How to Win* a Photo Contest* with a Pocket Camera*

*Okay, it got second place. *And technically it's a photo 'challenge'. *And it might not fit in your breast pocket. But you really can take some pretty nifty photos with a pocket camera and a good lens.  Yes, I know, I was just waxing about the fun things you can do with a cheap plastic lens, but if critical focus and sharpness really is important to you, you're best off with prime glass.  This was one of the first photos that I took with my first M43 camera, the Olympus E-PL5.  The 45mm f/1.8 lens really is perfectly suited for that camera: it's tiny, sharp, and has beautiful bokeh. This photo was taken peering at some of the growth coming off the top of my garage here in sunny Washington. And no, it's not a macro lens.

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Its small size makes it handy for street photography as well...

And, in a pinch, it can act as a wide angle, just by stitching two landscape-oriented photos together: