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

try changing the burst mode to sequential high gordon , and see how you get on..you will probably have to delete more but you may gain a few winners ,set to around 13 fps ..it will take pics even when not in focus but does sometimes work better .
COG MENU C1 burst H settings change to 13fps and set
agree with robin the last ones best .
and please take into account you only see my better shots LOL
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
RedRobin said:
@Don153 Donal, I would go back to absolute basics rather than complicate the issue with customised settings. Start with single shot, not burst etc.

Establish whether the issue is with a lens or a body by testing it with different Olympus lenses and then progress from there in a process of elimination.

Select something in your garden and shoot all your tests on the same subject to be able to make meaningful comparisons.
Click to expand...

Nothing conclusive to report yet, but t would be rude to not to update everybody who took the time to offer advice.

On Saturday I went back to Hannington and the same problem manifested itself. I had copied my C1 and C2 into C3 and C4 which were then modified as per Jeff's suggestions.

I have also done some tests in my back garden. I compared shots taken with my EM1 and my Canon EOS250d. The EM1 shots didn't look great, but the Canon shots were similar but even worse!! So perhaps there is something about the quality of the light at this time of the year??

The thing that convinced me that something was wrong was the view on the LCD as I was trying to focus. At 14x mag the image appeared to be vibrating in and out of focus at a somewhat variable rate. I'm now wondering if atmospheric conditions could cause this? The vibrations were much, much faster than anything that any heat haze effects that I have seen...

It definitely isn't a lens issue, as I have tried the 40-150 lens and it shows the same effects.

My current thoughts are that I simply need to get to know my camera better, and learn about how the lighting affects things. I will report again when I have learned a bit more.

I did experiment with 5 x slow motion 120 FPS video on Saturday, and the results are quite magical. A pair of kites performed an incredibly graceful dance in the air accompanied by some seagulls that slowly drifted in and out of frame.

On Sunday I discovered a location where there is a resident owl that I am told always comes out when headlights are turned on at night. Any advice on how to try to capure this would be very welcome!

I also got this quite late in the day as the light was fading...
V5S8002PC118201Tits.jpg
 
Don153 said:
Nothing conclusive to report yet, but t would be rude to not to update everybody who took the time to offer advice.

On Saturday I went back to Hannington and the same problem manifested itself. I had copied my C1 and C2 into C3 and C4 which were then modified as per Jeff's suggestions.

I have also done some tests in my back garden. I compared shots taken with my EM1 and my Canon EOS250d. The EM1 shots didn't look great, but the Canon shots were similar but even worse!! So perhaps there is something about the quality of the light at this time of the year??

The thing that convinced me that something was wrong was the view on the LCD as I was trying to focus. At 14x mag the image appeared to be vibrating in and out of focus at a somewhat variable rate. I'm now wondering if atmospheric conditions could cause this? The vibrations were much, much faster than anything that any heat haze effects that I have seen...

It definitely isn't a lens issue, as I have tried the 40-150 lens and it shows the same effects.

My current thoughts are that I simply need to get to know my camera better, and learn about how the lighting affects things. I will report again when I have learned a bit more.

I did experiment with 5 x slow motion 120 FPS video on Saturday, and the results are quite magical. A pair of kites performed an incredibly graceful dance in the air accompanied by some seagulls that slowly drifted in and out of frame.

On Sunday I discovered a location where there is a resident owl that I am told always comes out when headlights are turned on at night. Any advice on how to try to capure this would be very welcome!

I also got this quite late in the day as the light was fading...
View attachment 338188
Click to expand...
Superb shot nothing wrong there
 
Don153 said:
The thing that convinced me that something was wrong was the view on the LCD as I was trying to focus. At 14x mag the image appeared to be vibrating in and out of focus at a somewhat variable rate. I'm now wondering if atmospheric conditions could cause this? The vibrations were much, much faster than anything that any heat haze effects that I have seen...
Click to expand...
I've seen a similar vibration effect with continuous-AF and it goes away when switch to single-AF. Are you on C-AF?
 
cant quiet get my head round what your saying /implying , the LCD was vibrating at 14x magnification . you should just be using the EVF with no magnification . I do honestly feel that the majority of your problems are user error and trying to make it do the impossible and that would cover any camera system be it canon ,nikon or sony
 
the black fox said:
cant quiet get my head round what your saying /implying , the LCD was vibrating at 14x magnification . you should just be using the EVF with no magnification . I do honestly feel that the majority of your problems are user error and trying to make it do the impossible and that would cover any camera system be it canon ,nikon or sony
Click to expand...
I'm also coming to the conclusion that my problems are "user" related. My Canon EOS250 produced even worse results in a side by side comparison.

To explain... I had a few sessions where all the images were absolute rubbish. None of the images had good focus, and the colour contrast was absolute rubbish. The previous weeks'/month's images were much better, so something had clearly gone wrong.

I only went to 14x mag to try to see in detail what was happening. I usually use the autofocus, but sometimes use manual at 3x mag if the autofocus is locking onto the wrong thing. The only way that I can think of to demonstrate what I am seeing on the LCD is to record it with a smartphone.

I'll post up two images of the same object later that clearly show the difference,
 
I've tried to find examples that show the issue that I am having These two images were taken from the same on different days. On the "good" day, most of the shots were similar to the first. On the "bad" day, it was obvious in the viewfinder that focus was not good - hence my investigations at high magnification.
On the day that the second image was taken, it seemed impossible to get a clear image - all images came out blurry, and they had a narrow looking histogram, with clear space on both left and right.
First image, 1/1000s, ISO400 F6.3, crop. Pole1000I400TPB285503.jpg

Second image, 1/2500s, ISO 2000 F6.3

Poe2500I2000TPB276414.jpg


Clearly, there was a lot less light when the second image was taken. However, I can take perfect 2s exposures indoors with even less light, so I am confused.

I should make clear that this low light issue is a small issue in the grand scheme. In all other areas the EM1 is exceeding my expectations. I'm finding the pro capture an absolute doddle. I've also had a go at night sky timelapse, and that was remarkably easy.
 
Are these full frame or cropped , where was the actual focus point .. without knowing your actual settings it’s hard to come to any conclusions or offer help in any form , I.e I was having problems the other day with some heavily cropped shots which in fact turned out to be with post processing errors ,But it had me worried for 24 hours …
As I have said previously try to use single point a.f ,when looking through the viewfinder ensure it’s clicked into focus before fully depressing the shutter ..
This has to be one of two things either user error ..or a complete hash of set up in the menu
 
the black fox said:
Are these full frame or cropped , where was the actual focus point .. without knowing your actual settings it’s hard to come to any conclusions or offer help in any form , I.e I was having problems the other day with some heavily cropped shots which in fact turned out to be with post processing errors ,But it had me worried for 24 hours …
As I have said previously try to use single point a.f ,when looking through the viewfinder ensure it’s clicked into focus before fully depressing the shutter ..
This has to be one of two things either user error ..or a complete hash of set up in the menu
Click to expand...
Hi Jeff. These are crops of a 1000 x 750 region. I think that the post is more than 500 yards away (beyond the rabbits that I posted last week.)

I don't think that we can progress this here because I am not able to clearly explain the issue. I think that the main thing is that my Canon appears to be even worse, so it doesn't look like a problem with my EM1. When I initially posed the question, I was hoping that somebody would recognise it. For the moment I will just have to carry on investigating.

Here is another crop (about 2700 wide) from last weekend that shows that the issue isn't terminal. This was taken shortly after the "fence post".
PC118147Part.jpg
 
Nothing wrong with that as far as I can see , look with any modern camera you will get a fairly high failure rate . Stop classing it as a “problem “ just delete the crap ,process the good ones and move on ,simples init
 
Don153 said:
Nothing conclusive to report yet, but t would be rude to not to update everybody who took the time to offer advice.

On Saturday I went back to Hannington and the same problem manifested itself. I had copied my C1 and C2 into C3 and C4 which were then modified as per Jeff's suggestions.

I have also done some tests in my back garden. I compared shots taken with my EM1 and my Canon EOS250d. The EM1 shots didn't look great, but the Canon shots were similar but even worse!! So perhaps there is something about the quality of the light at this time of the year??

The thing that convinced me that something was wrong was the view on the LCD as I was trying to focus. At 14x mag the image appeared to be vibrating in and out of focus at a somewhat variable rate. I'm now wondering if atmospheric conditions could cause this? The vibrations were much, much faster than anything that any heat haze effects that I have seen...

It definitely isn't a lens issue, as I have tried the 40-150 lens and it shows the same effects.

My current thoughts are that I simply need to get to know my camera better, and learn about how the lighting affects things. I will report again when I have learned a bit more.
Click to expand...
Apologies if I missed it, but is your EM1ii a new camera or second hand? I would be disappointed with the second pic of the post.

I'm curious with the 14x mag on the LCD - were you trying to manually focus on the post, or if not, was a single focus square on the post? Were you on a tripod? What were your IS settings?

At smaller apertures diffraction may come into play which would affect image quality. I limit myself to f/8 if I have to on rare occasions, but mostly I would always be wider if I could and definitely wider if I had the 40-150 Pro lens - or is yours not the Pro lens?
Sorry for all the questions, but it does look like something is amiss somewhere!
 
Bebop said:
Apologies if I missed it, but is your EM1ii a new camera or second hand? I would be disappointed with the second pic of the post.

I'm curious with the 14x mag on the LCD - were you trying to manually focus on the post, or if not, was a single focus square on the post? Were you on a tripod? What were your IS settings?

At smaller apertures diffraction may come into play which would affect image quality. I limit myself to f/8 if I have to on rare occasions, but mostly I would always be wider if I could and definitely wider if I had the 40-150 Pro lens - or is yours not the Pro lens?
Sorry for all the questions, but it does look like something is amiss somewhere!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input.

The camera is new (Sept) and has the latest firmware. The only reason that I went to 14x mag was to take a closer look to see if I could figure out what was going on. The fence post is a convenient target that is useful for making direct comparisons. I wasn't using a tripod, but I can take tack sharp images with this system at 1/25s at 400mm.

I've probably taken over a hundred shots of that fence post over the last three weekends using all sorts of settings. I have done all combinations of the IS, Lens and IBIS. I've tried all sorts of focus settings - both in the menus and and the switch on the lens itself. I have also experimented with the aperture, but found that wide open (F6.3) is best.

I'm fairly sure that the camera and lens are OK. There is just something odd happening that I do not understand. The only way forward is lots of practice, preferably under differing conditions. Unfortunately, I work 5 days a week, and the last three weekends have all been very similar, so I am just not getting any opportunities to do meaningful tests.
 
Fordsabroad said:
Another lesson learnt today with my introduction to the Olympus system - don't use pro capture unless you really mean it!! I ended up with 1200 pictures and only 3 that I am moderately happy with. I feel it may be a long journey!!!!
untitled (466 of 1202)-Edit.jpg by Gordon Ford, on Flickr
untitled (682 of 1202)-Edit-Edit.jpg by Gordon Ford, on Flickr
untitled (663 of 1202)-Edit.jpg by Gordon Ford, on Flickr
Click to expand...
It’s something that I have only used once Gordon .say no more …. I was out with the owls again today and got a few stunners , sequential low , plus single point a.f ,a/v mode ,c.a.f ,F6.3 …..will post some later ,best of season so far
 
Its just something I need to practise Jeff. I still have my Canon R5 and 400 DO f4 lens + the ef 100 - 400 both of which would do a great job and give me a better low ISO noise output. I want to persevere with the Oly setup as it is the kit I am most likely to be out and about with due to the weight.
 
Don153 said:
Thanks for the input.

The camera is new (Sept) and has the latest firmware. The only reason that I went to 14x mag was to take a closer look to see if I could figure out what was going on. The fence post is a convenient target that is useful for making direct comparisons. I wasn't using a tripod, but I can take tack sharp images with this system at 1/25s at 400mm.

I've probably taken over a hundred shots of that fence post over the last three weekends using all sorts of settings. I have done all combinations of the IS, Lens and IBIS. I've tried all sorts of focus settings - both in the menus and and the switch on the lens itself. I have also experimented with the aperture, but found that wide open (F6.3) is best.

I'm fairly sure that the camera and lens are OK. There is just something odd happening that I do not understand. The only way forward is lots of practice, preferably under differing conditions. Unfortunately, I work 5 days a week, and the last three weekends have all been very similar, so I am just not getting any opportunities to do meaningful tests.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you are on track for sorting it out. I don't very often try the magnify button except for when manually focusing and on a tripod for macro, but I don't think I'd be very steady handholding it whilst using the LCD at 14 x. I'd be too shaky :ROFLMAO:

I have both the cheap and pro versions of the 40-150 and I would not expect the cheap one to be anywhere near as good as the pro version.

These grey days are not the best for testing, but good luck on your journey.
 
Bebop said:
It sounds like you are on track for sorting it out. I don't very often try the magnify button except for when manually focusing and on a tripod for macro, but I don't think I'd be very steady handholding it whilst using the LCD at 14 x. I'd be too shaky :ROFLMAO:

I have both the cheap and pro versions of the 40-150 and I would not expect the cheap one to be anywhere near as good as the pro version.

These grey days are not the best for testing, but good luck on your journey.
Click to expand...
Thank you.
It is indeed a journey - and is turning out to be even more enjoyable than I had expected.
 
Morning,

Up to now I have been using a few screw-in filters to use with my 15-40 f2.8 with Ø 62mm thread. For my xmas prezzie from Mrs Chevin she’s generously bought me a Leica Vario-Elmarit 8-18 f2.8-4.0 which has a Ø 67mm thread and now I’m saving the pennies to buy a 40-150 f2.8 which has a Ø 72mm thread to complete my kit so I’m going to move to slot-in filters.

The question I have is which slot-in filter system to use? Ideally I would like a single system which can be configured to cover the Ø 72mm, Ø 67mm and Ø 62mm plus the flexibility to adapt to small diameter threads if required.

I have looked at Nisi’s 75mm system but I’m worried with vignetting when I’m at 8mm with the Leica lens.

What filters are folk with the same lens combinations using?
 
I drove over to my new favorite spot for red kites this morning. There are usually one or two flying about, but when I arrived it looked like a large flock of crows! Unfortunately, they were backlit and I wasn't able to get nything worthwhile before most of them dissappeared.

I haven't been through all the photos yet but I managed a few kites, and possibly a kestrel and a buzzard.
The fence post came to good focus today, although it varied (I tried a few times).
This is a 2000 x1500 crop exported from Olympus Workspace. 1/400s ISO 500 F6.3.
PC180237.jpg
 
An "accidental" shot that I grabbed while waiting for some raptors to appear. The focus is on the catkins, but it's my best robin shot so far.
PC180336Robin1000.jpg
 
Don153 said:
I've tried to find examples that show the issue that I am having These two images were taken from the same on different days. On the "good" day, most of the shots were similar to the first. On the "bad" day, it was obvious in the viewfinder that focus was not good - hence my investigations at high magnification.
On the day that the second image was taken, it seemed impossible to get a clear image - all images came out blurry, and they had a narrow looking histogram, with clear space on both left and right.
First image, 1/1000s, ISO400 F6.3, crop. View attachment 338286

Second image, 1/2500s, ISO 2000 F6.3

View attachment 338288


Clearly, there was a lot less light when the second image was taken. However, I can take perfect 2s exposures indoors with even less light, so I am confused.

I should make clear that this low light issue is a small issue in the grand scheme. In all other areas the EM1 is exceeding my expectations. I'm finding the pro capture an absolute doddle. I've also had a go at night sky timelapse, and that was remarkably easy.
Click to expand...

Any thoughts on that old chestnut shutter shock?

Still have a setting to enable anti shock on the E-M1 ii, didn't have my E-M1 iii long enough to delve deep into the menu.

I remember having it on my original E-M1, it was so bad I returned it for a refund.
Did buy another one when they sorted it out with the anti shock firmware and diamond settings in the menu
 
tijuana taxi said:
Any thoughts on that old chestnut shutter shock?

Still have a setting to enable anti shock on the E-M1 ii, didn't have my E-M1 iii long enough to delve deep into the menu.

I remember having it on my original E-M1, it was so bad I returned it for a refund.
Did buy another one when they sorted it out with the anti shock firmware and diamond settings in the menu
Click to expand...
I tried the shutter shock setting, and it didn't make any noticeable difference.

I haven't got to the bottom of the issue yet, but I'm fairly sure that it isn't anything to do with settings or the lens.

It appears to be related to the "quality" of the light... (This is very difficult to explain), but the camera functions perfectly well in near darkness when the exposure is set appropriately.

I seem to be able to tell by looking out into the garden if the issue will manifest itself, but for the life of me, but I have no idea what it is that I am seeing. I'm beginning to wonder if it is a degree of mist in the air. I'm going to put a pair of binoculars in the car to see if I can spot it visually.



Last Saturday I had a couple of hours "on site" and the issue was mainly absent. However, from time to time it did occur, but I was too busy/disorganised to keep notes. I did also try some 120 fps slow motion video of the kites, and that looks very promising.
 
The one standout I read for my understanding and usage was on Imaging Resource in regard to the 300 f4.

Based on their testing they found using '0' seconds in the "diamond" Silent Shutter setting overcame shutter shock with that lens.
 
I took some shots today that when reviewed suffered the same effect that you mention .. but thinking of a reason for it was easy . I was sat in the car to keep warm in the Icy weather with the engine running . The blur was due too that reason alone . …. I.e what enviroment are you taking your photos from ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top