New Camera?

Ron Niebrugge Photos 3 Comments

My long trusted Canon on top with a 500 mm lens, an Olympus E-M1X on the bottom with the equivalent of a 600 mm lens!

Olympus has generously offered to loan me their latest camera gear to try out for the summer with no strings attached! When I say no strings – I mean they don’t even expect a positive review or blog post. That is very generous – The camera and lenses arrived last night via over-night UPS!

I’m very excited to try a 4/3 camera system. I have had many clients in recent years rave about the small size, but it wasn’t until Jim Griggs and Joe McDonald visited our Arizona property this winter did I realize all the advantages. Joe has been a long time professional photographer, and he was acting like a kid who just discovered photography! His enthusiasm was impossible to ignore. As was Jim’s

The small size is really just one of many features – some of the other features like Pro Capture I think are going to complete revolutionize the photography industry. With Pro Capture, the camera is constantly writing up to 35 images to the buffer with the 35th image being replaced by the current one so then the second you hit the shutter, the camera saves all 35 images so effectively you can go back in time! This will be amazing with capturing birds in flight as they land and take-off. I have already had a blast with our swallows at the home office, and can’t wait to try it at the Desert Photo Retreat!

There are so many other features! Pro Comp, which allows you to stack exposure based on the lightest pixels – this will be awesome for aurora and star trail photography. Plus, maybe I can finally juxtaposed wildlife against the stars with a camera trap – can’t wait to try it.

Plus, really close minimum focus, flip up LED screen, 60 fps shutter speed, 4K video, silent shutter, a high-res mode for landscapes where the sensor actually shifts during the image, and an incredible in camera stabilization.

As some of you might remember, I tried the Sony mirror-less a while back, and wasn’t happy with it. I think this system is better geared toward action and wildlife, so I’m optimistic, but I’m holding off judgement until I have had a chance to try it in the field. I think in fairness to the Sony, I may not have given it a fair shake, as I often reverted back to my familiar Canon. To avoid a repeat, I am only taking the Olympus on my upcoming back to back Alaska Bear photo tour trips, so that I will really put it through the paces. Stay tuned.

Comments 3

  1. I had thought about mirrorless for a long time. Hate to go to the expense of replacing great, expensive Canon lenses. The features you are describing sound amazing. Looking forward to hearing more. Are using a tri-pod with this combination?

  2. Post
    Author

    Hi Chere, I hear you on replacing expensive Canon lenses! I love my 500 f/4. I have been hand-holding it most of the time – one of the advantages of the smaller system.

  3. Ron, the ProCapture feature is superb for so many things but I can tell you from experience that I have photographed lightning during the daytime using that feature. First time out, I was 8 for 8! That same day I sold my lightning trigger. No need to haul it around. I have not used the focus stacking yet but will be playing with it at my photo workshop I lead with Boyd Norton in Spetember. LiveComposite is also a cool feature with many amazing possibilities. I am playing with it for light painting and some other really creative ideas. In the field I use the silent shutter almost exclusively with long lenses. No worries about shock and vibration from mirrors or shutters banging around inside. Had a guy tell me that mirrorless cameras were not professional. Said I should check out the news photographers in DC at press conferences. I explained to him, no need to check them out, I can hear their stinking mirrors slapping around on TV, LOL. You will absolutely adore the quality off the gear. Low light can be a challenge with some noise but it is much better on the EM-1X than on my older EM-5II. I expect that to improve as well. Looking forward to seeing you in November and taking you out to photograph some bison on native grasslands here in Kansas.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *