Playing with a Lens – Cat Photos!

34 Replies

Just what the Internet needs, more cat photos! lol. Anyway, the other day I was discussing camera equipment with Marilyn Armstrong. We have similar set ups, so it is nice to nerd out on photography on a occasion. She had talked about her Olympus 45mm f1.8 “portrait” lens. I have one, but almost never use it. It is tiny and looks like a toy (mine is blue!), particularly when compared to my enormous new 100-400.

So I pulled the lens out and took a few photos with it over the last few days.

It was cold, dark and rainy, so I took indoor photos, mostly of the cats, though there are other photos.

It may look like a toy, but the photos are great! The details are super and I love the color. The shallow depth of field at f1.8 is great, though sometimes noses are in focus, but eyes aren’t.

Here is a 100% crop of the above (I always reduce my photos before posting) – click on this and make it full screen – it will fill your screen….

Anyway, here are a few photos. Click on any to bring up the image. You can then scroll through them. I hope you enjoy!

34 thoughts on “Playing with a Lens – Cat Photos!”

  1. Susanne

    Great photos, Trent! So is this with the Olympus 45 mm? Olympus lenses are always small and light (except the pro lenses) and that’s what I like with them! My macro lens is 60 mm and weighs almost nothing. Then some year ago I bought a Lumix 15 mm which is now my favourite lens. It’s f1.7 and is wonderful, and also very light and small.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Yes, the smaller of the two Olympus 45mm – they have a pro one, but this one is so good I don’t know why you’d want it… Most of the time I have one of two lenses on my camera, the (original) Olympus Pro 12-40mm F2.8 and a telephoto zoom, which since last spring is now the Olympus 100-400mm 5.0-6.3. I often forget I have the 45mm and so it doesn’t get enough use – It’s been years since I touched it.

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      1. Susanne

        I’ve been looking at that 12-40. Nice with 2.8 on a zoom lens. My zoom lens got (likely) fungus so I’ve ditched it and I don’t want to spend money on a lens right now and haven’t yet owned a zoom I’ve been impressed with so for now I’m trying to go with the primes only. So far I’m happy enough. I do have a longer zoom, but it starts at 45 mm which I think is too far away for what I normally shoot. I heard from a friend about a bird event in a local forest so I might take it there. It’s a good lens so it’s a shame I don’t use it more.

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        1. trentpmcd Post author

          I “grew up” on zooms, so don’t know primes well enough. The 12-40 is great walk around lens since it covers a pretty brought range and is light enough for most occasions. Every shot I took in Scotland was on that lens. and the tele-zoom is what I use when I kayak or do other birding type things.

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  3. Diana

    I Love your little lens! What great photos and I went through them twice, as I wanted them to fill my screen after I read your post. My favorite is the close up of Alexander, those eyes! But they are all good. One day I need to buy a nice camera!!! 😍👍

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  4. Marilyn Armstrong

    It really is a very artsy lens. The bokeh is the best I’ve seen in ANY lens and it’s also fast. I’ve had a lot of “portrait” lenses not only for the Olympuses, but also Canons, Lumix, and at one point, I actually owned a real Leica — pre-digital, but with multiple lenses. This little 45mm lens has give me the prettiest pictures of all. It also does some very interesting things with flowers and other outdoor stuff. You just can’t beat the bokeh.

    I’m now looking for a used OMD em 5 — either an M 2 or 3. My old one is at the end of its life and is no longer dependable. It doesn’t owe me anything having worked hard for many years.

    Maybe I should bury it and have an etched stone made for it? It deserves honor. I could play taps on my tin whistle.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I had only used the lens a few times in the past and had forgotten how nice the photos are. Actually, I only used it on the EM-5 and I think it is even better on the EM-1 m2. I’m going to have to play around with it more.
      My EM-5 certainly deserves some honors as well. That being said, I think I have gotten more use from the EM-1 m2. I had three original four-thirds cameras, and the E-620 got a huge amount of use – it is one of the few that I did duel camera work with – I still used it a lot when I moved to the EM-5 and only stopped using it when the EM-1 m2 arrived in 2017.

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      1. Marilyn Armstrong

        I was reading reviews of it yesterday and though a lot of people felt they should use it more, no one was getting rid of it because for portraits and any other close work, it is a really great little lens. I’ve just gotten — like everyone I suppose — lazy about lens changing. And also, I hate changing lenses outside when there’s dust and wind that can get inside the camera. It may be splashproof, but nothing can stop sand from getting inside the camera. Unless I’ve got a table and It’s not windy, I usually won’t change lenses. I’m too afraid of stuff getting inside. Too bad we don’t have people to do an annual clean up on our cameras anymore.

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        1. trentpmcd Post author

          I do think I got a piece of dust on my sensor, but I haven’t noticed it lately, so maybe Oly’s “famous” vibration cleaning has finally fixed it. That is something good brick and mortar camera stores are good for, services like cleaning.

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          1. Marilyn Armstrong

            If only there actually WERE any brick & mortar camera stores. There’s ONE in a Newton right outside Boston, but it’s not a real camera shop. They do printing and framing and not nearly as well as the online place I use. They don’t sell or service cameras. New York has camera shops, but Massachusetts doesn’t.

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  5. Pingback: Cat Pic — Mlady, taken January 4, 2023 – Tao Talk

  6. msjadeli

    Cute cats. Tell me if I’m right: 1) Tiberius is the oldest and sleeps most of the time; 2) Grace rules the roost and picks on Alexander. Your camera, lens, and settings take really good pictures (as if you didn’t already know that.) Beautiful sculpture also!

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Thanks! Actually, Tiberius is the youngest. He is a little over one and half, but still looks and acts like a kitten. Alexander is only a little older, and, yes, the old lady Grace rules the roost and picks on Alexander.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Yep, Tiberius is my music lover. He plays the piano several times a day, likes to play my synths and sleeps on the mixer whenever I record.
      Grace knows she is named after Grace Kelly, but thinks she is the more beautiful of the two ;) (The cats are all royalty, so Alexander really is named after the great one that you know.)

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