Any Tips for MF?

[Maczero]

I have dug out my old 43 50-200 telephoto lens and the Olympus 1.4 TC to take photos of birds. In Scotland at this time of the year, you need to gather all the light you can and even with the TC the old lens is only f4.9 at c280mm + (not bad compared to the native lenses).

The Zuiko does AF, rather slowly and noisily, but the results can be good, if you have time (and the bird doesn't get bored or frightened and fly off):

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However, probably MF will be as quick or quicker and a lot quieter. Are there any suggestions about what the best size of focus box for this, especially for handheld exposures? Does it make sense to try the focus peaking methods described in this forum? Any other useful settings?

I don't want to get rid of this glass as there is nothing better on the native side, but I need help on getting it to work for me rather than the other way round.

Andrew

 

[fdifulco]

Andrew: that is great shot! i totally gave up SAF mode with my 50-200 non-SWD, because it hunts and misses. I shot it pure manual focus, it takes a little time to get back into the swing of manual focus. these are my settings: IS 1 on, under Cog A - Reset Lens i have to OFF, MF Assit I have set to ON. this setting made the most difference for me. Also for magnify mode I have it set to 5X only which gives enough detail for fast focus, any higher and I get that confused. hope this helps.
frank

 

[Maczero]

Frank

Thanks for this. I understand most of your settings, but why do you have Reset Lens set to OFF? I'd wondered about AF Assist set at x7 - is that too much?

This Robin was clearly chilled (only a few degrees over freezing in Scotland today!) to put up with all the grinding and whirring of S-AF, but most small birds won't sit still long enough for that. I have too many images of empty branches!

Andrew

 

[fdifulco]

i have reset off because a few times when i had my focus set for a distance and the battery died and when i put a new battery in it rest the focus.

I would suggest to experiment to see if 5x or 7x works for you. i found greater than 5x would be visual overload for me.

I know what you mean, SAF just struggles to lock on butterfly's and bee's. Since I have done manual focus back to my days of high school year book this is not to bad for manual focus on the 50-200.

frank

 

[RDM]

Very nice shot. I thought the TC lenses were not recommended for use on the µ4/3 bodies with adapters.

 

[MAubrey]

If you have an OM-D, then you'd definitely want to at IBIS set to engage at a half-press of the shutter. IBIS is a life saver on the OM-D with manual focusing any lens, but especially telephotos.

 

[Maczero]

Very nice shot. I thought the TC lenses were not recommended for use on the µ4/3 bodies with adapters.

I didn't know that. It sort of works ...

Andrew

 

[slothead]

Andrew, I don't have any tips on MF (aside from using the 2X multiplier - assigned to the Fn2 button - for a quick check), but your bird got my attention. We don't have these birds in the USA (that I know of), but when we were in the UK a little over a year ago, we were told that this was a robin. Robins here in the USA look considerably different (longer/skinnier and their orange is lower on their breast than on this bird), but I am assuming that you know this bird as a robin, do you not? (Oops, just saw your mention of the breed in one of the posts. You've already answered my question.)

 

[Rockinggoose]

I had the 50-200mm/EC14 combination for use on my E5 but after I had acquired the E-M5 I found the slow AF and regular inaccurate results so frustrating, making it really a no-go for active bird photography. I bought an Olympus M75-300mm and despite the loss of a stop it is a little marvel with IQ equal to the 50-200mm/EC14 combination IMO. For what you can sell the combination for you can buy the 75-300 or the even cheaper Pana 100-300mm and not have to bother with MF all the time. Progress is sometimes a good thing!

David