Currently, both male and female Northern Flickers visit our water dish several times a day.
My E-M1.2 (firmware version 1.1, and a fast Lexar memory card) seems to be able to sustain 18 FPS in C-AF Silent low "indefinitely" without slowing down. So, the buffer is seemingly being emptied at the rate at which lossless compressed images are being created with the 300/4 Pro lens on E-M1.2. And one can follow the action through the EVF.
With the 300/2.8 SHG lens on tripod and remote control of the E-M1.2, I find it even easier to follow the bird action at the water dish with binoculars that seem to give me a 3-dimensional, much wider view so that one can anticipate new arrivals at the dish.
If the EM1.2 can shoot 60fps at full rez, shouldn't we be able to get 60fps 4k video? Even if we have to give up AF at that speed, it would be a very useful option.
Such pretty birds! Not bad for ISO 2000 on a FT sensor! I find the luminance noise on the MK II easier to manage simply because it is so "fine grained". You say -1.0 EV. What was the light situation. It looks like it was sort of bright but diffuse.
Thanks. I have found even ISO 6400 can look pretty good. It was cloudy, but not too dark. Had the camera on Auto ISO with minimum SS of 1/1000 and exposure bracketing with 3 shots at 1 f-stop apart. This -1.0 EV probably looked sharper because the one at normal exposure would have been at ISO 4,000.
I might be able to trade in my Sony A7 and combine it with a current Olympus "200 dollar off" campaign when trading in another camera for a E-M1 Mk II, this would give the E-M1 Mk II for about 1500 USD rather then 1999. It's this or wait and see how the GH5 performs but the price of the GH5 in Sweden is 2499 so that's another grand. I seriously doubt I would find it 1000 USD better. The campaign lasts until the end of February.
The other alternative is to trade in the camera and waste some well saved savings and go for either the 7-14mm Olympus or the 300mm F4. Now these are of course questions I can only answer my self but I would like some input anyway.
How much use have you all found the 300mm F4 to be? How good is it on the E-M1 Mk I. I know it's a long lens and as it is now I don't do much wild life, I would like to start with it though but I also think that the 300mm won't come to its full potential on the Mk I which means I might get pissed off.
The 7-14 is another story, a lens that I want, and in many ways need but it's cheaper and thus easier to save up to again.
So, for those of you who have made the switch. Do you consider the Mk II to be worth it over the Mk I? There is nothing wrong with my Mk I, it doesn't have a lot of shutter counts on its belt (some 12k) as I do mostly portraits and landscapes. It's about a year and a half old which means it's in good condition. However, if I get rid of the A7 I will only have the E-M5 Mk I to fall back on if anything should happen. And while it's a good camera I don't trust it enough (shutter shock for one) to use it seriously on events or even on normal more important shoots such as wild life. I am considering making it my "car camera" with a prime on it.
I use both and I would say that if you push your camera to the extremes the mk2 will be worth it. So that bird is in the shadows of a bush and hopping around, at iso1600 and up the mk2 will show its value. If you dont usually stress your camera with extremes then the mk1 is just fine, I have only really noticed the difference in image quality when I am backed into the corner. Of course if you need ridiculous frame rates or 4k then mk2 otherwise in normal circumstances (iso 800 and below) i don't see much if any differences.
Wilbus please let me add, the biggest and most important improvement of the E-M1.2 for me is its ability to focus without focus hunting. Although there are other notable improvements over the E-M1 they pale in comparison. I would start with such a solid and dependable camera in the understanding that it would allow me to skip the next camera generation down the road and concentrate on lenses I want. The E-M1.2 is that good with its IBIS and stabilized 4K video.
If you want the highest tele performance, the m43 300/4 Pro is it. It offers critical sharpness and noticeably loses that with the MC-14 its 1.4x Teleconverter. For me an even more useful tele prime is little tuna, the 43 super high grade (SHG) 150/2.0 lens that requires an 43 to m43 adapter. In the US little tuna with adapter cost wise is similar to the 300/4 Pro and offers the same fast and dependable focusing ability on the E-M1.2.
I cannot speak to the PL 100-400 as I do not have any experience with it.
Man I wish we had Waxwings here. I've seen them on two occasions but briefly. I do think a lot of bierds fly through this area on the way somewhere else but they are here only momentarily.
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