I recently got my first Olympus/ OM camera, OM-1 Mark ii Kit (bundled with M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 PRO II lens) in their January 2026 promotion. I have planned to start shooting wildlife and super tele photos with this brand for quite some times, looking its advantages of micro four third crop factor, as well as the much lighter weight and smaller volume for travelling with gears.
My original idea was to start with macro, which the brand impressed me most, but while I was still struggling to choose the 60mm or the newer 90mm, the promotion popped up and it was a very good deal, so I decided to get this kit first. I have eventually decided to go for the 90mm macro and let see when they will have such a good deal again.
The first thing I usually do with my new gear is always flip through the manual, testing functions, familiarize buttons and knobs…etc. etc. I found that OM-1 Mark ii is really light and portable (comparing my D750 with either Tamron 15-30mm F2.8, or 90mm F2.8), I can easily carry it on my neck and wandering around.
As I wondered, I still yet to have a macro lens nor a tele lens for birds, what should I do to test it? That portability implied my right away: there’s no better way then go for street shoot. Coincidently, wife need to go Melaka for teaching in the weekend, so I made it tag along the ride and spent 2 hours at Jonker Street, and area around there.
The small size camera helped me blend into crowds, without induced much attentions to my shooting (except one uncle who burst into anger immediately after discovered I “framed” him, he must be having an unpleasant night ahead!). Overall, handling of the camera is smooth though I still not so familiar with the focusing system.
12-40mm range (24-80mm equivalent.) is very good in street photography (one may argue it won’t fit buildings and architectures in narrow streets, but street photography is always about people), depth of field is not as shallow as full frame (of course) but the in the other hand it gives much more tolerances to candid shots, as in streets, subjects are spontaneous and you need to shoot fast, regardless they are in-focus or not.
Besides, sharpness, image quality, dynamic range are all reasonably acceptable for this session. I won’t hesitate to carry this camera and lens for any other street and travelling shooting . Until next session. I should bring my OM-1 Mark ii to go more places and test it inside out.
