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A camera has to provide adjustment possibilities for every application area and shooting opportunity. With a wide range of image control features the Olympus E-System is set to fulfil all personal requirements.
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Sharpness & Contrast |
High and Low sharpness settings are available: High is best for images that are to be printed. Low softens the contours and is suited for displaying or editing on a computer.
Further alterations can be made with the contrast adjustment mode.
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ISO |
You can manually adjust the camera’s equivalent ISO sensitivity to 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600 (depending on the camera model, the E-3 up to 3200).
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Noise Management |
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| Noise is always a problem with digital photography. Olympus offers different solutions to minimize the noise. |
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| Noise reduction |
Fixed pattern noise is the type that always appears on same pixels with long exposure shots. It can be eliminated to a huge extent with the Noise Reduction mode.
How it works: two images are taken – a regular shot and another with the same exposure settings but where the shutter is kept closed. The noise detected in the ‘dark’ image is then removed from the proper image file. |
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| For the right image the anti-noise reduction was switched on. |
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| Noise filter |
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The E-System cameras incorporate an additional anti-noise feature, the so called noise filter.
Random pattern noise can occur, for example, when shooting with a high ISO setting and may also appear in dark areas of a photo. By intelligently analysing and processing the image information, the Noise Cancellation function helps remove some of this noise, smoothing the contours of the objects in the photo. Its benefits are particularly noticeable in lower contrast areas of the shot, such as a blue sky or person’s skin. |
Here you see frames taken without and with noise filter. |
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Colour adjustment |
| The Olympus E-System features a number of modes that let you adjust the colour of the image before capture. Colour Spacing helps optimise the photos for use with certain products, like printers or monitors. The colour saturation settings enable on-the-spot enhancement of colour tones. |
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Colour spacing |
There are two colour space settings.
sRGB ensures images are saved with a standard colour scope used by the Windows operating system and similar to those of most ink-jet systems.
E.g. offset printing can be done with a Adobe RGB supports this colour range and is therefore particularly suited to such applications. |
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| Colour saturation |
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Adjustment modes are on hand for when you want to experiment or obtain special effects on location and not wait until you get back to your computer.
There are five levels which can be chosen for general colour saturation.
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White Balance |
| The E-System offers an array of precision white balance settings to give you the versatility to shoot in a wide variety of light temperatures. |
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| White balance pre-sets |
| Besides the auto setting, you can also select different white balance modes, extending from 3000K to 7500K plus manual settings. |
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| Auto bracketing - the better frame |
| The camera takes a single shot and creates three different files, each processed at a slightly different white balance setting. You can select between increments of 5, 10 or 15 mired (Micro Reciprocal Degrees). The bracketing function enables you to choose that frame that is best balanced. |
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| One-touch calibration |
| For an even more exact white balance than the pre-sets can deliver, you may use the one touch white balance. This is sensitive to temperatures from 2000K to 10000K and the setting can be stored in memory. |
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| Compensation |
| Fine-tuning is possible with the white balance compensation feature. You can increase or decrease the setting of the camera by 14 mired (Micro Reciprocal Degrees) in 2 mired steps in the auto or pre-set modes. |
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Exposure Control |
| A range of exposure metering and adjustment options are available to support you in capturing well-balanced images in virtually all situations. |
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Exposure modes |
| There are four exposure modes: Program, Aperture, Shutter and Manual priority. In the ‘Program’ mode, the camera sets the optimum aperture value and shutter speed automatically based on the readings taken. A program shift is possible, while keeping the correct EV to meet requirements on aperture or speed. |
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‘Aperture Priority’ lets you choose the aperture and then automatically selects the best shutter speed. In ‘Shutter priority’, you determine the shutter speed and the camera sets the optimum aperture. In both of these modes, by using the preview button, you can see the depth of field in the viewfinder.
Naturally, full manual control of the aperture and exposure time is possible.
Most E-System cameras feature in addition scene programmes for easy access and automatic exposure and image parameter setting. Just choose one and you will be guided on the LCD for use of it. |
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| Metering methods |
| Digital ESP exposure metering |
| The camera measures the light levels and calculates the differences between the various areas of the frame – both in the centre and around. This method is recommended for most standard situations, but is also capable of handling, e.g. of backlight situations. |
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| Centre-weighted metering |
| Unlike the digital ESP mode, the centre-weighted metering method places more importance on readings from the centre of the frame. Here, approximately 6 % in the centre of the total area provides the majority of exposure information, but a few readings are also taken from outside the centre to provide an average measurement. Consequently, this mode is recommended when you want to prevent the background affecting the exposure value. |
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| Spot metering |
| Taking readings from approximately 2 % of the frame in its centre, this provides you with an exposure to point a certain element in a shot. It is of course also especially useful for capturing specific subjects in the frame. In the E-500 there is in addition the highlight and shadow basis metering for enhanced preciseness incorporated. |
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| AEL lock button |
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Exposure settings as well as the AF settings can be locked with a press of the AEL button according to the setting made with the later cameras. You are then free to re-frame the shot. |
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| Exposure compensation |
| In some situations one may get better results if the exposure values are refined manually. For fine-tuning the exposure, settings, exposure compensation of +/- 5 EV in 1/3, 1/2 or 1 steps is possible. This adjustment is kept for subsequent shots. By this, e.g., a subject might get closer to the real shadows when the EV is set on a higher level than the sensors detected. |
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| Exposure bracketing |
Using the bracketing function, the camera shoots a number of pictures at different exposure values for each frame. In situations where correct exposure might be difficult to obtain, bracketing gives you more than one exposure so that you can choose the best result. It is possible to shoot 3 or 5 pictures of the scene in sequential shooting, but the shots can also be taken manually. This is helpful e.g. when subjects pass quickly but only occasionally, like runners in a marathon.
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| The bracketing function can be used in all dial exposure modes. Used in the program mode it changes aperture and speed, whilst in the aperture or shutter mode the pre-set values are kept and only the counter value changes. In the manual mode the priority lies on the aperture, so that the shutter speed is modified. |
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| The compensation values can be adjusted in 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV increments. |
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| Working range |
| Thanks to the wide working range, accurate exposure readings can be taken even in darker situations, like twilight. ESP and centre-weighted metering can handle light levels between 1 EV and 20 EV. |
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