Micro 4/3 EPM2 Long Exposure with Live Time

Stan

Regular
Location
California
Name
Stan
Hi all -- I'm new to SC, and happy to have found a lively group of people interested in photography with small cameras!

I've been enjoying shooting with an EPM2 the past few months. (In the past I have had the G1, EP3, GH2, and GX1, and have been using M43 for nearly 4 years.). Here's a micro micro43rds review of the "live time" feature in current Pens and the OMD... In fact, one of the main reasons why I chose one of the latest Oly bodies is Live Time. Figuring out long exposures with ND filters or in dark conditions can be challenging in fading or changing light conditions. So live time comes to the rescue. I use the Olympus RM-UC1 cable release in live time. Press the button. Wait for the screen to look good, and press the button again. Done. It's almost cheating.

Cayucos Pier
8663028555_a81b346229_b.jpg


"Moonbow" at Lower Yosemite Falls. The Oly 17/1.8 snap manual focus and live time were fantastic features here in this night shot. I set the focus to infinity. Framed the shot (which was barely visible on the screen due to darkness), and used live time to get the exposure right after waiting for the clouds to move past the moon. If there was more mist, then the moonbow would have been continuous.

8607352034_b85a1cdb57_b.jpg
 
Welcome to SeriousCompacts!, and congrats on your E-PM2!
The moonbow shot is really fantastic! Quite remarkable also, to see how much the reflected moonlight looks like regular sunlight if you just capture enough of it!
 
Stan, Welcome!

When I PM'd you this morning elsewhere, I didn't realize you'd already started posting here on SC. Good to see you. You should check in at MU-43 also if you haven't already, particularly with this thread...

So, about Live Time... I've had an OMD for over a year now and I recall reading about this feature before I bought the camera but I've never tried it. Or even really ever FOUND it. So, a couple of questions:

1. Where does it live? Where does one have to go to find it on the camera? I tried in the drive menu, in the scene menu, etc - no luck so far...

2. I assume a tripod and wireless release are an absolute must. I have the former (while lives a very quiet life, almost totally unused), and could easily find a wireless release.

3. I've done some nearly 1 second exposures handheld with the OMD's amazing IBIS system, to get a normal background but heavily motion blurred subject. I'm almost thinking I could try this feature that way with, say, nighttime traffic or something, with much shorter exposures than you're doing here. Have you ever tried anything like that? It seems to me I saw some examples that may have been done that way in the early days of the OMD. It also seems like pushing, holding, and releasing the shutter button might be too de-stabilizing to really work, though.

Anyway, these images are wonderful, particularly love the Yosemite shot. I may give this a shot. I'm gonna be in a location that might be really choice for this type of thing this summer and if I learn to use it before then...

EDIT - never mind - found it! Definitely gonna need a tripod and almost definitely a remote release too. Looks like fun, if I can ever actually motivate to bring all of that stuff out with me....

Good to see you here,

-Ray
 
Hey Ray! Thanks for encouraging me to join SC. I'm going to enjoy it here :)

Live time is definitely a tripod + cable release adventure. Future pens will undoubtedly have wifi and app support. That'll be awesome.

You could get a gorillapod with a ballhead and cable release. Otherwise it's lots to carry. I use a clik elite backpack for hikes and drag along a gitzo tripod. That's what the granite walls in Yosemite makes us do...

Hi five!
 
Indeed he is. Just don't let him ever start a weekly photo-thread around here - his intros will have us laughing so hard we could forget to argue about cameras! :cool:

-Ray

LOL! Those were some good times :) Ray was one of the engines behind those photo threads, getting us to realize what could be done with a camera.
 
Live Time Menu setting... There's on technical feature that I think is a minor bug/limitation. You have to go Menu -> Gears -> E -> Scroll down to "Live Time." You can set the time interval that the camera will update the exposure on the LCD. AND it's important to note that the camera will only let you see 24 updates, unless you half-press the shutter release. So if you do a 2 minute exposure and set the interval to 2 seconds, it'll stop updating after 48 seconds... There's one caveat in that if you half-press the shutter, it'll give you an updated exposure. This is where the shutter release cable comes in handy, since you won't shake the camera.

I have it set for 8 seconds, but am willing to dive into the labyrinthine menus to adjust when I'm doing tripod based work.

Cheers!
 
Yeah that would be handy on the X100. I've just been trial/erroring it. I start with something like f5.6, ISO 400, and 5 seconds, and then see where it got me. Make adjustment, re shoot, repeat. Would love a little running update out back.
 
Back
Top