OM-1 - Low ISO Processing

[iwaddo]

Hi

There is a Low ISO Processing setting in the OM-1 which allows you to choose between Drive Priority or Detail Priority.

My question relates to the definition of 'low'. Is it just the L80 & L100 ISO settings or is low defined somewhere else?

For context I am reviewing my wildlife and bird in flight Custom Profile which is usually set to Auto ISO.

Thank you for your help.

 

[epozar]

It means iso200 right?

 

[gary0319]

It means iso200 right?

From OM Systems ie. ISO settings

" L80, L100,
200–102400
(still photography)

Choose a value for ISO sensitivity. ISO 200 offers a good balance between noise and dynamic range. Choose [L100] or [L80] for larger apertures (higher f-numbers) or slower shutter speeds. [L80] is equivalent to ISO 80, [L100] to ISO 100.

• [L80] and [L100] are available at all exposure step values.
• [L80] and [L100] reduce dynamic range. "

 

[epozar]

It means iso200 right?

From OM Systems ie. ISO settings

" L80, L100,
200–102400
(still photography)

Choose a value for ISO sensitivity. ISO 200 offers a good balance between noise and dynamic range. Choose [L100] or [L80] for larger apertures (higher f-numbers) or slower shutter speeds. [L80] is equivalent to ISO 80, [L100] to ISO 100.

• [L80] and [L100] are available at all exposure step values.
• [L80] and [L100] reduce dynamic range.
• Engage "low ISO processing" and see how many shots are available in a burst in various ISO settings

 

[SrMi]

Hi

There is a Low ISO Processing setting in the OM-1 which allows you to choose between Drive Priority or Detail Priority.

My question relates to the definition of 'low'. Is it just the L80 & L100 ISO settings or is low defined somewhere else?

For context I am reviewing my wildlife and bird in flight Custom Profile which is usually set to Auto ISO.

Thank you for your help.

I found this answer by Kahiro Tosaka (posted on e-group.uk.net):

T.T. – This is a menu to select image processing at sensitivity below 2000, the default setting «Drive Priority» allows you to have enough image quality in normal use. «Detail Priority» is a special mode for fulfilling the demands from specific number of professional photographers, that they prefer to prioritise on image processing which allows to have better image resolution even by reducing the speed of sequential shooting.

Interestingly, it seems to affect raw as well.

 

[David5833]

...This is a menu to select image processing at sensitivity below 2000

Is this a typo?

 

[SrMi]

...This is a menu to select image processing at sensitivity below 2000

Is this a typo?

Nope. I have read in other sources that it affects ISO above 200.

 

[drj3]

First this only affects burst shooting. Detail Priority is always applied to single images not in a burst.

From Imaging Resource based on Olympus engineers. Low is apparently not referring to below ISO 200.

"Most interesting was a comment that when you enable image-quality priority mode (aka low-ISO detail priority), "the camera can do the noise reduction process twice". This almost certainly doesn't mean just running the same noise reduction algorithms a second time, but more likely means that the camera is running a two-stage noise reduction system, with the second stage doing some different, higher-level processing in the second round.

Of particular relevance to real-world photographers is that the engineers said that the results of the two-stage noise reduction approach will be most visible from ISO 800 to 1600."

 

[Regor250]

...This is a menu to select image processing at sensitivity below 2000

Is this a typo?

Nope. I have read in other sources that it affects ISO above 200.

Is this a typo? Your answer contradicts itself! Is it 2000 or 200?

--
Roger

 

[SrMi]

...This is a menu to select image processing at sensitivity below 2000

Is this a typo?

Nope. I have read in other sources that it affects ISO above 200.

Is this a typo? Your answer contradicts itself! Is it 2000 or 200?

Above 200 does not contradict below 2000, does it?

 

[Skeeterbytes]

First this only affects burst shooting. Detail Priority is always applied to single images not in a burst.

From Imaging Resource based on Olympus engineers. Low is apparently not referring to below ISO 200.

"Most interesting was a comment that when you enable image-quality priority mode (aka low-ISO detail priority), "the camera can do the noise reduction process twice". This almost certainly doesn't mean just running the same noise reduction algorithms a second time, but more likely means that the camera is running a two-stage noise reduction system, with the second stage doing some different, higher-level processing in the second round.

Of particular relevance to real-world photographers is that the engineers said that the results of the two-stage noise reduction approach will be most visible from ISO 800 to 1600."

Good grief, something else to pore over. If I weren't intrinsically lazy I'd take shots using the two options and compare. Prediction: not happening.

Rick

 

[SteveY80]

First this only affects burst shooting. Detail Priority is always applied to single images not in a burst.

From Imaging Resource based on Olympus engineers. Low is apparently not referring to below ISO 200.

"Most interesting was a comment that when you enable image-quality priority mode (aka low-ISO detail priority), "the camera can do the noise reduction process twice". This almost certainly doesn't mean just running the same noise reduction algorithms a second time, but more likely means that the camera is running a two-stage noise reduction system, with the second stage doing some different, higher-level processing in the second round.

Of particular relevance to real-world photographers is that the engineers said that the results of the two-stage noise reduction approach will be most visible from ISO 800 to 1600."

That's interesting. I've been mildly curious about this setting since I bought my OM-1, but finding meaningful information about what it actually does is quite challenging.

Early on I took some test shots at ISO 200 and they looked identical to me, which makes sense if it mainly matters when shooting at the high-end of low-ISO.

That said, I've just done a quick test shooting a cereal box at ISO 1600, and I still can't spot the difference. Here are some heavy crops showing a bit of detail where I focused on the box. They are from raw files exported to JPG from Lightroom, with all noise reduction and sharpening set to 0:





To me it certainly doesn't seem significant enough to be worth the slower image processing (and slower buffer clearing it causes), especially for anyone shooting long bursts with fast cards.

Presumably this "two-stage" noise reduction becomes mandatory at ISO 2000 and higher, explaining why buffer clearing slows down at higher ISO settings. That statement seems a bit controversial here - in a previous thread I had someone insist that it doesn't occur and that I'm making things up - but with UHS-II v90 cards it's quite easily seen for yourself if you watch the buffer clearing at ISO 1600 vs 2000.

 

[Will Rose]

First this only affects burst shooting. Detail Priority is always applied to single images not in a burst.

From Imaging Resource based on Olympus engineers. Low is apparently not referring to below ISO 200.

"Most interesting was a comment that when you enable image-quality priority mode (aka low-ISO detail priority), "the camera can do the noise reduction process twice". This almost certainly doesn't mean just running the same noise reduction algorithms a second time, but more likely means that the camera is running a two-stage noise reduction system, with the second stage doing some different, higher-level processing in the second round.

Of particular relevance to real-world photographers is that the engineers said that the results of the two-stage noise reduction approach will be most visible from ISO 800 to 1600."

Good grief, something else to pore over. If I weren't intrinsically lazy I'd take shots using the two options and compare. Prediction: not happening.

Rick

I tested this a year or more ago. I don’t have my notes handy to give you data, so I'll give you the abridged version.

When set to detail priority, burst shooting speed can be somewhat slowed. Detail Priority trades off a noticeable but not critical amount of burst shooting speed for a somewhat more noticeable improvement in image quality.

With drive priority, images are a little bit worse in terms of fine detail, especially in low contrast areas (like some feathers).

I leave my camera on Detail Priority.

The reason why is because the speed hit you take from this setting is usually not relevant. It doesn’t prevent you from hitting 10/20/25 fps, it impacts 50/60/100/120fps.

There are many other settings, like Image Stabilization, AF mode, and exposure that have a bigger impact on maximum burst speed. Unless you have everything optimized for speed, you won’t hit max frame rate anyway, so why give up image quality? Plus, hitting those super-high frame rates usually isn’t usually important to me.

As an example, I also have Image Stabilizer set to FPS priority. This setting has a greater effect on burst speed, and when shooting at fast shutter speeds (<1/1000) stabe doesn’t contribute much anyway.

My recommendation is leave this on Detail Priority and don’t worry about it.

I hope this helps….

 

[drj3]

First this only affects burst shooting. Detail Priority is always applied to single images not in a burst.

From Imaging Resource based on Olympus engineers. Low is apparently not referring to below ISO 200.

"Most interesting was a comment that when you enable image-quality priority mode (aka low-ISO detail priority), "the camera can do the noise reduction process twice". This almost certainly doesn't mean just running the same noise reduction algorithms a second time, but more likely means that the camera is running a two-stage noise reduction system, with the second stage doing some different, higher-level processing in the second round.

Of particular relevance to real-world photographers is that the engineers said that the results of the two-stage noise reduction approach will be most visible from ISO 800 to 1600."

Good grief, something else to pore over. If I weren't intrinsically lazy I'd take shots using the two options and compare. Prediction: not happening.

Rick

I tested this a year or more ago. I don’t have my notes handy to give you data, so I'll give you the abridged version.

When set to detail priority, burst shooting speed can be somewhat slowed. Detail Priority trades off a noticeable but not critical amount of burst shooting speed for a somewhat more noticeable improvement in image quality.

With drive priority, images are a little bit worse in terms of fine detail, especially in low contrast areas (like some feathers).

I leave my camera on Detail Priority.

The reason why is because the speed hit you take from this setting is usually not relevant. It doesn’t prevent you from hitting 10/20/25 fps, it impacts 50/60/100/120fps.

There are many other settings, like Image Stabilization, AF mode, and exposure that have a bigger impact on maximum burst speed. Unless you have everything optimized for speed, you won’t hit max frame rate anyway, so why give up image quality? Plus, hitting those super-high frame rates usually isn’t usually important to me.

As an example, I also have Image Stabilizer set to FPS priority. This setting has a greater effect on burst speed, and when shooting at fast shutter speeds (<1/1000) stabe doesn’t contribute much anyway.

My recommendation is leave this on Detail Priority and don’t worry about it.

I hope this helps….

Thanks for your additional information. I have considered doing tests to see if I could see a difference, but never found the time to actually do the comparisons.

I have always left the Low ISO on Detail Priority since I consider any additional detail a plus.

With normal burst shooting I also have the Image Stabilizer set to Detail Priority which causes a much greater reduction in frame rate. I have identical Custom modes with one set for normal burst and the other set for SH2 where the Image Stabilizer defaults to Drive Priority. I switch between them when I expect to have a very high shutter speed (SH2) and when I may want to drop the shutter speed significantly (normal image stabilized bursts).

 

[Will Rose]

Thanks for your additional information. I have considered doing tests to see if I could see a difference, but never found the time to actually do the comparisons.

I have always left the Low ISO on Detail Priority since I consider any additional detail a plus.

With normal burst shooting I also have the Image Stabilizer set to Detail Priority which causes a much greater reduction in frame rate.

You mean “IS Priority” not “Detail Priority” and yes it does indeed (the alternative is FPS Priority). This is one of the settings to which I referred.

I have identical Custom modes with one set for normal burst and the other set for SH2 where the Image Stabilizer defaults to Drive Priority. I switch between them when I expect to have a very high shutter speed (SH2) and when I may want to drop the shutter speed significantly (normal image stabilized bursts).

I'll also mention that when “Low ISO Processing” is set to “Detail Priority” the file sizes are somewhat larger. This means the camera has to write more data to the card, and so buffer clear times will be longer. Obviously this will also affect your frame rate if you continue shooting when the buffer is full, but at that point your frame rate is so lowered it hardly matters.

In fact, the buffer clearance times are probably more relevant than the actual impact on burst capture speed. I wrote about this in more detail here:
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/67510965

 

[Regor250]

...This is a menu to select image processing at sensitivity below 2000

Is this a typo?

Nope. I have read in other sources that it affects ISO above 200.

Is this a typo? Your answer contradicts itself! Is it 2000 or 200?

Above 200 does not contradict below 2000, does it?

You aren't answering the question. What is considered Low ISO range? < 200, < 2000 or > 200 and < 2000 (your implied statement). Which is it?

--
Roger

 

[Skeeterbytes]

First this only affects burst shooting. Detail Priority is always applied to single images not in a burst.

From Imaging Resource based on Olympus engineers. Low is apparently not referring to below ISO 200.

"Most interesting was a comment that when you enable image-quality priority mode (aka low-ISO detail priority), "the camera can do the noise reduction process twice". This almost certainly doesn't mean just running the same noise reduction algorithms a second time, but more likely means that the camera is running a two-stage noise reduction system, with the second stage doing some different, higher-level processing in the second round.

Of particular relevance to real-world photographers is that the engineers said that the results of the two-stage noise reduction approach will be most visible from ISO 800 to 1600."

Good grief, something else to pore over. If I weren't intrinsically lazy I'd take shots using the two options and compare. Prediction: not happening.

Rick

I tested this a year or more ago. I don’t have my notes handy to give you data, so I'll give you the abridged version.

When set to detail priority, burst shooting speed can be somewhat slowed. Detail Priority trades off a noticeable but not critical amount of burst shooting speed for a somewhat more noticeable improvement in image quality.

With drive priority, images are a little bit worse in terms of fine detail, especially in low contrast areas (like some feathers).

I leave my camera on Detail Priority.

The reason why is because the speed hit you take from this setting is usually not relevant. It doesn’t prevent you from hitting 10/20/25 fps, it impacts 50/60/100/120fps.

There are many other settings, like Image Stabilization, AF mode, and exposure that have a bigger impact on maximum burst speed. Unless you have everything optimized for speed, you won’t hit max frame rate anyway, so why give up image quality? Plus, hitting those super-high frame rates usually isn’t usually important to me.

As an example, I also have Image Stabilizer set to FPS priority. This setting has a greater effect on burst speed, and when shooting at fast shutter speeds (<1/1000) stabe doesn’t contribute much anyway.

My recommendation is leave this on Detail Priority and don’t worry about it.

I hope this helps….

This is excellent (and now bookmarked). Thank you!

Rick

 

[David5833]

Is it confirmed that the setting applies to RAW as well as JPEG files?

 

[SteveY80]

First this only affects burst shooting. Detail Priority is always applied to single images not in a burst.

From Imaging Resource based on Olympus engineers. Low is apparently not referring to below ISO 200.

"Most interesting was a comment that when you enable image-quality priority mode (aka low-ISO detail priority), "the camera can do the noise reduction process twice". This almost certainly doesn't mean just running the same noise reduction algorithms a second time, but more likely means that the camera is running a two-stage noise reduction system, with the second stage doing some different, higher-level processing in the second round.

Of particular relevance to real-world photographers is that the engineers said that the results of the two-stage noise reduction approach will be most visible from ISO 800 to 1600."

Good grief, something else to pore over. If I weren't intrinsically lazy I'd take shots using the two options and compare. Prediction: not happening.

Rick

I tested this a year or more ago. I don’t have my notes handy to give you data, so I'll give you the abridged version.

When set to detail priority, burst shooting speed can be somewhat slowed. Detail Priority trades off a noticeable but not critical amount of burst shooting speed for a somewhat more noticeable improvement in image quality.

With drive priority, images are a little bit worse in terms of fine detail, especially in low contrast areas (like some feathers).

Were you comparing raw files or out of camera JPEG?

I'm not seeing a significant difference when shooting raw, but I haven't taken the time to perform any careful and controlled tests.

I leave my camera on Detail Priority.

The reason why is because the speed hit you take from this setting is usually not relevant. It doesn’t prevent you from hitting 10/20/25 fps, it impacts 50/60/100/120fps.

I haven't noticed this setting making a difference to the frame rate, but I rarely go higher than 25fps. What I definitely do notice is the impact it has on how quickly images are written to a fast SD card. One of my pet peeves with the OM-1 is that certain settings, including the ability to change between custom modes, are locked while the buffer is clearing. That makes shaving even a few seconds off the waiting time quite appealing to me, especially when focus bracketing or using ProCap SH2.

 

[Will Rose]

My recommendation is leave this on Detail Priority and don’t worry about it.

I’m going to revise my statement after reviewing what I said previously about buffer clearance times…

My recommendation is leave this on Detail Priority and don’t worry about it, UNLESS you favor the machine gun approach, and like to fill the buffer and then quickly change settings. Setting this to “Drive Priority” can dramatically reduce buffer clearance times in some circumstances.