johnvanr wrote:
Yesterday, I shot with the EM-1 II and the 300mm (sometimes with the 1.4x) alongside my 1DX and the 500mm f/4 (sometimes with the 1.4x). The Canon was on a tripod. The Olympus hand-held. This was only my second time using the Olympus combo and it was my first time shooting owls in flight.
Both cameras often struggled getting and maintaining focus as the owls flew low over the grass. Lots of background and foreground contrast to mess with the AF. But the Olympus is amazing when compared to any mirrorless camera I've ever shot with (and I've shot with many).
Ironically, I have a lot of OOF shots from the Olympus when the owls where against a clean sky. I don't know whether that's my fault (focusing or camera shake) and I will try again and use the camera on a tripod.
Below are a bunch of samples from the Olympus. These are heavy crops. I've upped the clarity and the contrast, because compared to the Canon the owls are a bit soft. Doing that also increased the noise, which is a problem with the small sensor as ISOs go up and it shows the not so great bokeh of the Olympus lens.
Overall, I'm impressed, but not impressed enough to think I can ditch my Canon and only use the Olympus. Which means I will have to sell my Sony, because I'd rather have high-performing cameras than high-resolution sensors and I can't keep everything.
I will keep on shooting with the Olympus and see to what extent I can improve my technique to get the most out of it....Show more →
Nice shots, but wait until Bobbytan posts some examples of BIF. That way you will know what the combo is capable of.
johnvanr wrote:
More images. The last two were with the 1.4x mounted.
I haven't had a chance at BIF with the Mark ii yet, but based on my experience with the Mark i I'm impressed that you got so many keepers. It's likely that I, too, won't be giving up the Canon, but I'm motivated to practice with the Olympus. With the Mark i and my skill none of these shots would have been in focus if they were mine. Encouraging.
Bob Kane wrote:
I haven't had a chance at BIF with the Mark ii yet, but based on my experience with the Mark i I'm impressed that you got so many keepers. It's likely that I, too, won't be giving up the Canon, but I'm motivated to practice with the Olympus. With the Mark i and my skill none of these shots would have been in focus if they were mine. Encouraging.
It's night and day. With the Mark I, you'd have no chance to get any of these. And shooting with such a capable, yet light and mobile, setup is a great experience.
In principle, knowing that I won't give up Canon, I could ditch Olympus and keep my Sony for travel, but I love the idea of being able to take a quality 600mm-e where I normally would never carry such a lens.
Like I did last summer when visiting the Normandy war cemetery.
johnvanr wrote:
Yesterday, I shot with the EM-1 II and the 300mm (sometimes with the 1.4x) alongside my 1DX and the 500mm f/4 (sometimes with the 1.4x). The Canon was on a tripod. The Olympus hand-held. This was only my second time using the Olympus combo and it was my first time shooting owls in flight.
Both cameras often struggled getting and maintaining focus as the owls flew low over the grass. Lots of background and foreground contrast to mess with the AF. But the Olympus is amazing when compared to any mirrorless camera I've ever shot with (and I've shot with many).
Ironically, I have a lot of OOF shots from the Olympus when the owls where against a clean sky. I don't know whether that's my fault (focusing or camera shake) and I will try again and use the camera on a tripod.
Below are a bunch of samples from the Olympus. These are heavy crops. I've upped the clarity and the contrast, because compared to the Canon the owls are a bit soft. Doing that also increased the noise, which is a problem with the small sensor as ISOs go up and it shows the not so great bokeh of the Olympus lens.
Overall, I'm impressed, but not impressed enough to think I can ditch my Canon and only use the Olympus. Which means I will have to sell my Sony, because I'd rather have high-performing cameras than high-resolution sensors and I can't keep everything.
I will keep on shooting with the Olympus and see to what extent I can improve my technique to get the most out of it....Show more →
Out of curiosity, did you turn off IS with the olympus? I've found stabilizer artifacts occurring and I have yet to try turning it off for flight. There also looks like some atmospheric effects going on in some images which might account for the AF struggling at times.
DamC.Licks wrote:
My recommndation is to resize your photo to a maximum of 800 pixels for the longest
dimension. For an easy and automated way to resize your images while maintaining a
high quality web output, we recommend using the WP Pro (Web Presenter Pro) Plugin.
A maximum of 800 pixels on the long side is a rather out-dated suggestion. Nowadays, most people have monitors that can easily display 1500 pixels wide without any scrolling.
Don't know about WP Pro, but with Photoshop, if you use 'Save for Web', instead of 'Save As', you strip the image of the exif.
The E-M1 Mk II can easily track BIF. When it misses focus, it is usually my poor tracking ability, or it is a subject that is difficult to focus on with any camera.
Iwas joeking wrote:
Out of curiosity, did you turn off IS with the olympus? I've found stabilizer artifacts occurring and I have yet to try turning it off for flight. There also looks like some atmospheric effects going on in some images which might account for the AF struggling at times.
I left IS on on both the lens and the camera. Yes, there are atmospheric effects. I shot at the same spot Monday, when it was bitterly cold, and it was worse then, to the point that shooting close to the ground was useless.
Also, the owls were generally far away and the light wasn't always optimal. It's actually amazing how well the Olympus did in those circumstances.
Imagemaster wrote:
A maximum of 800 pixels on the long side is a rather out-dated suggestion. Nowadays, most people have monitors that can easily display 1500 pixels wide without any scrolling.
Don't know about WP Pro, but with Photoshop, if you use 'Save for Web', instead of 'Save As', you strip the image of the exif.
1510p x 1010p @ 72ppi:
I have an HP ZR24w running at 1920x1200. To see this shot I have to scroll back and forth at the bottom. It could be something in the forum software because I only run into this problem here.
On a Mac I hit "command +" and "command -" to make text and images appear larger or smaller until it has the size I want to view. For me text large, images smaller until they fit on the screen. On my iPad images fit unless I use a two finger movement to zoom in or out. I would think on a PC there must be equivalent functionality, no?
What a find for us. The endangered Everglades Snail Kite. A situation where IQ goes out the window and I'm just ecstatic I saw one, even more that I got an image. Not only that but after he and I made eye contact he flew. I followed and got him landing...I need to find that pic.
And a gorgeous hawk at that! Beautiful red eyes too.
I've never seen one bathing but I guess they all do given the opportunity.
K-H, if you ever get bored: https://www.flickr.com/photos/medicineman4040/albums/72157662992337134
I've been feeding (with the approval of the state authorities) two hawks that live in my neighborhood.
And a gorgeous hawk at that! Beautiful red eyes too.
I've never seen one bathing but I guess they all do given the opportunity.
K-H, if you ever get bored: https://www.flickr.com/photos/medicineman4040/albums/72157662992337134
I've been feeding (with the approval of the state authorities) two hawks that live in my neighborhood.
K-H, forgot to mention Cooper's Hawks have red eyes
since this is EM1.2 thread, let talk about accessory. The battery grip. Got email from ebay regarding my ebay buck. I somehow accumulate $189 in ebay buck for Quarter 4 of 2016. Kenmore camera just happen to list the battery grip for Em1.2. so i figure what the heck..i only pay $60. Nothing to loose.
Battery grip show up. look nice. Put it on the camera and it looks UGLY. Kinda remind me how the Sony A99 looks. It doesn't stream nicely with the camera. All the corner..etc Also, the texture of the grip not cover all. Also, what the point of having battery grip when you can only use one battery?
What i like:
1. Vertical holding. Very comfortable. The hand holding feel just like you're holding big boy dslr (1dx mkii / 5D)
2. I don't have to take the battery cover out in order to attach the grip like dslr or sony 7 series.
That is it for what i like.
What i don't like:
1. Design not flowing with the camera
2. Only one battery
3. Texture not matching color and not cover all the way.
4. Expensive
If i have to pay full price for this, would i pay for it? i guess not.
so here are some pictures of it. And compare with Sony A7 grip. Sony grip looks/function much better.
Kenmore camera just happen to list the battery grip for Em1.2. so i figure what the heck..i only pay $60. Nothing to loose.
