OM Mentorship Program - Part 1

Session two is designed to immerse you into the controls of the OM-1 & the OM-1 Mark II. These controls are comprised of the dials, buttons, levers, and directional pad. These controls are how we access the features, menus, settings, and operations of our cameras. Mastering our system begins with mastering the controls. Without developing the muscle memory for each of the most critical controls, you will already be hobbled before you ever venture into the field for nature photography. We will also consider should we use the touch controls and how to do firmware updates safely and properly.

Session four will cover two separate areas including the Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) and LCD monitor display, and the battery and sleep settings. The first category we will cover include the EVF’s live view mode, night vision mode, the EVF Auto Switch, EVF display rate, and viewfinder and monitor brightness. We will also learn the most important information displayed on each. We will also consider battery settings which relay information regarding our battery status and priority (and camera settings which can use a lot of battery power), and how to charge our batteries in camera. Finally, what are sleep settings and how do they affect our cameras.

Session six will cover how the camera records images and which memory cards should we use. We will discuss the differences in RAW versus various JPG file formats. We will consider settings such as color profile, color space, and image aspect ratios. We will learn the difference between deleting images from a card and formatting a card. We will also discover the  various information that can be displayed during image playback and how we choose what we want to see displayed and how many images we can see at once. We will cover how to move through images in any order and how to set defaults according to your preferences. Finally, we will learn how to cycle through the various image playback views.

Session eight will immerse us in the world of drive modes! What modes are best for landscape, wildlife, macro and night sky photography? Is the fastest mode always the best? What are the limitations to each drive mode? Is there one that works for all situations? These and many other considerations will be addressed during this session.

Session ten will explore all the settings related to exposure which is different than exposure modes. We will consider settings related to shutter speeds, aperture, ISO, metering, and histograms and highlight alerts. We will be introduced to how we can properly expose our images almost every time using the live histogram and live highlight alerts of the OM System cameras.

Session twelve will explore the computational photography features that are used for nature photography. These features are some of the most advanced features available on any camera system. We will learn when and how to use Live Neutral Density Filter, Live Composite, Live Time, and Live Bulb exposure modes, focus stacking/focus bracketing, and high dynamic range (HDR)/auto exposure bracketing. We will master the proper use of these advanced features and how to activate them at a moments notice.

Session fourteen will cover the art filters in the OM-1, OM-1 Mark II, and OM-3 and an open discussion to address any lingering issues related to any of the topics we have covered in sessions one to thirteen! We will have a free time to examine features further, to consider advancements in your understanding, any firmware updates that have added new or improved features since the start of the program, and to wrap up our time together as a group.

Bonus video session two is all about understanding the different OM System lenses, how to choose which lens to purchase, which to use in specific circumstances, how to understand the different features on lenses, and protecting your lenses.