The Joys and Challenges of Yachting Photography

Photographing boats and races is another kind of obvious side hobby, and indeed you can read more on my sailing exploits and ponderings themselves at Lost Sea Soul. I have enjoyed taking shots of regattas but often yearned rather to be out sailing in those very regattas. Last weekend I had the opportunity to have my cake and eat it, being out in a RIB one day down the Norwegian "Riviera" and then crewing on a 12mR the other.

It reminded me of the challenges of both disciplines - team work, stregnth and wisdom on the one while a sense for a composition and wisdom on the camera side.

The biggest challenge in sailing photography to me is not having a water resistant camera. For others it is likely to be getting close enough to the action or being able to predict when the most exciting and interesting shots can be captured. The first is fixable with either a different camera system, Pentax and Olympus offering mid end weather sealed systems, while on the other, asking some spectators or race organisers what is going to happen can solve problems of where to stand on the shore, or where to go on the water in a motor boat to catch those shots.

My other challenge is not really my own- it is the percieved need for new fangled stuff all the time and how much more "obsolete" camera bodies are considered these days after they are but a few years old. When i started SLR 35mm photography, you would see a lot of older folk with good Nikons and Canons from the early 70s slung around their necks, seperate light meter round their wrists. There was also the OM revolution and the followers at Pentax and Ricoh. All before we went all "electronic operating system" and then much worse, APS film cameras were pushed onto the market to the detriment of photography in general. These days many hobby photographers think it laughable that I persist with a body launched 7 or 8 years ago, but as I stated before, it is way in excess of what was available to me in the 1980s.

Main system equipment aside, what do you need for a good day's yattin' phottin'?

Firstly you don't necessarily need a boat or loan of a boat. You do then need to be within reasonable distance of sailing, and that means either knowing that the racing is at least in part, going to come near land, or positioning yourself at a natural narrows where boats have to sail regardless. Also another alternative is as I found out, to use local route ferries or tourist boats when racing or other 'muster regattas' are on, such as over to the Isle of Wight, Kilcreggan on the Clyde, Syndey Harbour or San Francisco bay area. How I cursed not having a good camera on the way past Alcatraz when a rather infamous I 14 sailor, "The Captain" Came shooting past the "Rock" in his high performance dinghy, bright spinnaker resonant in the mute californian colours.

Lens choice, given that you have them. Firstly for dock side photting a 28mm eq zoom or prime is quite sufficient and unlike the wider end, does not distort perspective so much on yachts that you become very aware of the wide treatment. For example - 28mm eq

A typical kit zoom in the range 28-85mm eq ff, will provide for on shore images not only dockside, and passing boats close by on the wide end, but what I really personally like and that is "in context" shots of boats in their often beautiful or interesting seaside land- or town -scapes. At the long end you will get kind of cut off shots though of boats racing at distances of a few hundred yards, which are neither between having enough background to give context nor enough detail to be a photo of a boat. The same will be true of primes in the eq nifty fifty 50mm to portrait semi telefoto, but the added speed of a fast prime at 120mm to say 150mm can make up for lack of composition freedom in capturing detail shots when boats are near enough.

When I say detail shots, this is often in the sailing magazines close enough to recognise crew members, which helps sell copy or gives an otherwise anonymous top competition boat, a relevant human face, such as the instantly recognisable handsome profile of Sir Ben Ainsley. Alternatively, they can be technical shots, which show either nice detail on a wooden boat, the motion of the boat in the sea, or particular action or mishap sequences. In harbour the "wide to mid" zoom will suffice, but for shots at greater distances you need to go up to higher telefoto ranges for both detail shots, and whole boat shots when they are further away up the racing course.

At the telephoto end, I have looked at my own EXIF focal mm, and some other folks on and off the water. From the land, I use quite a lot of 300mm for boats sailing on their race courses, but once out in a boat I find that the shots are split three ways in fact:

Whole boat circa 85mm

cropped action in context 100-120

Close up of action and crew 200- 220

The last shot is a bit misleading probably taken at about 80 actually, because we could drive close to them since they had finished racing and were enjoying the spinnaker run to the harbour. But usually this type of close up would be on the race course, keeping a respectful distance at 200mm approx. More on positioning and courtesay later.

I find the longer end off shore is pretty unworkable above 220mm because you usually are bobbing about in a RIB or small boat, so framing shots becomes difficult as can even getting focus on the boat rather than fore or back ground points.  With f stops on my kit being lower, the shutter speed drops too low on programme, or the images get too dark on S, or worse, if you have forgotten auto ISO then it bumps up high.

I recommend using shutter prioirty at base ISO, there is usually more light than you think at first and shadows and quarter tones can be lifted in post. Shutter speed wise, I find that I cannot get sharp images by in large at under 1/320th and prefer at least 1/500th. Remember if you have a fast lens that this will be pushing the aperture more open and reducing your depth of field, which can be an issue for example here :

If you look closely, you can see that the depth of field is quite shallow and the nice, shiny chrome winches are out of focus, while the hatch is sharp. Be aware to too thin a DOF with boats.

On exposure and light conditions, the vast majority of boats white or light coloured sails and also a large number have white hulls these days, and even ye olde varnished hulls reflect a lot of light. Also as mentioned there is a lot more light around at sea because so much reflects up from the water. I prefer to use a polarising filter which reduces reflections and total, scattered light from the sea and therefore that kind of odd brighter blue in images from the sea. This helps with texture of the sea, while also helping tone down the white of hulls and sails allowing more detail to come out. White, blocky hulls and sails detract from photos IMHO and a polarising filter is a good means to vastly reduce this glare, while maintaining a balanced exposure.

Of course a digital optimised polarising filter reduces the scene by up to -2EV.  Alternatively a ND (neutral density) -0.5 or -1.0 EV filter can be used to achieve some of the effect, and also open the aperture up just a little more to get thinner DOF on very bright days, when you want to throw the background.

Once on the water, in a small boat, it is pretty desirable not to change lens because no matter how waterproof the camera is, when the body cavity is exposed, it is highly vulnerable to water, and salt water is so much more dangerous. Filters can also be fiddely to mount while bobbing about, which is another advantage of a polarising filter because you can vary the darkness or density by rotating it.  Also given my tips based on years of photting myself and recent EXIF checks on some 'pro' flickr images, it is best to have a zoom lens with a range of around 80 to 250mm, and not change lenses.  "Big Whites" or those "Bigma" long telefotos with sub f5.6 apertures, are the reserve of either land based photting or being on quite a substantial vessel where roll and spray are minimal for the same weather conditions.

Camera techniques out of the way, as with any sports photography,  or landscape photography if you like context as I do, knowing your subject and what is about to happen next makes the difference between " i took some shots at a sunny regatta" to the "wow, see what we captured!" Direction of light and time of day are important, with the shadow cast by the sails to one side of boat something to either avoid or take advantage of. For the non sailor reading this, generally speaking boats under sail go through three interesting 'states' and do a couple of interesting manoevres in terms of action beyond "boat heeled over on water"

1. Beating - this means the boats have their white sails closely hauled in, with often elegant curves on their trailing edges. They are sailing up towards the wind, so you can work out where they are going to be next, as they zig zag in that direction.

From the front of the boat, approaching you is the best angle usually, with the bow wave and crew being points of interest, and worth taking multiple shots at high shutter speeds to select the most interesting wave or crew shots.

2. Reaching - This is when boats cross the wind at about right angles, and for many boat types this is their fastest point-of-sail. Often racing boats will have spinnaker up, and out to one side. Sometimes this angle can put a lot of pressure on the sails, and the helmsman is on a knife-edge of being overpowered and spun round into the wind in what is known as a "broach", in spectacular fashion sometimes. One note is that the boats will be sailing fast away from where ever you are stationed.

3. Running - Here the wind is behind the boat, and the white sails are either pressed out, often like "goose wings" on either side of the boat, or on many racing boats, the bright spinnaker will be most prominent, out to one side of the boat. Given a good light direction, then this can make for spectacularly colourful shots, and also with a degree of shadow with back light, interesting semi silouhette shots can be had. Here the light was failing, and I had a polariser on a non WR lens, so this is how it turned out, a little dark and flat:

The manoervres of interest racing boats do are

1) Tacking their bows through the wind in order to zig zag up to the direction the wind is blowing from

2) Gybing - the opposite, swinging their sterns through the wind with it behind them,  and changing sides with the sails, often in interesting fashion with the spinnaker up.

3) Starting - Most boat races have a common mass start, so the boats line up and start all at once. In competitive fleets this means a neat line of boats which is amenable to a 28-35mm from the water. It can be very difficult to spot a given boat btw. It is the sprint, the most stressed point in sailing and crashes do happen.

4) Taking up and down sails (hoist and drop/douse). Usually racing photographers get shots of the spinnaker work as it is a coloured, interesting sail and involves a lot of team work on deck to handle up and down- see image above of a boat 'fishing' with its spinnaker, while the crew do their best to haul it onboard again after it was droped. But other sails can be just as interesting.

Other Equipment 

I am going to invest in a second weather resistant camera, most likely the Pentax K series with a single, WR lens the 18-135 (just the ticket as it covers all my usual focal lengths, and with the latest 16 and 20 / 24 mpx sensors without AA filter, cropping can compensate for lack of 300-400mm reach) , but for those of you maybe either with a water proof DSLR or not, a second waterproof 'tough' camera like the Olympus TG4 or a good water resistant mobile can be a good option, despite the fixed or short focal ranges- here a boat is handy to 'leg zoom' near to the action, while often tough compacts and mobiles have a nice do it all 35mm FF eq focal legnth. 

Weather jackets for cameras are a good idea for any DSLR camera on the salty sea, because salt is not worth the risk of getting into your camera- a single tiny grain will destroy a sensor or lens mechanism. No amount of being careful will stop a sudden wave splash reaching you on a small, open boat. A full waterproof diving box may be a bit excessive, but if you have many thousands of spondoolics in equipment, worth perhaps the bother. Water proof 'kayaking' bags are a good idea too, just taking a single camera 'snout pouch' bag as I say on a RIB (rigid hull inflatable boat ) or the like,m you dont want to change lenses really at sea.

Tripods are ok for cruise liners, but on a small boat or busy public ferry alike, you are better with a monopod to add maybe that one to two stop benefit in steadyness, while also synchronising with the hull's movement on the water, so at least cancelling out your own body's weather leg movements and getting you used to when you will have the subject in frame as you bob up and down. IBIS/ILIS andbest shot selection, will generally speaking be enough to compensate in light conditions at mid shutter speeds for the combined effects of your boats' movement, your body's movement and the subjects movement. 

"Eplilogue" in a non Police Squad sense 

I hope this has been of some use and inspiration to sailors in particular, to get out and take shots of their sport from a motor boat or even land. Use your knowledge of how races operate to position yourself for the best images, and decide what type of shot you are setting up for. Remember to get out of the shadow side of the yacht or course unless you are looking for silhouette effects that is. Take bursts of photos in manoervres, when boats cross each other or if you are trying for a close up 'people shot' -. Otherwise for 'in context' shots or general shots, position yourself and wait until the boat is at the sweet spot, and perhaps use an exposure bracket series if light conditions have either high contrast or very flat light.  Remember to just check that the camera is focused on the points of interest or tracking the boat well, the dof is not too shallow on the subject, you are using shutter priority at say 1/500th or faster, that you are not overexposing white sails and hulls or getting that unatural 'denim' blue from the sea.

For the non sailor, get to know the basics of sailing and racing and look up some youtube clips to understand what boats are up to and when is interesting to get shots. Being on land may severly restrict you if there are no racing bouys near by, but 'narrow' sounds, harbour entrances or peninsulas can get you close to the action. As can using a ferry or tour boat if you cannot persuade someone to take you out in a boat and spectate actively.

Remember that a RIb infront of a boat racing can be both a destraction, a potential collision hazard and casue a wave as you gvet out of the way which can slow a racing boat down,so keep the engine running keep clear by several of their boat legnths , don't make large waves near competitors or which will roll through the whole fleet as you blast off to thge next spot or home with your 'catch'.

The safest and best places for photographing a race on the water are usually just outside the triangular or in effect diamond shaped racing course layed out with three bouys, sometimes it is just two. The 'diamond' shaped racing area in a typical race round marks, is usually about 20 times wider than the start line, and often the start line is half way up or at the 'foot' of the course in relation to the wind blowing down the middle. Best, safe spots outside this 'diamond' are usually to the left of the start line by 30 meters or so, being just slightly ofrward of the bows when they gather and start; being at the windward mark, longest up towards the wind direction where the boats turn and often hoist spinnakers, and being at the converse 'leeward' mark where the boats sail with the wind behind them and usually spinnakers up, and then take them down and go back up to hauling their sails in and sailing in the typical zig zag fashion up wind. 

Other races work in longer distances following the coast sometimes or heading offshore. Typically these have an inshore start and finish line near land, the latter could ential much waiting if it is a long race with variable wind during the day. Also often an inshore 'harbour' or club house start or coastal course  will necessitate the boats passing a harbour wall, or an estuary mouth, and coastal courses often have to pass headlands or peninuslas and want to use minimum ditance to do so, so that is where they come closest to land.

A weather sealed camera system is really what to get if you are going to be on the water often or in rough water, and that is what I am investing in, before I explore the joys of on water yacht photting more!

Panasonic Triumph With Their LX100 !

Finally we get some photographers willing to take just a little time to think about what this camera can do and how the Panasonic LX100 should be shown off.

Sharpness is technically not any better perhaps than the smaller sensor competition, but it is perfectly acceptable to me and when I get publishers asking for SMALLER files so their inboxes don't explode and they can work super quick setting up for Litho, then I feel this is pixel peeping and the detractors are missing the point of the camera.

Panasonic have in fact probably found out that high end DSLR owners from the main brands are not interested in mFT as a second or that all important, "travel" camera because to get anywhere near decent bokeh you either have to pay big, big money for the zoom glass, carry even more dollars in your back in three fast primes, or get used to backing up from the subject with the longer kit lenses. (which works just fine actually even on the kit 40-150 type lenses btw, nice bokeh over eq 100mm, you just need to back up for some shots)

So how to lever more people into the brand, and how to sell more sensor chips so your in-costs on those are cheaper by volume?

As pointed out this camera trumps their GX and latest GM cameras by size, 4K video and the lens it comes with. Although 75mm is a little short, at f2.8 (eq maybe ok f4.5 on FF) it will take portraits with a thrown background, and in post you will get an easier magic select to then further modify the blur-bokeh.

It does a few things in camera too with RAW and the histogram which may seem a little trite for a compact, but just add value for the clued up DSLR photographer who wants to also avoid time in post when they are out snapping with a compact.

It is too short for my sweet spot use from my EXIF I see, but that is then only because I need to change where the hell I stand and how I compose or crop in post. Like when I go out with a prime lens on my DSLR, a pancake or the like and just take shots with the camera in a small case or no case at all.

People are nit picking away from the G7 and the RX100 III but these cameras are not really in the same sector, and hell what is their resale value going to be next year when sony do a NEX to compete with the LX100 and canon bring out their new mid sized (ie large for compact single lens) G 8 or what ever it will be.

Also Leica may do something weird using the whole 16mpx of the mFT chip you never know, and sony may break in with a short zoom, single lens "street" camera based on their new FF mirrorless. I would say Sony are ripe for that, thus the LX110 would be the lower end of a new segment once only a Leica niche.

I have photographed with SLRs since 1982, so I like dials and the A-ring and the kind of certainty they bring. Thumb Wheels with PASM are irritating for me with my formative years in fully manual cameras.

I need a lift right now for many reasons, and I just cant justify upgrading from Olympus FT, it is money thrown down the drain to try and bridge between E series and the EM1 with the two "fast" zooms. They are over priced on the used market still and dont work all that well on the new on chip PDAF OMD model which in itself is a little over priced if you dont get a 12-40 deal.

Quick WIsh List - mFT

Here is an impromptu wish list for something all Olympus

EM1 ergonomics and features
zoom f2.8 over range 12-40 and 25-150 - save me doing so many lens swaps in the mid range 30-60
an f2 or better portrait short zoom 30-80mm
a macro convertor ring which maybe crops the frame for best results
Depth of Field / Focus auto bracketing for macro
Focus Lock / Focus range lock combined with focus peaking
Blue tooth speaking settings
Auto file back up and "keeper" double back up. Auto delete all non keepers from earlier shoots when docked. USB memory stick dump possible.

In reality though today, what is there as a system for me? 

Firstly there really is no fall back short of the 16mpx sony chip ,and then with viewfinder built in. Hence OMD.

I see very little point now in the em1 because the swd lenses are expensive second hand, so expensive in europe that hand baggage imports of new lenses from the states or far east are cheaper.  People think they can hold their value and now there is a new body to take them-  if not excell with them screwed on- the prices for the two swd zooms which do it all are way too high. The 12-60 used on ebay and amazon and our local finn.no are around 800 euros, which is more than the new mFT 12-40. When a new oly fast zoom comes out in the range say 40 to even 120, then the golden ed pro zooms of old will be foot notes in the book of Olympus's digital adventure.

A better bet is now loosing value and being sold on some nice E3s and E30s, the venerable 14-54 mrk II. The mark one is also being punted on E1's and hundred series cameras. These packages are around 400 to 600 euros, and you could pretty much dump the body in the bin as far as i am concerned. If you are getting the mark II plus some other lenses of note such as the wide zoom or 75-300, then that is a bargain. People are a bit prone to want to sell their whole system if it is pre E5 E620. For latter day cameras with quality lenses the lenses are usually quoted seperately after a bait price on the body with the kit lenses.

Even the mark I seems to work on some mft bodies, but it is thed mark II 14-54 which was contrast detect optimised and has a second to none manual focus.  This works across all the ep compacts from 3 vintage,  and the omd range of course. It is a more compact lens than the 12-60 and is actually faster in the mid to longer range on f stops. 

But then it lacks that nice eq 24mm for lakeland shores with mountain panoramas, city scapes and weird candids. Well on mft there are good wide primes and you now get amazing iso performance compared to four thirds E series cameras so you dont need a soft wide open 22-28mm range. Also people are far more consumerist about the fashion of system compacts, and dump kit cheap to make the down payment on their next bling thing. Often that means an earlier PEN body with one kit lens or two, but with one quality wide prime or the 45mm prime in the package or highly negotiable.

That is the good thing about PEN, panny g series and now OMD: lots of consumer fashion idiots buy them, learn they need a good prime, and then realise they are using their iPhone /Galaxy for actually taking piccies, thus selling off as above.

Kodak by name only,  have amazingly enough gone 16mpx mft and have their own interesting zoom lens which is not super fast but nor is it a slow dog kit lens. Also they are using IBIS , so the lens can be cheaper than a panny and you can retro on anything. The "kit" zoom has a good range and if i remember it was f three and a half to the arbitary five point six, not that shabby if ISO is up to the job and ibis works as well as oly. Also they launch with an at first comical Hubble competiting 400mm (=800 in old money!) Which could be to mft was the "Bigma" was to FT. If under 300€ it could have the last laugh not just for those awful twitching "birders" who clutter many a photoforum with this week's brown bird sitting in a tree , or eagle half hidden by pine tops, or vulture silohoute against blue sky. Bravo "kodak". Eastman may guffaw from above.

What WIll Be The Next Move For Olympus E System FourThirds ??

Keeping an FT Range of DSLRs/ Hybrids

My own contention is that Olympus are darn fools if they leave the entry and mid range FT users and potential owners out of the picture so to speak. They will not be able to force entry and mid level users over to PEN: the users will keep their systems but will not migrate to a compromise.

PEN so far have external only EVFs, and the mFT lenses are slower per dollar! No, the FT users coming up for repurchase in 2012 will not want a camera at 12 or 14 mpx: in two years time they will all be onto a minimum of 16 mpx and...... someone elses system, most likely panasonic in a by then G 3/ GH3 if they want some use of their Zuiko glass.

Keeping just the E5 and possibly one or two top range children thereafter, is like BMW just keeping the 7 series: they will loose the brand franchise at the grass roots, and system builders on FT now, and thus kill even more of the market for their own top level bodies and lenses by leaving no realistic system upgrade route for we owners today.

However, with only 5-6% of the DSLR market by value, then what would be sensible for Olympus is to stop competing at so many price - feature points and launch just one main "hundred" brand, maybe E700, and follow upgrades and slight variants there only.

Performance of even my entry level Olympus E450 far out stips that of the fixed lens compacts, at a total package price of less than the top Finepix or Nikon coolpix superzooms.



Competing in the Mid Range.

Really olympus shoud look at rationalising their range to compete just with mid range, amateur DSLRs beneath the pseudo pro E5 and after comers. Then they could focus all their R&D and market research efforts on pre-empting the next move in the market, or in markting comms on the key IQ, size, price of lenses and other qualities of Oly-Zuiko. When they get a camera right for the mid point in the market, with users who might actually understand why 12 or 14 mpx is perfectly adequate given good glass and great software, then it will be easier to market the USPs and spend more on the one model ( like they are doing with the E5 now)

The problem for them is that on the shop floor, the spotty university drop outs selling cameras in the major chains, know only the key selling points: MPX = quality, Nikon= speed FPs etc, Canon = all round performers... they don't understand the components of IQ or how many pixels are needed for a reasonable 200dpi print out at 10"x15".....They don't want to explain why 12 mpx is enough, or why you can put up with a smaller OVF in a more compact sized DSLR.

In strategy talk, we would want to see a consolidation of R&D and product lines and a rationalisation to a more sustainable line, competing with real USPs in a higher value segment than the two lower cameras series do so today. Product variants would be based upon the core, roduction line : for example tilt screen, HD video. The core product would then grow towards the end of the FT technology life cycle, with roll downs from the E5 + (onwards) and other fortuitious developments or collaborations on technology enhancing series update models or variants with USPs and competitor point matching.

In practical terms, such a position would mean that olympus would appear serious and focused on the needs of the keen amateur as a new owner. For those of us with the lower level ( this camera would probably be 600 pricing) 400-600 10/12mpx then it still offers a sensible upgrade step, and the current kit glass bought today, will still be good enough for 14, 16 or more mpx.

So what Next to Hold the FT - Oly Brand Franchise ?

For example: start at 14mpx with E5 image handling, while forgetting the video: ie serious amateur photographers: show DR / TD and user definability of programms and buttons etc is better the D90 / 450D were and compete with the D7000 and 550D.

Produce one body, which has excellent ergonomics (best in class!), smaller than d7000, also a low weight and good, intuituve while user definable, hard controls ( best in class)

Shove Wifi on it as a USP

Or put in WIfi, GPS , 3G and extra memory, battery and induction charger into a plug-in.

Then proiduce a version with a tilt and flip and video at a 20% price hike ( G2-GGH2 ?) for those who need these gimmicks and make them pay for it, not us the still photographer. 700 and 700HD.

Next upgrade to 16 or 18 mpx and fully compete on IQ and user interface with the 20mpx APS-C cameras which will be the "Norm" for mid range by then.

.... and so on until the potential 43 chip is maxed out at 22mpx or so, or replaced with a fovean mulit layer with better DR/TD or a split, multi sensor system.

On pricing, then they could of course sell quite a few body only at around 800 to 1000usd to we upgraders in 2012, and to E5 owners as back up and smaller body.

Kit lenses are fine and really very good, but they should look at pricing a package with say: 12-60mm; 25mm pancake; 50-200 HG-SWD lenses for people wanting to change complete system from canikon or god help us, Leicpenicoh...





Background

Olympus are now the last of the original manufacturers to persist with the compact 43 system. It is a pretty lonely place, and now more so as Sigma announce no further lenses or probably production.

Olympus must move very carefully if they are not going to alienate many loyal customers in the DSLR segment. If they choose to abandon our loyalty by dropping the majority of the FT ( four thirds, full sized, faster lenses and system) range and believing people will just use a PEN EP (x) and pay more for less in effect, then they will find that the wishful thinking "users will have their needs met in the PEN range" to become in the market " I will move to another camera brand for a DSLR or get the GH2" especially if there is no in built VF.

This DSLR segment has not been as big a success for Olympus, which seems remarkable given the popularity of the OM range in the 1970s and 80s. Various interweb trolls quote only 5% of the market, while Canon and Nikon rule. The EOS system leant itself more to a smooth integration of proiduct and customers over to digital, while Nikon just got on with making very good cameras. Maybe Oly were a little late in, and their models were to begin with, a bit too left-field in appearance. Now they offer a comprehensive range, in the shops today that is.


PEN is not the solution for Most DSLR users

As an upgrade, PEN is a non starter for most SLR users: poorer ergonomics, smaller batteries and slower lenses: plus everything is really quite expensive.

Currentlyt he PEN range are bought by: 1) a second or even tertiary purchase to a DSLR for many pros and serious amateurs
2) Style conscious consumers with a reasonably good grip on photography
3) upgraders from earlier advanced compacts ( sub 10 mpx, 2 to 5 years old)

Depending on the market, and the far east is different, then it is probably the first group who are PEN buyers in the west. Many of these again, will be bringing in their FT full lenses and buying the adpater, and most of these are probably Olympus users.

A Thanks to Olympus ...even if I am a non profit customer!

I have had the Olympus E450 since late january and am enjoying photography like never before.

Like many I had been a previous SLR owner and Olypmus OM user from the 1980s, moving over to 35mm super zoom ( pentax W90 135) and then a couple of 2 to 5 mpx compacts while other budgets were met long before a 5D EOS or Nikosillycash.

Now I would like to thank Olympus for making a quality, compact sized DSLR within my reach and making photography once again a big hobby of mine.

At the moment the Olympus E450 is a steal from many internet and chain stockests because it is being heavily discounted, often to under 400€ with the kit lens 14-42 f3.5-5.6.

This is rather fortuitous that a whole new group of owners can enjoy some of the plethora of features, which would on a 35mm film SLR make this a top pro model for the late 80s, at a price less than the non-veiw finder PEN cameras from Olympus. Other blogs rate the E450 very highly and some pros are using it even as a back up body, now it is revealed it has the version III image engine also carried in higher models.

In general, given bright conditions the camera takes great, sharp images with a level of control over depth of field which would be a familiarity to someone in 1985 with Ektachrome 64 asa or a 100 asa film ( ISO now). As soon as it get's dull, you need the faster prime lenses and to start pushing the ISO or using a tripod. So you could say the camera is lacking the image stabilisation or high ISO performance without unacceptable noise. However , you could save at least 500€ by knowing what good conditions for great photos are, using a tripod and furthermore, appeciating the limitations of your camera.


All these shots have been taken in the last day, with unexpectedly heavy and lying snow !

One petal left, but no.one has told the flower's that it is winter.....


( not a clear due to the trees, I was waiting for the AIr Ambulance to take off again and run a 10 second exposure on it or get the rotors in motion with a still body; but this is just sharpened 20% and reduced in size, demonstrating the DR of the camera at 25sec f22, and the manual focus using the maginfy in Live View)



Quite good DR on a difficult exposure I should have bracketed: my favourite feature. THis is from RAW ORF file, sharpened. The apparent noise on the petals is acutally the structure of the plant creating a "Pixel" effect, with whiter blocks. Focusing in such soft light was an issue, and this shot really needs a tripof and f11 to get the correct sharpness and DOF.

I see all too many E3 or Nikon 5D shots which are boring, poorly composed and not even in control of an interesting DOF. The aboive shots are a


However this nice pricing and the availability of the three of four entry level lenses is actually not a locking in strategy to capture new users nto the 4-3rds ladder: the ladder is clearly cut off now with just the top "pro" E5 ( a wannabees camera) . A micro four thirds camera which may suit the current 4-3s full sized lenses is a bone Olympus has thrown to the press and users.

To some extent, I don¨'t care! I would invest in a faster prime and maybe one more zoom with some smaller f numbers before I would upgrade the body. I have apparently, a longer product ownership lifetime (personal lifecycle) than most in the gnats-brain-attention span of the generation X's and "i"s have.

Olympus have basically stated that if you want entry level, then put up with no built in VF and slower lenses in both f Stop and AF on the live-veiw only PEN system. Also you will pay for the priveledge fo having something smaller and less SLR user friendly! So I am not worth enough to Olympus now and they are not worth enough to me when I come to upgrade body. Lose Lose it is called in game theory!

I think this is probably throwing in the towel for Olympus to both discount off their entry level, ultra compact DSLR and look for higher margins in the compact "system" or "Hybrid" camera sector.

Back to Basics :: What Makes Good Photos : The Olypmus E450 included!

Here is the list of what I think actually makes for good photography and therefore good shots in descending order of importance

1) Shutter Speed
2) Focus (on the subject)
3) After cutting / "light"room effects
4) Aperture & Depth of Field Effect
6) Composition
7) White Balance/ colour setting/ ISO: fiddely wee things of dSLRs/ mFT cameras

Suprised by the order?

The key thing I think that makes the difference between a mediocre amateur shot and a pro shot is not actually composition; it is sharpeness and vividness of colours, or contrast in montone.

Composition through the lens is not always king and I am a devotee of the "light room" cropping blade. As long as a shot has some subject of interest which is sharp ( or not if that is a really unique good blur) then you can crop, monotonise, saturate, sharpen, selectively blur and even photomontage your image, to either rescue a poor composition or find something really eye catching.

My other hobby is sailing and in that sport their is an adage that them whom maketh two mistakes will deserve only second place in a race, while them whom doth have only one wee tiny error will come correspondingly first. In photography if you start to eliminate your mistakes, then you will quickly be able to focus on ( pun there ok!) better composition: ie more interesting shots.

Shutter is King

At 1/250th of a second you are not free of camera shake from hand held shots or even with a rather hefty little mirror on a DSLR like mine, the shock of the mirror mechanism can cause a tiny amount of shake. Also noticeable at say 1/25th on a tripod.

EDIT: Luckily there is a "lock up" anti-shock mirror pre-lift delay to shutter which helps and the higher series E520 and above have image stabilisation (IS) which works well enough to take two shutter speeds down according to users.

On the E450, I find the P (programme) and related Auto (programme with flash), choose too slow a shutter speed : often 200th of a second while being way up at f8: my slowest lenses are zooms which are 5.6, so this is annoying that it stops up and slows the shutter. I notice immediately when the light is down, or at the longer focal legnths, my image sharpness drops.

Try Shutter then you fool Freddie! The problem is that in Shutter Priority you can be out of sensible exposure with a blinking f number as soon as the light changes or you want to go even faster up the shutter dial.

Help is at hand: Sports mode, but this engages the rather poor continuous image sensor focus when using Live View, and does not allow for bracketing: It will at least though, secure you the fastest available shutter speed for a "correct" exposure.

Sharper Budgets

Pro's use faster lenses ( sub f3 in FT or sub f2 where possible) : They choose primes at super wide 20 or 24, then 28, sometimes 35, 49-52 and then 90 - 120 and finally a 200 before you then get into sports and twitcher types of big whites at sub f5.

In the days of film, pro's took far more images than amateurs, thus allowing for some blurred "frames" or imperfections, while often allowing them to get the shot for that series or pose. Now I notice that pro's spend a little more time in set up and checking the camera settings between frames, or series of frames, and I dare say if you canvassed them, you may find they actually take less frames than enthusiasts with dSLRs.

Expensive lenses and top end FF, wider or APS-C type cameras and the Olympus E5( onto ZD Pro lenses) also focus better and faster, and have the best quality lens elements to make the sharpest image plane.

So the kit helps pro's make fewer mistakes.

Focus on Focusing

The higher end systems all offer faster, more accurate focusing too.

I really must say that I miss the old split prism manual focus and find that even some expensive cameras I have tried are not really all that much faster. It is just we are lazy and in the digital world, okay, we want to take masses and masses more frames than before, so twisting the left hand is very passe?

My only advice on focusing is to get used to the cameras focusing choices and settings and find what works on your camera for your style of images and in different situations:

: on the E-450, select spot AF and put it on the centre dot of the three as default, such that you get into the habit of focus-reslect frame. The more complex functions, like hybrid AF and using the AE/AF lock with different settings are also worth learning as I am now: the continuous autofocus does not seem very good to me so far. Face detect is way quicker on the current compact camera ranges from all and sundry than on the E450, but it can be useful. If you have a GH1 or G10 from panasonic, now you can touch screen select what you want to focus on.

Another useful function is M-AF-S which is a combination of an AF followed by a fine manual adjust: in practice it needs to be done on a tripod with 7x or 10x live view magnification: I use it mostly on "macro" close up attempts but also it is of use when you have a disappearing edge:like a door frame, where you want to keep the centre of it in focus so that on say f5.6, the whole frame is in focus with the background blurring out.

MF also has it's place , in close ups, indoor shots in low light and night images, when the "night scene" pre-programme doesn't find anything to focus on.

Bracketing Exposures

Bracketing is my favourite means of improving photos and I guess the technique came from pros: certainlky it relates to the experience of running the test strips in the dark room when exposing paper. Pros were and probably still are, more likely to use an external meter to get the correct exposure and then push the emulsion or print, the ISO or the curves now, to get the best from the frames which were taken at the "correct" exposure.



BKT allows you to look at is which exposure is most pleasing for the subject : but further more, you can get around many faults coming from over or under exposure and resulting at sensor - processor level noise.

You can see that you gain or lose in detail, contrast, sharpness-DoF, and over all feel of the image: you can also see which exposure makes unacceptable white-out highlights, noisy-hard black shadows or unwanted noise flecks and pixelation effects in quarter tones.

In other words, you may be able to eliminate noise ( abberrant, coloured pixels) by selecting the shot which is slightly underexposed and "lifting" all the graph to brighten and reveal detail in the three-quarter tones and shadows. Or the converse, an over exposed shot may have a grey feel to it, but capture detail in the subject area the "correct" exposure does not.

BKT is worth starting experimenting on in Programme with ISO AUTO, and the exposure compensation being +/- 1.0 : a whole exposure step, so you can learn what type of shot requires which side of the line ( the camera does vary the ISO in order to bracket down one f stop beyond a certain dark exposure limit) . This was easy on the old needle days: you underexposed for highlights and if you were on transparency films and you could rely on the lab to either get lucky on their test strip or totally mess up a whole roll of Ektakrome for you!

On a tripod with a static scene you can also then work up layers from your bracket in your image software, which add both contrast and detail to the subject.

BKT is the main function I wanted which was not available on a compact camera with RAW file format for under €500. Hence I bought an E450 with a kit 14-42 and the 25mm f2.8 prime ( =50mm in old money 135), which renders the system smaller than the Fuji FinePix /oly 6000s with the biggest zooms.

The noise issues with the FT 10mpx chip can be worked around by bracketing: noise comes in at either end of the scale for any camera- abberant red flecks in both shadows and highlights. Also it comes to happen on some grey tone or quarter tone ( brigth areas which are less light than highlights) that there it is again: noise.

Some of this is associated to JPEG compression- set the camera to take RAW + a jpeg of your preference; if the CF and XD are getting filled, then pump down the JPEG to small-medium-compress for internet use. Finally to get an umissable frame, switch off RAW and go back to Large Fine Jpeg and select ISO100.


DoF notes:

If you get the shutter speed right and look at eliminating noise and getting a choice of best exposure, then the next thing to look at is controlling and utilisation of Depth of Field.

This is influenced by the aperture of course, the focal legnth of the lens but also the nature of that particular lens: the 40-150 even at f5.6 gives a very short depth of field, so much so you have to stop it down to deepen it! Where as for comparison, the 14-42 at max mm (=84m), gives a deeper depth of field than the 40 at the same.

Short and super wide angled too vary. But one area which also varies is the sharpness of the actual supposed focal plane at high f stops: this can be so soft as to render them not worth having the f2.8 or 1.4 setting! This affects several FT lenses I will not slander further, and the faster Zuiko OM primes when used on FT cameras ( presumably also a little soft on film!)


BKT is also very useful in DoF experiments, where you want to select a most pleasing fade in and out or when you want to look at light in addition to blur to bring out the best in the subject-background relationship.

Composition

Finally here I get onto what you frame with your fancy bit of "enthusiast, pro level" kit!

The only thing I will say tonight, is you have to decide what the photo is going to be OF. What is the subject and how will it differentiate itself, stand out, from the background?

If of course, you are shooting a pattern, or texture, it is kind of the opposite; how to make the whole frame the subject!

The final note on this is that you want to look for the golden zone and any triangle. -shapes or leading S-shapes in the image : I kind of do this naturally but miss out on some which i Kick myself for in the light-room. A tree is not pefectly on the S, or whatever!

The simple things still mess me up in composition: level horizon! But most of my potentially good shots gone wrong are messed up by shutter speed and I know this is the case for many, many photographers!

Practice : Chop Water, Fetch Wood

I would say go out and get the above list in that order or priorities, sorted so that you know when you do go on a shoot or when something is happening and you have a camera on you, that you can very quickly set the camera up and be confident you will overcome user-error, while adapting to the restraints and opportunities of the situation and lighting.

Put the camera on a small tripod and set it to P on ISO400: So take some frames of your table, take some of the objects on the table (without flash!) Set the camera on Shutter, 500 or more with AUTO ISO: Take photos of your house, your car, your spouse, your kids and your dog. Take photos of the view from your window and up and down the street. Focus on each lamp post in turn! Use BKT, go through the settings without too many combinations.

Then move onto BKT shots: start +1/-1 and then move down to -0.3/+0.3.

After some time you may find that you will be clicking not at the BKT function but at the little expo comp button and moving it for your expectations of the condiitions, taking time to alter the frame or more rough exposure settings with far higher aperture settings or faster shutter speeds on "correct" exposure to begin with.

Olympus E450 Notes: Night Shots, Town.

I just combined an autumn eve's walk with a tripod and the E450 and was very, very surprised at the results from quite little effort. The shots are just as I came upon them so to speak, and done pretty relaxed but not spending much time: they are at least better than most camera review blogs who go out in the boring street or worse, take photos round the office.

So much for the Olympus being noisy at night! Very clear JPEGs produced in several instances, but some were too noisy without good reason other than some sodium lamp noise and intermediate exposure on walls of white wooden houses.

I got some "test" shots which in days of film would have take several rolls to get near as good.



Key Comments / Learning Points

15 seconds f8.0 ISO100 seems to be killer for nice, deep and sharp shots with only the brightest sodium lamps in a town vista being over exposed. I would manually bracket this and re-focus too in order to get that one killer shot you want!

NATURAL colours did it for me in an ordinary town scene: I would be temted to use MUTED for some scenes here where I live with all the white painted houses and sodium lamps. VIVID should be used with care, but probably very good on any coloured lights like neon or car tail lights.

22 seconds on f11 - 16 may work well for more DoF or more direct light sources ( street lights tonight) but worth bracketing.

Set the camera to Manual on the dial and on the MF focus select on the master panel.

WB auto seemed to work, but the sodium were more yellow than true orange, which I liked æsthetically anyway.


Forget it without a tripod . Put the antishock - to be found in the menu: best on 2 seconds release after mirror. ( the shutter opens waits 1 to 3 seconds after the mirror is flipped up in order to reduce the shock it makes )


BKT ( worth a go) +/1 1.0 set: I don't think I got this to work.

Live View

On the E-450 live view is a must for focusing really because the viewfinder is so small and hard to use for MF. Utilise the camera set on MF and it will hold the focus so spot focus with the tripod does not require holding buttons down or changing to toggle-focus lock AE/AF button.

Use the 7x function for MF on live view, camera ON the tripod!


With brighter light points, 6 seconds suffices with a range of apertures bracketed would be okay. Maybe shutter prio will let you do this but given the combinations I am looking at I dont know: By this I mean sintered white sodum lights (or perhaps distant flood lights too) where a illumination shows colours and lights the road or area well . A very bright moon as more than 20% of the frame may be worth trying on 6 seconds.

With a town view I think that 15 is about right on a range of apertures from f8 to f16.

With no direct light source in frame, the white buildings here leant themselvs to a good shot of the church:


MANUAL ( as are all other shots)

6 sec/f6.3/ 29mm ( 58mm eq) / manual focus/ 0.0 ex.cmp/ ISO 400 /tripod/ 1 sec mirror-shutter

delay ( antishock ASh.)

This worked out really very good for a simple test shot using the 7x manual focus in live view:

the ultra bright cintered sodium street lamps provide a cold almost pure white light, which brings

out the green in the foliage.

The lamps do not flare excessively, and the shadows have a realistic, ghostly affect. Very pleased with this test.

Street Shot: White sintered sodium intense lamps.



p... 311 Landscape shot over town and old folks in centre. : This is a disapointment but not that bad for a first try: the camera was on the tripod and the settings are the same as for 310 but on a 36 mm(eq 72) and +0.3 exposure.

Noise is to be expected from the actual scene, but this is not sharp enough to cut the mustard.

Either a focus issue with the f6.3@36mm or camera shake.

P...312 Same scene as 311. Very please with this experiment


15"/f8/40mm(80)/ ISO400/ + 1.0Ec./tripod/1sec delay

You can see the aperture stopping down really making things sharp, while it is indeed about plus one whole exposure step over exposed on the lights. Here, bracketing +/- 1.0 and even more would be worth while but probably need to be done manually.

P...313 same settings as 312 but becomes very noisy on the white walls, nothing to write home about: tower out of focus and maybe some shake or unsharpness influencing the steps: no point in looking at the ORF.

...314 Very pleased with this shot actually! Closer in on towers in the town.

same as above but ISO reduced to 100 and on max focal legnth 42mm(84)

>Crop sharpened of 314

P927...316 Very pleased with this experiment: the spire is very sharp and well exposed, while
their is a very good depth to the image, making it feel real 3D. short of a spot exposure and
focus on the tower, it is a hard range to get : this one has the spire very sharp actually and
nicely exposed. Noise is very low. 15sec f8 otherwise the same as the last few. 100ISO tells!









317....Spire with roofs no direct light sources : 15sec / f8 /17mm( 24) a nice composition for daytime which is very well
handled by the camera: making it feel more like you are there !

318: Spire, cropped for litter: portrait

15s/f8/17mm(34)/ISO100/0.0Ecomp/manual focus&exposure as per all so far.

319 Solsiden: the actual sol siden with passing car, is very very nicely exposed: 15 sec /f8./14mm(28)/ ISO100. The moon is out of focus but I guess this would take a 30 sec f16 to get the DOF.


Who hates DOF on FT cameras ?? !