Olympus OM-D E-M5, E-M1, E-M10 - Mk1, Mk2 & Mk3 Owners Thread

RedRobin said:
.... Exactly as you say regarding panning trajectory but also maintaining some semblance of a reasonable horizontal not needing massive correction in post-processing.

Regarding a gimbal for m4/3 gear I have owned this Jobu Jnr-3 Deluxe for many years and can strongly recommend it for being much smaller and lighter weight than other gimbals and it is strong enough to support a Canon 1DX-2 + 2x + EF 500mm F/4L II on many missions. I now use it on my Skimmer groundpod as both are easily disassembled to fit into my backpack, although I don't always carry them with me. When the Jobu is mounted on a Platypod it is perfect for shelves in hides.

ED 150-400mm TC Pro + lens cap by Robin Procter, on Flickr

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jobu-Design-bwg-j3kdlx-Jr-Deluxe/dp/B00AQ26WSG

The Jobu is not cheap but I think it worth it if you want a simple compact no-resistance gimbal. In comparison the Profoto E-6H is also light but movement is dampened like a fluid head and it offers more flexibility. As always it's Horses-for-Courses and I have a use for both. I have tried all sorts of gimbals.

The key to the most comfortable use of a gimbal is to balance it but be aware that zoom lenses with extendable barrels will upset the balance.

Kite surfers? A friend of mine, Katie Evans, 2021 Women's British Kitesurfing Champion, is a friend of mine but I have yet to photograph her kitesurfing - I much prefer to shoot board surfers.
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It’s all food for thought. Interesting point about zoom lenses.
If I should go ahead, your input is very valuable, so much appreciated, thank you.

I used to be heavily into windsurfing and my husband now kitesurfs. We bought our house on the basis that it was near the best wave sailing beach on the island - priorities :ROFLMAO: I do shoot surfers too sometimes and I’m quite jealous of your trip to Nazaré. I’ve been there, but not when there were big waves.

A question - do you use the Olympus filter on your big white when at the beach?
I don’t usually use filters these days unless I’m on the beach. I suppose kite and wind surfers are more likely to be out when it’s windy (and on or cross shore) as opposed to surfers, although an offshore breeze may help their conditions. I regularly have to spray water to keep the lens clear.
 
snerkler said:
Gimbals are definitely better for sure. I didn't follow all the posts to be honest and was just answering more about the camera having its own levelling system rather than which head is best (y) I've never had any issue with crushed fingers tbh, other than a touch of creep with heavy lenses as they 'settle into place' I've never had one move on me.
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.... I agree - Gimbals can offer more than ballheads do. I use the levelling indicators in the EVF/LV to check or fine tune rather than do the initial set up on a tripod and am in the habit of glancing at them even when shooting handheld. The OM-1 level indicators are the best I have seen on any camera.

Any degree of settling into place aka 'creeping' can ruin a composition. Finger crushing or trapping can more easily occur with heavier lenses and even when making adjustments. Carrying a tripod with camera mounted on your shoulder can also catch you out with a ballhead - Personally I have grown to dislike them.
 
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Bebop said:
It’s all food for thought. Interesting point about zoom lenses.
If I should go ahead, your input is very valuable, so much appreciated, thank you.

I used to be heavily into windsurfing and my husband now kitesurfs. We bought our house on the basis that it was near the best wave sailing beach on the island - priorities :ROFLMAO: I do shoot surfers too sometimes and I’m quite jealous of your trip to Nazaré. I’ve been there, but not when there were big waves.

A question - do you use the Olympus filter on your big white when at the beach?
I don’t usually use filters these days unless I’m on the beach. I suppose kite and wind surfers are more likely to be out when it’s windy (and on or cross shore) as opposed to surfers, although an offshore breeze may help their conditions. I regularly have to spray water to keep the lens clear.
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.... I am really pleased to be of any help - It's mostly what these forums are essentially about [as long as you don't visit TP's Hot Topics! @Cobra :ROFLMAO:]

Yes, I do have the megabucks Olympus filter on my big white one! Over 300 squid! (@the black fox Jeff will love that price!). It makes sense to me to use the filter which is so specifically designed for a lens which costs over £6K. I also have an Olympus 72mm filter which fits both my 40-150mm F/2.8 PRO and 8-15mm PRO. The Olympus filters have particularly waterproof coatings - Like a duck's back.

As I have posted many times, I regularly rinse my Olympus gear under a gentle shower after a day out and it all comes up looking as good as new. It feels nicer to the touch too.

Yeah, Nazaré is very special! It was on my bucket list. It also happened to provide a few weeks of daily testing my OM-1 when it was new. I took my E-M1X with me but it stayed in my room and I haven't used it since!
 
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Bit of advice please, I have been really lucky in that Mr Olly B presented me with the Olympus 100 - 400 lens, (I know, I'm wondering what he has done wrong too!!), I have the Em1 mkiii, and am keep to progress with some wildlife photography and bird photography. I would be very grateful if the wonderful wildlife photographers amongst you could give me some pointers towards settings for the combination? I hope it doesn't look like I am being lazy, but I have looked on line and there are some clues as to potential options, but I really struggled with it set to C-AF to obtain focus, I'm using back button focus and wasn't sure whether that was hampering my efforts, or the fact that with the breeze on Sunday I was struggling a bit to hold it steady. Just got round to editing the images, from our local coastal marshes and the images are quite soft. I know I need to practice with this lens, but feel a clue as to optimum settings would be a good start!

Many thanks.
 
Olly B said:
Bit of advice please, I have been really lucky in that Mr Olly B presented me with the Olympus 100 - 400 lens, (I know, I'm wondering what he has done wrong too!!), I have the Em1 mkiii, and am keep to progress with some wildlife photography and bird photography. I would be very grateful if the wonderful wildlife photographers amongst you could give me some pointers towards settings for the combination? I hope it doesn't look like I am being lazy, but I have looked on line and there are some clues as to potential options, but I really struggled with it set to C-AF to obtain focus, I'm using back button focus and wasn't sure whether that was hampering my efforts, or the fact that with the breeze on Sunday I was struggling a bit to hold it steady. Just got round to editing the images, from our local coastal marshes and the images are quite soft. I know I need to practice with this lens, but feel a clue as to optimum settings would be a good start!

Many thanks.
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.... Jeff @the black fox is the man to answer this as he loves his Oly 100-400mm and mostly shoots birds and wildlife.
 
RedRobin said:
.... I am really pleased to be of any help - It's mostly what these forums are essentially about [as long as you don't visit TP's Hot Topics! @Cobra :ROFLMAO:]

Yes, I do have the megabucks Olympus filter on my big white one! Over 300 squid! (@the black fox Jeff will love that price!). It makes sense to me to use the filter which is so specifically designed for a lens which costs over £6K. I also have an Olympus 72mm filter which fits both my 40-150mm F/2.8 PRO and 8-15mm PRO. The Olympus filters have particularly waterproof coatings - Like a duck's back.

As I have posted many times, I regularly rinse my Olympus gear under a gentle shower after a day out and it all comes up looking as good as new. It feels nicer to the touch too.

Yeah, Nazaré is very special! It was on my bucket list. It also happened to provide a few weeks of daily testing my OM-1 when it was new. I took my E-M1X with me but it stayed in my room and I haven't used it since!
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Yes I spotted it was mega bucks, but then the last thing you want is sand ground into your front element, and you don't want to lose image quality after paying all that money for it. I have an Oly filter that I use when needed on my 12-100 which also fits the 40-150 (and would nicely fit the 8-25 :naughty: ). Otherwise most of mine are Hoya Pro or HD ones. I only use them when necessary.

Like you, I just wash my camera and lens down when I get home. I don't use running water, but I know one of the guys I met on the Cowes week press boat used to put his under the shower at the end of the day.
 
Olly B said:
Bit of advice please, I have been really lucky in that Mr Olly B presented me with the Olympus 100 - 400 lens, (I know, I'm wondering what he has done wrong too!!), I have the Em1 mkiii, and am keep to progress with some wildlife photography and bird photography. I would be very grateful if the wonderful wildlife photographers amongst you could give me some pointers towards settings for the combination? I hope it doesn't look like I am being lazy, but I have looked on line and there are some clues as to potential options, but I really struggled with it set to C-AF to obtain focus, I'm using back button focus and wasn't sure whether that was hampering my efforts, or the fact that with the breeze on Sunday I was struggling a bit to hold it steady. Just got round to editing the images, from our local coastal marshes and the images are quite soft. I know I need to practice with this lens, but feel a clue as to optimum settings would be a good start!

Many thanks.
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You should always be in C-AF for anything moving imo. I've not used the Mark III but my best success with the Mark II was small single point using C-AF, I found this gave me better results than one of the dedicated tracking modes. However, with my A9ii I do use the tracking mode as I can focus on the area I want and then compose the shot knowing the AF point will still be where I want it, and I believe Olympus have improved their tracking so you should be able to do the same. I find this quicker than composing and then moving the AF point to where you want it within the frame.

The only time I use anything other than single point is erratic birds in flight and for this I sometimes use group so that I've got a better chance of acquiring initial focus.
 
Bebop said:
Yes I spotted it was mega bucks, but then the last thing you want is sand ground into your front element, and you don't want to lose image quality after paying all that money for it. I have an Oly filter that I use when needed on my 12-100 which also fits the 40-150 (and would nicely fit the 8-25 :naughty: ). Otherwise most of mine are Hoya Pro or HD ones. I only use them when necessary.

Like you, I just wash my camera and lens down when I get home. I don't use running water, but I know one of the guys I met on the Cowes week press boat used to put his under the shower at the end of the day.
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.... I see that the 8-25mm worm is still in your brain! :ROFLMAO: It's not necessarily an everyday lens and probably not used as often as the 12-40mm F/2.8 PRO but there are times when it's invaluable. If only OM made a 8-40mm F/4 PRO of similar size. Both of these two images are on the 8-25mm :

BULLEID PACIFIC CREW by Robin Procter, on Flickr

RETURNING THE TOKEN by Robin Procter, on Flickr

Yes, my other filters are Hoya HD and Pro too including a circular polarising.

Was the Cowes PressBoat guy shooting on Olympus too?
 
snerkler said:
You should always be in C-AF for anything moving imo. I've not used the Mark III but my best success with the Mark II was small single point using C-AF, I found this gave me better results than one of the dedicated tracking modes. However, with my A9ii I do use the tracking mode as I can focus on the area I want and then compose the shot knowing the AF point will still be where I want it, and I believe Olympus have improved their tracking so you should be able to do the same. I find this quicker than composing and then moving the AF point to where you want it within the frame.

The only time I use anything other than single point is erratic birds in flight and for this I sometimes use group so that I've got a better chance of acquiring initial focus.
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Many thanks for that, I will look to see whether I had the setting for small single point, that might make sense as to why it appeared to 'hunt' for focus?
 
Olly B said:
Many thanks for that, I will look to see whether I had the setting for small single point, that might make sense as to why it appeared to 'hunt' for focus?
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C-AF obviously 'hunts' more as it's continuously acquiring focus, but I don't remember it being particularly noticeable and the subject always appeared in focus in the EVF, and of course the final image. If you're using wide focus then maybe it doesn't know what to focus on?
 
ajophotog said:
Sometimes Peat you need 2 stones to crack a wallnut I guess.:hug:
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Yeah that's defo not what I want. I want to travel very light and walk far. I'm not really a walk 50m to a hide and sit there all day type of photographer. I like to go out search around and find things then photograph them. Two camera systems isn't something I want to go near.
The daft thing is the olympus system is so close to being able to do it. I'm sure a tweak in firmware would sort the issues.
Like I said I'm not looking for blue planet level video capability so don't think it's too much of an ask.
The canon r7 and 100-500mm might be the way but want to check months of hands on first. The r5 and 100-500 is rock solid on IS and can do photos and video brilliantly but obviously that's alot more expensive than om-1 and 100-400mm
 
peat said:
Yeah that's defo not what I want. I want to travel very light and walk far. I'm not really a walk 50m to a hide and sit there all day type of photographer. I like to go out search around and find things then photograph them. Two camera systems isn't something I want to go near.
The daft thing is the olympus system is so close to being able to do it. I'm sure a tweak in firmware would sort the issues.
Like I said I'm not looking for blue planet level video capability so don't think it's too much of an ask.
The canon r7 and 100-500mm might be the way but want to check months of hands on first. The r5 and 100-500 is rock solid on IS and can do photos and video brilliantly but obviously that's alot more expensive than om-1 and 100-400mm
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There are vids on u.tube re. Video capabilities with the OM1 might be worth checking them out , it may well just be a setting that needs changing
 
Just wondering which L-Plate people were using for their EM1's.
 
Just a heads up I've opened a wanted thread for an Olympus 75-300mm
 
Fuji Dave said:
I know, just looking for a lens hood for this 45mm f1.8 now.
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Loads on amazon, I had a JJC one which was a bit more expensive than some but was good quality.
 
Bit of a double post but might have more relevance here:
This arrived today.
First impressions? Wow it is one heavy, dense lens. Build quality seems excellent.
Now to shoot some images with it.
IMG_0218.jpg
IMG_0219.jpg
IMG_0222.jpg
IMG_0223.jpg
 
Chris_911 said:
Bit of a double post but might have more relevance here:
This arrived today.
First impressions? Wow it is one heavy, dense lens. Build quality seems excellent.
Now to shoot some images with it.
View attachment 361933
View attachment 361932
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.... :wideyed: Golly!! What sort of subjects will you shoot with this lens?

Btw, I notice a small plate underneath your Battery Grip - Is it Arca-Swiss? I have a square 2-way A-S Peak Design on mine. I prefer to avoid L-brackets.
 
Olly B said:
Bit of advice please, I have been really lucky in that Mr Olly B presented me with the Olympus 100 - 400 lens, (I know, I'm wondering what he has done wrong too!!), I have the Em1 mkiii, and am keep to progress with some wildlife photography and bird photography. I would be very grateful if the wonderful wildlife photographers amongst you could give me some pointers towards settings for the combination? I hope it doesn't look like I am being lazy, but I have looked on line and there are some clues as to potential options, but I really struggled with it set to C-AF to obtain focus, I'm using back button focus and wasn't sure whether that was hampering my efforts, or the fact that with the breeze on Sunday I was struggling a bit to hold it steady. Just got round to editing the images, from our local coastal marshes and the images are quite soft. I know I need to practice with this lens, but feel a clue as to optimum settings would be a good start!

Many thanks.
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sorry Olly only just spotted this . I use the same rig so heres my p.o.v I basically only use three focus point settings small single , large single , or all points for b.i.f on a clear sky (cluster focus set ) , yes only one c.a.f .. camera set to aperture priority wide open at f6.3 .. i.s.o either set to auto or 800iso depending on the light .. to keep the shutter speed right up for b.i.f ..
yes definetly ditch back button focus I have found that using it with that lens the action of pressing the shutter button depresses the lens away from target . it was designed to be used on tripod and gimbal heads and is not effective with our image stabilised systems ..
just one other thing I presume you have lens i.s priority set in cog menu ???? and lens i.s switched on ... i.bi.s will not work on a 400mm lens the only synch you will get with the body is pitch and yaw .. hope this helps

if I can get sharp shots of gulls from the deck of a moving boat hand held at the tender age of 76 and with a dodgy ticker im quiet sure you can
 
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the black fox said:
sorry Olly only just spotted this . I use the same rig so heres my p.o.v I basically only use three focus point settings small single , large single , or all points for b.i.f on a clear sky (cluster focus set ) , yes only one c.a.f .. camera set to aperture priority wide open at f6.3 .. i.s.o either set to auto or 800iso depending on the light .. to keep the shutter speed right up for b.i.f ..
yes definetly ditch back button focus I have found that using it with that lens the action of pressing the shutter button depresses the lens away from target . it was designed to be used on tripod and gimbal heads and is not effective with our image stabilised systems ..
just one other thing I presume you have lens i.s priority set in cog menu ???? and lens i.s switched on ... i.bi.s will not work on a 400mm lens the only synch you will get with the body is pitch and yaw .. hope this helps

if I can get sharp shots of gulls from the deck of a moving boat hand held at the tender age of 76 and with a dodgy ticker im quiet sure you can
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I use manual mode with auto ISO, that way I can set aperture to wide open and the shutter speed high to freeze motion and then I'm not at risk of the shutter dropping low and introducing blur. ISO then has to be whatever ISO has to be. We all have our different ways of doing things (y)
 
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