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Revisiting the Olympus OM-D E-M5 in Moldova

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Jordan Steele

This past week, I traveled to the small country of Moldova in eastern Europe. The country is a former Soviet republic and shares a cultural history with neighboring Romania. Prior to visiting, I had virtually no knowledge of the country, and while I certainly wouldn’t proclaim to be an expert, I am glad I got the opportunity to see the country.  There’s a bit of turmoil in the country at the moment, as a large portion of the population is pushing for closer ties to the European Union, while others support a more pro-Russia agenda.  Some desire reunification with Romania.  At the moment, there are ongoing protests outside government buildings that have been happening since early September, when tens of thousands descended in downtown Chisinau to express dissatisfaction with the current government due to corruption and the theft of $1.5 billion.  This somewhat contentious political climate was present in the background, but I found the people of Moldova to be friendly and laid back in my limited interactions.

Protesters by the Arcul de Triomf, Chisinau, Moldova - Olympus OM-D E-M5 with Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II @ 14mm, f/3.5, 0.4 sec handheld
Protesters by the Arcul de Triomf, Chisinau, Moldova – Olympus OM-D E-M5 with Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II @ 14mm, f/3.5, 1/2 sec, ISO 400, handheld

Now, you’re here for photography discussion, so let’s get to it. I was in Chisinau on non-photography business, but had some short opportunities to take a few photos. Because photography wasn’t the primary purpose for the trip, I really wanted to travel light, but still have the ability to get high quality shots. As I review cameras and lenses from many different systems, I have base systems for all of them…so what to choose?

The venerable OM-D E-M5

For my personal shooting nowadays, I split my time fairly evenly between the full-frame Sony A7 II, mostly with Canon FD lenses, and the Fuji X-T1 with many of the excellent Fuji X lenses.  The Fuji stuff gets used for most family shooting, portraiture and general purpose use, while the Sony kit sees use for landscape shooting and tripod mounted shooting, though both are used for all sorts of shots.  My Micro 4/3 gear nowadays generally gets brought out for shooting Macro (with the outstanding Olympus 60mm f/2.8) as well as when I want a small system for long les work.

So why bring the E-M5 to Moldova?  Two reasons: size and In-body image stabilization.  I considered bringing the Sony a6000 with Rokinon 12mm, 35/1.8 and 55/1.8, but I didn’t want to bring 3 lenses and I don’t have a small zoom for my a6000.  I also wasn’t going to be bringing a tripod, which would make handholding at night problematic.

The E-M5 with the lowly 14-42mm kit zoom and the small but quite good Olympus 40-150mm f/4-5.6 seemed to fit the bill perfectly, providing a very broad focal range in a very small package.  Together, the kit weighs next to nothing and fits in a tiny bag. I also could carry the camera and lenses in my jacket pockets, which proved to be the most convenient.  The E-M5’s in-body IS is also outstanding, and despite the slow apertures of these lenses, I was able to handhold shots even at night.  The first shot in this article is probably my favorite of the trip, highlighting the Arcul de Triomf with the camped out protesters in front of the Moldovan Government House.  This shot was taken at 14mm, wide open, handheld at 1/2 second, and allowing for a relatively low ISO of 400 while still snagging a sharp shot.

Cathedral "Nativity of the Lord", Chisinau, Moldova - Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @ 17mm, f/5.6
Cathedral “Nativity of the Lord”, Chisinau, Moldova – Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @ 17mm, f/6.3, 1/100s, ISO 200

The decision proved to be the correct one.  I got a fair few nice shots around the city and was glad I had some longer shots to capture some nice shots highlighting people in the park near my hotel.  The light wasn’t amazing while I was there, and time to shoot was limited, but a handful of walks around town yielded some nice photos in a unique and interesting country.  Take a look below for some more shots.

Autumn Love, Chisinau, Moldova - Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 40-150mm @
Autumn Love, Chisinau, Moldova – Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 40-150mm @ 89mm, f/4.9, 1/20s, ISO 800
Chess, Chisinau, Moldova - Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @
Chess, Chisinau, Moldova – Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @ 27mm, f/4.6, 1/3s, ISO 1250
Museum of National History, Chisinau, Moldova - Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @
Museum of National History, Chisinau, Moldova – Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @ 16mm, f/5, 1/50s, ISO 200
Waiting in the Park, Chisinau, Moldova - Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 40-150mm @
Waiting in the Park, Chisinau, Moldova – Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 40-150mm @ 96mm, f/4.9, 1/40s, ISO 800
Cathedral "Nativity of the Lord", Chisinau, Moldova - Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @
Cathedral “Nativity of the Lord”, Chisinau, Moldova – Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @ 21mm, f/4.1, 1/6s, ISO 1250
Sweeper, Chisinau, Moldova - Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 40-150mm @ 100mm
Sweeper, Chisinau, Moldova – Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 40-150mm @ 102mm, f/5.6, 1/80s, ISO 1600
Flowers by the Arcul de Triomf, Chisinau, Moldova - Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @
Flowers by the Arcul de Triomf, Chisinau, Moldova – Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 14-42mm @ 35mm, f/5.2, 1/3s, ISO 1600

 

4 thoughts on “Revisiting the Olympus OM-D E-M5 in Moldova”

  1. Ron says:
    October 13, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    Great photos. Nothing beats wandering around a European city with a camera, especially something light & small.
    Thanks for all your great essays and reviews.

    Reply
  2. Bill says:
    October 14, 2015 at 10:20 am

    Jordan,
    a timely blog entry as I continue to wrestle between the sony a6000 and OMD system . I have a ricoh GR and love it but it is limiting, inherent in its design, and having no viewfinder is a problem. I just can’t get past the fact that when you post your sony a6000 pics and I compare them to your OMD album I much prefer the output from the sony.

    I mainly shoot outdoor hiking/ flyfishing/landscapes so having a compact system is important. On paper the OMD makes complete sense and I’m not sensorsize phobic …am I making too much of this perceived difference in output.? It seems to me there may be a reason that your micro4/3 system “nowadays generally gets brought out for shooting Macro ….” Really enjoy your real world blog entries

    Reply
  3. Pino says:
    October 20, 2015 at 1:09 am

    Nice pictures. A small camera goes everywere. Next time try the Pana 14mm. f-2.8. The powerful combination of both can fit even a summer jacket pocket.

    Reply
  4. Alessandro says:
    October 20, 2015 at 1:45 am

    The e-m5 represent the latest huge leap in m43 world. The latter cameras just feature minor improvements, GX8, E-M1 or E-M5 mkii won’t let you take better photos in any way (except maybe for 40mp mode in mk ii)

    Reply

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