Photography News Issue 64

Camera test 61

Photography News | Issue 64 | photographynews.co.uk

Performance: High Res Shot modes

High Res Shot mode gives you the chance to shoot bigger files with more detail and minimise noise. The E-M1X has Tripod HRS to give 50-megapixel JPEGs and 80-megapixel Raws. In Handheld HRS, you get 50 megapixels in both file types.

The four pictures here were taken with a 12-100mm lens using exposure settings of 0.8sec at f/8, ISO 100. The out-of- camera JPEGs have been sharpened by the camera, while unsharp mask was added to the Raws in Adobe Photoshop.

Normal JPEG

Normal Raw

Original image

JPEG in Tripod HRS

Raw in Tripod HRS mode

The pub interior was shot handheld with a 12-100mm f/4 lens at 1/4sec at f/4, ISO 200. Both were processed in Lightroom with unsharp mask added in Photoshop. With the Handheld HRS shot viewed at 100% and the normal Raw viewed at

157%, identical subjects are the same size on screen. Both images viewed at 100% showed how effective Handheld HRS proved to be, even with a relatively slow exposure. Noise levels are significantly lower, too.

To noise-reducing benefits of using Tripod HRS, a series of comparison shots were taken from ISO200 up to ISO 1600 – the maximum allowed by the mode. The exposure for the shots was 1/4sec at f/8, ISO 1600. demonstrate the

Tripod HRS shots are twice the size of normal Raws, so shots were checked out at the same subject size and also at the same magnification. Either way, the benefit of Tripod HRS on noise performance was significant and obvious.

Original image

Original image

Normal Raw

Handheld HRS

Normal Raw, ISO 1600

Tripod High Res Shot, ISO 1600

shooting speeds. UHS-II SD cards can be identified by their two rows of electrical contacts. The camera can capture Raws at 60fps with exposure and focus locked, and shoot up to 18fps with AE/AF tracking. With the dual processor and fast cards, at 10fps you can shoot 280 Raws in a single burst with AE/ AF tracking and no buffering. At 15fps, this drops to a burst of 148 Raws without buffering. I didn’t get to truly check out the camera’s action shooting prowess in the time I had the camera – even the ever-dependable horse racing was off – so I made do with the nearest motorway. I certainly didn’t manage to get to the point of buffering,

and I’d imagine the figures quoted by Olympus would be more than enough frames for all but the most enthusiastic machine-gunners. There is significant innovation in thecamera’sAFdepartment.The121- zone AF system offers plenty of set- up options, with the choice of single zone (large or small), five, nine, 25 and all 121 working. The single and zone options can be moved around the whole 121-zone layout and each pattern can be scrolled through by pushing in the AF joystick and using the front input dial. Aside from a focus joystick to move AF points around, the four-way rear control pad can also be used. If that wasn’t enough, you can also use the

touchscreen, whether your eye is up to the viewfinder eyepiece or not. There is even more potential in the A2 AF/MF menu under the item Target Mode Settings. Here, you can make your own custom AF grid using the 11x11 121 zone to suit the subject. So, you can choose a 1x9 AF pattern to photograph a tall, thin subject (a giraffe!) for example, or you can go for a horizontal 3x8 AF grid to deal with boats. Your custom grids can be added to the default list of AF patterns to scroll through. For most users, the single point or small zone options would bemore than enough, but the potential is there for more specialist users and their subjects.

You can make your own custom AF 11x11 121 zone to suit the subject

Speaking of specialist subjects, the E-M1X’s menu item A3 AF/MF has aTracking Subject option, where there’s the choice of motor sports, trains or aeroplanes for continuous AF tracking. I tried the aeroplane tracking mode on commercial jets in the absence of anything faster and the motor sports mode on cars

joining a motorway, both using the Olympus 300mm f/4 lens. Neither subject was ideal in the context of what Olympus had in mind for this feature, but it was the best I could manage in the time I had. In both cases, you could see the focus zones picking on the subject, but I could also see zones missing too. It is an interesting concept,

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