Lukabulla

Hi Everyone ,
Am still trying to get to grips with my recent purchase
an OMD - EM1 mk 1 with 14-150 f4 Zuiko .

Results seem to be 'Hit or Miss '.
I've attached some photo's I took outside Buckingham Palace London a few days ago.
One or two came out ok , but some are most naff .
The teapot image is so lousy , colors are very washed out and does not look sharp,
Looks a bit Instamatic ! And the Girl laying flowers is the same ..
The two girls standing with flowers are just about ok .
The guy dressed in the flag is very good
But the woman with a flag is just not punchy enough .

WB was auto , ISO 400 color set to natural .. cloudy day

Is the lens inferior ?
Or perhaps the results are normal for this camera ?

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Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I don't see anything wrong.
Look good.

RogStrix Loc: UK

Looks like normal lighting/results for an English autumn day to me. Perhaps you expect the 'colours to pop', in which case you'd have to tweak them in PhotoShop or equivalent...
Sad day.

RogStrix Loc: UK

Your tea pot picture has the following EXIF info:

Filename - teapot 213811-p9100011.jpg
ImageDescription - OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Make - OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
Model - E-M1
Orientation - Top left
XResolution - 72.00
YResolution - 72.00
ResolutionUnit - Inch
Software - Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Windows
DateTime - 2022:09:10 20:29:45
Exif-IFD-Offset - 252
ExposureTime - 1/250 seconds
FNumber - 8
ExposureProgram - Normal program
ISOSpeedRatings - 400
ExifVersion - 0230
DateTimeOriginal - 2022:09:10 15:39:34
DateTimeDigitized - 2022:09:10 15:39:34
ShutterSpeedValue - 1/250 seconds
ApertureValue - F 8.00
ExposureBiasValue - -1.00
MaxApertureValue - F 4.00
MeteringMode - Spot
LightSource - Auto
Flash -
FocalLength - 42 mm
ColorSpace - Uncalibrated/Unknown (-1)
ExifImageWidth - 1332
ExifImageHeight - 1100
FocalPlaneXResolution - 2661.02
FocalPlaneYResolution - 2661.02
FocalPlaneResolutionUnit - Centimeter
FileSource - DSC - Digital still camera
CustomRendered - Normal process
ExposureMode - Manual
White Balance - Manual
DigitalZoomRatio - 1.00 x
FocalLengthIn35mmFilm - 84 mm
SceneCaptureType - Standard
GainControl - High gain up
Contrast - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Sharpness - Normal
Serial Number - BHP320630
Lens Info - 14 150 4.00 5.60
Lens Model - OLYMPUS M.14-150mm F4.0-5.6 II
Lens Serial Number - AC7A64036

Thumbnail: -
Compression - 6 (JPG)
XResolution - 72
YResolution - 72
ResolutionUnit - Inch
JpegIFOffset - 1022
JpegIFByteCount - 10860

This seems to imply (I'm not an Olympus man) that you were using spot metering as opposed to average weighting and your white balance was set to manual?
Perhaps this is more a case of 'learning' your camera, as you said it's early days with it. Persevere and you'll get there!

Lukabulla

But the Tea pot ?
Not quite right to me nor the woman laying flowers .

Lukabulla

Yes I always use Spot metering ..

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

1. See below what a little boosted exposure and levels adjumstment does.

2. Are you shooting dng or shooting raw, then converting from Olympus raw to dng in order to process in your older PS? Or shooting straight jpg? The exif viewer I used makes a reference to dng.

These posted jpgs show "color space unassigned." When you export from PS can you assign a color space then? Do as sRGB when planning to post online.

PS Elements


Yours, as posted.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

This one was harder for me; others could do better, I'm sure.

mine


yours

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Excellent.
Great job.
The photos seem just fine and like most, especially if taken from a raw file need a bit of adjusting for light and contrast
Colors all are there.
Programs allow all kinds of color adjustments from subtle to almost cartoonish.

jcboy3

You used the Natural Picture Mode, which will be flat looking on cloudy days. I recommend using the Vivid Picture Mode on cloudy days, to get more punch.

For a good discussion of Olympus Picture Modes (as well as an excellent resource on the E-M1 I overall), read and bookmark the web pages by J. Andrzej Wrotniak at http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/index.html

In this article, he discusses Picture Modes for the E-M1 I.

https://www.wrotniak.net/photo/m43/em1.1-picmode.html

Also, you might use exposure compensation to brighten things up in flat light. Use Highlight & Shadow display on the LCD and Viewfinder to show when highlights are blown.

EJMcD

You wouldn't want to spot meter on a black tuxedo nor a white wedding gown, nor a black cat in a coal mine, nor a Polar bear in a snow storm. Due to the difference in the degree of subject reflectivity, spot metering is not suitable for all subject matter unless you put the spot on some area (gray) of 18% reflectivity.
. I would encourage you to experiment with other metering modes on your camera. Spot metering is not wise for all subjects. If you must always use spot metering. you should then experiment with exposure compensation assuming your camera has that feature.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

By 'teapot' you mean the image that also includes the framed Paddington? Assuming yes, here's some thoughts:

1, The lettering in the frame seems sharpest. The EXIF reports f/8.

2, The EXIF also reports manual WB.

3, The colorspace of this posted image is undefined, so who knows how the colors looked on your monitor. Without using sRGB for the posted JPEGs, we could see anything, and we're probably not seeing the colors how you edited the image on your end.

4, The editor was CS5.1

For lens corrections, whether the lens is 'good' or 'bad', you're not picking up modern software-based lens profile updates via your out-of-date editing software.

The depth of field at f/8 doesn't seem deep enough to cover both the teapot and frame in this image. We can't see the AF point, but it would seem a single AF point on the near-edge of the teacup and / or the spout of the teapot might be a better location to focus, especially with a composition where the center-point of the image is outside the plane of sharpest focus. A smaller aperture is probably needed too for this composition.

Regarding your desired colors, you set the manual WB and you chose how to edit the image. If you don't like the results, it's not the camera, not the lens, it's you and your configuration and editing decisions. This is digital photography after all.

All that said, looking at these wonderful images, I think you're being over critical of the results. Where any dissatisfaction remains, look in the mirror, not at the equipment, as everything you might want to change especially the output colorspace are entirely under your control.

Lukabulla

Tnx looks better ..
I convert the olympus file to DNG then into PS5 to adjust

Lukabulla

Thanks .

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You're going to want to use <quote reply> too for specific and targeted responses.