3 Weeks of OM-D, 3 Weeks of Rubbish

I’m posting this message to vent some steam.

I have had an Olympus OM-D for about three weeks and I have not had much luck with it at all.

I consistently get blurred, grainy pictures that are either due to poor technique, faulty equipment, shutter shock (Yes this does exist with this camera) or all three. I regularly shoot with a D700 and never have I had to work as hard to get a clear picture as I do with the OM-D.

If someone wants a cheap OM-D + lenses let me know. That's how I feel.

Here is a sample of what I think is shutter shock

Shutter Shock, Look at the buttons and the right hand side of the jacket

Hmmm. Maybe it is shutter shock, but it is also 1/80 sec... Not so safe with the 45mm.

You say "grainy pictures". At what ISO? 3200 maybe?

I am not having such issues. I think you have to try again.

Please post some other pics!

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stefano-italy

If you think that something is wrong with the cam then send it in for repair / exchange.

If you think it is operator error then ask what you might be doing wrong. Or read the How To Setup your OM-D here on dpr.

A post like yours actually doesn't help anybody, because OM-Ds usually do what they are supposed to do when in capable hands. You should be able to find lots of unblurred and ungrainy pics in this forum. Maybe yours simply started cooperating in hope for being sold because it rtealized that you won't ever like it anyway

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Hi Stefano,

I also get shutter shock on the 12-50. It is improved slightly by enabling the antishock feature.

When looking at 100% at all ISO's including 200 they are grainy. It's almost like they are out of focus.

I will post some other pics in a few hours.

Rgds,

If you're looking for clarity then you might like to provide some. Posting one picture at a questionable shutter speed (considering the focal length) isn't it I'm afraid. As for user error, even Olympus can't be held accountable for that. Now you might have a faulty camera, who knows? but at the moment I'm very much in the camp of "too much gear and no idea" unless you can clarify things further. Now if I got that wrong I apologise in advance but that's how it's looking for now. The OMD is definitely a very capable camera, there's far too much evidence out there to say it isn't, so either you or the camera are faulty.

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Any problem on earth can be solved by a well aimed Pomegranate...
Tony
http://the-random-photographer.blogspot.com/

Since the blurring is in the horizontal direction, it's not shutter shock. Anyway, I recommend selling your m4/3 gear and moving on.

Hi,

I have taken up my issues with the Olympus rep where I bought the camera. We compared it with another sample in the shop and it was the same. I honestly thought it was my technique but shutter shock is defiantly to be considered with this camera.

I have also contacted one of the more popular OM-D reviewers. He replied to my first email but has totally ignored all other messages when I mentioned shutter shock.

I have followed the dpr "How To" page. Some good tips in that article.

Your last paragraph - I really want to like this camera and don't know of a replacement. I like everything about it except it's output.

I think my post is helpful if it raises the issue of shutter shock. It was never my intention to offend a viewer.

I never expected such a quick response.

I agree that the operator could be the problem. I will post some more samples in a couple of hours. Regarding the quote "too much gear and no idea" I like it. Maybe the D700 is more forgiving.

Lock your camera on a sturdy tripod and take some photos using the self timer with the shutter speed set a various speeds (keep track with notes).

Don't have a tripod.  Just set it a pile of sturdy books or a cement block and use the self timer.

Manually set the focus and fire away, keeping notes.  Then try some with auto focus (still using the self timer for each shot).

Be sure and turn off the stabilization unit for these shots.

This will at least let you see if it's possible to get a sharp image with your camera.  After confirming this, we can move on to other possible issues.

Great photo. Best of what I've seen from OM-D so far. Thank you for posting.

Thank you Derek.

I placed the camera on a tripod last week and did some of the tests you suggest and the images are terrific. The problems occur when photographing people handheld. I understand I might be getting motion blur but 1/100th - 1/125th but I normally get far more keepers that what I'm getting with this camera.

Now I don't want to rev up any other readers out there. But I've had a 40D and G11 (great little camera the G11) and currently shoot a D700 and P7100 and have never had the issues I am currently experiencing.

I bought this camera after reading sites such as DPR, Ming Thien's, Robin Wong's and Steve Huff's. I know this camera can do some exceptional things, but I just cannot get that sort of output. I dream to get their composition.....but that's another subject altogether.

I will go through some of my shots taken to-date and post them for comment.

I read your other answers and if i understand correctly, the problem is related to the IS only, i.e. pictures taken with IS off are OK, even hand held ones?

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www.acahaya.com

Basic rule of hand held shutter speed without stabilization in MFT is twice the focal length of the lens, due to the form factor.

Hi,

You ask a good question. I always turn IS off while using a tripod but have not tried handheld.

I will give it a go.

Thanks

There must be something you're missing in the analysis - you've used all of your lenses, right? If the camera in the store gave the same result, then it's some setting you're using, etc. I think that I had much better output from my OM-D than you are showing with my shots of a baseball game at night with the Pany 100-300 lens at full zoom!

I was so pleased with my OM-D that I bought a second and am now selling a good dSLR system (Sony A77). With the right lenses, my OM-Ds equal the output of the Sony (IQ, shallow DOF, etc.) and the video is about the same...although I have a GH2 for video. The wireless flash system seems to be as good also.

If a lot of your shots are 1/60 to 1/125 or so...turn the stabilization off and see what happens. Some of the Pens had problems at shutter speeds just above where the IS was effective if left on (mine did), as well as some stabilized lenses at those speeds too. I'm not sure if this is the problem, haven't heard of anyone else with an OMD with it. What was strange was that some of the Pens had it, while another identical might not. Often wondered whether it was because of an individual shaking in a different way than another. Some of the really light weight Pens had it especially worse because of shutter shock with the IS on.

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Why so serious? :The Joker

Looks like you or your subject was moving at the time you took that shot. You shouldn't get blurred or grainy pictures - in fact with the 75 I've managed some of the sharpest shots I've ever taken. What does the output look like at higher shutter speeds?

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Thanks for the feedback, but I'm having difficulty at anything from 1/80th - 1/125th using the 45/1.8. I'm familiar with this rule and how it applies to MFT but to some extent, IBIS should negate this rule.

Thanks again

It will probably have a dampened shutter so that may have helped but to be honest I've not had a problem with "shutter shock" with the OMD, that's not to say others don't of course. Around 1/80th of a second is in the region where shutter vibrations tend to show up on most of the cameras I've used.

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Any problem on earth can be solved by a well aimed Pomegranate...
Tony
http://the-random-photographer.blogspot.com/

Yes, this is shuttershock, but there s a reatively easy cure for that : use the antishock with 1/8th of a second. First enable that in the wheel menu, near the end of the exposure/ISO section. This will add a second series of drive modes replicating the first, with a losange added to the icon. When you get toward problematic territory (can vary between 1/60 sec. to 1/180 depending on leone focal length and lens, then strike the down arrow and select the drive mode with antishock. This is very effective with my E-M5 and I use it mst of the time.

as for noise and grainy picture : you have to learn the limits of mft cameras, you can't up the ISOs as much as with your D700, size and weight advantages implies some compromise elsewhere. You may also have to find out what the best settings are when it comes to contrast, sharpening and noise reduction. If you shoot raws, you have to find h right setting to convert your mft pictures they are surely different than hat of your D700.

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