E-M1.3 settings and customization questions

[RAH]

I don't see a dedicated thread for this, so maybe it's OK to start one with my several questions...

I almost had a heart attack while trying my new E-M1.3 for the first time. I thought the AF was not working correctly - it would hunt back and forth, often not achieving focus, sometimes working - just all over the map. It was dim in my house at night, but my E-M5.3 was having no problem at all with a similar lens (O17mm on EM1; P15mm on E-M5). Swapped lenses - same thing, so not the lens. So I did a deep-dive into the menu and found that somehow the AF Limiter was ON. I cannot imagine how it got that way, but watch out for it!!

One question about that fancy FN-lever. Having talked about this before on this forum with the E-M5.3, I know that folks use it for what seemed like pretty complicated AF arrangements. I just wound up using it with the E-M5 to toggle between AF and MF (mode 2 setting on the lever).

Well, the E-M1 has a dedicated button for AF in a VERY prominent position, and from what I see in the manual, it cannot be overridden. I guess it's not quite as convenient as a toggle, but I can hardly pick up the camera without pressing it!

So it seems really odd to me that that FN-lever has so few non-video functions related to it, and now its main usage seems to be taken by a dedicated button. Am I missing something?

 

[Moofred]

Sorry, I didn‘t get your point about the very prominent and dedicated button for AF. You are not speaking about the backbutton focus function you may (and I did) set to the AEL/AFL button, do you?

And you are certainly aware you may use the FN-lever to toggle between two setups of the focus, not just e.g. between S-AF and MF but e.g. between C-AF with 1 active AF field and C-AF with e.g. 5 active AF fields?

When the focus limiter is switched on, it appears written besides the indicator for the focus mode. In some of my custom modes I use the L-Fn button to switch the limiter on/off or toggle between the three possible ranges...

 

[RAH]

Sorry, I didn‘t get your point about the very prominent and dedicated button for AF. You are not speaking about the backbutton focus function you may (and I did) set to the AEL/AFL button, do you?

And you are certainly aware you may use the FN-lever to toggle between two setups of the focus, not just e.g. between S-AF and MF but e.g. between C-AF with 1 active AF field and C-AF with e.g. 5 active AF fields?

When the focus limiter is switched on, it appears written besides the indicator for the focus mode. In some of my custom modes I use the L-Fn button to switch the limiter on/off or toggle between the three possible ranges...

OK, you have reminded me of the more elaborate use of AF with the FN-lever that I read about with the E-M5. Thanks! I never use C-AF, so it's not of much use to me (although I can see how it would be for those who do; maybe I should try...).

Concerning what I referred to as the "dedicated AF button," it's on the left side of the camera back, on the front half of the circular wheel that the on/off switch is anchored to, directly to the left of the word "OFF". It says "AF" with a picture of a little camera or something. If you press it, you get a bunch of selections for AF (MF, C-AF, etc). On the E-M5 that button is for the EVF/LCD toggle, and there is no separate button for that, as on the E-M1.

So my point was that it seems redundant with the FN-lever mode 2. But I see that that is because I am not using the extra capabilities of that lever. I do wish I had more options on the lever and/or that AF button, esp the lever. I mean, there are A LOT of toggling functions that could be switched with that lever!

 

[Moofred]

Ah, got you with the button. I never use it due to the SCP When you stay longer on the button left to the EVF you may toggle between three modes. Maybe this helps you?

 

[emorgan451]

I use the lever to toggle between S-AF and C-AF in most modes, and between AF target modes in a couple custom modes. I much prefer this to the button next to the on/off lever as the function lever can be used while still holding the lens, so it's really fast. It's one of my favorite feature upgrades over the EM1.1.

If you find no other use for it, you could always make it your power switch so you can have quick one handed operation.

 

[RAH]

I have just noticed, while looking at the various High Resolution settings of the E-M1.3, that with pixel-shift Hi-Res mode ("tripod"), the camera does have the option to produce an 80MP jpg file (along with the 80MP RAW).

The E-M5.3 will only produce a 50MP jpg; if you want the 80MP file, you get it in RAW only. From my reading of the manual, the E-M1.2 is the same - 50MP jpg only.

This is interesting, I think, and I have never read about it before. There was a lot of speculation when hi-res first came out in Olympus cameras, about why they decided to downsize the jpgs. Well, perhaps they got tired of listening to the speculation?

I decided awhile ago (when I had an E-M5.3 but no E-M1.3) that I would always use the 80MP RAW from the camera, figuring that if you are using hi-res to get the best image you can, why then would you use anything else? So, in that sense, there doesn't seem to be much use for the 80MP jpg (or the 50), but in actual use it might come in handy sometimes.

 

[mawz]

I have just noticed, while looking at the various High Resolution settings of the E-M1.3, that with pixel-shift Hi-Res mode ("tripod"), the camera does have the option to produce an 80MP jpg file (along with the 80MP RAW).

The E-M5.3 will only produce a 50MP jpg; if you want the 80MP file, you get it in RAW only. From my reading of the manual, the E-M1.2 is the same - 50MP jpg only.

This is interesting, I think, and I have never read about it before. There was a lot of speculation when hi-res first came out in Olympus cameras, about why they decided to downsize the jpgs. Well, perhaps they got tired of listening to the speculation?

I decided awhile ago (when I had an E-M5.3 but no E-M1.3) that I would always use the 80MP RAW from the camera, figuring that if you are using hi-res to get the best image you can, why then would you use anything else? So, in that sense, there doesn't seem to be much use for the 80MP jpg (or the 50), but in actual use it might come in handy sometimes.

The TruePic 8 cameras produce the 50MP JPEG, the TruePic 9 cameras (E-M1.3 only right now) can do 80MP JPEG.

 

[RAH]

The TruePic 8 cameras produce the 50MP JPEG, the TruePic 9 cameras (E-M1.3 only right now) can do 80MP JPEG.

That is true. But from what I read, it was a very deliberate downsize to 50 jpg, not because it had to be done (because of lack of processing power, etc). There were excuses, reasons, blah, blah. I'll admit that I don't remember whether this was all from non_Oly folks or even Oly itself (not that they are above fudging the truth!). Whatever. It always seemed strange to me and I'm glad it's gone.

So I suppose it would not be possible for a firmware update to the E-M5.3 to make this change, if it is part of the TruePic software? Or can they change that (or part of it) via a FW update?

It's actually good for me to have the E-M1.3 have this newfound (for me) ability, since it gives me a retroactive excuse to buy the E-M1.3 (even though it was a total splurge).

 

[RAH]

I've been looking at the function lever again. Rob Trek has a very good YouTube video on setting up the lever, here:

Since, as I mentioned, I don't do video or C-AF, and that the AF function is handled by the dedicated button beside the on/off switch, I was especially interested in MODE 1 of the function lever (starting at around 4:30 of Rob Trek's video). With that, you can switch back and forth between how the wheels on the top of the camera function, and set them differently for each position of the mode dial (P,A, S, M, B).

So, for example, for Aperture priority mode, the default for the wheels is to switch the Aperture and the Exposure compensation. With Mode 1 of the function lever, you could have lever position 1 set to that default (aperture and exp comp). And you could set lever position 2 to have the wheels control some other two functions like ISO and white balance (there's a limited number of things, unfortunately).

So, in usage, normally you'd have the lever in position 1, so the wheels would operate normally. But if you wanted to quickly change say the ISO, you could flip the lever to position 2 and then use one of the wheels to change the ISO, then quickly switch back to lever position 1.

So that's kind of interesting. The point seems to be that it gives you a FAST mechanism to switch various settings with the wheels but still retain their normal functionality.

Edit: I just want to add that for someone who usually shoots in Aperture priority, I find I am often wanting to change ISO and exp. comp - those two things are more often changed by me than the aperture and exp comp. (I often set the aperture once at the start of a shooting session - appropriate for the sharpness of the lens, existing light, etc - and leave it there). So, having the lever set to the normal wheel settings for position 1 and have it set to ISO and exp comp for position 2 (which I might use A LOT), is a good use for this, I think.

 

[PakkyT]

Rob Trek has a very good YouTube video

Thanks for sharing. I really like his videos as he will often point out a feature or use that even those who think they know their cameras backwards and forwards might not have realized was there. But also I like his presentation style and down to earth explanations. My only complaint is his videos can be a little long/slow but using the speed up setting in YouTube you can quickly skim through to find the points you are most interested in.

 

[RAH]

I have discovered that the OIShare Android App does NOT provide the ability to shoot tripod Hi-Res shots.

This bit me in the ass yesterday when I was trying to shoot Hi-Res from my new very-tall Benro TMA47AXL tripod, with the camera (E-M1.3) over 6 feet in the air at the end of a Photek extension arm, shooting straight down. In other words, not exactly the setup where you want to have unexpected problems. I had to go up a ladder to even reach the camera.

So I had to stop the app and WiFi, hook up a wired remote cable (trying not to fall off the ladder!), and shoot that way. Grrrr!

The good news is that looking at the Olympus Capture software (for PCs), it shows Hi-Res in the Help file, so it looks as though I could use Hi-Res and remote control that way. The program appears to provide much more control over the camera settings that the App, and the PC program has a WiFi option too, as well as the expected USB. I haven't tried this yet, but it looks like a good alternative and the only one if you want to use Hi-Res and remote control.