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OMD and fast moving subject

Q

qwerty53

Guest
Hey guys,
I was on the beach sunday with my brand new omd and panasonic 45-175.
Previously I was shooting with nikon d300s and nikkor 70-200 f/2.8.

With the OMD I couldn't get a single bird in flight in perfect focus for the life of me. 2 problems:
1. from the time you press the button to the time the shot is made too much time passes and the object is already in different spot
2. even if you get the object into the square doesn't guarantee right focus because the actual focus point is much smaller then the square that you see when shooting. So the camera can decide to focus on something else that fell into that big square.

What am I missing here? Or is that impossible?
Thanks.

PS
please no questions about did I have the right shutter speed, did I use AF-C....
 
B

brian1208

Guest
its not one of the EM-5's best capabilities and I think you will find that most of us struggle with this.

In my experience there are some things that make it more likely that I get best results, they may work for you:

- use SAF mode and single shot with single point focus
- try to fill at least 30% of the frame with the bird
- shoot when there is good contrast difference (shooting pale birds against light skies is just about the worst possible conditions I have found)
- pre-focus on something at about the distance you are expecting the bird to be when you shoot
- set the EVF refresh rate to 120 fps and use EVF not LCD
- use the Live View Boost setting to give the best possible view of the subject in the EVF

I look forward to picking up ideas from others more successful than me with this genre
 

Jeffg53

Member
When you say to use SAF, do you mean pan with the subject then focus when you want to shoot? Does anyone know why the OM D is short in that area?
 
B

brian1208

Guest
yes, that's what I mean, and "blipping" the shutter button to refocus as it track but only closing the buttton at the moment I see that shot.

As to why the OM-D is "Short in that area" I believe its down to the difference between the way contast and phase detection AF processes work, this article will explain it better than I can:

10 Tips For Better Autofocus | OutdoorPhotographer.com
 
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