in the Olympus E-M5, as it was considered a game changer for the micro 4/3 system. But before I could make up my mind to buy it, rumors started circulating that Olympus was going to introduce something extraordinary. I decided to wait and see.

The OM-D E-M1 was finally announced, and it seemed to have everything that I was looking for in a smaller camera. I hit the pre-order button the moment it became available on Amazon. I was one of the early recipient of the camera, and the moment I held it in my hands, I knew I had a winner. It was exactly like a mini-version of my beloved D800.

E-M1 vs the D800

I have been using the E-M1 for more than 1 month now and it has exceeded all my expectations. I was thinking of writing one long post about all the unique features of the E-M1, but since that will be a very long post, I have decided to make separate posts highlighting some of the cool things I have been able to do with this camera.

Detailed technical review of the camera can be found at dpreview.com, where it earned their highest "Gold Award". My subsequent posts will be more focused on real-world use, and my personal experience with this camera.