Although the far majority of my travel photos on this trip were taken with a Panasonic GH-1 Micro Four Thirds camera, I did take my trusty Olympus E510 dSLR which was my main camera I used on my Italy trip in 2007.
The combination of the E-510 with the superb Olympus ZD 50mm f/2.0 macro lens is one I have always loved for travel, and I had to get it out for a few shots such as these gems from the crowded Spanish Steps in Rome all within a minute, as my wife was lacking patience in this very crowded area:
It’s shallow depth of field allows one to isolate your subject very well whilst still retaining the context, here I have selected the first tourist to focus upon rather than the fashionable mother at the rear:
And, finally, the smoking Roman Centurion:
As much as I have loved my Olympus E-510, it is now almost 4 years old, and technology has marched on. Although image quality is still excellent at low ISO, and it does have built-in image stabilisation, the optical viewfinder is no match for the EVF on my Panasonic GH-1, and it lacks the native 16:9 aspect ratio which I find is perfect for travel photography.
If I had the money, I would replace the E-510 with the new Olympus E-5 (much better viewfinder and weather-proofed), and replace my GH-1 with the new GH-2 (much better video and AF), but alas, no such luck there.
