Living with the 7-14mm UWA

Once in a while, someone comes by the Olympus DSLR forum on DPREVIEW and asks for any tips on the Olympus 7-14mm Zuiko Digital ultra wide angle (14mm - 28mm Equivalent Focal Length). I'm still on my learning journey, it's one of those journeys where the passage is as important as the destination. Here are some of my notes:

Know that there are two types of shots with this lens. - Exaggerated Perspective vs

Prim and Proper.

To ensure some rightness in the shot, you could

• use a less wide focal length
• use software to offset converging lines
• hold the camera level.
• a flat object, head on.

The lens at widest field of view, actually runs out of DOF (Depth of View) if you use the maximum aperture of f/4. This makes things blurry and give you the feeling of coke bottled zoom.

On the other hand, darkness helps cloak exaggeration and shallow DOF.

del.icio.us Tags: Olympus,Zuko Digital,7-14mm,DOF

Just a shot

Haven't posted a shot for some time. Well, here's one then. Outside the Myer window, Bourke Street, Melbourne at night. Reminds me of the night terrors that Alan Shore (James Spader) is alleged to have in Boston Legal

del.icio.us Tags: 714mm,Zuiko Digital,Olympus,Melbourne,Myer,Night Photos

Focus Blur GIMP Plugin

I was recently in a discussion about how small sensor cameras had an inherently large Depth of Field - and sometimes we do want to blur the background. I was referred to a paid product but for I also just found a free GIMP plugin.

• Depth of Field Generator Pro
• Focus Blur plugin for GIMP

The blur parameters seem extensive but it will take some nutting out - if I get anywhere, I'll post an entry.

del.icio.us Tags: DOF,GIMP