From Nikon (FX and CX) to Olympus

[Eyvind]

The background
Being a Nikon user for the last ten years I faithfully bought a Nikon V1 on sale early in 2013 to complement my full-frame D600 setup - just something to bring along on small trips and to used by non-technicals as well.

Quite surprisingly I started to use the V1 more and more, and the D600 less and less. D600 had superior image quality, but the V1 had "good-enough" IQ and a stunning fast AF - perfect for tracking small kids in motion. The V1 and its 18,5mm gave me some fantastic results, but I wasn't ready to let go of the full frame.

The push
During the autumn 2012 I started noticed the glowing reviews of the E-M1. The reviewers claimed it was good enough to replace a full frame for an enthusiast. The size and weather sealing was very attractive features, but it was finally kit lens that pushed me. A 24-80mm full frame equivalent f2.8 weather sealed lens at that size (and price) and another 80-300mm full frame equivalent f2.8 weather sealed lens on the road map!

The move
I'm not going to write a lengthy treatise about the obvious merits of the E-M1 - it is a superb camera. The size of the setup (camera and lens) is good. the weathersealing is promising and the kit lens is fantastic. I would rather like to dwell on the experience made after moving from Nikon fullframe camera (D600) and what prospective Nikonian should consider.

Image quality
The key issue for full-format user is the image quality - what will I lose? Many, if not all, of the reviews told that the IQ of the E-M1 were comparable to fullframe and hard to distinguish in real life. Well, there is a difference and I noticed it. Even in base ISO, but in particular at ISO 800 and above, the photos are more smudgy, in lack of a better word, compared to the D600 when pixel peeping. But so far the IQ, has been good enough in real-life and the sharpness of the E-M1 and the 12-40mm combo is stunning at times.

Megapixels
Moving from 24 to 16 megapixels was a major concern for me due to limited opportuniy for cropping. I often crop my keepers, subject isolation or changing orientation or aspect ratio (those who manage to do this in-camera - kudos to you). 24 megapixels is naturally more forgiving than 16 in terms of final image quality after cropping, especially if the final result ends enlarged on the wall. So far, not an issue for me.

Aspect ratio
I was also concerned about the 4:3 aspect ratio and after 4 months I'm still no comfortable with it, but I'm coping. Not a big issue, but for landscape orientation I do miss the 2:3 and I tend to crop a bit.

Controls
Olympus menu and controls was a concern, but not anymore. Direct access to most of required settings and lots of room for customisation, no problem at all.

Colours
The major grievance, and the one I did not expect is the colours. Every Olympus user seems to marvel about the Olympus colours, but I've a hard time in getting consistent correct colours. I import the raw file (orf) in Lightroom 5.3 (not RC) with camera neutral profile, but the colours are sometime off. This applies for especially for photographs taken indoors. The E-M1 seems to strives to automatically assign white-balance values compared to Nikons. Photos from one particular place indoors may results in various WB values. I've tried to assign auto and manual WB in Lightroom, but still the colour for some photos are off. The colours from Nikon D600 and V1 were seldom a problem, and when correcting WB in Lightroom it was resulted in correct colours. I don't know if this is in fact is a fault (user, software or hardware) or just an adjustment from Nikon colours and tonality. Anyway, I need to investigate this issue more.

 

[Eyvind]

It was autumn 2013, not 2012.

Also sorry for the plentiful typos and grammatical errors. I'm however not allowed to edit the post, nor withdraw it.

 

[stevez]

Try turning 'OFF' the "keep warm color" option in section 'G' of the custom settings menu. I think you'll be much happier with the auto WB.

 

[Eyvind]

Thanks for the tip, but I've already turned it off - actually one of the few changes I've made to the default values so far.

It is not an issue outside in ordinary sunlight, but typicaal appears inside in medium to high iso settings.

 

[Bobby J]

I get the impression you aren't crazy about the 4:3 format. I assume you are aware that you can select several formats including 2:3. The camera will automatically crop the image for the maximum size with whichever format you select.

As for colors, I select "Natural" and increase saturation one "notch". I get colors I consider comparable to my 4:3 cameras. If that doesn't work for you, there are several alternatives, and you can make the colors look about anyway you like. This is a pretty complex little camera...just play with it and make it do what you want.

Let us know how things work out.

 

[biggles266]

Thanks for your review. I have come from Canon to Olympus and, as expected, like some of the new things, but miss some others.

I set my image ratio to 3:2 in camera, since I prefer it, you might want to do the same. Since I shoot Raw+Jpg, the extra pixels are still there in Raw if I really want them, but mostly I just want the ratio that I prefer, and don't care if there are pixels that I am 'wasting'.

Colour is one of the top one or two problems for me as well. I like some things about Olympus colours, but not others. Basically, they are often too warm - not just indoors, all the time, even with keep warm turned off. I wish they had a option to adjust white balance for Kelvin as well as (or instead of) the other options such as adjusting magenta and green or whatever they are. So I could adjust all my white balances to be a bit less warm than the Olympus default. I am very impressed with the punch that Olympus manages to put on colour when shooting in flat light conditions. Very impressed how greens for example still look vibrant when the light is quite poor. But skin tones - not impressed. They are constantly too warm to the point of unnatural, and this is very annoying. Canon's skin colours are much better. (I don't like Nikon's either - too much green/yellow tinge, so I'm never really tempted to move to Nikon). I only like to play with Raw for occasional important shots, so I like most photos to be acceptable as a Jpg, which is sufficient for most purposes. So I wish I could get colour right in camera.

 

[zuikowesty]

The warm setting baffles me, just like hiding the SCP. Until I found this and turned it off, I thought something was wrong with my E-M5. My E-410 handled indoor WB much better. With warm off, the colours are far more accurate, perhaps a little cool.

 

[Eyvind]

I get the impression you aren't crazy about the 4:3 format. I assume you are aware that you can select several formats including 2:3. The camera will automatically crop the image for the maximum size with whichever format you select.

I believe the concern about the aspect ratio merely represent an adjustment from years with the 3:2 format. I shoot raw and fix the final aspect in post.

As for colors, I select "Natural" and increase saturation one "notch". I get colors I consider comparable to my 4:3 cameras. If that doesn't work for you, there are several alternatives, and you can make the colors look about anyway you like. This is a pretty complex little camera...just play with it and make it do what you want.

I use the camera neutral, but will try the saturation adjustment, as well as try to increase exposure +0.7 EV (seems like many are recommending this as well) - Thanks for the tip!

Let us know how things work out.

It is a superb camera., very happy with it so far - but, I'm still learning and adjusting...

 

[Eyvind]

Colour is one of the top one or two problems for me as well. I like some things about Olympus colours, but not others. Basically, they are often too warm - not just indoors, all the time, even with keep warm turned off. I wish they had a option to adjust white balance for Kelvin as well as (or instead of) the other options such as adjusting magenta and green or whatever they are. So I could adjust all my white balances to be a bit less warm than the Olympus default. I am very impressed with the punch that Olympus manages to put on colour when shooting in flat light conditions. Very impressed how greens for example still look vibrant when the light is quite poor. But skin tones - not impressed. They are constantly too warm to the point of unnatural, and this is very annoying. Canon's skin colours are much better. (I don't like Nikon's either - too much green/yellow tinge, so I'm never really tempted to move to Nikon). I only like to play with Raw for occasional important shots, so I like most photos to be acceptable as a Jpg, which is sufficient for most purposes. So I wish I could get colour right in camera.

I shoot raw +jpg as well, but almost exclusive work with raw. As you point out, I struggle with the skin tones - but mainly indoors. I managed to fix WB quite easily with the Nikons, so I guess my next step will be to start adjusting the camera profile in Lightroom to my liking.

 

[texinwien]

Since you're mostly working with raw files, I'd encourage you to make sure you're taking advantage of the live highlight and shadow clipping warnings (aka the blinkies) - one of the most innovative and unique features found on the most recent Olympus m43 cameras.

Rather than increasing exposure across the board by +0.7EV (as you mentioned earlier in this discussion), use the blinkies to help you quickly choose the optimal exposure value for every photo you take. Simply turn them on, frame your shot, and increase exposure until just before the highlight blinkies start showing in areas where you want to capture detail.

This method allows you to easily nail the optimal exposure - getting as much light onto the sensor as you can without blowing important highlights. You'll probably need to darken some of these images in post, but that's a simple thing to do, and you'll end up with less visible noise and shadows that are easier to recover.

The other thing is to know your ISO. If ISO on the E-M1 works as it does is on the E-M5 (a reasonable assumption), you'll want to stick to ISO 200 whenever you can, and then only use 400, 800 and 1600 when it gets too dark. Don't use the intermittent ISOs (350, etc.) and don't use higher ISOs. Rather, brighten in post, if you need to.

I eased my way into shooting like this after I purchased my E-M5 in 2012. When I first bought the camera, I stayed mostly in aperture priority mode, which is where I had become comfortable with my previous DSLR. I wasn't taking full advantage of all of the features that mirrorless, and Olympus, especially, had on offer.

I eased my way into relying on the blinkies and taking more deliberate control over ISO (and, at the same time, thinking less about ISO), and found that I really liked that style of shooting and the results I was getting. For the past 6 months (or more), I have switched over to operating almost exclusively in M mode. With the tools the latest Olympus mirrorless cameras put at your disposal, it's easy to stay in M mode, nail the optimal exposure, and spend less time worrying about your ISO setting.

I bought my E-M5 (my first mirrorless camera) because it was small, had lots of controls, and was touted to have excellent image quality. Little did I know that it would teach me a whole new way of looking at photography and taking pictures.

Good Luck!

 

[Eyvind]

Thanks - I've tried the blinkies, but probably should spend some more time testing it!

As for you recommendation, are there any special reasons why one should avoid intermittent ISO values?

 

[Bill Bentley]

I get the impression you aren't crazy about the 4:3 format. I assume you are aware that you can select several formats including 2:3. The camera will automatically crop the image for the maximum size with whichever format you select.

I believe the concern about the aspect ratio merely represent an adjustment from years with the 3:2 format. I shoot raw and fix the final aspect in post.

As for colors, I select "Natural" and increase saturation one "notch". I get colors I consider comparable to my 4:3 cameras. If that doesn't work for you, there are several alternatives, and you can make the colors look about anyway you like. This is a pretty complex little camera...just play with it and make it do what you want.

I use the camera neutral, but will try the saturation adjustment, as well as try to increase exposure +0.7 EV (seems like many are recommending this as well) - Thanks for the tip!

Let us know how things work out.

It is a superb camera., very happy with it so far - but, I'm still learning and adjusting...

Eyvind,

If you are used to shooting 3:2 then you should change the camera setting from 4:3 to 3:2. Do it now. I find trying to crop a 4:3 into a pleasing 3:2 is very difficult, if not impossible most of the time. On the other hand, if I want to make a 11x14 print I find I can crop from a 3:2 almost 100% of the time.

 

[boxerman]

I wish they had a option to adjust white balance for Kelvin as well as (or instead of) the other options

Strange. I set white balance in my E-M5 using Kelvin for star photography. I would be surprised if they took it out of the E-M1 for the OP. I don't know about the EP5. Sometimes these settings are hard to find, I'm sure you know.

 

[mausta]

Loading…

www.amazon.com

$10 solution for setting correct white balance.

I use one of these cards to set the custom white balance on my GH2. Very simple to use, two options:

1. For correct out of camera Jpegs open "white Balance menu" and choose one of the custom settings, hold card at arms length and depress shutter. The white balance is calibrated for your lighting conditions.

2. For Raw shooting or jpegs that will be post processed, follow above procedure OR hold card at arm's length and snap a shot of the card (without messing with the white balance setting on the camera). Then use this shot of the card to set the white balance in Lightroom (or other program), then apply that setting to subsequent shots in that series of shots.

I have found these grey cards to be invaluable in custom calibrating the white balance in my camera. This is the reason why your camera has a custom white balance setting.

spend the $10 and you will be amazed at how well it works and how correct your colors turn out. It takes less than a minute to set the white balance and the cards are credit card sized and easily fit into camera bag or wallet.

 

[mausta]

Loading…

www.amazon.com

From DGK website

1.2 A Brief Introduction to the Concept of White Balance:
White balance (WB) is the process of removing strong color casts from photographs. In the days of film photography, whitebalance (color balance) was controlled by the film type and by the film lab. The photographer’s role was limited to choosing thebest film type for the conditions. Film for daylight and for tungsten (indoor) light was available. In addition, color balance filterscould be placed over the lens. In most cases, WB happened at the mini-lab. The photo printing machine applied automatic WB,and the lab technician might also check the prints and correct the colors. As a result, most film photographers were completelyunaware of the whole process of WB. Today in digital photography there is no special film and no lab technician, so WB is thesole responsibility of the photographer. To make things easy, digital cameras have automatic white balance (AWB), which workswell under ideal conditions. However, AWB performs poorly under some conditions, even in the most advanced SLR digitalcameras. Once a photographer moves beyond camera phones and simple point and shoot cameras, she will notice color balanceproblems in some of her photographs. This is the reason why she needs a DGK color tool.

1.3 What is a Digital Grey Kard?
The Digital Grey Kard (DGK) is a simple, easy-to-use, ultra portable and economical WB tool. A WB tool consists of one or aseries of spectrally neutral objects. Each DGK is formulated to be spectrally neutral under all lighting conditions. As a result,the light reflected from the DGK is a true and accurate representation of the physical qualities of the light illuminating the card.Nothing is added, nothing is distorted, and nothing is taken away. To perform a WB operation, the photographer uses the camera’scontrols to register the light reflected from the DGK as a reference. Using this reference, the camera or the post processingsoftware can then perform a precision correction of all the colors in the photograph.

1.4 Quick- Start Guide for In-Camera Custom White Balance (for JPEG Shooters)
To use the DGK as the basis for an in-camera custom WB, you will need to review your camera’s manual and become familiarwith “custom white balance” operations. Set the camera to the custom WB setting. Place the DGK so that it is illuminated by thesame light as your subject and take a photo of it. Make sure enough of the center of the frame is covered by the card. Consult yourcamera's manual to see how much should be filled. Go through the menu to select photo of the card to set your custom WB. Youcan save these WB shots and re-use them at any time. Remember, you will need to shoot a new custom WB shot each time you gointo a different room, the lights change, or the sun goes behind a cloud.

1.5 Quick- Start Guide for Post-Processing White Balance (for RAW Shooters)
If you are using the DGK for RAW shooting, you will need to shoot an image of the card in each lighting situation you encounter.The DGK does not need to be exactly in focus or centered in your image. When shooting a wedding, for example, walk throughthe location and shoot a photo of the DGK in each area of the house, church, or reception where you expect to shoot the weddingparty later. Hold the card out in front of yourself so that it is lit by the same light as the area of interest. Use a wide angle lens soyou can see where you were when you made the shot. Once you complete the shoot, go back to your DGK images and set the WBfor each series of shots. Select a point in the DGK picture in your software to be the basis for the custom WB balance setting.Then select all the images taken under that lighting and use the software to set the white point for all of them.

 

[NZ Scott]

I use one of these cards to set the custom white balance on my GH2.

2. For Raw shooting or jpegs that will be post processed, follow above procedure OR hold card at arm's length and snap a shot of the card (without messing with the white balance setting on the camera). Then use this shot of the card to set the white balance in Lightroom (or other program), then apply that setting to subsequent shots in that series of shots.

I was going to make the same suggestion until I saw that mausta had beaten me to it.

I often shoot with filters, some of which play havoc with colours and white balance. One method I use to deal with this is to place a WhiBal Pocket Card in the scene (discretely) before shooting. Then I can easily correct it later by just clicking on it with the White Balance tool in Adobe Camera Raw.

Here's an example of a scene shot through a B+W ND 3.0 ten-stop neutral density filter, which tends to impart a brownish hue (note that the white balance card is sitting on the wooden plank just to the left of the closest post):

The first shot is straight from camera, with the brownish hue most obvious in the clouds:





The second shot has been corrected by clicking on the card:







After clicking on the card I looked at the adjustments that had been made by Camera Raw. The colour balance had changed to 4250 and the tint to -4. I then applied those values to subsequent shots.

S.



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My Flickr stream:

newzild

Explore newzild’s 679 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

My kit: E-P3, 12/2.0, 17/1.8, 45/1.8, 60/2.8 Macro, 7.5 Fisheye, 14-42 IIR, 40-150 ED, 75-300 II

 

[Michael Jardine]

Since you're mostly working with raw files, I'd encourage you to make sure you're taking advantage of the live highlight and shadow clipping warnings (aka the blinkies) - one of the most innovative and unique features found on the most recent Olympus m43 cameras.

Rather than increasing exposure across the board by +0.7EV (as you mentioned earlier in this discussion), use the blinkies to help you quickly choose the optimal exposure value for every photo you take. Simply turn them on, frame your shot, and increase exposure until just before the highlight blinkies start showing in areas where you want to capture detail.

This method allows you to easily nail the optimal exposure - getting as much light onto the sensor as you can without blowing important highlights. You'll probably need to darken some of these images in post, but that's a simple thing to do, and you'll end up with less visible noise and shadows that are easier to recover.

The other thing is to know your ISO. If ISO on the E-M1 works as it does is on the E-M5 (a reasonable assumption), you'll want to stick to ISO 200 whenever you can, and then only use 400, 800 and 1600 when it gets too dark. Don't use the intermittent ISOs (350, etc.) and don't use higher ISOs. Rather, brighten in post, if you need to.

I eased my way into shooting like this after I purchased my E-M5 in 2012. When I first bought the camera, I stayed mostly in aperture priority mode, which is where I had become comfortable with my previous DSLR. I wasn't taking full advantage of all of the features that mirrorless, and Olympus, especially, had on offer.

I eased my way into relying on the blinkies and taking more deliberate control over ISO (and, at the same time, thinking less about ISO), and found that I really liked that style of shooting and the results I was getting. For the past 6 months (or more), I have switched over to operating almost exclusively in M mode. With the tools the latest Olympus mirrorless cameras put at your disposal, it's easy to stay in M mode, nail the optimal exposure, and spend less time worrying about your ISO setting.

I bought my E-M5 (my first mirrorless camera) because it was small, had lots of controls, and was touted to have excellent image quality. Little did I know that it would teach me a whole new way of looking at photography and taking pictures.

Good Luck!

+1

 

[boxerman]

http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Pocket-Sized-Reference-Quick-Release-Photography/dp/B001G04VJO

$10 solution for setting correct white balance.

Yes, a fine idea. Although it doesn't work in the most recent situation that I needed to set white balance manually, star images. And it's iffy in cases of uneven light (you might be in the shade, photographing sunlight; or at a performance, photographing the stage).

I've used just a plain white sheet of paper in a pinch for manual white balance, and it sure did better than auto white balance on my camera at the time.

 

[NZ Scott]

Thanks - I've tried the blinkies, but probably should spend some more time testing it!

As for you recommendation, are there any special reasons why one should avoid intermittent ISO values?

I use intermittent ISO values all the time with no worries at all.

The only reason I can think of to avoid them would be if you're shooting in manual mode and want to be able to change two or three of the three key variables (ISO, aperture, shutter speed) while maintaining the same exposure.

For example, you want shallower depth of field without losing shutter speed and you change settings from ISO 200, f5.6 1/400 sec to ISO 800, f11 1/400 sec.

By using "normal" ISO settings, it is easy to change aperture to the correct setting to compensate for changes in the other variables.

If you're shooting in aperture priority (as I do most of the time), then I think it's good to use the intermittent ISO values, because it maximises the imaging potential of the camera.

S

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My Flickr stream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottkmacleod/
My kit: E-P3, 12/2.0, 17/1.8, 45/1.8, 60/2.8 Macro, 7.5 Fisheye, 14-42 IIR, 40-150 ED, 75-300 II

 

[Eyvind]

you're shooting in aperture priority (as I do most of the time), then I think it's good to use the intermittent ISO values, because it maximises the imaging potential of the camera.

Makes sense - thanks for the input!

I tend to shoot aperture priority, unless I'm using my manual flash - then full it is all manual and a lot of guesswork...