Big test
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compensation/ISO, but as least there’s the option. Not having too many buttons around the shutter release is a good thing, in my opinion – there is no HDR or live view button, for example, as found on its predecessor. There's no focus lever on this camera so you have to manage with the four-way rear hub instead, which means more of a hand position change compared to using a focus lever. That said it works fine, and means you can adjust focus zones if you need to while you're there. Focusing bracketing (for merging later) and in-camera focus stacking where up to eight images can be merged are both featured. Another change is having the creative B modes, Live Bulb, Live Time and Live Composite accessible via the main exposure mode dial, and that saves rummaging through the menu looking for them. (By the way, the items are in the E2 menu.) Neither feature is new and both are available on other Olympus cameras, but it is certainly worth a quick recap because they are neat. Live Bulb and Live Time are alike but with the former, as with most B modes, the shutter release has to be held or locked down during the whole exposure, while the latter needs one push to open the shutter and another press to end the
ABOVE Layout on the new Mark III body is accessible and intuitive RIGHT Light painting shot using Olympus's neat Live Time mode
exposure. Both modes allow the image to refresh up to 24 times at the lowest ISO setting, at intervals from 0.5sec to 60secs during the exposure, and you see the image build up after each refresh. When the image reaches the point where it looks right, the shutter can be closed. Live Bulb/Time are ideal for very dark or night scenes, while Live Composite is designed for tackling star trails or fireworks because in this mode, constantly lit areas are not burnt out and only new light sources are added to the image (hence its usefulness for stars
PERFORMANCE: HIGH- RES SHOTMOD
HRS IMAGE QUALITY
HRS NOISE
The OM-D E-M5 Mark III has a high- res shot mode where the camera uses sensor shift to take eight shots, which it then merges in camera to give a 50-megapixel or 25-megapixel JPEG file. The camera needs to be on a solid tripod, and there should be no movement in the scene. Unlike some recent cameras there is no in-camera solution to small degrees of movement. In this mode, the camera uses its electronic shutter within the ISO range of 200 to 1600. You can also set a time delay before the shooting process starts, after the shutter is depressed and the interval between shots. Processed Raws – these shots were done in Olympus Viewer 3 – open up to 10,369x7776 pixels and JPEGs to 8160x6120 or 5760x4320 pixels; this compares with the usual output of 5184x3888 pixels. The test shots here were taken with the OM-D E-M5 Mark III fitted with the 12-40mm f/2.8 lens, and the pair were fixed to a Gitzo carbon-fibre travel tripod; there was a four second delay before the exposure was made. High-res shot mode makes the most of fine detail within a scene and also gives less digital noise. But it is worth repeating that for successful high-res shots, the camera needs to mounted firmly on a solid tripod, the subject needs to be static – and when the planets align you will be rewarded with some stunningly impressive shots.
IMAGES With the high-res shot mode recording muchmore data, digital noise performance is improved, which is what we show in this four-image set.These were taken in a dim hotel lobby at ISO 200 and ISO 1600 in normal Raw and high-res shot Raw. The ISO 200 shot was exposed at 5secs at f/8. Images were processed in Olympus Viewer 3 with no noise reduction applied
100%
NORMAL RAW ISO 200
NORMAL RAW ISO 1600
IMAGES This outdoor scene was shot with the OM-D E-M5 Mark III and a 12-40mm lens, on a tripod. The exposure was 1/60sec at f/8 and ISO 200. For comparison purposes we have enlarged the resulting images at different magnifications, to keep the subject the same size
64%
50%
HIGH-RES SHOT RAW ISO 200
HIGH-RES SHOT RAW ISO 1600
Issue 72 | Photography News 51
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