Month: September 2014

Olympus Firmware Update 2.0 Released for OM-D E-M1

OM-D E-M1 Firmware Update Version 2.0 Available Here

Update:  Olympus has actually issued a revised, version 2 Camera Manual
that incorporates these changes.

The new firmware, version 2.0, for the Olympus OM-D E-M1 is a major update.  With over 24 improvements and new functions, some major but all significant, I think every E-M1 user will find something to love.  There’s even a new software package coming next week (Sept, 24th) to support tethered shooting … nice!

In fact, we’ll just start there.  Olympus’ new “Tethered Shooting System Software”, called “Olympus Capture”, will be ready for download on September 24, 2014.  It will be available for both Mac and Windows, and should be very helpful in Pro Studios and home studios, too.

Here’s the link to the website:  Olympus Capture Software

Below, is the Olympus official list of new functions and operability improvements.

8 New Functions:

  • Tethered Shooting via the new Olympus Capture Software 
  • Live Composite mode
  • Keystone Compensation (digital shift) to correct vertical distortion.
  •  2 New Art Filters: Vintage and Partial Color.
  • Aperture Lock function has been added to Aperture Preview.
  • Panning Shot shooting mode has been added to SCN mode.
  • Old Film effect has been added to movie effect.
  • New Photo Story mode features: Zoom In/Out and Layout framing options. Save (complete partway through), Temporary Save, and Resume functions.

16 Operability Improvements:

·       EVF image display time lag reduced to 16 milliseconds (when frame rate setting is set to high speed).
(My Note:  Don’t forget … Frame Rate (Custom Menu D) is grayed out and defaults to “normal” if you have Focus Peaking turned on.)
·       Multiple simultaneous settings now available in Live Guide.
·       Exposure compensation (±3 EV) is now available in HDR 1/HDR2 shooting.
·       A function has been added to cancel Color Creator and return to the original Picture Mode by pressing the MENU button when using Color Creator function.
·       Movie Tele-converter can now be used simultaneously when Art Filter is set to Picture Mode.
·       AF function for each frame was added to Custom Self Timer. In Drive Mode’s Custom Self Timer settings, you can now press the INFO button to change settings.
·       MF Assist is now supported in magnified frame position.
·       3x has been added to high resolution magnified Live View.
·       The Peaking display frame rate has been improved.
·       Electronic zoom speed setting function was added. An icon appears on the LCD monitor when using an Olympus electronic zoom lens.
·       When the arrow pad is set to Direct function, the Underwater/Underwater macro functions can be used with the left and down button on the arrow pad.
·       Double tap is now supported in touch operations on the Super Control Panel.
·       The level gauge and histogram can now be displayed during magnified frame display. The Touch Off icon was added to magnified frame display.
·       A function was added so that shooting information recorded in HDR1/HDR2 can be viewed in the playback screen.
·       Information on composited number of shots for images recorded with Live Composite was added (Can be checked in Olympus Viewer3).
·       When the BKT button is held down, the BKT menu now appears.

Plus, Olympus Image Share App Ver. 2.4 is now supported.

I’ve written a comprehensive guide to Firmware Update Version 2.0 for the Olympus OM-D E-M1.  It’s now available for FREE download at The Friedman Archives.  If you’d like to get it, please send an email request to Gary Friedman.


Don’t forget, the definitive guide to the Olympus OM-D E-M1 is available at The Friedman Archives.

"The Complete Guide to Fujifilm’s X-T1" – by Tony Phillips

My timing has been just about perfect.  I got the X-T1 just a couple of weeks ago, and yes, there has been a learning curve after using the Olympus E-M1 for almost a year.  But help is here now.  🙂

Tony Phillips, at The Friedman Archives, has just released his ebook all about the Fujifilm X-T1, and it’s a good one.  He also wrote a book about the Fujifilm X100s and that experience shines through in this book.

Inside Tony’s “Complete Guide to Fujifilm’s X-T1“, you’ll find over 500 pages of comprehensive and thorough information about every aspect of using the X-T1.  Tony writes in a very clear, understandable style and presents lots of insider tips and techniques.

While the book is geared toward experienced photographers, don’t shy away if you’re not one … there are also several chapters filled with general photography how-to’s.

For one reasonable price, you get all three electronic versions of the book:  a .pdf file (read it on just about any device), a .mobi for your kindle, and .epub for a Nook or other e-reader.  It’s also available in print (color or b&w), but those will cost a bit more.

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And don’t forget, there are lots of other books available at The Friedman Archives.  You’ll find books about almost every Sony DSLR or Mirrorless camera released in the last few years, and a great book about the Olympus OM-D E-M1, along with the two Fujifilm titles.

Two Years and STILL a Best Seller … the Sony Nex-6

It’s hard to believe that the Sony Nex-6 has been out for almost two years and it’s still at the top of the Compact System Best Sellers on Amazon!  And what’s more, it’s still at number ten when looking at All digital cameras.

When I wrote the book about the Nex-6 (sorry, shameless self-plug), I knew it was (is) an excellent camera.  But in the last two years, there have been some terrifically competitive cameras released by Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung, Fuji, and even Sony.  The Fuji X-E1 with kit lens can be found for around $600 these days.  Yet, the little Nex-6 continues to thrive.  The Sony A6000 bumped the pixel count up to 24MP and improved the autofocus, yet the Nex-6 is still selling better.  I wonder why?

Plus, when you look at the top ten of all digital cameras, you see that Sony has three of those, with the other seven spots filled by Nikon, Kodak (Kodak ?!?!), Canon, and Olympus.  Amazing!

Do you think the “Mirrorless Revolution” is finally catching on?

For you Nex-6 shooters, to what do you attribute the amazing success of that wonderful little camera?

And for those of you who may be new to the Sony Nex-6, if you’re having any questions about various features and how they all come together in a logical way, help is available at The Friedman Archives.  Gary Friedman and I co-authored a comprehensive book all about the Nex-6/5R/5T.  We’ve had great reviews and even offer a money back guarantee if you don’t learn at least one thing.  🙂

REAL High Speed Sync Flash with the Fujifilm X100s

Modern digital cameras come with so many great features and generally inadequate manuals, making it difficult sometimes to really understand all of those features and how they can interact to produce great images.  And the Fujifilm X100s is no different … Except there is help available.  Tony Phillips at The Friedman Archives has written an extensive and comprehensive book to cover all of those features in detail.  Below is an excerpt from Chapter 1 in “The Complete Guide to the X100s” by Tony Phillips.

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LEAF SHUTTER 

In the introduction to this book I told you I loved this feature.  For one, they are deadly silent – a pretty good feature for street and documentary photography.  More importantly, they allow the camera to sync with flash at much higher shutter speeds than a focal plane shutter can, entirely changing your ability to compete with ambient light.
FLASH – Real High Shutter Speed Flash Sync
Landscape photographers talk about the golden hour.  The hour around dawn, or dusk when light takes on an almost magical quality.  Paradoxically cameras are optimized for “normal” daylight, and yet images taken under those kinds of hard-light conditions seldom seem as wonderful as their counterparts shot in the golden hour (or under the influence of a photographer with a keen eye for light and the knowledge of how to achieve it from their equipment).
Until now, that is. The leaf shutter lens in your X100S will change your ability to compete with ambient light.  Add the in-built ND filter to the mix, and an external accessory flash or two, and you’ll find yourself balancing flash with daylight to achieve the most wonderful light in outdoor situations.
It’s all about light ratios in relationship to ambient light. The type of real high speed sync (RHSS) available with a leaf shutter is not at all like high speed sync (HSS) as you may know it.  There are limitations placed on flash power delivered using HSS, brought about by the way the flash power is output (pulsed) during the period in which the shutter is open.  These limitations not only do not apply with a leaf shutter and RHSS, you actually get more punch from your flash unit than you would if it were attached to a regular focal plane shutter camera.  This is a pretty big topic, and I discuss it in much more detail starting on page 367.  In the meantime, feel free to dial up your shutter speed to 1/1000th of a second, and head outdoors for some shooting.

Want shallow depth of field with that?  Turn on the ND filter! Figure 1-42 demonstrates how this all comes together.  The high shutter speed (1/1000th) cuts ambient light giving me rich colours in the sky and trees.  The ND filter means I can shoot wide open (f|2 in this case) so only the cluster of roses in the foreground is in focus.  Add in the EF-X20 flash for some fill, and you produce a pleasing result in awkward lighting conditions.
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So, for more great tips and techniques (almost 500 pages worth) head over to The Friedman Archives and check out Tony’s great book that can transform your understanding of the X100s and help you get great images from your camera.
In the interest of full disclosure, I need to tell you that I have also written for The Friedman Archives. I co-authored the book about the Sony Nex-6 and helped Gary Friedman with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 book.