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Olympus E-P1 Q&A pt2

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I'm assuming that ISO 200 is the base ISO (as with the E-620/E-30 which share the same sensor) - ISO 100 would give a less noisy image, but I presume (though haven't tested thoroughly) would have less highlight range.

I'll do some testing and report back, thanks for raising that.

Cheers

Brian
--
Join our free worldwide support network here :
http://www.ukphotosafari.org/join-the-ukpsg/
UK, Peak District Local Olympus Safari Group : http://snipurl.com/bqtd7-ukpsg
Keep up with me here : http://twitter.com/alert_bri
 
Hi Dj,
DjarumBlack said:
Brian,

First, I'd like to say thank you very much for all the pictures, blogs, diaries on this camera. What an educational experience. It truly is making it tough to decide between the G1 and this new gem.
Click to expand...
You are more than welcome :)

After being drawn into silly discussions about the forum, administration, personalities etc I decided to take a step back... and focus my posting on helping my peers in technical and photographic discussion. Hopefully that will keep me off the top of the leaderboard too... I'm not interested in being spammed by competitive forum creators ;) quite happy with dpreview thanks!

Hopefully these Q&A threads will help to focus the E-P1 interest, making it easy for people to look elsewhere if they have no interest. Everybody happy :D
DjarumBlack said:
To the questions, how does one manual focus in video? Is there a button you push until it appears to be in focus and you let go?
Click to expand...
While recording video, you just turn the manual focus ring and use the lcd to gauge focus. If you want to trigger an auto focus 'scan' you need to press the AEL/AFL button - that's the popping you'll hear on the demo videos I've made.
DjarumBlack said:
Secondly, on your videos using autofocus, I noticed that the lens goes beyond focus and then comes back. Is this how the CDAF works when taking photos as well?
Click to expand...
Yes, but it seems faster - the CDAF speed depends on the focus subject, distance, lens and other factors. In summary, it doesn't stop me getting my shots - but if I need high speed focusing for fast moving subjects, I'll grab a DSLR with an OVF - I prefer my E-3.
DjarumBlack said:
I guess it just seems silly to go beyond focus just to come back. In photo taking, that would be fine, but its miserable for video. I'm not sure what the engineers were thinking with this. I don't understand why once it hits focus, it locks, instead of going beyond the focus to come back. It seems like manual focus is the way to go.
Click to expand...
That's just how CDAF works - I agree, manual focus is the way to go... and preferably with mechanical focus rings (i.e. legacy lenses, and also the 12-60mm SWD)

Kind Regards

Brian
--
Join our free worldwide support network here :
http://www.ukphotosafari.org/join-the-ukpsg/
UK, Peak District Local Olympus Safari Group : http://snipurl.com/bqtd7-ukpsg
Keep up with me here : http://twitter.com/alert_bri
 
Brian,

Could you take some indoor low light photos? I didn't really see any in the gallery.

Regards.
 
Hi Claudius,
ShatteredSky said:
... I hope you'll do the 12-60 too (?). Thanks a lot for the information so far. Now if I would just know the direction Olympus is heading for the supposed other models, it would make decisions much easier.
Click to expand...
I think Bill has a thread speculating about the E-P2... I have enough trouble keeping up with everything Olympus have already released this year! lol

Seriously though, I think the E-P1 works perfectly as it is... but then I was quite comfortable framing my LX1 using the rear lcd.

I'll upload the videos to our Team Review soon.

Meanwhile, here are some example shots...

First - the ZD 12-60...
E-P1 + ZD 12-60mm SWD
1/80s f/6.3 at 30.0mm iso200



1/400s f/6.3 at 39.0mm iso200



And next the ZD 11-22...
E-P1 + ZD 11-22mm
1/640s f/6.3 at 11.0mm iso200



1/320s f/6.3 at 11.0mm iso200


SpiralTower said:
BTW, how good/useful is iAuto?
Click to expand...
iAuto works surprisingly well... if I don't have any time to think about a shot, I will select iAuto without hesitation. It's even simpler than selecting a scene mode... the camera recognised a flower macro, landscape etc and sets the aperture according to the lens fitted. Quite clever - and allows a complete novice to pick the camera up, and literally point & shoot.

Kind Regards

Brian
--
Join our free worldwide support network here :
http://www.ukphotosafari.org/join-the-ukpsg/
UK, Peak District Local Olympus Safari Group : http://snipurl.com/bqtd7-ukpsg
Keep up with me here : http://twitter.com/alert_bri
 
Brian:

I leave in Lisbon and I post regularly on Panasonic and Casio forums. I used to do the same on Sony.

Currently I have Panasonic TZ5 and FZ28, but would like to upgrade. I used Olympus Pen for a long time, followed by Olympus OM, but also Nikon film cameras.

To make things short and since I admire your skills very much and also your sense of humanity, what do you suggest: Panasonic G1 or Olympus Pen 1?

Thanks in advance,
Kind regards,
Joao
PS: Who knows if your group could do a Safari in Portugal?
 
Hi Joao,
Urbanito said:
Brian:

I leave in Lisbon and I post regularly on Panasonic and Casio forums. I used to do the same on Sony.

Currently I have Panasonic TZ5 and FZ28, but would like to upgrade. I used Olympus Pen for a long time, followed by Olympus OM, but also Nikon film cameras.

To make things short and since I admire your skills very much and also your sense of humanity, what do you suggest: Panasonic G1 or Olympus Pen 1?
Click to expand...
Which camera do you prefer? your TZ5 or your FZ28? will this camera upgrade replace either or both of your existing cams?

Do you prefer to shoot jpeg, or raw?

If you can help me with those questions, I may be able to make a recommendation...

Cheers

Brian
Urbanito said:
Thanks in advance,
Kind regards,
Joao
PS: Who knows if your group could do a Safari in Portugal?
Click to expand...
p.s. I hope so, one day... just need to keep growing and then the local groups will become stronger.

--
Join our free worldwide support network here :
http://www.ukphotosafari.org/join-the-ukpsg/
UK, Peak District Local Olympus Safari Group : http://snipurl.com/bqtd7-ukpsg
Keep up with me here : http://twitter.com/alert_bri
 
Brian Mosley said:
Seriously though, I think the E-P1 works perfectly as it is... but then I was quite comfortable framing my LX1 using the rear lcd.
Click to expand...
For me it's less the framing with EVF or lcd, but more my old gripe about sealing.
Brian Mosley said:
iAuto works surprisingly well... if I don't have any time to think about a shot, I will select iAuto without hesitation. It's even simpler than selecting a scene mode... the camera recognised a flower macro, landscape etc and sets the aperture according to the lens fitted. Quite clever - and allows a complete novice to pick the camera up, and literally point & shoot.
Click to expand...
So it would be perfect for those moments when I do not want to think about settings, which is more often now when traveling with our small daughter.

Cheers and thanks

Claudius
--

'It looked the sort of book described in library catalogues as 'slightly foxed', although it

would be more honest to admit that it looked as though it had been badgered, wolved
and possibly beared as well.'
 
Hi Brian:

Thank you very much for your quick and kind answer. I usually shoot JPEG, but I may well use RAW on a near future.

I use both cameras, since the quality is almost the same. However, the FZ28 gives me more possibilities, since I can set the non automatic modes. I also like the EVF (?) on very sunny days,witch are common in Portugal.

Any way, I went this month to Russia and I took 1752 photos with the TZ5. The FZ28 remained at home. It was a family decision, but I missed the FZ28.

Size matters, but not to much, when comparing G1 and EP1. Movies are not important, but photo quality and color rendition are very important.
Kind regards
 
Hi Joao,
Urbanito said:
Hi Brian:

Thank you very much for your quick and kind answer. I usually shoot JPEG, but I may well use RAW on a near future.
Click to expand...
If you want to shoot JPEG - there's no doubt the E-P1 will be the better choice. I can get good images out of my G1 by shooting raw and developing in Lightzone... but I much, much prefer the colour I get from Olympus Studio (raw) and Olympus out of camera jpegs are probably the best available.
Urbanito said:
I use both cameras, since the quality is almost the same. However, the FZ28 gives me more possibilities, since I can set the non automatic modes. I also like the EVF (?) on very sunny days,witch are common in Portugal.
Click to expand...
Have you considered an E-450? you can't beat an OVF in the brightest conditions... you really need to try out the E-P1 to see whether you'll be happy with the LCD in your strongest light. I can manage, but we don't have constant summer up here in Sheffield! lol
Urbanito said:
Any way, I went this month to Russia and I took 1752 photos with the TZ5. The FZ28 remained at home. It was a family decision, but I missed the FZ28.

Size matters, but not to much, when comparing G1 and EP1. Movies are not important, but photo quality and color rendition are very important.
Click to expand...
The reason I asked which camera you prefered - the E-P1 is more like the TZ5, the G1 more like the FZ28... I'd travel with the E-P1 + twin kit lenses for the lightest, most compact option.

As for photo quality and colour rendition, the E-P1 wins hands down for me.

Kind Regards

Brian
--
Join our free worldwide support network here :
http://www.ukphotosafari.org/join-the-ukpsg/
UK, Peak District Local Olympus Safari Group : http://snipurl.com/bqtd7-ukpsg
Keep up with me here : http://twitter.com/alert_bri
 
I noticed the same thing and was going ask.......... look forward to your test impressions.
Brian Mosley said:
Brian Mosley wrote:

I'm assuming that ISO 200 is the base ISO (as with the E-620/E-30 which share the same sensor) - ISO 100 would give a less noisy image, but I presume (though haven't tested thoroughly) would have less highlight range.

I'll do some testing and report back, thanks for raising that.

Cheers

Brian
--
Join our free worldwide support network here :
http://www.ukphotosafari.org/join-the-ukpsg/
UK, Peak District Local Olympus Safari Group : http://snipurl.com/bqtd7-ukpsg
Keep up with me here : http://twitter.com/alert_bri
Click to expand...
--



When told the reason for Daylight Saving time the old Indian said... 'Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of the blanket and have a longer blanket.'
 
Hi Claudius,

I've uploaded the first video - showing the ZD 12-60 auto and manual focusing + zooming... and am uploading the second video for the 11-22 now here :

http://www.ukphotosafari.org/e-p1-team-review/2009/6/30/focus-speed-and-video-sound-zd-12-60-and-zd-11-22.html

Both lenses operate perfectly well on the E-P1 with 4/3rds adapter... although the lens obviously dominates the body. The 12-60, with mechanically )i.e. silent) coupled focusing ring could be quite useful for video.

Also, I did notice that Olympus Studio oversharpens the image (to my liking) at zero setting - I prefer to set sharpness to -2 and then sharpen as a last step after resizing for web using Lightzone.

Hope that helps

Kind Regards

Brian
--
Join our free worldwide support network here :
http://www.ukphotosafari.org/join-the-ukpsg/
UK, Peak District Local Olympus Safari Group : http://snipurl.com/bqtd7-ukpsg
Keep up with me here : http://twitter.com/alert_bri
 
Brian Mosley said:
DjarumBlack said:
Brian,

First, I'd like to say thank you very much for all the pictures, blogs, diaries on this camera. What an educational experience. It truly is making it tough to decide between the G1 and this new gem.
Click to expand...
You are more than welcome :)

After being drawn into silly discussions about the forum, administration, personalities etc I decided to take a step back... and focus my posting on helping my peers in technical and photographic discussion. Hopefully that will keep me off the top of the leaderboard too... I'm not interested in being spammed by competitive forum creators ;) quite happy with dpreview thanks!

Hopefully these Q&A threads will help to focus the E-P1 interest, making it easy for people to look elsewhere if they have no interest. Everybody happy :D
Brian Mosley said:
To the questions, how does one manual focus in video? Is there a button you push until it appears to be in focus and you let go?
Click to expand...
While recording video, you just turn the manual focus ring and use the lcd to gauge focus. If you want to trigger an auto focus 'scan' you need to press the AEL/AFL button - that's the popping you'll hear on the demo videos I've made.
Brian Mosley said:
Secondly, on your videos using autofocus, I noticed that the lens goes beyond focus and then comes back. Is this how the CDAF works when taking photos as well?
Click to expand...
Yes, but it seems faster - the CDAF speed depends on the focus subject, distance, lens and other factors. In summary, it doesn't stop me getting my shots - but if I need high speed focusing for fast moving subjects, I'll grab a DSLR with an OVF - I prefer my E-3.
Brian Mosley said:
I guess it just seems silly to go beyond focus just to come back. In photo taking, that would be fine, but its miserable for video. I'm not sure what the engineers were thinking with this. I don't understand why once it hits focus, it locks, instead of going beyond the focus to come back. It seems like manual focus is the way to go.
Click to expand...
That's just how CDAF works - I agree, manual focus is the way to go... and preferably with mechanical focus rings (i.e. legacy lenses, and also the 12-60mm SWD)

Kind Regards

Brian
--
Join our free worldwide support network here :
http://www.ukphotosafari.org/join-the-ukpsg/
UK, Peak District Local Olympus Safari Group : http://snipurl.com/bqtd7-ukpsg
Keep up with me here : http://twitter.com/alert_bri
Click to expand...
Thank you for your response. After reading more and more, I see how the manual focus works. I suppose I am personally concerned, since never using an SLR, how one could manual focus and zoom at the same time. Looking at the manual, it looks as if the S-AF + M might be the best way to go to get exact focus. I suppose this is what I was confused by in the Oly literature. When in manual focus mode, one just turns the focus ring. I suppose its something I would just have to learn. I realize CDAF might work this way on oly systems, but even compacts don't go in and out of focus in good light like that before hitting the sweet spot. Does the G1 focus the same way? At any rate, I think once this camera becomes ready for public release, I will buy one with the adapter and get me the 40-150 lens or the panny 45-200 mFT lens. Its nice to see someone who has no company affiliation get excited about a camera, learn to use the camera, and show excelent results with telling us the trial and error on the way. Its a really cool journey.

Dj
 
Hi Dj,
DjarumBlack said:
Thank you for your response. After reading more and more, I see how the manual focus works. I suppose I am personally concerned, since never using an SLR, how one could manual focus and zoom at the same time. Looking at the manual, it looks as if the S-AF + M might be the best way to go to get exact focus.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing this will rarely be necessary - usually you can just use S-AF to hit the spot.
DjarumBlack said:
I suppose this is what I was confused by in the Oly literature. When in manual focus mode, one just turns the focus ring. I suppose its something I would just have to learn. I realize CDAF might work this way on oly systems, but even compacts don't go in and out of focus in good light like that before hitting the sweet spot. Does the G1 focus the same way?
Click to expand...
Yes it does, but there's quite a bit of variance in focusing action depending on the aperture / focal length / distance to subject / lens used... it's not worth worrying about imho - both cameras get the job done ;)
DjarumBlack said:
At any rate, I think once this camera becomes ready for public release, I will buy one with the adapter and get me the 40-150 lens or the panny 45-200 mFT lens.
Click to expand...
Obviously, you wouldn't need the adapter for the 45-200 mFT lens... which I got to try at the weekend in Sheffield & has lovely smooth, accurate focusing on the E-P1. Sample images in my Sheffield Gallery here :
http://www.pbase.com/bmosley/sheffield
note, the heavily vignetted images are using Art Filter effects
DjarumBlack said:
Its nice to see someone who has no company affiliation get excited about a camera, learn to use the camera, and show excelent results with telling us the trial and error on the way. Its a really cool journey.
Click to expand...
Thanks... I get excited about stuff that works for me ;) good job Adam-T did the same, otherwise I'd never have bought my first Oly DSLR - the E-400!

Kind regards

Brian
--
Join our free worldwide support network here :
http://www.ukphotosafari.org/join-the-ukpsg/
UK, Peak District Local Olympus Safari Group : http://snipurl.com/bqtd7-ukpsg
Keep up with me here : http://twitter.com/alert_bri
 
... seems fast enough to me. Thanks again.

Have a nice evening

Claudius
--

'It looked the sort of book described in library catalogues as 'slightly foxed', although it

would be more honest to admit that it looked as though it had been badgered, wolved
and possibly beared as well.'
 
that the ISO 2000 shot is about what ISO400 looks like on my a560. It really looks like high ISO is usable with decent light.

Dj
 
Can some of you more experienced photographers tell me what it is you look at in a low light picture like the portrait above? Sorry for the total noob question, I am just trying to learn what to look for in IQ.
Regards.
 
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