Adventures with the revolutionary

Olympus E-330 DSLR and Leica R lenses

Photographs and Text

© Gary Todoroff  2006-2008

All rights reserved

2008 March 13, 2008 San Diego Red Bull Air Race

Racing competition airplanes flew fast and low through a closed course between the San Diego skyline and North Island.  It took some practice with the long telephoto . . .

2008 Feb 2 Bear RIver Ridge Pond and Prairie

Just a few steps off the Bear River Ridge gravel road, melting snow made a reflecting pond. Twenty minutes prior, a snow squall had pelted the landscape . . .

2008 Jan 24 Arkley Center Duane Flatmo Mural with Olympus C-8080

Local artist, Duane Flatmo, recently completed a mural almost seven stories tall on the building which houses the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts. The little Olympus C-8080 has the quality lens to reflect well on this huge mural.

2008 Jan 13 Kneeland Prairies Sunset

With a cold mist covering most of the coast, I headed into the hills above Eureka, driving through clouds and into the sunny hills of Kneeland. . .

2008 Jan 9 Amy at the Arkley Summilux 50/1.4

At the Arkley Center, local pianist, Amy Sczepanski, performed with the Steinway for a couple of hours. . .

2007 Dec 31 Cape Mendocino Last Light 2007

My New Year's Eve pilgrimage to Cape Mendocino began at mid-day -- this year's route crossing Bear River Ridge to Bunker Hill and taking a left where The Wildcat changes name to Mattole Road

2007 Dec 7 Formal Building Portraits, Hlympad

When architects, contractors and financiers have invested so much effort and money in restoring or building beauty into the architecture of Eureka, I feel especially privileged to record for posterity what I call the Formal Building Portrait.

2007 Oct 31 Humboldt Bay Entrance Waves

At the entrance to Humboldt Bay, waves crash as high as the navigation tower on the north jetty . . . a long telephoto and some safe distance!

2007 Oct 28 Clear Sky Over Humboldt Bay - Aerial

Along the North Coast of California, skies do not get much clearer than this. From about 11,000 feet Mount Shasta pokes over the horizon like a snow cone . . .

2007 Oct 15 San Diego Wild Animal Park 70-180/2.8

A Day at the San Diego Wild Animal Park -- Exposures in the slide show were all hand-held with the Leica Vario-APO-Elmarit 70-180mm f2.8 on the Olympus E-330 with RAW format and typically at ISO 100 on a brightly lit day at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

2007 Oct 11 Eureka High School NJROTC

2007 Oct 7  Summilux-R 50/1.4 Portraits Followup

In the office kitchen, the setting sun was right behind Anna, glowing through a fabric window blind and reflecting off the walls of the small room. The light was perfect

2007 Sep 29 50mm Prime Lenses for Portraits

Prime Lens Portraits using

Leica Summilux-R 50mm f1.4

Olympus G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4

Konica Hexanon 40mm f1.8

I tested three prime lenses adapted to the E-330 for portraits.

2007 Jul 7 Art & Architecture at the Arkley

The photographs that the nearby Holiday Inn had purchased for their hotel upgrade made a brief stop for Eureka's Saturday Night Arts Alive monthly event, here in the upstairs lobby of the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts.

2007 Jul 5 Arkley Center Exhibit Invite

From the back row of the balcony, I took five shots with the Zuiko 7-14mm f4 mounted on the Olympus E-330. Four White Lightning studio strobes filled the existing light . . .

2007 Jun 2 Zuiko 7-14 f4 Witchepec Sunset

The Olympus super-wide 7-14mm lens makes quite a contrast to the Leica APO 180/3.4 on the previous Lympa Log posting of aerial photos.

2007 May 17 Leica APO-Telyt-R f3/4/180 Aerial

Leica built this one-of-a-kind 180mm telephoto lens over thirty years ago under contract to the US Navy. Intended for surveillance photography, a civilian version became available a few years later.

2007 Apr 24 Lt Cmdr Kevin Davis - In Memory

Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis of Pittsfield, Mass died in the crash of his Navy F/A 18 at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S. C., at approximately 4 p.m. EDT, April 21. Across the Internet . . .

2007 Mar 9 1927 Cadillac LaSalle 2007 Calendar

I used the Olympus E-330 to capture this perfectly restored 1927 Cadillac LaSalle in front of a Eureka, California home of about the same vintage. Period clothing and a turn of the century Kodak Pocket camera  . . .

2007 Feb 17 NJROTC San Diego Navy C9, HC-130

Off another trip with the local Eureka High School Navy JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) – this time a one week trip to San Diego for the cadets' yearly orientation tour. I've volunteered for these trips a few times now

2007 Jan 12 Cape Mendocino Follow Up

On the previous web page I described my New Year's Eve drive to remote Cape Mendocino along the Pacific Ocean. An e-mail in response to that page commented on the vista to the south. . .

2006 Dec 31 Cape Mendocino Last Light 2006

Every New Year's Eve I drive the 38 miles from my front door to where Cape Mendocino meets the Pacific Ocean. That elbow of California angling into the sea . . .

2006 Nov 1 LowePro Slingshot 200 Pack Bag

Just a quick postings of some photos of the LowePro camera bag that contains my Leica-Olympus "Lympa" kit:  The bag has been really handy for some extended hikes. . .

2006 May 3 Udvar-Hazy Air Museum At Dulles Washington DC

One of the most recent additions to the Washington D.C. Smithsonian treasure of museums is the Udvar-Hazy center near the Capitol's Dulles Airport.

2006 Apr 30 Camera Design Ideas, Coast Guard

When a camera can address 4gb of RAM, store 20 megabytes in a half second and provide a color monitor that rivals LCD's of a few years ago, then let's face it, the camera is a computer.  (Plus Coast Guard photos)

2006 Apr 21 Kneeland Prairie New Zuiko 14-54/2.8 lens

With a new lens - the Zuiko 14-54/2.8-3.5 , I felt like taking a test drive. So I headed east up to Kneeland, something you would describe as bigger than a hill

2006 Apr 14 Humboldt Bay Birds Zuiko 90-250 f2.8

At the south end of Humboldt Bay, only fifteen minutes from home, thousands of birds call the tidal wetlands their home - at least for part of the year. Geese make up the largest population. . .

2006 Apr 12 Long Telephoto in the Redwoods

With the 90-250/f2.8 lens on loan from Olympus, I was neglecting to use such a remarkable optic often enough. At home after lunch, a high, bright overcast made for perfect lighting in the redwoods off our deck.

2006 Apr 8 Eureka NJROTC Inspection

Eureka High School supports the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC), about one hundred cadet students

2006 Apr 6 Trains and Planes 7-14mm/4.0

After the light rail train in Portland, Horizon Air took me on their

Bombardier Q400 (DH4) via Re d ding back home to Eureka, CA.

2006 Apr 5 Mirror Lockup Fisherman

Being able to lock the mirror up on any single lens reflex camera is a vital function for getting sharp photographs. Especially with a telephoto, the vibration of a mirror . . .

2006 Apr 3 Macro 100/4 Elmarit Blossoms

The set-up:
Leica Macro Elmar 100mm f4
Leica Bellows-R
FourThirds LR adapter on Olympus E-330.

2006 Apr 2 Arts Alive Night, Tillson, RAW

First Saturday Night Arts Alive in Eureka, CA gets a new venue with the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts , which will occupy the renovated Sweasey Theater in the background

2006 Mar 31 Rainbow Lighthouse Boardwalk

Not too much to say today except for a thankful prayer that I remembered to take the camera gear on some errands this afternoon around Eureka. Heavy rain clouds were clearing fast as . . .

2006 Mar 24 Landscapes

Time for a change of pace. With beautiful skies and warm weather this afternoon, I loaded the car with E-330 and lenses, then set out to the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge

2006 Mar 20 Blue Angels, Coast Guard

The air show turned into more adventure than I ever planned on. So it goes when you join a group of 21 high school kids at 3:45 in the morning. I showed up with my overnight bag for the 300+ mile ride from Eureka to Sacramento .

2006 Mar 14  90mm-R, E-330 Pros/Cons

Here's another “Lympa” incarnation – the E-330 with attached Leica 90mm f2 Summicron looking like it should be tested for steroids.

2006 Mar 8 C-8080, E-330 Tests

Time to finally get this blog posted on my web site! I took photos to include with what's here so far and am looking forward to some real shooting with all the new equipment and “adapted” Leica R lenses.

2006 March E-330 Leica-R Lens Adapter

After reading many announcements regarding the new Olympus E-330, I compared prices and availability on the Internet and ordered mine from Tri State Camera in New York.