Olympus OMD-EM1 Mk II - First Outing

Picked up my new body from LCE in Colchester late yesterday, too late to do any photography.  Spent the evening configuring the camera to match the setup on my Mk 1 as far as possible.

Today the weather was very gloomy nevertheless I was keen to get out and test the much publicised improvements in AF speed and tracking capabilities of the Mk II

Decided to go to Landguard Point, Felixstowe as there are always a good selection of gulls to photograph.

All photos in this session were taken with the Olympus 300mm f4 and are handheld.  In order to achieve a high enough shutter speed all the flight shots were taken at ISO 800 with the lens wide open at f4.  Normally I would stop down to achieve a greater depth of field but due to the low light that was not possible.

First tried some perched shots using S-AF, the AF is noticeably faster than the Mk1.

European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), adult winter.  Landguard Point, Felixstowe)



European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), adult winter and first winter.  Landguard Point, Felixstowe)

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), adult winter, Landguard Point, Felixstowe.
 

Next tried some flight shots which I knew that the Mk1 would have struggled with.  First a fairly distant bird against a fussy background, the Mk2 quickly locked onto the bird and managed to continue tracking it.  I know that for this shot the Mk1 would have locked onto the dock cranes in the background.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), adult winter in flight,  Landguard Point, Felixstowe..

Next a fairly distant bird against a plain background.  In this situation my Mk1 would frequently not manage to obtain focus on the bird at all and, even if it did, it would frequently then lose focus way to the background making it impossible to refind the bird because of the very shallow depth of field of the 300.  The Mk II quickly achieved focus and continued tracking without zooming off into the background.

European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), first winter in flight.  Landguard Point, Felixstowe) (large crop)

European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), first winter in flight.  Landguard Point, Felixstowe) (large crop)

Next a sequence of a bird flying towards me.  This type of sequence was very difficult with the Mk1 due to the EVF blackout between shots.  With the Mk II I noticed no discernible blackout it was just like shooting with one of my old Canon DSLRs.

 

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), adult winter in flight,  Landguard Point, Felixstowe..

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), adult winter in flight,  Landguard Point, Felixstowe..

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), adult winter in flight,  Landguard Point, Felixstowe..

Also briefly tried the CAF-TR (tracking mode), this is not something I ever used on the Mk1 as it just never worked for me.  on the Mk II it actually did manage to track a wagtail much to my surprise!  I still think I prefer tracking myself but I will try this facility again at a later date.

 

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii), adult male,  Landguard Point, Felixstowe..

Given the less than optimal lighting today the AF on the new body performed admirably.

 

Had one go at using the 4K video the stabilisation is very good and I managed to take an acceptable video using the 300 handheld.   The only jerkiness is my own inadequate attempts at panning.  The video is straight out of the camera but reduced in size to 1920 x 1080 for viewing on the internet.

 

See the video here http://photos.birdingimages.com/Birds/NonPasserines/Gulls/i-kSmc7dw/A

Dusky Thrush , Beeley

Set off early, 2am, for the 4 hour drive to Beeley in Derbyshire hoping to see the Dusky Thrush which had first been reported on Monday.  Arrived at 6:30 while still dark.

At 7:30 along with around 80 other birders staked out the orchard at Duke's Barn Activity Centre where the bird at shown early on both the Monday and Tuesday previously.  At 7:50 whilst still quite dark the bird duly arrived and started feeding on Apples on the ground.  It was quite difficult to pick out in the poor light.  The bird fed for about 10 minutes and then flew off.

1st winter Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) at first light in the orchard at Beeley

The bird briefly reappeared at 9:05 but was not photographable and was then not present in the orchard until 10:15 at which time it performed well in much better light.

1st winter Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) in the orchard at Beeley

1st winter Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) in the orchard at Beeley

1st winter Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) in the orchard at Beeley

 The only other thrush feeding on apples was a male Blackbird which the Dusk Thrush was intent on chasing away.

1st winter Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) harassing a male Blackbird (Turdus merula) in the orchard at Beeley.

The bird continued showing until around 10:30 and then again flew off and had not returned when I finally left at 12:30.

Many thanks to the locals at Dukes's Barn who supplied us all with hot drinks, Bacon and sausage rolls and chips throughout the morning.

Forster's Tern, Mistley

A completely unexpected addition to my local patch list today Forster's Tern!  Got the message that a possible Forster's Tern was at Mistley (about 2miles from my house) at around 12:45 and decided to go down right away to check it out.  To my horror I remembered that all my optics were in my wife's car, and she was in Ipswich 10 miles away! After a mad dash into Ipswich to pick up my gear I finally arrived at Mistley at 14:15, having completed 22 miles instead of the original 2 it should have been.  By the time the I arrived the id was confirmed and the bird was showing well perched on the Essex side of the river but also making flights out over to the Suffolk side.

Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) hovering, Mistley, Essex/Suffolk

Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri), Mistley, Essex/Suffolk

Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) hovering, Mistley, Essex/Suffolk

East Bergholt, Suffolk

First Sparrowhawk in the Garden for some time.  A nice surprise for me but not for the unfortunate Blackbird it is eating.

Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) Male feeding on Blackbird

Every year we get Fly Agaric on our front lawn under the Silver Birch, this is the first this year.

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Black-belled Dipper, Needham Market

Incredibly close and prolonged views of the Black-bellied Dipper on the River Gipping at Needham Market this afternoon. 

See video of the bird making heavy weather of eating a Bullhead (Miller's Thumb) at See video of the bird making heavy weather of eating a Bullhead (Miller's Thumb)

Black-bellied Dipper (Cinclus cinclus cinclus), River Gipping, Needham Market.

Black-bellied Dipper (Cinclus cinclus cinclus), River Gipping, Needham Market.

Landguard Common, Suffolk

Afternoon visit to see the putative blythi type Lesser Whitethroat which I found fairly soon after arriving,

Siberian Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca blythi)

A Horned (Shore) Lark was also showing well on the beach.

Horned Lark (Shore) (Eremophila alpestris flava)

Kilnsea and Easington

Walked around the Kilnsea area in the morning the area was alive with Thrushes, Robins, Crests and Finches.

Two Firecrests and several Goldcrests showed very well in Kilnsea churchyard.

Common Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla), Kilnsea

Goldcrest (Eurasian) (Regulus regulus regulus), Kilnsea

Near the Bluebell Café 2 shorelarks were on the beach.

Horned Lark (Shore) (Eremophila alpestris flava), Kilnsea.

In nearby hedgerows a Lesser Redpoll was very obliging.

Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis flammea cabaret), Kilnsea.

At Easington the Isabelline Wheatear was showing well in fields near the boat yard.

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina), Easington.



Easington, East Yorkshire. The Siberian Accentor Twitch

The Siberian Accentor at Easington brought me out of 10 years long distance retirement today.  I had waited for the initial crowds to die down, the bird was first seen on Thursday, before deciding to make the trip.  Fortunately an early message on the RBA alert confirmed that the bird was still present so set out at 7:30 for the 220 mile trip from Suffolk to Easington.

On arrival at the site at 12:30 the bird was showing immediately to the small crowd of c. 40.  The bird spent most of the time feeding in a weedy gravel area behind the security link fence of the Easington Gas Terminal which necessitated photographing though the fencing.

Siberian Accentor (Prunella montanella)

Siberian Accentor (Prunella montanella)

Siberian Accentor (Prunella montanella)

Sw England Trip Day 6 - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Flew on to the Island on an early flight from Lands End Airport.  A juvenile American Golden Plover and a Buff-breasted Sandpiper had been present on the airfield for some days, fortunately they were still present when I arrived.  I had good but quite distant views (for photography).

American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) juvenile, St Mary's airfield

Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis)  juvenile, St Mary's airfield

After the airfield went to Lower Moors where an immature Greenshank was showing well.

Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) Lower Moors, StMary's

As usual in October on Scilly there were still many Speckled Woods flying.

Speckled Wood (Scillonian form) (Pararge aegeria ssp. insula)

 A juvenile Red-backed Shrike was show on and off on The Garrison, but always rather distant for good photos.

Red-backed Shrike (Tringa nebularia) Garrison, St. Mary's

SW England Trip Day 5 - Nanquidno and Sennen Cove

Spent the day walking in the Nanquidno and Sennen Cove area.  Not much in the way of bird activity but the blossoming Ivy was alive with bees and butterflies in the warm, sunny conditions.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera), a very worn individual.

Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) a fairly recent colonist to the UK was seen in good numbers.

SW England Trip Day 4 - Nanquidno

Again no migrant activity but did get good views of 2 of the resident Choughs.

Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Nanquidno, Cornwall

Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Nanquidno, Cornwall

A small herd of Longhorn cattle has been put out to graze the cliff top grass in order to improver the feeding habitat for the Choughs.

Longhorn Cattle, Nanquidno

SW England Trip Day 3 - Nanquidno and Perranuthnoe, Cornwall

Morning birding around Nanquidno Valley, not much in the way of bird activity but a pair of Ravens gave good close flight views.

Northern Raven (Corvus corax)

 Spent the afternoon trying for another catch up, this time the American Race Whimbrel at Perranuthnoe, after some time searching I found it roosting distantly with Eurasian Curlews and Bar-tailed Godwits.

Whimbrel (American) (Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus), Perranuthnoe, Cornwall.

SW England Trip Day 2 - Padstow, Cornwall

On my way down to Cornwall made a stopover to see the long staying but mobile Dalmatian Pelican.  The previous evening it was too distant to photograph but early this morning it was closer but still distant for photography.

Dalmatian Pelican(Pelicanus crispus).  Camel Estuary, Padstow, Cornwall.  Large crop

Dalmatian Pelican(Pelicanus crispus).  Camel Estuary, Padstow, Cornwall.  Large crop



Olympus 300mm f4 Pro - First Thoughts

At last the long awaited Olympus 300mm F4 Pro is available giving an equivalent to a 600mm in terms of reach in full frame terms.  We got ours in the last week of March and have now had a couple of weeks to try it out.

First impression, it is very well built and easy to handle.  Whilst some say it is heavy, they obviously have not used the equivalent Canon or Nikon lens.  The Olympus weighs in at 1.270kg (without the tripod adapter), 1.475kg (with the tripod adapter) compare that to the Canon 600f 4 IS Mk1 I used to use which weighed in at a mammoth 5.36 kg and the Olympus is relatively as light as a feather!

The lens is the first Olympus with inbuilt IS, the lens IS which works in conjunction with the IS in Olympus bodies and is almost unbelievably good.  In the shop where I picked it up I was able to get a sharp handheld shot at 1/15 sec.

The lens is impressively sharp even wide open and the sharpness is also still very good when coupled with the Olympus 1.4x teleconverter.

Here are a few examples, all handheld.



Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)  Olympus OM-D-E-M1 300mm f4 PRO 1/100s f4 ISO200

Coal Tit (Periparus ater) Olympus OM-D-E-M1 300mm f4 PRO 1/100s f4 ISO200

Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps girisegena) Olympus OM-D-E-M1 300mm f4 PRO + MC14 1/160s f5.6 ISO200
(Distant shot heavily cropped)

Black Redstart (Western) (Phoenicurus ochruros gibraltariensis) female.  Olympus OM-D-E-M1 300mm f4 PRO + MC14 1/800s f7.1 ISO 320 (Distant shot heavily cropped)

The lens also focuses down to 1.4m, close enough to make it useable for semi-macro photography.

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io), Olympus OM-D-E-M1 300mm f4 PRO 1/400s f7.1 ISO200

Common Frog with spawn.  Olympus OM-D-E-M1 300mm f4 PRO + MC14 1/125s f5.6 ISO640

One area where the micro 4/3 system still lags behind SLRs is in continuous AF although, as can be seen from the picture below, it is possible to get sharp results of BIF.  Even with the Olympus OM-D-EM1 which is the best Olympus body for CAF the keeper rate is low compared with the best SLR bodies.


First-winter Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) Olympus OM-D-E-M1 300mm f4 PRO 1/1600s f4 ISO200