Sports Photography with the Olympus E-M1 and 75mm Prime

My appreciation of the new Olympus OM-D E-M1 increased over the last three days while shooting a high school basketball tournament. I relied on the fast 75mm f/1.8 lens for the bulk of the action, and I have to say, I very much enjoyed this tandem.

I would shoot the first half on the side of the court, usually from the first or second row of the stands. Then move to the end court for the second half. This provides a nice variety of angles. The tip off here, for example, was captured at 1/500th, f/1.8, ISO 1600. I then processed the Raw file in Lightroom 5.3

Speaking of Raw, the E-M1 did not bog down at all while shooting burst mode, even when I was capturing in Raw+Jpeg. This is one of its big improvements over its sibling, the E-M5. The fast processing combined with the swift autofocus makes the E-M1 the best micro four thirds camera, that I've shot with, for sporting events.

The lightness of my kit was also a big factor. I used the Lowepro Urban Reporter 150 all three days of the tournament. I was able to keep the bag on my shoulder the entire time. Not once did I feel tired or experience the need to set the bag down.

We've known for some time that micro four thirds cameras and lenses are good for travel and street photography. But this latest iteration of the OM-D is a serious action camera too.