Smallrig L-Bracket for Nikon Z6 Review

front view of the bottom plate.  The 2 screw holes are for an accessory bracket that can support the FTZ adapter.  This bracket is sold separately.

Extra gripping and camera protection have been on my mind here lately.  There are a lot of options out there of varying degree - quality, price, materials.  So many that it can be daunting.

What I have been doing is analyzing what it is I need and going in that direction.  For the Olympus PEN-F, I've just wanted something to protect the bottom plate from getting scratched up, same as the Nikon Df.  The Nikon Z6 was slightly different in that I wanted to have something that would add a little more vertical grip to the camera.

Final decisions were made on that basis.
 
How will the Smallrig L-Bracket perform?

Bottom rear showing the arca swiss ridge and centering indicator

First Impression/Unboxing

Even though the Nikon Z series mirrorless cameras have not been out for that long, there are quite a few l-brackets out there for it.  Most l-brackets are about the ability to connect the camera to an Arca Swiss compatible tripod head.  What I wanted for the Z6 is to add a little extra vertical grip to it.   A lot of the top makers left this area off, more than likely to cut down on weight that would be added to have metal across the entire bottom of the camera.

That omission is the reason a lot of the more well known brands were removed from consideration.

Price was also a factor, as the other brands also were, in some cases double the price or more and some were not even tailored to the camera, they were more the universal type.

Not only did I need the extra grip, I had a requirement that the battery compartment be open and not obstructed.

At $69, the Smallrig l-bracket for Nikon Z hit all the marks on paper.  The problem was that no one local had one. Smallrig's reputation is good online and their camera cages and other l-brackets get good reviews as well.  I decided to take the chance.

I ordered from Smallrig, located in China.  The item was listed as back-ordered.   Within a few days, though the item had shipped via FedEx and I received the item within 3 days after item marked as shipped.  Impressive!

I received a small non-descript brown box.  Opening the box, you get a pamphlet from Smallrig as well as the l-bracket, wrapped up very well in 2 layers of bubble wrap.

The fit and finish is excellent.  There is not a blemish on this thing.  It is solid feeling well worth the asking price.

bottom, you can see additional tapped slots for connecting standard tripod attachments or in my case a BlackRapid ConnectR.  You can also see the allen wrench at the bottom as well.

Installation

Smallrig includes an allen wrench with the l-bracket.  Not only that, but the bottom plate houses the wrench and holds it in place via a magnet system.  Very clever.

Before installing, I removed the side bracket.  I didn't want that part, only the bottom plate.  I wasn't sure if the side bracket was removable, so I did inquire about this via email to Smallrig before the order.  They very quickly responded and informed me that the side bracket is indeed removable.

Using the supplied screw and allen wrench, the bottom plate was installed quickly and easily.    It couldn't be any easier than this - which I'm sure every l-bracket is probably just as easy.

this is the area where the side plate of the l-bracket should be

Feel In Hand

Every edge is smooth, not a rough edge anywhere.  The bracket gives plenty of distance for your pinkie to rest on it without falling off the edge.

I really do not notice any additional weight either.

This things is darn near perfect!  It is 100% what I wanted.

It also gives plenty of clearance for the FTZ adapter.  In actuality, the bottom of the adapter does not touch the table top when the Smallrig is installed.

grip side.  Looks like some kind of lanyard or strap slot perhaps?

Final Thoughts

I will start out by saying that I will definitely be looking to Smallrig in the future if I ever need/want another l-bracket or camera cage.

This stuff is quality all around and the prices good.  Customer service is top notch.  I would not hesitate to recommend Smallrig products in the future.

If there are any additional questions about the product, drop a comment below and we can discuss.

Minico Half Case For Olympus PEN-F

Way, way back a few years ago I had the great fortune of being able to meet up with one of the members of a forum I frequent.  Paul from mu-43.com was looking to buy my Olympus EM1.2 and since he was going to be in town we decided to meet and proceed with the sale.

While there, he showed me his Olympus PEN-F and I noticed that he had a half case on his.  We both own the silver and black PEN-F variant.   The topic came up about how the silver finish appears to be a little less durable than the all black and that Paul just got an inexpensive half case to protect the bottom plate of his camera.

From what Isaw, it seemed well made and fit the camera well.  So, I decided to investigate getting a half case of my own.

Scouring Amazon, I found the Minico Half Case for PEN-F.  $13.99USD.
     
How does the Minico half case fair?

First Impression/Unboxing

Taking it out of the packaging, you get the half case and the tripod screw for attaching it to the camera.  An added bonus is that it also comes with a leather-like wrist strap to attach to the neck strap lugs on the camera.  I've never used the wrist strap from this set.

I opted for the dark brown.  I probably would have gotten the black if they had one....but the dark brown is close enough.

The bottom is rigid and covers the entire bottom of the camera.  It has a small door with a metal button clasp to allow access to the battery compartment.

The ports side comes up just a bit but does not obscure the doors of the PEN-F.

On the grip side, the the leather comes up about half way up the grip and wraps around.

There is also an additional tripod socket hole built into the screw that attaches the half case to the camera.

Installation

This is a very simple operation.  Just like up the tripod mount hole at the bottom of the camera with the half case and screw in the supplied bolt.

Feel In Hand

The fit and finish are just fine, especially for only spending $14 on it.

This is my first half case on a digital camera and I was not sure how I was going to like it.  I did like it, with extended use.    My biggest concern would be with the grip section.  It sits reasonable flat, but up enough to enhance the grip on the camera.  I'd still not trust it enough to hold it with one hand with a bigger lens and no wrist strap...but it does enhance and not detract.

The big thing that I wanted it for was protection of the bottom of the camera and it does that without sacrificing handling or access to the battery and memory card compartment.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes you need to spend a decent amount of money to get quality.  In this instance, the $14 was more than sufficient to do what I wanted it to.  Since my goal was really just to protect the camera bottom plate.  If you are looking for something to enhance the handling of add a grip to the front of the camera, then I recommend looking for some other grip attachment or case that has a more pronounced grip section.

However, I will give this case a thumbs up for its intended purpose. 

Lomo'Instant WIDE Review

I've always had a bit of a drawing to instant cameras.  Growing up my parents had a Polaroid OneStep Instamatic camera.  We used it a lot for family events as it was just easier to use than having to load a film camera and then go and get them developed and prints made.

Digital cameras have made the process of getting images a lot easier than they were in the past, and sharing them lightning fast.  There is something about an analog process that is still appealing to many of us.  Probably part nostalgia, part simplicity of process.  Everyone has a different motivation and I've not the degree in psychology or sociology to get into that kind of discussion.

I own a few instant cameras, of which I've already reviewed the Diana f+ with Instant Back.  You can read about my thoughts on that camera, if you wish.  That camera looks like the images below.

Diana f+ images © Lomography

Diana f+ back

Diana f+ front

The Diana f+ instant back utilizes the Fuji Instax Mini film.  While this is a good film, it can some times be a little small.  I wanted something bigger!  Options could be getting  another Polaroid camera and using the Impossible Project instant film packs(that is another review coming in the future so look out for that!!) or investigate the Fuji Instax Wide cameras available.

I've used the Fuji Instax 210 before, and while it does a decent job it does not have the manual capabilities that a photographer might desire.  After doing much research, I settled on 2 options, the Lomography Belair X6-12(review coming on that soon as well) and the Lomography Lomo'Instant WIDE.

So lets dive into the lomo'Instant WIDE world for a while!  Please note, I am not going to compare the Fuji Wide cameras versus this.  Plenty of other internet reviews already doing that.  My only comment for people is going to be this.  If you just want to press a button and get an Instax Wide print, no fuss, no muss - get the Fuji.  If you are a photographer that likes to experiment, loves tinkering with exposures and having more granular controls - Get the LOMO.

I picked up a used camera in white.  Not my optimal camera color, but I'm not one that lets camera color get in the way of a good deal.   You should see my m43 cameras.  Mostly black bodies and silver lenses because I got better deals on the silver versions.

Lomo'Instant WIDE images © Lomography

Here is the front of the camera:

Starting at image left, we have the viewfinder.  Optical, no special anything except the inclusion of an offset for close focusing.  You can see the offset as the black dashed marks in the viewfinder.

Across the top, the flash unit.  This has slots on it that will accept supplied colored gels.  This is not an option that I really use, but it is nice to have there.

Right next to the flash unit is the exposure meters.

Now, going down between the viewfinder and the flash unit is a black switch.  This is your shutter release.

The silver ball between the shutter release and the lens unit is the "selfie mirror".

Then, you have the lens.  Focus is a manual zone focus.  You twist a ring to change from 0.6m, 1-2m, and 3-infinity.  A small bump on the side of lens unit is a PC sync port in case you want to use this camera with flash units, you can trigger them that way.  There is no hot shoe on this camera.

The top of the camera is where the film ejects and is the only feature there.

The back of the camera contain the controls.  The large black square in the top middle(my copy is all white) is the film back release lever.  Just to the right of that is the window for you to see if the film is loaded.  The orange line that are on all Fuji instax packs shows here.

Moving to image right is the rear view of the viewfinder.
Below that we have the flash controls.  The flash can be manually controlled to fire or not.  One light lets you know if the capacitor is charged, the light is red when charging and green when ready to fire.

Next down is the "MX" button which stands for multiple exposure.  The number of multiple exposures is unlimited!

+1, 0, -1 are for your exposure compensation settings.

Under that, we have the power switch.  The switch in the position you see is the OFF setting.  The "A" is auto mode, which gives the camera all the control over the exposure, "B" is bulb mode,  and 1/30 is used when you are wanting to add in external flash.

Just to the left of the power switch is the film exposure counter.

The Lomo'Instant WIDE is powered by 4 AA batteries.  This is great as they are cheap, plentiful and easy to find.

Oh, and lets not forget to mention the lens cap.  The lens cap is not just a lens cap, it is also a remote shutter release and a bulb setting trigger!  Pretty cool!

The attached lens is a 35mm equivalent lens( to a 135 film size camera) which means it is a 90mm on a medium format camera.  Aperture ranges are either f/8 or f/22 and these are all controlled via the camera.  Auto shutter speeds are 8s to 1/250 of a second, the 1/30 for flash use and bulb.

The filter thread is 49mm.  You can also get a macro and wide angle adapter lens for this camera.  The macro gets you down to 0.1m

IQ

Honestly, its pretty good for what it is.  I'll just let the images speak for themselves below.  As with any lomography style camera or film, you need to determine if this is an aesthetic and style that is right for you and the subject you are shooting.

Handling/Weight/Size

Because of the size of the negative and the film itself, this is a big camera.  I've read/watched quite a few reviews about people not liking the lack of a grip like is on the Fuji 210 or 300.  I don't really care.  I'm not one that uses one hand to shoot anyway, so I'm always supporting the camera underneath with one hand and then triggering the shutter with my other.  I also use a strap of some kind as well.

The shutter button is right where you'd want it to be and all the controls are on the back.  The thumb of my right hand crosses over the buttons and gives additional support.  I've so far had no problems with accidentally hitting a setting button.  Others have had some issue with that.

I like the mechanical focusing mechanism.  Not a whole lot is going to go wrong with that and the power is not going to camera operation other than metering and ejecting the film.

Personal preference on the viewfinder - a lot of people do not like having the camera obscure the face.  I fall into the camp of - I don't care.  I can drop the camera for a few seconds and talk to someone if I need to which is no different that working with my digital cameras.  What might be of interest to left eyed shooters though is that the viewfinder is on the right side, so your head position is on the opposite side of almost every other rangefinder styled camera out there.

One struggle since moving to a mirrorless kit for a lot of my every day carry needs is finding a place in my bag for this camera.  It can be done, but it is not an after thought like being able to take the Digital Holga.  Some pre-planning is going to be required!

This one was a little over exposed.  :D

Focusing

I'm generally not a fan of zone focusing on my digital cameras.  In that world, I use auto focus most of the time.  This camera does not live in that world.  With the stock lens, you are looking at 0.6m for close up portraits, 1-2m for mid range shots and 3m-infinity for far away shots.  My biggest issue is remembering to change the focus distance manually.  The viewfinder is not connected in anyway to the view you see through the lens, so I've been known to snap a pic and then realize that I had the focus set to 1-2m or infinity instead.  Like this selfie image below.  Had the camera set to 1-2m.  Oops!  lol

Conclusion

As has been mentioned before - lomography, lo-fi, "vintage" type stuff is not for everyone.  I love it and love using it from time to time.  It is fun for a lot of people and I'm using it professionally and in my private shooting.

Is it worth the higher price tag over the Fuji equivalent?   Only you can answer that.  For me, I required the flexibility of the Lomo.  If Fuji released a WIDE camera that had the controls/features more in line with the Neo Classic 90 - it would have been a more difficult decision.

There are great things coming for instant film.  Fuji has released black and white mini/wide film and they just released a square format film and camera as well. 

Look out in the future for more reviews for the instant cameras like the Polaroid Sun600 with Impossible Project film, Fuji Neo Classic 90 and we will also review the Fuji Instax SP-1 printer!!!!!!!!!!

Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 Micro Four Thirds Lens Review

Image © Panasonic

Background

The rage as of late has been with the super fast aperture prime lenses.  Olympus has the 25mm f/1.2 that came out a while ago and they just announced that late 2017 and Spring 2018 will give us the birth of the 17mm f/1.2 as well as the 45mm f/1.2

While I do have a fast aperture lens in the Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95, I'm not really in the market for any more.  So what is wrong with the f/1.7 or f/1.8 prime lenses?   Well, not a whole lot really.  They tend to be compact and lightweight and cost as little as they weight, relatively.

While it would be great to have the extra stop of light, the weather sealing of the f/1.2 lenses...I just don't see me needing that large aperture in those prime lenses.  Others that specialize in portraiture with their Micro Four Thirds kits will definitely love to see them...and listening to them, it has been a long time coming.

For this review, though - we are going to look at a bargain of a lens, the Panasonic 25mm f/1.7.

This little guy was bought brand new from Midwest Photo Exchange on sale for $150USD.  We'll look at it from handling, image quality and focusing on it's own as well as how I feel about it versus the stellar Olympus 25mm f/1.8.  I used to own the Olympus and really loved it.

Handling/Size/Weight

The field of view (FOV) on this lens is similar to a 50mm on a 135 size sensor camera.  It is not a pancake lens, but it is not large either.

It feels very light and is made from plastics, but the build quality feels very robust.

The focus ring is dampened and feels good when you turn it.

When compared to the Olympus, the Panasonic lens is a bit bigger.    When looking at the spec sheets, the Panasonic comes in lighter, by like 10 grams...not something most people would notice.

Both front elements are 46mm, so would use the same size lens caps and filters.

Panasonic does supply a lens hood with the lens, but it is a little odd to use because you must first remove a ring on the front of the lens. 

Image Quality

This thing is very sharp and at the price you can find them, it makes a whole lot of sense to get this lens if you wanted a 50mm FOV lens. 

I want to say that the Olympus might be a hair sharper in similar situations, but as sharp as both of them are, it's really splitting hairs at this point.

As I like to do, let us leave the proof show through in the images presented here.

1/60, f/1.7, ISO 800

1/125, f/1.7, ISO 200

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 800 (shot through some pretty dirty glass)

1/60, f/1.7, ISO 250

Focusing

As with all contrast detect cameras, when the lens locks in, it is dead on.

I did notice that on the EM5.2 that there were times when the Panasonic would hunt for focus or not lock in properly.  I'll keep an eye on it, but I do notice that this happens every now and again with new lenses.  I think a good lens contact cleaning would benefit here.

Bottom Line

Did I really need another 25mm prime lens?  No, not really.  However, for the price, how can you pass it up?  The Mitakon 25mm performs well, but it is a manual focus lens and that point may not be for everyone.    I love using it and will in the future.  The Panasonic 25/1.7 is a pleasure to use, produces great images, has excellent sharpness and focus' fast.   If maximum performance is desired in an f/1.7 or f/1.8 prime lens and you shoot Olympus bodies - get the Olympus 25mm.  If all things are equal and price is a sticking point - get the Panasonic on sale or used for around $150 - you won't be disappointed!

A Trip to Yellowstone National Park - Photo and Hiking Gear

Being a photographer, of course I want to bring my camera gear.  We must also temper that with the fact that we will be doing a lot of hiking as well.

I went out and looked at others photos of Yellowstone just to get an idea of the sites I might want to capture, the terrain we might face and used those as a guide on what to bring.

Hiking Gear
First and foremost, the hiking gear needed to be correct.   If I cannot get to where I want to be, then no amount or photo gear would matter.

Backpacks were a must and I needed 2 of them.  The thing is, that my backpack had very different requirements for me than my wife did for her.  She is very much the pure hiker, happy to take a shot or 2 with her cell phone.  She is much more about the hike than the pictures.  On the other hand, I am about getting to that grand place for the great shot.

My wife's pack was the Kelty 3100 RedWing.  The Kelty is nice because it has a plastic internal frame system to help distribute any kind of load.

My pack was the Mindshift Ultralight 36L.

In our packs, we both carried the following:

Camelbak Antidote 3 liter system
Terra Hiker Rain Poncho
Coleman Camp Toilet Paper
Various high energy snacks
Flashlight
Personal first aid kit
pencil and paper
extra socks
hat (sun shading and winter caps - temps early morning and late in evening can drop down into the 40F range)
Hooded sweatshirt
Lifestraw Water Purification system
Ibuprofen
Tylenol
allergy medications
a deck of playing cards (for boredom and for potential magic tricks)

I carried additionally the following:

Garmin Oregon 600t GPS system with a bunch of rechargeable AA batteries.

Maps of the parks and hiking trails.

My wife took an Anker 30,000mah charger for our phones.   Cell service is spotty at best through most of the park, but in case of emergency, it would be great to have the power available if need be.

Since we were going to be hiking some potentially long trails and they could be quite far away from some of the more populated centers, I rented a canister of bear spray.

For clothing, we went more with cotton tees and the moisture wicking style of shirts.  I favored more of a cargo khaki short, while the wife went with capri style pants.

I really like the Merrel brand of hiking boots, so my tried and trusted.  Mine are similar to these MOAB 2 mid hikers.  I did have to admit that they were worn out after this trip and did not make the return.

Before trusting any of this hiking gear, the wife and I hiked locally with full packs and all the gear we would have on us in Yellowstone. The last place you want to find out that something doesn't work, rubs you the wrong way or is just plain junk is out on a trail you are not familiar with thousands of miles away from home.  Months before our trip, we took several mile long hikes through various terrains, taking the time to learn our gear and treat the local trails just as we would the Yellowstone trails.    We did quite well, honestly, with only a few tweaks required.

Camera Gear
I wanted to be able to go light, but also wanted to have enough gear with me to be able to handle just about everything I might run into.

Supporting Systems
I thought about a tripod, but decided against it.  I did not want to have to deal with it honestly.  For the type of images that I wanted to shoot, I could not really see if being that much of a benefit to me.

Supporting my camera gear while on hikes was an important consideration.  I already had the Black Rapid system.  It is a fine system, but with the active hiking and the way the back pack fit, I was not satisfied with the Black Rapid for this application.   I purchased the Cotton Carrier system.  This placed the camera directly on my chest and it put it out of the way of the back pack straps.  It was perfect for my trip.  It too was purchased and tested months before the trip began.

I run 2 camera systems.  Micro Four Thirds as well as Nikon.  While both are excellent and have their benefits, the Nikon system came with me.  Why?  There are several factors.  Dynamic range was a concern of mine, as was an all day battery life and rugged weather resistance.

I also auto focus fine tuned all my lenses, so issues with AF accuracy were not a concern.

Camera Kit
The camera kit that came with me was as follows:
Nikon D500 + 3 batteries

Nikon 300/4E PF

Nikon TC14E-III teleconverter

Nikon 18-140/3.5-5.6 VR

Tokina 11-16/2.8

This all fit perfectly in the camera compartment of the Mindshift backpack.  I had no complaints at all of the gear I took.  The Tokina 11-16 is a gem of a lens and worked great for those times when you were locked in close to a thermal and could not move backwards to get a wider field of view.
Here is just one example of  when the wide Tokina helped me get an image without the need of using any kind of post processing stitch:

1/50, f/11, ISO 100 @ 12mm
Morning Glory Pool

The Nikon 18-140, while not the equal to the Tokina or the Nikon 300/4 in IQ, was a great, all purpose lens for the bulk of the trip.

The Nikon 300/4 with the teleconverter, APS-C sensor and 1.3X crop mode gave me enough reach for the majority of images I wanted to capture long ways out.
Here is an example of the reach the 300mm + TC and APS-C sensor gave me:

1/640, f/11, ISO 1000 @ 420mm - Nikon 300mm + TC14E-III + APS-C sensor ~ 630mm field of view equivalent

This all worked out excellently for both of us.  We struck a great compromise between convenience, weight and space.

Whenever going on long trips like this, I like to have an image backup solution.  I've already gone into some detail about that in a previous posting, which can be found here:
Light, Low Cost Image Backup Solution.

Head To Head - Olympus EM1 Mark II Versus Nikon D500 Shooting Hockey

Hockey is arguably one of the hardest sports to photography because of the speed and unpredictability of the action.

I've always wanted to be able to photograph the Columbus Blue Jackets.  As luck would have it, Midwest Photo Exchange offered a photo workshop to shoot the Blue Jackets.

Before we get into the gear stuff, let me just take a minute to throw out some kudos to the following:

Midwest Photo crew Matt and Ken
Great hosts and supported the learning, being there to help with gear and shooting questions whenever someone needed it.  MPEX Website

Tim Neumann of Soft Light Studios
The main presenter and educator for this workshop.  He made sure that everyone was brought along on the journey.  We had some attendees that had very little photographic experience all the way through to professionals.  Tim was able to cover the basics of making the shooting experience a success for all involved.

Kyle Robertson, Columbus Dispatch Photographer
Kyle shared his expertise and experience shooting assignments and games at Nationwide Arena as well as other sporting events.  Kyle's Twitter Feed

Joshua, Columbus Blue Jackets Liason
Joshua was there for us throughout the event.  A great host, he also took us on an arena tour.

Gear For The Night
Nikon D500 / Tamron 70-200/2.8 VC
Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II / Olympus 40-150/2.8 PRO / MC-14 TC

Now let's get down to it.  You know you want to know all about it.

I'll help you out so you don't need to read through a lot of "junk".  I could pine on and on about all kinds of technical stuff.

Bottom line - I preferred shooting with the Nikon D500 over the EM1 Mk II.  The Nikon/Tamron combo just focused faster, stayed on target (I can't find an out of focus shot that was not my fault or was through the safety net).  The higher ISO was cleaner on the D500.


The Olympus may be suffering because I am still learning it's newer features and auto focus methods.
Still more testing to determine that.  Might also have been the lower light conditions gave the AF some issues.

Pub Match Images With the EM1 Mark II

1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 1600 @ 150mm

1/1000, f/3.2, ISO 1600 @ 150mm

1/1000, f/3.5, ISO 1600 @ 150mm

1/1000, f/3.2, ISO 6400 @ 150mm

1/500, f/2.8, ISO 2500 @ 150mm

Pub Match with Nikon D500

1/1000, f/3.5, ISO 2000 @ 200mm

1/1000, f/3.5, ISO 1600 @ 200mm

1/1000, f/4, ISO 2500 @ 200mm

1/1000, f/3.5, ISO 1600 @ 175mm

Battery Life

Each camera took about 1000 images over the course of the day, shooting 2 full hockey games.  A pub match early in the day as well as the Blue Jackets v Devils game at the end of the day.

Nikon battery was at 57%
Olympus battery was at 46%

Not bad, considering older mirrorless cameras, I probably would have gone through 2 or 3 batteries.  This includes any image review I did on the LCD.

Weight

I've never been one that was concerned about camera weight.  To be honest, while I noticed that the Nikon/Tamron combo were larger and heavier, handling between the 2 never really was improved or hampered by the weight or lack there of in either.

When in use, both cameras were supported by a Black Rapid strap.

CBJ versus NJ Devils - Olympus EM1 Mark II

1/640, f/4, ISO 1600 @ 155mm(MC-14)

1/320, f/2.8, ISO 1600 @ 150mm

1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 1600 @ 150mm

1/800, f/2.8, ISO 1000 @ 150mm

1/800, f/4, ISO 2500 @ 210mm (MC-14)

1/800, f/4, ISO 2500 @ 210mm (MC-14)

Nikon D500

1/1000, f/3.5, ISO 1250 @ 200mm

1/1250, f/3.5, ISO 1100 @ 165mm

1/1000, f/3.5, ISO 1000 @ 200mm

1/1000, f/3.5, ISO 1100 @ 200mm

1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 900 @ 200mm

1/1000, f/3.2, ISO 1250, @ 200mm

IBIS vs VC
Shutter speeds for the night were between 1/500 and 1/1000 when shooting action, so the IBIS/VC was never really used.  There were some shots that were more portrait-like, so the shutter speeds went down some and we can see there that the Olympus EM1.2 IBIS works very well.

End of the day, there were times when I was wanting some longer reach on the D500, so I tried using the 1.3x crop within the D500.  It worked rather well, provided you remember to keep the subject within the box boundary within the viewfinder.  Even without the in camera crop, the full DX files were great to use and could be cropped into a lot without losing IQ.

The Olympus high fps modes seemed like they would be a great asset.  I used the 15fps mechanical as well as the 60fps e-shutter.  Had some decent success there.  Tried AF in both single point and 3x3 box.  Also decent results there.  While initial AF acquisition is much improved over the EM1.1, it still was not close to the D500.  There were some initial frames that were out of focus and at times some frames in the middle of the burst would be slightly out of focus.

Again, as I said when we started off, shooting hockey is probably one of the most difficult action sports to shoot.  It may just be that this was a little too much for the EM1.2.

The confidence was just not as high with the Olympus kit as it was with the Nikon.

Shooting Conditions
We were able to pretty much shoot where ever we wanted to during the pub match.  We had access to the camera deck next to the broadcast video cameras as well as down in the put to shoot through the special ports in the glass.

During the NHL game, we were up in a special suite that was a little bit further back and more toward one corner.  A little but further away than earlier in the day, but a great vantage point to shoot from.

Just as an added bonus, here are a few images I got during the arena tour.

These were taken with the Olympus EM1 mark II and Olympus 9-18mm f/4-5.6