Rob Trek - My Olympus Story

[Rob Trek]

Welcome, Everyone!

I've created this forum so that we can come together and share our journey in this wonderful hobby we call photography.

As many of you already know, I'm an Olympus shooter and also host a channel on Youtube filled with tutorials and live stream events so that we can all learn how to get the most out of our cameras and improve our photographic skills.

I've been shooting Olympus Digital since August 2016, so I'm a relative newbie compared to many of you. Although my interest in photography goes way back in the '80s, The Olympus OM-2s was my first camera and I also picked up the Minolta Maxxum 7000. I made a decent effort at the time, but sold all my gear and dropped out of photography just a year later.

I really didn't start seriously until 2012. So between 1985 and 2012, I barely did any photography and only used a few point and shoots. My first digital interchangeable lens camera was the Sony NEX-6. Although it was a fine camera, it felt like a piece of technology rather than a camera. I moved onto Nikon with the D7100 and D750. I picked up a few others on the cheap, the Nikon D-40, D-80, and Pentax SR-10. That's when my problem with GAS began!

After 4 years with Nikon, I wanted to find a smaller lighter system that fit my lifestyle better. I was so tired of lugging all that heavy gear with me when I went camping, hiking, biking, etc... So I went and looked at some smaller cameras like the Fujifilm X-T10 and Olympus E-M10ii. I didn't really know much about either camera but decided on the E-M10ii after handling it in the store. The ergonomics are what primarily drew me.

To my surprise, the images I got out of that camera were amazing! Maybe my expectations were too low but I was really impressed. Shortly thereafter I bought the PenF. I had seen it initially when I bought the E-M10ii, but I wasn't going to spend $1200 on a camera that was just for some casual use. But after using the E-M10ii, I knew I found my new system.

Shortly after that, I bought the Pana 7-14mm lens to try for my professional work in Real Estate photography. It was early in my career, so my risk was minimal and I always had my Nikon D-750 as a backup. The E-M10ii became my workhorse and the rest is history. I've since bought many more Olympus cameras and my most recent purchase was the OM-D E-M1 Mark III. An amazing camera with amazing abilities.

Many of you have vastly more experience and knowledge, lead rich lives and have many stories to tell. I hope that you'll share them with us and join this community.

In the end, I'm just a guy with a camera.

Thanks for reading!