Olympus EE-1 dot sight

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GordonM

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Having just discovered via the Olympus OM thread the existence of the Olympus EE-1 dot sight does anyone else make such a thing? Will the Olympus work on any hotshoe fitting?
 
I saw it there too, and it's on my wish list!
 
I had one when shooting Olympus m4/3. It does work quite well although it's a little counter intuitive at first, you just have to remember it's actually on the camera in the initial excitement of that rare BIF just entering your field of vision!
The only thing I didn't like about it was the need to calibrate it with the viewfinder when starting out on a photo session, I needed a tripod to do this even though I didn't need a tripod for the actual session.
It's part of my GAS that I fancy getting another one!
 
You don't need a tripod for calibration, it just helps. You can just take a photo using it and adjust the dial accordingly.

A problem is that the dials move too easily, so it is possible to uncalibrate it without knowing you have.
 
If you take a shot of something static, aimed with the red dot, then see where it appears in the shot you have taken. It might not be as industrial as using a tripod, but it works - I've used it as a method. I started using it when I realised that if I was out and about, and I knocked the dials, unless I could calibrate out there, my kit was useless.
 
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I have no problem tracking B.I.F through the e.v.f even at times with single point A/F .o.k I have years of long lens usage with various brands of cameras and lenses and have my e.v.f set up to my my own spec .. but if I can do it why cant others ?

i.e heres one if you follow the link back to my flickr pages there are literally hundreds of b.i.f on there all taken hand held through the e.v.f even some with the 1.4 tc fitted to the new 100-400 lens .all exif data is viewable . I rest my case
get outta here by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
 
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To be fair Jeff, and very respectfully (as you are undoubtedly talented) a flock of birds is fairly easy without a dot slight, It's when you are tracking a single fast moving bird moving across the sky and you have a second or so to not only find it but to lock focus as well. When using the 300mm Pro with either the 1.4 or 2x converters and shooting birds, I always have the EE-1 mounted and switched on but only use in the above example. If the bird is bigger in the frame, there are a flock of them or it's slower moving subject, then like you I tend to just use the viewfinder as usual. But if you don't need one, that's just fine - it's not for everyone obviously (nice shot above BTW).

I'd agree with the comments above though about proper setting up of the EE-1 before shooting, and whilst a tripod or such support probably isn't essential, it does make the job much easier if you can lock the camera down, focus on something at a suitable distance (using single point AF), then adjust the up/down, left/right positioning of the sight to match without fear of the camera moving. I also agree the dials are far to easy to move (as such I have some black gaffer tape over them to keep them locked). This is why I said it would be nice to have some sort of memory recall button(s) fitted.

Yes, it's not perfect, and yes some people have done bird photography for many years very successfully without ever having to use a sight. But as this photography lark is just a hobby for me and bird photography forms quite a small part of that, I'm probably not as seasoned as most and so need all the help I can get. I got mine used off Ebay back in April this year and won it at the princely sum of £42 delivered.
 
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Sootchucker said:
To be fair Jeff, and very respectfully (as you are undoubtedly talented) a flock of birds is fairly easy without a dot slight, It's when you are tracking a single fast moving bird moving across the sky and you have a second or so to not only find it but to lock focus as well. When using the 300mm Pro with either the 1.4 or 2x converters and shooting birds, I always have the EE-1 mounted and switched on but only use in the above example. If the bird is bigger in the frame, there are a flock of them or it's slower moving subject, then like you I tend to just use the viewfinder as usual. But if you don't need one, that's just fine - it's not for everyone obviously (nice shot above BTW).

I'd agree with the comments above though about proper setting up of the EE-1 before shooting, and whilst a tripod or such support probably isn't essential, it does make the job much easier if you can lock the camera down, focus on something at a suitable distance (using single point AF), then adjust the up/down, left/right positioning of the sight to match without fear of the camera moving. I also agree the dials are far to easy to move (as such I have some black gaffer tape over them to keep them locked). This is why I said it would be nice to have some sort of memory recall button(s) fitted.

Yes, it's not perfect, and yes some people have done bird photography for many years very successfully without ever having to use a sight. But as this photography lark is just a hobby for me and bird photography forms quite a small part of that, I'm probably not as seasoned as most and so need all the help I can get. I got mine used off Ebay back in April this year and won it at the princely sum of £42 delivered.
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That photo was simply a link /lead in to my Flickr stream there are plenty of individual b.I.f shots on there . What I find problematical with the red dot sight is how do you get focus confirmation or is just a case of spray and pray . I rarely press my shutter till it clicks into focus on screen and even then I still get lots of OOF shots . So what’s the difference with this
 
I make/sell a hotshoe sight rail that allows you to use any red dot sight of your choosing; and there are others as well. It can make the cost of using a red dot sight a lot less (≤ 50% of the EE-1).

But using a red dot sight is really not as good as using the viewfinder. It becomes more useful in situations where you really have a hard time just finding and tracking a subject. I find it valuable for very small/fast subjects and for tighter compositions (longer focal lengths); but it does become more of a spray-and-pray situation because you aren't actually seeing the composition/focus.

Also note that it can only be "zeroed" for one distance, and it will shift if bumped.


Tree Swallow by Steven Kersting, on Flickr
 
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sk66 said:
I make/sell a hotshoe sight rail that allows you to use any red dot sight of your choosing; and there are others as well. It can make the cost of using a red dot sight a lot less (~ 50%).

But using a red dot sight is really not as good as using the viewfinder. It becomes more valuable in situations where you really have a hard time finding and tracking a fast subject. I find it useful for very small/fast subjects and for tighter compositions (longer focal lengths); but it does become more of a spray and pray situation because you aren't actually seeing the composition/focus.

Also note that it can only be "zeroed" for one distance, and it will shift if bumped.


Tree Swallow by Steven Kersting, on Flickr
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I don't understand why it's only zeroed for one distance as long as the red dot is in the same position as the central focus point in the viewfinder for example.
 
footman said:
I don't understand why it's only zeroed for one distance as long as the red dot is in the same position as the central focus point in the viewfinder for example.
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It's due to parallax... the greater the subject distance, the shallower the angular offset is between the sight and lens centerlines, and the less significant it is. But subject speed lessens, and the composition loosens, at greater distances as well. I.e. the sight is most useful at shorter distances/tighter compositions where parallax can affect it. So the focus mode you use with the sight becomes more important; e.g. I tend to switch to dynamic group AF with my Nikons rather than a dynamic single point AF mode I most often use.

Most red dot sights cannot even be zeroed/aligned at very short distances because they don't have the adjustment range.
 
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sk66 said:
I think it's probably more like Sony's "center" mode, and the dynamic single point modes I normally use would be closer to "expanded flexible spot."
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From what I could make out Nikons dynamic group AF involved tracking like the Sony setting.
Anyway, I've just bought the Olympus sight from LCE. Now that my macro subjects have literally died I need to get out during lockdown to my nearest commons to get some raptor BIF's.
Thanks for feeding my GAS .....grrr :LOL:
 
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