The E-M5 II, IBIS, an electronic shutter and a Kookaburra

There's nothing remarkable about these shots. The composition is average, the lighting is challenging, the context is typical and the detail resolution is mediocre. I've seen plenty of much better captures of this native Australian bird. But what really blew my mind was just how many images I decided to keep that were shot at shutter speeds that were perilously low for the focal length I was using.

The following shots were all taken with the 75-300 II, handheld, utilising short strategic electronic shutter bursts in 10fps mode:

1/50s, 234mm

1/60s, 264mm

1/50s, 234mm

1/25s, 300mm

1/25s, 300mm

1/25s, 300mm

The last 3, which are probably my favourites, almost defy belief.  I'm no stranger to pushing the limits of handheld birding in low light, but the combination of IBIS and the electronic shutter has expanded the range of conditions in which I feel comfortable pushing my luck to remain at low ISOs to an extent that I wasn't expecting.

I'm impressed, and I'm ecstatic to finally be free of all this shutter shock nonsense.

Thanks, yes, I like the shots, and the stability  The kooka has such a cheeky expression.

I was showing off the IS to a friend last weekend in a darkish home theatre room, and got a very steady shot with a 40mm (80 eq) lens at 0.4 seconds. That's 5 stops better than the handheld rule. With mechanical shutter and 0s antishock. Even surprised myself!

Well they look pretty good to me.  Challenging conditions yes, but I am seeing a lot of feather detail in these.   Nicely done overall.

Interesting, thanks for sharing!

Could you maybe explain why this works better with electronic shutter then lets say mechanical shutter with anti shutter shock setting?
I'm no expert... why is electronic shutter better in this case?

thanks a lot

Oliver

Oli4D wrote:

Interesting, thanks for sharing!

Could you maybe explain why this works better with electronic shutter then lets say mechanical shutter with anti shutter shock setting?
I'm no expert... why is electronic shutter better in this case?

Slightly higher max fps speed

Complete absence of even slight shutter-induced vibration

Minimum delay after shutter button press to shutter actuation

Good job, Cain. Those shutter speeds are kind of ridiculous; imagine them only a few years ago with no stabilization. Just unthinkable.

Long FL stabilization is most critical to me. Those once-in-a-lifetime safari shots are what I'm after. E-M5 with monopod was quite good, but still occasionally fell short. Seeing genuine 4 stops IS at long focal lengths warms my heart. I'm happy, too, to get low-light moderate FL stabilization. But it's not a life-altering experience.

Thanks much for this demonstration. My next big game hunting is next March. E-M1 II, if it's out, or I may have to "settle" for the E-M5 II. Now I know "settling" for E-M5 II would be just fine in this critical (for me) department.

Those are great pictures...amazingly sharp, considering. The birds must be very still too.

Is that a gum tree the kookaburra is sitting in (they do seem merry).