Photography News issue 17

Camera review

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Live Compositemode E-M5 users have been enjoying the camera’s Live Bulb mode where you see a long exposure building up over a period of time. Live Composite is similar but different and that’s the mode used for this light painting image. With the Mark II fitted on a tripod, the camera was set to manual mode, low ISO and the lens to f/6.3. The shutter time was set to five seconds, so the camera took a continuous series of five-second exposures that it then merged in real time. Set-up done, the lights were turned off and with first press of the shutter release the camera makes a five-second (or whatever time is set) dark frame exposure as a reference frame. The camera then tells you that it is ready for your live composite. Press the shutter button again (there is no need for a lockable remote release) and then you can start your light painting (star trail, fireworks, whatever) and every five seconds the image updates and you see the effect on the monitor. Once you are all done, press the shutter release again to close the shutter and terminate the exposure. For this image here the light painting was done by experts from Hamburg, Olaf Schieche and Zhenya Ospanov (www. zolaq.de), using LEDs, light wands and torches fitted with coloured filter gels. In terms of time, the shutter was probably open for three minutes as the light painters moved around the dark interior of the water treatment plant. There was a very low level of ambient light so they could see where they were going but with the low ISO setting that didn’t have any impact.

What the experts say…

It’s one of those things that you need to hold inyour hands because the build quality is stunning

SetsuyaKataoka Olympus general manager, product and marketing planning department “Within the OM-D range we have the E-M10 which is our most compact model for inspirational newcomers, then we have the E-M1 which is the top model in the OM-D range for professional photographers and then the E-M5 which is our core model. The Mark II is its successor and is a really diverse camera for people whose main hobby is photography. “The Mark II has a broad appeal, it’s about gaining the freedom to tell spectacular stories in any genre. No matter how spontaneous the situation or how poorly lit, it gives customers the option to take pictures any time, any where. “Then we have specific technologies like our most powerful image stabilisation system, which enables the photographer to use the camera in situations where they couldn’t normally, but with this powerful IS they are able to take great images. “The R&D team showed me a picture and said they could improve the IS system to produce results like this. The picture was great and I knew it was time to change and improve. In comparison to the past, we have been able to compensate 4EV steps but with the Mark II it’s now 5EV steps – even more beneficial for the customer to take great shots and noise-free images.”

DamianMcGillicuddy Olympus principal photographer and educator

SteveGosling Landscape photographer “As a landscape photographer, a number of things appeal to me about the Mark II. One is the improved weather sealing over the original E-M5, so it’s on a par with the E-M1. The problem for me with using the E-M1 as a landscape photographer is that it’s not the best at long exposures, the E-M5 has always been better at that. With the new camera I get the best of the weather sealing and the long exposure capability. “I didn’t think I’d get any benefit from the Mark II’s tilting screen, but actually I was in the Lake District recently and I needed to use my body to cast a shadow across the front of the lens because the sun was shining obliquely across it. It meant I was doing a long exposure using Live Bulb, so you get an update on the exposure; I could rotate the screen back out and stand at the side of the camera whilst still seeing what was going on. I’ve found that feature useful already. “I was hoping the High Resolution mode would work for landscape, but it doesn’t unfortunately. If there’s anything moving in the frame, it doesn’t work and you get a herringbone pattern. But for architectural shots and still life I can see that being incredible, just not for the landscape work that I do. The Mark II will probably replace the E-M1 for most of what I do.”

“At the moment, although the E-M5 Mark II is the core model for Olympus it’s really the biggest dog in the yard. The video functionality is absolutely stunning but the image quality is brilliant. I genuinely believe that Olympus has got it right, multiplying the sensor, the processor and the lens triangle by the image stabilisation. I’ve got images that we shot for some test pictures on the Mark II at 1/6sec and 1/10sec and they are just tack sharp, they’re beautiful. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re into landscapes, or portraiture, or glamour – we’ve even got some really good action pictures out of it – it’s just a damn good camera. “I’ve started to dabble with the video, I’m not a videographer but I like the fact that you can use focus peaking in video. I’m glad we’ve got the swing-out screen back again, that was something I missed on the E-M5 so to have that back is brilliant. “It’s one of those things that you need to hold in your hands because the build quality is stunning. The diamond-etched knobs are just the right weight, they feel as though are working properly under your fingers and that’s an important thing for a photographer, to get that tactile feeling so you can work the camera confidently.”

We’ll have an Olympus OM-D E-M5 review in the next issue. That issue is also a Photography Show special, including a free exhibitor floor plan.

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Issue 17 | Photography News

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