OM System 100-400mm MK II - some lessons learned

I mentioned in my recent post that I'd acquired the Mk II iteration of the OM 100-400mm for it's sync IS.  I also mentioned that I hadn't had that much chance to use it to it's full potential due to the weather being pretty rubbish.  It's still early days but now I've had a better opportunity. with sunny conditions, a visit to Lopwell Dam, where the tidal waters of the Tamar meets the fresh water of the River Tavy, and a couple of hours spare to try some bird photography.  Missing was a great variety of birds but there were a few around.  And a few lessons were learned.

Lesson 1:  Working with 400mm

I was working from the bank and these Canada Geese were on a low tide island about 50 metres away.  Hand holding with both arms supported on a fence rail gave me reasonably sharp shot at ISO 800, 1/1250 sec, f6.3 (wide open).  I've cropped in a little but not excessively.  Examined closely I'd have been better upping the ISO to 1600 to give a slightly sharper - less motion blur - shot at 1/2500 sec.  No wonder other photographers routinely use higher ISOs to keep the speed up, albeit with an increase in noise..

Another part of the flock were on the water, a little closer, allowing me to get some reflection images.  Same settings as before but the goose was larger in the frame giving a little more detail on the feathers.

Again, I've cropped a little to give a better framed image.

The lessons learned?  Even for big birds 400mm on a wide estuary is only just enough reach unless they come close.  Without the camouflage of a hide, most don't.  And 1/1250 sec shutter speed is barely enough.  Take a hit with higher ISOs and noisier images to sharpen the shots.

Lesson 2: Lets try the 1.4x teleconverter

Want more reach?  Add a teleconverter.  As I only own the Olympus 1.4x that was my only choice. 400mm became 560mm; hence more pixels on the birds. That's the upside.  The downside is that that I'm down to f9 wide open, f10 for preference to allow for the slight reduction in wide open image quality from the extra glass.  That means higher ISO to keep shutter speeds up.  Is it worth it to get capture images where more distant birds appear larger in the frame?

Yes.

I'd added the teleconverter when, on the distant bank opposite, a cormorant landed to dry it's wings.  ISO up to 1/1250, f10, 1/1600 sec and shot taken.  I'd popped the camera on a tripod for this as I'd previously found that adding the 1.4x was a bit much for my shaky handholding.  Here's the result:

Lessons learned?  The 1.4x works - but it has a cost, particularly on a slow lens such as the 100-400mm.  With modern noise reduction (more on this in a separate post later) it's worth the risk but there's always that downside.  

Although it can work very well...

Lesson 3:  Try baiting

As photographers do, we chat.  By chance I met up with a more experienced bird shooter and after some conversation he suggested trying a bit of baiting on a fence rail by the estuary bank.  He had some seed, put it out, and within a minute I had a Dunnock landing for a feed.

Then a male chaffinch.

Followed in quick succession by a cock pheasant who'd sauntered down the road in greedy anticipation.

I still had the 1.4x teleconverter on so I had to go to ISO 1600.  Even that was marginal for the Dunnock at 1/320 sec though the detail is certainly there.  As for the pheasant it's not hard to imagine the delight when their flamboyance was first introduced to the UK.

Lessons learned?  Baiting works if done regularly.  The spot these final two shots were taken is regularly baited by other birders.  I'll be joining their number and carry seed with me next time I'm at Lopwell.  Secondly, although I didn't need the 1.4x - straight 400mm would have been enough - it actually held up very well at closer range.

A satisfying day,

Hand held focus stacking

One of the reasons I first tried and then fully switched to Olympus / OM Systems cameras and lenses was the built in focus stacking and bracketing computational facility.  For a lot of my plant portrait, and macro work I need a combination of good depth of field with clean(ish) backgrounds to give both subject separation and sharp focus across as much of the subject as possible.  This image of the spring flowering shrub, Stachyurus praecox 'Rubriflora' is a good example:

Although both stacking and bracketing modes work by taking a sequence of images with a progressive adjustment of the focal plane they work slightly differently.  Bracketing allows up to 999 images, moving the focal plane through the image from the frontmost point chosen.  The images can then be combined into a single image using stacking software (I use Photoshop but others are available). Stacking takes up to 15 images both before and behind the initial focal point and then combines them in camera into a single JPG. When RAW shooting is used the original RAW files are saved with either option but stacking also generates JPGs with the RAW files.  Either method works well to generate images with the necessary characteristics of depth of field across the subject and separation from the background but for best results both require a stable tripod to keep the stack of images aligned.

But using a tripod is not always possible. Which brings me to hand-held focus stacking.  At 75 my hands and posture are not as steady as once they were.  OK, I shake a little. It was only with the more recent purchase of the OM-1 body and it's insanely effective 7 stop IBIS that I've been able to explore hand held focus stacking.

So what works for me?  After experimenting I've set up and assigned to a Custom Function the following:  

• Focus bracketing - set from Camera settings menu 2 and Computational modes menu - ON
• Number of shots = 5
• Differential = 3
• ISO 250mm - to keep noise low
• Aperture f3.2 - to provide the subject to background separation.

I find this works well to give me both a better depth of field across the subject and, when feasible, subject separation.  As with this image of Erythronium tuolumnense, one of the North American trout lilies, taken in a fairly crowded planting.

Or this shot of Snake's Head Fritillaries in a wildflower meadow.

All the images so far were taken were taken with my 40-150 f2.8 PRO lens.  This combines superb image quality, extremely fast transitions between the stacked shots, and close focusing, ideal for plant portraits...

...lichens...

... or larger insect shots, albeit with the 1.4x teleconverter attached:

Also working well is my 60mm macro.  I don't expect to get the depth of field attainable with tripod mounted shots but anything that produces better results than a single shot with a wide aperture is worth while.  Such as this little Heliophilus pendulus hoverfly, photographed in natural light by the side of my little pond. It's not all in focus (abdomen and top wing) but it's given me better depth of field across the eyes and thorax.

What hasn't worked that well is my newly acquired 100-400mm MK II.  Yes, the sync IS is great for single hand held shots but the transition speed between stack shots and the weight of the lens conspire to produce too much movement and blur in the final images.

The only niggle I do have is with the Automatic JPG production.  This is both a boon and a curse.  The boon is that I can immediately see an the in camera stacked shot to see if it has worked and not produced blur or ghosting as images haven't aligned.  The curse is that I also generate 6 JPGs per stack, 5 of which are useless for my immediate workflow and a stacked JPG that I also have to delete if I've done a RAW stack.  

Of course, hand held focus stacking is subject to the same limitations of any bracketing / stacking operation.  Subjects must be still and / or the wind almost zero.  But even so it's a valuable technique to provide a good depth of field on the subject with background separation where appropriate.

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Updates and equipment overview

I'm very conscious of neglecting this blog over the last two years.  I could use pressures of work as an excuse - but I'm retired so that doesn't really work.  The truth is I haven't had much to say - but that's beginning to change so, time for some updates.

My Alamy experience

Alamy continues to be a reasonable part time income generator.  I'm now up to 3255 licences since January 14th 2014, producing $60,104 dollars is revenue.  Add in infringement and collection service payments, subtract commission, convert to UK £s and thus far I've ended up with £21,447 and 20p in my business bank account.  Respectable, but not spectacular, it does allow me to upgrade equipment as needed.  More on this further down.

There's been a fair few $$$ licences along the way although, in common with most Alamy contributors, the average price per licence seems to be dropping year on year.  That, coupled with - in my case - declining sales has reduced my annual revenue over the last three years.  Though there has been some good results such as this front cover of Gardener's World magazine in August 2025.

From an EM-5 Mk II image

Equipment updates

This time last year the price of a good used /Olympus / OM systems OM-1 had dropped below my threshold £1000 limit and I bought one.  I'm glad I did.  The improvement over my EM-1 MkII is substantial, particularly in higher ISO capability, much improved stabilisation, and far faster shooting speeds and focus stacking performance.  Add in subject detection and I could far more easily take action shots of mine and my daughters dogs.  Shots like this:

35+ mph, head on, animal eye detect on, eyes perfectly in focus, one of a sequence of shots also in focus'  Pleased with that - especially when coupled with my next purchase.

By autumn 2025 I'd earned enough to buy an additional lens.  With the introduction of the OM 100-400mm MkII second hand MKI versions flooded the used market and I seriously considered buying one.  Then Black Friday hit, the MKII version became available under £1000, and I bought one.  Why?  Because I do like to do the odd bit of bird photography.  I'd been using my 40-150mm f2.8 PRO + 1,4x teleconverter but it doesn't have the reach needed.  So this, with both syncIS and double the reach has enabled me to do some more serios bird photography.

Well that was the plan but the weather hasn't really co-operated.  Dull and gloomy mostly but, occasionally, it's brightened up enough for some shooting.  Early days yet - its still bird onna stick time at the moment - but the quality is there:  Now for some flight shots.

Techniques and ways of working update

The advent of the OM-1 has made one big difference to my way of working in gardens.  I now routinely carry the OM-1 with the 40-150mm F2,8 attached and my EM-1 MkII with the 8-25mm f4 attached.  Rather than swapping lenses all the time, I simply swap between the two combos.  I tend to use manual focus with peaking on for the EM- 1 MkII to give me the greatest depth of field for the wider angle shots.  With the OM-1 combo I'm increasingly using handheld focus stacking, the combination of camera IBIS and lens autofocus speed allowing 4-6 shot in camera stacks with better background separation than generated from simply stopping down the aperture. For example:

Of course, it's no good in windy conditions and I have to delete the unwanted JPEGs also generated with the RAW files but it's a technique I'm increasingly reliant on.

Website updates

I talked about my website update to begin to develop my print etc venture.  As a bonus I'm also offering a free download of a PDF version of a presentation I produced for The Garden House's 80th Birthday celebrations last year.  This has hundreds of my images and accompanying text to provide a comprehensive overview of the features and development of the garden as the seasons progress. From our snowdrop festival days of January into early March, to the glories of the spring garden. From the bright flowering of summer days to superb autumn colour, and including the garden wildlife, the sequence provides a visual and narrative history of the 10 acre garden over a single year.

Download Here