OLYMPUS ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
The perfect all-rounder These days it’s rare to shoot just stills as clients ask for video as well. Fortunately the state-of- the-art Olympus OM-D E-M1 MkII delivers both N ot so long ago the expectations on professional photographers were straightforward: high- quality still images that fitted A foot in both camps London-based wedding photographer and filmmaker Jimmy Cheng initially looked at the Olympus OM-D E-M1 MkII
the brief. Now, lines are increasingly blurred and clients are likely to expect video content as well. Those that can’t oblige run the risk of losing out to those professionals who have come to terms with the fact that they need to work in both disciplines. Once that would have meant investing in two lots of kit, but as filmmaking has become democratised all that has changed. Now there’s a new breed of hybrid camera that can enable a photographer to be the master of two disciplines. Enter the flagship Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II. The camera’s impressive features make the point that it’s truly designed to do two jobs to a professional standard. It’s fully weatherproof, much lighter and more compact than a DSLR, has at its heart a 20-megapixle Live MOS sensor and comes with 121 cross-type on-chip phase detection AF points for lightning fast focusing, plus a 5-axis image stabilising system. It’s capable of shooting DCI 4K at 24fps and UHD 4K at 30fps, outputting crisp, sharp and highly useable footage to satisfy the most discerning professional client.
because it offered him a way to pack all the gear he needed into a mid-sized holdall instead of a bulky roller bag. The camera offered everything he was looking for in terms of bitingly-sharp stills but also opened the door to filmmaking. “Being able to recreate how I ‘see’ the world in both stills and moving pictures at the same time is definitely what I like about this model,” he says. “And so many of the things I find useful as a stills photographer – such as the phenomenal image stabilisation and lightning fast AF – are also useful to me when I want to start making films. “When I’m filming I hand-hold almost all the time, unless I need some cinematic panning shots or some fast action running footage, which calls for gimbals and rails. The 5-axis stabilisation has set me free on location as I no longer need to rely on tripods or monopods. When we get to tight areas, I now only need to climb in and press the record button to start achieving super-stable footage.” Like so many filmmakers Jimmy usually opts to work with manual focus, which is easy to accomplish with the M.Zuiko lenses’ manual clutch system.
“It’s very fast and accurate, especially if I’musing Olympus Pro lenses” “However, I do sometimes use the camera’s continuous autofocus to track moving subjects,” says Jimmy. “It’s very fast and accurate, especially if I’m using Olympus Pro lenses. There are a few options to fine-tune how the AF behaves during filming and once you master these it can be very reliable and useful.” Since discovering the dual capabilities of the E-M1 Mark II, Jimmy has started to offer video coverage to his wedding clients, but he’s such a perfectionist on the big day that he feels it would be impossible to concentrate fully on both disciplines. Enter video partner Tracey, who works alongside him, likewise using this flagship as her tool of choice. “I converted her to this camera when we set up our YouTube channel,” reports Jimmy, “and she’s nowmoved virtually 100% over to the brand. These days I’m really into filmmaking. She’s teaching me about such things as editing and we’re now planning to start work on a series of creative, cinematic and interesting documentary short films. These are indeed very exciting times.”
More information www.jimmycheng.photography www.youtube.com/c/red35photography www.olympus.co.uk
ABOVE Jimmy Cheng’s blossoming video business is taking full advantage of the OM-D E-M1 MkII’s 4K capabilities.
61
AUTUMN 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER
Powered by FlippingBook