The cat's whiskers: best gear for feline photography

Serious features: Reading the manual for the Olympus Stylus 1s will reward the user. Photo: Supplied

At our place there are two humans and one cat. From time to time our existences intersect, entirely at the volition of the cat. When this happens there may or may not be a photo op.

Unlike dogs, which are so eager to please, cats are, by nature, uncooperative. It usually takes two people – one with a camera and one with a mouse-shaped squeaky toy – to make the haughtily somnolent cat look alert. So we are always on the look out for tips and advice from the pros on how best to photograph the moggy.

Our attention was drawn to a video – you can find it at vimeo.com/136922074 – showing professional "purrtraitist​" Larry Johnson at work. Larry travels around the cat shows of America selling his services to proud pussy owners. (One uses the word "owners" in relation to cats, ironically.) His portable studio is a frame for his several coloured backdrops and a multiple off-the-camera flash setup with umbrellas and, most importantly, he has a toy on a stick to amuse the subject. He waggles the toy with one hand and operates the camera with the other and, we think, is making life unnecessarily hard for himself. He could get the "owner" to waggle the distractor.

Altogether impressive: The Olympus Stylus 1s is a small update on the original Stylus 1. Photo: Supplied

What is surprising in this day and age is the Larry is using a Nikon DSLR for the job. To get down onto the cat's level he has to kneel or crouch, which is both undignified and unnecessary. If he were using a mirrorless camera, like the one reviewed today, he would flip out the articulated LCD and shoot standing up with the camera at waist level. And he could do so without sacrificing image quality. There are a number of APS and full-frame mirrorless cameras from Sony, Samsung and Fujifilm that would give him the enhanced convenience of waist-level shooting with equal or better image quality.

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Some DSLRs do have articulated screens but to use them the camera must be switched into the clunky "live" mode in which auto focus is either intolerably sluggish or, in some cases, doesn't work at all. With a mirrorless camera all functions work perfectly, whether using the electronic viewfinder or the LCD for framing. With some mirrorless cameras setting the critical focal point, exposure and shutter release can all be done simultaneously with the touch of a finger on the screen. Believe us, when it comes to capturing a feline decisive moment this is the technology to have at hand.

OLYMPUS STYLUS 1s

Price: $650 (street price)

THE LOW-DOWN: This camera is a small update on the original Stylus 1, a "bridge" camera with a body form similar to the Olympus OMDs, but with a fixed zoom lens. The 12 megapixel sensor is slightly larger than average in this category which, together with a small pixel count, is good for image quality, especially in low light situations. The 28-300mm lens is constant aperture f2.8 and is self-capping – a nice touch. The electronic viewfinder and the tilting LCD screen are both high resolution. There is a lens-concentric ring that can have different functions assigned to it. Construction quality is first class and the camera feels luxurious in the hand.

LIKE: This is a camera that demands to be taken seriously, which means that time spent reading the user manual is time well spent. The impressive lens and sensor combination produce beautiful jpegs and stunning RAW quality. There is a jpeg setting for Super Fine that, sadly, most people will never find if they don't consult the manual. And the brilliant touch-sensitive Olympus Super Control panel is not activated by default.

DISLIKE: There is a mysterious lever on the front of the camera, labelled f2, which toggles between manual and auto focus. Two Olympus owners known to us have returned from overseas with many out of focus pictures because the lever had been inadvertently knocked into the manual focus position.

VERDICT: This camera is outstanding precisely because it eschews the absurd zoom range and pixel count of its competitors. For anyone looking for the virtues of a mirrorless camera but who doesn't need or want interchangeable lenses the Stylus 1s is an obvious choice. It is not a pocket camera, but it won't add much bulk and mass to a bag. Altogether impressive.

Source: The cat's whiskers: best gear for feline photography