It’s a great time to be a photographer! Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus, Fuji, and Sony are pushing the engineering envelope. Each company gives us something new to keep ahead of their competition. We benefit, as photographers, with great new gadgets and features.
Problem is, though, there is no camera with every amazing feature. We have to settle on the features that are important to our shooting. My important features are not going to be the same as your important features. We each have to find the machine that works for us.
I’m testing the Olympus OM-D E-M1 ii and OM-D M1X for a month.
Each of these camera bodies has interesting features that I might use in regular shooting.
Here’s my opinion and some test results:
Focus stacking – This is nice! I’ve done focus stacking with software and love the results. Focus stacking in the camera, though, is something I’ve wanted to try for a long time.
Both the OM-D E-M1 ii and OM-D M1X gave amazing results.
Dayflower focus stacked at f/5 
Dayflower not stacked at f/5
Dayflower focus stacked at f/5 
Dayflower not stacked at f/5
morning glory focus stacked at f/5.
Notice the camera has cropped.
morning glory not focus stacked at f/5
Mushroom focus stacked at f/5.
Notice the cropping and detail on the back wall.
Mushroom not stacked at f/5
Mushroom focus stacked at f/5.
In camera cropping.
Mushroom not stacked at f/5
Loblolly pine cone focus stacked at f/4.
In camera cropping cut off the top.
Loblolly pine cone not stacked at f/4
Loblolly pine cone focus stacked at f/4.
Cropped in camera.
Loblolly pine cone no stacked at f/4
Below are the individual pieces of the stacked dayflower shown above.
Lessons learned when working with both cameras. (1) Be sure to click OK to each option in the set-up process. There are several steps. (2) Confirm you’re in Focus Stacking by looking for the BRKT icon at the top of the view finder. (3) Turn off RAW/Jpg since this causes the camera to work extra and takes longer to process the finished picture. (4) The finished picture is a large Jpg. (5) In-camera focus stacking is lens dependent. Doesn’t work with every lens.
Below is a photo of a gemstone loaned to me by a friend.
The individual photos that made up the above image are show below.
There’s a bit to learn with Olympus focus stacking but it’s pretty easy. The camera settings include how many photos to take and focus differential. A large subject like the ruby needs a wider differential.
Silent shooting – This is a nice feature and on the Olympus it’s really silent. I’ve used this at two weddings during the vow exchange. There’s no sound from the camera. Beware though — This is a great way to fire off 50 shots without knowing it. Heck of a time deleting those buggers.
HDR – The cameras do this. In-camera HDR has become standard these days.
Handheld High Res – use f/2.8 to f/8 and fire off 16 shots. Gives tons of DOF. I tried in the office and worked well. I’ll post more results once I get out in a grand landscape. Stay tuned!
Keystone Composition – like using a tilt-shift lens. Adjust the foreground or background to move forward or backward. Straighten the sides from left to right. Worked well in the office but I need to test on a grand landscape. Watch this space.
Thank for reading and subscribe so you’ll see my next post. Feel free to ask questions or make comments below.
My thanks once again to the folks at Olympus and Hunt’s Photo & Video for letting me borrow this equipment.
Kathy Adams Clark 
2 thoughts on “Moving Toward Mirrorless — Camera Features”