Zuiko and Panorama Panning

I was playing with the Autostitch software, when the idea of doing a panorama of a continuous panning shots caught me.

Simply put, a sequence of 8 images of a go-kart moving along the track.

Please click the image to see the full 8-kart sequence.

The whole sequence was originally 12 shots, but the last 4 shots could not be stitched because of the gaps that were too big. Alas, the E-30 could only conjure up to 5 frames-per-second sequence. A fast D-SLR such as the Canon 1D mark 3 should be able to cope with its 10 frames-per-second speed.

Below is the original stitched image. It shows the panning line.

What I like from this image is that it shows dynamism of the sport. I will have to find other sports or events that can give similar effect some other time.

Boy, it's so cool!!

Zuiko and Badminton's World No.1

It was a treat to have both top badminton players, one who is at the peak of his prime and another who was a legend and now the coach, to come for an inspired chat at Maxis.

Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Misbun Sidek were greeted with loud applause by the audience, and were quick to adapt to the maniacally interested crowd. Attendance was packed to the brim, which was only mirrored by the Astronaut a few months back. Well, it was not often you can meet up close with Badminton's No.1!

There were two emcees for the evening, and both did a great job to enliven the high spirits of the audience. It was electrifying.

Just back from the Korean Open, which he lost to Peter Gade in the final, Chong Wei looked a bit jaded. Must be from the fatigue of the recent matches and travels. It's nothing to worry though, since Peter Gade lost two previous matches against him. Not bad, actually.

Being the Olympics silver medalist, which he lost out to Lin Dan, he described himself as a person who loved basketball. Well, a good thing his mother put some sense into him to play badminton. He is in a better spot now!!

The prime motivator to his current success is his coach cum mentor, Datuk Misbun Sidek. A cherished player by his own right, Misbun has been the strong guiding force to Chong Wei's achievement. He simply put the importance of trust between them that is the pinnacle of their success.

Misbun saw talent in Chong Wei about 8-9 years ago, and requested to have him under his direct tutelage. The move worked marvelously.

Now Chong Wei is at the top of badminton world!

What Misbun likes about Chong Wei's approach was he wants to listen; full trust to the mentor. And Misbun is a disciplinarian in which he got the full brunt from his late father. He needs a strong player to withstand his strict training regimes.

Any training regime put by Misbun, Chong Wei will do. Simple. It may sound old school, but with Misbun's understanding of the game both on and off-court, it is not surprising that Chong Wei can deliver. With proper guidance, real talent can be transformed into success.

Chong Wei's capability cannot be refuted, with his ability to do whatever the coach's will is something rare indeed. Himself a stroke player, some of the power drills requested during a match he will do. Change gameplans? No problem. Now that require a huge amount of skill. Kudos to Chong Wei!!

On a lighter note, Chong Wei did confess that his first motivator was his desire to own a car (which Misbun asked the first time about his badminton goals). That remark made the crowd burst into laughter. It may be funny, but it worked wonders.

Look at him now. He is at the top of the world!

More photos can be viewed HERE. (Click the link).

Zuiko and Zoom Blur

One thing I love about In-body Image Stabilization system is the capability to use any lens and be assured with some form of stabilization.

With the E-510 and Zuiko Digital 11-22mm f2.8-3.5, I was able to create this zoom effect. It was simple really!

The surreal effect with the focus on the central photographer was simply magical! Dynamism was captured in a static scene.

This scene was shot in McDonald's near Chinatown KL, with the other Olympus gang for our 2nd walkabout. This walkabout covered parts of Chinatown and Central Market during Deepavali in 2007.

I just selected a slow shutter speed, say 1/5s, and used Shutter priority to override the shutter automation. With this effect, I managed to travel the focal length from 11mm to 14mm. The ISO was 100, with aperture at f3.2. And the IS did the rest!

Another example of zoom blur...

E-510 with Zuiko Digital 14-54mm f2.8-3.5

14mm to 25mm zoom, 1/2.5s, f8, ISO200

Another thing. Be sure to have steady hands; one to hold the body, the other to twist the zoom ring.

Somehow, it was so easy even with the little E-510 beginners D-SLR!!

Zuiko and ISO3200

Most people say, the small sensor 4/3 system is noisy. While it's true to a point, it is not as bad as it seems. With proper treatment, and understanding of Olympus' philosophy in noise management, the noise can be tamed. One thing to understand is that the E-3 has one of the best shadow gradations, albeit quite a limiting highlight gradations. The rich shadow gradations ensure stunning tones, but is guilty of showing lots of noise in high ISO situations.


The image below was shot in ISO3200 with Noise Filter set to Standard. With accurate exposure, the noise was well controlled. That's the trick. Nail the accurate exposure, and the shot will be fine. And thank goodness to E-3 accurate metering, this should not be a huge problem.

E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED50-200mm f2.8-3.5 SWD

200mm, f3.5, 1/30s, ISO3200

This image was captured at the beach of Jimbaran, Bali. Two ladies purchasing corn from the peddler. I was just sitting at the dinner table about 50 feet away. With the long reach of the 50-200mm lens, and E-3's super great Image Stabilization, all I needed was a few shots to get it right.

Click on the image for 2048 x 1536 size.

Zuiko and Kids in Pool

Shooting in strong sunlight is a bit tough without a flash. Backlighting is a killer.

It was morning around 10am, and the kids were playing in the kiddy pool. Sunlight was about 45 degrees up, and posed difficult for me to get the shots right.

Enter the FP Flash using the FL-50R.

Using E-3 with the Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD, I had no fear shooting up close with the splashes! Both were weather-sealed.

The main picture was captured at 31mm with the aperture at F2.0 for shallow depth-of-field. My daughter was sharp, my son was blur. Shutter speed was 1/1250s with ISO100 and +0.3EV compensation. Fill-flash by the FL-50R ensured the my children were not shadowed by the backlight. With FP turned on, I was able to shoot wide open.

Auto White Balance was accurate, color was Natural with all settings at default. Straight out of camera JPEG, the E-3 is the best in the league!

My post-process was done in Olympus Studio v2.22, with only USM at 120%, 1.2, 0 and resized to 2736 x 2052 pixels.

The rest of the images. For a complete slideshow, click HERE.

Zuiko and the Fly

The fly, or lalat in Malay. An irritating little creature.


I found this fly, sort of docile, on the front gate. It was not afraid of my lens just mere centimeters away. Great!!


It was cloudy, and I quickly attached the EC-14 teleconverter to the Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 MACRO lens. This combination had quickly transformed the lens to a 1:1.4 macro. Postprocessing, I cropped this image another 1.4x to make it a 1:1 magnification. And this was with the 4/3 format. If I was using a Full Frame camera, the macro is similar to 2:1 magnification.


The greatest challenge was to get enough depth of field. As I was shooting handheld, a mere movement will move the focal plane out of focus with the fly. It was tough, but luckily the E-3 had a handy MF mode combination.


Focusing mode was MF with the S-AF single activated using the AEL/AFL button. I spotted the focus, and triggered the shutter. There were many shots and this shot was the one I was looking for.


It was not easy, with the low light. Imagine EV8 outdoors. Just for comparison, EV15 is F/16 rule. Now, that really was a cloudy day!

E-3, 50mm F2.0 Macro with EC-14

A-priority, 70mm, F3.5, 1/125s, ISO800

A strong boost in color saturation, with vignetting added character to the image.

Zuiko and Birds in Flight

Shooting birds in flight was one of my challenges with the E-3. Along with the Zuiko Digital ED50-200mm F2.8-3.5 SWD lens, I was able to get closer with these little flying creatures. Some of the images even had the EC-14 extender to extend the range up to 283mm F4.9!!!


The trick with shooting birds in flight is all about anticipation. The smaller the bird, the higher the anticipation. The higher the anticipation, the tougher the shot.


With anticipation in mind, the best method to get sharp images is to use high shutter speed with large aperture. ISO value is best left at Auto.


Find the bird, scan its surroundings and its habits of flight. The best is to find it perching, and anticipate its next flight movement. Set the focus to Manual (MF), and lock. As the bird move scan and shoot bursts of 5fps. And hope for the best!


The beauty of the E-system is that it is possible to shoot at 283mm range (equivalent to 566mm in Full Frame) with a kit that is fast enough at F4.9 with just a 1120g lens! Thus, it will not easily tire your arms to scan and pan to anticipate the birds' flight plan.

283mm, Shutter priority

F4.9, 1/2500s, ISO800, -0.3EV

283mm, Shutter priority

F4.9, 1/2000s, ISO800

200mm, Aperture priority

F3.5, 1/1250s, ISO2000, -0.3EV

This was my last image with the ED50-200mm lens. I eventually sold it within one week after this shot.

184mm, Aperture priority

F7.1, 1/800s, ISO400