OM System OM-1 Mark 1
A surprise present for my 40th birthday!
As I begin to explore and customize its settings, it may be a useful to have an entire page describing my ideal setup, and what I find suits me best, along with resources that I find useful.
My camera usage
As context for the below Settings - I primarily use my camera for wildlife photography, especially birds, butterflies, and dragonflies/damselflies. To accomplish this, I use long telephoto lenses, with fast enough shutter speeds to overcome the length of these lenses, and apertures one or two clicks more closed than wide-open. I am most interested in documenting uncommon species, and for assistance with identification challenges. Capturing beautiful images, especially of common and widespread species, is of lesser interest to me. My camera is a documentation tool more than a paintbrush. Though when I do find a species of interest, it is certainly nice to have better photos.
Camera settings changelog
| Setting | Menu location | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Metering | Camera1 - 5 - Metering | Center-weighted |
| Electronic shutter | Camera1 - 7 - Drive | Electronic shutter |
| AF/MF Autofocus | AF - 1 - AF Mode | C-AF/MF |
| AF/MF Allowed | AF - 1 - AF+MF | On |
| Subject Detection | AF - 2 - Subject Detection | Bird |
| Focus Peaking | AF - 6 - MF Assist | Peaking On |
| Image Review Dials | Review - 2 - Dial Function | Back dial for prev/next |
| Subject detection button assignment | Gear - 1 - Button settings | |
| Airplane Mode | Wrench - 4 - Airplane Mode | On |
| RAW capture | Quick menu - SD1 | RAW |
| AF target mode assignment to Fn lever | Gear - 1 - Fn Lever Settings | Mode 2 - then used SuperMenu to set '1' as Large, and '2' as Small |
| Turn touchscreen off | Off | |
| Save settings to C1/C2 | C1 - birds - Large AF area, bird detection on, AF Limit 10-infinity. C2 - insects - Small AF area, subject detection off, AF limit 0-10. C3 - all other wildlife - Large AF area, subject detection off |
|
| AF Limiter | AF | On1 - 0-10 On2 - 10-infinity On3 - 50-infinity |
| AF Limiter button assignment | Gear - 1 - Button settings | Front-top button to AF Limiter |
| Still want to figure out: |
- Best button for turning bird detection on/off - currently trying 'record' button on top, and front/top button next to the lens
- Usefulness of Magnify tool on a button - maybe reach is already enough
- Using the joystick to change the focus target, if autofocus isn't picking the right spot
- Worth setting a minimum shutter speed in the ISO sensitivity settings?
- Can photos be shared to my smartphone through Bluetooth/Wifi? Apparently through the Oi.share app, but how straightforward is the process?
- Consider programming a button to switch between C-AF (default) and S-AF
Resources
- Official
- Official OM-1 user manual
- Official 100-400 f5-6.3 IS II user manual
- OM Workspace - official software for updating firmware
- But even easier is the Oi.share mobile app, which connects to the camera by Wi-fi/Bluetooth. Can also be used to backup settings.
- OM-1 Firmware change log
- Content creators
- Ken Rockwell - OM System OM-1 User's Guide
- Steve Ingraham - Easy birds and wildlife with the OM-Systems OM-1
- Petr Bambousek - OM-1 for wildlife photography ($25)
- Lee Hoy - AF target modes for wildlife and macro
- AF - 5/6 - AF Target Mode Settings
- Lee generally uses All, or Small, with AI subject detection
- Uses the FN lever to switch between modes
- Lee Hoy - wildlife photography custom mode suggestions
- Lee Hoy - Master the OM system
- Lee Hoy - OM-1 autofocus tips
- Use the software focus limiter, and assign it to a button
- Assign a button for turning subject detection on/off
- When tracking a moving subject, hold your eye just above the viewfinder to track it with the naked eye, then move the viewfinder up to the eye, similar to how birders use binoculars
- Lee Hoy - resolving autofocus headaches
- Marc Humphrey - settings for wildlife photography
- Rushing Outdoors - my OM-1 custom mode settings
- Other
- How to find the shutter count - my used OM-1 Mk 1 had about 33,500 before I acquired it. They are rated for about 400k.