This article shares a selection of ten images captured hand-held using the M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter at Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls Canada.
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.
Thus far I have been quite impressed with the quality and performance of the MC-20. Auto-focusing is fast and accurate. To my eye, image sharpness and colour rendition are more than acceptable.
When the M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter is used with the OM-D E-M1X one stop of IBIS is lost. The MC-20 still performs extremely well with the M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm f/2.8 zoom. The image above is a Hand-Held Hi Res mode image captured with that combination at 1/80th of a second. I was shooting through the screen of the bird’s cage to capture this image.
It was an overcast afternoon when I arrived at Bird Kingdom. As you’ll see with the EXIF data, many of my photographs were captured at high ISO values up to ISO-6400. The E-M1X’s RAW files respond well in post.
The auto-focus on my E-M1X did not seem to be bothered by the low light conditions. I did not notice my camera/lens combination hunting for focus.
At one point while trying to capture an image of a speckled mousebird, I ended up shooting one handed with my camera extended through some branches. I set my shutter speed a bit faster at 1/400 and was able to capture a usable photo (above). Having double the reach proved very helpful when using the M.Zuiko MC-20. The penalty is losing two stops of light.
During my time testing the M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter at Bird Kingdom I tried to capture a variety of species to give the MC-20 a good work out. I had to time the shutter release of many of my image captures during the split second when skittish, small birds would momentarily pause.
I always like to find pleasing shooting angles so I can frame subject birds against nice, smooth backgrounds that do not create any visual distraction.
Using the auto-focusing joystick was very quick, allowing me to adjust my focus point as various birds moved around on branches.
Testing the MC-20 teleconverter at Bird Kingdom would not have been complete without finding a bird in dark shade to photograph. I was able to capture the image above with a shutter speed of 1/20 thanks to the IBIS system in my OM-D E-M1X.
I plan on doing more field testing photographing birds with my Olympus OM-D E-M1X, M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm f/2.8 and M.Zuiko MC-20 combination. I am really enjoying the handling, performance, and results using this combination.
Technical Note:
All photographs in this article were captured hand-held using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. All images were produced from RAW files using my standard process. Images 5 and 9 were slightly cropped. All other photographs are displayed as 100% captures without any cropping.
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