OM System Custom Mode - Optimal Exposure Default Settings

[@moxierower1806]

I’m loving your non equipment videos! Who can buy equipment every day? However, we can shoot every day. Again, very new to your content, wish I found you a while back.

[@leehoyphotography]

I will be doing a LOT more non equipment videos! Thanks for watching, the view difference between gear and non-gear videos is sad. I punish myself financially and time wise by doing the non-equipment videos, but I am here to help you capture visually compelling images, not just get the most views!

[@HarveyStuart-n9r]

I have now seen 14 of your videos and I think this is the best one yet. I bought an OM1 Mark II last month and I haven't started using it yet. Most of my experience has been with 35 mm cameras and with a 4K Panasonic video camera taking stills. I am trying to do my homework before I start using the camera so I can learn how to master the camera. The custom modes give me a starting point for when I start experimenting.

[@leehoyphotography]

Harvey, so glad you found this video so helpful! I hope that in every video you learn something beneficial for your photography! That camera does a LOT so don't get frustrated, enjoy the journey!

[@jeffreyferguson9174]

One of your best big picture videos! Lots of great information, especially for those of us who may only shoot somewhat sporadically compared to someone like yourself who shoots all the time. Really helps to lead me on your path to mastering your camera!

[@leehoyphotography]

Very humbled by your extremely kind words! Thanks a ton!

[@teribyrdic3955]

Thank you so much. I love shooting with my friends but they are not Olympus shooters so I really appreciate the help. I will look for some workshops.

[@leehoyphotography]

You are more than welcome! Glad it helps!

[@ThomasSchifferli]

Lee, another great vid! It’s too bad that information about photography get fewer likes than do those about gear. Having been an Olympus shooter for 10 years I wish that their marketing would reflect the true capabilities of the system.

[@leehoyphotography]

Thomas, I am working on a project to possible expand on that marketing idea!

[@cbarnettcti123]

I use C4 as a "restore" mode. What I mean by that is that I normally set my camera up when it is not in a custom mode with aperture priority, f8, iso200 and a bunch of menu settings that I have changed from the default (for example I customize the buttons). I use C1-C3 for special circumstances like wildlife, focus stacking, and ND computational shooting. But no matter what mode I go into or what other changes I may make during a day of shooting, I know I can always go to C4 to restore all settings to the way I generally want them, then go to A, and my camera is back to how I like it for "normal" shooting (I shoot primarily landscapes). This practice gives me only 3 custom modes for special situations, with the 4th mode used to return to "normal".

[@PeterBarnes-infinite8horizon]

Lee, thanks for sharing your starting settings, and just as importantly, the reasoning behind them. As for “gear fever”, I’m afraid we’re all up against two potent forces: marketing and laziness. The manufacturers would like us to believe that features and dollars will magically allow us to create better images, and our own laziness would have us believe that we don’t need to spend the time and effort to understand, master and make automatic all the technical skills needed to actually benefit from the tools we’ve bought, so that then the photography is about creating images using the tools. Preaching to the choir here, I know.

[@leehoyphotography]

Yep, people think if they spend x amount on gear, then their images will be great. Nothing could be further from the truth.

[@sheilae.]

Lots of great teaching as always! I also have shutter speed on the front dial, but I like ISO on the thumb dial ...

[@leehoyphotography]

I tried that change but just didn't like it! But if you find it helpful, that is awesome!

[@berniestang2616]

Excellent KZbin channel. I am binge watching your videos.!!! Kinda new to Oly. Lots to learn here ., I would like to thank u for your teaching style : Easy listening & THANK U for explaining things so well for us newbies , especially when new cameras can feel overwhelming! THANK YOU !!! You have a mentoring program- i need to look up info on this !!!!❤

[@leehoyphotography]

I love hearing this Bernie! That is awesome! The mentoring program is very in-depth and will fast forward your photography like crazy!

[@berniestang2616]

@@leehoyphotography You do a great job & I appreciate it !

[@johnpark8297]

Thank you Lee, a superb overview for many scenarios. Strange that the traffic drops for something much more valuable than gear. Keep up the excellent work 👍

[@leehoyphotography]

Thank you very much John!

[@JamesHeupel78624]

Thanks Lee! Most informative ... and useful!

[@leehoyphotography]

My pleasure Jim and thanks so much!

[@sweden_ove2074]

Thanks Lee. This is awesome. As you always say, learn to master your system. And this is one good way to do that. I will listen to this video more times than one. To learn, test, listen again and draw my conclusions. Thanks. Have a great week. I'm going for a airshow in historic environment this weekend. Hope I get to test from your advices.

[@leehoyphotography]

I love hearing how useful this has been! Thanks for your kind words!

[@sweden_ove2074]

​@@leehoyphotographyIt was really good. I still try to lern back button photography. It's quite new to me. I worked ok, but sometimes I thumble after the button. I get to master it in tge end. The Subject detection worked very good. I wish I had more time to practice, but I also had prommised to take some static photos in the historic environment with my 6x6cm OlympusFlex TLR camera. It took a bit too much time from the airshow photography practice though. I have another time to practice with my OM-1 in a few weeks. Then more experience could be shared. I love using the C modes. I made C2 for jet planes 1:1200sec f8, C3 for slower ww2 propeller planes 1:100sec iso 200 and ND4, and the C4 for static. I haven't had time to process the raw files yet, but after a quick check, they seem ok. It's difficult to freeze the propeller perfectly enough, and at the same time freeze the plane. I had to have slow shutterspeed at 1:60sec in some of the propeller planes like the Klemm35 and the Tiger Moth. Luckily we have the nice IBIS in our om-1:s 😅. I used external ND filters when photographing in C3 mode at the start, then I tried the internal ND filters too, but i have to evaluate that result. I first used ND4 internally and in the end ND2. This is trucky. I have to try more to find the perfect settings. I used my 12-100 f4 lens and it worked well since the aerodrome were so compact. And also the Saab Gripen jet fighter flew a very close show. The older jets like the Saab J35 Draken from the 50's don't turn kind off😂, so that plane needed probably 400 mm focal length to get the best turns and angles. The Saab J29 Flying Barrel was in between. Well I think I got first step in how to set the best Custom mode settings for airshow. It was a very bright scandinavic sunny day. And not so much moist in the air, as could be when its really warm. Long focal length close to ground was no problem at all as I heard from those with 1000 mm FF beasts. I will let you know more when I have evaluated and lerned from my sessions. Thanks for your interest in settings and result from your education.

[@AnaaNis1233]

Really helps. Thx a lot. Honest guy who teaches us to be honest to ourselves. Sub.

[@leehoyphotography]

Thanks for those words!

[@jmlesko1]

Love your videos Lee! Your channel has quickly become my favorite and most useful. It is so annoying most channels have turned into gear channels and not just reviews. Was it about a month ago? Canon made an announcement that they were going to announce a new body. EVERY big channel did a video about the announcement about an announcement. Appreciate you sir! I have learned so much from you and am really hoping to take advantage of a mentorship and/or workshop with you.

[@leehoyphotography]

And I bet some watched a ton of those videos! I am so over the deluge of videos on new gear and rumor crap. Thanks for watching and being a part of my online community!

[@SirGabealot]

Hey lee! I went to your talk at Glazers photo fest and finally took the plunge and purchased an om1 mkii. Your great content is a big reason i felt confident making this decision!

[@leehoyphotography]

How cool! I really enjoyed my time up there and hope to get back sometime! Glad you are enjoying the body!

[@richwilliamsphotography]

Thanks

[@leehoyphotography]

Thank you very much!

[@davidbegisphotography]

Thanks Lee. Very informative.

[@leehoyphotography]

My pleasure David!

[@gennisteele5763]

Really enjoyed this. Great tips for default settings. Thank you.

[@leehoyphotography]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jen3960]

Thank you Lee! This was a fantastic video! Much appreciate all your knowledge and your time put into these videos. Thanks again!

[@leehoyphotography]

You are vey welcome!

[@jugstopper]

Hi Lee, thanks for the very informative video. Excited to hear you will be coming to Costa Rica. I have spent a lot of time in CR since my honeymoon with my Tica wife in '87 and am now living here. The Osa is one of the places I haven't gotten to, but I hear it is incredible for nature and wildlife photography. I hope to get down that way before too long. Pura vida!

[@leehoyphotography]

I will be doing at least one video from there!

[@RollyDSpradling73]

Thanks!

[@leehoyphotography]

Thank you so much sir!

[@cryptographerchris4856]

Always great content.

[@leehoyphotography]

Thank you very much!

[@davidblack2632]

Great and very useful vudeo.

[@leehoyphotography]

Glad you think so! Appreciate it David!

[@bryanhaworth2231]

Hi Lee, new to your content and quickly becoming engrossed in all the knowledge you are passing on! With your c1 settings - what AF Area configuration do you find most useful as a default. Thx in advance!

[@leehoyphotography]

On the OM-1, I use All AF Points most of the time with AI Subject Detection and on the OM-1 Mark II I use the Large Box AF Points with Subject Detection. If I am tryhing to pick out a specific subject in a group of other subjects, I use the Small Box with AI Subject Detection. Hope that helps!

[@robinchok1426]

Thanks for the great Tips Lee!I was using your Iso base rule for my OM1Mk 2 with my newly acquired Godox V350 O. Funny enough unlike my Nikon Z9 with flash, the OM cameras don't adjust iso despite on auto iso from the base 200 once a flash is charged and attached. Maybe I'm missing something here. Also the Infra Red AF lamp of the Godox never lights up too.

[@leehoyphotography]

If you watch enough of my videos, you will see I think Auto ISO is the worst feature ever included on a camera. I never use and it is a terrible feature ESPECIALLY with flash. The camera can't really change ISO when the flash fires, there is no way the camera would ever nail an exposure using AUTO ISO and flash (it only gets exposure correct less than 5% of the time with Auto ISO anyway). As I like to say, AUTO ISO was created by Satan to destroy exposure reliability! ;)

[@dons7991]

I like your Custom Settings C1-C4, especially C1 and using the Exposure Compensation button to change subject detection. I can now set up both bodies identical instead of the body with battery grip with individual Custom settings for Mammals, perched birds, and birds in flight and the body without the grip for for landscape settings. I also have front dial for shutter speed and rear dial for aperture (from my DSLR days). Good suggestions that I will set up immediately. This is like getting a jump start on the Mentorship Class. ;o)

[@leehoyphotography]

Glad it was helpful Don! Looking forward to our sessions!

[@richwilliamsphotography]

Many thanks for another great video. I had no idea when I made that comment that it would trigger you to make video about my question. Some of the things I already do, but have also learned a great amount of further information from you, which was presented in a clear easy to understand format. And for that I am very grateful. I’ve made a donation so have a little treat on me. Many thanks. Always look forward to your videos each week. I only wish I could come along on one of your adventures. I used to travel to the USA often, but alas no more unfortunately. Have a great day sir 👍😎 Just have one question. I also use the 150-400 lens on the Om1 mk2. You stop down to f5.6 as a starting point. If you engage the built in 1.25 extender, do you stay at 5.6 as a starting point or also stop down one stop to 6.3 as a starting point?

[@leehoyphotography]

You are welcome and glad you learned even more! I leave it at F5.6 and rarely open up more than that for wildlife photography. I leave at 5.6 so that my exposure remains nailed whether the 1.4 is engaged or not and then I can slip back and forth with no issue!

[@Blackwolfskye]

Hi Lee I am fairly new to the OM systems but enjoying my Om 1 and the 300mm lens just trying to get my head round your advice would i be in manual mode when setting these up to my custom mode hope you understand .Also loving your videos

[@leehoyphotography]

YES, you want to be in whatever exposure mode you plan to use in a Custom Mode before programming the custom mode! That is the ONE item you CAN'T change post programming! I will do a video on tips for programming a custom mode soon! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@stevenmeisel4288]

Thanks, Lee. As always, very helpful. I am curious about why you do not use auto-ISO. Nowadays I don't much care about what ISO I end up using (within reason) because products like Topaz or DXO clean up the noise. So for wildlife my everyday custom mode is 1/2500, wide open (f4 or 5.6 with the 150-400 lens), and auto-ISO up to 12,800. Because I seldom adjust aperture, I changed one of my wheels to do exposure compensation (the exposure compensation button then is converted to aperture). This gives me one less setting to adjust. Is this "wrong"? Thanks!

[@leehoyphotography]

I have to admit how bad I cringed reading "I don't care about what ISO I am using because such and such." Auto ISO is the worst feature on any camera, you aren't exposing to the right and having to "fix" your images. Watch my other videos and you will see that Auto ISO is absolyutely usuelss when it comes to exposing the right. Yes, I use high ISO's a lot (see my many videos on this), but also see how I talk about exposing to the right. Plain and simple, Auto ISO will very rarely work well for nailing your exposure. When you use exposure compensation and give ISO to the camera, I can't possibly imagine giving any control to the camera and you are only taking manual exposure and making it more complicated. You are ignoring a setting in the belief "it works," it doesn't. I have tested Auto ISO with over 5,000 images and it fails over 95% of the time.

[@mikesampson2444]

Hi Lee, I like your no nonsense approach to wildlife photography, you don´t suffer fools. I am having trouble with CAF with bird detect using BBF on the OM1, if I keep the AF-ON depressed the camera "hunts". I realise it´s almost certainly user error, would it be possible to go through not just settings, like CAF sensitivity, focus area, CAF or CAF+TR etc. for tack sharp images but any tips on camera controls as well. Keep up the informative tutorials, please don´t follow the trend to make 2 hour videos of live chat.

[@leehoyphotography]

I will for sure be adding to the AF videos in the future! Thanks for watching Mike!

[@RogerCPhoto1]

Lee, should we be concerned with diffraction at high f/stop? Does DxO have the ability to correct it? Thanks. Great info from your videos as always ❤

[@leehoyphotography]

I have never worried a fraction of a second about diffraction, never had a publisher comment on it, never had a print be affected, never had anyone say jack squat about an image at f/16. I think a lot of photographers like mentioning diffraction because it sounds advanced! ;)

[@RogerCollamati]

@@leehoyphotography I agree, diffraction worries are a little overblown.

[@jpsteiner2]

Lee, thanks. I was surprised that your default aperture for landscape is f/16. I tend to use f/8 and rarely over f/11. Has f/8 let you down?

[@leehoyphotography]

Why f/8 when I get more depth of field at f/16, the whole diffraction nonsense is SO overblown by photographers. F/8 is fine for long lens landscape imagess, but not for me for wide angle.

[@glyndavies6592]

Hi Lee, not sure why you use f5.6 instead of f4.5 on the 150-400? would you mind expnad on that please?

[@leehoyphotography]

Because I am usually shooting with the built-in teleconverter and F5.6 is the fastest aperture with that turned on.

[@denisardeche]

Bonjour Lee ,avec un olympus omd m5 mark III sur tràpied, doit je enlever le stabilisateur Merci pour la réponse

[@EdwardBartel]

You are correct in your observation that gear videos will always drive traffic. There are KZbinrs out there that discuss various strategies while monetizing your channel, like effective keywording, the importance of a powerful thumbnail and general content practices. One way to drive revenue but still keep your emotional batteries charged might be to alternate your content between gear reviews / how-tos and the more valuable discussions on technique and artistry. In this way you'll organically grow your subscriber base while also getting the financial boosts from people searching for gear info. One quick question regarding this video: Is f16 really called for in landscapes? That narrow usually pushes even a good m.Zuiko lens into diffraction. Considering the broader depth of field benefits of m43rds, f8 is the new f16 when compared to the more traditional film photography rules of thumb, right?

[@EdwardBartel]

Also, when you make the video on stacked night sky settings, try using handheld high res mode on your tripod as an alternative to a lights and darks stacked method. The HHHR mode will track your stars for you. I learned this technique from a channel that used to be Olympus-focused, Chasing Luminance. He introduced this technique to KZbin and tested it across a couple videos - it works!

[@wessmith2422]

Why F16? Typically see diffraction softening. VS F8-11.

[@leehoyphotography]

I have taken almost 1 million images with OM System and no one has ever commented about diffraction in one of my images. I think diffraction is one of the most overblown topics from photographers of all the possible topics.

[@HotGates]

Great tips but f16 for landscapes that's like f32 on FF, Wouldn't you think f8 on M4T be enough?

[@sandbilly100]

Are you referring to DOF or light transmission?

[@HotGates]

@@sandbilly100 Who me? I'm referring to diffraction with f16 on M4T cameras.

[@sandbilly100]

@@HotGates the light transmission is the same from identical f stops regardless of sensor size so diffraction is the same, only DOF and angle of view changes in relation to sensor size. Medium format has less DOF and greater angle of view as compared to FF but diffraction is not less it’s the same. Light diffraction and transmission are a function of lens design not camera design.

[@leehoyphotography]

I have yet to have a publisher, a printer, a photographer, etc. every say or mention diffraction in an image. Diffraction is SO overblown and f/16 isn't like f/32 on FF cameras. Use the Photo Pills app and compare actual depth of field from OM to other cameras! So, in short, I don't give a rat's ass about diffraction, I worry about depth of field!

[@franciscocomeronborrego3448]

Thank you so much 🙏🫡

[@leehoyphotography]

My pleasure sir!