Travel Photography: This is why I bought the Pen

Last weekend we did a little traveling, heading to Orlando to one of our favorite places both to visit and to run - Walt Disney World!  We head there at least once a year in January to run the annual marathon but this time the event was the Everest Expedition Challenge Race, a combination 5K run, obstacle course and scavenger hunt all run through the Animal Kingdom park.

As usual we had a great time and as usual my camera was at my side most of the trip.  This is exactly what I had in mind when I bought the Olympus Pen E-P1 camera.  Small enough to carry all day but high enough quality to take great pictures.

In the world of airline baggage fees we're learning how to travel with less and pack lighter and the camera equipment was no exception.  In my backpack along with a couple of magazines and my HP 5101 netbook was packed the Pen with the 17mm pancake prime lens attached.  Knowing that this camera is still a little too large to be truly "pocketable" I also packed my small North Face butt pack  loaded with the FL-14 flash unit, 14-45mm zoom, spare battery and charger.  That all was packed surrounded by clothes in the small suitcase which we carried on board the plane.

So how did the Pen do as the main camera for one more travel destination?  In a word "fantastic".  I continue to be both impressed and delighted with this little camera.  I could have done without bringing the zoom lens down as I left the pancake on the entire trip, leaving the second lens in the hotel room and never missed it once.  I really didn't experience any framing issues shooting in the bright Florida sunshine even though I opted to no bring the little viewfinder attachment that matches the pancake lens.  Occasionally I had to shade the screen with my hand to be able to see it but never missed a shot.  About the only issue I had was the fact that during the day the flash had to stay on the camera to be used for fill.  With the flash on the camera would still fit in the butt pack but I was always concerned about banging it against something, causing damage to one of the pieces.

So for the second trip since acquiring the Pen it's proved it's worth as a great little travel camera.  I'm still a couple of lens choices short of where I'd like to be, still wanting to get a dedicated macro and also a fisheye just for fun.

Enjoy!
Tom Laux
October 2, 2009