In a
post I wrote before our week-long vacation on the coast of Maine, I remarked how my NEX-6 (with Jim Buchanan accessory grip) just feels more comfortable and fun to use than does my Olympus E-M5. This preference for the NEX is in spite of the higher spec (IMO) of the Olympus.
With this preference in the back of my mind, I selected the NEX with kit 16-50 to be my go-to setup for the vacation. I completely dismissed the thrashing this lens has received on the Internet.
I took the Olympus E-M5, too, and snapped on the reg43 70-300 for long shots. You will see in boat, yacht, and schooner images below why a reach of 300mm (600mm equivalent when mounted on an Olympus) is beneficial. The Olympus reg43 70-300 is a very useful lens, as it not only has a long reach but excellent close-up capabilities.
These pictures demonstrate the 70-300's flexibility. (I don't know if the same is true for the Olympus m43 75-300.) That being said, it is very slow and noisy to focus on the E-M5.
Olympus E-M5 with reg43 70-300
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6_MPxivVXQVs_E8lA_Ol1TSt13_pR5p-cOpVSMy9uDwapXqi57B1w5TlpuwPQByff2WtAXgdGkSG2Z4RzK5SsCJqOwbAtekrBqcb0mB10AWNLEuMm0uB_CGTuqm5y6UzSTsoXYw7ypXh/s640/Z8185724.JPG) |
Coneflower shot at 149mm (298mm equiv.) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheh6Q95AHbcd_V1NLJf6XMUa78WPXUUTp97YMQ2UW4NBlmbA6GQCK2VpqIz_5PZBDdL1biWv1StGSzuJBpOo-es-dH2Ka5Ed-AgmAhAaD6TIfc1cwpUnE9aFs_cogWc740u5XVj5NwCqyp/s1600/Z8185732.JPG) |
Focus was on the eyes. Shot at 202mm (404mm equiv.) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgkosrXptdLvCIFTRIIzgcjTlhy7AKC3t-KR8EsLwNG1OVzXns482MAE8OuMe66Ns_HOb__QDpy1LiilKzFOcdJl2xLRL5Q6btFB85yGCh6PZ8HSdXMqly3flKHfenReP4IDj-uGlm81_/s1600/Z8185765.JPG) |
Crab spider stalking prey. 149mm (248mm equiv.) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcnHCJIRGZO7MOA4o1mWJqijnkxIAAWhAkrxBolIGllENjjQ3mTzauFlm1w6yR3-XVXD27YLKluA12O-z3UVJ0erQnBOg7dxnzpfC630g9YDRE14nc2gprcfTl-AHT63M-5FzjEfRoMUi/s1600/Z8195797.JPG) |
Shot at 158mm focal length (316mm equiv.) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeO3F6JDnb2xENIceGrSgEfbAdwleMhmXFoPhtk0jVS9wvUZXIeeEI1CMuyYSQACpZplTB7ML76jBANfPBt2Jtg-chUMr4IH49SGrr6uY0qFl_451nldvZxv0p3Mp00mUmyGsEOxbDYexE/s1600/Z8225834.JPG) |
Shot at 300mm (600mm equiv.) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cRemelw2tSdu_rvXu5yX0T2CumirqgMGOU01cjNZqayjIrvd7bzG0kwl2jCwArxmQwMHcSyIAQ_HMkAHdhjnOYC-mEBslky7aJpN7t6viYNhO6TfIyKfuGzFcowZgFzt8aV4k7cifPgl/s1600/Z8225943.JPG) |
Shot at 239mm (478mm equiv.) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoIFPkd-DulDvPF3hyphenhyphencPqJkZAmJ3bqlQJIXx3-vkUgTGMqkZhW5YaqVOK2zyez37R5rU97G_ftoIHjmz7VdKdVphGmUF-yxLE578NUDZe0gsnyKHsj_JRl19uGmHlp0cxH6INHRjfc2FK/s1600/Z8225948.JPG) |
Shot at 239mm (478 equiv.) |
Sony NEX-6 with kit 16-50mm
As I wrote at the top of the post, the NEX-6 and kit lens was my go-to combo. Other than the few shots above with the Olympus, the NEX was used for all the usual travel and landscape stuff. I am very happy with the much maligned 16-50 E-mount zoom, though admittedly all but one or two will never be printed. To me, if just viewing on a HD TV or computer screen is all you are looking for, just about any lens made today will be sufficient.
The 16-50 turned out to be a perfect range 3x zoom for my travel needs. 25% of my images were taken fully zoomed in at 16mm (24mm-equiv) and 25% were taken fully zoomed out at 50mm (75mm-equiv). Everything else was spread out pretty equally throughout the range.
[If I could design a 5x zoom it would be a 16-80. Others might prefer a wider angle instead of more telephoto capabilities, but I think a little bit of extra reach (60-80mm range) would be good for all the candid portraits I like to do of my grandchildren. I am actually very excited about the newly announced (expensive) Zeiss 16-70 F4.]
Below are samples of the kind of compositions you get at 16mm (24mm equiv) and 50mm (75mm equivalent). Note that I tend to compose "loosely", which requires a bit of more exacting cropping in post-processing.
16mm (24mm equiv.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXOHfZuUjLLhZxHI8j8WsmOp25dRl65hAdzsMTDd8bvYEMH97PEmAJDpxupwgbruVyiF5tJY4_LAHZpIE6ZrlRO-ZJvSW03blAmXLQbqm8Ec-HLbsKwtgmNBI_lApmtgQNcIHkc1RHYDy/s1600/DSC05885.JPG) |
Bass Harbor Lighthouse |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp82WsTZl0GBKP0MjCVw_itKCU43CmFJkKlymhH4cuxONyrgDbRHqCZm_Q3m4GC9HUp7XXmpokTv4EQTOS87k4MRHSVfKEVDpQL9eNUxhODsADnVIfeQ_5eDoXwOHaLOqlcx-eW48Uw3OG/s1600/DSC06114.JPG) |
Castine, Maine Post Office |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzVuDXILe_sd-2TRWjgTHc1ehfwyz3L-PLCqZtziOJb4jJbx3CPWsG7Y3dylrBQ2mDpOXQdS6IHz4u0oLCK20gATCkwJSe3fSD1v2m5JpClhBxIX4OPnfwh098L5G1fHRfnnLZUrEV0i6m/s1600/DSC06316.JPG) |
Near Surrey, Maine |
50mm (75mm equiv.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6J7WsJEo5f29Xc0lij7nzxHpSkhNbFgadsMOnuKRQvk5RYQwptIaABzeWfHrYsoW6TNn_1lzOfsfoTzwWqruDQkkyDkZVMAy3CRinVPSin-PmwzNZPvni91Nt5PlkwxxRu4dLiftF8w6F/s1600/DSC06280.JPG) |
The 16-50 performs nicely for closeups at 50mm. Do you see the caterpillar camouflaged against the lichen on the rock? |