Olympus OM-D

Retro Camera Styling. The Lomo LC-A Silver Lake Edition.

I recently pre-ordered the new OM-D, Olympus’ latest micro 4/3 digital camera. It is supposed to ship mid April, but being realistic I wouldn’t be surprised if the ship date slipped to May. Part of the reason I ordered the OM-D is the amazing retro styling that was applied to the camera. Color me nostalgic, but it looks like the very first 35mm camera I ever bought, an Olympus OM-1. The OM-1 holds a special place in my heart because I bought it with money I earned mowing lawns for a whole summer at the age of 14.

With that said, I could also say I have a nostalgic place in my heart for analog photography in general, but I doubt I’ll ever go back to shooting on film again. One thing that could persuade me to do so is the limited edition Lomo Camera that dropped a couple of weeks ago.

The Lomo LC-A Silver Lake edition celebrates the heritage behind the famous snapshot camera from yesteryear with a chromed body trimmed in genuine leather. It features a Russian-made Minitar 1 lens just like the original had, and will set you back just under 400 bucks. which isn’t to bad for a limited edition item, that is housed in such a wonderfully designed package.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Lomo LC-A comes in a special wooden box that holds a letterpress printed carton that contains the camera itself. In edition to the  wooden box, the kit also includes 2 rolls of film, instruction manual, certificate of manufacture, and a booklet on the Lomo itself, all of which are well designed, and fit with the retro look of the whole package. The package design on this is every bit as nice as the camera, and really accentuates the limited edition feel of the product.

The Cup: Filmmaking with the Olympus EP-L PEN.

This afternoon while I was rendering out a bunch of CPU sucking video, I decided to peruse YouTube for any clips about the new Olympus OM-D. While on the Olympus Australia channel, I came across a great little documentary about “The Cup” by director Simon Wincer and Cinematographer David Burr.

What I found interesting is the way they used the Olympus PEN cameras to shoot sections of the film, and why they chose it. Another interesting item is how these cameras were used in “Secretariat” and why. About 3 minutes into this short documentary, Wincer talks about how cinematographer Dean Semler used the EP cameras to get some very specific and important shots in “Secretariat”.

They don’t show any of the footage from “The Cup”, but they do show the rigs they built, and how they shot certain sections of the film. If you are into film, cinematography, or photography this is worth a watch.