EM1, a dog and a frisbee

ChicagoMike wrote:

Beautiful dog and great shots! I find running dogs to be a real challenge for AF systems and am impressed that you got any keepers while also throwing the frisbee. I have a Nikon D800 that I have used with various lenses and have struggled. Most of my best shots have been while my pups were swimming, since that slows them down, or at the end of the throw, before they have a chance to build up speed.

Were you happy with your EM I's AF performance or are you eyeing the EM II?

Thanks!

I'm generally happy with the EM1AF performance. I don't think I'd use it if sports/action were my main photography subject, but it does pretty well all things considered in those situations. A couple things it has in it's favor - it acquires focus really, really fast - faster than just about any DSLR I've used. You can shoot wide open and get sharp photos - the focus is just so accurate. I've never had to deal with any front or back focus. And despite all the talk about always wanting more shallow DOF (which I admit to at times ), it can be an advantage in these types of situation because a little more is in focus compared to what you'd get at f2.8 on APS-C or FF.

I have thought about the EM1 II, and I'm still on the fence. I don't see much that it offers that fills any issues/gaps I feel like the EM1 has. I'd like a bit better high ISO, although I generally just leave my EM1 on auto ISO with a cap of 6400 and it does pretty well.

I'd also like a bit more latitude from a dynamic range standpoint, although again, this hasn't been a huge problem for 99% of my shots.

So I've considered a bunch of things. I've had the EM1 for over 3 years now (which feels like an eternity for a digital camera). It still works great and is better than i am as a photographer. But, I like technology and always wonder if I'm missing out on anything. Thought about a Fuji XT2, and it looks like it would be great. But don't want to give up IBIS.

I thought about a Sony A7RII - it's amazing, but expensive. I can get past the body price, but the Sony lenses are crazy expensive, and overall bigger/heavier than I want.

I did pick up a Nikon D750, along with a 24-120 and 50mm 1.4. It's fantastic. I was walking around the house taking photos of things, literally in the dark with the 50mm wide open, and at ISO 8000. I kept saying "this thing is a witch!" (think my wife thought I was nuts). Its remarkable in that respect. And the ability to recover shadows and highlights is awesome.

BUT, it's huge, and heavy, and not nearly as nice to use as the EM1. And I miss IBIS for the primes. So I doubt I'll keep it.

Sorry, long-winded answer. Still thinking about the EM1 MKII, but will wait a bit to see more real world use/samples, and see what RAW images look like once Adobe is ready.