New Zealand: Olympus vs Fujifilm for my particular scenario

HaoAndHui said:

Tom Caldwell said:

Looks like you are over-thinking it. See what I used for the South Island of NZ many years ago:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68196543

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Thanks for the info, great photos!

Admittedly, the lens you've used are fairly high quality ones, but did you find it problematic if you have to change lens quite often for different scenes?

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After being used to my Australian coastal scenery, Australian tree-bush stretching forever sameness and outback flat to the horizon the lenses needed in scenic NZ are quite different. Mountains, Lakes and endless variety of same are asking for more wide angle to show to best advantage.

I think that I could have managed fine with my kit 12-32 plus more affordable 42.5/1.7 (if I had one at the time) and the 12/2.0 Olympus. As noted elsewhere a mid-range GP zoom might be all that you need.

agc73 said:

The 12-35 is a great lens, image quality at all aperture settings is great and as good as anything from Fujifilm I’ve used.

Unless your main goal of the trip is photography I’d just go for the simplest set up possible and not overthink it. The Olympus with the 12-40 will be fantastic and if you have half decent phone camera that will sort out the indoor pics.

If you want the best image quality possible just buy some nice photo books of places you visit when you’re here and post them back home. It’ll cost maybe a couple hundred NZD for medium format/ best full frame quality. That way someone else buys the expensive gear, carry’s it and sets up the shot, does all the post processing and printing too. It then lets you enjoy taking more candid snaps of your trip.

If you have the time do a day trip out to Milford Sound.

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I hope that Milford is on a dry day. But it is well worth the trip. If you are on the top deck watch out for when the cruise boat parks itself under the waterfalls.

My GM1 and 12-32 survived the wet of Milford Sound at its worst. Surprising perhaps for gear that had no weather protection rating? Still working fine 11 years later.

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Tom Caldwell

It's hard to make specific recommendations because every itinerary is different and each photographer has individual preferences. For instance, my kit to Iceland would be completely different depending on if I was planning to see puffins or the northern lights or just landscape.

I just got back from a trip to Antarctica. Before I went, I studied many posts and trip reports. Recommendations were all over the place because everyone has different tendencies. Many classically trained photographers make a 70-200 work as their longest lens. Me, I ended up using the 300 F4 the most because I have birding and telephoto tendencies.

I'm assuming you're doing landscape at a minimum. Many people like a wide and telephoto zoom, and possibly a small prime. A lot of Fuji landscape photographers had something like the 10-24, 55-200, and possibly the 35 f2. On OM, I'd probably take the 8-25 and 40-150 F4, especially since you're possibly standing on a crowded bus for ~30 minutes.

I personally favor zooms over primes when I travel. Zooms help you get the shot when you might only see something once. Primes make "boring" scenes or places you visit a lot at home more interesting.

In nature, I love having a small prime I could shoot with one hand and the viewfinder. With Fuji, it was the 18 F2 and an XE4. On M43, the 12-45 F4 was as small as a prime, or you could do the new 17mm f1.8 that's weather sealed. You can also use this for street in cities. (I'd classify the nondescript trees and trails you want to document as "boring," then break out the zooms for the final viewpoint.)

If you're working around the 12-40, you can also use that and take a wide prime.

Personally, I thought Fuji was neither here nor there. The 1.4 primes you need to take advantage of the 40mp sensor are basically the same size and more expensive than full frame. Something like the Nikon Z7 and 24-70, 24-200, or 28-400 are likely higher quality at landscape apertures.

M43 has advantages in computational photography and weather sealing. You can also get some weight savings going M43 versus Fuji with live ND or HHRS being a quick and easy long exposure without needing a tripod or ND filters. When I was trekking in Patagonia carrying all my clothes and food, I used HHRS on my OM-5 to be a poor man's long exposure photography.

For astro, I would guess the viltrox 13 is better than the PL 9. But it might be hard getting to a dark spot without a car.


Simulated long exposure using HHRS



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HaoAndHui said:

We'll travel to New Zealand in a month's time, and can't decide what equipment to bring with me. We'll be visiting Queenstown, won't rent a car, so the travel distance is limited to public transport.

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hmm, I suggest you look at a road tour to Glenorchy along the lake shore - stunning lake+mountain scenery and green pastures+sheep+mountains

also a lake cruise if you can find one, and the jet boat if you’re into thrills

I was there last October (with a car) and was shooting with FF plus 24-105mm and E-M-1III with the 12-100/4

HaoAndHui said:

I'm deciding what I should bring, currently I either own or can borrow from friends:

OM System OM-5 with the following lenses:

- Panasonic 15mm f1.7, 25mm f1.4, 9mm f1.7

- Olympus 12-40mm f2.8

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Of these I’d select the OM-5 with 12-40 and the 9mm. I needed to go wider than 12mm for a lot of those magical landscapes.

jj

HaoAndHui said:

3dpan said:

The 70-300mm could be useful for pulling in some of the wildlife.

I agree with "Coasting", take the 12-40mm f/2.8.
It has high resolution and low CA, and a versatile focal range.
You can even use it for astro, but be prepared to stitch a few images to get an ultrawide field of view. I have used it, exposure 30 seconds at f/2.8 for starry skies.

This time of year is quite good for the Milky Way. The bright core is still towards the east, but otherwise stretches from one horizon to the opposite.
Just to illustrate the field of view involved here's an example taken with my Oly 8mm fisheye on 30 April, from the far north of NZ. The view from Queenstown will be similar except higher in the sky.
Note the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, (the smudges on the lower right horizon). A pair of galaxies rarely seen from the Northern Hemisphere.

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Thanks a lot, that's a wonderful photo!

Is it visible using naked eye? My wife has always dreamed about taking photo under starry sky and probably this time her dream would become true

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I just want to remind you that (weather and moon permitting) the night sky views of the Milky Way from Queenstown and surrounds are better than you will ever see from the Northern Hemisphere, even better than I will ever see from the north of NZ.
Here is a link to a tourist page, listing starry sky opportunities around Queenstown.

Skeeterbytes said:

OM-5+9/1.7+12-40+40-150/4 would comprise a tidy and high-quality kit with no obvious gaps.

Can't opine on the Fuji side as I don't know the system.

Sounds like a grand trip, whatever you decide to tote.

Cheers,

Rick

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I would be tempted to throw in a fast bright weather-sealed portrait prime as well, say the Sigma 56mm f1.4, for night time and city/outings. the Weather sealing can be important in NZ, it's a rarely understood truth that it rains more in NZ than the UK, so weather sealed kit is a MAJOR bonus! Otherwise, I'de agree with Skeeters choices. Great water tight kit.
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That said, doesn't get better than 1 camera 1 lens. The OM-5 with that 12-40mm f2.8 is hard to beat.

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Photography is poetry made visible; it is the art of painting with light!

Asherax said:

Skeeterbytes said:

OM-5+9/1.7+12-40+40-150/4 would comprise a tidy and high-quality kit with no obvious gaps.

Can't opine on the Fuji side as I don't know the system.

Sounds like a grand trip, whatever you decide to tote.

Cheers,

Rick

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I would be tempted to throw in a fast bright weather-sealed portrait prime as well, say the Sigma 56mm f1.4, for night time and city/outings. the Weather sealing can be important in NZ, it's a rarely understood truth that it rains more in NZ than the UK, so weather sealed kit is a MAJOR bonus! Otherwise, I'de agree with Skeeters choices. Great water tight kit.
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That said, doesn't get better than 1 camera 1 lens. The OM-5 with that 12-40mm f2.8 is hard to beat.

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Even a OM-5 with the 12-100mm f4 would be fantastic for the trip, I wouldn't hesitate using that combo

I just today was looking at my 2010 NZ photos with my newish GF1. Gorgeous photos. The only lenses I had on that trip were the Panasonic 14-45mm f/4-56., the 20mm f/1.7 and the 45-200mm f/4-5.6. Many of the best photos were with the 20mm.

You don't need any particular lens on any trip.

I always take most of my lenses for any trip longer than a couple of days. It is up to you what you decide to shoot. The lenses I might need don't depend on the country or region I am traveling to, but on the type of photography I decide to do.

tpani said:

I just today was looking at my 2010 NZ photos with my newish GF1. Gorgeous photos. The only lenses I had on that trip were the Panasonic 14-45mm f/4-56., the 20mm f/1.7 and the 45-200mm f/4-5.6. Many of the best photos were with the 20mm.

You don't need any particular lens on any trip.

I always take most of my lenses for any trip longer than a couple of days. It is up to you what you decide to shoot. The lenses I might need don't depend on the country or region I am traveling to, but on the type of photography I decide to do.

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I almost suggested the OM 20mm f1.4 as an appropriate fast Prime to add to the excellent suggestions that Skeeter made, but I'm a Portrait junky so the 56 suited me more... but I think you are correct, travelling, a 20mm would be super handy for night time and low light shots. The OM 20mm f1.4 is light enough and bright enough and weather sealed to boot, so great option along with the 9mm 1.7, 12-40mm f2.8 and 40-150 f4.

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Then again bluesman makes a good case for 1 camera 1 lens...

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Photography is poetry made visible; it is the art of painting with light!