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  1. #1
    Junior Member zperlow's Avatar
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    Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    Hi everyone,

    I just got my first dslr a couple of days ago....or my first camera for that matter..haha. I'm pretty happy with it. I've been reading around for a couple of months before I took the plunge. It was originally going to be a Rebel Xti or a E-410. When I went to the store and put all of the displays in my hands....I grabbed the E-510.

    I have a couple of issues with the camera. First, I've noticed that in macro mode I get this one really hot red pixel. Is this something I need fixed? Second, I read around that turning the noise filter down reduces the softness of the images. I did this, and on the camera the images were fine, then Ioaded them on my computer and they were horribly noisey, especially with out a flash. I had to clean them up using the Olympus Master 2 software. After that, I was actually pleased with the pictures. Is that the best way to do it, or are there any suggestions on taking clean pictures without too much editing?

    Here are my pictures on photobucket...there are a nice handfull
    http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...e510%20photos/

    If you don't use photobucket I've got a few here http://gallery.photographyreview.com...&ppuser=274317

    Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

  2. #2
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    olympuses are notorious for their noise control (or lack of it) but they make good cameras, the e-510 is a nice starter dslr to learn and produce some beautiful stuff with.

    my friend located here: www.octoberlife.deviantart.com produces some really nice stuff with his e-410, if you look at the gallery section.

    noise ninja will be your best friend (google the software, its great plugin for photoshop you will probably need) for noise control, otherwise.

    What lenses do you have for the e-510 at current?

  3. #3
    Junior Member zperlow's Avatar
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    Thinks for the tips I just have the 14-42mm kit lens.

  4. #4
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    well, looking at the three shots you have on the PRreview gallery, I can see why you might be turned off. It's going to be difficult to cover all of the concepts in depth in a forum response, I suggest reading a bit about the basic tenets of digital photography elsewhere; perhaps some primer or white paper somewhere.

    Somewhere in post processing the EXIF data on your shots was lost - this information would be really helpful. If I had to guess at your camera settings, I would suggest that you were shooting in dim light, at a modest aperture, at a very slow shutter speed, and high ISO. This is a brutal combination - not even the best DSLRs can cope with those conditions.

    Here's why:
    It looks like you are shooting in low light. The kit lenses are only moderately fast and are therefor not the best candidates for low-light photography. A faster lens, like the 50mm f/2 macro would help here.

    because the lighting is so dim, the camera has tried to compensate by doing a couple of things: it probably can't open the aperture any more so it has raised the ISO and also shortened the shutter speed.

    The ISO controls the baseline light sensitivity of the camera: a low ISO indicates low sensitivity, and a high ISO indicates high sensitivity. Obviously more sensitivity means you can shoot in less light, but that comes at the price of increased noise. Generally the E510 performs well at ISO100, 200 and 400, with ISO above 400 being mostly for emergencies - better to get something than nothing, as it were.

    I think these are probably ISO400 or 800 shots. They are indeed noisy, and they look washed out and lacking punch. This is partially because of the lighting and partially because of the limitations of the equipment. I can see quite a bit of motion blur in the guitar shot, which indicates that it was shot at a very slow shutter speed, maybe in the 1/20s range. Without the EXIF information it is impossible to guess, but the focus looks pretty good so I am blaming camera shake. A tripod (set IS to OFF) would help here.

    In short, you are probably not going to get the results you are looking for by shooting in the dark. The E510 performs very well when used in normal light, with fast lenses. The kit lenses are extremely sharp for what they are, but they are not terribly fast. My suggestion is to keep the ISO at 400 or under, and try to keep shutter speed over about 1/40s. This should help get crisper, less noisy photos. Of course, the only real way to get those settings is to add more light...

    as an afterthought, I haven't had to use any noise reduction software with the E510, and I have the in-camera NR and noise filter both OFF. The trick is to get good exposures (steady!!) at low ISO.

    Here's an ISO400 shot from this weekend. Pretty noise free, I even pushed this one about a half a stop in photoshop.



    again ISO400.


    ISO800. I didn't use any noise reduction here, but it is a bit noisy. I prefer the noise over noise reduction which often leaves strange smudges. I was lucky to get this shot in the lousy light.



    The real magic is in a good exposure at ISO100 or 200 - this camera, like ALL digital cameras, really excels in good light.

    Erik Williams

    Olympus E3, E510
    12-60 SWD, 50-200 SWD, 50 f/2 macro, EX25, FL36's and an FL50r.

  5. #5
    Junior Member zperlow's Avatar
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    Oh Wow, nice pictures. All of the pictures that I've been shown so far are really inspiring. Yea, I was probably butchering the pictures by using the Manual mode. To be honest, I don't remember what I did from picture to picture. Sometimes, I'd experiment with the manual mode and the other times I'd just put it on auto, and then macro; I was all over the place.

    I guess I'm just overly excited about the camera that I didn't take time to fully read the instructions and understand what each setting does. I still don't under stand the lingo/jargan on these sites. For example, I don't know what you mean when you say "I even pushed this one about a half a stop in photoshop."

  6. #6
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    "pushing" means that I underexposed the shot, and then brought it up in photoshop. Since noise dwells in underexposed, darker areas, pushing usually amplifies noise.

    As for settings, there is nothing wrong with M mode. I shoot M mode almost all the time - the only time I don't is in mixed light quality, where I often shoot in A mode so that I don't have to constantly adjust the shutter speed.

    Photography is all about knowing your equipment, so get out and shoot!

    Here's a good link.

    The 4 Basics
    Erik Williams

    Olympus E3, E510
    12-60 SWD, 50-200 SWD, 50 f/2 macro, EX25, FL36's and an FL50r.

  7. #7
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    sushigaijin:

    I don't mean to hijack this thread, but quick question. I understand the reasons for turning the noise filter off (I keep mine off too). But what's your reasoning for turning noise reduction off?

  8. #8
    Junior Member zperlow's Avatar
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    sushigaijin

    Okay....I think I get how the M mode works. Let me know if I'm wrong but, I half pressed the shutter button and it will meter the exposure? Then, I adjust the shutter time and the arperture untill I'm at zero? I just need to decide how long of a shot I want when making the adjustments? I'm not a fan of the flash or maybe I don't know how to use it. I just like natural light. I've also noticed that the shot time won't go any faster than 1/180 with the flash on. Is that to compensate for the timing for the flash?

  9. #9
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    Zperlow - congrats on your purchase and welcome to the Olympus family.

    160 - 200 is the average flash sync timing yes. The camera sets itself to 180 for the on camera flash which works perfectly well.

    I am also a big natural light fan but I am learning how to use flash now for indoor shooting and events for fill flash. Balancing the light with the flash is a real art form and the sooner you start to learn it the better IMHO.

    M mode just means manual but it sounds like you have the metering figured out better than I do. I use the histogram preview more so than the metering. Knowing what the histogram shows you and how you like your raw images to look makes it quick and easy. In changing lighting I check every 3 - 4 frames to make sure I am in the ballpark. In consistent lighting I set it and forget it once I have found the exposure I like.

    Sushi's advice is the same advice I have for you. Get out and shoot. The more you shoot the more you know and the more you know the better you shoot. Remember it's not like film. You don't have to pay to see your screw ups so fire away and learn from your trash bin.
    Shooting with an Olympus Evolt E-510 and loving it


    Equipment list:
    Olympus Evolt E-3, E-620, E-500
    Olympus Zuiko 40 - 150 F4.0 - 5.6
    Olympus Zuiko 14 - 45 F 2.8 - 3.6
    Sigma 50 - 500 F 4.0 - 6.3
    Sigma 70 - 200 F2.8
    Olympus FL-38 Flash x2
    Vivitar 285 HV
    Better Beamer Flash Extender

    http://www.jdtimages.ca/

    A Photographer that is fluent in Sarcasm.

  10. #10
    Junior Member zperlow's Avatar
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    Thanks Jaedon. I try to learn all off the aspects of my camera and shoot as much as possible. :cornut:

  11. #11
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    Quote Originally Posted by albot976
    sushigaijin:

    I don't mean to hijack this thread, but quick question. I understand the reasons for turning the noise filter off (I keep mine off too). But what's your reasoning for turning noise reduction off?
    I'd rather deal with the original RAW file. I can always use noise ninja or neat image to clean up the noise later if I want. I don't want to make any adjustments in camera; I have more control with photoshop, and generally more options in post processing, including leaving the noise to preserve a bit of detail. You can always take away, but you can't always restore what is lost!! Besides, noise in a print of 8x10 or smaller is negligable, even at ISO800. It only looks really bad at 100%.

    I find the E510 has a very workable noise profile, with a lot of good detail even at ISO800 - it's noisy, but the information is still there. The worst part of high ISO is the lack of good dynamic range moreso than noise. Nothing looks worse than a photo with poor dynamic range.


    And to the OP, the answer to all of your questions is "yes."
    Erik Williams

    Olympus E3, E510
    12-60 SWD, 50-200 SWD, 50 f/2 macro, EX25, FL36's and an FL50r.

  12. #12
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    Quote Originally Posted by Sushigaijin
    I'd rather deal with the original RAW file. I can always use noise ninja or neat image to clean up the noise later if I want. I don't want to make any adjustments in camera; I have more control with photoshop, and generally more options in post processing, including leaving the noise to preserve a bit of detail. You can always take away, but you can't always restore what is lost!! Besides, noise in a print of 8x10 or smaller is negligable, even at ISO800. It only looks really bad at 100%.

    I find the E510 has a very workable noise profile, with a lot of good detail even at ISO800 - it's noisy, but the information is still there. The worst part of high ISO is the lack of good dynamic range moreso than noise. Nothing looks worse than a photo with poor dynamic range.


    And to the OP, the answer to all of your questions is "yes."
    Ok, if you ALWAYS work with RAW then I guess it doesn't matter (I don't work with RAW all the time, it can be very time consuming). I was just under the impression the dark frame subtraction of the noise reduction is almost always beneficial and doesn't smooth out detail - it only deletes hot pixels in long exposures, which would be a pain in PP a RAW image.

  13. #13
    Junior Member zperlow's Avatar
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    Do guys think I'm doing a little better?





  14. #14
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    Re: Just bought an e510 and I'm a noob

    Z:

    not much noise there, shot at ISO100 and 200, respectively. They are both a bit underexposed - that's probably because your camera is set to center-weighted metering. Try changing that to ESP metering, and then see how your shots turn out.
    Erik Williams

    Olympus E3, E510
    12-60 SWD, 50-200 SWD, 50 f/2 macro, EX25, FL36's and an FL50r.

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