Final Comments; Using the Olympus E-M1 with the Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 lens and the Olympus EC-14 1/4x Tele-Converter; A Winning Combination!

Rant: The cab of the Chesapeake and Ohio 2756 in a park in Newport News, Virginia showing the disgusting degradation that has been allowed to occur. Additional information about this locomotive can be found at the bottom of this post.
(click to enlarge)
(All images made with the E-M1, Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 SWD lens and EC-14 tele-converter)

If you are thinking about buying an Olympus original 4/3 format lens to use with your E-M1, don't hesitate to do it.  My experience is that this combination works very, very well.  Additionally, I tried the camera/lens combination with the Olympus EC-14 tele-converter and I am also very, very pleased with how all three work together.  I don't normally use tele-converters, but in a pinch, they can serve you well at minimal cost when you only occasionally need the extra reach.

After testing the components together, in the future, I will not hesitate to use them to create technically professional level images.  Aesthetically professional images is my job and I can't guarantee that!  lol  But this gear can provide everything a photographer needs to get that job done well. The images at all apertures and all focal lengths, in my view and from my testing, are sharp, contrasty, have high resolution and low distortion.

Instead of properly maintaining this beast of a locomotive, the city chose to amateurishly and cosmetically
paint it over and over and over.  Notice the lettering. (click to enlarge)

Initially, I wasn't sure how well I would like a native 4/3 lens on my M4/3 camera, but together they make a wonderful combination for the kinds of photography I practice.  By using the Olympus E-M1 and Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 lens, I was able to extend the focal length reach of my kit (which previously was limited to the equivalent of 200mm) to a 35mm equivalent of 400mm. That is sufficient for 97% of my normal photography. You can read about my testing of this camera and lens combination here, here, here, and here.

However, on occasion, I go out and photograph (mostly stationary) wildlife with a group of friends, which would require I have a bit more reach.  These outings are only once or twice a year, so I don't need to invest heavily in big, expensive long telephoto lens.  So, I asked myself how a 1.4X tele-converter would work with this combination?  Time to find out.

The city continues to ignore this historic "living" machine. There are so many layers of paint slapped
on this locomotive that many fine details are lost. (click to enlarge)

I bought a used copy of the Olympus EC-14, tested it and was very happy with its performance.  That now gives me a reach of 560mm at f/4.5 in terms of 35mm equivalence.  (actually, according to the metadata 566mm!) You can find my initial tests here.

The lens focused as fast with or without the tele-converter.  I am satisfied with the focus speed, but I don't photograph sports, birds on the wing, running wildlife or kids moving quickly across soccer fields.  Your mileage may vary.  But for me, this combination will serve me well and at a bargain price.

After making some additional images with this combination of camera/lens/converter, without hesitation, I can recommend it to use in any circumstance where you may need professional level images.  The lens and lens/converter combination are both terrific bargains for the photographer who needs these focal lengths and fast apertures.  You certainly could not duplicate these attributes at twice the price for a "full frame" sized camera system.  For example, at KEH, the equivalent gear in Canon brand would be over $1500, twice what I paid for these two items.  (Yes, the Canon is full frame, but do you need full frame?  Some photographers do, but most don't.)

I would encourage you to think outside the proverbial box, go out and acquire (or rent) lenses that you normally wouldn't buy, try them and see for yourself if they will surprise you as much as I have been surprised and pleased with my explorations.

The 2756 resides in Huntington Park in Newport News, Virginia, directly across Warwick Blvd. (Route 60) from the Amtrak Station (9300 block).  It is surrounded by decorative iron fencing so you can't actually get next to it.  It has been neglected for years and years and that is clearly seen.

From the website, www.steamlocomotive.com., the following is written about this and her companion class locomotives:

"Between 1943 and 1947, the C & O purchased ninety, Class K-4, 2-8-4 "Kanawhas", twenty from the Lima Locomotive Works and seventy from the American Locomotive Company. These locomotives were numbered 2700 through 2789. All of these locomotives had 69" diameter drivers, 26" x 34" cylinders, a 245 psi boiler pressure, they exerted 69,350 pounds of tractive effort and each weighed about 292,500 pounds." 

The 2756 was built in Lima, Ohio in 1947.  Only the 2755 and this engine have been preserved.  The rest of the class was largely scrapped by 1961.

In my opinion, the City of Newport News should either properly preserve and care for this historical machine, or give it to an organization who will.

Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


All content on this blog is © 2014 Dennis A. Mook.  All Rights Reserved.  Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution.  Permission may be granted for commercial use.  Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or image.