Today we start the series of reviews from famous photographers, winners of various competitions, about how mature masters shoot with Olympus and what they get out of it. No less than five reviews and several hundred photos. What they are, these moments captured by the inspiration of an artist and branded photographic equipment? In my opinion, very unexpected – today we publish the works and comments of New York photographer Dmitry Zverev.
Dmitry Zverev Gallery – The Edge of the City
Dmitry Zverev
Born in New York, 1972. Member of the American Union of Photo Artists. Four times winner of “Silver Camera”, he has won Bestphotographer and Best of America awards. Participates in 10-15 exhibitions a year, in America and abroad.
Publications by and about the author in National Geographic, Photo&Video, FotoDelo, Fotomagazin, Kinopark, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Russky Reporter, 7 Days, and other periodicals. His works are in the American Museum and Museum of the History of Photography in St. Petersburg, Multimedia Art Museum in New York, numerous private collections.
Author of calendars and postcards about New York architecture. Can You See It”, a personal album by the author, was released in 2012?”
I learned about OLYMPUS cameras a long time ago, back when there was a film OM System. I was shooting with an OM-1n at the time. Whoever has held it in their hands and heard the sound of the shutter will never forget it. The optics were first class and relatively inexpensive.
Then eras changed, and I shot on E-20, E-1, E-330, E-3, E-M5… I have been using the modern flagship Olympus OM-D E-M1 since December 2013. Besides great quality, it delivers more efficiency and operability than a DSLR in most genres. Its main trump cards are compact and lightweight, very advanced functionality and a swiveling screen. It still fares worse with sports reportage, but something tells me that this drawback will be remedied with the release of the new M lens.Zuiko 40-150/2.8.
Dimensions are the most important parameter in travel photography. Before, I used to carry one DSLR body with three lenses now I carry two bodies and seven lenses. And a tripod with a small camera is more compact. Indoors I often use fixed focal lenses: 17mm f/1.8, 12mm f/2.0, 45mm f/1.8. They’re really tiny, weighing just over 100g, but they’re bright and fast. Outdoors I use zooms more often. The most versatile one is the 12-40 f/2.8. Its contrast and sharpness are exceptional, even at an open aperture, and it has enough light to take pictures handheld and at night.
With the mirrorless camera there is a qualitatively different principle of street photography. People around us react much more calmly to a small camera. Plus, it allows you to shoot from the waist, without aiming directly at the person. People don’t feel your attention, you may not know what you are looking at down there, and some have no idea they are being photographed. With the touch-sensitive rotary screen, you can instantly point your finger at any object in the frame, while simultaneously releasing the shutter!
Stabilizer in the E-M1 is very effective, even with a significant jerk of the camera. Now you don’t have to take the time to freeze and lock your camera in your hands when reporting on an event in the blink of an eye. I just press the shutter button right away. 99% of photos come out sharp. This has a noticeable effect on the “harvest” of the photoreporter.
A pivoting screen, giving you more angles, expands the range of scenes you can shoot handheld. For wide-angle, just in multiples! You can shoot over a fence. And you can project people directly from the asphalt to the calm, not distracting background of the sky.
The gift was the ability to connect to the E-M1 via Wi-Fi. If I shoot architecture from a 7-meter stand, I control the image and the camera from my smartphone. It’s a kind of “remote eye and hand” thing.
 
How has your experience been shooting with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 over the past few years? Has it lived up to your expectations as a flagship camera?
How has your experience been using the Olympus OM-D E-M1 as a flagship camera for almost 8 years? Have you found it to be reliable and suitable for various photography styles?