Olympus E-P2 Quick Start Part 1.

[Brian Mosley]

You're welcome Pete - I really appreciate you being here

Cheers

Brian

 

[BBW]

I can't tell you how many times I watched these videos, Brian...well maybe I don't have to. I'm also glad they're here because they're a great resource for rechecking what I think I understood.

Even though I feel much more secure about my camera, there's still a great deal I know that I'm not taking advantage of and need to have a better handle on. I plan on sitting down and coming up with some observations/questions and adding them to the appropriate "part" in order to get some feedback.

Many thanks, again!

 

[Boyzo]

New EP-2 user and ...

I ran thru' Brians series of setup Videos...for any new Ep-2 owner these videos are a must ... I became very familiar with the Advanced menu settings as I set up my new Ep-2 stepping thru' the Vidoe's, much easier the reading the manual on the advanced settings.

The Videos make much more sense of the settings and the menu system than the otherwise good manual.

I currently use all bar 1 or 2 settings from Brian's Video setup.

This camera is simply a joy to use and looks delightfully retro (It now has an Oly leather 1/2 case.

Thank's Brian

John

 

[pete]

Hey Brian, again great job. any newbe to this camera will get a hugh advantage from watching. Quality and audio is great.... maybe add a really simple title page with mu43 logo and site address....I dont think music is needed either.....but thats my take. Nice job there bro.


PEte

wish I had my apple with me and could help out. I would if I could.....cheers

 

[Brian Mosley]

Thanks John, Pete... Please feel free to recommend any new E-P1/2 owners to the vids by linking here - the videos are just a springboard for help we can give in discussion through this forum.

I'm glad they seem to be helping people - maybe I'll do some more in due course :smile:

Cheers

Brian

 

[Pelao]

Brian
As I shoot with a GF1, my comments may be superfluous. I want to acknowledge and thank you for taking the time to put these videos together. If I were considering an EP2 I would find these very useful in terms of content and the logical progression of instruction.

 

[Krang]

Even though I don't own an olympus camera I found these fun to watch

Thanks!


It seems that the EP-2 menu is more complicated and less intuitive compared to my GF1. But it seems to have some extra features, wich I would gladly take. This is of course my personal preference. But even though I consider the GF1 menu quite intuitive, I couldn't figure out how to make a set of videos like these, since the different modes in GF1 have different AND same menu options.

Hope you don't mind, this is just my two cents

 

[grey0135]

Thanks for this useful series of videos, Brian. Just a quick question. What focus settings on the E-PL1 do you find most convenient? I noticed that on the EP2, you use the AEL/AFL button to trigger the AF, and the function button for face detection. However the E-PL1 only has one of these two buttons...

I currently set autofocus to single point AF (on my E-PL1), and the function button to AEL. I also turned off the automatic playback of the picture just taken, since it seems to make the shot-to-shot time appear faster. (in reality, if you squeeze the shutter, the E-PL1 will automatically exit playback and take the shot, but for some reason, the camera feels faster with playback off)

 

[Pap]

many thanks for this effort!
Pap

 

[Pap]

How much difference is the EPL-1 and EP-2 set up. Or is there a set up for the EPL-1 that I haven't located?
Thanks!
Pap

 

[Brian Mosley]

Thanks for this useful series of videos, Brian. Just a quick question. What focus settings on the E-PL1 do you find most convenient? I noticed that on the EP2, you use the AEL/AFL button to trigger the AF, and the function button for face detection. However the E-PL1 only has one of these two buttons...

I'm so sorry I have yet to make time to do a series on the E-PL1... it's much easier to show this stuff in a video than to describe it in text.

I find the E-PL1 the best of the Pen's in terms of focus control. Maybe I'll create a short vid just on focusing.

I have the red dot set to switch between MF and AF... function button (to left of magnifier) set to CDAF trigger in MF.

In MF, use the magnifier to bring up the small focusing box which I move to the spot where I want to critically focus... pressing the function button then causes a focus.

In AF, I use the left cursor button to quickly select the main focusing patch, zoom button to select the small focusing box where I want more precision.

I currently set autofocus to single point AF (on my E-PL1), and the function button to AEL. I also turned off the automatic playback of the picture just taken, since it seems to make the shot-to-shot time appear faster. (in reality, if you squeeze the shutter, the E-PL1 will automatically exit playback and take the shot, but for some reason, the camera feels faster with playback off)

Good idea to disable automatic playback - the main thing is to practice daily until you settle down to the configuration which works best for you... everything gets simpler then because you don't need to change much.

Cheers

Brian

 

[Brian Mosley]

How much difference is the EPL-1 and EP-2 set up. Or is there a set up for the EPL-1 that I haven't located?
Thanks!
Pap

Hi Pap,

very little difference between the E-PL1 and E-P2 setup... these videos should give you an excellent start.

Cheers

Brian

 

[e-pl1]

I find the E-PL1 the best of the Pen's in terms of focus control. Maybe I'll create a short vid just on focusing.

I have the red dot set to switch between MF and AF... function button (to left of magnifier) set to CDAF trigger in MF.

In MF, use the magnifier to bring up the small focusing box which I move to the spot where I want to critically focus... pressing the function button then causes a focus.

In AF, I use the left cursor button to quickly select the main focusing patch, zoom button to select the small focusing box where I want more precision.

Yes, please make video about focusing and your button settings for focusing on E-PL1

 

[grey0135]

Thanks for all these helpful videos, Brian. Looks to me that your default is manual focus, and then use the function button (AFL) to trigger autofocus. Do you set it up this way because you focus manually most of the time, or because the camera autofocuses better this way?

I find that the autofocus system on the E-PL1 is pretty accurate, although I'm always trying to improve performance! I've been experimenting with different ways of metering. I normally use the multi-point metering indoors. Outdoors, I have been experimenting with using the spot meter. E.g. set exposure to +2, meter one of the high parts of the image (e.g. a bright part of the sky / cloud), and then compose the picture.

 

[Brian Mosley]

I set up the camera to auto focus on demand for use with the slower focusing lenses - such as the 20mm f1.7... I don't want to autofocus for every shot - rather just focus once at the required distance.

With the newer mZD 9-18 and mZD 14-150 the CDAF delay is so brief that it's less of an issue, but through habit I tend to leave it separated.

Cheers

Brian

 

[grey0135]

Re: Brian

Hi Brian,

When you focus manually do you use the hyperfocal setting? If so, what's the easiest way of setting it up? I know that with the Panasonic series, you can save the current settings (essentially putting it in hyperfocal mode) if you power down and turn camera on again.

Thanks,

Roger

PS - I see what you mean about the newer lenses. I have the 9-18 and it's very snappy! hope that Olympus recreates the 14-42mm using the same focusing technology as the newer lenses! The collapsible format is great, once you get used to operating it efficiently!

The 14-150 looks like the perfect lens for sightseeing, although I won't get it for some time, since no trips on the horizon. Hopefully the price will come down by then!

 

[Brian Mosley]

Hi Roger,

I don't specifically use hyperfocal settings - instead relying on experience with the depth of field and pre-focusing on subjects at about the right distance (sorry, it's not too scientific, but does work in practice for me).

You can set the camera not to reset the lens on power up :

Cog menu->A AF/MF->RESET LENS->OFF

Which retains the focus distance even when power is cycled.

Cheers

Brian

 

[BBW]

a listing of all the videos thus far

I think it would be handy to add in a list of all the videos. Here's a listing via the advanced search function: Quick Start Videos by Brian Mosely.

 

[nicebiscuit]

What a great series of videos - saved me a lot of time and some really good tips... Cheers.

 

[paulgoss]

Thanks for this video series. I've found it useful for my EP1 that I recently bought.