Photography News issue 18

44

Camera test

Keystone Compensation In a way, this camera feature is like having a built-in perspective‑control lens. It is applied to JPEGs only, although it can be used when the JPEG and Raw recording option is selected, so you may think that the Raw is altered too, but it isn’t. It can’t be used at the same time as High Res shooting. This is a simple and very handy feature and can be used to deliberately distort subjects, as well as to correct converging verticals. Once it’s selected, the two command dials are used to adjust the image horizontally (front dial) or vertically (rear). It helps, although it’s not essential, to have the camera on a tripod and the grid lines on the EVF/monitor showing to aid correct adjustment. If you shoot a lot of architectural and interior images, this could be an absolute godsend and is likely to significantly reduce the time you spend correcting perspective in post‑production. Plus it’s good fun just to play around and see what creative effects you can come up with by distorting your images!

LEFT The Keystoning feature was used to straighten the interior of Ely Cathedral. Aiming the 9-18mm wide-angle zoom upwards gave the inevitable converging verticals. To the rescue came Keystone Compensation to straighten the verticals. Exposure here was 13secs at f/11 and ISO 200.

Unlike some cameras’ HDR functions, which don’t work in Raw mode, the E-M5 Mark II’s HDR feature works whatever image quality mode is set, but the final effect is applied to the JPEG only. In both HDR1 and HDR2 settings the camera takes four consecutive shots very rapidly, so hand-holding is possible, and these are merged into one. HDR2 is for ‘super-high contrast’ settings, as the Help menu suggests. You get one merged JPEG and one Raw file (not four) if simultaneous JPEG/Raw shooting is selected. If you like to make your HDRs in software, there’s the option of 3-, 5- or 7-shot brackets at +/-2EV and 3- or 5-shot brackets at +/-3EV. Shooting HDR

HDR1

HDR2

RAW

The verdict

As more and more photographers look for more compact and portable cameras, whether to replace their DSLR or to have two systems running side by side, the competition in the CSC market is hotting up. Olympus has a strong hand, with its PEN range and models like the E-M1 and E-M10. The E-M5 Mark II does nothing but reinforce Olympus’s hand, and it’s a terrific camera selling at a competitive price. At less than £900 for the body only, it represents great value even if you sidestep the limited appeal of the composite mode and the High Res Shot mode, which is a great idea but not that practical inmany situations. The E-M5 Mark II offers excellent image quality, swift and accurate AF and generally responsive handling. Taken together, these qualities make for a lovely camera that deserves wide success, which it will undoubtedly get.

ABOVE This is a blow-up from a High Res Shot JPEG and the resulting file is 7296x5472 pixels. You can see it is more finely detailed than the interpolated Raw image, so if you need a big file and have a suitable subject, this mode is worth using.

High Res Shot mode

High Res Shot is ingenious and works, with limitations. The camera takes eight shots within a second, the image sensor moving 0.5pixel in different directions with each shot, to give one big file. Size is increased: a standard Raw is around 15MB, while a High Res Shot Raw is 104.5MB; a standard JPEG is 8MB but a High Res Shot JPEG is over 17MB. However, if anything in the scene is moving, overlapping effects will result. Some movement is OK if there are no definite edges. I got a fine shot of moving fluffy clouds but if something with strong edges, like reeds, is in the foreground, the overlapping won’t look right. A solid tripod (or calm conditions) is essential too. A High Res Shot taken on a very windy day was unusable, probably due to camera buffeting. You also can’t select anything smaller than f/8 or faster than ISO 1600 and the self-timer can’t be used, although you can set a delay between shutter button being depressed and image being taken. If High Res Shot is selected with Raw and JPEG output, you get an .ORI file in addition. This is a Raw format image at normal

OLYMPUS OM-D E-M5 MARK II

25/25

FEATURES

Difficult to think what else you’d need PERFORMANCE

ABOVE A file from a standard Raw original resized in Photoshop, using the Bicubic Smoother option, from 4608x3456 pixels to 7296x5472 pixels. In print-size terms, this is resizing from a 15x11.5in to a 24x18in print at 300ppi. Raw file size, ie. around 15MB, and not the High Res Shot size of 114MB. This is handy because if you find later that the High Res Shot didn’t work, for whatever reason, you still have a Raw. However, bear in mind that third-party software might not support .ORI format, so unless you use Olympus Viewer 3 it’s a good idea to shoot a standard Raw as a backup. When it all comes together and the subject is right, the results from High Res Shot mode are impressive.

24/25

It produces excellent pictures with minimum fuss HANDLING Great to use, but lots of buttons to get used to VALUE FOR MONEY £899 buys a lot of camera – and in a neat package

23/25

24/25

PROS Feature-rich, great to use CONS High Res Shot limitations, aspects of handling fiddly 96/100 A definite step up from the Mark I and a very fine camera OVERALL

Photography News | Issue 18

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