Olympus E450 help

[ArcticAlaska]

Hello,

I first started using my mother in laws Olympus e1 and fell in love, I got a E-450 and have been having issues. The images are not as sharp as I would like.
For example.


I have also found if I take a picture in slightly darker lighting I get a crackled effect, I dislike this. Sometimes I don't want to use the flash, I want natural light that's in the room but without the crackled things on them.

I hope you get what I mean if I post this picture, I will try dig out more obvious ones.


Any advice? It may well just be something I am doing wrong.

[P_Stoddart]

Are you shooting raw or jpg?

[ArcticAlaska]

Are you shooting raw or jpg?

I shoot in JPG.

[P_Stoddart]

I found shooting raw can help because of more control.

The E1 is only 5MP where as the E450 is 10MP. But the E1 is classed as a pro body where as the E450 is entry level it might mean the AF is not as good.

The E450 does not have IS so you have to be careful of camera shake against focal length even at wide it can happen in windy conditions.

You can post links to full res version of issue image if need with EXIF data.

What photo editor do you use?

[nimbus]

Where you are getting the crackled effect, do you know what the iso setting is? If it is set to automatic the iso could well be raised and the noise level will increase. The landscape looks very unsharp throughout, but remember the haze in the distance reduces sharpness. I assume the camera is set to autofocus, but wonder whether you are suffering from camera shake here as well.

[RogerMac]

I can not fault Pete's excellent advice to post a copy with the exif intact.

In the meanwhile I have one thought - am I right in thinking that you got the 450 second hand? there is nothing wrong with that but the settings may be way off, so the first thing I would do is reset the factory defaults. If you need help doing that just ask

Roger

[Old git]

I know you have an E450, but you may like to check this link out

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/e510-sett.html

[cas100uk]

The top photo looks like quite a distant scene. A quality lens would be required on any camera to get this sharp.

A few things to help with sharpness.
1. Make sure you focus correctly.
2. Use a tripod if shutter speed is slow.
3. Most lenses especially cheaper ones are sharper at apertures around f7.1 or apertures 2 stops up from wide open. So therefore if you lens is a f3.5 then f7.1 as I said is a good aperture to use. Generally avoid using f3.5 and f22 at all as these will reduce sharpness. Obviously actual aperture selection depends on the scene but use as a guide.

The second shot is classic Oly noise noise noise problems in low light due to high ISO, you will struggle to overcome this with the E-450. I have an E-510 and unless I want noise for creative reasons I avoid going over ISO400. What do you do in low light, basically you struggle, full stop. It is a limit of these cameras......
Using noise reduction in software helps but it will only get you so far.

[RogerMac]

I also have an E510 and I have to say that I would expect MUCH better quality than that at almost any ISO level. It is very difficult to comment without the the exif but a quick look at the histogram (second image) shows that it is all pushed over to the LHS with nothing in the RHS - that indicates a severely underexposed image, so I would wonder if you have either the camera set to manual exposure or have negative exposure compensation set by mistake. Incidently just running "auto levels" in Elements imroves the image by an order of magnitude.

I really think that the best thing to do is to clean the contacts between the camera and the lens, reset the camera to the factory defaults plus superfine JPG mode and then test the camera in program mode. If that does not produce good images in most circumstances the you may have a fault on the camera. Once that is established vary one setting at a time till you find what suits you best.

Roger

[cas100uk]

Well you have got a point that underexposure could contribute to the noise. Also agree that you need to check all settings to ensure you get the best from the camera. I love my E-510 (and my E-410 before that) but seriously this range of cameras is not a low light performer both in noise levels and auto focusing. If the OP can 'shed some light....' on the settings by giving us the exif data that would help diagnose the problem.

[Old git]

I avoid going over ISO 400 where ever I can, knowing that this camera doesn't react well to low light situations.......

[RogerMac]

If the OP can 'shed some light....' on the settings by giving us the exif data that would help diagnose the problem.

As the OP does not seem to have visited the forum since making the post "I shoot in JPG" she will not have read our comments.

Roger

[cas100uk]

It's a good job I enjoy wasting my time trying to help other people........

[RogerMac]

I have done a web search on the OP and I think that this whole thread was just a wind up - pity really as it will make me much less willing to contribute to a help request in future


Roger

[P_Stoddart]

I have done a web search on the OP and I think that this whole thread was just a wind up - pity really as it will make me much less willing to contribute to a help request in future


Roger

Can you share what you found?

It looked like a straightforward request to me.

[RogerMac]

Can you share what you found?

It looked like a straightforward request to me.

If you do a web search on emma malakian photography you will find that she is by no means the beginner she pretends to be - sometimes she calls herself evil emma malakian and no doubt enjoys the thought of us scurrying around

Roger

[P_Stoddart]

If you do a web search on emma malakian photography you will find that she is by no means the beginner she pretends to be - sometimes she calls herself evil emma malakian and no doubt enjoys the thought of us scurrying around

Roger

Yeah, and if you look the good shots are on the E1 where as she has raised issues with E450. Just because she says she is "EVIL" does not mean it is true. She being jokey.

The post was not about photography but a equipment issue. She never said she was a beginner. But with new kit one can still get caught out.

[RogerMac]

Yeah, and if you look the good shots are on the E1 where as she has raised issues with E450. Just because she says she is "EVIL" does not mean it is true. She being jokey.

The post was not about photography but a equipment issue. She never said she was a beginner. But with new kit one can still get caught out.

I do hope you are right - it would make me feel better, but logging on, making 6 posts in one day and then not coming back to pick up the answers to her questions does also seem suspicious

Roger

[P_Stoddart]

I do hope you are right - it would make me feel better, but logging on, making 6 posts in one day and then not coming back to pick up the answers to her questions does also seem suspicious

Roger

I will give her the benefit of doubt. She might be exploring shooting raw.

[RogerMac]

I will give her the benefit of doubt. She might be exploring shooting raw.

OK I will mellow and also withdraw my criticism. Sorry if I made any out of place comment. Pity we do not seem to have a grovel smiley or I would use it

Actually it is very difficult to improve on an Oly superfine JPG even using raw so that exercise may take a little time Way back Wrotnia conducted a join exercise with a group of photographers to test just this point and the conclusion was that with great care you could do better with raw but it was not easy, the test will still be on his web site although he has stopped updating it.

Roger