Olympus Photographers

This weeks Olympus tip!

Currently I am doing a lot of photographing at great distances here in Malaysia. So, naturally, I want a little more reach which means I am going for my teleconverters. I have both the 1.4x and the 2.0x but find myself using the 1.4x the most...at least here in Malaysia where the cloudy days are outnumbering the sunny days and where I don't think the 2.0x will do well.

So, I carry the 1.4x in my pocket and when the time comes to use it, I want to share with you what I have been finding through some experimentation.

My shooting kit for reference;

- OM-1

- 150-400mm f4.5

I have found that using auto focus with the 1.4x is giving me a less than ideal hit rate...somewhere around 20%, if even...So I started playing with manual focus and I am stoked to say the hit rate has increased to well over 75% with the added use of "Peaking" (a Manual Focus assist tool). So my tip to you is that you make sure "peaking" is on (in the menu) and if you do try to use the 1.4x with your 150-400mm and you find your shots just aren't coming out sharp, switch it to manual, highlight your subject in whatever color you chose for peaking (I like red!) and see if that helps!

Here is a photo I took using this technique. It is a Rhinoceros Hornbill from Danum Valley in Borneo!

Cheers,

Ben