EM-5 in Cozumel, trip report and lots of pictures

[Guitarfish64]

As others have said, those are very impressive results.Just to make sure I'm not misunderstanding, nearly everything from day 6 on (except the fisheye shots) was with the Olympus 14-42 kit lens, with diopter on the macros?If so, that's brilliant and terrible!Brilliant cos I already have fairly close to that set up.Terrible as I can't use 'bad tools' as an excuse anymore and clearly need a talent transplant 'cos my first results aren't even close...Looks like I'd better get back in the water for some more practice!

 

[terson]

As others have said, those are very impressive results.Just to make sure I'm not misunderstanding, nearly everything from day 6 on (except the fisheye shots) was with the Olympus 14-42 kit lens, with diopter on the macros?If so, that's brilliant and terrible!Brilliant cos I already have fairly close to that set up.Terrible as I can't use 'bad tools' as an excuse anymore and clearly need a talent transplant 'cos my first results aren't even close...Looks like I'd better get back in the water for some more practice!

Just to back Jim up a little bit, I have the Panasonic 45mm macro and while it shoots nice images, i find that it hunts waaay too much and I also like to use my 14-42 far more for macro work with diopters fitted. . .
I would like to add that I am also moving up to the EPL-5 and the 6omm macro from Olympus. The main reason for the move to the EPL-5 is for a better focusing system.
Bruce

 

[jlyle]

Bruce,

Yes, I used the 14-42 plus 10X combination for nearly all the macro shots after the first few days due to frustration with the 45mm macro lens. I've since upgraded the firmware on my EM5 to V. 1.2 and autofocus with the 45mm is both faster and better, even in low light. I've also set the AF to a single point in the middle of the field so the camera doesn't have to hunt for a focal point - that seems to help as well.

The minimum focus distance with this lens is 6 inches. If you are closer than half a foot to the subject, the lens cannot achieve AF! Practice with your rig in your home until you are comfortable with getting at least six inches before pressing the shutter. This will help a lot.

Phil R has suggested prefocus on a rock at about the distance you want to shoot and then move the camera in towards the subject until the image begins to come into focus before pressing the shutter.

BTW, the EM-5's AF is really fast.

---------- Post Merged at 07:13 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:10 AM ----------

Those are fantastic photos, now you really made me want to switch my E-PL3 to the E-M5. Scratching my head if its worth the upgrade or wait another year or so.... but I have a trip coming soon..... Decisions decisions.... which btw what type of spare batteries did you use and how did they perform, could you charge them in the Oly charger or 3rd party charger? thanks for the info

I bought a couple of non OEM battery packs - they have their own charger. The Oly battery doesn't work in the generic charger and vice verse. The generics worked just fine and the generic charger plugs directly into a socket without a long cord.

 

[MarkHerm]

I bought a couple of non OEM battery packs - they have their own charger. The Oly battery doesn't work in the generic charger and vice verse. The generics worked just fine and the generic charger plugs directly into a socket without a long cord.

Just to add to this: my aftermarket non OEM charger do charge the Oly battery as well as the aftermarket batteries that came along with it. The Oly charger won't charge the aftermarket batteries though but this doesn't really bother me as the non-OEM charger does accept all spare batteries for the OM-D. But there might be some differences in the non OEM chargers then.

 

[terson]

Bruce,

Yes, I used the 14-42 plus 10X combination for nearly all the macro shots after the first few days due to frustration with the 45mm macro lens. I've since upgraded the firmware on my EM5 to V. 1.2 and autofocus with the 45mm is both faster and better, even in low light. I've also set the AF to a single point in the middle of the field so the camera doesn't have to hunt for a focal point - that seems to help as well.

The minimum focus distance with this lens is 6 inches. If you are closer than half a foot to the subject, the lens cannot achieve AF! Practice with your rig in your home until you are comfortable with getting at least six inches before pressing the shutter. This will help a lot.

Phil R has suggested prefocus on a rock at about the distance you want to shoot and then move the camera in towards the subject until the image begins to come into focus before pressing the shutter.

BTW, the EM-5's AF is really fast.

---------- Post Merged at 07:13 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:10 AM ----------



I bought a couple of non OEM battery packs - they have their own charger. The Oly battery doesn't work in the generic charger and vice verse. The generics worked just fine and the generic charger plugs directly into a socket without a long cord.

Hi Jim and thanks.
Yep I've put my 45mm onto single point and done all the other things as well, I'm just stuck with an EPL-2 at the moment which is well known for being very slow to focus. When I'm out shooting nudi's and that's all, I will ocasionally set the 45 to manual focus and minimum distance inside the housing before I go and then just rock back and forth to get good focus, But this is only when I'm concentrating on one target species.
FWIW, I purchased two 'Ebay' batteries for my EPL-2 and they work perfectly well in both the camera and the Olympus charger.
Bruce

 

[Guitarfish64]

I had my 10X SubSee adapter in my BCD pocket on this dive and decided to give it a try with the 14-42 lens. The lens port has 67 mm female-thread for wet-adapters. Wow! You can take macro pictures using the SubSee and this lens…and it's fast! At this point, I can see no reason to use the 45mm macro lens. In fact, the 14-42 is now my go-to lens for both fish portraits and macro…at least until I get a lens port for the 12-50.

So do you still intend to switch to the 12-50 once the port begins to ship?

I struggled to get really sharp focus in low light with the 14-42 plus Inon UCL165 on my first trip with the E-M5, which is my I'm very interested in your success with a similar arrangement. Now I'm wondering whether I should add a focus light, jump-ship to the 12-50, or just try harder and practice more...

 

[terson]

. Now I'm wondering whether I should add a focus light, jump-ship to the 12-50, or just try harder and practice more...

These smaller systems take a bit of getting used to and down here in Melbourne you need to be at it regularly to get good results. This winter hasn't been real great for diving or photography for that matter. I'm still learning with my EPL-2, so the best advice i can give, is get in the water as much as possible and when you're not in the water, get into the back yard and try photographing bugs so that you and the camera are 'one'. . .
Bruce

 

[jlyle]

I live in Southern California and routinely dive in low vis water. For macro photography in dark water, a focus light is very important. I used a focus light with my E-330 and 50mm lens, so no different with the EM-5.

More of an issue is the narrow depth of field when shooting macro, only a tiny bit of movement after AF will make a huge difference. Unfortunately, we often get a lot of surge on top of poor visibility.

I would recommend getting a strong focus light, half-press for AF, and then move the camera in/out a little until you get the parts you want in focus before taking the shot. Take lots of shots so that you will get a keeper.

I also think the image stabilization built into the EM-5 helps.

 

[ASA400]

Hi Jim,

I don't know if you've already answered this on another thread, but what is your camera battery life? I know you shoot a fair number of frames on each dive, so can you get 3-4 dives off one battery?

 

[jlyle]

Hi Jim,

I don't know if you've already answered this on another thread, but what is your camera battery life? I know you shoot a fair number of frames on each dive, so can you get 3-4 dives off one battery?

I was doing between two and three hours underwater between battery recharges. I never ran out of power during a dive. I've not pushed the limits to see how long the battery charge will last. Does that help?