▶︎ Making Sense Of Olympus Menus

Another "non-technical review."  Yes, the zoom range is fantastic. But if you start enlarging the images, I find they are not particularly sharp. I am talking about landscape shots.  I have not done any macro shots with this yet. Frankly, had I spent more time with the lens after purchasing, I think I would have sent this one back.  Perhaps I got a "dud?"

Durban recently hosted its 10th annual Durban International Blues Festival at the lively Zack’s Wilson’s Wharf venue on the Bay. I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph the Fender evening on a few occasions, but this year it was extra special because my son and his Rock Academy band were one of the acts. They played 2 numbers on the night, namely “House Of The Rising Sun” by the Animals and “Before You Accuse Me” by Eric Clapton (I think he wrote it?). Very proud moment for me. Sometimes I find myself living vicariously… not such a bad thing coz I sure as hell wouldn’t ever have the nerve to get up on a stage in front of a lot of people and entertain them. No sir. I gots me some issues with stage confidence.
 
I love photographing bands and performers though. Over the years I have accumulated quite a few images of artists who played on various stages. I’d love to put on an exhibition of these works someday. Photographing live music is not easy, but I have managed to perfect my own method which sort of comes naturally to me. A lot of photographers struggle with things like metering methods, colour balance, auto focus and whatever else the camera battles with when left to its own devices. I’ve come to know my cameras over the years, wringing the best out of them wherever possible and recently with my move to the Olympus micro four thirds system I find I am just getting better and better shots as the technology improves. The things I lean on are the new fast lenses that the smaller m43 format has brought us, in particular the Olympus 75mm f/1.8, the ability to shoot at high ISO and get a usable image and image stabilisation. Without those three elements you’re going to be in for a lot of disappointment as far as shot quality goes (and I’m seeing that evident in the work of others who cover the same events I do).
 
That said, there’s also a lot to be said for personal experience. I recently discovered something that the Olympus cameras do that kind of makes low light photography a lot easier. On the Olympus bodies you’ll find this thing called a Shadow Spot Meter. I accidentally activated this while on safari recently while we were photographing this pack of stinky hyenas at Sabi Sabi. It was night time and the only lights we had on the scene were the spotlights that the trackers use. I usually auto float my ISO values between 100 and 8000 on the Olympus E-M1 but I couldn’t understand why I was getting decent exposures at low ISO values of 400 and sometimes even 200 in such dim conditions. It didn’t make sense to me, yet there I was looking at these great shots on the back of the camera and zoomed in at pixel level I had hardly any noise. So I tried using that metering method on the stage at this years festival and it worked well there too. Yes, the rest of the scene goes quite dark, but your subject gets just the right amount of exposure if you’re looking for that low key, moody look. Just so happens that I like that. A lot. See if you can pick out which of these shots got the shadow spot treatment.
 

My boy playing a Fender Telecaster (he usually plays a Charvel, but with it being a Fender evening he was handed this job and got on with it.
 

Their lead guitarist, Rorke.
 

16-year-old Cyndi didn't get the memo about it being a Fender evening (nice Guild though)
 

My buddy Reg (also a photographer) and Roland
 

Sadly I do not know what this fellas name is. But he sure could sing them blues.
 

Eloise, awesome vocalist and vocals tutor.
 

My good friend and all round good guy, John.
 

From Chicago, USA Mr. Charlie Rose, singer of the blues.
 

 

Reg's very talented son, Rowan Stuart. Look him up on iTunes.
 

Another multi-talented guy, Andy Turrell (former drummer for Dan Patlansky).

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Durban recently hosted its 10th annual Durban International Blues Festival at the lively Zack’s Wilson’s Wharf venue on the Bay. I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph the Fender evening on a few occasions, but this year it was extra special because my son and his Rock Academy band were one of the acts. They played 2 numbers on the night, namely “House Of The Rising Sun” by the Animals and “Before You Accuse Me” by Eric Clapton (I think he wrote it?). Very proud moment for me. Sometimes I find myself living vicariously… not such a bad thing coz I sure as hell wouldn’t ever have the nerve to get up on a stage in front of a lot of people and entertain them. No sir. I gots me some issues with stage confidence.
 
I love photographing bands and performers though. Over the years I have accumulated quite a few images of artists who played on various stages. I’d love to put on an exhibition of these works someday. Photographing live music is not easy, but I have managed to perfect my own method which sort of comes naturally to me. A lot of photographers struggle with things like metering methods, colour balance, auto focus and whatever else the camera battles with when left to its own devices. I’ve come to know my cameras over the years, wringing the best out of them wherever possible and recently with my move to the Olympus micro four thirds system I find I am just getting better and better shots as the technology improves. The things I lean on are the new fast lenses that the smaller m43 format has brought us, in particular the Olympus 75mm f/1.8, the ability to shoot at high ISO and get a usable image and image stabilisation. Without those three elements you’re going to be in for a lot of disappointment as far as shot quality goes (and I’m seeing that evident in the work of others who cover the same events I do).
 
That said, there’s also a lot to be said for personal experience. I recently discovered something that the Olympus cameras do that kind of makes low light photography a lot easier. On the Olympus bodies you’ll find this thing called a Shadow Spot Meter. I accidentally activated this while on safari recently while we were photographing this pack of stinky hyenas at Sabi Sabi. It was night time and the only lights we had on the scene were the spotlights that the trackers use. I usually auto float my ISO values between 100 and 8000 on the Olympus E-M1 but I couldn’t understand why I was getting decent exposures at low ISO values of 400 and sometimes even 200 in such dim conditions. It didn’t make sense to me, yet there I was looking at these great shots on the back of the camera and zoomed in at pixel level I had hardly any noise. So I tried using that metering method on the stage at this years festival and it worked well there too. Yes, the rest of the scene goes quite dark, but your subject gets just the right amount of exposure if you’re looking for that low key, moody look. Just so happens that I like that. A lot. See if you can pick out which of these shots got the shadow spot treatment.
 

My boy playing a Fender Telecaster (he usually plays a Charvel, but with it being a Fender evening he was handed this job and got on with it.
 

Their lead guitarist, Rorke.
 

16-year-old Cyndi didn't get the memo about it being a Fender evening (nice Guild though)
 

My buddy Reg (also a photographer) and Roland
 

Sadly I do not know what this fellas name is. But he sure could sing them blues.
 

Eloise, awesome vocalist and vocals tutor.
 

My good friend and all round good guy, John.
 

From Chicago, USA Mr. Charlie Rose, singer of the blues.
 

 

Reg's very talented son, Rowan Stuart. Look him up on iTunes.
 

Another multi-talented guy, Andy Turrell (former drummer for Dan Patlansky).

I am contemplating the purchase of an MFT Olympus 8mm F3.5.  I am thinking about a used one that does not cost and arm and a leg.  Dallas had a few comments to make about the 8mm F1.8.... but I find very little about the 8mm F3.5 beyond the initial Olympus announcement when it was introduced. Also, it appears to no longer be in the Olympus "stable."
 
Can anyone give me any insights?  Perhaps the fact it is discontinued is the best indicator. BUT, it still demands a fairly high price on eBay (for whatever that is worth.)

This anticipated new model in the Olympus E-M1 line up has been released.
 
Some links:
 
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympus-om-d-e-m1-mark-iii-initial-review
 
https://www.olympus.com.au/product/dslr/em1mk3/index.html
 
It will be interesting to see how this new comer stacks up against its predecessors, especially in the stills IQ department.
 
(Meanwhile Nikon have released their new D6 - in good time for the summer Olympics in Tokyo later this year.)