Shot Some Cheerleading with EM1 ii

Just thought I'd throw a few shots up from last night in case anyone wanted to see how it can handle action in low light/crappy lit high school gyms. I only brought my 40-150 F2.8 and after going through everything, I think I will cave and get the Panaleica 42.5 1.2 and the Oly 75 1.8.

I consider these to be OK but really could have used an extra stop or even two on my shutter speed but I didn't want to go above 1600 ISO let alone the 2000 that I settled in at. I just think with that extra speed I could likely achieve some really nice results. These are SOOC jpgs. The raw files processed through DXO look much better with its PRIME noise reduction algorithm but I thought this would be a decent display of what you can expect. Disclaimer: I was also trying to ensure my 2 year old didn't get destroyed as he kept trying to run out and "get" his sister so yeah, my attention was 'meh' at times.

The mascot is a Yellow Jacket but they call themselves the Bees.

Also, thanks for the examples. The 40-150 Pro is next on my list, so this is a good reference point for moderate ISO action.

jkrumm wrote:

I would have cranked the iso for brighter shots. These look kind of dim, but otherwise good. Don't worry about the noise, worry about exposure and sharpness.

You're probably right, but I'm probably too picky about noisy images, haha...which is why I think a real fast lens like the Nocticron 1.2 or even the Oly 75 1.8 would have really helped.  I understand the M43 is going to bring about noise more than APSC or FF and especially indoors, but I really enjoy the system as a whole.

Lew wrote:

neverendinglight wrote:

Just thought I'd throw a few shots up from last night in case anyone wanted to see how it can handle action in low light/crappy lit high school gyms. I only brought my 40-150 F2.8 and after going through everything, I think I will cave and get the Panaleica 42.5 1.2 and the Oly 75 1.8.

I consider these to be OK but really could have used an extra stop or even two on my shutter speed but I didn't want to go above 1600 ISO let alone the 2000 that I settled in at. I just think with that extra speed I could likely achieve some really nice results. These are SOOC jpgs. The raw files processed through DXO look much better with its PRIME noise reduction algorithm but I thought this would be a decent display of what you can expect. Disclaimer: I was also trying to ensure my 2 year old didn't get destroyed as he kept trying to run out and "get" his sister so yeah, my attention was 'meh' at times.

As noted above, Buzz is a Yellow Jacketand not really a bee.

That part aside, as you note it basically sucks shooting anything action related inside a school gym.

In terms of bumping the exposure, I'd also suggest experimenting with 1/125th for this sport; a little more motion blur at the cheerleaders extremities wouldn't take away from the images and in some circumstances could enhances the dynamism of the images.

I'm unsure your distance to them, but also check DoF tables and understand what amount of DoF you'd lose with the lower aperture.

Having shot a fair bit of Winter Guard when my daughter was involved some years ago, I personally would stick with a zoom. Given that you're less able to zoom with your feet, and that the conditions favor framing in camera over cropping in post, I'd take the noise/DR hit from higher ISO vs wider aperture.

As you also surmise, raw is very helpful in this environment, particularly with whitebalance.

First things first everyone...I'll make sure the district straightens out this whole Bee/Yellow Jacket mascot deal.  I can see that it's a real issue

Right before I read your response I was just thinking of how a lower fstop could really mess with the image as a whole, in particular the sharpness of all the team.  I suppose my only options are to as you say, take the hit and bump the ISO to 3200ish OR sell my X-T2 (which is better in this situation but not by too much) and get a Pentax K1 or something just for indoor sports where I can't move around.  I was seated in the bleachers for these shots.

With the Oly 7-14 2.8, 12-100 F4, and PannLeica 100-400 F4-6.3 that could be my everything else kit!

Having shot the EM1ii and X-T2 for the past 3-4 months, I'm growing more convinced that I don't need/want both of the systems.  I love both systems but the lens ecosystem in M43 is much better for portability and selection IMO.  Plus the lack of IBIS on Fuji is annoying when shooting their primes or lenses that just don't have it in low light.

With an E-M1 I, you could consider a 4/3 35-100 f/2 - both B&H and Adorama have used examples, last I checked. Too heavy for me to want to carry around (3.6 lbs before 4/3 to m4/3 adapter), but if you're just in the bleachers it wouldn't be too bad. You get the extra brightness with the versatility of a zoom lens.

Is the E-M1 ii ISO-invariant enough to shoot at ISO 800-1600 and boost the image one to two stops in post without a noise penalty? I know I can do that on my Sony sensored body (E-PM2), a bit less comfortable doing that on my Panasonic sensored body (E-M1).

aliasfox wrote:

With an E-M1 I, you could consider a 4/3 35-100 f/2 - both B&H and Adorama have used examples, last I checked. Too heavy for me to want to carry around (3.6 lbs before 4/3 to m4/3 adapter), but if you're just in the bleachers it wouldn't be too bad. You get the extra brightness with the versatility of a zoom lens.

Is the E-M1 ii ISO-invariant enough to shoot at ISO 800-1600 and boost the image one to two stops in post without a noise penalty? I know I can do that on my Sony sensored body (E-PM2), a bit less comfortable doing that on my Panasonic sensored body (E-M1).

I wish there was an f2 zoom for m43.  The lowest I'm aware of is 2.8 including the 35-100 you reference.

You can definitely under expose by a stop with the mark ii and get good recovery in post without introducing too much noise.

neverendinglight wrote:

aliasfox wrote:

With an E-M1 I, you could consider a 4/3 35-100 f/2 - both B&H and Adorama have used examples, last I checked. Too heavy for me to want to carry around (3.6 lbs before 4/3 to m4/3 adapter), but if you're just in the bleachers it wouldn't be too bad. You get the extra brightness with the versatility of a zoom lens.

Is the E-M1 ii ISO-invariant enough to shoot at ISO 800-1600 and boost the image one to two stops in post without a noise penalty? I know I can do that on my Sony sensored body (E-PM2), a bit less comfortable doing that on my Panasonic sensored body (E-M1).

I wish there was an f2 zoom for m43. The lowest I'm aware of is 2.8 including the 35-100 you reference.

You can definitely under expose by a stop with the mark ii and get good recovery in post without introducing too much noise.

There's a 4/3 35-100 f/2, not m4/3. It can be used on m4/3 with an Olympus MMF3 adapter and maintain the weatherproof and autofocus of your E-M1 ii. It is considered one of the best lenses ever sold. Y Olympus. Check out B&H or Adorama's used sections.

I took some low light action pictures tonight wth higher ISO.  I'm going to push through dxo and see what the noise reduction can do.