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Olympus Tough Live Composite Mode

ZombieCake

ZombieCake

Well-known member
Hi,
I'm wondering if tough cameras are so tough in in environments harsher than taking them under shallow water i.e. really more impactful settings! I've had a tough camera before and at best I can say it was OK. I'd rather take a normal camera in a ziplock bag or plastic box. Cynic that I am I wonder if there's a bit of marketing going on here? Not disputing the images they can take though. Current weapon of choice is Pentax - features per pound of money pisses over Canon and Nikon.
 
Duncan S

Duncan S

New member
I carry mine around in the Olympus Tough Hard Case
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-Hard-Case-TG-Cameras/dp/B0080DIXLC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455958623&sr=8-1&keywords=olympus+tough+camera+case
It still fits in my oversuit pocket, but dramatically improves the protection.

I bought it after a squeeze where I had to take the camera out of my pocket to fit through. I didn't want to put the camera lens down in case of scratches, so put it screen down. I wasn't very careful as I was trapped in the squeeze, so the screen got lightly scratched - very annoying.
This case has completely solved all my transportation problems; yes it is expensive, but IMHO it is well worth the money.
 
The Old Ruminator

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
Like many cave photographers I use a small Pelicase. You can get the camera and a steak and kidney pie in there plus a Snickers bar and my glasses. My camera was in the Pelicase with lunch of sorts so must have got scratched when in use. The best guess would be when doing Microscope ( macro ) shots. With this sort of camera on that mode you have to be awfully close to the subject. It never happened with the other TG. Perhaps the lens glass is not hardened enough. Possibly the manufacturer has not given our area of use a great thought.
 
Duncan S

Duncan S

New member
I have the light guide LG-1, it significantly improves the lighting in microscope shots.
And crucially - slightly increases the depth of the lens giving a little more protection.
It's a lovely bit of kit - I'm happy to let you have a play with it up the Hunters some time.
 
The Old Ruminator

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
The light ring had good reviews so I bought one. It worked well in the dark cupboard under the stairs. ( Remembering, of course, to set the microscope flash setting as fill in. )
You unscrew the plastic ring around the lens and the light ring fits there utilizing the camera's main flash. Hope to try it in a cave next week.

Meanwhile I was considering how to use the Live Composite Mode more effectively so I tried it in the garden again but used a flashgun set to manual fire. Three or four flashes worked well and the image is done as quickly as the flash recycles. ( so use new batteries ). You still need a bit of light in the image to do the focusing initially. I thought this could work with slave fired flashes or remote manual flash. ( Just like the old Brief Time stuff.)  Anyway the quicker you get the exposure done the more chance you have of minimising subject movement. Tonights image below with a tiny bit of ambient light creeping in.



Will try a real cave next week.
 
The Old Ruminator

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
Good session in Shatter Cave but just two LCM set ups.  A composition using manual flash and hand held torch worked best and quite quickly enabling me to include a model with no movement. I can see this set up being very useful as back scatter is eliminated.

Tor Chamber.

 
The Old Ruminator

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
Cap'n reduced em. I will get him. Put up a massive long photo thread. Though in all seriousness Cap'n why is this necessary? I don't get that on my collectors forum and my photos are hosted on other servers.( Photobucket ). Yes 160 photos saved from this weeks exertions so we shall see.

Where was I ?

Oh yes Thread topic. Live Composite Mode.

Things to avoid. Burned out or obvious highlights and dark shadows. The manual flash and fill in lamp worked best during the experiment and of course it is necessary to prefocus but not with a spot light. Sadly it might be better if the subjects lamp is out. Its likely to give a burned area.

Foreground by manual flash. Background part lamp painted but then I realised the subjects lamp was burning out the stal.



Test shot pre subject. Foreground by manual flash but Scurion spot on the back wall.



Pre subject placed test shot. You have to watch for distracting shadows.



The use of an initial manual flash in a large area does speed up the process and works well with a final flourish with the lamp painting. Trial and error initially but you soon get used to it and its fun watching the image build on the screen. Best only to include your figure subject after an exposure test run.
 
The Old Ruminator

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
With just the camera flash I could never have got that as the cave was so misty. Takes about a minute to paint in light and that without my glasses on.
 
F

Fulk

Well-known member
That's a beautiful picture of Fester Hole, TOR; was it taken by 'available' (caving) light? What are the prospects of extending this cave?
 
The Old Ruminator

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
I have 100 photos from the Fester Hole trip but I would not want to post any more without permission from the diggers. Its their cave after all and I don't want any more stick for posting stuff I wasn't supposed to. I have seen the survey and there is still a draught. Might be more to come yet.
 
The Old Ruminator

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
Not available light as such. I think LCM builds lit areas in layers so you can see it happening and close the exposure. You can use part flash gun and part light from a helmet. A torch would do. After a while it gets easy to do. You do need the subject caver to stand " statue still " during the exposure and obviously use a tripod. Part way to the perfect system for taking cave photos ? We shall see.
 
mrodoc

mrodoc

Well-known member
Fulk said:
That's a beautiful picture of Fester Hole, TOR; was it taken by 'available' (caving) light? What are the prospects of extending this cave?
Click to expand...
the isssues as are often the case are between conservation of the cave already found and the prospects for furhter extension. I would think digging the end is a good prospect and this is beyond the decorated section at present. However getting past the nice bit on a regular basis needs to be considered.
 
The Old Ruminator

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
I dont envy the Fester Hole folk the problem they have with trips, and digging. The pretty part is one of the most fragile routes that I have seen and you need head and bum guided through some areas. Another factor is the mud. Nobody knows what dry weather will bring but certainly now trailing mud is an issue even after changing boots and taking off oversuits. One answer might be summer and autumn trips only. We shall have to see.
 
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