How do we do this with Olympus?

[Ardy]

Hi All, Just reading a fascinating UWPG article on sharp focus. David Fleetman (the author uses) a very different focus method and I think it has a lot of merit. I use back button focus already but this is different. How do we do this with an Olympus set up? It ain't obvious to me (no surprises there).

Read it here Pro Tips for Achieving Sharp Focus

Shortly after digital cameras became standard for underwater photography, most housing manufacturers added an ergonomic control to effortlessly access a button on the back of the camera that you can set through a custom function to engage focus. On my Canon 5D Mark 4 this is marked as the AF-ON button and is one of three buttons together on the upper right corner of the back of the body. It is my understanding that a similar control is available on Nikon. Through the custom menu, I also turn off the shutter release to autofocus and use the AF-ON button exclusively to activate the autofocus. It can be challenging to have the correct feel for the shutter through the housing control and this is only exaggerated in cold water with the addition of gloves. Using this back-button focus technique eliminates (accidentally) shooting a frame when you are trying to focus with the shutter.

Lastly, I select the AI SERVO mode for focusing and turn on all the focus points in the camera. While holding the housing underwater I can then focus with my thumb and at the same time pull the shutter release with my trigger finger.

 

[gstrek]

I use Back Button Focus on my Oly E-PL1 and used this article (may have to tweak it for your camera). It works pretty well but you need to get used to it. You also need to remind anyone (including yourself a few months later) that may be using your camera that you focus using the back button.

Back Button Focus on the Olympus EP3

 

[Ardy]

HI gstrek, there is a lot more to this article than only using back button and the article on adjusting sharpness in Lightroom is VERY different. I am wondering how to use all of these features in my EM5 mk 1?
It explains how pro's get those amazing shots like this one from the article.

 

[gstrek]

Ardy - Yes, I know there is more to it than BBF. Shooting in raw is another piece of it. The article shows a technique showing Adobe Photoshop (but it also works in Adobe Elements) that is not available in Adobe Lightroom. LR has other ways of sharpening that are somewhat rudimentary compared to using a high-pass filter layer in Photoshop.

The key, to me, is that he is a professional photographer!

 

[Ardy]

Thanks GSTrek: Didn't realise LR did not have this function - guess what I have?
I think I should be more specific in terms of functions I would like to have work in concert on my camera.

BBF - done I think many here know how to assign this.
AI-Servo mode - what is this in Olympus?
Can we do this? from the article: "I will hold the AF-ON button/lever down, allowing the camera to constantly update the focus while I am able to shoot frame after frame at the time of my choosing."

 

[gstrek]

AI-Servo mode - what is this in Olympus?

I don't shoot Canon which is what the article refers to (with AI-Servo) but I believe this is the same as Continuous Autofocus (C-AF) on the Oly. You hold down the button you program for BBF, and it continuously focuses until you let go. Best thing to do is set it up and tweak the settings for what you are comfortable with. Getting used to BBF is important so you won't have to think about it underwater.

 

[Diver2fun]

I tried setting up BBF for my Nauticam E-m1 II, unfortunately the AEFL button is quite stiff and I have to press the thumb lever on the housing pretty hard.
does anyone have experience with this?

 

[Storker]

I don't shoot Canon which is what the article refers to (with AI-Servo) but I believe this is the same as Continuous Autofocus (C-AF) on the Oly. You hold down the button you program for BBF, and it continuously focuses until you let go. Best thing to do is set it up and tweak the settings for what you are comfortable with. Getting used to BBF is important so you won't have to think about it underwater.

It's not just back button focus. It's also about autofocus speed. One of the - rather few, these days - advantages of shooting with a dSLR instead of an m43 system, is the autofocus performance. While almost all m43 cameras - and compacts - use contrast detection AF (CDAF), dSLRs use phase detection AF (PDAF). CDAF just can't be as fast as PDAF, it's in the physics and the E-M1 is probably the only m43 body that can match some of the dSLRs in AF speed. I know my E-M5 can't match even a consumer grade dSLR.

So for fast moving subjects, it's pretty darn difficult to nail the focus with an m43 body. Which is why I still use my dSLR for topside sports shooting (right now a D700, but I'll probably buy a D500 in the not-too-distant future). Of course, people shot fast moving subjects even before autofocus was a thing, so good technique (prefocus, anticipation) can overcome some of the disadvantages. But not all of them, and it puts pretty high demands on the photog's technique.

 

[JackConnick]

AF speed is one of the main advantages of the new E-M1 MKII, it's a big improvement over the MK1.
You can assign nearly any function to it. AF servo is like C-AF. But the Oly E-M1 (both old and new) have one better and that's CAF+TR, where you set the AF on an item and it tracks it as you recompose or the little bugger moves.

Great for Coral Whip Gobies (aka "Little B*stards"

 

[Ardy]

CAF-TR - I assume the TR refers to tracking Jack? I see there is the same setting on my EM5 mk1 and I will test it out. As I am too old to run around after fast moving objects or smart enough to lay in wait, so I guess my habit of macro is made for me.