Notes for next time. Chinese New Year Lion Dances at Glen Waverley

One thing that detracts from my success in achieving the shots I want, is I have a poor memory, fail to write things down after I encounter issues. This means the next year when I attend a similar event, I forget what sunk me the previous time. Here are my notes for this year's Chinese New Year event at Glen Waverley (but it applies to similar Chinese New Year incidents in other locations).

For the door to door lion dances (this year it was 2 pm to 4:30 pm), we had a high dynamic range scene. The sky is super bright courtesy of Melbourne Summer's day. The shaded shop frontage where the lions dance is several stops darker.

Parameter	Used	Result	Preferred	Notes
Metering	Evaluative		Evaluative
ISO	Auto	200	As needed to ensure high shutter speed
Aperture	f/3.5		f/3.5
Shutter Speed	Aperture Priority	1/320 variable	1/500 fixed	Can't use Shutter Priority because Samyang is non electronic lens. Maybe enable Auto ISO for Manual Exposure mode. Fix Shutter Speed at 1/500
Post Processing	Lightroom			Recover highlights severely, use other adjustments
Focus	Focus right slipped		Infinity	Use sticky tape to hold the focus ring stays at infinity. Check position several times during the session

A photo posted by Ananda Sim (@anandasim) on Feb 20, 2016 at 9:21pm PST

Features that you might not know about the Olympus PEN-F

Owners and intending owners of the Olympus PEN-F have mostly read reviews of this camera from review sites, Youtube videos and so on. To "sell" their experience and be known as cognoscenti of cameras, reviewers often take a few features and emphasise their opinion - this is both a good thing (because people want something to read about whether to arouse interest) or a bad thing (arouse disdain).

So we get to know some features very well from this clamour of voices and grasp little of features that people don't mention. Here's a shortlist of features that may have escaped attention.

Note: I come from an E-330,  E-510, E-620, E-PL1, E-PM2 and E-M1 background so only new features will be listed

Silent Mode can shoot at 20 fps in burst mode. Other mechanical shutter modes shoot at 10 fps

See: Amateur Photographer article.

The Spot Metering Mode follows the focus target that is triggered, not the central AF point

See manual, page 109

You can use your thumbs on the LCD to move the AF target around the frame when your eye is to the EVF

See manual, page 105 - the term is called AF Targeting Pad - of course in Custom Menu > Cog A

For non electronically coupled lens, you can name the lens, add focal length, f/no

See manual, page 129 - Custom Menu > Cog K

There are Selfie Assist functions - E-Portrait to smoothen your wrinkles, time delay for the selfie

See manual, page 128, - Custom Menu > Cog K

There is a My Clips facility - short 16 second videos 

See manual, page 70

There is a slow mo movie facility - 120 fps Standard Definition movies played back at 30 fps

See manual, page 73

Face Priority affects not only AF but may affect exposure measurement

This may not be new but worth mentioning - see manual  page 48
When the metering mode is ESP, Face Priority emphasises exposure  of the face.
Even in MF mode, Face Priority emphasises exposure of the face
In a burst, Face Priority only evaluates the first frame of the sequence.

C-AF no worse than other Olympus bodies

There has been a video review where the reviewer went an did a dang thing like fit the huge 300mm f/4 lens to this tiny body and attempted C-AF - result, AF hesitation. Mirrorless bodies still have some way to go to reach the Canon 1D II / 7D prowess with C-AF. Many Olympus users simply use S-AF and in the words of a wise sage: "Half press, observe whether focus has been achieved, if not release and repeat, several times until you get it"

Exposure Compensation has come to Auto ISO on Manual Exposure mode

Many Manual Exposure mode shooters revert to the film era expectation of setting fixed ISO when on Manual Exposure - that means exposure is completely and utterly manual, no shenanigans and that's how it worked in the film days. A bunch of migrators from Nikon DSLR have been crying out for Auto ISO on Manual Exposure and on top of that, changing the Exposure Value Compensation. Prior to the PEN-F, Olympus bodies allowed Auto ISO on Manual Exposure but EV Comp did nothing in that situation. The PEN-F now allows this Nikonish feature.

1. Set the camera to Manual Exposure Mode.
2. Custom Menu > Cog E > ISO Auto > Select ALL instead of P/A/S
3. Ensure that your EVF is not set to S-OVF  (Custom Menu > Cog J > S-OVF)
4. Ensure that Liveview Boost is Off (Custom Menu > Cog D > Live View Boost)
5. Ensure that your EV Compensation dial is not disabled (Custom Menu > Cog B)
6. Set your ISO to Auto (use the Super Control Panel)

Olympus PEN-F - part 6 of my personal narrative, The Finale

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 precede this article.

Summarising and Tidying Up: What I liked.

I started by saying that the Olympus PEN-F is a controversial camera. Do I still think so after some days looking at my images, interacting online? Yes, I do. Briefly

It's a nicely responsive camera, with strong retro design hints.

"The camera part just gets out of the way and lets you concentrate on shooting." (Ming Thein).

It has milestone enhancements in "studio in the field" JPEG customisation so that you can pre-visualise the "look" of the photo instantaneously and intimately whether you want to save the JPEG as a keeper or use the raw for processing in Olympus Viewer or your third party workflow. Olympus innovated with the the S curve Shadow+Highlight adjustment and then subsequently the Color Creator a few models ago. Now the S curve has Midtone adjustment in addition to S & H. And the Color Wheel in the Color Profiles has a rainbow of individual colour adjustments. There is Vignette and Film Grain emulation in the Monochrome Profiles. And..... On Olympus Viewer, you can combine an Art Filter with Color Profile (can't check that on the body because I don't have one).

Phew! The noon day tropical sun so hot and glaring

Regardless I will be there.

We still run the old skool way.

The EVF is offset unlike a faux DSLR - it allowed me to keep both eyes open for a few lenses (mind needs some control) so I would observe more of the scene with one eye and ensure AF got the focus right with the other eye. It gave me confidence in the street with the camera raised to the face, something I feel nervous about with a faux DSLR in street photos of people.

You taking a photo of me?

What I would have preferred

A less obvious and more easily surreptitious simple hinged flip LCD screen (rather than the flip & twist screen that would be very useful on a faux SLR like the OM-D series. (By the way, the flip and twist is fitted on the old E-620, the E-3, E-5 DSLRs). I just figured out why they chose this flip and twist design though. For a little camera like this, with a target audience of travellers, genteel tourists, it needs to do selfie duty.

The Selfie with the Fishie

I would guess as with most middle income enthusiasts, I'm on a 2 to 3 year gear refresh - the need to save for family and extended family expenses and so on. My OM-D E-M1 purchase was recent in relative terms, so I'll have to wait. The price for the PEN-F is not low at retail and pre-order launch - there's a lot of nice stuff in it and there are return of investment costs that Olympus has to recover. There are cheaper cameras. There are surely more expensive cameras. And there are cameras whose bling value is higher than their utility value. The PEN-F has a lot of "I like it value"

I don't think I could buy one even if I sold the shirt off my back

Or sold my snaps on the sidewalk

Starting up an Institute might do it

Prayers wouldn't go astray for sure

Reasons people make up for not buying the PEN-F

From the range of feedback and comments, I thought I would summarise the vibe

The PEN-F is not weather sealed

For whatever reason if you must have weather sealing, this isn't the camera for you. Some people must have a Toyota Kluger 4WD instead of European luxury car. Different strokes for different folks. For your weather sealed body though, these products are designed to a test condition. Weather sealing is not an absolute. FYI.

• Mike Hedren's notes on weathersealing
• Extreme conditions for a Canon 7D

The PEN-F breaks the mold of cheaper PEN prices

The PEN E-P5 was not "cheap". In contrast to the OM-D E-M10, it did not have the slant of features to distinguish it from the lowered prices of the OM-D E-M5 old stock and the E-M10. It didn't sell well at recommended retail price but towards the end, the prices were so discounted that people managed to get their hands on the E-P5 and love it for the shape in street shooting and travelling.

The PEN-F to me, is a much stronger product with stronger slants towards its intended audiences. I hope it does well. It's not a Sony with a wood grip. Or machined out of solid metal. 

On a features matrix on a web page, the PEN-F has nothing really different from the OM-D E-M5 Mark II

Probably. Have you got the right features in the matrix? Or is the left column a list of faux DSLR design features? Like a big grip to balance the 300mm f/4 M.Zuiko lens. Or Phase Detect so that the body can focus a Bigma. The PEN-F isn't a faux DSLR.

You don't have a skirt. Or wear tight pants, a lumberjacket and have a beard.

So sorry for you. But you don't have to wear a skirt. Or tight pants, lumberjacket and a beard. Look, I held a PEN-F for some hours. Nuts still feel ok. Voice hasn't changed an octave higher.

Will you tell the CEO or shall I?

Be Happy. Enjoy Your Day