Pictures of modifications made to my E-P2 camera. (46 pictures)

This album contains various pictures of modifications made to my E-P2 camera (i.e. pimp my E-P2).

The Flipbac is an LCD protector with a mirror so that you can take pictures, angling the mirror so you can see it from waist level or from the side. I had the Flipbac on the camera for about 3 months until I took it off because it wouldn't work with the Aki-asahi case. I may mount it on top of the case in the future. I wished that at times it was removable, so I may buy a Delkin lcd cover which is removable, and replace the cover with the Flipbac to give me the best of both worlds.

The Aki-asahi case is a hand dyed leather case for the E-P2 that is made in Japan. I selected the dark tan case with the black strap. The big feature that the Aki-asahi case that the other E-P2 leather cases did not have is a cutout for the USB/shutter release/audio-visual output cable. I would have liked a way to attach the camera and case to a tripod quick release. In the future, I may drill a hole, and use a longer screw to attach the camera via the camera's screw thread. It feels really nice in my hands.

The copyright owner on these pictures is Michael Meissner. Please direct any comments about this web page to mrmweb@the-meissners.org.

Michael Meissner's home page is at http://www.the-meissners.org, his Renaissance Faire/SF convention links are at http://www.the-meissners.org/ren.html, his digital camera links are at http://www.the-meissners.org/camera.html, his calendar links are at http://www.the-meissners.org/calendar.html, and the head of these photo albums is at http://www.the-meissners.org/photo.html.

Clicking on the thumb file link will show you the thumbnail picture that has been reduced to at most 500x375 or 360x480 pixels depending on the picture orientation.

Clicking on the small file link will show you the picture that has been reduced to at most 1023x750 or 707x912 pixels depending on the picture orientation.

Fullsize pictures are not stored in this web site due to file size limiations. Please contact Michael Meissner if you desire a full size picture, particularly for printing.

This page lists pictures without thumbnails. If you want to view the pictures with thumbnails, classified by grouping like subjects together, click here. If you want to view the pictures with thumbnails arranged from newest to oldest, click here.

Picture sublinks

• Pictures of LCD protectors and accessories (3 pictures)
• Pictures of camera straps (2 pictures)
• Pictures of camera bags and cases (5 pictures)
• Pictures of stuffed animals arranged in silly positions (2 pictures)
• Pictures disguising my camera as something else (20 pictures)
• Pictures of camera filters and lens hoods (2 pictures)
• Pictures of battery and media setup (1 picture)
• Pictures of tripod and monopod setups (7 pictures)
• Pictures of my Wolverine MyMovie camera (3 pictures)
• Pictures of the Olympus E-P2 (1 picture)
• Detailed statistics

Pictures of LCD protectors and accessories (3 pictures)

Pictures of camera straps (2 pictures)

Pictures of camera bags and cases (5 pictures)

Pictures of stuffed animals arranged in silly positions (2 pictures)

Pictures disguising my camera as something else (20 pictures)

For some time now, I have had an obsession to disguise my digital cameras in the shell of an older field cameras. My inspiration is the classic news photographers from the 1930-1940's with their Speed Graflexs that are iconic in the movies.

My first attempt was to buy a 4x5 Seneca Chautauqua body from ebay. When I got it home, my wife declared that it was too nice of a camera to use for such a purpose, and I tended to agree with her. I did at one point take off the front lens, and saw that the hole behind the lens was too small for any of my cameras. Also, the cameras would not fit in the bellows. Pictures of the scenca are here.

My second attempt was to buy an actual Speed Graphic. The Speed graphic isn't as pretty as the wooden cameras. The camera looked usable, so I sent the camera in for an evaluation. It was on the order of $270 to bring the camera to operating condition, so I am having the camera repaired. I figure I will get some 4x5 film (starting with the Fuji instant film) and take the time to learn how to shoot with a proper view camera. However, this meant I would have to look elsewhere for a body. At present, I don't have pictures of the Speed Graphic.

I toyed with buying one of the two kits for field cameras on the web. The Bulldog 4x5 Self-Assembly Camera Kit looks doable, but I don't like the fact that it is MDF (plywood). I could always put a veneer on it to make it look prettier. Diycamerakit looks like it will make a real interesting do-it-yourself kit, but its been taking longer and longer for the kit to become available, so for now, I went with other options.

Because of the size of the 4x5 camera, I decided to step up to 5x7 cameras. I bought a Kodak Pony Premo 5x7 camera body to use. The lens that came with the camera and the ground glass focusing screen were both extremely cloudy. The leather on the bellows is flaking, but the bellows themselves look reasonably light tight. Pictures of the Kodak before modification are here.

For the first round with the Kodak, I fashioned a simple wood support underneath the camera, that allowed me to put a Manfrotto quick release on top of a small ballhead I had lying around to put the E-P2 in the Kodak. I used a knurled knob from a flash bracket underneath. At some I hope to attach a flash bracket, but the brackets I had on hand weren't suitable. I did drill in the wrong location, so I have an extra hole in the wood.

I did have a problem that there was rotation between the ballhead and the Manfrotto quick release, so I had to make sure I had the camera properly pointing to the lens opening.

I took the camera out for its first spin at a Boston Steampunk festival, and got a lot of ohhs and aahs from the people. I eventually plan to put a leather back on the camera, but for the steampunk folk, most really liked seeing the digital camera from behind. In terms of the first effort, it went well. I discovered that my batteries last about 3 hours with the E-P2 is turned on.

Like the Scenca, the size of the opening after removing the lens is on the small side (but it is larger than the Scenca). I had hopeed to use the larger Olympus 14-54mm or Sigma 30mm lenses and extend the bellows further, but the opening is just small enough for the E-P2 40.5mm or my C-2100UZ 49mm lenses. I might be able to file down the edges of the inner lens board, but I am somewhat hesitant of wrecking an antique.

I would like to fashion a holder to move the camera further into the bellows and put a leather backing on the camera at some point.

I entered a contest that Olympus America sponsored to win an E-PL1 camera and money with the setup as it existed on June 5th, 2010:

Pictures of camera filters and lens hoods (2 pictures)

Picture #1: E-P2 with Leica clone 40.5mm lens hood Thumb: 400x300, 27,665 bytes (27.0K) Small: 800x623, 66,583 bytes (65.0K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 50mm lens f/8.0, ISO 400, FL-36 flash, 1/100 sec, 50.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 100.0mm Extra equipment used: Olympus FL-36 flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on May 13, 2010 08:45:41 Last modified on May 13, 2010 at 09:10 On the recommendation from one of the micro 4/3rds forums, I bought a Leica clone 40.5mm lens hood from the ebay seller adplo. I find in practice I do get some mild vignetting at some focal lengths on the E-P2. Hopefully in bright sun, it cut down on the flare. It is a little fiddly to put on or take off, due to the design of the 14-42mm lens.

Picture #2: E-P2 with Leica clone 40.5mm lens hood #2 Thumb: 400x300, 26,840 bytes (26.2K) Small: 800x623, 61,405 bytes (60.0K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 50mm lens f/8.0, ISO 400, FL-36 flash, 1/100 sec, 50.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 100.0mm Extra equipment used: Olympus FL-36 flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on May 13, 2010 08:46:18 Last modified on May 13, 2010 at 09:16

Pictures of battery and media setup (1 picture)

Picture #1: Battery wallet from greenbatteries.com Thumb: 400x300, 26,323 bytes (25.7K) Small: 800x623, 115,872 bytes (113.2K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 14-54mm lens f/8.0, ISO 100, flash, 1/100 sec, 54.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, auto gradation, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 108.0mm Extra equipment used: Popup flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on May 19, 2010 11:11:41 Last modified on May 19, 2010 at 19:33 The Nylon Battery Holder from greenbatteries.com can hold 1 BLS-1 battery, 2 AA batteries, and a SD-HC memory card in the same holder.

Pictures of tripod and monopod setups (7 pictures)

I bought the mechanical shutter release from an ebay seller: John-Camera-Store. When I added the pictures to this album, the ebay auction for the shutter release was at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mechanical-Remote-Shutter-Release-Olympus-E-PL1-/310240139304?pt=Camera_Camcorder_Remotes&hash=item483bc0d828.

Picture #1: E-P2 with Sima quickonnect Thumb: 400x300, 30,260 bytes (29.6K) Small: 800x623, 92,546 bytes (90.4K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 14-54mm lens f/8.0, ISO 100, flash, 1/100 sec, 52.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, auto gradation, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 104.0mm Extra equipment used: Pop-up flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on May 24, 2010 08:48:53 Last modified on May 24, 2010 at 08:55 The Sima Quickonnect quick release is useful on the Olympus E-P2 because it is small enough so that it doesn't block the battery/memory door. This is handy when you need to change the battery or memory when shooting on a tripod or monopod and don't want to unscrew the QR plate from the camera. I bought min Quickonnects a few years ago from Microcenter. It isn't as quick to insert or remove the camera from the quick release base as some other QR adapters I've used. I also wouldn't trust it if I had a heavy lens attached to the E-P2. You will need a coin or flat head screw drive to attach the QR plate.	Picture #2: Homemade wired shutter release Thumb: 400x300, 25,675 bytes (25.1K) Small: 800x623, 68,830 bytes (67.2K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 14-54mm lens f/8.0, ISO 500, FL-36 flash, 1/60 sec, 32.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 64.0mm Extra equipment used: Olympus FL-36 Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on June 24, 2010 23:16:24 Last modified on June 24, 2010 at 23:24 When I put the camera into the 5x7 Kodak Pony Premo shell, there is no room to attach a wired shutter release. So I fashioned a holder to support an old fashioned mechanical shutter release over the normal shutter.
Picture #3: Homemade wired shutter release #2 Thumb: 400x300, 23,329 bytes (22.8K) Small: 800x623, 76,959 bytes (75.2K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 14-54mm lens f/8.0, ISO 250, FL-36 flash, 1/60 sec, 29.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 58.0mm Extra equipment used: Olympus FL-36 Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on June 24, 2010 23:17:10 Last modified on June 24, 2010 at 23:27	Picture #4: Mechanical shutter release Thumb: 400x300, 38,370 bytes (37.5K) Small: 800x623, 108,857 bytes (106.3K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 14-54mm lens f/8.0, ISO 640, FL-36 flash, 1/60 sec, 28.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 56.0mm Extra equipment used: Olympus FL-36 flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on August 25, 2010 09:57:12 Last modified on August 25, 2010 at 10:27
Picture #5: Mechanical shutter release #2 Thumb: 400x300, 39,422 bytes (38.5K) Small: 800x623, 93,109 bytes (90.9K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 14-54mm lens f/8.0, ISO 500, FL-36 flash, 1/80 sec, 43.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 86.0mm Extra equipment used: Olympus FL-36 flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on August 25, 2010 10:02:03 Last modified on August 25, 2010 at 10:31	Picture #6: Mechanical shutter release #3 Thumb: 400x300, 34,671 bytes (33.9K) Small: 800x623, 71,386 bytes (69.7K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 14-54mm lens f/8.0, ISO 400, FL-36 flash, 1/100 sec, 54.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 108.0mm Extra equipment used: Olympus FL-36 flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on August 25, 2010 10:02:36 Last modified on August 25, 2010 at 10:36
Picture #7: Mechanical shutter release #4 Thumb: 400x300, 40,157 bytes (39.2K) Small: 800x623, 98,043 bytes (95.7K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 14-54mm lens f/8.0, ISO 1000, FL-36 flash, 1/100 sec, 49.0mm, aperture priority, vivid color, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 98.0mm Extra equipment used: Olympus FL-36 flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on August 25, 2010 10:10:12 Last modified on August 25, 2010 at 10:43

Pictures of my Wolverine MyMovie camera (3 pictures)

Picture #1: Using Wolverine MyMovie as external monitor for EP-2 Thumb: 400x300, 30,152 bytes (29.4K) Small: 800x623, 85,565 bytes (83.6K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus C-2100UZ camera f/2.8, ISO 100, flash, 1/250 sec, 13.0mm, shutter priority, SHQ, cloudy, matrix metering 35mm equivalent focal length 71.0mm Extra equipment used: Pop-up flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on June 11, 2010 09:42:34 Last modified on June 11, 2010 at 10:20

Picture #2: Using Wolverine MyMovie as external monitor for EP-2 #2 Thumb: 300x400, 29,706 bytes (29.0K) Small: 600x846, 91,872 bytes (89.7K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus C-2100UZ camera f/2.8, ISO 100, flash, 1/250 sec, 9.9mm, shutter priority, SHQ, cloudy, matrix metering 35mm equivalent focal length 54.0mm Extra equipment used: Pop-up flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on June 11, 2010 09:44:49 Last modified on June 11, 2010 at 10:23

Picture #3: Using Wolverine MyMovie as external monitor for EP-2 #3 Thumb: 300x400, 31,642 bytes (30.9K) Small: 600x823, 96,541 bytes (94.3K), (html file) Olympus C-2100UZ camera f/2.8, ISO 100, flash, 1/50 sec, 12.3mm, auto mode, SHQ, cloudy, matrix metering 35mm equivalent focal length 67.0mm Extra equipment used: Pop-up flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on June 11, 2010 09:47:50 Last modified on June 11, 2010 at 10:47

Pictures of the Olympus E-P2 (1 picture)

Picture #1: Sema-1 microphone Thumb: 400x300, 28,947 bytes (28.3K) Small: 800x623, 74,075 bytes (72.3K), (html file) Copyright, Michael Meissner 2010, All rights reserved Olympus E-3 camera with Olympus 14-54mm lens f/3.4, ISO 100, flash, 1/80 sec, 45.0mm, auto mode, vivid color, matrix metering, image stabilization 35mm equivalent focal length 90.0mm Extra equipment used: Pop-up flash Programs used: gimp Taken by Michael Meissner on June 25, 2010 22:49:21 Last modified on June 25, 2010 at 22:59

Picture sublinks

• Pictures of LCD protectors and accessories (3 pictures)
• Pictures of camera straps (2 pictures)
• Pictures of camera bags and cases (5 pictures)
• Pictures of stuffed animals arranged in silly positions (2 pictures)
• Pictures disguising my camera as something else (20 pictures)
• Pictures of camera filters and lens hoods (2 pictures)
• Pictures of battery and media setup (1 picture)
• Pictures of tripod and monopod setups (7 pictures)
• Pictures of my Wolverine MyMovie camera (3 pictures)
• Pictures of the Olympus E-P2 (1 picture)
• Detailed statistics