Upcoming Road Trip, Part III; Refresher On Everything About My Gear; Thorough Function Checkups

From my last trip to Grand Teton National Park in 2012.  Gathering storm over Moulton Barn. (click to enlarge)
Nikon D800E, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 62mm; 1/160th sec. @ f/9; ISO 250

This is part III of my initial preparations for my upcoming extended road trip to the southwestern and western United States, from Montana to New Mexico along the Rocky Mountain corridor.  You can read parts I and II here and here.

I now need to do two things.  First, since I have now chosen to take my M4/3 gear instead of my Fujifilm gear, and being as full-featured and rich with capabilities as my Olympus E-M1 Mark II is, I think it would be in my best interest to go back through the manual and other resources I have accumulated for this camera and refresh my memory about all of the available features, how they work, then try them out.  There are so many features, some I use regularly and some I seldom use, that I need to give myself a refresher course.

Second, I need to go over every piece of gear I plan on taking to ensure it is in good working condition, gets a cleaning if needed and updated/fixed if necessary.  Preparation is your best friend so there are no surprises 2000 or more miles (3000+ km) away from home.

The Olympus E-M1 Mark II is so configurable, at least a thousand different ways (no kidding) that, until things "click" in one's head, it can be daunting to configure the camera the way that suits one best.  Luckily, being an Olympus user for several years, the menus are a breeze for me.  

Previously, I've read through the user's manual twice and have referred to it a number of times.  Also, several months ago I watched an 8-hour Creative Live class presented byt John Greengo entitled, "Olympus E-M1 Mark II Fast Start."  Excellent class and I can highly recommend it if you are a visual learner.  (In fact, I have watched live classes from Creative Live on several occasions and they all have been excellent—and free!)  Finally, I had purchased an e-book by Tony Phillips entitled, "The Complete Guide to the Olympus E-M1 Mark II," also an exceptional resource, especially his "tips" that he includes that kind of puts practicality to the numerous choices of settings.

One of the settings I plan on using while out in the Rocky Mountains with their "grand vistas" is the High Resolution shooting mode.  With one push of the shutter, this mode takes 8 shots based upon the sensor moving 1/2 of a pixel in 8 directions, then merges those images into one 80mp RAW image or a 50mp (or 25mp) JPEG image.  From my previous experiments with this feature, it really brings out some very minute detail.

Another one of the features of which I want to refresh my memory is Pro Capture, where the camera buffers up to 35 images by half-pressing the shutter, then upon full press, the camera can capture up to 100 or so images at up to 60 fps.  Great for catching peak action and not missing it because you pressed the shutter a fraction of a second too late.  I've shown some of my results from that feature in this blog in the past.

Gros Ventre River HDR, Jackson Hole, Wyoming (click to enlarge)
Nikon D800E, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ f/11; ISO 250; 3 image composite

I want to also go over the various AF modes, especially the AF-Tracking Mode, which with this latest firmware update is quite remarkable.  With the mechanical shutter, the camera can autofocus and change exposures if necessary between every shot up to 10 fps.  With the electronic shutter, up to 18 fps.

Live Composite which I really need to wrap my mind around and Live Bulb mode, which are both fantastic features.  I'll be familiarizing myself and trying those before I leave.

Also, I will be reviewing all of my settings, reconfiguring my Custom 1 through Custom 3 saved settings, looking over Anti-Shock Shutter Modes as well as Silent Mode.  In other words, I'm really going to go over everything I can with the camera so I don't get stumped when on the road and can't get the camera to do something I want it to do.

One of the worst feelings that I've had in the past is coming upon a situation which I wanted to photograph in a specific way and couldn't remember how to invoke certain camera features!  Won't happen this time.

Lesson to be learned:  Preparation is your best friend!

Join me over at Instagram @dennisamook or my website, www.dennismook.com. 

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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