On photo tour in Copenhagen with my Olympus 12-40 mm lens.
Now the time has come to test my 12-40mm (FF: 24-80mm) lens in the evening and night hours.
The test is part of my study of whether to invest in a fixed lens with aperture 1.2 or 1.8 or I can use the lenses I have. I have to take the pictures handheld and I have to try to find a good combination of aperture, iso and shutter speed that gives satisfactory results in the low light.
I had already decided to use aperture 2.8 on all the pictures. Of course, that means a little depth of field, which I have to pay attention to when selecting subjects. Since I had a plan to photograph close to the motives with a blurred background, it’s perfect.
When I got home and analyzed the pictures in the lightroom, I was a little surprised. Most images are taken at 40mm (FF: 80mm). Then came 34 mm (FF: 68 mm) and then 21 mm (FF: 42 mm). So maybe a fixed 25mm (FF: 50mm) lens could be a good solution.
Unfortunately, I did not get the shutter speed longer for a 1/15 second. I have to try this on another occasion. I would like to see if image stabilization can handle 1/8 sec or longer with a satisfactory result.
The most used shutter speeds were 1/30, 1/60 and 1/125 with iso 400 and iso 800. It’s a bit surprising that I could use such fast shutter speed. But I have also exposed to the highlights. But there is still a little turning on.
But a preliminary conclusion must be that I can use my current lens 12-40 (FF: 24-80mm) for my nightlight photo project.
But I also have to test my 7-14 mm (FF: 14-28mm) with a solid aperture of 2.8.

Ib Jensen