Job SatiSfaction
At Work With The Olympus OM-D E-M1X
The reality of professional photography today is that you have to be able to turn your hand to a lot of things. Very often on assignment, you’re a one-man or onewoman band, working to a tight budget and a tight schedule. Throw shooting video into the mix and you’re really being stretched, which is why you need your camera gear to perform as well.
Melbourne-based photographer and film-maker Michael Hurren – who runs Filmic Productions – relies a lot on his Olympus OM-D system, especially the E-M1X flagship camera body.
“The biggest challenge working in the film industry nowadays is learning how to adapt to the higher demand for video, but with an ever-lessening budget for content,” Michael explains. “In the past I had jobs where you had crew to light and capture audio, and you hired cameras… whereas nowadays I’ve got a three-tonne van full of lights, audio equipment and all the I gear I could need to do the job. It’s often only me and an assistant, so you have to be nimble, adapt to the situation and often cover off a lot of shots quickly.”
In this high-demand working environment, the E-M1X’s feature set and specifications translate into tangible benefits.
“The E-M1X is really the perfect ‘run and gun’ video camera,” Michael says. “Because the five-axis image stabilisation is so good, I can run the camera ‘bare’ with no rigging, leave the tripod in the truck and just start gathering content without using gimbals or sliders. I can get similar-looking footage hand-held, and often shots that wouldn’t be possible with a bigger rig. This is a huge time saver for me, and time is money!”
While the Olympus’s image stabilisation tops Michael’s list of desirable features, he also lists the E-M1X’s compact size, the weather sealing, the now extensive range of M.Zuiko Digital lenses, great video AF, long battery life and, not surprisingly, its 4K video capabilities and performance.
“Plus the fact that it’s an awesome stills camera is also key for me,” he adds. “Shooting stills shooting is still a large part of my business.”
To illustrate how all this translates into real practical benefits when shooting in challenging locations and conditions, Michael relates a recent experience.
“I was filming a desert race and got caught out in a huge downpour, but the weather sealing and continuous AF were real life-savers. The camera got absolutely saturated by the rain and, because I wear glasses, I got all fogged up, and pulling focus on the dirt bikes was becoming an issue. However, I was able to quickly switch to C-AF mode and track the bikes without issue. It really saved the day. I couldn’t have done it with any another camera.”
On the video side, Olympus has worked hard to make sure the E-M1X also appeals to professional video-makers, adding advanced features such as OM-Log 400 gamma profile. Michael Hurren explains how he uses this particular feature.
“Using OM-Log 400 gives more dynamic range to your footage, unlike using, say, a
the E-M1X is really the perfect ‘run and gun’ video camera so i can get great looking footage hand-held and, consequently, often shots that wouldn’t be possible with a bigger rig.
stills-type standard look that is baked into the image and leaves you little room to move in post. OM-Log 400 lets me expose further into the highlights and keep more shadow detail, so I can put the contrast and saturation back into the part of image that suits the look I am going for.
“I like to grade my Log footage from scratch, and I tend to expose a little hotter than OM-Log 400 was designed for, but if you need to turn work around quickly, there is a very handy ‘ View Assist’ function that puts a Rec709 LUT colour profile into the viewfinder; this can also be applied to an external recorder or monitor and also applied to the final footage in post for a quick grade.”
Another feature of the OM-D E-M1X that’s been making headlines is its AI-based ‘Intelligent Subject Detection AF’ modes, which have revolutionised focus tracking with high-speed subjects.
“Subject Detection AF has really become a big part of my motorsport shooting, especially for pans, shooting out of a helicopter or when the car is coming straight at me. There are also times that I’ll shoot long with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f4.0 IS PRO telephoto and then switch to the M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO wide-angle zoom to grab a wide shot as the car shoots past. I’ll often do this from the hip, and I can always be pretty confident that the camera has grabbed focus and shot a good few ‘keepers’.
“Most of the time the Subject Detection AF can be a real benefit to my shooting – being able to frame and not having to keep a focus point on the subject at the same time is an awesome thing. And the standard C-AF operation is there as a backup in the situations where the detection can’t define the subject, such as when the cars have really kicked up the dust and it’s hard to even make out an outline.”
Michael is also a fan of two other new features introduced with the E-M1X – ‘Live ND’ and ‘High-Res Shot Handheld’.
“These features have really opened my mind to what is possible without needing to use a tripod. They are not only great tools but can push you to think creatively differently. I was recently on a job shooting a building and the only option to get the angle I wanted was to shoot from a traffic island in the middle of a road. There was no way I could get a tripod in there, but I was able to grab a couple of High Res shots hand-held quick smart and get out of there safely.
“And ‘Live ND’ has turned out to be great for my architecture work, being able to see through the viewfinder just how much blur I’m applying to the people walking through frame. But I’ve also been using it for shooting cityscapes and landscape work.”
Lighter Load
Michael has been shooting with Olympus mirrorless cameras since 2013, after he was initially attracted by their smallness and lightness.
“I first got a PEN E-P5 as a small carry-everywhere camera to complement my large SLR cameras at the time. Shortly afterwards, though, I replaced all my full-frame gear with the Olympus OM-D system because it was so small and light – my back had been taking a pounding carrying around big cameras – and also because of its ruggedness and on-sensor dust reduction. With all the dust, rain, heat and snow that I put my cameras through I’ve never had an Olympus stop… and, what’s more, I’ve never had to clean the sensors.
“The other advantage of the Micro Four Thirds system is that it lets me carry a larger kit of fast lenses into locations that I could not do physically before with a full-frame system.”
Michael’s decision to shoot with the Olympus OM-D system is based entirely on the benefits that using smaller and lighter cameras and lenses can deliver when shooting in difficult situations which also demand speed and reliability.
“I think that any professional photographer who is worth their weight could shoot any job on any camera, but using equipment that makes my job easier, faster, is lighter on my body and, in the end, makes my day more enjoyable is what’s important to me.”