What a great feature birds in flight is on the OM 1 and aren't you so lucky to have such a diverse selection of birds in your area! Nothing like that here although we do have the ubiquitous Canadian goose! Great stuff.
Wonderful video, the advantages of the OM 1 with a good lens. The most seen is that it is tested with PRO series lenses, so it is great to see it with an affordable and good quality lens such as the 75 - 300, which is the one that many people for price and quality would like to add to their bag. Beautiful birds!
@Jose Guillermo H. This is not an easy lens to use. I own it and by comparison with say the Sony 200-600, which I also use, its performance is pretty unimpressive. Obviously Rob's technique overcomes some of the disadvantages but it's clear the OM-1's AF system is a big step up. So all in all, this is a hard lens to use and Rob's pictures are about as good as you can hope to get with it.
Rob, very, very practicle treatment for a guy that also shoots a lot of birds. Im running an M5mk3, use a Leica 50-200 & Pan 100-300ii. Found my Leica and its range adequate and sharp. Thank you and always a faithful fan! Mark
Rob, thanks for this great film, brilliant to see your camera settings and your technique, very helpful, it looked like you were shooting using evaluative metering and I’ve always found that just gets me a lot of bird silhouettes with my EM1 mkiii. Brilliant stuff, thanks again
I got a lot out of the 75-300 when I had it with my EM-1 Mark II. I only shot it single shot but got some great action shots in the daytime. I sold it after I got the 40-150 pro with a teleconverter. I recommend it for people who are trying to improve at wildlife photography in general and also if they work with venomous snakes.
Hi, I have the panasonic 100-300mm original, a old lens, it's very sharp with the om-1 sharper than befor I can't believe it, even at 300mm !! Thanks for this review, I love my om-1 !!
Hi Rob, Jose from Puerto Rico. Good to see you. I pulled the trigger (June 8, 2022) and purchased a used OM-1 from the same place I got my current OMD EM1 Mark II: eBay. The guy supposedly had it for 2 months and decided to sell it, because he switched to Canon, so I pounced on it. Hopefully, it will arrive soon in my hands. This camera is so difficult to find. Anyhow, I'm eager to test it out once it gets here. I'm revisiting all these videos again, just to get a sense of how you guys use it and pick up from there. I recently bought the same lens you're using in this video from KEH camera. I'll keep you posted.
Thank you for this video!!! This is the first one I've seen that addressed the average Olympus shooter, i.e. the ones that can't justify $3000 or $7500 for a birding lens. I've got my OM-1 on order but have been wondering for weeks how it will perform with the 75-300 and the 100-400. You answered part of this question superbly! And I assume that if this lens gets it done then the other will as well. Thanks again for a very informative, down to earth, and valuable video. Your discussion of settings and the explanation behind why you chose them was much appreciated as well!
Thanks. I'm saving up for the 300mm f/4, but I know a lot of people don't want to spend that kind of money. It makes sense to test the 75-300mm. I borrowed my friends 100-400mm. It worked just as well and was significantly sharper at 300mm. At 400mm it softens up but you can still the shot. The stabilization is jumpier at 400mm, so you'll need a steady hand, especially for video.
Hi, Rob I just won a Olympus E-m1x for a steal and just placed an order for the 1st gen 75 300. I just want to get my feet wet with this setup before saving for the 300mm f4 pro. Thanks for sharing!
Hi, I was looking at your video and noticed that on image playback the camera have the square dot on a different spot instead of bird eye, for example min 2:23 does it show a wrong focus point in playback or did it miss the focus? Thanks
I was told that the focus point that shows is sometimes wrong after the shot is taken. I've noticed that sometimes the focus point is dead on but still misses focus and visa-versa. Just use the focus point as a guide, particularly when using C-AF and Continuous shutter.
Hi Rob, another great video, I really appriciate the time you put in and the detail you cover:) I noticed you have used Topaz , can I ask do you prefer this over DXO?
They are both really good, but I prefer DxO. I think when I made this video, DxO didn't support the OM1, so I used Topaz instead. Still got great results.
Great video as always, Rob! :-) I was really interested in a test like this, to help make an idea of how this cheaper lens could perform in this field of birds in flight. Didn't have much hope on its capabilities, but honestly it has surprised me. I am convinced to purchase one for my EM1 II. I know the AF performance is not going to be in the same league with my older body and I won't have the bird recognition magic but still, I guess even if the 'action performance' were not as good, anyway I am finding a lot of sharp and good sample images with this lens (at least to my eye and expectations) of more static wildlife scenery under good daylight and provided the exposure times are not too high, keeping a good stabilization and avoiding excessive cropping to kill any detail. It looks like a solid and very decent candidate (probably the best?) option for an Olympus user as a first not too expensive investment in wildlife photography. By the way, great photos and technique yours!
Thanks. You might like another vlog I did with the E-M5iii & 75-300mm. It's a much more similar setup to what you have and I got some great shots. ruclips.net/video/Eq7dPlSVeL0/видео.html
@@RobTrek Thanks a lot for your response! I have just seen that video, amazing content as usual and definitively great pictures there! You have been very helpful :-)
Thanks for this really useful summary Rob. I noticed that you don't use AF Tracking. When the OM-1 was launched the 'visionaries' made a big thing about how good this was for birds in flight but my experience has been different. With tracking enabled I get clusters of out of focus images. I agree with you that C-AF without tracking gives you more keepers.
Thank you for a nice walkthrough for bird settings Rob 😊🙏 very informative... i finally got my om-1 and the 100-400mm ...... I'm out of here 😁 ...gone birding...
I have been amazed how fast the OM1 AF aquires birds in flight and then locks on. I use my birding OM1 with a 300mm f4 + MC14. I set C1 as follows: 1/2500, CAF + TR + bird reconition, all AF points, SH2 @ 50 fps (I was only going to try this setting briefly, but I'm so impressed I have kept it af 50 fps), +1 comp and AF limiter (in camera) to 5m - 99.9m. This works for me and at 50 fps I can choose the wing beat I want.
Thanks. Great to have the shots of what you see during the viewfinder while you are shooting. Do you ever use the Pro Capture, setting it to use 10 fps as you use here and letting the camera capture up to 30 shots (I think 30 is more or less consistent with the number of images you shoot). Useful information for me with my EM1-2. I do plan to get the OM-1. Can you tell us how you set the CAF sensitivity, please.
Great video! Can I ask, why did you preference silent sequential over the normal shutter based sequential? My guess was to maximise the time that the sensor has visibility of the subject to improve the C-AF, but I wanted to check to see if there were any other reasons.
My experience, as well as from others that I have seen on youtube, find that using faster FPS will result in more "keepers". Meaning, you're more likely to capture that decisive moment. The bird subject detect is really good. That said, if your lens can't keep up with the AF system, then slowing down the FPS will result in more in-focus shots. I'd say you're pretty safe using the 75-300mm at 25fps.
Hi Rob I’m watching the video now and I have the Zoom 100-400 lens. Will what you are talking about be similar with this lens? Am I correct in thinking this lens is better in lower light conditions than the 75-300 you are talking about?
Thanks for this Rob, I really enjoy your low key tone and eye to detail. Here's a question. The Eagle shot that you captured, 3:44 shows the subject detect as an Aeroplane (I'm English, that's how I spell it). Did you set that, or did the camera decide?
Hi Rob, I have the g9 mark ii camera, it has a hybrid autofocus system with animal eye detect. Will this olympus 75-300 mark ii lens work well with this camera? Can it be used for birds in flight?
@@RobTrek ah! Rob didn’t know you watched! Thanks for that. Sad story, I have always dual wielded Fuji and Olympus and I’ve made a decision to stick with Fuji (for now, let’s be honest). Big camera purchase coming up tomorrow! All I’ll say is landscapes are incoming 😉. Keep up the Olympus content. I love Olympus and this was a great video.
I use auto-iso in manual mode, so all I have to do is control shutter speed and exposure comp.. For exposure, you have to get a feel for the lighting. Darker birds usually need +1 exposure comp. Cloudy days usually don't need any exposure comp. Birds that have dark and light areas, like the bald eagle, I expose for the head then push the shadows on the wings in post, so -.5 to -1 ev exposure comp. The black crow picture in the beginning of the video I did +3 ev because the sky was so bright, then I sky replacement in photoshop.
hi, vraagje, ik heb de lens met de em1 MIII, en de stabilisatie werkt vaak niet zo goed samen, is dat met de om-1 beter en waar ligt dat aan dat die bij de em1 niet zo goed is?
I have tried to work a little with the settings you suggest, but I think it is confusing that you don't get the AF confirmation beep when using electronic shutter? Why don't you use C-AF + tracking when shooting birds in flight?
Hi. You can turn on the beep in Menu 1.7 under "Silent Settings". In C-AF mode, you'll only get the confirmation beep on the first focus. Since it's continually focusing in fractions of a second, it doesn't mean it will be in-focus when you start taking pictures. Hence, I just leave it off. When You have the Subject Detect for Birds selected, it will automatically track the bird so C-AF + Tracking is redundant. Some say they get better results with C-AF and other say C-AF+TR. I highly recommend you watch this video from Mathieu ruclips.net/video/LG0qExLTHP4/видео.html Hope that helps, -Rob
Do you see any rolling shutter artifacts when using silent (electronic) shutter on the OM-1? Apparently this could be a problem on the E-M1 Mk II and Mk III.
I note you suggest C-AF without tracking - what made you decide not to use tracking? I followed your advice after getting some poor results with tracking (I have the 100-400 lens - the birds here are further away) so yesterday I tried turning tracking off and got much better results. Many thanks for that recommendation.
Thank you! I am so jealous. I pre-ordered an OM-1 on Feb 15th but it hasn’t arrived yet. Do you, with your inside knowledge, have any idea when more camera’s are going to ship? This video addresses the exact issues I was going to research when my camera arrives. I’m looking to do exactly what you were doing with yours. I have the lens you spoke of and used. My experience with it mirrors yours. That’s why I’ve sold a bunch of my gear and bought a used Oly 300 f/4 Pro. I’m hoping it is much better at 300mm and wider aperture with a commensurately lower ISO.
@@RobTrek I used MPB for my equipment sale and purchase. I’ve made the sale transaction and it went very well. My gear was valued at the level I had estimated and wasn’t “down graded” as I have had happen before. The communication with the company has been the best I’ve ever experienced. The 300 is supposed to arrive on Saturday. If it as described, I’ll be very happy and using them in the future.
Thanks for the great video, Rob. May I ask what equipment you use to capture the in-viewfinder footage of camera menu operations. That's very cool. Regards, Rob Smith.
Probably not as sharp as the 300 f4 but still pleasing to look at. I doubt that there is any other lens with that reach for less than $500 and even cheaper used.
Thanks for your great videos Rob. I have just set up your settings for Birds in Flight to try on my new OM-1. But have discovered a problem! I copied all your settings while in Manual mode, then saved that to C1 for easy recall. When switching to C1 all looks good except Auto ISO does not get saved? I can't seem to save Auto ISO into a custom setting? Cheers, Rob
Go into Shooting Menu 1, Go to Page 3. On the third line, make sure "ISO Auto" is set to P/A/S/M. The default setting is "P/A/S". Let me know if that worked. Thanks. -Rob
@@robertdavidson7242 Yikes! I'll dig in the menu a bit to see what else it could be. I'll post back if I can find anything or not. I can't duplicate the issue right now. So you're in M mode with auto-iso, then save it to C1, then move the dial to C1 and Auto-Iso turns off? What ISO does it change to?
Thanks for very good video! I'm a little bit surprised that you strongly suggest C-AF, and not C-AF-Tr... Why not C-AF-Tr with bird detection? Is it because of slow focus motors in the lens, or other reasons?
I haven't tested the combination of settings with the tracking. It seemed to work well with some random shooting. Once I get a feel for C-AF, I'll move to C-AF+TR. My initial thought it may help with the keeper rate when there is a pair of birds and I only want one in focus.
I used the Sharpen Ai. There wasn't much noise, just softness. I'm going to test the tracking soon. Initial tests in video were excellent. For stills, I think it will work well when there are multiple subjects but I want to pick one and track it. We'll see.
Random question i have learnt alot from your videos, would the olympus 100-400mm be a good match for wildlife with the e-m10 ll and what lens would you suggest with it for the northern lights?
The 100-400mm is a nice lens but I haven't tried it with the em10ii. It should work fine, just keep your shutter speeds up. As for Northern Lights, the 12mm f/2 or the 7-14mm f/2.8
I did some more testing specifically at 75,150,200, and 300. Between 75-150 you can shoot at maximum aperture and it stays pretty sharp. Beyond that, it's really good up to about 240mm at f8.
Given the quality of the lens the hit rate was very impressive. FWIW I don't think you can use the 75-300mm with Pro Capture because its performance isn't sufficient. IIRC the supported lenses are the 40-150mm, the 12-100mm, the 300mm, the 150-400mm and the 100-400mm (the only non-Pro lens which supports Pro Capture). I would not use All Points for birds since AF is faster the smaller the area needed to be evaluated. (If the bird is outside the focus area it may be identified but the camera won't lock focus). For BIFs you might try setting up a custom horizontal set of points. For perched birds try Middle. The suggestion to use exposure compensation to increase exposure is a good one. The sky will throw off the evaluation and spot focus is problematic.
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, 75-300mm is a bit slow focusing for ProCap, but adequate. I'm going do a lot more bird photography and see how the OM1 performs using ALL points vs Smaller points. My initial impressions on ALL points is very positive, but it's really still too soon for me to make a definitive statement on it.
@@RobTrek Under "Shooting without a release time lag" aka Pro Capture, the manual says "This option can only be used with specific lenses. Visit our website for details". I couldn't find any information about which lenses supported Pro Capture on the GetOlympus website, but in this video about Pro Capture, @29 minutes, the presenters lists the lenses. ruclips.net/video/zd73Mcc57sE/видео.html I think you'll find that a smaller focus area works better, but that assumes you keep the subject in the area, which some find difficult. Great tips BTW.
@@doncooper2344 I don't think David Smith was as clear as he needed to be about using Pro Capture with 'non-pro' Olympus lenses. You can use any Olympus 'non pro' m4/3's lens with Pro Capture L up to 20 FPS. Above that, in Pro Cap SH2 you must use 'Pro' lenses to shoot at 25-50 FPS. So the 'Pro' lens restriction only applies to Silent Shutter SH2 and Pro Capture SH2.
@@gregm6894 Good point. He talks about this a little later in the video. As you say, standard Pro Capture at 20 fps would work with the 75-300mm (no idea how well). However, the video was demonstrating using silent sequential which in the Pro Capture world would be Pro Capture SH1 or SH2. I think you can use Pro Capture SH2 if you reduced the fps. However I can't see any reason to do this. Essentially the same fps but, because Pro Capture SH2 uses the electronic shutter, you introduce the possibility of rolling shutter artifacts.
if you have the om-1 like i do you need pro lenses .....my 300mm f4 instantly demoted my 75-300mm to my son's camera focus speed and quality really noticeably improved
I am seeing the AF tracking things that the other reviewers have talked about. If you can keep the flying birds inside the box (group equivalent) then it tracks pretty well. If the birds leave the box, it doesn't. Not much different to groups in the DLSRs and some mirrorless. The Nikon seems to have a good solution. A big box and a smaller box.
In this video, I used all of the AF points covering the entire sensor. There is an option for using smaller boxes and single points but I didn't use those. In an earlier video, I did use a smaller box and single point. As you said, it's pretty much the same as a dslr. It doesn't lock or track as well until the subject is inside the box. I'm going out with a friend this week who has a Z9. I'll see if I can borrow it to compare.
@@RobTrek The Lumix G9 is the same in that the subject has to be within the box. With that, Tracking and the Human/Eye/Animal detect are two different things. Tracking may help it stay with the same subject in a flock but with a single bird the Detect will guide the focus point and tracking is not needed so much (if at all) - if you can keep the bird in the box. If your burst is going to focus every frame then C-AF will just give the camera more work to do, S-AF will do the job. Ideally C-AF is a follow-focus. If the burst does not focus every frame, a fast burst, then focus is guesstimated, which is fine if the subject is not varying focal distance rapidly. I've had problems with buzzard (buteo buteo) display flights where they will drop out of the sky as fast as a peregrine such that the distance travelled between focus lock and shutter firing is sufficient that the bird is now out of focus. I've not figured a work around to that yet. The OM-1 you have there is producing some very nicely focused shots. I do notice you are using a very high shutter speed. I must try that.
DXO does not have profiles for this camera yet and hence will not edit these images. M4/3 is one of the prime markets for this product. Not impressive.
@@JoeMaranophotography AF Near, small Box AF, custom AF set 3, min SS 1/1600 = decent hit rate with the G9. Especially as the goose are flying horizontally. Good luck next time.
@@agrafernando Yeah I tried all AF mode variations with the G9 and the hit rate is about what mirrorlessons claim. Not very good at all. That's fine though as I don't care for shots of birds in flight all that much anyway.
Master Class for us regular folks. Thank you Rob Trek. 💁🏻♀️💕
Some superb shots there. Your technique has already improved a lot.
Thanks. I try.
Thanks
Thank you!
What a great feature birds in flight is on the OM 1 and aren't you so lucky to have such a diverse selection of birds in your area! Nothing like that here although we do have the ubiquitous Canadian goose! Great stuff.
It was pretty empty that morning. Usually there are a lot more!
Wonderful video, the advantages of the OM 1 with a good lens. The most seen is that it is tested with PRO series lenses, so it is great to see it with an affordable and good quality lens such as the 75 - 300, which is the one that many people for price and quality would like to add to their bag. Beautiful birds!
Thanks!
@Jose Guillermo H. This is not an easy lens to use. I own it and by comparison with say the Sony 200-600, which I also use, its performance is pretty unimpressive. Obviously Rob's technique overcomes some of the disadvantages but it's clear the OM-1's AF system is a big step up. So all in all, this is a hard lens to use and Rob's pictures are about as good as you can hope to get with it.
I am pretty impressed, still waiting on my OM1. Thanks for posting
I was impressed too! Thanks.
Eagle shot -- nice ! 👍 That one bird was really moving.... sounded just like a jet 😆
Everyone is in a hurry I suppose. Thanks.
Thanks!
Thank you!
Thanks for your video! Very good explanation for shooting birds in flight.
Thanks.
Rob, very, very practicle treatment for a guy that also shoots a lot of birds. Im running an M5mk3, use a Leica 50-200 & Pan 100-300ii. Found my Leica and its range adequate and sharp. Thank you and always a faithful fan! Mark
Thanks.
Well done Rob. Great video.
Thank you!
Great! Thank you very much! Waiting for more videos .. and for my OM 1 ... Best wishes from Germany, Gustav
More to come! Thanks.
Rob, thanks for this great film, brilliant to see your camera settings and your technique, very helpful, it looked like you were shooting using evaluative metering and I’ve always found that just gets me a lot of bird silhouettes with my EM1 mkiii. Brilliant stuff, thanks again
I dial in exposure compensation as needed. That crow picture in the beginning was +3ev!
@@RobTrek thanks for the reply, sounds about right, I use exp comp a lot, top bloke indeed!
Looks like you are totally enjoying wildlife photography. 😊
I am!
Really well explained & why . Thank you 😊
Glad it was helpful!
Great Video Rob! Thanks for continuing to provide great practical and educational content !!
Thanks!
I got a lot out of the 75-300 when I had it with my EM-1 Mark II. I only shot it single shot but got some great action shots in the daytime. I sold it after I got the 40-150 pro with a teleconverter. I recommend it for people who are trying to improve at wildlife photography in general and also if they work with venomous snakes.
Thanks for sharing your experience! Sound advice.
Hi, I have the panasonic 100-300mm original, a old lens, it's very sharp with the om-1 sharper than befor I can't believe it, even at 300mm !! Thanks for this review, I love my om-1 !!
Thanks. I love mine too! I do envy some of the Pana/Leica lenses. That 200mm f/2.8 is WOW!
Hi Rob, Jose from Puerto Rico. Good to see you. I pulled the trigger (June 8, 2022) and purchased a used OM-1 from the same place I got my current OMD EM1 Mark II: eBay. The guy supposedly had it for 2 months and decided to sell it, because he switched to Canon, so I pounced on it. Hopefully, it will arrive soon in my hands. This camera is so difficult to find. Anyhow, I'm eager to test it out once it gets here. I'm revisiting all these videos again, just to get a sense of how you guys use it and pick up from there. I recently bought the same lens you're using in this video from KEH camera. I'll keep you posted.
Congrats on your new camera! You'll love it. Thanks.
Great shots and video - many thanks.
Thanks!
Great work Rob!!! Always enjoy your videos.
Thanks!
wonderful variety of birds.
It's a great location.
Thank you for this video!!! This is the first one I've seen that addressed the average Olympus shooter, i.e. the ones that can't justify $3000 or $7500 for a birding lens. I've got my OM-1 on order but have been wondering for weeks how it will perform with the 75-300 and the 100-400. You answered part of this question superbly! And I assume that if this lens gets it done then the other will as well. Thanks again for a very informative, down to earth, and valuable video. Your discussion of settings and the explanation behind why you chose them was much appreciated as well!
Thanks. I'm saving up for the 300mm f/4, but I know a lot of people don't want to spend that kind of money. It makes sense to test the 75-300mm. I borrowed my friends 100-400mm. It worked just as well and was significantly sharper at 300mm. At 400mm it softens up but you can still the shot. The stabilization is jumpier at 400mm, so you'll need a steady hand, especially for video.
buy well
or
buy twice.
take his advice. Dont recreate the wheel.
Nice one Rob getting better 👍
Thanks. I try.
Great info. Loving the OM1 will definitely try these settings. Looking forward to further videos.
More to come!
Good morning Rob, many of your videos have you using extension screen attached for better viewing. Could you send a link of what you use?
Hi, Vijay. They don't sell the one I have anymore but this one will work amzn.to/3xwWsvt
Wow! That's working really great. I'm impressed.
It really did a great job! I'm getting a much higher keeper rate.
The autofocus in the OM-1 looks superb! That's gonna take some of the challenge out of the equation.
Agreed!
Hi, Rob I just won a Olympus E-m1x for a steal and just placed an order for the 1st gen 75 300. I just want to get my feet wet with this setup before saving for the 300mm f4 pro. Thanks for sharing!
Rob ... great practical advice - thanks ... I have been getting good OM1 bird shots with my Panasonic-Leica 100400 lens. Cheers, Doug
Thanks!
Hi love the video I have this lens ,I will try slowing the shutter rate like you explained
Gracias por tu prueba de campo con este equipo!! Thanks!!
Thank you!
Very nice. Thanks. What kind of screen recorder were you using for while taking the bird photos?
I was using an old Blackmagic hdmi recorder. I've since switched to another device here amzn.to/3oRwjGS
@@RobTrek Thanks
Rob, another great video. What do you think would be a good long zoom to use with the EM 10iv.
I think the 75-300mm is a good fit. Just need to be in good light.
Hi, I was looking at your video and noticed that on image playback the camera have the square dot on a different spot instead of bird eye, for example min 2:23 does it show a wrong focus point in playback or did it miss the focus? Thanks
I was told that the focus point that shows is sometimes wrong after the shot is taken. I've noticed that sometimes the focus point is dead on but still misses focus and visa-versa. Just use the focus point as a guide, particularly when using C-AF and Continuous shutter.
Hi Rob, another great video, I really appriciate the time you put in and the detail you cover:) I noticed you have used Topaz , can I ask do you prefer this over DXO?
They are both really good, but I prefer DxO. I think when I made this video, DxO didn't support the OM1, so I used Topaz instead. Still got great results.
Great video as always, Rob! :-) I was really interested in a test like this, to help make an idea of how this cheaper lens could perform in this field of birds in flight. Didn't have much hope on its capabilities, but honestly it has surprised me. I am convinced to purchase one for my EM1 II. I know the AF performance is not going to be in the same league with my older body and I won't have the bird recognition magic but still, I guess even if the 'action performance' were not as good, anyway I am finding a lot of sharp and good sample images with this lens (at least to my eye and expectations) of more static wildlife scenery under good daylight and provided the exposure times are not too high, keeping a good stabilization and avoiding excessive cropping to kill any detail. It looks like a solid and very decent candidate (probably the best?) option for an Olympus user as a first not too expensive investment in wildlife photography. By the way, great photos and technique yours!
Thanks. You might like another vlog I did with the E-M5iii & 75-300mm. It's a much more similar setup to what you have and I got some great shots. ruclips.net/video/Eq7dPlSVeL0/видео.html
@@RobTrek Thanks a lot for your response! I have just seen that video, amazing content as usual and definitively great pictures there! You have been very helpful :-)
Thanks for this really useful summary Rob. I noticed that you don't use AF Tracking. When the OM-1 was launched the 'visionaries' made a big thing about how good this was for birds in flight but my experience has been different. With tracking enabled I get clusters of out of focus images. I agree with you that C-AF without tracking gives you more keepers.
I tried the tracking again the other day and found it to be useless. The subject detect in C-AF works best. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thank you for a nice walkthrough for bird settings Rob 😊🙏 very informative... i finally got my om-1 and the 100-400mm
...... I'm out of here 😁 ...gone birding...
Thanks. Enjoy!
Rob, What is that beautiful fiery orange bird @4:49 ?
It's a male cardinal. Quite common in my area.
I have been amazed how fast the OM1 AF aquires birds in flight and then locks on. I use my birding OM1 with a 300mm f4 + MC14. I set C1 as follows: 1/2500, CAF + TR + bird reconition, all AF points, SH2 @ 50 fps (I was only going to try this setting briefly, but I'm so impressed I have kept it af 50 fps), +1 comp and AF limiter (in camera) to 5m - 99.9m. This works for me and at 50 fps I can choose the wing beat I want.
Wow! That's great. Thanks for sharing your experience.
looks like you have stuck blue and white pixels in 3 areas. did you run pixel mapping? 10:51
Oddly, it doesn't show when I take completely black shots. Still, I ran the pixel mapping and it clear it right up. Thanks!
Very impressive camera
I'm pretty impressed too!
I am 8 minutes into this on my phone but it has not showed up on my PC yet. Okay, on PC now. Great video.
Thanks!
That AF seems to be quite good
I'm quite happy with the AF.
Thanks. Great to have the shots of what you see during the viewfinder while you are shooting. Do you ever use the Pro Capture, setting it to use 10 fps as you use here and letting the camera capture up to 30 shots (I think 30 is more or less consistent with the number of images you shoot). Useful information for me with my EM1-2. I do plan to get the OM-1. Can you tell us how you set the CAF sensitivity, please.
Thanks. I set it to +2. I'll do another video explaining some of the other settings I use and why.
Great video! Can I ask, why did you preference silent sequential over the normal shutter based sequential? My guess was to maximise the time that the sensor has visibility of the subject to improve the C-AF, but I wanted to check to see if there were any other reasons.
My experience, as well as from others that I have seen on youtube, find that using faster FPS will result in more "keepers". Meaning, you're more likely to capture that decisive moment. The bird subject detect is really good. That said, if your lens can't keep up with the AF system, then slowing down the FPS will result in more in-focus shots. I'd say you're pretty safe using the 75-300mm at 25fps.
Hi Rob I’m watching the video now and I have the Zoom 100-400 lens. Will what you are talking about be similar with this lens? Am I correct in thinking this lens is better in lower light conditions than the 75-300 you are talking about?
Yes, the settings will be the same. The 100-400 will be slightly better in lower light and a bit sharper overall.
Thanks for this Rob, I really enjoy your low key tone and eye to detail. Here's a question. The Eagle shot that you captured, 3:44 shows the subject detect as an Aeroplane (I'm English, that's how I spell it). Did you set that, or did the camera decide?
That's actually the icon for "Airplane" mode for the Wifi/bluetooth.
PLEASE do a full menu walkthrough with the OM 1. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Noted!
Hi Rob, I have the g9 mark ii camera, it has a hybrid autofocus system with animal eye detect. Will this olympus 75-300 mark ii lens work well with this camera? Can it be used for birds in flight?
I"m sure it would be fine. But I think Panasonic has a 100-300 lens that would work better with your camera.
@RobTrek thanks a lot. Have you ever tried the g9ii with the 75-300 by the way?
@@rahularghasen4357 No. Actually, I have not tried the G9ii with anything. I only recently met someone who has one in my photo club.
@@RobTrek OK thank you 😊👍
Impressive Rob
Thanks, Eric. Sorry to hear about you theft in Vegas. I meant to comment on the video but I usually watch youtube on my TV. Did you get your OM-1 yet?
@@RobTrek ah! Rob didn’t know you watched! Thanks for that. Sad story, I have always dual wielded Fuji and Olympus and I’ve made a decision to stick with Fuji (for now, let’s be honest). Big camera purchase coming up tomorrow! All I’ll say is landscapes are incoming 😉. Keep up the Olympus content. I love Olympus and this was a great video.
@@ericrjennings I'll have to catch up on your videos. Haven't watched too many since the theft. Last I remember you were going to only use one camera?
@@RobTrek yeah. I’ve failed at that. The theft triggered major GAS
Great video!
Thanks!
Hi Rob nice video. You use m mode for bif right? How to know whether the bird are correct exposure by histogram? And when to use -1/3 exposures?
I use auto-iso in manual mode, so all I have to do is control shutter speed and exposure comp.. For exposure, you have to get a feel for the lighting. Darker birds usually need +1 exposure comp. Cloudy days usually don't need any exposure comp. Birds that have dark and light areas, like the bald eagle, I expose for the head then push the shadows on the wings in post, so -.5 to -1 ev exposure comp. The black crow picture in the beginning of the video I did +3 ev because the sky was so bright, then I sky replacement in photoshop.
@@RobTrek thanks for sharing
hi, vraagje, ik heb de lens met de em1 MIII, en de stabilisatie werkt vaak niet zo goed samen, is dat met de om-1 beter en waar ligt dat aan dat die bij de em1 niet zo goed is?
I think the stabilization on the EM1.3 is just as good as the OM-1.
I have tried to work a little with the settings you suggest, but I think it is confusing that you don't get the AF confirmation beep when using electronic shutter? Why don't you use C-AF + tracking when shooting birds in flight?
Hi. You can turn on the beep in Menu 1.7 under "Silent Settings". In C-AF mode, you'll only get the confirmation beep on the first focus. Since it's continually focusing in fractions of a second, it doesn't mean it will be in-focus when you start taking pictures. Hence, I just leave it off. When You have the Subject Detect for Birds selected, it will automatically track the bird so C-AF + Tracking is redundant. Some say they get better results with C-AF and other say C-AF+TR. I highly recommend you watch this video from Mathieu ruclips.net/video/LG0qExLTHP4/видео.html
Hope that helps, -Rob
@@RobTrek Yes, thank you for your explanation! 💪
Do you see any rolling shutter artifacts when using silent (electronic) shutter on the OM-1? Apparently this could be a problem on the E-M1 Mk II and Mk III.
It's very minimal. I notice it on my E-M5.3 but not on the OM-1.
@@RobTrek Thanks. It's good that they improved this with the OM-1.
I note you suggest C-AF without tracking - what made you decide not to use tracking? I followed your advice after getting some poor results with tracking (I have the 100-400 lens - the birds here are further away) so yesterday I tried turning tracking off and got much better results. Many thanks for that recommendation.
I noticed the green tracking box was all over the place so I turned it tracking off. Like you, I'm getting more in-focus shots now.
@@RobTrek I think you deserve a coffee for this ....
Thank you! I am so jealous. I pre-ordered an OM-1 on Feb 15th but it hasn’t arrived yet. Do you, with your inside knowledge, have any idea when more camera’s are going to ship?
This video addresses the exact issues I was going to research when my camera arrives. I’m looking to do exactly what you were doing with yours. I have the lens you spoke of and used. My experience with it mirrors yours. That’s why I’ve sold a bunch of my gear and bought a used Oly 300 f/4 Pro. I’m hoping it is much better at 300mm and wider aperture with a commensurately lower ISO.
I'm saving up for the 300mm myself! I don't have any contact with OMDS, so can't help you there.
@@RobTrek I used MPB for my equipment sale and purchase. I’ve made the sale transaction and it went very well. My gear was valued at the level I had estimated and wasn’t “down graded” as I have had happen before. The communication with the company has been the best I’ve ever experienced. The 300 is supposed to arrive on Saturday. If it as described, I’ll be very happy and using them in the future.
Thanks for the great video, Rob. May I ask what equipment you use to capture the in-viewfinder footage of camera menu operations. That's very cool. Regards, Rob Smith.
Thanks. I used an old Black Magic Design HDMI recorder. They don't make them anymore.
@@RobTrek Thanks. That's enough info to give me a lead.
hey, what is above your camera??
It's an hdmi recorder for my screen.
Probably not as sharp as the 300 f4 but still pleasing to look at. I doubt that there is any other lens with that reach for less than $500 and even cheaper used.
I'm saving up for the 300mm f/4. Until then, the 75-300 is a great lens if you don't take it too seriously.
Thanks for your great videos Rob. I have just set up your settings for Birds in Flight to try on my new OM-1. But have discovered a problem! I copied all your settings while in Manual mode, then saved that to C1 for easy recall. When switching to C1 all looks good except Auto ISO does not get saved? I can't seem to save Auto ISO into a custom setting? Cheers, Rob
Go into Shooting Menu 1, Go to Page 3. On the third line, make sure "ISO Auto" is set to P/A/S/M. The default setting is "P/A/S". Let me know if that worked. Thanks. -Rob
@@RobTrek I had already done that. Does not work?
I had already done that. Does not work?
@@robertdavidson7242 Yikes! I'll dig in the menu a bit to see what else it could be. I'll post back if I can find anything or not.
I can't duplicate the issue right now. So you're in M mode with auto-iso, then save it to C1, then move the dial to C1 and Auto-Iso turns off? What ISO does it change to?
@@RobTrek It changes to the low default ISO 200. I had set a low and high ISO 6400 as you suggested in your video. So you can't duplicate the problem?
Thanks for very good video! I'm a little bit surprised that you strongly suggest C-AF, and not C-AF-Tr... Why not C-AF-Tr with bird detection? Is it because of slow focus motors in the lens, or other reasons?
I haven't tested the combination of settings with the tracking. It seemed to work well with some random shooting. Once I get a feel for C-AF, I'll move to C-AF+TR. My initial thought it may help with the keeper rate when there is a pair of birds and I only want one in focus.
Which Topaz software are you usimg? There is DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI. Also, have you tested the CAF+Tracking? Thanks!
I used the Sharpen Ai. There wasn't much noise, just softness. I'm going to test the tracking soon. Initial tests in video were excellent. For stills, I think it will work well when there are multiple subjects but I want to pick one and track it. We'll see.
Random question i have learnt alot from your videos, would the olympus 100-400mm be a good match for wildlife with the e-m10 ll and what lens would you suggest with it for the northern lights?
The 100-400mm is a nice lens but I haven't tried it with the em10ii. It should work fine, just keep your shutter speeds up. As for Northern Lights, the 12mm f/2 or the 7-14mm f/2.8
That AF is amazing! I'm lucky to get one shot out of 40.
I love it!
Sadly my om 1 haven't been delivered yet 😬 but I got the 100-400mm ready for it 💪
Wasn't the 75-300mm great up to 250mm?
I did some more testing specifically at 75,150,200, and 300. Between 75-150 you can shoot at maximum aperture and it stays pretty sharp. Beyond that, it's really good up to about 240mm at f8.
@@RobTrek My sample is very sharp out to the longest end wide open. Not far off my good sample 100-400m.
Given the quality of the lens the hit rate was very impressive. FWIW I don't think you can use the 75-300mm with Pro Capture because its performance isn't sufficient. IIRC the supported lenses are the 40-150mm, the 12-100mm, the 300mm, the 150-400mm and the 100-400mm (the only non-Pro lens which supports Pro Capture).
I would not use All Points for birds since AF is faster the smaller the area needed to be evaluated. (If the bird is outside the focus area it may be identified but the camera won't lock focus). For BIFs you might try setting up a custom horizontal set of points. For perched birds try Middle.
The suggestion to use exposure compensation to increase exposure is a good one. The sky will throw off the evaluation and spot focus is problematic.
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, 75-300mm is a bit slow focusing for ProCap, but adequate. I'm going do a lot more bird photography and see how the OM1 performs using ALL points vs Smaller points. My initial impressions on ALL points is very positive, but it's really still too soon for me to make a definitive statement on it.
@@RobTrek Under "Shooting without a release time lag" aka Pro Capture, the manual says "This option can only be used with specific lenses. Visit our website for details". I couldn't find any information about which lenses supported Pro Capture on the GetOlympus website, but in this video about Pro Capture, @29 minutes, the presenters lists the lenses. ruclips.net/video/zd73Mcc57sE/видео.html
I think you'll find that a smaller focus area works better, but that assumes you keep the subject in the area, which some find difficult. Great tips BTW.
@@doncooper2344 I don't think David Smith was as clear as he needed to be about using Pro Capture with 'non-pro' Olympus lenses. You can use any Olympus 'non pro' m4/3's lens with Pro Capture L up to 20 FPS. Above that, in Pro Cap SH2 you must use 'Pro' lenses to shoot at 25-50 FPS. So the 'Pro' lens restriction only applies to Silent Shutter SH2 and Pro Capture SH2.
@@gregm6894 Good point. He talks about this a little later in the video. As you say, standard Pro Capture at 20 fps would work with the 75-300mm (no idea how well). However, the video was demonstrating using silent sequential which in the Pro Capture world would be Pro Capture SH1 or SH2.
I think you can use Pro Capture SH2 if you reduced the fps. However I can't see any reason to do this. Essentially the same fps but, because Pro Capture SH2 uses the electronic shutter, you introduce the possibility of rolling shutter artifacts.
if you have the om-1 like i do you need pro lenses .....my 300mm f4 instantly demoted my 75-300mm to my son's camera focus speed and quality really noticeably improved
Saving my pennies!
I am seeing the AF tracking things that the other reviewers have talked about. If you can keep the flying birds inside the box (group equivalent) then it tracks pretty well. If the birds leave the box, it doesn't. Not much different to groups in the DLSRs and some mirrorless. The Nikon seems to have a good solution. A big box and a smaller box.
In this video, I used all of the AF points covering the entire sensor. There is an option for using smaller boxes and single points but I didn't use those. In an earlier video, I did use a smaller box and single point. As you said, it's pretty much the same as a dslr. It doesn't lock or track as well until the subject is inside the box. I'm going out with a friend this week who has a Z9. I'll see if I can borrow it to compare.
@@RobTrek The Lumix G9 is the same in that the subject has to be within the box. With that, Tracking and the Human/Eye/Animal detect are two different things. Tracking may help it stay with the same subject in a flock but with a single bird the Detect will guide the focus point and tracking is not needed so much (if at all) - if you can keep the bird in the box.
If your burst is going to focus every frame then C-AF will just give the camera more work to do, S-AF will do the job. Ideally C-AF is a follow-focus. If the burst does not focus every frame, a fast burst, then focus is guesstimated, which is fine if the subject is not varying focal distance rapidly.
I've had problems with buzzard (buteo buteo) display flights where they will drop out of the sky as fast as a peregrine such that the distance travelled between focus lock and shutter firing is sufficient that the bird is now out of focus. I've not figured a work around to that yet.
The OM-1 you have there is producing some very nicely focused shots. I do notice you are using a very high shutter speed. I must try that.
to keep your iso low set minimum of camera and not auto
That works too. Thanks.
I think you should overexpose about one EV for subject against the sky or on brightly lit water. Anyway you seem to be having the time of your live.
Agreed. Thanks!
@@RobTrek thank you!
They are Canada Greese, not Canadian Geese.
Thanks!
Pretty fast AF
I'm pretty happy so far!
DXO does not have profiles for this camera yet and hence will not edit these images. M4/3 is one of the prime markets for this product. Not impressive.
I'm waiting for DXO myself. Hopefully it will be updated soon. It is on their list.
Just in the first few minutes the OM1 did more than my G9 could ever hope to achieve. I would have all out of focus shots of those geese!
I have had some cracking geese shots with the G9. Can't always blame the gear 😉
@@agrafernando Haha I saw the external footage and no way would the G9 have locked on and got that many shots in focus. Not a chance in fact:)
@@JoeMaranophotography AF Near, small Box AF, custom AF set 3, min SS 1/1600 = decent hit rate with the G9. Especially as the goose are flying horizontally. Good luck next time.
@@agrafernando Yeah I tried all AF mode variations with the G9 and the hit rate is about what mirrorlessons claim. Not very good at all. That's fine though as I don't care for shots of birds in flight all that much anyway.
@@JoeMaranophotography then it's prefect for you
Thanks!
Thank you!
Thanks!
Thank you!