Olympus recently loaned me some gear to try out, including the OM-D E-M1X, and I wanted to share my process of putting it through its paces. Those who know me know I am a big fan of the micro four-thirds systems. Relative lightweight and image stabilization make handholding a long lens for wildlife quite doable.
Place
I often work handheld at the Page Springs Bubbling Ponds fish hatchery. There are six ponds and I’ll walk among the ponds. Quick changing of direction is often necessary as the birds make their way in and out of the scene.
This is an area that is often a target rich environment. It has a population of year round Great Blue Herons and a variety of ducks. Lots of avian passerby during migration season adds to the variety available to capture.
Gear
I’m using the OM-D E-M1X. The lens for this shoot was M.Zuiko 300mm f/4.0 IS with the MC 1.4 teleconverter. This combination is a similar field of view to a 840mm f/5.6 full frame camera.
Settings
I used the continuous autofocus in tracking mode. The AEL/AFL button is set to initiate focus — also known as back button focus. When enabled, this allows starting focus with no change when the shutter button is depressed. Exposure settings are initiated with the half button shutter press. Fully depressing the shutter starts the capture and continues until the shutter is released.
Frame rate on the camera was set too low. In the future, I’ll be shooting in high capture mode for more choices. I had several frames that looked exactly the same even though they were micro moments apart.
Capturing a bird is flying straight toward me has been difficult to capture in the past. Focus was held throughout the sequence. Good stuff.
I’m looking forward to exploring more features in this camera set.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
P.S. – Take a look at my work with the E-M1X and in-camera ND filter.
