Landscape Photography and the Olympus Hi Res Mode

[@jonbarnard7186]

I now use the OM1, and here are my thoughts about the High Res mode, used hand-held. One of the main benefits of this mode turns out to be improvements in dynamic range and decrease in image noise, not just an increase in resolution. In my experience, this dictates a high iso (and faster shutter speeds) for the best image improvements. For example, with my OM1, I can get noiseless high res images in cathedral interiors at 10,000 iso, 1/80 of a second. Mind you, there has been some improvement in the OM1, since I'm talking about hand held shots. Obviously, any movement in the image will ruin it, so this is a huge limitation over a FF sensor shot. But for scenes with no movement, higher iso and faster shutter speed will get you better images than will lower iso and slower shutter speeds. This may not be true for tripod mounted 80 mg shots, but I think it's true for hand held shots. I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality (and ease of use) of this hand held, high res. mode.

[@Luigi13]

Hi Mark, your description and the working of the camera is spot on and very detailed with images and concise information.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks for viewing and for your comment

[@Landscape_Tog]

Thank you Mark, as a recent Olympus convert (E-M1X) and long time Canon shooter, this is a very unbiased informative video.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks for viewing and for your comment.

[@davebellamy4867]

Yes. Lack of bias is very important. I like it when the video shoes the shots, makes prescient comments that agree with what you can then see with your own eyes - and leaves the marketing to others.😊

[@kungula]

thank youMark. High Res, Focus Stacking/ bracketing, Live Composite, Live Bulb, Pro Capture are the features I love on my E-M1 II

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Rom. The Oly is certainly crammed full of features.👍

[@tizio54]

Excellent commentary on the pros & cons of the high-res mode, providing very useful insights that I had not yet seen in other Olympus videos.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks, glad it was of use.

[@alantuttphotography]

I like how you present the information. What surprises me most is that a 12-100 lens resolves enough detail to make this mode useful.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Alan, many thanks for your comment. I am constantly amazed at just how good the 12-100 is. When I first started with M43, just over a couple of years ago, I dismissed the 12-100 in favour of the 12-40 2.8, thinking that a lens with such a large range as the 12-100 couldn’t possibly deliver the goods; I was wrong. It’s a great lens and ideal for travel. 👍

[@ottomellar6774]

It took me a long time to find the quick way to engage this mode. Glad you showed how to do it via the back screen options. I have used this on a 5.2, and it let me get a knockout shot of very unusual light and fog in Sydney that needed a lot of processing. I will try it with my 1.2 in panorama mode, great idea.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Otto for viewing and for commenting; have fun 👍

[@stevecain1956]

Very well explained and informative.

[@MrTaurushill]

Hi, good video on this topic, but I have a few comments: 1.) High res mode greatly improves EVERY optic it is used with, with the probable exception of pinhole lenscaps. I have had great results, even with the 9mm f8 bodycap lens, for example! Same for the hand held high resolution mode, it is quite brilliant in all applied cases. 2.) For the best technical results, esp. with the very best lenses, in windy conditions or any other conditions that may permit camera shift during the exposure sequence, special measures and care MUST be taken to control any movement or vibration. Reduced sharpness will tend to be most pronounded at the edges/corners. By the very best, I mean lenses like the 50mm f/2, SHG 14-35mm f2, PL 10-25mm f/1.7, 17mm f/1.2 and the like... I use (and suggest using) a tripod designed for much heavier loads than the type of tripod you pictured in your video. In addition, (or esp. if a heavy tripod is not possible) for windy conditions, I would heavily weight the tripod using the load hook on the underside of the center column/head plate. A good way to accomplush this is to bring an empty bag with hanging loops or similar, and use rocks found on location to weight it. You want to add weight without adding too much additional area for the wind to act against, which is why using a camera bag/backback is not always the best choice here. This is esp helpful if using a carbon fiber tripod, as the reduced weight is not at all an asset while in use during windy conditions! From my testing so far, the Hand-held High Resolution mode does a better job with it's handling of movement/creating pleasing blurred elements, while also greatly accentuating sharpness and detail, reducing noise and adding color depth and latitude in highlights and shadows. It can be used at ISO's up to 6400 and it may be a better choice than T-HR, if shooting on a potentially shaky tripod, if available. This would seem to be the future.. 3.) Movement can be good. I find I prefer some movement in my images. Light trails, blur and other signs of life can often add to an image, rather than detract. While it can be a challenging factor to integrate into one's composition, I feel it is often worth the trouble, adding 'that special something'. As you say, making the right choice in the settings can make the difference, and this may actually be an interesting area to experiment with, for many users trying out this capture mode for the first time. Regards, Jan

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Jan for your comments; some useful info there that I'm sure many will find helpful👍👍

[@DavZell]

Since this video, the high res mode has been further improved. Where the camera detects areas with movement, it will replace them with data from the first frame. Sometimes this can result in visible differences in resolution/detail, but it is a reasonable tradeoff to many compared to, in your example, seeing 8 car images.

[@davebellamy4867]

Thanks for this video. Lots of usable information in here. I was intrigued that the 25Mp high jpeg res shot is a smaller file size than the standard 20Mp Large Superfine mode shot, because the high res mode has Fine compression level (4×) rather than superfine (2.7×). Photographing some printed materials, the high res image is clearly better looking than the 20 Mp image, while using less data space! Of course if you shoot normal mode in large fine LF 20Mp the 25Mp high res image file is about 25% bigger as expected. I'm hoping to look into this more. Of course the 50Mp high res is a bigger step up from the 25 high res than the 25 high res is from the 20 in standard mode. On an EM5 Mk iii.

[@samuelecapetti102]

Thank you for your preciuous video tutorial

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Samuele for watching and for your comment

[@gilbertwalker6769]

Excellent video! Thanks so much for offering us your experience.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Gilbert.

[@onthemove301]

Tried the EM1X in handheld hires, photographing a jeweller's window in a shopping mall with the 300mm f4. Compared it with my Sony 200-600 f5.6/6.3 on an A7R3. Strictly not a fair comparison, since one was a fixed focal length. But the Olympus images were far sharper, and I was handholding the camera with 70 year old arms. I had to rest the Sony on a monopod. Also I used 6400 iso on the Olympus, 1600 iso on the Sony. The Sony images were noisier, presumably because the Olympus reduced noise averaged over 16 exposures. However some colour information was lost on the Olympus. To cut a long story short I bought an EM1mk3, and sold my Sony lens. Love the camera, but the lens was too heavy for my collagen challenged arms.

[@rogman27]

Excellent. I have watched a few of the Olympus instructional videos and they are useless - they just tell you how good the Olympus cameras or lenses are, not how to actually use them. Same problem with Olympus Passion magazine - some good images but no guidance ( unlike Canon’s EOS MAgazine which I subscribed to when I was a Canon shooter). Please keep these sort of instructional videos coming - there are plenty of great features in the EM series cameras to cover

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Roger for viewing and your comment.

[@metalfatigue]

I may have missed it in the video, but the high res modes do an amazing job of noise reduction making high ISO practical with m43. I find I actually prefer higher ISOs with high res, since a high res image at ISO 200 looks almost too "smooth". (Like an overly aggressive fine grain developer, is the only way I can describe it.)

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Randy. No, you didn't miss anything about high ISO and High Res Mode; I didn't cover that aspect. I haven't previously used Hi Res above 800 iso, so it'll be an interesting experiment. Many thanks for the additional input.

[@keithpinn152]

Hi Mark: This has been a very informative video. I haven't used my Hi Res function on my M1 Mark ii in the past as I haven't had the confidence to try it. You have given me that confidence, so I am going to try it out. Keep safe! Cheers, Keith (Canada)

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Keith, Glad it was helpful!

[@RobShootPhotos]

I don't know of anyone who explained the effects of shutter speed as well. Great information!

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many. thanks Rob.

[@Tharty4]

That’s the best I’ve seen on this feature. Many thanks.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many. thanks for the view and the comment; much appreciated.

[@pwx8460]

Thanks for the review of the Olympus high-res mode. Interesting results. One observation, if I could make. While camera shake(windy conditions) may have presented challenges, I wonder if the overall subject distance muted the high-res benefits. The subjects you zoomed into were at great range, and atmospheric effects (haze, thermal shimmering etc.) tend to blur all subjects at large distances. This of course is problematic for any image capture, high resolution or not. Perhaps highly detailed subjects at closer range would show more significant benefits? Thanks.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi, many thanks for your comment, you make some very valid points; environmental conditions can always impact on image quality, especially, as you point out, when viewing more distant objects, as can longer focal lengths (and is something that I should have probably added in the video), and I acknowledge that the main images where I demonstrated the differences between the output options, did indeed concentrate on far distant objects. Though, of course, these were all taken from the same physical shot and so any variation between those particular images were purely down to the differnces between the outputs. Regarding the image where I believed the quality was degraded as a result of camera shake issues, the one I showed was actually the best of the bunch I had taken during that session with High Res, there were others taken at even faster shutter speeds that were worse, even when looking at the bridge itself. So I am reasonably confident that these particular problems on that image were as a result of camera shake rather than other environmental issues. Your point that closer more detailed subjects would demonstrate more significant benefits for Hi Res is well made, though having demonstrated the improvement in image quality in the small Hi Res Jpeg, of the Bridge tower warning sign, I didn’t feel the need to dwell further on that, the video would have become too long, as I also wanted to demonstrate potential issues for using Hi Res for Landscapes. Cheers

[@1arjen8]

Brilliant contribution, so insightful, thank you!

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Arjen for viewing and for your comment.

[@ridealongwithrandy]

Thank you mark, very informative, especially using a SLOWER shutter speed to rid the bridge of cars. Sometimes, I find that the jpg comes out sharper than the orf.

[@MarkLindstrom]

I'm glad you found it of use. The Jpegs do indeed tend to come out sharper due to the in camera processing, and so the Raw files need some work to get them anything like.

[@johannesdewald5487]

Thanks, looking forward to more analytic approach videos !

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Johannes; I’m hoping to cover a broad spectrum of topics.

[@jonbarnard7186]

I wonder if the hand-held high res. mode of the newer Olympus cameras alleviates the camera shake problem at all?

[@MarkLindstrom]

High Jon. Many thanks for viewing and for the comment. The hand held high res mode might well assist in this area, unfortunately I have no experience of using the Handheld mode.

[@oneeyedphotographer]

If you use pixel shift and measure an exposure of one minute, in effect you get eight minutes of blur, I think that should suite a lot of photographers, and generally minimise the artifacts. Unless youhave swans swimming around leaving their trails.

[@shelwee]

Excellent. Thorough.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kbruff2010]

09-11-2020 Thank you for this information.

[@MarkLindstrom]

You're welcome. Many thanks for viewing

[@mojbahadori9643]

Hi Mark, I am wondering if we can pixel shift while we are using focus stacking mood, means; can I get a 80 mp final stacked photo from the camera and having the both options functioning in the same time? thank you

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Moj. When you set the camera to Focus Bracketing, the shooting mode goes to Sequential High. And so even if you have the camera set to Hi Res and then turn on Focus Bracketing, you only get the standard res shots. You can however do manual focus stacking in High Res mode, just by manually adjusting the focus points and taking High Res Shots, and then blending them in Photoshop etc. I hope that helps?

[@mojbahadori9643]

@@MarkLindstrom :)) waiting for the rest of explanation . thank you

[@MarkLindstrom]

HI Moj. Sorry, I'm not sure what more you were waiting on? I might have said it the long way round, but no, you cannot use pixel shift and the Focus Bracketing mode at the same time.

[@Renegade1127]

I have an issue with Hi-Res on the E-M1 mark ii. It doesn't work over WiFi. Despite setting up Hi-Res on the body, as soon as you connect to a smartphone it goes back to standard 20mp single shot.

[@winheiMR]

Das Problem welches ich mit dieser OM Funktion habe , ist das sich Teile im Bild während der Belichtung verändern, verwackeln oder eben nicht exakt deckungsgleich an den Rändern sind, in der Vergrößerung sieht man es . Wenn kein Wind geht oder das Gebäude still steht mag es gehen. Viele sehr feine Strukturen leiden stark.

[@hemantpatil7558]

Thank you for all efforts

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Hermant.

[@RyanWoo]

Good example. Thank you

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Ryan

[@zeroken]

Thanks for this, but I using HHHR for 3yrs time, LR will have issue for the HR raw, if you Iridient O-Transformer to open the ORF, it will give you full advantage to edit.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Many thanks Doomster for sharing the info re O-Transformer 👍

[@bestvideos4ever1]

thanks for putting out this information, that fast moving objects are blured in a Focus stacking, its obvious cause they shot different shots one after another and not simultaniously. good information though

[@Gunni-og3hz]

Hi MArk thank you so much for this interseting video. But I ve got one question. Hope you can answer it. I am using Luminar NEO for editing my photos. I´ve made HRS shots with my EM 1 MK 2 and tried to edit them in NEO. Always when I try to edit them Luminar "cropped" the Image and I did not seen the whole Image. It seems to be zoomed into the picture. Is editing only possible with the Olympus Workspace or is it a mistake from me? Thanks a lot in advance to help me. Best regards from Cologne, Guntram

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Guntram, many thanks for the view. Unfortuneatly I don't use Luminar products, but Hi Res images (RAW and Jpegs) process fine with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, and so they're not restricted to Olympus Workspace; it might be a compatibility issue between Luminar and the High Res Orf file. I'm aware of previous issues with earlier version of their product, but that was a couple of years ago. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

[@Gunni-og3hz]

@@MarkLindstrom thanks for your quick answer. Meanwhile the Support from Luminar told me that Luminar NEO does not support HRS Images. And I ´ve found in the web that only Photoshop and Lightroom are able to edit pixel shifted Images. Best regards, Guntram

[@romainprovost7164]

Can you show how to assemble several photos taken in HR mode in a single panorama? Thank you very much

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Romain.Many thanks for all your interest. The stitching of the images will depend on the software you use. But the method of stitching the high res images will be the same as for any pano stitch. I use Lightroom, and in that product it is simply a matter of highlighting the images you want to merge and selecting Photo Merge from the 'Photo' menu and then selecting Panorama. However, due to the file size, it can slow your computer down a bit. Might make a good subject for a future video. 👍

[@majamogens]

You repeat that the lens should be able to resolve the many megapixels - but is it not the fact, that because you put together the image of many shots, the lens should 'only' be able to resolve the normal 20 Mpixels?

[@c.augustin]

No, it doesn't work that way. You would get a slightly better image (because color interpolation could be done differently), but the sensor would still "sample" a lower resolution image from the lens. To get the "full" resolution, the lens has to provide an image on the sensor that has a sufficient resolution. (Yes, some advanced image processing could be done on a "supersampled" image of lower resolution, but only to a certain degree, and it would never have the full resolution.)

[@pwx8460]

Agree with you Mogens. The total image after processing may be 80mp, but each single image used for the composite is only 20mp. So the demand on the lens is only a resolution of 20. I actually think this is an advantage with the Olympus approach for high-res. Other cameras with single image capture for high resolution require greater demands on their respective lenses. The full color information at each pixel is an added bonus.

[@Mir1189]

In general there is no relation between lens and megapixel count. Lens may have different levels of sharpness or different levels of transmission (eg. when the aperture is on optimal value, the contrast will be the best). You may as well use the same lens for sensor of same size, but with higher pixel count.

[@pwx8460]

@@Mir1189 Nope. There absolutely is the ability of a sensor to out resolve a lens. Why would there be lens research and new optics coming out all the time and more frequently since the advent of digital as compared to the film days. Theoretically, are you saying a sensor with an infinite number of pixels can use the same glass as available today? Resolution can be limited in two ways, sensor limited, or lens limited. As sensors gain pixels there is more demand on the glass. For now the glass may not be the limiting factor, but it certainly can be.

[@Mir1189]

@@pwx8460 Maybe because 35mm film with normal grain had resolution around 50 megapixels and medium format (6x6 centimeter) up to 262mpx. Digital photography is catching on quality of classic photography about now. Actually if you check some pages like "optical limites", you might find tests where one lens was tested on 21, 30 and 50mpix sensors, each time with better benchmarks in terms of image transmission. Also lenses are usually made for the format/sensor size (be it FF/film, APS-C, M43, or medium format), but never for pixel count.

[@redpillnibbler4423]

Get out there and practice with it - there’s nothing stopping you 👍 Surely you don’t need lens capable of resolving high detail because the high res mode does all the work,in practice it should make a mediocre lens into a top performing lens!

[@romainprovost7164]

On the EM1 mark III, can we do HR mode (with tripod) with a larger aperture (if i got a lens with F1.2, F2.8 aperture )?

[@MarkLindstrom]

I believe the EM1 iii operates the same in tripod HR mode as my mk2 in HR mode. The only restriction is that you cannot go above f8, but anything below is fine.

[@borderlands6606]

Hi-Res seems a marginal blessing at best. If you take into account multi-exposure blurring, possible diffraction or need for ND filters, potential camera movement, etc, the apparent benefits could be matched by a sharper prime lens and/or larger resolution sensor. For interiors Hi-Res has potential, but under such controlled conditions there are alternatives. Tests I've seen on Olympus and other manufacturer's high resolution modes, show no positive advantage that isn't equalled by a deficit.

[@MiaogisTeas]

Isn't it funny that while you sit here and bloviate, others are out there actually using these things making stuff. It's OK, you go ahead and keep dithering back and forth while we're outside playing 😄

[@borderlands6606]

@@MiaogisTeas I'll be shooting large format. See you out there.

[@jusquicitoutvabien777]

Amazing !

[@romainprovost7164]

What is the best tripod to use in mixed photo and video use with the EM1 mark III?

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Romain. It's not that easy to recommend a specific tripod, there are so many and much will depend on how much you want to spend and the weight you are happy to carry. Essentially the heavier the tripod the more stable it is likely to be, but the less portable it will be. If you intend to do panning video shots, you will probably need a video head for the tripod, the sort with a handle. Sorry I can't be more help.

[@iqueque]

My experience using hi-res mode on my EM1/2 with 7-14 and 12-40 pros lenses has been disappointing for landscapes, where I find the output to be soft and smeared. For still life photography, it works well. For me the reality is that my photos are usually viewed on screens, where the resolution is so low it has no impact. And I have never printed bigger that 80 cm wide, so really don’t need a huge file. I think that if I regularly needed higher resolution, I would buy a full frame Canon with 45 MP. But I definitely prefer the size, weight, durablity and value for money delivered by my Olympus system.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi. Many thanks for viewing and for the comment. Yeah, as mentioned in the video, you have to be mindful of the conditions to get the best out of Hi Res. Like you I'll often use it for still life as well.

[@bamsemh1]

Lr does auto import to Adobe cloud on my system. Are you using Apple? 🤔

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Villiam. Again many thanks for your contribution. I was referring specifically to the ORI files, which from my use don't get recognised nor imported by Lightroom (classic or cloud), from Apple device, which, yes, I am using. If you can please confirm that you are also referring to the ORI files and not the ORF files, and are saying that LR Cloud imports the ORI format from Windows or another platform then there will be many that will be delighted. 👍

[@grahamleigh8398]

@@MarkLindstrom Ivha tv Cc thx

[@trulsdirio]

I love it for my product and similar work. But at those resolutions dust becomes my biggest enemy haha

[@martini_served_here]

the difference between the olympus and the canon night shot is due to the smaller aperture f11 vs f5.

[@maddindscheidschei3830]

Hi Mark, did I get this correct? You made 6 handheld Hi-Res images with the camera and took all the single RAW images and stitched them together in Lightroom? - interesting concept, all the panorama images I get today by any camera are very low res.

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Maddin. Yep you got it right. It does tend to choke the computer a bit though as it was huge file. Many thanks for the view and commenting.

[@onthemove301]

Owning both the EM1MK2 and the G9 I have noticed the latter produces more detailed hires images. I don't own an EM1X, but have read that IS works with hires images in that camera. I also have an A7r3 which doesn't require pixel shift to output 80mpx files. But I prefer the versatility of m43 systems, especially the Olympus bodies, and the smaller lighter lenses. To me, lugging a tripod around just adds to weight carried and partially negates the weight advantages of m43. So, I find the EM1MK2 hires mode a dubious benefit. Better, as you suggest, to do a panorama. And here m43 has a more suitable native output being relatively taller in relation to width than "full frame" cameras which have a native 3:2 format. Of course you need to combine them in post since neither the EM1mk2 or G9 will do it in camera.

[@bestvideos4ever1]

sure, the money is not an isseu. Then you go with 4000,- doll sony camera and 2000,- doll Lens for landscape, or just buy a used mft m1 || with 1000,- pro lens for total under 2000,- doll ofcause it makes total sence. not to speak that for landscape there are litteraly no photographers who have not an stedy tripod, but in case you don't know

[@AliZaidi]

So... the high-res is not really that good?? :-/

[@stevecain1956]

Just a point, there are 4 options, 1 choice. Not 4 choices.

[@bamsemh1]

Handheld 50MP 😊 not the 80MP 😊

[@MarkLindstrom]

Hi Villiam, many thanks for the comment. You'll find that there was a caption at 4m 20secs to that effect; easy to miss though.😉

[@JulesMoyaert_photo]

👍Bravo!

[@MarkLindstrom]

Cheers Jules 🙏

[@klauslehrmann4927]

Doublescreen, or whatever it is? Dude... they are obviously doublesensors.

[@dannyli9424]

Stop fooling yourself, there is no free lunch, saying that as EMD EM1X owner myself. 20 MP MFT is 20 MP MFT, what you can do with this sensor, the same thing can be done on even better 60 megapixel full frame sensor, the gap will remain the same, you think we can stack the MFT image and the other format system can't do it ???

[@stevecain1956]

Ok. I.ll just change the sensor in my 1X for a 60Mp one. Of course you could easily better that with a 100Mp Hasselblad. Dork!

[@stevecain1956]

Of course,we all have a 60Mp camera to hand, why would we want a 1X?