OM1 - Field Test - Dragonflies and Mayflies

[@jeanamusant]

Roger, your images are great…!

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks you for the very kind comment Jan. ITs very much appreciated. Glad you liked the video.

[@johnpavett68]

Excellent video, I love the 40-150 + tc for dragonflies

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment John. The 40-150+MC 14 is a great combo for dragonflies.

[@jamdontaylor]

Amazing! Thanks for producing and posting this tutorial and pics of these beautiful creatures. Cheers.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thank you very much for the kind comment. Glad you liked the video and found it helpful.

[@dougjarvis3824]

An excellent video , some really good tips.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment Doug. Glad you like it.

[@nickbowman3505]

Some very nice images Roger and the last one is my favourite

[@rogerhance5883]

Cheers Nick. I like the last image as well.

[@ozitube1]

What superb shots!! Such delicate beauty in these insects...Your commentary was very helpful, Roger, thank you.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment

[@Treydmusicmedia]

I wish that I had watched your video before my just-ended trip! I shot many macros and focus stacks. While I got many fine photos, your shared knowledge of the focus differential would have helped me greatly! I would have created more shots with a more out-of-focus background. I enjoy your no-nonsense delivery. You do a very nice job imparting information very concisely. thank you, sir!

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks very much for your kind comments. They are very much appreciated. I do try to make my videos as clear and informative as possible. Glad you liked it.

[@dougbcoulson8138]

Roger ... thanks for the range of practical tips which will help me on my next OM1 field outing ... cheers, Doug

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Doug. Glad you found it helpful.

[@catherinetremerryn]

Well done Roger! Fantastic and well spotted. You can understand why Walt Disney turned dragon flies into cartoons with those faces - they really are extraordinary.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Catherine. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@jonbarnard7186]

Beautiful shots and very informative.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thank you Jon. Glad you liked it

[@sabyasachibanerjee124]

Another great video full of beautiful images and helpful tips

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Sabyasachi . Your comments much apreciated.

[@adrianpocea2287]

You do some amazing work. Great pictures!

[@ggwildlife]

wow Roger amazing images i cannot wait for summer.

[@d.k.1394]

Amazing photos

[@rogerhance5883]

Thank you. Much appreciated.

[@louisswaim7024]

Thank you for the beautiful photos and excellent information. I will benefit from your guidance as I dig into focus stacking with my EM-1 Mark III.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment. This video may help you with focus stacking on your EM1mkIII. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYLHm4R_e8qNjJI

[@alanryder]

As ever, interesting, instructional and of course, helpful as this is something I have wanted to do for a couple of years. Of course, you have to be there and find your subjects first and I haven't got over this first hurdle yet! Saying that, I believe that I should be able to find a suitable spot not too far from home and have a go at putting your excellent hints and tips into practice. This video is certainly a good reference. Thank you Roger.

[@rogerhance5883]

Cheers Alan. Knowledge from your local wildlife trust or society helps in finding locations. Good luck.

[@scotimages]

Many thanks for the info on the focus differentials.

[@jeffreyalmond7376]

Thanks for the tutorial on Macro, very interesting and informative. Some great shots there. Makes me want to get out there and experiment.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment Jeffrey. Much appreciated.

[@robertmaier7519]

Astonishing what you can do with your camera! Very well explained, thank you very much.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the very kind comment Robert. Glad the explanation was clear.

[@tedsimonett431]

Great information and lovely shots Roger, thanks. The emerging dragonfly is a fascinating sequence.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comments Ted. Glad you liked the emerging dragonfly shots.

[@MrAshokKB]

Lovely Images ! and great tips in photographing these images. Appreciate your teaching ability.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks . Much appreciated

[@cliffday1183]

great video Roger, enjoyed it, keep up the good work

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Cliff. Although it may not seem it, there is quite a bit of work putting these videos together, so pleased you liked it.

[@ianparr1533]

I got a bit confused about focus stacking with my E-M1 as there are two similar features available, but they do differ in important ways. I don't have an OM-1 but I think it is very similar to the older cameras in this respect. The two different modes available are focus bracketing and focus stacking. Focus Bracket saves a series of frames with focus shifting away from the original focus point and will stop when either the max number of shots specified is reached or infinity focus is reached. You can shoot RAW files that you then post-process and stack in software later. Focus Stack, as you describe in the video, saves a series of between 3 and 15 frames around (both in front and behind) your original focus point and composites them to a single JPG in camera. I've found Focus Bracketing to be more flexible and accurate as I can set the front focus point exactly where I want it and then let the sequence run far enough to be sure of capturing the whole subject. If I end up with frames from beyond the furthest point that I need to be sharp, I can delete them before performing focus stacking in software. Of course, with Focus Stack you can preview the end result in the field, which is not possible with Focus Bracket.

[@ianparr1533]

Roger - I just found your video kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYLHm4R_e8qNjJI where you explain and illustrate these options really well. I wish that had been available when I was wrestling with how to set up my E-M1 to do stacking! Subscribed now!

[@rogerhance5883]

Yes Ian , the bracketing ans stacking on the EM1 series of cameras is very similar to the OM1. I made a KZbin video on `Stacking on the mkIII` kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYLHm4R_e8qNjJI Some people prefer to use bracketing as opposed to stacking. With stacking, you still get all the Raw files when you download onto the camera so if you want to stack them yourself, its quite possible to do so.

[@KimHojbergJensen]

Fantastic photos. I am still trying out the Olympus cameras, so I started with the E-M1 first version.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment about the photos Kim. The Olympus cameras are excellent.

[@roycejohnson929]

Another fantastic Video Roger, while you are coming into summer we are starting a cold winter ! so it hasnt been good for birds or insects but Fungi is my next project, Cheers from NZ

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Royce. The Fungi season is one of my favourite times of the year, and `stacking` works well on Fungi. Good luck with the Fungi hunting.

[@stevocem]

Nice job, Roger.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Stephan. Much appreciated

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Well explained Roger. Hope to use it on a static bird one day.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Mike.

[@garybrown9719]

I like the 2.8 lots of Tony

[@PaintedCloudsStudio]

Very nice, thank you, Roger.

[@rogerhance5883]

Glad you liked it. Thanks for the kind comment.

[@Vincenzo-bm1up]

thanks for this inspiring video. With my E-M1x and M.300mm F4 and 1.4 TC, I was able to focus stack images of dragonflies (Orthetrum), lizards, and frogs, in broad daylight. There are of course artefacts in some cases, but only visible with pixel peeping. I did the stacking off-camera in OM Workspace after colour correcting the single RAW images. However, I did it in camera as well in order to have reference images to select the best shots on the computer before the final processing. Also I often removed a few images that were completely out of focus - instead of resetting the number of frames in camera, which I kept at eight all the time. However I adjusted the focus differential as needed. I suppose for reptiles and amphibians this is a viable setup, as they are only out in the sun. Ideally for dragonflies it would be better to concentrate on early and cool hours of the day. However, in the local nature reserve I can only stay on the footpaths, and the meadows where the dragonflies would be found are not accessible. Instead I can get close to the water above which they fly about. I noticed that after flying frantically as soon as the air warms up, they tend to occasionally perch on water plants as it get hotter. I suppose this is in order to cool down. When they are perched, I can easily get them on camera, and if they stay reasonably still I suppose the results could not be much worse than early morning with some breeze.

[@rogerhance5883]

Glad you liked the video. The set up you use will produce excellent results and the longer lens will allow you to get great images without scaring them. It should work well for reptiles.

[@ThirdEyePix]

Excellent results! Thank you for sharing your techniques. I Admin a large Facebook Group 'UK Dragonflies & Damselflies'. I also shoot OM-1.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment Robin. I will join the UK Dragonflies & Damselflies group.

[@philliplivingstone5336]

Great videos, thank you.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Philip. Glad you liked it.

[@richardbedford6166]

Great work, Roger. Can I ask, please, do you apply any noise reduction software to your images. I have access to an OM-1 now and have found macro images are noisy at iso2000, much more than my Sony A74, a full frame sensor camera of course.

[@rogerhance5883]

Hi Richard, I do use Topaz AI on images at above ISO 1600. Its a great piece of software. There will always be a difference in noise performance between a full frame and a M4T system. THat said, once a image has been through Topaz its not so much an issue.

[@richardbedford6166]

@@rogerhance5883 Thanks Roger, much appreciated. I now have an OM-1 to add to my Sony gear!! Looking forward to trying out some Pro Capture and focus stacking.

[@labatalain9914]

thank you very much for your answer

[@d.k.1394]

You have a good teaching technique

[@rogerhance5883]

Thank you. Much appreciated.

[@naturealbums]

Lovely images and excellent tips. You should be able to get some flight shots too when the dragonflies go into hover mode.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment. Yes, Dragonflies in flight is going to be the next video.

[@jeanamusant]

Should the 90 mm pro give more and better results in the field?

[@rogerhance5883]

I do not have the 90mm lens, but it would give you extra working space when used in the field. Its supposed to be incredibly sharp. I hope to buy it before long.

[@klackon1]

Cracking video; thanks a lot. I've purchased the new 40 - 150mm f4 in order to capture insects too far out for my 60mm f2.8, or too skittish to get close. Obviously, I can't use an MC14 or MC20 with my 40 - 150mm, instead, I use a 16mm extension tube. It works well at the 150mm end and is so much lighter for handholding.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Pete. That 40-150mm F4 lens looks a good bit of kit.

[@jonathanashton4758]

Why not MC14 or MC 20, I find they work well, they increase working distance and magnification.

[@rogerhance5883]

@@jonathanashton4758 will the 40-150 F4 take converters ? It's a newish lens and not sure if it will ?

[@jonathanashton4758]

@@rogerhance5883 Sorry Roger you are absolutely correct, I did not notice the reference to the f4 lens - if it is not a Pro lens it will not be compatible with the MC lenses.

[@sznikers]

How close you can focus with that extension tube? I have 150mm zoom too and was considering macro tubes. Which brand did you choose? I looked around both ebay and amazon, its just swarmed with 100 different rebrands of same 3 chinese products. Not sure i can trust those and unlike Fuji or Canon there are no Oly extension tubes : /

[@dtravisphd]

Really super shots Roger, great work. When focus stacking in the field, how do you check that you've used the right differential? Do you assume that if the OM-1 managed to stack the images in camera then it will be OK? Personally, I find the LCD display on the camera too small to really check.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment about the video David. Its difficult to check you have the right differential on the back of the camera. You can tell if you zoom in on the finsihed shot, but its is still difficult. Having said that, it would be the same with the back screen on any camera. To be honest, its just trial and error and experience. Once you have done a few you get a feeling for how many needed, you will get your eye in. Its the same with the number of shots in a stack. When I started with Olympus I had the mkII, whcih only did 8 shots in a stack. When I bought the EM1X it does 15 shots in a stack. I thought great ! My first attempts at stacking with the EM1X were disappointing. Some shots were fine, but some seemed to have a halo around the subject. I asked Olympus and they said just because it will do 15 shots, it does not mean you should always use 15. The focusing was going past the depth of the subject, and focusing on the background, which caused the halo. Once I cut down the number of shots taken, it cured the problem. Its the same with differential. Hope this helps.

[@dtravisphd]

@@rogerhance5883 That's a really useful insight Roger, thanks. I get halos sometimes and maybe that's because I tend to stack 15 shots. I'll try fewer.

[@rogerhance5883]

@@dtravisphd If you get halos just reduce the number of shots in the stack and cut down the focus differential a bit. It should work.

[@marcel9568]

Hello Roger. Beautiful photos. Do you do any post processing like removing noise?

[@rogerhance5883]

Hi Marcel. Thanks for the kind comment. I did need to use anything on these shots because most were shot at ISO 640 or ISO 800. At these ISO`s, there is virtually no noise anyway. I do use Topaz DeNoise AI when photographing at higher ISO`s. Say anything above ISO 2000. Below that, I dont find it necessary to do so.

[@wildhomevideos]

Macro photography in nature, in situ with the elements, like breeze etc. can be very challenging, especially filming video. But is of great interest to me. Unfortunately days, even early mornings without any breeze are rare where we are. I am thinking that high speed, say 300 fps would be the way to go. I am at present contemplating purchasing a camera for this type of filming. I wonder what your thoughts are regarding this, and would be grateful if you can recommend a camera that would be best for this purpose.

[@rogerhance5883]

Hi , Dificult to say what camera would suit you best really. Not sure if you are more interested in video or stills ? I use an OM1, whcih I find very good for stills, but also good for video. Hope this helps.

[@wildhomevideos]

@@rogerhance5883 I am interested in video, and thanks for your input

[@sznikers]

@@wildhomevideos Sound like you may be interested in panasonic gh6

[@wildhomevideos]

@@sznikers Thank you for the tip.

[@labatalain9914]

hello excellent work, I am amazed but I have a question should I keep AF-on active with procapture L thank you for your answer

[@rogerhance5883]

I am not using Pro Capture on this video Labat. I am using Focus Stacking. If using Pro Cap Low, then yes, you would use AF.

[@TheGazzadj]

Great video and even though I am Sony, still lots of great tips and footage to put me in the mood for dragons!!

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment. Good luck with the `dragons` .

[@bamsemh1]

Never too late to join olympus 😉💪

[@TheGazzadj]

@@bamsemh1 Ha ha, it is now, I just bought an A1 🙂

[@jeanamusant]

Do you use software like Zerene Stacker?

[@rogerhance5883]

No. I do all the stacking is done `in camera`, so no need you use stacking software on the computer.

[@d.k.1394]

It is great u can photo stack in camera

[@rogerhance5883]

Yes, photo stacking is a very usful tool to have on a camera.

[@rlrphotography-uk]

Great educational video Roger thanks. I have the camera and the lenses, just need a better pair of specs so i can see what is about within the grasses .LOL.

[@rogerhance5883]

🤣🤣🤣 Cheers Roger

[@petersmith4098]

Excellent video Roger, does the camera give you 1 final image as a jpeg or tiff, also does it give you all Raw images so you can stack your own

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment Peter. The camera takes all the pictures in the stack as raw files, but the final image is the convertered picture as a Jpeg. When you download the pictures onto your computer, you get all the raw files in the stack, plus the finished Jpeg. So yes, if you want to combine them yourself , you can do. If your going to do that you may as well choose `bracketing option` rather than `stacking`. Then you are not limited to 15 shots. (you can go up to 99 with bracketing) Hope you have got your camera sorted out.

[@Henry30065]

A very impressive video Roger. I have been considering a change over from my current Sony A7R IV A to the Olympus OM1 (I am also wary of making such a dramatic switch and possibly regretting it after the event!) However, I am wary of going from 61MP to 20MP. However, just at the point taking the plunge, I see a critical review of the micro four thirds system and I back off! I am fascinated by the way you are able to achieve very acceptable bokeh at f8 and even f16 (equivalent to f16 and f32 in full frame terms?).

[@rogerhance5883]

Hi Alun, Thanks for the kind comment about the video. Changing system is a big consideration, as well as an expensive financial move. If your happy with the weight of the Sony ,and satisfied with the results, then you are probably best to stick with the system you have. Changing systems was a big risk but one I have never regretted. I had to change because I could not physically lug heavy DSLR cameras and lenses around any longer. Having said that, if I had know what I know now, I would have moved to Olympus a lot sooner than I did.

[@Henry30065]

@@rogerhance5883 Thank you so much for the advice Roger. The fact that I procrastinated for so long is an indication that I should prolly stay with my Sony system. Having said that, I was very impressed by the clarity and quality of your Olympus OM1 images. Repeated thanks for take the time to reply. Alun

[@rogerhance5883]

No problem. Interestingly, I had someone come to see me the other day, and he was thinking of changing from Sony to the OM1. He was very impressed with the OM1. I picked up his Sony camera with his long lens on and I had forgotten just how heavy full frame gear is. This reaffirmed to me that I had made the right decision changing to Olympus.

[@mikebromley5673]

Hi Roger, are you using silent shutter btw?

[@rogerhance5883]

I do use silent shutter Mike. For this sort of work its not really essential because the mechanical shutter is so quiet, but I use silent shutter for everything except when using flash.

[@ianjefferson694]

Love this, thanks so much. One nit. Can we all either stay imperial, or metric. A mixture of MM and then inches is confusing.

[@rogerhance5883]

Glad you liked the video Ian. I had not even noticed it was imperial and metric until you mentioned.

[@ianjefferson694]

@@rogerhance5883 My wife calls me a pedant every other day!

[@rogerhance5883]

@@ianjefferson694 🤣🤣🤣

[@ianjefferson694]

@@rogerhance5883 By the way, you sound like you're from Suffolk. Would that be true?

[@rogerhance5883]

@@ianjefferson694 Close Ian, Essex.

[@helendavies2742]

Well explained video Roger . Will have to get out and give it a go now! May I ask what tripod you are using please? Many thanks in advance

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment about the video Helen. The tripod is a Benro Carbon Fibre model. It came with a normal length central column and a short stubby one , which I use for low level work.

[@labatalain9914]

merci beaucoup

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Labat

[@bamsemh1]

Sadly no in flight shots 😬 I'm kind of wondering if the subject mode will work on insects in flight. Haven't tried it yet, because I can't find a good spot with them 😕 my favorite spot has been cut and cleaned out, so almost no insects anymore 😕

[@rogerhance5883]

I have not tried it on flight shots yet Villiam. I went to a location during the week to try it out but it was a bit windy and not quite warm enough for them to be flying. Hopefully, if conditions are favourable I may try it out next week.

[@barrymills3512]

Great video and images Roger. I’m a keen macro photographer of dragonflies and butterflies, currently shooting with a full frame set up. I’m generally happy with that for static subjects but I have been thinking about the OM1 to possibly use to capture insects in flight - especially as it has the pre capture function which I think could be very useful. Do you think the OM1 paired with the 40-150mm (+1.4 tele?) would be a good set up for capturing butterflies and dragonflies in flight ? Thanks.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment about the video. The next video that I am planning to make will be on how the OM1 performs for dragonflies in flight. I think pro cap would be more suitable for shots were a dragonfly, damselfy is taking off. For tracking a dragonfly in flight maybe C-AF or even C-AF+TR may be best. The tracking is designed for birds but it will be interesting to see if it works with a dragonfly in flight.

[@barrymills3512]

@@rogerhance5883 Looking forward to your next video Roger. Thanks.

[@sznikers]

@@barrymills3512 The 60 fps procapture mode on m1 mk iii does great with dragonflies. Om1 is supposed to be a step up from m1 so i guess you should be fine. But be prepared to carry extra batteries, mirrorless in general draw more power and using procapture modes is just chewing through them. Sixty 20megapixel raws per second is no joke.

[@labatalain9914]

good evening I would like to know apart from olympus share if you are aware of a remote shooting system with live view return thank you for your answer

[@rogerhance5883]

The only remote that I know of with live view is the Olympus app. There may be another but I dont know of it.

[@bmprosser74]

Hello Roger! I am a new subscriber and have been extremely inspired by you already. Can you please tell me if the new OM-1 is extremely different than the older OM-1 Mark III? I do not have either one, however I do have a Pen E-PL8. I desperately want to upgrade to something better with focus stacking without getting murdered from my wife, lol!

[@rogerhance5883]

Hi Benjamin, Thanks for subscribing. The autofocus is a big improvement on the OM1 in comparrison to the EM1mkIII. Having said that, for macro, when you are focusing on something that is fairly static, there is not a huge advantage of the OM1. The EM1 MkIII will do focus stacking, just the same as the OM1. Considering the mkIII is such a good price, that may well be your best option. If you want to seriously do birds in flight, then the OM1 is the one to go for. Hope this helps.

[@bmprosser74]

@@rogerhance5883 Thank you so much! You definitely did help me!

[@al404]

Hi, nice video. I was wondering how OM-1 AF-C can handle dragonfly or butterfly 🦋 while flying around. Can OM-1 focus on the eye and track the animal? Thanks

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment about the video. Not really tested it out yet for Dragonflies in flight but hope to very soon.

[@sznikers]

I have m1 mark iii and its not as much question if af can handle but if i can handle. If i keep up and hold dragonfly in af area i can get multiple shots, but most of the time they change direction of flight so fast i lose them. Good thing is sensor readout is fast enough so that electronic shutter is usable unlike some more expensive competition bodies. Got nice shots by using 60fps pro capture and sitting in carefully chosen spot with prefocused af.

[@rogerhance5883]

@@sznikers Waiting in a prefocused spot works well, and they will often return to the same spot over and over again.

[@sznikers]

@@rogerhance5883 Oh yeah, its like their territory, they keep returning to same rock or branch then after some rest they patrol area around. The spots are same every day but they change with sun position.

[@rogerhance5883]

@@sznikers Yes, they often return to the same reed or branch, so that makes it easier to photograph them. A tip that I learnt years ago is to provide a new perch for them to land on. You then pre focus on that, and just wait for them to use it.

[@langsoosten1875]

Great!

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks. Much appreciated.

[@davidcurtiswatts2378]

Such a shame to hear that much traffic in the English countryside.

[@rogerhance5883]

Yes. Unfortunately this site is by the side of a busy main road.

[@joanantonim.p.2400]

👌👍👍🙏 👋🙋

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Joan