Let's face it, nobody needs 50 fps

[faunagraphy]

... Unless you want to shoot sequences like this.

Continuous burst of 5. At a slower burst rate, I'd have missed the critical moment.

These moments are nearly impossible to follow with our human eyes. I track swallows (as best as I can) and if a swallow changes course abruptly, I squeeze a burst. It's a fairly reliable way of capturing a feeding sequence. Since getting my OM-1, my success rate has shot through the roof!


1. Radar ping




2. Target acquired




3. Missile lock




4. Fox 2!




5. Splash one!



--
Central India --> Pacific Northwest. Favorite lenses: Olympus 300mm Pro, 8mm Pro. Favorite subjects: leopards, swallows, ospreys.

 

[Nacha]

[No message]

 

[nzmacro]

Great sequence for sure and especially the last one. With Swallows generally I find 8-10 FPS plenty, but others like faster bursts for sure.

Very nicely done.

Danny.


-----------------
I can always justify a need, but I can never justify a want.

 

[Skeeterbytes]

Fabulous--especially the last.

I found an accessible swallow colony this week and maybe will give it a go. I have no skill but do have an OM-1, so no excuses, right?

Cheers,

Rick

 

[nzmacro]

Fabulous--especially the last.

I found an accessible swallow colony this week and maybe will give it a go. I have no skill but do have an OM-1, so no excuses, right?

Cheers,

Rick

 

[grsnovi]

...but I thought all they ate was muddy grass

 

[faunagraphy]

No, I have developed muscle memory for 300mm FL and can in fact follow erratic birds reasonably well up to 400mm (unless they're around 20 feet or closer), and more predictable birds (ducks, soaring raptors) with the MC-20 at 600mm.

However, I have found the EE-1 red dot sight to be an invaluable tool before I developed this muscle memory, which took many months of daily practice. So yes I would recommend it if you have trouble at long focal lengths. Ideally you'd want to mount it so that you have it to the left of the EVF (rather than mounted on the hot shoe) - that way you can use either the EE-1 or your EVF with either eye.

 

[faunagraphy]

Great sequence for sure and especially the last one. With Swallows generally I find 8-10 FPS plenty, but others like faster bursts for sure.

Very nicely done.

Danny.

I find fewer fps to be accurate as well (no complaints with my now-sold D500 + 300mm PF) but for critical moments such as feeding, or when a swallow or swift is drinking water, I found a big difference in keepers at 50 fps than with my E-M1ii's 18 fps, AF improvements aside.

Maybe someday (or in some lifetime) I'll be able to shoot swallow BIFs with manual lenses like you do. ;-)

 

[faunagraphy]

Fabulous--especially the last.

I found an accessible swallow colony this week and maybe will give it a go. I have no skill but do have an OM-1, so no excuses, right?

Cheers,

Rick

Aside from what nzmacro said, ponds are another great place to shoot swallows. They come to drink and hunt emerging insects, and collect mud for their nests. Plus a smaller pond gives a much smaller area for you to work on (they generally fly into the wind when low over water for better control).

 

[faunagraphy]

...but I thought all they ate was muddy grass

Well, you aren't wrong, ha ha! ;-)

These however are violet-green swallows. They eat 'clean' unlike their junk food loving cousins. Here's a female watching her weight with a small serving of salad.







--
Central India --> Pacific Northwest. Favorite lenses: Olympus 300mm Pro, 8mm Pro. Favorite subjects: leopards, swallows, ospreys.

 

[grsnovi]

I spent some time before getting my OM-1 trying to anticipate Violet-Green Swallows on the wing at a site different from the one where I captured some great shots of Barn Swallows. The image of the bird sitting in the nest with a beak-full of muddy nesting material was inside a small, open observation structure at a National Wildlife Refuge. Other birds would perch on tree branches within a few feet of the observing platform allowing for great close-ups.

I need to practice catching birds in flight.

Your sequence is great!

 

[BackToNature1]

... Unless you want to shoot sequences like this.

Continuous burst of 5. At a slower burst rate, I'd have missed the critical moment.

These moments are nearly impossible to follow with our human eyes. I track swallows (as best as I can) and if a swallow changes course abruptly, I squeeze a burst. It's a fairly reliable way of capturing a feeding sequence. Since getting my OM-1, my success rate has shot through the roof!

The problem I found with Tracking Swallows, folks like me with less than Ideal vision, they are extremely hard to keep track of. First I have to line up exactly where they are but Take off my glasses so that I can with comfort, use the a EVF. So I am constantly losing Track of where they are. Now if I could wear Contacts, that wouldn't be a issue.

I don't recall, does the OM-1 have RAW pre Burst mode. Even the Nikon only does Jpeg. Not sure about the Canon R3 or the Sony A1. Also, having enough Focal Length matters a Ton. Especially if one can't get as close. Last week I must have gotten too close to a Nest, because a mating pair almost Buzzzed me. A couple different times.

 

[Skeeterbytes]

I don't recall, does the OM-1 have RAW pre Burst mode. Even the Nikon only does Jpeg. Not sure about the Canon R3 or the Sony A1. Also, having enough Focal Length matters a Ton. Especially if one can't get as close. Last week I must have gotten too close to a Nest, because a mating pair almost Buzzzed me. A couple different times.

Yes, it's called Pro Capture and can be used for ORFs. There are two modes, with and without C-AF during the burst sequence. With C-AF it is either 25 or 50 FPS and without it can be 120 FPS. I confess I've never used that mode--life's too short to process that many pics!

Perhaps for water drops and the like.

Here's a resource describing it (the video covers the E-M1 series, but not OM-1).

Cheers,

Rick

--
Equivalence and diffraction-free since 2009.
You can be too; ask about our 12-step program.

 

[faunagraphy]

... Unless you want to shoot sequences like this.

Continuous burst of 5. At a slower burst rate, I'd have missed the critical moment.

These moments are nearly impossible to follow with our human eyes. I track swallows (as best as I can) and if a swallow changes course abruptly, I squeeze a burst. It's a fairly reliable way of capturing a feeding sequence. Since getting my OM-1, my success rate has shot through the roof!

The problem I found with Tracking Swallows, folks like me with less than Ideal vision, they are extremely hard to keep track of. First I have to line up exactly where they are but Take off my glasses so that I can with comfort, use the a EVF. So I am constantly losing Track of where they are. Now if I could wear Contacts, that wouldn't be a issue.

The EE-1 red dot sight might help you. I found it unreliable with older Olympus cameras because there was no guarantee that the camera had acquired focus on the bird (and not the background). With the OM-1's Bird AI, this will be less of a problem, although you can't expect miracles. Still, your odds will be good if you AF for a second or so before you squeeze the shutter release, to allow the camera time to find the bird in the frame.

That way you could ignore the EVF altogether. Or perhaps a deeper eyecup might work better with glasses, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Viewfinder-Eyepiece-Eyeshade-Mirrorless-Replaces/dp/B0B2RFBY6N?th=1

 

[faunagraphy]

I don't recall, does the OM-1 have RAW pre Burst mode. Even the Nikon only does Jpeg. Not sure about the Canon R3 or the Sony A1. Also, having enough Focal Length matters a Ton. Especially if one can't get as close. Last week I must have gotten too close to a Nest, because a mating pair almost Buzzzed me. A couple different times.

Yes, it's called Pro Capture and can be used for ORFs. There are two modes, with and without C-AF during the burst sequence. With C-AF it is either 25 or 50 FPS and without it can be 120 FPS. I confess I've never used that mode--life's too short to process that many pics!

Perhaps for water drops and the like.

Here's a resource describing it (the video covers the E-M1 series, but not OM-1).

Cheers,

Rick

I've been wanting to film insects taking off at 240 fps or photograph them at 120 fps, just to see what kind of results you get. But I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I was inspired by this. I believe these were all filmed at 3200 fps.

 

[Skeeterbytes]

I've been wanting to film insects taking off at 240 fps or photograph them at 120 fps, just to see what kind of results you get. But I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I was inspired by this. I believe these were all filmed at 3200 fps.

That's truly inspiring. Humble little critters until closely examined.

Cheers,

Rick