How the new Olympus XZ-1 handles spring weather

I purchased the10MP XZ-1 almost as soon as it was available. It has the features I was looking for in a point and shoot, carry everywhere, camera. The top selling feature was the i.Zuiko f1.8 lens that ranges from 6mm to 24mm (35mm equivalent: 28mm to 112mm). In addition to being very compact and lightweight, the other features are fairly standard on most high-end point-and-shoot cameras: RAW file capability, ISO 100-6400 and HD movie mode. I’ve been having a great fun with the six art filters, especially the grainy black-and-white and the dynamic tone.


So far, spring has been cloudy and rainy in New York City, and I have put the XZ-1 to the test under these conditions. The menus and controls are intuitive and easy to use. Below is a shot of the wet pavement taken with the dynamic tone art filter. A yellow tone enhances the high contrast effect of the scene.

This image demonstrates the soft focus filter which, to my mind, worked well for the rainy day image.

Here are two more rainy day captures. After a light downpour, I’m attracted to what is reflected back from a curb puddle and the shiny surface of the tables stacked together.

This images highlights the attraction of a lightweight, carry everywhere, camera. On a day when the weather was splendid, I came upon this image and could not pass it by without recording it with my XZ-1.

Day and night -- black and white -- using the grainy BW filter. My curiosity about the different qualities of light was answered with surprising results. I must remember these effects for future use.

Lastly, here is another dynamic tone image. I took several shots from this vantage point given a one-chance opportunity. Although it is not done using the HDR process, it has a distinctive effect of its own.