On 5/10/2016 4:53 AM, bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
. . .
To respond to
Moose about the rose photo. Yes I knew it is soft. When I decided to
take the photo conditions were already getting dark with no direct
sunlight. But I thought that if I waited for another day that would be
too late. The flower was already just past its best and had begun its
deterioration.
Let me be clear. I would never have said anything about softness except in context of other comments. I think the slight
softness works well with the subject and light. It's not what I would have done, but it works.
It was taken with the OMD5 and 12-50mm lens. For reasons
mainly to do with loss of electricity in the camera ( now resolved) I
had not used it much and only this week have I started carting it around
with me as a conscious decision.
The 12-50 is one of my most used lenses. A good lens in general, and the Macro
mode avoids many lens changes.
I'm still
finding out how the camera-lens combo works; for example just how much
DOF can I wring out of f/8;
I would have shot it at f11, or both. In spite of the hand wringing about diffraction softening, f11 very often works
well with deep subjects on 4/3 size sensors. That would give slightly better DoF AND allow a faster shutter speed. Most
likely a slightly sharper result.
and for much can I influence it given that
the centre focus choice is a large square and not a point. Note that the
shutter speed was 1/15 second.
A firmware upgrade added a much smaller focus point option. In the menu, go to Custom
Menu A => [...] Set Home =>
There will be three or four choices. If four, there are two with a dot between square brackets. The one without a letter
next to it is the original, and corresponds to the green outline on EVF/screen. The one with an S next to it uses a much
smaller focus point. When you select one, the display for setting home position correctly shows the smaller square of
the "S" setting.
- BUT - the display couldn't be updated, so it looks exactly the same as the larger one on the EVF/screen. It does, in
fact, allow more precise focal placement.
If only three, update the firmware. Latest is 2.2. Update is done by a separate
program, downloadable for free from Oly.
The Mark II has much better IBIS, so 1/15 sec. at that FL should be good, as
long as the subject isn't moving.
Given that the most interesting aspect
of this particular flower is the petal edge detail and the colour
gradation near the edge, in my opinion the loss of detail to do with the
stamens is a minor point.
Agreed
Move your eyes a little further back from the screen and it's not too bad.
I think I already said I like it. :-)
BTW, with more sophisticated, capable software, it's possible to improve the apparent DoF quite a bit.
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/Others/BSwale/Andrea_Jane.htm>
A few rough edges, a result of the previous sharpening, but you may get the
idea. F11 is easier. :-)
Wall Eyed Moose
--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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