Happy New Years Eve everyone! My eye candy photo contribution to wishing everyone a healthy and joyous ’18 despite the cold weather start! I shot it on my living room floor with the new loaded Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III, $899 with power zoom kit lens ($699.99 body only). I used the unique Olympus Live Composite Mode which makes taking professional fireworks and star streaking photos a “snap”.

HOW LIVE COMPOSITE MODE WORKS

When shooting fireworks on a tripod, for example, this mode first captures the scenery, in front of you, locks the exposure and subsequently can keep its shutter open for several seconds, minutes or hours, capturing streaking fireworks in multiple exposures in one frame, without affecting the original exposure of the scene around you. When camping, Live Composite can capturing moving stars, again keeping your tenting spot properly exposed. It even works during the day!

This is the best part. Your camera screen is on during the entire exposure showing its progress as the image builds up. You decide when to stop the exposure when things look right on the screen. Cool? You can adjust aperture and length of exposure too.

Check this YouTube vid from Olympus on how Live Composite works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1VRHF1xqkg

Check the Olympus site for more information on OMD E-M10 Mark III and other OMD Live Composite compatible models. http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/omd#

Speaking of fireworks, here is a link to Olympus seasonal shooting tips, especially on shooting fireworks tonight…even if you don’t have a E-M10 Mark III. Smart phones and other camera brands can take firework photos too. If you wish, sign can up for more seasonal tips.

HOW DID I TAKE MY ’18 PHOTO?

I used a small laser pointer hanging on a string from a stepladder above a quick ’18 I made from ultra-thin LED light strings, on a dark fuzzy blanket. I zoomed while exposing, in Live Composite Mode, at F4 capturing concentric circles of the spinning laser I wound up before every shoot. I kept the exposure going until the laser patterns look best without covering the lit numbers. The fuzzy blanket texture ended up looking like a glass reflecting off the bright LED lights.

Compared to fireworks, this was challenging as the spinning laser had a mind of its own. I shot it more than 50 times!

I used a small laser pointer hanging on a string from a stepladder above a quick ’18 I made from ultrathin LED light strings, on a dark fuzzy blanket. I zoomed while exposing, in Live Composite Mode, at F4 capturing concentric circles of the spinning laser I wound up before every shoot. The fuzzy blanket texture ended up looking like a glass reflecting off the bright LED lights.

Compared to fireworks, this was challenging as the spinning laser had a mind of its own. I shot it more than 50 times!

I just got my OM-D E-M10 Mark III evaluation camera so I didn’t have time for a full review, which will follow in the new year. But the Live Composite worked amazingly well.  Don’t you think?

OM-D E-M10 Mark III FEATURES

• 16 MP Live MOS Sensor
• 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ Lens
• In-Body Image Stabilization
• 121-Point Contrast Detection AF
• Ultra HD 4K Video
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Features:
• In-Body 5-Axis Image Stabilization for blur-free stills and smooth 4K video, no tripod needed.
• 16 Megapixel Live MOS Sensor and TruePic VIII Image Processor
• Easy in-camera Clips Video Mode, (1/2/4/8 sec with option to add WAV-format music from an SD card)
• 4K 30p Video
• HD 120 fps High-Speed Video
• Timeless, easy to use body design. Compact and lightweight with 2 dials, arrow pad and Shortcut Button.
• 3.0″ tilting LCD monitor with intuitive touch screen operation and Touch AF one-step shutter release
• High-Definition Electronic Viewfinder (1.23X magnification)
• Built-In flash
• Advanced Auto Mode detects scene, subject, lighting and camera movement and sets the optimal settings.
• Scene Mode provides touch screen access to frequently used presets (People, Motion, Indoors, Nightscapes, Scenery, Close-ups).
• Advanced Photography (AP) Mode provides touch screen access to creative photography modes (Live Composite, Live Time, Panorama, HDR, Silent, Keystone Compensation, Focus Bracketing, Multiple Exposure, AE Bracketing). 15 Art Filters (New: “Bleach Bypass” enhances street scenes with a nostalgic, old film feel and gives a cool, silver, glossy feel to metal textures).
• 121-Point Contrast Detection AF.
• 8.5 fps High-Speed Sequential Shooting (S-AF).
• Built-In Wi-Fi with easy QR Code connection. Import and share photos, add GPS tags, edit and enhance photos, and remote shoot with the Olympus Image Share App.
• Blur-free images and smooth 4K videos with 5-Axis Image Stabilization:
• Top-in-class compensation performance* lets anyone capture pin-sharp photos with high image quality – even in shooting situations where camera shake can cause blur, such as night scenes, indoors, or when using a telephoto lens.
• E-M10 Mark III bene?ts from the TruePic VIII Image Processor, the same powerhouse found in the acclaimed flagship OM-D.
• Timeless Body Design:
• Compact, lightweight, easy to carry
• Tilting Touch Screen
• The E-M10 Mark III is equipped with a tilting display for complete creative control, especially when the subject is not easy to reach. By using the tilting display, you can capture the best angles while still being able to control and view the LCD perfectly.
• Electronic Viewfinder
• Compared to the optical viewfinder found on DSLR models, the Electronic Viewfinder gives you the end result at all times so that you can already see the expected shot before taking it. This, along with both automatic brightness adjustment in too bright or too dark situations and image stabilization*, makes the camera a joy to use. * When pressing shutter halfway.
• Intuitive Operation:
• Shooting Assist Modes
• The new E-M10 Mark III offers different shooting modes to accompany users with different photography skills. From fully automatic to advanced photography and manual control.
• AUTO Mode
• Getting beautiful photos is a matter of simply pressing the shutter button. The AUTO Mode precisely detects the shooting scene, subject or lighting being picked up by the lens, and then automatically sets the optimal settings.
• The advanced AUTO Mode ensures reduced blur – providing clear photo quality. It detects both camera shake and the moving subject before setting the optimal shutter speed for carefree shooting.
• SCENE Menu
• With the new scene mode, optimal shooting settings are simply a matter of selecting the shooting scene from the touchscreen LCD.
• By choosing anyone of the scenes, all settings will be automatically adapted to easily give you the shot you intend to capture, in beautiful quality.
• Shortcut Button
• When using the button in AUTO: Live Guide
• When using the button in P/A/S/M: Super Control Panel
• Advanced Photo Mode
• There are virtually no limits to how creative photographers can capture special photos.
• Live Composite: Turns long-exposure scenes into a single photo with the perfect effect.
• Multiple Exposure: Combine different images into one and create an immersive multi-exposure photo as a result.
• Also includes: Live Time, HDR, Silent, Panorama, Keystone Compensation, AE Bracketing, Focus Bracketing
• Art Filters (ART)
• 15 Art Filters expand the possibilities of photographic expression. (Bleach Bypass, Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Cross Process, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic Tone, Key Line, Watercolor, Vintage, Partial Color)
• Bleach Bypass Art Filter: Type 1: Gives metal a cool, silver, glossy appearance. Type 2: Creates the nostalgic look of old film.
• High-speed Performance:
• Touch AF Shutter: Using Touch AF shutter, capturing the exact, perfect moment is as easy as choosing the area of focus and then tapping the LCD.
• 121 AF points: 121 contrast detection focus points are spread across the sensor & ensure accurate & quick focus across the field of view.
• Face Priority and Eye Priority for portraits: Face Priority and Eye Priority ensure proper exposure and sharp focus on your subjects automatically.
• Continuous AF: Continuous AF (C-AF) Mode enables you to keep focusing on the moving subject while you press the shutter halfway. It’s useful for capturing moving subjects with changing distance from the camera.
• High-speed sequential shooting: Fleeting precious moments, split-second spots of action can be captured with the E-M10 Mark III, which provides high-speed sequential shooting of up to 8.6 fps* with S-AF. *Sequential High
• 4.8fps with C-AF (Sequential Low)
• Wi-Fi Connecting and Sharing:
• Convenient wireless options: Thanks to Wi-Fi built into the camera, photographers have a range of shooting and sharing options at their fingertips.
• Connect Camera and Smartphone
• Smartphone Remote Shooting
• Import and Share Photos
• Add GPS Tags to Photos
• Edit and Enhance Photos
• Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ Lens:
• 3x Electronic Zoom Lens
• Circular Aperture
• High-speed Imager AF (MSC)
• Filter Diameter: 37mm
• 8 lens elements in 7 groups including on ED and one HR lens element
• MSC (Movie and Still Compatible) focusing mechanism for near silent focusing
• The Electronic Retraction feature automatically extends and retracts the lens when the camera is powered on/off
• Two-step variable Electronic Zoom mechanism delivers smooth consistent zooming control especially desirable when shooting HD movies
• An Automatic opening protective lens cap is optionally available (Sold Separately)