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

I took the EM1 to Donington at the weekend just to try it out but when using Continuous high it doesn't keep up with live action as you're panning and has a delay (I think showing you the previous shot) making panning very difficult to say the least. Is there a setting so that it shows you a live picture? I have Continuous high set to 9fps.
 
@snerkler on the EM1.2 it's Menu -> wrench -> Rec View -> off
Thanks, is that the setting that automatically shows an image after it's been taken? If so that's off, unless there's a separate setting for single shot and continuous?
 
Thanks, is that the setting that automatically shows an image after it's been taken? If so that's off, unless there's a separate setting for single shot and continuous?

I believe it is (the setting that displays an image immediately after it's been taken). I had that switched off within minutes of using my camera for the first time!

If images are still being displayed in continuous maybe there's something else, but I don't know what. I find my EM1.2 is superb at tracking and I have no problems following the action, is this the EM1 Mk2 you're talking about or EM1 Mk1, if Mk1 I guess there's a difference?

edit: Have you created presets? I switch Rec View off long before I created any presets, so it'd be off in all my presets I guess, but if you've created a preset with it on, switching it off in a different preset might leave it on in the other(s).
 
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Sounds like pretty bad luck there. As above I buy cheap pinch centre caps from eBay for a quid or so with strings on them to clip to the strap.
My "official" Olympus and Panasonic caps stay in the boxes at home in case I choose to resell.
Also as above, never lost a cheap lens cap... :)

Good luck with Olympus, hopefully they'll pop another one in the post to you without charging these ridiculous prices!
https://shop.olympus.eu/en_GB/lenses/accessories/lens-cap

I emailed them and got a fairly prompt response asking me to send it in with the form they sent in their reply. Will not be able act on it until next week. But one thing unclear is will I get the return postage paid???

But as per you guys above I will get cheaper alternatives for routine usage.
 
This should really be a WAMT (might post there too)

This morning I swapped onto my 12-40mm f 2.8 Pro and the lens cap just pinged off while I was lifting it out of the bag.......ok thinks clip it back on whilst I sort the gear.

Well it did not just pingoff it actually fell apart :(. Examining carefully it looked like the construction relies on two <0.5mm lines of glue to hold it all together.........and for the life of me (glue failure aside) I could not get the thing to refit so that it looked (worked) ok

Suffice to say Olympus will be getting a call from me but compared to the apparent construction of the cap on the 40-150m Pro it is one delicate poorly designed embarrassment!!!!

Alternative action as well as getting an Olympus replacement is that get a non brand 62mm centre action cap.
I had the same thing with mine- the springs basically were coming out - I was able to put it back together and it seems ok now but definitely a weak link.
 
I took the EM1 to Donington at the weekend just to try it out but when using Continuous high it doesn't keep up with live action as you're panning and has a delay (I think showing you the previous shot) making panning very difficult to say the least. Is there a setting so that it shows you a live picture? I have Continuous high set to 9fps.

Pro-capture ;)

What about the setting for frame refresh rate in the EVF, dont ask me about it i just know its there, i struggle with the menu.
 
I believe it is (the setting that displays an image immediately after it's been taken). I had that switched off within minutes of using my camera for the first time!

If images are still being displayed in continuous maybe there's something else, but I don't know what. I find my EM1.2 is superb at tracking and I have no problems following the action, is this the EM1 Mk2 you're talking about or EM1 Mk1, if Mk1 I guess there's a difference?

edit: Have you created presets? I switch Rec View off long before I created any presets, so it'd be off in all my presets I guess, but if you've created a preset with it on, switching it off in a different preset might leave it on in the other(s).
I do have mysets or whatever they're called but wasn't using one at the weekend. It's the EM1 mark 1 that I have.

Pro-capture ;)

What about the setting for frame refresh rate in the EVF, dont ask me about it i just know its there, i struggle with the menu.
Thanks, I'll have a look for that. Can I use pro capture with the mark 1?
 
I do have mysets or whatever they're called but wasn't using one at the weekend. It's the EM1 mark 1 that I have.

Thanks, I'll have a look for that. Can I use pro capture with the mark 1?

Sorry both my comments where for the mk11 dont know if you have different frame rates on the mk1
 
I took the EM1 to Donington at the weekend just to try it out but when using Continuous high it doesn't keep up with live action as you're panning and has a delay (I think showing you the previous shot) making panning very difficult to say the least. Is there a setting so that it shows you a live picture? I have Continuous high set to 9fps.
I don't have the E-M1 but on the E-PL5, E-M10 and E-M10Mkii the "Sequential H" fixes the Focus, Exposure and WB on the first frame.
I would imagine that would be a handicap when panning motorsport depending on the depth of focus you've got.

upload_2018-9-26_11-53-8.png

As I don't have fast, long lenses and the E-M10 (last camera I took to motorsport) isn't that quick I only shoot S-AF when panning.
 
I don't have the E-M1 but on the E-PL5, E-M10 and E-M10Mkii the "Sequential H" fixes the Focus, Exposure and WB on the first frame.
I would imagine that would be a handicap when panning motorsport depending on the depth of focus you've got.

View attachment 135297

As I don't have fast, long lenses and the E-M10 (last camera I took to motorsport) isn't that quick I only shoot S-AF when panning.
Thanks for this, I need to look into it more. I was using manual focus so that took that out of the equation, it was the lag in the EVF that was the issue. I know with the A7 and A7R mark iii's that at the highest frame rates (10fps) it doesn't show you the live picture but the shot that you just took and you only get the live picture at slower frame rates (8fps). I hope you don't have to drop the Olly to low to be able to see the live picture.
 
Tried the new Canon and Nikon FF mirrorlesses today, it has only reaffirmed that I'm not sorry to use a smaller camera now. They were nice, but my shoulder ached after 5 minutes, can remember why I never took my 5DII out.
 
Great work, Steve!

Off topic, your user name/avatar always makes me smile, my entire life I've had "we're your parents fans of the blues brothers?" :p :D
 
Great work, Steve!

Off topic, your user name/avatar always makes me smile, my entire life I've had "we're your parents fans of the blues brothers?" :p :D
Lol, yeah I did wonder myself :D

First saw it at the movies with my brother near on 40 years ago, He being tall and thin, and me short and fat, he was the Elwood to my Jake.
 
I am interested to know if anyone can explain what has happened here

P9260093.jpg by Steve Vickers, on Flickr

Thats SOC converted to jpg in LR with all sharpening off.

It was shot with my EM5 and Panny 45-175. I feel a little jealous seeing all those shots of birds in flight taken with M43's and yet I cant even to get one which was sat stationary a few feet away. Focus definitely locked but looking at the image nothing is in focus. I've seen this happen a few times when I photographing small birds. Is it my technique, a fault with the lens? I realise thats probably an impossible question to answer but I do find it quite frustrating, I felt sure I'd captured the little guy perfectly.
 
I am interested to know if anyone can explain what has happened here

P9260093.jpg by Steve Vickers, on Flickr

Thats SOC converted to jpg in LR with all sharpening off.

It was shot with my EM5 and Panny 45-175. I feel a little jealous seeing all those shots of birds in flight taken with M43's and yet I cant even to get one which was sat stationary a few feet away. Focus definitely locked but looking at the image nothing is in focus. I've seen this happen a few times when I photographing small birds. Is it my technique, a fault with the lens? I realise thats probably an impossible question to answer but I do find it quite frustrating, I felt sure I'd captured the little guy perfectly.
Looks to me like the focus is on the small branches behind. How many / which focus points are you using?
 
Looks to me like the focus is on the small branches behind. How many / which focus points are you using?
Just the one, centre.

I wasn't certain the branches behind the bird were in focus
 
This was from a few weeks back

P9060241.jpg by Steve Vickers, on Flickr

We were sat at a table outside and there were loads of birds. I must have taken dozens of shots and this was the best :eek: This one has been cropped and edited

Clearly I'm doing something wrong
 
Just the one, centre.

I wasn't certain the branches behind the bird were in focus
I'm looking on my phone- will have a look on the laptop which should be clearer. I think there is a continuous auto focus - could you have focused, moved slightly and the focus point moved? I'm not sure as normally in focus is in focus - were you stable / possible you moved? Might be worth doing a few shots if none of the above in case there is a technical issue of some sort. I do get this with moving birds etc but static objects I find pretty reliable.
 
I'd have used more than 75mm for the second shot as you had 175 available. This would've meant no crop required..regarding oof, single point is what I use
 
I am interested to know if anyone can explain what has happened here

Thats SOC converted to jpg in LR with all sharpening off.

It was shot with my EM5 and Panny 45-175. I feel a little jealous seeing all those shots of birds in flight taken with M43's and yet I cant even to get one which was sat stationary a few feet away. Focus definitely locked but looking at the image nothing is in focus. I've seen this happen a few times when I photographing small birds. Is it my technique, a fault with the lens? I realise thats probably an impossible question to answer but I do find it quite frustrating, I felt sure I'd captured the little guy perfectly.

I think the focus here is quite clearly on the branches behind the bird. Branches look pretty sharp to me. Did you use S-AF and position the focus area exactly on the bird?

I have both Panasonic and Olympus lenses and my subjective impression is that I have more instances of missed focus when I use Panasonic lenses on my Olympus bodies (as compared to similar Olympus lenses). This doesn't happen enough for it to be a real problem for me though. It might be worth trying the Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6 to see if you get better results.

Another difference I've noted between the E-M5II and the E-M1II is that a single focus area is smaller on the E-M1II and therefore it seems to be more accurate when you're trying to focus on a small specific spot in the viewfinder. Panasonic bodies have a pinpoint focus mode that allows you to put a crosshair on your desired focus point which is more accurate still but at the cost of slow focus acquisition.

In your second example there is a vertical branch jutting out in front of the bird and it is very well possible that the AF system locked onto that instead of the bird, which sits behind the focus plane of the vertical branch.
 
What they said but also I have looked at the exif data and I would suggest a faster shutter speed .from my experiences so far with both pano and oly bodies although should in theory fine , neither like distracting bacgrounds and the slightest movement will pull focus off .
A higher than normal shutter speed seems to counteract this goes against the grain bu5 that’s the learning curve ,so unless it’s bright sun and a clear background try shutter priority at at least 1/750th or higher aperture at f7.1 and auto iso .
I only use a/v in bright sun with a fixed iso . As for b.i.f find a open bit of parkland river bank or somewhere open , preferably with a few gulls around , a few slices of shredded bread will soon have hundreds around you . Super flight practice ,multi point focus , fast shutter speed , few points of pos exp compensation dialled in
 
I am interested to know if anyone can explain what has happened here

P9260093.jpg by Steve Vickers, on Flickr

Thats SOC converted to jpg in LR with all sharpening off.

It was shot with my EM5 and Panny 45-175. I feel a little jealous seeing all those shots of birds in flight taken with M43's and yet I cant even to get one which was sat stationary a few feet away. Focus definitely locked but looking at the image nothing is in focus. I've seen this happen a few times when I photographing small birds. Is it my technique, a fault with the lens? I realise thats probably an impossible question to answer but I do find it quite frustrating, I felt sure I'd captured the little guy perfectly.
Steve in this one the ACTUAL focus point is the little red leaf under the robin , so its down to either to large a focus point , to large a aperture , or more likely and dont take this the wrong way user error possibly the act of depressing the shutter button has moved your point of focus downwards . birds are funny to get as they never keep truly still . I would suggest more practice is needed on your part a handful of seeds to lure them into the best spot for you to take the shot often works wonders
 
I'd have used more than 75mm for the second shot as you had 175 available. This would've meant no crop required..regarding oof, single point is what I use
I used S-AF centre point. I felt pretty certain that I'd focused on the bird, but something clearly happened between half depressing and fully depressing the shutter button.
 
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I think the focus here is quite clearly on the branches behind the bird. Branches look pretty sharp to me. Did you use S-AF and position the focus area exactly on the bird?

I have both Panasonic and Olympus lenses and my subjective impression is that I have more instances of missed focus when I use Panasonic lenses on my Olympus bodies (as compared to similar Olympus lenses). This doesn't happen enough for it to be a real problem for me though. It might be worth trying the Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6 to see if you get better results.

Another difference I've noted between the E-M5II and the E-M1II is that a single focus area is smaller on the E-M1II and therefore it seems to be more accurate when you're trying to focus on a small specific spot in the viewfinder. Panasonic bodies have a pinpoint focus mode that allows you to put a crosshair on your desired focus point which is more accurate still but at the cost of slow focus acquisition.

In your second example there is a vertical branch jutting out in front of the bird and it is very well possible that the AF system locked onto that instead of the bird, which sits behind the focus plane of the vertical branch.
Thanks for the reply Maarten, I appreciate you taking the time. General consensus seems to be that focus is on the branches behind the bird. The camera must moved as I took the shot, with such a small target I suppose it's easy to miss focus, when your technique is poor, as mine is.
 
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Shutter shock ?
I have the little diamond shutter enabled so shutter shock hopefully shouldn't be a problem. Now I've read a few comments I'm thinking its down to technique, and mines is clearly not good on small subject matter. The second robin photo, I was literally surrounded by small birds and not one of them was in focus.
 
Steve in this one the ACTUAL focus point is the little red leaf under the robin , so its down to either to large a focus point , to large a aperture , or more likely and dont take this the wrong way user error possibly the act of depressing the shutter button has moved your point of focus downwards . birds are funny to get as they never keep truly still . I would suggest more practice is needed on your part a handful of seeds to lure them into the best spot for you to take the shot often works wonders
Not insulted at all Jeff, in fact I appreciate you commenting and offering advice. Using long lenses is not a regular part of my photography and clearly my technique is in need of improvement.

The thing was, I had been taking photos all day as we were at the Yorkshire Wildlife park.Whilst I wasn't over impressed with the sharpness at 175mm, the lens never actually missed a target all day.

This one is at 175mm and an almost 100% crop. Considering that, I thought it was pretty decent

P9260110.jpg by Steve Vickers, on Flickr

Same with this one

P9260115.jpg by Steve Vickers, on Flickr

I suppose these are bigger targets and easy to hit focus.

The lens seem to perform a little better at just off the max focal range, this one is at 163mm and I think its pretty sharp.

P9260088.jpg by Steve Vickers, on Flickr
 
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Thats pretty cool. the blue tones almost make it look like snow
Thanks Steve. It was a very dull day, and the 10 stop filter I had at the time (since replaced) did give a blue cast, which I liked in this shot so didn’t correct.

That was last winter, I plan to have another crack at it when the water level is back up too.
 
weirdly enough I was trying to get a spider thats web building on the side of out house today and I just couldn't get it in focus with the panasonic , switched to the wife OMD-10 mk2 and bang right in due to its easy access fine focus points
 
Not insulted at all Jeff, in fact I appreciate you commenting and offering advice. Using long lenses is not a regular part of my photography and clearly my technique is in need of improvement.

The thing was, I had been taking photos all day as we were at the Yorkshire Wildlife park.Whilst I wasn't over impressed with the sharpness at 175mm, the lens never actually missed a target all day.

The lens seem to perform a little better at just off the max focal range, this one is at 163mm and I think its pretty sharp.

I wouldn't beat myself up too much - your technique can't be that poor because the 3rd photo looks supersharp to me.

Maybe as Jeff suggested try a faster shutter speed and try to avoid a distracting background. I don't shoot birds on a regular basis but when I do I'm always amazed how many shots come out suboptimal compared to the amount of keepers I get, even when I'm very confident I've got the right focus etc.
 
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