New to OM-1 and Oly 100-400 mm (1 Viewer)

[madeehuh]

Hi everyone! Hope all is well, i’m new to bird photography with an OM-1 and the Oly 100-400mm and wondering if you have any settings tips for taking sharp bird photographs at the long end. So far, i’ve been trying to be close to the bird, use the smallest focus point to focus on birds in trees so as not to confuse autofocus. I use shutterspeed of 640 usually but not sure if that’s enough for faster moving small birds.. I haven’t really done birds in flight yet and would imagine to need more than 1/640 shutter speed for that and different autofocus points.. I have ISO on auto limited to 12,800..

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[MelospizaMelodiaFan]

Hi everyone! Hope all is well, i’m new to bird photography with an OM-1 and the Oly 100-400mm and wondering if you have any settings tips for taking sharp bird photographs at the long end. So far, i’ve been trying to be close to the bird, use the smallest focus point to focus on birds in trees so as not to confuse autofocus. I use shutterspeed of 640 usually but not sure if that’s enough for faster moving small birds.. I haven’t really done birds in flight yet and would imagine to need more than 1/640 shutter speed for that and different autofocus points.. I have ISO on auto limited to 12,800..

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

I've been doing bird photography seriously for about 1.5 years, so I don't know everything. I have an older E-M1ii with the same lens. It is light-hungry at f6.3, so I sacrifice shutter speed for lower ISO (and less noise).
My standard setting for BIF is 1/2000s. My standard setting for stationary objects is 1/1000. I tried using lower shutter speeds, but I didn't like the results. Of course, there is not always enough light. For those times I lower SS for a proper exposure and I shoot lots of photos in hopes that some turn out sharp. I shot this owl at 1/30 from a sitting position because it was past sunset. Spray and pray! I use the electronic shutter at low burst mode for static/non-airborne objects, so the camera auto-focuses for every shot.

Those shutter speeds I cited are not set in stone. Sometimes you'll have to adapt to the situation. This photo of a willet was taken at 1/250. It was an overcast day around sunset. 1/250 was the fastest I could shoot and still get proper exposure. The willet came in for landing, and I just snapped away. Photographing a moving object with slower shutter speeds gives a blur to the background, which can look very nice. You just need to pan along with the bird.

Hand holding a camera with a long lens requires practice and technique to ensure the highest keeper rate. I put everything I know into this article. I use these techniques every time I photograph birds.

My camera has a variety of image stabilization modes. In most cases, I use the mode that stabilizes in all directions. For BIF, I use the mode that only stabilizes up and down, but not side to side, so panning is not affected. This seems to work best for me. For BIF, I use mechanical shutter to avoid rolling shutter effects on wingtips.

For still subjects, I use the smallest square, which works most of the time. I set my default focus point to the 3x3 cross, which can be activated with one button. If the small square is giving me fits, I can quickly switch to the cross. For BIF, I use the 3x3 cross. You'll have to experiment to see what works best for you and your camera.

 

[njlarsen]

You did not mention whether you were using am OM1 original or an OM1-mkii. I use the MKii, and am very much in the experimental stage of trying to figure out what works for me (Newly arrived camera). I have so far used the AI subject detection for everything (set for birds). On my camera they allow you to set lower and higher iso brackets as well as the shutter speed for which the camera should increase shutter speed (this allows for slower shutter if light is poor). My general settings so far are to force the iso to increase at 1/500 S for stationary birds and at 1/1600 S for in flight birds.

A couple of images I have taken so far: (1/500): Pectoral Sandpiper
At 1/1600 s: White-rumped Sandpiper landing
Niels

 

[PeterBird]

When you have bird detection enabled on your OM-1 it will give you better results when you enable more, even all, focus points. The detection algorithm is perfectly able to pick out even small birds, when the eye is visible. The latest firmware has made it even better, I think.

 

[Bill Atwood]

Hi everyone! Hope all is well, i’m new to bird photography with an OM-1 and the Oly 100-400mm and wondering if you have any settings tips for taking sharp bird photographs at the long end. So far, i’ve been trying to be close to the bird, use the smallest focus point to focus on birds in trees so as not to confuse autofocus. I use shutterspeed of 640 usually but not sure if that’s enough for faster moving small birds.. I haven’t really done birds in flight yet and would imagine to need more than 1/640 shutter speed for that and different autofocus points.. I have ISO on auto limited to 12,800..

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

There's all sorts of Youtube videos on bird/nature photography and settings. Espen Helland and Mike Lane come to mind. Also Petr Bambousek (www.sulasula) has a nice pdf for the OM-1 for only $25 + tax.

 

[ChrisMc1957]

I use the Olympus OM1 with OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO Lens, I have all my C1 - C4 functions set up for BiF, Pro Cap, Single shot and Sequential shooting, makes it very easy for switching between modes very quickly so as not to miss a shot, if you want I can break all this down for you, just ask!............just a little rushed at the moment.

To give you an idea of what I take photos of, this is my Gallery on here Media added by ChrisMc1957

 

[njlarsen]

I am in the stage where I definitely would like to see more examples of which setting people are using with the OM1 (and especially with mk 2 if applicable).
Niels

 

[leif10]

I just wanted to bump this thread as I just bought a new OM 1 Mk II, and I am still figuring out the features. I may end up springing for that $25 PDF from Petr Bambousek because I haven't found a huge amount of free info/suggestions online.

So far I am really pleased with the OM 1.2 but I have been too busy with work to do much but photograph the occasional backyard bird. I upgraded from the E-M 1.2 which was very unreliable for BIF. (I had tried everything, even focus-limiter options). Haven't really tried the OM 1.2 for BIF yet but hoping for big improvements. In general I tend to stay a version or two behind the latest model, just to save a few hundred bucks, but I realized this should be a game changer for BIF so I took the plunge.

Happy to see it identifies insects as "birds" a lot of the time (since I am equally interested in insects).

I have used back-button focus for many years, and happy to see that's set up for the OM-1.2, right out of the box.

At the moment I'm a little confused about how to make the best use of the "bird" subject recognition. Ordinarily I have never used C-AF (as it tends to make focus hard to control), but I got the impression reading online it might be wise to try it again with the bird recognition AI. So far though, C-AF seems to make things worse also with the OM 1.2 (keeps getting distracted by non-bird objects despite pointing right at the bird and recognizing it), so I switched back to S-AF.

 

[ChrisMc1957]

I just wanted to bump this thread as I just bought a new OM 1 Mk II, and I am still figuring out the features. I may end up springing for that $25 PDF from Petr Bambousek because I haven't found a huge amount of free info/suggestions online.

So far I am really pleased with the OM 1.2 but I have been too busy with work to do much but photograph the occasional backyard bird. I upgraded from the E-M 1.2 which was very unreliable for BIF. (I had tried everything, even focus-limiter options). Haven't really tried the OM 1.2 for BIF yet but hoping for big improvements. In general I tend to stay a version or two behind the latest model, just to save a few hundred bucks, but I realized this should be a game changer for BIF so I took the plunge.

Happy to see it identifies insects as "birds" a lot of the time (since I am equally interested in insects).

I have used back-button focus for many years, and happy to see that's set up for the OM-1.2, right out of the box.

At the moment I'm a little confused about how to make the best use of the "bird" subject recognition. Ordinarily I have never used C-AF (as it tends to make focus hard to control), but I got the impression reading online it might be wise to try it again with the bird recognition AI. So far though, C-AF seems to make things worse also with the OM 1.2 (keeps getting distracted by non-bird objects despite pointing right at the bird and recognizing it), so I switched back to S-AF.

Leif

These are my settings for Birds in Flight if it helps, when I first got my OM1, I watched lots of Youtube Videos from both OM Systems and other You tubers, (there are dozens/hundreds on the net) I learnt an enormous amount and after using my OM1 now for nearly two years I can say I am pretty confident with it, some of my photos are linked below in my signature, I don't really have problems these days with AF settings etc etc

FWIW my set up for BiF is:-

Back button focus on
Focus on half-press (shutter) off
APERTURE priority
C-AF
Usually I can obtain a shutter speed of 1/2000 - 1/3200 at least with this, unless its very dark skies and then I probably wouldn't bother anyway.
Bird detection is set to on
All focus points are active
SH2 sequential shooting mode
Auto ISO -

I use Aperture Priority rather than Shutter Priority, both work very well though. I use the M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO Lens if that helps and I have this set up on my C1 position C-AF, I use C2 for Pro Capture C-AF, C3 for single shot, single focus point, C4 for multiple shot sequential shooting C-AF

By using Aperture Priority it makes it easier in my opinion to change the compensation when pointing at the sky, Negative/Positive using the front or back wheels.

All my settings are based on Aperture Priority, except C2 Pro Capture, this I base it on Manual, because I can force the shutter speed to be 1/3200 minimum (Unless very dark skies)

HTH

 

[leif10]

Thanks Chris, that is helpful. I have an aversion to receiving instruction (or entertainment) from video on the web, as I greatly prefer being able to quickly scan a web page for details, copy text, etc. But it seems the world feels differently. So I am now working my way through Stephen Ingraham's "Easy Birds and Wildlife with the OM System OM-1 Mkii: modifications to Program mode".

That's interesting you're using Aperture Priority. I've really only used that for macro shots. But I have started to play with it for other situations.

I think I will abandon my heavy reliance on back-button focus. Seems like the back button (AF-ON) needs to be just one part, of a more complex and nuanced approach to focus that includes C-AF, and half-shutter press. Also, I may add the Fn lever as part of my "customizations" for focus. It seems like it could be a little faster than using Custom modes on the mode dial.

Hopefully somewhere out there, there's a more "integrative" type of instruction on the web. Rather than "button X does Y" (OM-1 instruction manual) and "I set button X to do Z, but you should experiment to see what works best for you" (typical online info page or video), it sure would be great to learn about different strategies and how to implement them. Something along the lines of, "For a sparrow in a bush, you should mostly use C-AF with bird detection, but also do some shots using S-AF with the AF-ON button which sometimes gives better results". Or "Olympus probably intended button A to be used for method B, but bird photographers tend to use it for C so then can quickly do D at the same time".

 

[leif10]

Just following up - actually Stephen Ingraham does offer a PDF document that more fully discusses some of the issues I was interested in. (Plus more videos...)

 

[ChrisMc1957]

Thanks Chris, that is helpful. I have an aversion to receiving instruction (or entertainment) from video on the web, as I greatly prefer being able to quickly scan a web page for details, copy text, etc. But it seems the world feels differently. So I am now working my way through Stephen Ingraham's "Easy Birds and Wildlife with the OM System OM-1 Mkii: modifications to Program mode".

That's interesting you're using Aperture Priority. I've really only used that for macro shots. But I have started to play with it for other situations.

I think I will abandon my heavy reliance on back-button focus. Seems like the back button (AF-ON) needs to be just one part, of a more complex and nuanced approach to focus that includes C-AF, and half-shutter press. Also, I may add the Fn lever as part of my "customizations" for focus. It seems like it could be a little faster than using Custom modes on the mode dial.

Hopefully somewhere out there, there's a more "integrative" type of instruction on the web. Rather than "button X does Y" (OM-1 instruction manual) and "I set button X to do Z, but you should experiment to see what works best for you" (typical online info page or video), it sure would be great to learn about different strategies and how to implement them. Something along the lines of, "For a sparrow in a bush, you should mostly use C-AF with bird detection, but also do some shots using S-AF with the AF-ON button which sometimes gives better results". Or "Olympus probably intended button A to be used for method B, but bird photographers tend to use it for C so then can quickly do D at the same time".

I learnt an enormous amount from watching videos, found some of them very easy to follow and it really helped set me up in the early days. But I understand if that is not your thing.

Aperture priority works extremely well, I would say 95% of my photos Media added by ChrisMc1957 are now taken using AP, you really can't go wrong with it and setting up using the C1 settings as described above, its very easy and quick to change from one setting to another, its rare these days that I have to manually change settings for most wildlife situations.

I love BBF, since swapping to that about 2 years ago I have managed to get my muscle memory working fine, now its second nature. It really is very easy to use.

Good luck anyway with whatever you methods/settings choose

 

[ChrisMc1957]

Just following up - actually Stephen Ingraham does offer a PDF document that more fully discusses some of the issues I was interested in. (Plus more videos...)

That document does look pretty comprehensive, I would use it as a point of reference from time to time, but prefer watching someone actually set things up in videos etc and explain why they use the settings that way

 

[leif10]

Well, today was supposed to be finally a chance to do some birds in flight. After a warm sunny morning, a storm rolled in (this is Colorado in the USA; 3-5 inches of snow are coming), but I did manage to photograph a flock of blackbirds for a couple minutes and the OM-1 (Mk II) did seem to focus quite well. I am really loving this camera. The other day I had a couple sparrows in the neighbor's yard, at dusk; I could barely see the birds but the camera locked right on to them. A couple nights ago I realized I could try subject recognition in the house and it worked great recognizing people in family photos, animals in paintings, etc.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit, I never really understood C-AF for many years. I guess my half-baked understanding was that you just turn the camera on, and then it keeps focusing on whatever it wants, without even needing to press any buttons. I probably developed that misunderstanding from using it in video, where that is essentially how it works. But after fiddling with the camera for a few days I am really appreciating C-AF now. I am using it similar to your settings, Chris (but with some differences):

Back-button focus (BBF): on
Half-press shutter: off
C-AF
Bird detection on
Shutter priority
Silent sequential
All focus points active
Auto ISO

Haven't had a chance to really play with aperture priority yet to explore the benefits. Currently I just roll the shutter speed dial when I see a bird flying toward me (~1/2000 sec or so), and back down for birds on a branch (1/500 sec). Soon I'll set up my custom modes. Actually I think the Fn lever may be handy for switching between different focus modes, just haven't had a chance to play with it yet.

I really like BBF with C-AF and bird detection, it works like a dream so far.

EDIT - I should also mention, what screwed me up for a while (when I was complaining about C-AF earlier) is that I had AF-ON set to prioritize the focus target, not the subject. (This may have been from half-implementing Stephen Ingraham's settings; he mainly uses half-shutter press to focus but also uses AF-ON for non-subject focus if I recall.). Once I fixed this, this camera has been magic.

So for any other beginners reading, I set AF-ON to prioritize subject here:
AF > 2.AF > camera subject AF button > AF-ON > subject priority

 

[ChrisMc1957]

Looks like you are starting to get there Leif, I am happy I was able to help a little, I still think Aperture Priority is the way to go, if only because it will always give you the fastest shutter speed it can whilst keeping the F stop/aperture to what you set it too, for me that is usually wide open, also with AP you can use the wheels to dial in positive/negative compensation which you need most of the time when pointing your camera to the sky, but if Shutter Priority is working fine for you then stick with it.

Just watch the first 5 minutes of this video, it explains the pros etc of using Aperture Priority pretty well, Mike Lane has a vast experience of photography, even going back to the days before digital technology, he releases a video weekly and I have learnt a lot from him over the last 3+ years.

 

[leif10]

Chris, thanks for that Mike Lane video, I watched the whole thing, and I understand what you mean now about A priority. I will probably use it next time I am out on a sunny day! Yes, there's no reason not to let the camera go to as high a S/S as it wants this way, and since f/stop is never even in my top 5 concerns when taking a photo (except during macro shots), it makes perfect sense to keep it at the widest.

At the same time, thinking about this I realized why S mode often does work better for me. That's because I'm often photographing in marginal conditions. For example if I see an owl at dusk, what typically happens is: First I'll shoot at 1/1250 sec (which tends to be my default), then I'll remember to crank it down to 1/640, 1/320 or whatever, and I'll typically do a couple at each shutter speed. With the IBIS being so good, often I can go below 1/100. But there is no one clear "lowest shutter speed" that I could set and stick with for A priority. Even if I can sometimes pull off a 1/25 sec for a distant hawk on a tree, it probably will fail in most attempts. I could do all this in A priority but then I'd have to keep an eye on my S/S as I'm doing it. I'm also going to play with manually increasing ISO in these situations, e.g. to catch some mammal at dusk, I'd rather have a noisy image than movement blur.

Another thing is that I use low/moderate price zoom lenses. Currently I use the 100-400 M. Zuiko which for me, which was a huge jump up from the 75-300 mkII. Both in price, and reach (and probably quality). I also have it "glued" to the 1.4x TC all the time. I was happily surprised that if anything, adding the 1.4x seemed to make images sharper if anything (I know, that must be just subjective).
Anyway, these zooms have variable f/stop, so using A priority, I didn't know what would happen when zooming in/out. But I did the experiment just now, and I see that the camera does "remember" that I want the widest f-stop. Currently that is f/7.1 when zoomed out (wide). When I zoom in it goes to f/9, zoom out again and it goes back to f/7.1 which is good. So I will definitely try A priority in good light conditions. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

 

[ChrisMc1957]

That's great Leif, yes Mike is very good and explains things nicely too, I am glad you now see the benefits of AP, I have never looked back since switching to AP from SP that I used to use, I only change to Manual now and again for really poor light conditions to maybe if I was doing a bit of Macro or using ND filters which is rare, so 95% of my time I am using AP and getting good results.

Anyway, seems like you are getting the hang of things now and I have no doubt you will get used to the new settings pretty quickly and have less to worry about/consider when having to take quick shots as something comes into view, one reason I now have most of my settings set up on the C1 - C4 dials.

 

[njlarsen]

I don't remember which videos I watched before setting up my OM1-ii, but I believe I have my settings based off of P-mode. Then auto iso up to some high number, and as a sub-setting under that, the shutter speed it should only go below when iso is maxed out already. This latter part makes it somewhat similar to shutter priority in a way. And in great light, the F-setting might increase giving deeper DOF (rarely happens anyway). This structure in two different C settings with two different shutter speeds, one for BIF and one for more stationary birds. I also have a higher frame-rate on the BIF setting.
Niels

 

[leif10]

After testing out a few more times, what I am noticing is that small birds need a really high shutter speed in flight. I originally used 1/1600 minimum, then went up to 1/2400, still seeing plenty of blur... So I might have to have two custom modes, one for big slow birds (herons, hawks etc.) and one for small fast birds, maybe 1/3200.

I like the fact that in A mode, when light isn't good enough, first it starts increasing ISO toward the ISO-A max (which I have set to 12800), then when it hits the ISO-A max, it starts dropping the shutter speed below my "mimum shutter speed" setting. That's pretty much what I would be doing anyway if I were using S mode.

The only issue really is that the minimum S/S needed, varies quite a bit depending on the subject.

Currently I have a third custom mode for low-light situations, which is S priority, where I set ISO-A max to 102400, so I can more directly deal with the compromise between S/S and ISO.

Another thing I'm noticing is focus peaking seems easier to work with in the OM-1.2, than in my older model. So it is pretty easy to go right to manual focus when the bird AI fails, for birds in the shrubbery.

Here is a nice video in which Espen Helland talks about the tradeoffs of back button focus vs. shutter half-press focus.

In the latter half he discusses backup solutions when bird AI doesn't work which I found really helpful; basically switch to small target for more direct AF, then switch to manual focus. This is intuitive for me and I'll be practicing this. I suppose I already sort of had this thought, but it's nice to see an expert confirm and clarify it.

One thing about BBF is that for the "burst" type photography, one is already using the shutter continuously. So having to maintain C-AF by also holding down the AF-ON button seems a little excessive. So I'm not sure, there may be situations where it's better to use the shutter half-press. This is one of the things I'll puzzling out. Another issue is how to smoothly switch between Pro Capture and regular C-AF in a moment-by-moment situation as the birds are flitting about.