None of the DSLRs suffer from heat buildup as much as a mirrorless camera because of the EVF and LCD screen which are continuously drawing a lot of power from the battery.
birdied wrote:
Thanks Bob. It has been very hot here as well. Yes, guess that could be part of the issue. Although, I never noticed it with the Nikon gear.
Subject was hummingbird. Hummingbird was under the single point. I even had some shots that the green focus square was showing on bird when viewed on the SCP. However when zoomed in, subject was not in focus I used sequential low burst, single point , C-AF. with C2. Today I changed that to C3 , reprogramed some buttons to try the back button auto focus to see if that helps. Still trying to figure out what buttons are most comfortable to do that with.
bobbytan wrote:
None of the DSLRs suffer from heat buildup as much as a mirrorless camera because of the EVF and LCD screen which are continuously drawing a lot of power from the battery.
I learn something new everyday with this camera. Thanks Bobby , appreciate it.
Birdie, can you post examples? It sounds like some were focused but some were not, right? Was there any pattern to in/out of focus (ie, every third one in focus, etc)
AF on a low-contrast subject in low light with a relatively slow lens is a challenge for any camera, and this could be part of the problem. Ordinarily, the E-M1.2's AF capability is second to none. When shooting in poor light it's probably best to stick with S-AF.
Bobg657 wrote:
Birdie, can you post examples? It sounds like some were focused but some were not, right? Was there any pattern to in/out of focus (ie, every third one in focus, etc)
I deleted all the out of focus shots. Next time, will keep them and post them. Not sure if there was a pattern or not, but it seems out of a burst of 8 shots at least 3 are out of focus totally or not in critical focus .
I have also read on some sites that there can be some out of focus shots in a sequence.
I was looking at the book by David Thorpe ( The Olympus E-M1Mk11 Menu System Simplified). This is his statement about sharpness using release Priority C - " In focus doesn't mean critically sharp , just sharp "
Not sure what he means, but I have noticed that - One shot will be critically sharp, the next sharp but not spot on sharp . I delete the not critically sharp. Will try and post some if that happens again.
It may be me and my shooting style combined lack of experience with the camera . I am definitely learning that I can not shoot like I use to. I feel like I am getting a better feel for the camera , but have still have a way to go before we are in harmony
Bobby may be pointing out part of the issue about low contrast and low light. Wish the hummers showed up when the light is better , not at dusk and after the rain. .
It's dark and raining again today, so no test shots.
Again, thank you for your insights , patience and help.
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bobbytan wrote:
AF on a low-contrast subject in low light with a relatively slow lens is a challenge for any camera, and this could be part of the problem. Ordinarily, the E-M1.2's AF capability is second to none. When shooting in poor light it's probably best to stick with S-AF.
Bobby, you have described probably 75% of my shooting conditions. Green bird, green foliage , shade , foreground and background close to subject - all the things that make it more difficult to get that spot on critical focus.
Best thing to do, under these circumstances, is to zoom in and focus on the eye/head manually. You can simplify the process by allocating the magnify button (5x magnification is probably best) to one of your function buttons. The focus clutch on the PRO lenses is really useful for switching from AF to MF but you don't have this on the 60 macro and PL 100-400.
birdied wrote:
Bobby, you have described probably 75% of my shooting conditions. Green bird, green foliage , shade , foreground and background close to subject - all the things that make it more difficult to get that spot on critical focus.
bobbytan wrote:
Best thing to do, under these circumstances, is to zoom in and focus on the eye/head manually. You can simplify the process by allocating the magnify button (5x magnification is probably best) to one of your function buttons. The focus clutch on the PRO lenses is really useful for switching from AF to MF but you don't have this on the 60 macro and PL 100-400.
That works well if the bird is sitting still. I'm not quick enough to do that on birds in flight . I do love the manual focus clutch on the 40-150 . I have set one of the buttons to switch to manual for lens without the focus clutch. I still am undecided between the 300 and the 100-400, so I don't have either one of those now. I'm leaning toward the 100-400, but it is backordered everywhere. I'm loving the peaking option and the magnify.
I just need some nice weather to really dedicate more time to trying all the variety of options available and find what works best for these hummingbirds .
If you think you have a good (sharp) copy of the PL 100-400 ... keep it. It should be very sharp in center from 200-300mm and less sharp at 100 and 400mm ... according to the resolution chart from LensTip. And if you think it's pretty good even at 400mm then you definitely have a good copy of this lens!
birdied wrote:
I still am undecided between the 300 and the 100-400, so I don't have either one of those now. I'm leaning toward the 100-400, but it is backordered everywhere. I'm loving the peaking option and the magnify.
I just need some nice weather to really dedicate more time to trying all the variety of options available and find what works best for these hummingbirds .
I always have release priority C set to OFF.
Same for S. So I insist on focus.
Doesn't seem to slow down my E-M1II.
Also for HIF I use the mechanical shutter.
I like my 300/4 Pro. I never tried the PL 100-400 though.
Certainly Tony gets stunning results with his combination.
k-h.a.w wrote:
I always have release priority C set to OFF.
Same for S. So I insist on focus.
Doesn't seem to slow down my E-M1II.
Also for HIF I use the mechanical shutter.
I like my 300/4 Pro. I never tried the PL 100-400 though.
Certainly Tony gets stunning results with his combination.
K-H.
Setting the Prioritiy C to off is something I have not tried, but certainly will. I do use the mechanical shutter for the hummers unless I misunderstood what the Sequential Low is. That is the mechanical shutter, right?
You are for sure better off with the mechanical shutter with anything fast moving, like hummer wings! Rolling shutter... better than the Mark I by far, but still can be a problem.
birdied wrote:
Setting the Prioritiy C to off is something I have not tried, but certainly will. I do use the mechanical shutter for the hummers unless I misunderstood what the Sequential Low is. That is the mechanical shutter, right?
Birdie, for clarity: Sequential low without the diamond is mechanical, you'll hear the shutter sound with that setting. Low with diamond is sikent shutter.
Bob
Bobg657 wrote:
Birdie, for clarity: Sequential low without the diamond is mechanical, you'll hear the shutter sound with that setting. Low with diamond is sikent shutter.
Bob
I wish I can help but I don't think I can. Frankly, I don't even know what Priority C means! Have not gone there before so I am using the default setting whatever that may be. Someone who is more familiar with these settings should be able to help you.
Some of the OOF images could be due to camera shake as 1/500 shutter speed (last image) may not be good enough to freeze a highly magnified hummingbird in flight. Could also be that the camera was still trying to achieve focus (hunting) when you squeezed the shutter button.
bobbytan wrote:
I wish I can help but I don't think I can. Frankly, I don't even know what Priority C means! Have not gone there before so I am using the default setting whatever that may be. Someone who is more familiar with these settings should be able to help you.
Some of the OOF images could be due to camera shake as 1/500 shutter speed (last image) may not be good enough to freeze a highly magnified hummingbird in flight. Could also be that the camera was still trying to achieve focus (hunting) when you squeezed the shutter button.
Not sure why it would show the confirmed green square if the camera was not in focus. As to the shutter speed, I had no problem with that and lower on any of my other cameras.
I have Release Priority set to ON.
When shooting any moving subject at 400mm, I try to keep my shutter speed at a minimum of 1/2000, even if this means an ISO of 1600. I can cope with noise, but can't do anything about blur caused by too slow of a SS.
Unless the camera is up to my eye, I always turn off the main on/off switch. Thought I read somewhere that the floating mirror always moves (hence consumes power) every time the camera is moved, even if you have it in sleep mode.
Too bad there is not some way you can compare by using another Mk II body.
It's a conundrum (always wanted to use that!) for sure. I agree I'd always use higher shutter speeds with hummers, usually in excess of 1/2000, but I don't think the problem is caused by camera movement or subject movement. The out of focus shots are way out, we can't tell but perhaps it focused elsewhere in the shot? If we can figure that out it would help.
With this type of inconsistency I'd probably back up the settings and then do a full reset from the menu, perhaps just enter the settings for these shots and test it to see if it works correctly. If that works then restore the settings and see what happens. If the problem comes back we know it's some other setting TBD.
