I got a new camera the other day. Someone told me it took good pictures and was willing to sell it to me for a good price. It had a great retro look for a micro 4/3rd and I jumped at the chance to buy it. A short review below.
Camera Name: Olympus Trip 35
Dimensions (inches): 5 x 2 x 2
Lens: The lens performance leaves a lot to desired. First of all, no zoom! How is one supposed to take those natural street shots of the homeless without getting too close? A major drawback. Second, no intelligent auto focus or focus peaking. This makes it very difficult to get shallow depth of field and lovely bokeh. Might as well be shooting with one of those thumbnail sensor cameras. Third, its a fixed lens. I was hoping to try out my Olympus EPL-5 lenses on it but the only way you can take the lens off is with a screwdriver and the EPL-5 lenses don't screw on to the same mount. On the plus side, I have heard that the lens is super sharp and does have normal auto focus (praise the lord!).
ISO Range: It took me quite a while to figure out how to set the ISO on this one. I usually like shooting at 1600 ISO, applying noise reduction in Photoshop. This lets me shoot at my favourite places like the Mahiki nightclub in London, which is so dim that the sensor often has to record what the naked eye can't see. After a bit of looking I found that the ISO is set on the lens (and its called ASA instead of ISO, whats up with that?). Then it struck me - the sensor on this camera cannot record above 400 ISO. 400! I don't think any self respecting party starts in London (or Paris or New York) when 400 ISO may be of use. I certainly have never shot at 400 ISO.
Sensor: Having been disappointed by the lens and the ISO range I was hoping that the sensor would be crackerjack. After all, many people had told me it was a very good camera. Looking through the lens I couldn't see a sensor and the body didn't say how many megapixels it was. I took it to a friend who knows a thing or two about cameras and he explained to me that this camera uses the latest technology - interchangeable sensors. Wow! Even the Leica's doesn't have that. And these interchangeable sensors are super cheap - as little as £3 per sensor, even the ones which are monochrome only (like the Leica M). There's a little door at the back which opens up to insert the sensors. I haven't tested these sensors as yet but my friend said he will get me a few. Not too many I said, I think one or two sensors will be enough.
Memory: Another major disappointment - the camera comes with no internal memory and apparently uses only WOM (Write Only Memory), which can be bought with the interchangeable sensor. Apparently the memory card it uses has very little capacity and can hold only 36 pictures. I mean even my iPhone has more capacity. Worse, apparently the WOM has to be scanned using these high tech machines you only find in a few shops (although my friend said he had set up this machine in his toilet). This is really not very user friendly, is it? Up your game Olympus.
Other features: Nothing but a let down I am afraid. I am all for minimalism but who can live without 'live view'? You are thinking, well if there was a good EVF... Think again. The viewfinder is a piece of glass. That's it. You look through a window and make sure your subject is in the box painted on the window. No histogram either and forget about wireless connectivity. All in all, not wise to part with the £20 that I spent on this. Those interchangeable sensors better be good.
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