For our Montreal trip back in November, I bought an Olympus TG-5 because it was crazy cold and snowy, and I wanted a camera that would be good in such weather. I wasn’t overly impressed with the results, but I had gotten the camera right before we left so my first time using it was during our trip. The pictures weren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. I just had higher expectations. However, I realized at the time that I hadn’t taken much time to learn it before starting to shoot.
I hadn’t used it much after the trip, but I recently made an effort to work with it a little more closely and am more pleased with the results. I invested some time in testing out the aperture priority mode. I had used that in Montreal but didn’t fully take advantage of it.
Holly and I went out for a walk on a nice early spring Saturday, and I brought the Olympus with me. I was much more pleased with my results.
You can click on any of the photos to open the gallery.
Philadelphia Distilling 
Yellow Lights and Factory 
Birds along the Delaware River 
Delaware River 
Delaware River 
Delaware River 
Delaware River 
Delaware River 
Delaware River 
Delaware River 
Delaware River 
Delaware River 
George L. Wells Meat Co. 
Finnigans Wake 
Church of the Assumption 
Mural and Trolly
But the more impressive feature is its macro mode. I tested it out with some household items, and was really happy with the pictures.
Macro Pewter Frog 
Macro Tea 
Macro Saffron 
Macro Thyme 
Macro Rosemary 
Macro Salt 
Macro Domingo Rojo Beans 
Macro Vaquero Beans 
Macro Black Lentils 
Macro Coffee Beans
I also took these two macro photos when we stopped for a drink along our walk.
Macro Plant 
Macro Flower
The TG-5 also has a focus stacking feature for macro photos which I still need to try out. And, in general, the camera does a lot more than I’ve gotten a chance to use so far.
I liked some of the macro photos enough that I was curious how they would print out with the thought that they could make nice kitchen decorations. As a test, I ordered a small (5×7) thin wrap photo printed on canvas from Bay Photo. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. The image looks great and I really like the thin wrap and the way it is mounted. It was a bit pricey ($44), but you get what you pay for, as they say.
I am much more satisfied with my purchase now that I’ve had a chance to play around with it some more, and I look forward to learning its additional features.
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