E-10 Sports Action

E-10 Sports Action Photography

Featuring Photographer Mike Delaney

SPORTS/ACTION Photography
Can a Pro get the shot with an E-10?

What do you do when your Nikon D-1 is in the shop and you have an action sports assignment coming up? Well, you go to your backup camera, of course. And in this case, that just happens to be an Olympus Camedia E-10 Professional! Pro photographer Mike Delaney faced just this situation recently. Mike has been using a D-1 for over a year to shoot sports, weddings and such and recently bought an E-10 for backup. Having over 30 years of experience, he knows the importance of having a good backup camera on hand. So when Mike informed me, with some trepidation, that he was taking his E-10 and 1.4 tele-extender on assignment to cover a Rodeo, I was immediately interested. An E-10 shooting sports-action? That certainly seemed to defy conventional wisdom! I sensed an interesting article brewing if Mike was willing.

Shortly thereafter, Mike told me he had to use an E-10 to shoot a High School basketball game and sent me a sample shot - now we were getting somewhere. But Mike tells the story best in his own words,

While I would NOT recommend using this camera for sports, in a pinch, you can get by. I was shooting in man. mode, wide open, at 160th of a sec. HQ mode and 1/8 compression, to keep the write times as quick as possible. Out of the camera the files are about 650K. White bal. was not a factor as I was going to have to use them as B&W for news print. I'm attaching one of the files, they are about the same thruout the batch.

The first thing that comes to mind is this "THIS AIN'T NO D-1", the second thing is, I'm right, it isn't a D-1, and to be able to pick the thing up, and bail myself out at the last minute with it, is, in my opinion, pretty dam good. I did not think that the results would be as good as they are. Flash would most certainly help, but no one who knows about shooting basketball would use a flash, it just isn't done that way.

Here's the shot:

(I think the shot is pretty good - what do you think? You can click the image for a slightly larger version.)

Next came the rodeo and a real tough test for the E-10! Again Mike had some thoughts I think you'll find of interest if you plan on doing any action shots with your E-10:

One thing that is VERY important about using this camera for fast action is to remember NOT to keep any pressure on the shutter button! With the D-1 mind-set, you get used to shooting this way because of the focus tracking, NOT SO with the E-10, once you get over this hurdle, half of the battle is over! This rodeo shot was with the 1.4 tele. extender, ISO/340,FL-40 flash,about 1/250th@F.4 or thereabouts, shooting in manual mode. As you can see, I did some cropping as the action is all the way across the arena, CONSECO FIELD HOUSE, HOME OF THE INDIANA PACERS!

And here are some very exciting shots!

They are all shot at about the same settings, which were;Manual mode/FL-40 flash/about 1/250th @ F.4 or 4.5/1.4 tele ext. used.

(I'm beginning to think I've underrated the E-10's abilities in this action/sports area, but an experienced photographer behind the lens probably had a lot to do with these results!)

And finally, Mike even shot some HS wrestling matches for the local paper, here's an example:

Mike had some thoughts on his experiences with the E-10 in this area and I'm happy to share them with you here:

Like I mentioned before, I don't think that it can be called a "PRO/SPORTS CAMERA", if that makes any sense. The results can be anything from trash to treasure, and all points in between! If you are used to shooting with the higher end digitals,including the D-1 and the D-30, then, no, I doubt that this would be your choice for a working tool. If you need a back-up to carry, that, can, with some practice and concentration, be used to "CYA", then, by all means yes, it can be a pro camera. I mentioned the problem that I was having, keeping pressure on the shutter button, as if it were focus tracking, and this causing many out of focus frames, I figured this one out the hard way, you can't shoot like this with the E-10. The lack of even a noisy ISO 600 to 800 setting is a big problem. I believe that this could be addressed by Olympus, thru firmware, as could the lack of a black and white mode. If they will correct these oversites will probably have a lot to do with how the camera is accepted by the rank and file shooters out here.

Weddings and studio work are a whole different set of target points, and I believe that the E-10 probably hits the mark here. I use my D-1 for wedding work, and, at least for me, this camera is a big PLUS in this department. I still have a bit of a problem with the confidence factor here, but that is to be expected with anything new. I think that many a wedding photographer will welcome the E-10 with open arms, as price,size,options will fit the bill nicely here. I can forsee the E-10 as being my main camera for wedding use, and the D-1 being the back-up.

So, thanks to Mike's generous spirit in agreeing to share his experiences with us here at E10Pro, we now have a new perspective on the E-10 and action/sports photography. Mike is happy to have his D-1 back for this sort of thing, but he now knows he can rely on his E-10, in a pinch, to get the shot! As Mike put it, "anyone says that pro's don't use this camera, they just don't know what they are talking about."

-Bron-

	E-10 Sports Action Photography Featuring Photographer Mike Delaney SPORTS/ACTION Photography Can a Pro get the shot with an E-10? What do you do when your Nikon D-1 is in the shop and you have an action sports assignment coming up? Well, you go to your backup camera, of course. And in this case, that just happens to be an Olympus Camedia E-10 Professional! Pro photographer Mike Delaney faced just this situation recently. Mike has been using a D-1 for over a year to shoot sports, weddings and such and recently bought an E-10 for backup. Having over 30 years of experience, he knows the importance of having a good backup camera on hand. So when Mike informed me, with some trepidation, that he was taking his E-10 and 1.4 tele-extender on assignment to cover a Rodeo, I was immediately interested. An E-10 shooting sports-action? That certainly seemed to defy conventional wisdom! I sensed an interesting article brewing if Mike was willing. Shortly thereafter, Mike told me he had to use an E-10 to shoot a High School basketball game and sent me a sample shot - now we were getting somewhere. But Mike tells the story best in his own words, While I would NOT recommend using this camera for sports, in a pinch, you can get by. I was shooting in man. mode, wide open, at 160th of a sec. HQ mode and 1/8 compression, to keep the write times as quick as possible. Out of the camera the files are about 650K. White bal. was not a factor as I was going to have to use them as B&W for news print. I'm attaching one of the files, they are about the same thruout the batch. The first thing that comes to mind is this "THIS AIN'T NO D-1", the second thing is, I'm right, it isn't a D-1, and to be able to pick the thing up, and bail myself out at the last minute with it, is, in my opinion, pretty dam good. I did not think that the results would be as good as they are. Flash would most certainly help, but no one who knows about shooting basketball would use a flash, it just isn't done that way. Here's the shot: (I think the shot is pretty good - what do you think? You can click the image for a slightly larger version.) Next came the rodeo and a real tough test for the E-10! Again Mike had some thoughts I think you'll find of interest if you plan on doing any action shots with your E-10: One thing that is VERY important about using this camera for fast action is to remember NOT to keep any pressure on the shutter button! With the D-1 mind-set, you get used to shooting this way because of the focus tracking, NOT SO with the E-10, once you get over this hurdle, half of the battle is over! This rodeo shot was with the 1.4 tele. extender, ISO/340,FL-40 flash,about 1/250th@F.4 or thereabouts, shooting in manual mode. As you can see, I did some cropping as the action is all the way across the arena, CONSECO FIELD HOUSE, HOME OF THE INDIANA PACERS! And here are some very exciting shots! They are all shot at about the same settings, which were;Manual mode/FL-40 flash/about 1/250th @ F.4 or 4.5/1.4 tele ext. used. (I'm beginning to think I've underrated the E-10's abilities in this action/sports area, but an experienced photographer behind the lens probably had a lot to do with these results!) And finally, Mike even shot some HS wrestling matches for the local paper, here's an example: Mike had some thoughts on his experiences with the E-10 in this area and I'm happy to share them with you here: Like I mentioned before, I don't think that it can be called a "PRO/SPORTS CAMERA", if that makes any sense. The results can be anything from trash to treasure, and all points in between! If you are used to shooting with the higher end digitals,including the D-1 and the D-30, then, no, I doubt that this would be your choice for a working tool. If you need a back-up to carry, that, can, with some practice and concentration, be used to "CYA", then, by all means yes, it can be a pro camera. I mentioned the problem that I was having, keeping pressure on the shutter button, as if it were focus tracking, and this causing many out of focus frames, I figured this one out the hard way, you can't shoot like this with the E-10. The lack of even a noisy ISO 600 to 800 setting is a big problem. I believe that this could be addressed by Olympus, thru firmware, as could the lack of a black and white mode. If they will correct these oversites will probably have a lot to do with how the camera is accepted by the rank and file shooters out here. Weddings and studio work are a whole different set of target points, and I believe that the E-10 probably hits the mark here. I use my D-1 for wedding work, and, at least for me, this camera is a big PLUS in this department. I still have a bit of a problem with the confidence factor here, but that is to be expected with anything new. I think that many a wedding photographer will welcome the E-10 with open arms, as price,size,options will fit the bill nicely here. I can forsee the E-10 as being my main camera for wedding use, and the D-1 being the back-up. So, thanks to Mike's generous spirit in agreeing to share his experiences with us here at E10Pro, we now have a new perspective on the E-10 and action/sports photography. Mike is happy to have his D-1 back for this sort of thing, but he now knows he can rely on his E-10, in a pinch, to get the shot! As Mike put it, "anyone says that pro's don't use this camera, they just don't know what they are talking about." -Bron-
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