OM-1 blown highlights, dynamic range and ETTR

Have you experimented with the camera's metering system yet? ('spot/center w average' etc) This is especially important wen working with contrasting backgrounds.

You also havent mentioned if you shoot in RAW (or not) which is an equally important factor as almost all of the time shooting in RAW will mean the difference between recovery of (any) overblown highlights or not. It has been mentioned by other users allready multiple times and it is sound advice.

Perhaps 'nzmacro' (Danny) can chime in as he has tons of expertise with the mft system, bif, and manual everything.

The OP's issue was with blown highlights and too dark a subject (BIF).
It's tough to overcome in S or A modes with autoISO, so I was explaining what I do.
If I used M and set shutter and aperture but used autoISO - I'd also need to be able to set ExpComp to adjust for the camera metering the scene not the bird.
(Technically, this can be done by setting a button to switch the meaning of one of the dial turns to ExpComp, but, I don't like changing the meaning of dials on the fly)
As raythentic mentioned, spot metering should handle this if it meters on the area in focus, which there is an option for, and I've played with it a little.
By setting ISO, the ExpComp displayed while shooting M is just an FYI.

I'm no expert though. Perhaps someone can get nzmacro to throw in his two cents.

Yes BIFs are totally different to playing around and showing videos of landscapes, portraits with histograms, levels, etc. We only have split seconds with the fingers to adjust settings to suit. Same here as Trevor, white and dark all in the same bird is hard work. A little different maybe with shooting in bright sunshine and always with the sun at my back, so it's a little easier and probably not relevant to most. Still the same issue though with getting those highlights and shadows to match.

With FF I still have exactly the same issues, but with shadows it's easier to correct along with highlights. So never found anything that can correct perfectly for highlights and dark shadows in the same shot of a BIF. To the right or to the left using compensation I've tried dozens of times. I always simply go back to what I see in the EVF. Using manual settings with locked ISO and locked aperture here. That leaves it to just simply adjust the shutter speed only with the ISO and aperture settings I use to start with, my shutter speeds never drop below 1/1600. Auto ISO I really don't like unless it's kept low with auto ISO. So in that case I might as well just lock it for what I like the results of. Controls in the software after the shot is where we can only try to correct it.

Often if it's slightly underexposed It's not too bad for recovering. When I get a new camera which is not very often anyway, I spend quite a bit of time adjusting the EVF view to suit what is needed to see for how I like to shoot using only the EVF view only. With m4/3 or FF it could be - or + with the manual settings for the EVF which is always set for live view.

All the best and just responding because the thread was pointed out. Like all things, everyone is different, not wrong or right, just different.

Danny.

When I was typing my reply up there I was thinking of a certain shot from the old 16mp E-M10 sensor. A Royal Spoonbill in flight shot. A very old one at that, but I remembered it was there.

So I did a redo of it and took around 5 minutes to redo.

So into Lightroom with the RAW and with the blown highlights ...........

Then just a simple slide of the highlights control all the way to the left and nothing else done ........

Then a little tweaking and cropping

Just looking at the highlights and nothing else really. From an old 16mp m4/3 sensor, that's not too bad IMO.

Yes the ideal is to nail it right from the start, but it's interesting what we can get away with. Lifting shadows is another different ball game altogether and m4/3 is tough work for that. Mind you so is FF, but a little easier for sure.

All the best.

Danny.

I always shoot in raw which is one of the reasons I am surprised that I find it so easy to get unrecoverable highlights.

Always great that you understand Danny. Your response is just so relatable. Hope I don't lose you with DPreview. I shall look out where you are.

I'm trying two forums Trev and I might just keep on both. I just wish that certain posts on here were cut. I can't believe they are allowed to continue.

We have similar issues because we take similar subjects I guess. Know exactly where you are coming from. Someone pointed this post out in a PM so thought I would respond, good or bad :-) As you know m4/3 can get shots that FF can't and vice versa, so we just make the best of what we have. All the best in the UK.

Danny.

I probably blew the highlights on this Bald Eagle's head a little, but, I'm pretty happy with these shots. YMMV

Same for me.

This is for all those on this thread who don't shoot BIF and have suggested unworkable solutions.

Trevor is shooting fast moving birds of differing lightness (black to white) against changing backgrounds (bright blue sky/dull cloudy sky /vegetation) and in sometimes changing light. Exposure under these circumstances can be really, really, really difficult. It is nothing like shooting landscapes off a tripod. The key requirement is that the lightness of the bird in the final image has to be acceptable. The nightmare scenario is a black and white bird (like a bald eagle) against a changing background and flying in and out of sun and shade. That has happened to me once and I got almost no keepers.

If you are not a BIF photographer, I hope that this thread has helped you to understand the problems.

BIF photographers on this threads have discussed a number of alternatives. Personally I favour M mode with fixed ISO, frequent checks against a patch of grass to see if the light is changing and slight under exposure. I am not sure why Trevor is having DR problems, because I don't have the same problems with my OM-1.

just little extra. While I have been experimenting, I have noticed that my EVF which I use all the time shows a different brightness to the LCD which I sometimes use for reviewing. I had never realised that the difference could be so different and as I've said before I tend to trust my EVF which I have been warned against. I've got to start using the histogram which I don't like doing because I have a job keeping up with what is going on. My G9 EVF showed me every time how my finished picture would look.

If you allow your photos to truly be creative....sometimes (not always) ....blown highlights add a dimension to the image that just looks cool...I took some shots the other day and the street was blown but in some ways, I really like this....just odd, ...artistic in manner etc .... Look at the first three images and you will see others,...blown highlights, but they work.

jimlehmann.squarespace.com/swishing-thru-latest

Those are excellent Jim and very easy to pull those whites back. About the only thing I would have done differently there, is to have dropped that ISO vs the shutter speed you were using. You don't read need that higher shutter speed for what you have there, better to have a lower ISO. Still great shots!

Danny.

Exactly it Chris (good to see you by the way) that's why I said we only have a split second to change anything. With the way I shoot here it's only the shutter speed that needs changing, quick and simple. Yes I love how certain experts on this forum try and relate to other subjects mate, it's happening all over the place on this forum. Armchair experts Chris 😉

Anyway like I said great to see you 😀

Danny.

I'm routinely blowing highlights in outdoor scenes using an OM5. I typically shoot in aperture mode with the exposure compensation at +0.7EV.

It seems to be a tough choice between blowing the sky, or having the foreground subjects too dark. To some extent I can underexpose and fix afterwards in post, but its nevertheless annoying.

Thanks Danny.
High ISO was sloppy of me. Last I'd been shooting were small birds on a dark day. I should have set ISO down for the brighter day first, but I just started shooting, turning the SS dial to adjust exposure without thinking about what it was. Maybe I'll get better with more time shooting.

Do you use spot meter? jim

I got caught out in the same way awhile ago Jim. It's not immune syndrome by a long way. I was at a slow shutter speed taking shots of a white spoonbill and yes they are 90% white so I was using a low ISO and slower shutter speed, then a northern shoveler decided to come though, so wrong settings and the wings had too slow a shutter speed on them, just a lucky grab shot ....... hang on ....

Sony shot that one, but same thing applies

So at that shutter speed it's a wonder it came out at all. If I was planning a shot like that it would have been 1/2500 min. The body is fine, but the wings aren't.

We all get caught out with the wrong settings Jim, in my book, that's normal :-) Happens all the time. All the best Jim.

Danny.

Maybe the Panasonics just have that better down with the EVF and rear screen than the Olys Trev. I spend a long time adjusting the Oly EVF when I first get a new camera body. It only needs to be done once. It doesn't mean I'm immune to it by a long way, but it's close enough so that I know what I can get away with in software after the shot. Mind you, never use the rear screen here, it faces in toward the body on the Oly EM1 MKII. The E-M1s there is no choice and both of mine are cracked and chipped. That's why I love the fully articulated rear screens. So I always just go by the EVF.

In LR I've made 4 presets to suit what me. Over exposed, under exposed and bang on. The other preset I use for setting up for a group of shots and that gets adjusted for just that group, so that gets changed all the time. Generally with the first three, the shots come very close so little needs to be done to fix them. Yes we always get those odd shots that are nightmares to deal with, but generally a good starting point is those presets I've done to suit me.

All the best in the UK as always Trevor.

Danny.

I would be happy with 50% of a shot like that. Wings being a bit blurry adds to the picture I think - movement wise. Very good advisees for a noob like me

I did get pulled up on that shot in a serious nature forum mate (not the one you will be thinking of though). So it just depends where you post it up I guess. :-)

All the best Carlos, nice to see ya and there's nothing noob about you ;-)

Danny.

I've played with it a few times but generally no.