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E-M1 for wildlife


Mary Doo

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You can check out this photographer who uses the E-M1 (and E-M5 / EM-10) for wildlife and pet photography, mostly smaller critters (not lions, tigers, or bears). I believe she recently acquired the 40-150 f2.8 and 75 f1.8, in addition to the Panny 100-300 and Oly 40-150 f5.6 she already uses.

 

http://lindsaydobsonphotography.com/pets/category/wildlife/

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<p>That's correct Kenneth, I find the Olympus bodies and Olympus and Panasonic lenses are fantastic for nature and wildlife. I also get a huge amount of use out of the Panasonic 100-300 given the incredible magnification that gives - way beyond anything I could carry (or afford) for my full frame setup (which I have all but abandoned now unless I'm shooting at a specific Canon sponsored event - and the weight of it just about kills me). I also use Olympus Micro 4/3 for all of my other work - portraiture and commercial. </p>
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<p>Dieter and Kenneth, I finally went through all the links that you shared. Read the excellent articles and learned quite a few things.</p>

<p>Lindsay, I appreciate your post and your blog. I particularly enjoyed your impression/review of the Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 lens and, of course, your outstanding wildlife images. You have convinced me of the viability of micro 4/3 for wildlife photography.</p>

<p>Being [still] quite a Nikon user, I do have a nagging question about E-M1's focus tracking ability. Nikon's predictive focus tracking system is well known, and I believe this enables - for example - photographing birds in flight with relative ease compared to some other systems. In one of the links, David Young did write about this concern using his sports photography.</p>

<p>Linda, if you are reading, what is your opinion about this matter? I did notice your beautiful shots of moving animals.</p>

<p>Thanks everybody! :)</p>

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<p>Hi Mary, for me at least, the switch to micro four thirds for all of my work has been fantastic. I don't feel I have lost out anywhere now that there are some top notch professional grade fast zooms and ultrafast primes available. But we are all different, and you are doing the right thing in appraising your needs before making the switch. </p>

<p>Re: tracking focus - it is not (yet) on par with a professional DSLR. I don't bother using it, just as I would very rarely use it on my DSLRs. However it is important to examine how, why, and where tracking focus might be important to <em>you</em>. For example, if most of your work is sports photography or birds in flight, then accurate tracking focus can make your life easier. The overriding feature I need for a lot of my work is very fast and accurate autofocus - the EM1 in particular is blazing in this regard and it will grab pretty much anything. Over the years my habit has usually been to simply ride the shutter button keeping autofocus on my subject and then firing off my frames when I need to - for me at least, this is proving to be as accurate and as intuitive as anything else, and serves me well - but if you've grown used to using tracking focus and if you prefer to use tracking focus most of the time, then you will need to readapt if you do switch to the EM1. I was shooting some catwalk recently with my Canon system, and I'll shoot the odd show with my shutter-button-riding autofocus, and the odd show using continuous focus. Overall, there is a slight edge in keeper rate with the former method, but the continuous method requires less effort. </p>

<p>At the end of the day it's a question of weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of changing systems - and whether these differences well be negative or positive for you. For me, there have been far more positives than negatives from downscaling - for example I can always have a great camera and a couple of lenses with me wherever I go and I will hardly feel the weight. I can also shoot longer assignments, and stay on my feet more. That was simply impossible in my DSLR-only days, and as a result I did very little personal work, and as a consequence I gathered very little stock and very little competition imagery - and I had far less practice in a number of situations. Downscaling has transformed all of that and I've also developed an interest in street photography which is so much easier with a small camera. But if you are exclusively a sports and bird photographer, and if you're not shooting too often, and if you're not on your feet or walking around a location for hours at a time - then there may be no need for you to change systems at all if you can manage the weight of your current one.</p>

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<p>Lindsay, thank you for your thoughts and insights. Like you, I love the compactness of micro 4/3.</p>

<p>You are the first one I know to definitively acknowledge that the E-M1's focus tracking ability is "not (yet) on par with a professional DSLR" and I appreciate the honesty. This is important to me because you have had solid experiences in both camps for serious wildlife. I do understand the pros and cons of every camera decision we make. For my part, I would like to try out the 40-150 f/2.8 a bit and can't wait to see reviews of the forthcoming 300mm. I think Olympus would catch up real fast, don't you? On the other hand, as you implied, the current crop of equipment are adequate for wildlife depending on the photographer. Not so long ago, we were using film with ISO 400 or less, and before that, big lenses for wildlife were manual only. It is all relative, isn't it.<a href="/olympus-camera-forum/00d67w"><br /></a></p>

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<p>In my opinion, the only thing the E-M1 cannot do as well as a pro DSLR is AF tracking. It can't do birds in flight or fast action with much success. For everything else it is superb. The contrast detect AF of the E-M1 is far more accurate than the AF of a DSLR and is better for wide aperture portraits and critical focus applications.</p>
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<p>As a user of Olympus m4/3 bodies, and some system lenses, I find the following galleries reassuring:<br /><br /> Stacks:<br /><a href="http://pen3.de/Stacken_wie_____/stacken_wie_____.html" target="_blank">http://pen3.de/Stacken_wie_____/stacken_wie_____.html</a><br /><br /> For the following, treat each as a manual slide show, scrolling left to right:<br /><br /> Flies:<br /><a href="http://pen3.de/Fliegen/fliegen.html" target="_blank">http://pen3.de/Fliegen/fliegen.html</a><br /> Butterflies:<br /><a href="http://pen3.de/Falter/falter.html" target="_blank">http://pen3.de/Falter/falter.html</a><br /> Fungi:<br /><a href="http://pen3.de/Pilze/pilze.html" target="_blank">http://pen3.de/Pilze/pilze.html</a><br /> New Photos:<br /><a href="http://pen3.de/Neue_Fotos/neue_fotos.html" target="_blank">http://pen3.de/Neue_Fotos/neue_fotos.html</a><br /> Eagles:<br /><a href="http://pen3.de/Vogel/vogel.html" target="_blank">http://pen3.de/Vogel/vogel.html</a><br /><br /> I couldn't find an English version but who needs words?<br /><br /></p>
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<p>Thanks Harold.</p>

<p>I always wonder how the photographer can use the 75mm lens to get so close to an insect. If they use a close-up lens or filter, which would you recommend? Or is it an extension tube that they use? I like the undistracted background and I don't think the 60mm macro would cut it. I have also tried my Nikon 200mm macro on the E-M1 and it works very well. Hwvr, the autofocus ability is gone. Not that I need autofocus all the time, but it would be nice to know the best compromise.<br /> <br /> As a Nikon user, the typical pattern over the years had been to go through less-than-optimum choices to finally arrive at the most useful tools and gear for my purposes. I have learned from my mistakes, so I am asking for your experienced recommendation. :)</p>

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  • 3 weeks later...
<p>Yes, it's much improved actually, I was quite impressed when I tested it. That said, I hardly ever need to use C-AF. At the end of the day it's about whether it works for you, not anyone else, given what you shoot and how you prefer to do things. If this is the one overriding feature which has to be cutting edge then the newer leading DSLRs geared towards sports shooters will be better - at a massive price and weight premium. I think it might be best for you to just hire the EM1 and the kind of lens you're most likely to favour, and do some testing.</p>
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  • 3 weeks later...

<p>Good Morning, Mary, Lindsay & all.<br>

<br />I'm new to this forum, but would like to thank Dieter for posting the link to my E-M1 review. </p>

<p>Unlike Lindsay, I use C-AF a lot, notably for Rodeos and Ice (Motocross) Racing. I have been most disappointed with the E-M1's C-AF performance, which was far worse than the E-3 that I used until it dropped from exhaustion. The E-M1, with the new, 3.0 firmware, has become a formidable action camera that will now hold it's own with all but the very finest (read: most expensive).</p>

<p>I have a review of the v3.0 firmware, here:<br>

http://www.furnfeather.net/Reviews/3.0_FirmwareTest.html</p>

<p>FWIW: I use the E-M1 with a variety of lenses, from the 9mm fisheye-lens-in-a-body-cap to a 400 (Leica) Telyt, to a 500mm Reflex Nikkor. But my favourite lenses, for most things, are the 50~200/2.8-3.5 SWD and the 75/1.8 m.Zuiko.</p>

<p> </p>

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  • 8 months later...

<p>I have been using exclusively Olympus E-M1 on safaris for the past 2 years. Previously I used to use Nikon D700 with Sigma 120-300/2.8 OS. You can find out more and see my galleries here: <a href="http://www.photographers.travel">www.photographers.travel</a> <br>

If you have any questions about what gear I am using please feel free to pop me a PM or email. Happy to help others discover the virtues of Oly gear for wildlife photography. </p>

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