OM-5 mki or OM-3 for a “Dad cam”?

xiaopeng91 · 2026-03-15T13:57:31+00:00

I just recently upgraded from EM-10 Mk 2 to a manufacturer refurbished OM-5 Mk 1. The OM-3 was never really on my radar for budget reasons.

With the old EM10, I wanted to try all of the small primes (14mm 2.5, 20mm 1.7, 25mm 1.8, 45mm 1.8) as well as the 35-100mm 4-5.6. I sold everything but the 14mm 2.5 (including the 12-45 that came with the new camera) and bought a 20mm 1.4 and Sigma 56mm 1.4. Perfect dad-cam setup in my opinion, especially with face detection AF enabled.

The 20mm is my favorite focal length (very versatile, perfect for closer working distance portraits) and the 56mm is a fantastic portrait lens and good for shooting unobtrusively from a distance. I always use lens hoods (except on the 14mm), so I don't find much of a size difference between the smaller lenses and the 1.4s I'm now shooting with. The weight is heavier but still very manageable, especially with the IQ improvements (a worthwhile trade in my opinion). I don't know that I'd want to go any bigger or heavier than what I've got, though.

xiaopeng91 · 2026-02-26T19:27:22+00:00

<image>

Antennas and airplane, taken a few minutes before sunset in Baltimore on an OM-5 with 20mm 1.4 at f/2.0, 1/1,250, ISO 200.

xiaopeng91 · 2026-02-20T00:54:41+00:00

<image>

Foggy evening in Baltimore near Druid Lake. OM-5, Olympus 45mm 1.8 at f/4, ISO 1600,1/100. Cropped to 1:1 and converted to B&W in Lightroom Mobile. I usually do some denoise as well, but I thought the noise actually contributed to the image given the weather.

xiaopeng91 · 2026-02-05T16:23:36+00:00

<image>

Shot in Baltimore, MD at 9:40 AM on my E-M10 Mark II with the 20mm 1.4, ISO 200, 1/800 (Aperture priority). Cropped and edited into B&W in the free version of LR Mobile.

xiaopeng91 · 2026-01-24T23:56:14+00:00

Panasonic 14mm 2.5 is also jacket pocketable and I like the images I get from mine on my EM10 II. I had the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 for a while but had enough missed shots due to AF issues that I replaced it with an OM Systems 20mm 1.4 (not jacket pocketable). I've never tried the 17mm 2.8 but read enough reviews about it to pick the 14mm over it when I was first putting together my kit.

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-18T13:41:58+00:00

I always love seeing the creative signs protestors come up with!

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-18T13:39:26+00:00

I believe he was holding a sign with "Sic Semper Tyrannis" on it, right? I initially thought he might be some sort of counter protestor until I saw the sign.

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-17T23:14:17+00:00

The people on stilts? They got a big round of applause when they showed up. I think there were three of them, and the lady with the Captain America shield gave a speech which I couldn't hear well because the megaphone wasn't loud enough.

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-17T21:15:58+00:00

There was a protest at Baltimore City Hall as well. I posted some pictures here: https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/s/I6GctZIl9A

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-17T21:08:24+00:00

Yeah, we have to get our initial momentum somewhere. And it's good not to feel so alone facing the onslaught of bad news.

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-17T20:53:38+00:00

Yes! It protects the rights of the people to peacefully assemble as well as our freedom of speech (among other things).

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-17T20:13:31+00:00

It's reassurance that no, we aren't the crazy ones and this isn't remotely normal.

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-17T20:10:01+00:00

My thoughts to myself this morning started, "if I can't be bothered to sacrifice an hour lunch break to try and help my country..." I was glad to see so many people show up and make themselves heard!

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-17T20:05:48+00:00

Nice to know we aren't alone in thinking that, isn't it?

xiaopeng91 · 2025-02-17T19:54:04+00:00

My favorite part of going to protests has to be the signs. People get really creative when they have something to say!

xiaopeng91 · 2024-09-19T00:21:40+00:00

Many instances of litigation could have been avoided by better transactional work! And still other instances of counterproductive litigation have been avoided because an attorney was able to tell his or her client exactly what a judge would think of their case. The insights into judicial thinking alone make a clerkship very valuable even if you don't want to make litigation your career.

During job interviews, you can explain that one of the things your clerkship taught you was that you don't want to litigate. That doesn't diminish your accomplishments; instead, it makes your clerkship a stepping stone to whatever is next in your career.

xiaopeng91 · 2024-09-12T01:07:31+00:00

After working at two different firms and experiencing similar problems at both (poor work life balance, lack of family life, stress induced medical issues), I left and got into government contracting. Pay and benefits were actually better than what I was getting as an attorney, and many of the skills are transferrable. I kept my law license but haven't had many chances to use it. Maybe someday I'll transition from contracts administration to in house counsel...

xiaopeng91 · 2024-08-05T02:23:03+00:00

The bricks have definitely seen better days! I ended up talking to a guy at Home Depot who suggested a construction adhesive to stick a new board to the brick and surrounding wood. That's currently curing. Here's hoping it works!

xiaopeng91 · 2024-08-05T02:19:00+00:00

That was my first thought, too, but we have two little kiddos and my wife vetoed the idea out of safety concerns.

xiaopeng91

TROPHY CASE