Micro Four-Thirds (1 Viewer)

[Tord]

Tord, did you get the smearing with 2.10? Maybe roll back to 2.10 and see if that might have anything to do with it.

Smearing was there already with 2.10. The woodpecker I posted a while ago is with 2.10.

My guess it is an unlucky combination of IS.1 working at 400mm and the electronic shutter.

 

[DanC.Licks]

Scope vs. 400/5.6 and Metabones:
I had the scope with me and used it on a few occasions where we were either in or close to the car. I had a good chance to see how they really compared from a hide, on two separate afternoons at roughly the same time and similar light conditions, and the same subject . First afternoon I had the 400 and TC with me.
Here the 400 alone:


and with the TC:


My conclusion here was that it is better to use the 400 alone to keep the shutter speed and focusing speed higher. In general though, the setup worked great, and the shots that went into the bin were either uninteresting or suffered from too much motion blur. A few shots with the TC were slightly out of focus, but I felt that was also due to the bird's sudden movement, otherwise, all were right on as long as I framed things correctly.

Two days later I went back with the scope.

 

[DanC.Licks]

Scope, without TC:


Conclusion:
IF you can get it right, the scope is the clear winner!.... but that is a big if, and many otherwise good shots went out because they were not right in focus, in spite of using focus peaking and being as careful as possible.
For me, focus is the ONE most important aspect, and given the choice of an in focus shot with an inferior lens, I will take the in focus shot any day. If things are moving, and this guy (actually young gal) was moving around a lot, the Canon setup is better.

That said, I was able to get a couple of shots of her hovering. Never seen that before.

Never seen at the North Sea before. What a treat!!B

 

[Tord]

Very nice Dan. That first with the scope is perfect.

 

[JGobeil]

Nice photos Dan. Yes, the scope is the clear winner. I agree that focus is the most important aspect but size and weight are also a serious problem. Reaction time can be added to the list since one must open the tripod, make it stable, find the bird, focus and and then only can he fire the shot: it is so much easier with my hand-held 100-400mm.

I haven't used the scope since I got the lens... Yes, I sometimes miss the additional reach of the scope but being able to carry the camera all day and being ready to fire the shot within 1 or 2 seconds is priceless... Maybe if I were 20 years younger |;|

 

[DanC.Licks]

Couldn't agree more...

Another Kingfisher ...
B
and a near miss ...
:-C

both with the scope.

She was having a little trouble juggling her catch, and dropped a number of them. This one was big enough that she dove in after it, otherwise she wouldn't bother and would just catch another one.

 

[DanC.Licks]

Kingfisher on Skye

They have them there too!


o

 

[Tord]

Conclusion:
IF you can get it right, the scope is the clear winner!.... but that is a big if, and many otherwise good shots went out because they were not right in focus, in spite of using focus peaking and being as careful as possible.
For me, focus is the ONE most important aspect, and given the choice of an in focus shot with an inferior lens, I will take the in focus shot any day. If things are moving, and this guy (actually young gal) was moving around a lot, the Canon setup is better.

That said, I was able to get a couple of shots of her hovering. Never seen that before.

Never seen at the North Sea before. What a treat!!B

I agree, in focus is a condition for a keeper. With the scope it becomes challenging when subjects are close as the DOF is so narrow, a few cm only. On moving subjects I will fire a burst while refocusing between the limits for front and back focus and with magnifier on. If time allows or in doubt I will try to recompose with magnifier off and repeat. It's tricky though. With preparations and anticipation it will quite often result in at least one frame in focus, correctly composed/subject in view. If not prepared, the likelihood is close to nil. This method can be used on static subjects as well, firing a burst while slowly adjusting focus.

 

[DanC.Licks]

That is a good method and if the subject is really still it gives you material for focus stacking to boot. IF you have time on your hands, it is hard to beat the scope unless you want to shell out €11,000 on a new Canon 500/4 II. There you would have the best of both worlds, but, in the words of an old friend, "who gonna pay?"

 

[Paul Corfield]

Can never relate to the problems you guys get with your scopes.

Paul.

 

[Tord]

On the far western tip of Eiderstedt lies the Westerhaver sand, a beautiful stretch of usually pristine sand that is barely a sand bar at high tide, and a huge expanse of clean sand and tidal pools when it is low. It is not overrun with people, and there are some interesting birds, but not many. Large flocks of resting gulls and terns, and in early fall, huge flocks of Golden Plover, Dunlin, Ringed Plover etc, on the green land between the dike and the sand. It takes about an hour to walk out from the parking lot and is more for just enjoying the sun and the fresh air than photographing birds. We had good weather this year, and made it out 5 times. Twice I couldn't resist and took my camera just to get the little guys racing around on the sand. Best to be there at high tide when the ocean pushes them in closer to the sand bar that usually stays above the water.
These are Sanderlings.
View attachment 598143 View attachment 598144 View attachment 598145 View attachment 598146 View attachment 598147
They race around like mice and are quite hard to capture. I would spot them working their way up the waterline, into the wind and into the light, and lie in the usually still wet sand, 400 +1.4x and SILENT SHUTTER! They would be so involved in what they were doing that they wouldn't spot me until they were quite close.

Getting the timing right is not so easy with the wind, the light, and the tide having to be advantageous for good results. This time we were lucky with everything, except that high tide was around noon and the air and sand was much too warm. Afraid I am not as dedicated as Tord to force myself to be out there just after sunrise!

Nice. #4 stands out.

 

[DanC.Licks]

Thanks, Tord.
They are such fun to watch. We often see them racing around together with Dunlins and Ringed Plovers. They don't seem to mind each other.

 

[DanC.Licks]

Putting things into perspective, (same pond and same fish...):

or here:

The Greenshank actually had a much harder time getting the fish down than the Kingfisher. I guess they are not so used to fish, but he clearly liked it. He was there every time we went to that hide.

 

[DanC.Licks]

Finally getting around to posting my pictures from our trip to Scotland this May-June.

You would think you were in the Caribean until you put your foot in the water!:eek!:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42162009@N04/albums/72157670136207782

All taken with the E-M1/Metabones/400 +1.4x a lot of the time, except for the panoramas that were either done with the mFT 75-300 II or the trusty FT 14-54 II.

 

[DanC.Licks]

Now, if we can just get a peek under the hood...


http://www.43rumors.com/ft5-first-image-new-olypus-e-m1ii-leaked/#disqus_thread

 

[NoSpringChicken]

It does seem a strange location for the right hand strap lug in that photo. Hopefully, they are screwed on properly with this camera and won't come adrift. I also hope they have sorted out the problematic rear dial. Looking forward to hearing about the specs this evening.

Ron

 

[Adey Baker]

Now, if we can just get a peek under the hood...
View attachment 598936

http://www.43rumors.com/ft5-first-image-new-olypus-e-m1ii-leaked/#disqus_thread

Won't be long now - announcement at 6:30pm (Berlin time) this evening.

Ron - are you aware of the simple 'cure' for the rear dial problem on the EM1?

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Ron - are you aware of the simple 'cure' for the rear dial problem on the EM1?

Are you talking about the trick of spinning the dial backwards and forwards several times to clean the contacts? I know of people who have tried this and it worked as a temporary cure but then the problem came back again and they had to send the camera to Portugal to be repaired. Fortunately my camera has not suffered from the problem. In fact mine has been completely trouble free, apart from the rubber peeling off the thumb grip. I solved that by buying a replacement rubber part and pre-cut self adhesive tape from Luton Cameras and fitting it myself. The total cost was £10. I am glad about that as my camera is no longer covered by warranty. Hence my concern about the rear dial and strap lugs.

Ron

 

[Adey Baker]

Are you talking about the trick of spinning the dial backwards and forwards several times to clean the contacts? I know of people who have tried this and it worked as a temporary cure but then the problem came back again and they had to send the camera to Portugal to be repaired. Fortunately my camera has not suffered from the problem. In fact mine has been completely trouble free, apart from the rubber peeling off the thumb grip. I solved that by buying a replacement rubber part and pre-cut self adhesive tape from Luton Cameras and fitting it myself. The total cost was £10. I am glad about that as my camera is no longer covered by warranty. Hence my concern about the rear dial and strap lugs.

Ron

Yes, that's the one. It does need repeating from time to time but it should clear it eventually. The strap-lugs are a bit worrying though as there's no way of knowing quite when they may cause a problem!

 

[Adey Baker]

Won't be long now - announcement at 6:30pm (Berlin time) this evening.

Some interesting features on the EM-1 MkII. They seem to have concentrated a lot of effort into improving the auto-focus/focus-tracking of moving subjects like birds in flight. Whether the camera lives up to the marketing hype remains to be seen, but if it does, then this is the one area where the DSLR will no longer reign supreme.

A few features that were rumoured which don't seem to have materialised make it a bit underwhelming though the model may still yet be not fully developed for release to the buying public. There's no sign of the 'hand-held hi-res' mode, no global-shutter, no increased-resolution EVF (that'll look out of date long before the model comes to the end of its life in about 3 years time), but the weight has increased - it's now as heavy without battery and card as the MkI was with them; the original size/weight advantage of the m4/3 system is slowly seeping away.

Also the rear screen has changed from the tilt version to fully articulated which has caused a certain amount discussion on some websites. Personally, I much prefer the original tilt version but Olympus have decided to go for articulated for most of their models now - folding it out to the side makes it look like a 1990s camcorder, but there you go.