Olympus OM-D E-M5 Action Photos

[Photo-John]

Last night I finally got the new Olympus OM-D pro Micro Four Thirds camera out for some proper action testing. I still wasn't able to really test the continuous auto focus, which has been improved. But I was able to do some high-speed burst / high ISO shooting. Thes photos were both shot at ISO 1600, with a polarizer, at the full burst rate of 9 frames per second. That may not seem like a big deal looking at the sequence image. But maybe it will when I tell you that I only used every other frame in that sequence

The truth is, 9 frames per second is too fast for most sequences. What it really allows you to do is pick and choose the photo with the absolute best timing. Even the best photographers can't time really high-speed action perfectly. Most of the time, the crux of a jump isn't actually that visible. But when you can look through a burst shot at 9 FPS, you can find the very best frame - as I did in the single frame. Or in the case of a sequence, you can choose the best-timed set of images.

I continue to be very impressed with the Olympus OM-D E-M5. I would never have shot daytime action photos at ISO 1600 with the E-P3 Pen camera. But the image quality of the E-M5 has been improved enough that I can now shoot in the evening with a polarizer - the proper way to shoot photos like these.

This weekend I'll get the camera out on the trail for some more standard (for me, anyway) mountain bike photos. Then sadly, I have to return the camera to Olympus

[Ti.P]

Nice! Did you PS the first one or they have the software for this kind photo?

[Photo-John]

Nice! Did you PS the first one or they have the software for this kind photo?

Had to Photoshop it, Ti. That's the only way I know of to do this. I did use the Photomerge tool in Photoshop, which builds the layers and masks for me. But there's still a ton of editing to do after Photoshop assembles the layered file. As far as I know, there's no really easy way to assemble these sequence montages.

[SmartWombat]

I'll have to try the multiple exposure option n-camera ans sxee that it does.
I assume itls like film multiple exposure and it woud look like ghost images, the only way I know of to get images like yours is PS.

[Ti.P]

"Had to Photoshop it, Ti. That's the only way I know of to do this. I did use the Photomerge tool in Photoshop, which builds the layers and masks for me. But there's still a ton of editing to do after Photoshop assembles the layered file. As far as I know, there's no really easy way to assemble these sequence montages. "


oh man thats tons of work... do you use Wacom?

[Ti.P]

I'll have to try the multiple exposure option n-camera ans sxee that it does.
I assume itls like film multiple exposure and it woud look like ghost images, the only way I know of to get images like yours is PS.

I heard Pentax K10D can do multi exposure in 1 frame and auto adjust the EV hopefully Canon or Nikon will have this option in the future

[Photo-John]

Olympus wants their camera back (frowny face) so I made it a point to get out this past weekend and get a bunch of mountain bike photos with it. I don't think the comntinuous auto focus has improved enough to compete with a digital SLR yet, but every other part of the camera has. The image quality is good enough that I can shoot at ISO 800 or even 1600 without worrying about it and the 9 FPS burst rate is awesome. I also love that it has an integrated EVF . Carrying around the accessory EVF for the Pen cameras was starting to be a bit of a chore.

The bottom line - this is the Micro Four Thirds camera I've been waiting for. I believe I could carry only this camera for nearly all my outdoor shooting. The only reason I'd need to take something else is when I really need continuous auto focus. My only other criticism (and I'm not really criticizing the AF) is that as a pro, I need some pro-level zoom lenses to shoot with. One of the things I notice about the photos I shot this weekend is they almost all have *more* depth-of-field than I want. I need some faster glass with more depth-of-field control so I can separate my subjects from the background better.