E-pl3 Manual

[Niklas Terki]

Otherwiseand I'm not sure whether that's what you're already doing when you say "zoom 5x") there is a focus assist functionality that lets you see the focus point at 1:1 pixel size with the press of a single button.

There is no easy way. That's why it's called manual focus. what I did was buy a few manual lenses on ebay and first practice focusing on still subjects manually and find yourself a good smooth ring that doesn't creep. Ebay has a large selection. Next, you must learn the marked scales and what they mean for your lens. The focus ring is usually marked with two units of measurement. One in meters and the other in feet. Use the one you are most familiar with. Get to know your lens and eventually you shouldn't need to use the magnifier more than once at least until your subject changes their distance from you. Also, using a tripod or monopod can help too. There is one more option. Buy an E-M1 and use focus peaking instead of the magnifier tool with your manual focus lenses.

Answer:

The MMF-1 and MMF-2 Four Thirds-to-Micro Four Thirds lens adapters differ in weight and color.

While retaining the function and performance of its predecessor, the MMF-2 attained a lighter weight by re-examining the inner structure of the adapter.

The MMF-2 also provides a new color option that fits the design of Four Thirds lenses and PEN bodies.

Answer:

No. In order to use any of these optional viewfinders with the E-PL3, it must be attached to the camera's hot shoe.

Because the E-PL3 has only one hot shoe, the VF-1 or VF-2 / VF-3 and an external flash cannot be used simultaneously.

When shooting with an external flash, view your subject on the Live View LCD monitor.

Answer:

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about [ib] are collected here.

Detailed documentation of the software's functions is available in the application's Help file. To access the Help file, launch [ib] and choose ib Help from the Help menu.

Answer:

When recording sound in a movie, the sound made by the lens and camera operating may be recorded. This is due to the proximity of the microphone to the lens. If desired, you can reduce these sounds by shooting with [AF Mode] set to [S-AF], or by limiting the amount of times you press the buttons.

Answer:

In the micro four thirds lineup the following lenses, M. Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 Pro, M. Zuiko 12mm f1.8, and M. Zuiko 17mm f1.8 have a function called Manual Focus Clutch Focusing. This ring controls whether the camera/lens is in MF (Manual Focus) or AF (Auto Focus). If you are using one of these lenses, grasp the focusing ring between your thumb and forefinger and push it toward the front of the lens. It will snap forward and set the focus mode to AF. If you pull it back to expose the Hyper focal scale it will be in Manual mode. Basically this allows for quick switching in situations where manual focus is better suited for the situation.

One more basic thing: You can already use this camera for street photography with the kit lens, but I suggest that you get a fast prime lens if you can afford it. A prime lens has the advantage that you can also shoot inside with a relatively fast shutter speed. You will want this if you want to shoot pictures in malls, on the subway or in train stations. Additionally it is easier to estimate the distance to your subjects without looking at the screen if you have a fixed focal length. I use the Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7, which has great image quality.

As for exposure settings: With my Panasonic 20mm I tend to shoot in shutter priority mode with a shutter speed of 1/500. You can go slower, but it might cause shake when walking. 1/250 can work as well, but if you get too much shake then you can go to 1/320 or even higher. In good lighting conditions 1/500 works fine. Inside 1/250 is pushing the limit with the 20mm lens, which is why I usually stay at this setting when shooting in the subway. I tend to forget to change it when I come in or out of the subway though, which can be annoying as well. For the Kit lens I work with 1/80 inside, which definitely only works when you stop to take the picture.

Hello, I also use E-PL3 with Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 ASPH for street photography, this kit fits well on the street but I never paid attention to foccusing sound and AF illuminator, which already have changed in my settings after reading what you wrote here, by the way great pictures,I greet and wish you a successful shots, bye

Thanks Lilly. Very few people use Micro 4/3rds in India so getting stuff like new lenses and accessories is very difficult. I am Nikon user for the last 25 years and all my lenses are compatible with that brand. Given the difficulties of acquiring a suitable lens, I intend to use the kit lens for a while to make sure that the one I finally get from the US meets my need. At this time I am looking at the Sigma 30mm in addition to the lenses you have mentioned.

Cheers!

Sumit

Many thanks Lilly for the very useful and valuable pointers. I have Nikkors which are 28mm or wider, so that option is invaluable. For the sort of work I do I am happy with a lens that is somewhere in the 50mm range effectively.The nearest glass in the micro 4/3rds that I found was the 30mm. I read up the 20mm and it did not get flying reviews. I am not a big fan of wide angle distortion so I guess it is best to stay within 40-60mm effective. I am not a hip shooter, so those issues are not serious.

Thanks again. Will keep this blog posted on how it goes ?

Cheers!

Sumit

wow..this kind of info will be much helpful for me in the period of learning . But most important thing practice practice practice makes perfect right .

I also have Olympus pancake 17mm f2.8 lens . what do you think about this lens?

Thank god i found your blog! i just bought Pen Lite E-Epl3 yesterday thinking of starting some photography technique and capture good shot.

am not good in this but learning.. will use the original kit for now..

Thanks Lilly I have found the kit lens to be really pretty good in good light,in low light not great but still better than most P@S Cameras. Got mine here in the states for 190.00 and have very pleased with it,Going to try a adapter to use a Canon Prime lens using manual focus just for fun. Anyway thanks and happy shooting!

Hi Lilly, I came across your web and this article about EPL3. I read it a couple of times already as I find it very informative and to the point. I am now trying to choose a camera for street. Your article is two years old. If you were deciding what digital camera for your style of shooting in these days. Would you recommand something? I am considering Oly EM-10, Panasonic GX7 and Sony A6000. Or some Oly PEN.

I am a little confused though about zone focussing. You say you like lenses like the panasonic because of the low f number, but for zone focussing you must be closing the aperture a bit, no? Am I missing something?

Hi Lilly

Thanks for the reply. I am actually using an old Tamron 28mm f2.8 lens designed for 35mm film cameras. It has aperture dof markings so good for zone focussing. But it is BIG! I am thinking of getting a 28mm MFT lens but am I losing anything this way? Does the big old lens let me shoot better in low light?

Hi R,

Are you using that 28mm in manual mode then? The question is really how sharp your 28mm is at f/2.8 and whether you can find a lens of comparable focal length that is equally sharp at f/2.8 and maybe even at a wider aperture. In any case I bet you would already win with the handling though since I expect that a big old Tamron in manual mode might be a right pain to use on the E-PL3!

L

I stumbled upon your site after I was trying to find more info about my Olympus epl6. I m still new to the camera but took it on several trips to Japan. What I found is that the picture does not capture great details. I have the standard lens of 14-42mm. Do you think if I add additionally lens it would change the image quality? I m not sure what I m doing wrong. Also I found that while the picture looks great on screen, the image looks super different on my comp screen. Was that something you experienced? If not how do I rectify it.

If your camera indicates "lens is not properly installed", please modify the camera settings: 'Menu' -> 'Setup' -> 'Release w/o Lens' -> 'Enable' (Exact naming and location may change depending on camera model). If your lens does not have a manual aperture control ring, it will stop down to its smallest f/stop by default.Set camera "release shutter without lens" to enable when using the adapter for the first time, or the camera will fail to recognize the lens and the shutter may not be released.

Adapting APS-frame lens to full-frame camera, it may generate vignetting, some cameras could correct it by adjust APSC.Adapting full-frame lens to APS-frame camera provides excellent edge-to-edge sharpness. The smaller image field helps minimize the effects of lens distortion and aberration by using the 'sweet spot' or center of the larger lens image circle. And it will magnify the focal length by 1.6 on Canon, 1.5 on Nikon and Sony, 2.0 on M4/3 camera.

I'm considering getting an EPL5 for my wife and have been researching it. But the camera seems to be ignored - I've found very few detailed reviews of it. Perhaps it falls in the shadow the OM-D. Anyway, it should work fine for her. She shoots mostly in program mode and prefers using the LCD over a viewfinder. Her current camera is an ancient Canon G3. I can't help but think the EPL5 will be a huge improvement over the G3.

In the process, I've become interested in the E-PL5 for myself. But I'm used to a Canon DSLR - an eight year old 10D. I figure the E-PL5 will have to produce higher quality images. It's lighter, and I have a bunch of old Pentax manual lenses I plan to use on it. I'm not concerned about the smaller sensor. So here are my questions.

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