Stan Bax
Member

- OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP. E-M1
- LUMIX G VARIO 100-300/F4.0-5.6
- ƒ/5.6
- 300mm
- 1/1000s
- ISO 800
- Stan Borkowski
- Flash not fired
- Sat, 16 May 2015 7:58 AM
- Copyright 2015 Stan Borkowski
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.7 (Macintosh)
Hello !
This post is rather verbose, as it's my first one here. Will cut down in later posts :w3
As I mentioned in my introduction, I've decided to to try BIF photography with the micro4/3 OMD E–M1 (firmware 3.0) and a Panasonic 100-300 f/4-5.6 lens.
The beginning is not very encouraging, but honestly I didn't really expect this combo to be equal to my (sold) 5DIII and say a 500 mm lens
So far: Out of ca. 700 images I have around 4 keepers, this being the best one (my rating 3/5).
So far I've come to the following conclusions:
- the user has little experience with BIF.
- the lens is soft @ 300 up to f/7.1, even when focusing on stationary objects.
- focusing is a huge challenge, IMHO even this image is OOF although the bird filled a large part of the camera, I use back-button focus.
- the best mode is S-AF with manual; absolutely no keepers with C-AF (C-AF is equivalent of AI servo on Canon)
Thanks for all and any critique, as this is my first ever public BIF, so I know I have a lot to learn !
Stan
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Image data as per instructions for this forum:
Thought Process
- Were you creating a Portrait?: No, just trying to shoot some BIFs flying around a river...
- An Environmental Image etc.: Not especially, no.
- What obstacles did you face in creating your image?: Sudden start of bird from bush approx 100 ft. away
- Location: River bank
- If an animal, what species? Was your subject captive? Did you attract your subject or subjects into photographic range with food, water, audio, or any other means?: Grey Heron, not captive, not attracted.
- Was your image significantly altered by adding or removing elements of the composition post shutter?: No, just cropping.
- Time of day, weather conditions etc: Taken at 8 a.m. - I was actually on my way back home, sun from back right
Capture
- Camera Type and Model: OMD E-M1, crop equiv. 2x
- Lens Focal Length and Model: Panasonic 100-300 f/4-5.6 @ 300mm
- ISO, Metering Mode, Exposure Mode: 800, Manual
- Exposure Compensation (if used): 0.0
- Shutter Speed, Aperture: 1/1000, f/4.97
- Focus Mode: S-AF w/manual
- Tripod, Tripod Head: No
- Flash, Flash Settings: No
Post Processing
- Crop: Yes, 1/3 of image in front of bird removed
- USM:
- Levels/Curves: See below
- Noise Reduction: See below, could possibly sharpen bird itself and blur background (mask), otherwise it lookes like the BG noise has been sharpened - what do you think ?
- Cloning or other modification: No
==== For those interested in all deatails - I process in LR 5.7
Detailed PP:
- Treatment: Colour
- WB mode: As shot
- Temp: 6050
- Tint: +15
- Exposure: 0
- Contrast: -7
- Highlights: 0
- Shadows: 0
- Whites: 0
- Blacks: 0
Clarity: -10
Vibrance: +2
Saturation: 0
Tone Curve
Highlights: 0
Lights: 0
Darks: -29
Shadows: 0
Point curve: Linear
HSL
Hue: No change from 0
Saturation: No change from 0
Luminance: No change from 0
Split toning
- Highlights
- - Hue: 0
- - Saturation: 0
- - Balance: Middle
- Shadows
- - Hue: 0
- - Saturation: 0
Detail
Sharpening
- Amount: 24
- Radius: 1
- Detail: 41
- masking: 0
Noise reduction
- Luminance: 15
- Detail: 50
- Contrast: 37
- Colour: 25
- Detail: 50
- Smoothness: 50
Lens corrections
- Basic
- - enable profile corrections: On , but no profile for this lens
- - remove CA: On
Effects
- Post crop vignetting: No change
- Grain: No change
Camera calibration
- Process: 2012 (current)
- Profile: Adobe standard