- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK.
- Name
- Charles
That's a beautiful photograph, Russ. Congratulations.North American Nebula. From this weekend. OM-D EM-5 III (Ha mod) and Rokinon 135/2.
200 x 60 sec @ f/2.8. ISO 400. Used a Formax Lightrack II tracker.
Been 3 years since I did any Astro.
View attachment 408740
Just a question, Russ.North American Nebula. From this weekend. OM-D EM-5 III (Ha mod) and Rokinon 135/2.
200 x 60 sec @ f/2.8. ISO 400. Used a Formax Lightrack II tracker.
Been 3 years since I did any Astro.
View attachment 408740
Thanks for that info, Russ.John,
I had the EM-5 III modded at a place in the US called Lifepixel. Prices range between $250 and $350 USD (the EM-5 was on the high end). They remove the standard filter and and replace it with one that transmits a wider spectrum. I have used them before and they are a good place.
The problem, and I am kicking myself for not looking into this earlier, is that Olympus crippled the EM-5 III in regard to remote control. So it cannot be used as a webcam or effectively be controlled by a remote PC. So no live view, no focusing aids, no plate solving, no dithering. All those things that make astrophotography so much more pleasant. I can still use an intervalometer, old school, but will probably end up just buying a dedicated astro cam. Really quite annoying, especially as an older, cheaper EM-5 II would have worked fine. Live and learn I suppose.
Cheers,
Russ
For those of us who have cameras full spectrum converted (recording visible & IR) an H-alpha can be fitted to the lens (considerably cheaper than another conversion) but the hot mirror in standard cameras generally blocks nearly all the H-alpha, adding a filter to the front doesn't do anything to unblock this.John,
I had the EM-5 III modded at a place in the US called Lifepixel. Prices range between $250 and $350 USD (the EM-5 was on the high end). They remove the standard filter and and replace it with one that transmits a wider spectrum. I have used them before and they are a good place.
The problem, and I am kicking myself for not looking into this earlier, is that Olympus crippled the EM-5 III in regard to remote control. So it cannot be used as a webcam or effectively be controlled by a remote PC. So no live view, no focusing aids, no plate solving, no dithering. All those things that make astrophotography so much more pleasant. I can still use an intervalometer, old school, but will probably end up just buying a dedicated astro cam. Really quite annoying, especially as an older, cheaper EM-5 II would have worked fine. Live and learn I suppose.
Cheers,
Russ
Your picture is amazing, I'm amazed how well you balanced the city lights and the stars.
Thanks. For about 12 of the 15 seconds, my hand was covering the bottom of the lens, blocking out the city lights. I’d just remove it at the very end of the exposure. Otherwise it would’ve been entirely too bright, or I would have had to make a composite image.Your picture is amazing, I'm amazed how well you balanced the city lights and the stars.
What do you think of the OM-5? It's a tempting thought since it brings together my love of the light 'M-5 body, but the E-M1.3 extras. Are you able to control AF modes like the E-M1 line? Was a big complaint I had with the E-M5.3, you could only semi-hack it.Thanks. For about 12 of the 15 seconds, my hand was covering the bottom of the lens, blocking out the city lights. I’d just remove it at the very end of the exposure. Otherwise it would’ve been entirely too bright, or I would have had to make a composite image.
I jumped from the e-m5ii to the OM-5, so it was a pretty nice leap. It got me everything my old e-m1x had (short of subject recognition tracking, but that didn’t work all that hot in my opinion anyway which is why I dumped it), and a little more (starry sky AF) in an e-m5ii body size. Now if they actually put it in a metal e-m5ii body, it’d be a home run. I really dislike the plasticky feel of it. I’ve never picked up an Olympus camera and felt it was “cheap” until this one. So that’s unfortunate, but given it’s probably better weather sealed than my old one, it’s just a personal complaint. As for the “focus hacks” you’re talking about, I guess I’m not sure. This sees pretty limited duty, and is relegated to hikes where I want to be light, awful weather, or astro. I stick to single point focus s-af or manual focus, so although I think the autofocus is leaps better than my e-m5ii, I really don’t use it. It’s also nowhere near as good as my Canon for instance, but it doesn’t need to be for what I’m doing with it. So ymmv I suppose.What do you think of the OM-5? It's a tempting thought since it brings together my love of the light 'M-5 body, but the E-M1.3 extras. Are you able to control AF modes like the E-M1 line? Was a big complaint I had with the E-M5.3, you could only semi-hack it.
Yeah, the plastic build can take some getting used to. The trade off is an insanely light but powerful body. In regards to the AF hack, can you program a button to pull up the AF menu and then scroll to what you want? On the E-M5.3, you had to set a button to MF, then hold it and scroll to change AF modes. Worked, but cludgy.I jumped from the e-m5ii to the OM-5, so it was a pretty nice leap. It got me everything my old e-m1x had (short of subject recognition tracking, but that didn’t work all that hot in my opinion anyway which is why I dumped it), and a little more (starry sky AF) in an e-m5ii body size. Now if they actually put it in a metal e-m5ii body, it’d be a home run. I really dislike the plasticky feel of it. I’ve never picked up an Olympus camera and felt it was “cheap” until this one. So that’s unfortunate, but given it’s probably better weather sealed than my old one, it’s just a personal complaint. As for the “focus hacks” you’re talking about, I guess I’m not sure. This sees pretty limited duty, and is relegated to hikes where I want to be light, awful weather, or astro. I stick to single point focus s-af or manual focus, so although I think the autofocus is leaps better than my e-m5ii, I really don’t use it. It’s also nowhere near as good as my Canon for instance, but it doesn’t need to be for what I’m doing with it. So ymmv I suppose.
Just played around with it, and it appears like you’d have to do the same trick. I set the exposure button to MF, and you can quickly press and hold that and scroll through the different focus modes. Pretty cool actually, and I don’t think it’s all that clunky, but I suppose it’s not as easy as simply pressing the button over and over again to scroll through. That does not appear available, if that’s how you’re saying the e-m1 iii works.Yeah, the plastic build can take some getting used to. The trade off is an insanely light but powerful body. In regards to the AF hack, can you program a button to pull up the AF menu and then scroll to what you want? On the E-M5.3, you had to set a button to MF, then hold it and scroll to change AF modes. Worked, but cludgy.