Macrophotography with Olympus Four Thirds dSLRs

• on this page:

  • examples of AF and MF lenses that can be used

  • table of lenses with maximum magnification and working distance to achieve this

  • macro shooting modes for the E330

  • same example photos at bottom of page

see also:

• my macro photos

• firmware updates

• macrophotography in a digital age

• Olympus OM macro lenses

• Olympus E digital

  • Olympus E330

  • Olympus E510

  • Olympus E3

• Alan Wood's article on OM macrophotography and microphotography 

nb. to avoid confusion, magnifications given are as compared to 35mm film size NOT the 4/3rds sensor size.

Macrophotography - using lenses with the 4/3rds cameras:

• the E330 was arguably the BEST digital SLR for macrophotography when it came out in 2006 as it was the only one which could give a 10x live magnification and DOF to assist with manual focus and it has mirror lock up to minimise camera shake which may occur even on a tripod.
  • the newer Olympus E510 and Olympus E3 are even better for macro as they add IS capability to legacy MF macro lenses, while the Olympus E3 adds a fully articulating LCD screen to make low angle viewing even easier.
• to put this in some perspective, the Olympus C8080WZ prosumer in super macro mode can do live preview macro to give a subject area of 48mmx36mm with subject at 5cm from lens - sure beats the E-series kit lens but not the dedicated macro lenses.
• the main aspects to look at in a macro system and the various options available can be found here
• see bottom of this page for a table of lenses

Examples of AF lenses designed for Four-Thirds:

• using the Olympus Zuiko Digital kit lens 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6:
  • see also - http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/olympus_1445_3556/index.htm 
  • a reasonable quality lens for the price but this is no macro lens and does not perform anywhere near like the lens on the Olympus C8080WZ
  • closest focus is 0.38m which at 45mm focal length gives a approx. 12x18cm subject area.
• using the Olympus Zuiko Digital 50mm f/2.0 macro:
  • see also: http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/olympus_50_2/index.htm
  • the max. magnification is 1:2 (0.52x) at a min. focus distance of 0.24m.
  • using the Olympus EX25 extension tube or the EC-20 2x teleconverter, the magnification can be increased to a true 1:1 (0.98x).
    • for macro work at 1:1 you need to use MF as AF will not work, but then MF is usually best anyway for this.
  • filter size is 52mm;
  • dedicated adapter for the Olympus Ring Flash
    • with EC-20 2x teleconverter at closest focus 1:1 macro with Ring Flash, example exposures:
      • ISO100, f/11 (f/5.6 x2), 1/180th sec, set Ring Flash to TTL, or for no pre-flash and thus less shutter lag, set it to manual at about 1/4 power.
      • obviously you will need to manually adjust output if use different aperture or distance to subject. 
      • see here for the affect of aperture on resolution (although not at 1:1 macro)
      • see here for the effect of aperture on depth of field at 1:1 macro
      • in general for optimum DOF vs resolution with this combination, use:
        • f/5.6-f/8 for flat surfaces, and,
        • f/11-16 for non-flat surfaces (eg. bugs) - f/22 if DOF more important than resolution.
        • f/11 (f/5.6x2) if in doubt will give excellent compromise.
• using the Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm f/3.5 macro:
  • max. magnification is 2x with subject area 1.3x1.7cm at 0.24m without using extension tube.
  • I believe it cannot be used the Olympus Ring Flash.
• using the Olympus Zuiko Digital 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 lens:
  • at its 200mm setting, it gives 1:2 macro at its closest focus of 1.2m
  • the original version lens has a compatible lens shade bayonet fitting which allows use of the Ring flash BUT the new SWD version of the lens has a incompatible bayonet mount so you have to hand hold the ring flash - what were Olympus thinking?
  • http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/compati/e_system.cfm 

• macro-extender 25mm tube - ~$A320

  • see http://www.four-thirds.org/en/products/popup/extension_detail.html for focus range when used on various lenses

  • when using this, manual focusing is recommended, thus if you need to get this close, you may wish to consider a cheaper MF lens in the first place (see below), although with non-FourThirds lenses you will need to manually stop down the aperture prior to taking the photo (ie. turn the aperture ring rather than just have it set to an aperture as with digital lenses) and the Olympus digital macro flash system does not clamp onto these older lenses without some modification.

  • when used with the ZD 50mm f/2.0 macro, focus range becomes restricted to 21.3cm to 23.1cm giving 0.49-0.98x macro, but you don't have to worry about stopping down the aperture manually and you can still fit the Olympus macro flash system.

   

Examples of MF lenses using an adapter for Four-Thirds:

• using the Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/3.5 macro OM manual lens:
  • see also: http://www.alanwood.net/photography/olympus/macro-lens-50-35.html 
  • on a 35mm camera, this lens is optimised for 0.1x magnification and can focus from infinity down to 1/2 life size (ie. the smallest subject area to fill the film is twice that of 35mm film)
    • 0.1x magnification (subject area 24x36cm) is achieved at subject distance of 53cm from lens
    • 0.2x magnification (subject area 12x18cm) is achieved at subject distance of 27cm from lens (exp. factor 1.4 stops)
    • 0.5x magnification (subject area 48x72mm) is achieved at subject distance of 11.4cm from lens (exp. factor 2.3 stops)
  • on a 4/3rds camera, it can focus from infinity to a subject area the size of 35mm film frame, and the above subject distances results in half the subject field in each dimension filling the frame so that at closest focus (11.4cm) the subject area is 24x36mm.
    • if you add a Teleplus MC7 macro 2x teleconverter for OM then you can get down to a subject area of just 8x12mm at a distance of just over 6cm from front of lens to subject, ie. 3x magnification in 35mm terms.
• using the Olympus Zuiko 35-105mm f/3.5 close focus OM manual lens:
  • max. magnification on 4/3rds cameras is 1:3.3 at a min. focus distance of ~1m
  • subject area = 8 x 12cm = 0.3x magnification
  • filter size = 55mm
  • nice sharp lens for a zoom
• using the Tamron SP 300mm f/5.6 tele macro OM manual lens:
  • this is a rather unique lens of the 1980's designed for flat field macro results with minimal aberrations
  • max. magnification on 4/3rds cameras is 1:1.65 at a min. focus distance of 1.4m
  • subject area ~4x6cm
  • filter size is 58mm
• using the Sigma 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Mark II OM manual lens:
  • max. magnification on 4/3rds cameras is ~1:1.8 at a close focus to 1.5m 
• using the OM bellows:
  • see OM macro
• using the new Carl Zeiss Nikon F mount full frame macro lenses (introduced late 2006):

  • need a Nikon F to 4/3rds adapter.

  • the fastest full frame macro lenses available:

    • Makro Planar T* 50mm f/2 $US1124:

      • closest working distance 24cm to give a full frame coverage of 48x72mm which on 4/3rds is 24x36mm ie. 1:1

      • 67mm filter;

    • Makro Planar T* 100mm f/2  $US1749

      • "the 100mm f/2 goes several steps further by employing an optical design originally developed for the ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime T* 1.2/100 – an ultra-high performance lens for big budget feature films. Thus, the Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF lens offers an optical performance never before available for still photography, especially at wide-open apertures and in macro applications. This lens allows photographers to use selective focus on important details with unprecedented clarity, effectively isolating the subject from distracting surroundings."

      • closest working distance 44cm to give a full frame coverage of 48x72mm which on 4/3rds is 24x36mm ie. 1:1

      • 67mm filter;

  •  

Camera settings for macrophotography:

these should apply to most Olympus dSLRs.

Shooting modes:

• to shoot close up photos you can use the usual M, A, S, or P modes, but in addition, Olympus provide 3 other modes for macro which restrict your options but are a way of quickly setting reasonable default options:

  • macro on the dial (the flower):

    • picture mode Vivid;

    • some menu items disabled such as MF bracketing, picture mode

  • macro on the scene mode:

    • live mode A possible but not mode B.

    • ISO auto only; WB auto only; vivid colour; built-in flash disabled, S-AF focus mode only

    • AF illuminator ON (but flash must be up for this to work); normal gradation only;

    • all scene modes set default camera functions such as:

      • AEL/AFL and half-press shutter function revert to mode 1 - ie. half press shutter locks focus and exposure.

    • picture settings: Sharpness 0, Contrast 0, Saturation 0

    • most menu options disabled but can still change:

      • file format, self-timer or remote, AF focus point, live boost.

  • nature macro on the scene mode:

    • as for "macro on the scene mode", but:

    • picture settings: Sharpness +1, Contrast +1, Saturation +1

• if you are using a manual focus lens then you will want to use Live Mode B and 10x magnified view so this means you can forget the macro scene modes.

• some people have said that bright red colours do not come out well in Vivid picture mode so may be better to use Natural

• THUS, personally I wouldn't bother using any of these macro modes and just use M, A, S or P mode on the dial as you will have more control.

• don't forget:

  • use a tripod where possible or flash or else consider raising ISO to 640 to give short exposure with minimal noise

  • if using a tripod, set mirror lock on (via menu - antishock setting to 2sec or whatever you feel like)

  • if using auto exposure with a legacy MF lens, you may need to adjust exposure compensation setting for different apertures

  • set Live Boost to ON if using small apertures, otherwise you won't see anything

Here are examples which would be very hard to do with any digital camera other than the E330 or E3:

Head of a live dragonfly trying to get cobwebs off his feet while clinging to a ceiling light.

Oly E330 with OM 50mm macro lens F/22 and 2x teleconv. and Metz Flash, all hand held at ceiling level with focus and composition via the LCD live preview screen being tilted downwards.

PS used to adjust levels and USM applied.

same is shown from different angle and magnification below:

OK, so its just an ordinary housefly, but its alive and resting on pebbles of sand on my brick pavers in the shade, and promptly flew away after the flash went off.

Seems to have the same problems as the Canon dSLRs - dust on its sensors :)

The whole image is 6x12mm in life and was taken with the 50mm OM macro lens combined with the Teleplus MC7, both at full extension.

The front on the lens was about 6cm from the fly and the camera was handheld almost sitting on the pavers with the LCD screen flipped out to compose and adjust the distance to the fly for best focus.

This image was taken at f/5.6 hence the very shallow DOF and a Metz 45CL4 flash at full power about 45cm to the left, lying down on the pavers, so not fully directed at the fly.

No post-processing apart from resizing for web (ie. no cropping or sharpening)