Hip Coyote

Friends:

Attached are two versions of a shot I took at Niagara Falls a few weeks ago. The photo was taken handheld for 0.7 seconds at ISO 800, aperture 5.6 (should have been wide open, but I goofed). The mirrorless aspect of my camera allowed me to very quickly tell what the shot might look like. Yes, there are other ways to do it, but the WYSIWYG aspects of mirrorless are helpful to me. The IBIS of an Oly camera coupled with their pro lenses is remarkable.

One photo was edited in LR. One was edited in LR then processed through Topaz DeNoise. In both instances, I used the sky select mask to help me edit (not replace) the sky. The reduction in noise, at least on my screen is quite remarkable. Because I shoot an M43, noise can be an issue even at ISO 800. The AI programs are allowing the smaller sensors a little more leeway on noise, which, to me, makes them more attractive.

The sky select was helpful to bring out some features that were otherwise too dark and difficult to bring up. I do see the halo effect in both images from the sky select mask. Once you see it you cannot unsee it. So far, Ive not heard of how to eliminate that in LR. It may be that this should be done in PS. Maybe someone here knows and can advise.

The plug for Oly? The entire day it was raining. That night it was raining quite a bit. I did not protect the camera in any way. Wiped off the lens face once in a while to get the water off and that was it. Still runs like a champ.

Is this a great photo? Not really..there are some things that I'd like to change. Halo is one issue. It is a nice memory for me of the day. But it does demonstrate a few things that seem to come up once in a while on the UHH.

I did size down the images slightly for this forum.

For discussion.

With DeNoise


Without DeNoise

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

To my eyes I cannot see very well in these images to differentiate one shot from the other. I use old Olympus bodies and most recently I took my Pen EP-5 to El Dia de los Muertos in Fort Lauderdale for some night photography of the event. I also goofed not using maximum lens opening, something I do not do often when it comes to night photography. I exposed at ISO 800 and eventually I had to go to ISO 1600 to gain another stop of light. In spite of the old sensor in the EP-5 the images came out nicely showing a minimum of noise in the dark areas. I tried to expose to the right to gain more control over the highlights without blowing them.

Yes IBIS is of a tremendous help with these cameras when shooting under low light conditions.

ScottWardwell Loc: Maine

I see more pop in the second image. Interesting. Maybe the Denoise applied too much of a softening. Very nice image in any case. Love colorful night shots anyway.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

GREAT SHOTS, REALLY GREAT. The same can be done with Canon, Nikon, and Sony mirrorless, Olympus is not the one and only.

Chadp Loc: Virginia Beach

You are correct about the A1 advancement in noise reduction closing the gap between smaller and larger sensors. I just went back through some of my old m4/3 shots and ran them through DXO Deep Prime. It does an amazing job on noise.

I am an Oly fan as well. After trying out multiple crop sensor and m4/3 cameras from Nikon, Fujifilm, Sony and Panasonic over the last few years I have gone back to Olympus as my travel camera. My Sony full frame is my camera for a dedicated photo shoot or some planned event indoors. But if I am going somewhere like camping, hiking or to the beach with my kids then the Olympus is with me. I love being able to put a pancake lens on it like the Panasonic 20 1.7 and carry it in my pocket. And then I usually have one or two zoom lenses in another pocket. I need a viewfinder though. So I did not like the Olympus PL series that I tried. I use the EM-10 II.

Hip Coyote

thanks and very true...if and when I ever need a ff for some reason when my little m43 cannot handle the shooting environment (maybe indoor kids sports?), would jump to any of those brands.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Nicely captured. Photoshop has "Select Sky" as a 1-click menu option, and it works well. I often use it to reduce noise in the sky when I'm at higher ISO's.

repleo Loc: Boston

I see a difference in contrast between the two which makes it feel sharper and cleaner. I like the first one better but feel the sky is too dramatic. For me, the interesting part is the people along the railings. I would tone down or even crop out most of the sky and try to emphasis the shadows on the wet pavement.

Hip Coyote

I’ll try that!

one_eyed_pete Loc: Colonie NY

Just a thought, have you tried subtracting from the sky selection border using the brush tool with a moderate feather.

I do like the images regardless of the halo. I agree, once you see a halo you can't unsee it.

Hip Coyote

I’ll give ‘er a try. Thanks

User ID

Cool. Did you also consider HDR ? Don’t worry about people moving. Ghosts add atmosphere ;-)

Niagara Falls, huh ? Congratulations in order ? Or happy anniversary ? Or you crave being cold and wet in the dark ?

Really greatly appreciate the night shot. Hardly nothing much thaz visually very inneressing happens in daylight ... just BIFs, bugs on flowers, blurry waterfalls, stuff like that :-(

Everything looks waaaay cooler after sundown:

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burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Use the “store original” feature so we can tell the difference. As-is, I see JPEG compression artifacts and not much else.

Hip Coyote

Lets see if this is any better.

With DeNoise

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Without DeNoise

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burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Much better! I don't think the noise reduction is doing much, but my initial impression stands, you have a lot of mosquito noise from JPEG compression, and halos from over sharpening. Other than that, it's nice work, considering the conditions!

One thing people forget is that before digital, images such as this HAD to be made on tripods. There was no IBIS, and fast films had a lot of grain, especially when pushed (underexposed, then overdeveloped to compensate). We didn't get to see the image until it was developed and printed or projected.

A few weeks ago, I made a short film with a bunch of art school teens in Greensboro. We used my kid's GH5 and my stabilized zoom lens in Dual IS mode. It was AMAZING how steady that camera is when hand held. We didn't use a tripod and didn't need one.