E-500 Field test

Gateway Dome Ceiling

Gateway, Araneta, Dome Ceiling

Spent some of my time this weekend playing around with my new Olympus E500 toy and trying to get accustomed with its controls and settings. I think I’m getting a hang of it as some of its controls and menus are somewhat similar to C750. Still I think I have to adjust to its more detailed white balance settings and focusing. Below are some field test samples. No post-processing done, just resizing, watermark and web compression.

One thing I enjoy from the E500 is its 14-45mm Zuiko Kit Lens which is a 28-90mm equivalent on a 35mm camera standard. It’s a nice wide angle lens and focusing is quite fast as well. The dome shot in Araneta’s Gateway has was shot in full wide angle (28mm), Aperture Priority at f3.5, shutter at 1/10sec handheld, Auto White Balance and an ISO of 100.

Ayala Museum

A building from Makati shot from Ayala Museum

Testing the camera outdoors and especially to get that pretty good blue sky I took a shot of a building in Makati in front of the Ayala Museum. One thing about Olympus picture colors I noticed especially in my C750 is that their colors are more lifelike, what you see it what you get. It’s muted which is a turn off to some people considering most people like more saturated and bright colors which I think Canon got it right. Well It was a welcome to know that E500 has some color settings like Vivid, Natural, Muted, Sepia and Monochrome. The Vivid setting somehow gets close to that Canon blue sky colors without any filters since it somehow increases the saturation and sharpness of the picture. The Ayala shot was done in Vivid Colors, Aperture Priority at F9, Shutter speed of 1/160, focal length of 32mm, Auto WB and an ISO of 100.

Wine boxes

Wine boxes

Now to test on how it captures details and indoor white balance, I decided to take some shot of old wine boxes at home. Ok, I think the Auto White Balance is a bit tricky here. I like the white balance of C750 better or maybe I’m just not used to it’s settings. I took some shots on different WB settings just to get myself accustomed to what they call Kelvin temperatures. Good thing there’s the RAW format which I can actually play around the white Balance in case I’m not satisfied with the pic. The details captured on the boxes was sharp and well done though I noticed some minor softness on the edges. The Wine Boxes shot was done handheld at 1/8 seconds shutter speed, aperture priority of F4.4, Auto WB and 100 ISO.

Doggy figurine macro

Doggy figurine macro

For a Macro test, I took a 2.5 inch height “doggy” figurine.Trying to get a Macro shot with a non-macro lens can be a bit tricky. But I can be a stubborn fellow if I wanted to and after numerous shots trying to take a shot on various distance and focal length I think I got a decent one at that. I’m impressed though again on the focusing speed, but only 3 AF points?! I took this Macro with aperture priority of f4.8 at 66mm focal length, shutter at 1/15 sec handheld, WB is at 6000k and an ISO of 100.

Ifugao native container

Ifugao native container

More indoor shots of objects for Macro using this Native container I bought at Bontoc Mountain province. It’s a larger object so it’s much easier to compose, nice DOF, but I think there was a bit blur on the detail since I only have this on handheld. Same setting as before.

Coins and Notes

Coins and Notes

Now this is more on capturing detail shots especially on printed materials. Used different Notes and Coins. I used shutter priority this time around and I had some problems at first since the images were a bit dark, I realized not much light was coming through even if the aperture was already on its widest opening. To get the light right I added +0.7 Exposure Compensation. I’m quite satisfied with the details captured on the notes when seen 100 percent its size. Settings on this shot is 1/40 sec shutter handheld, aperture f4.3, focal length of 52mm, Auto WB, 100 ISO and a +0.7 Exposure Compensation.

Araneta Night Shot

Araneta Night Shot

Tested some night shots in Araneta. Trying to get a decent Photo at night without a tripod is a challenge. I even have to lean by a wall or a lamp post just to get steady. Anyhow, the NightMode itself got some very decent shots. At ISO 400, the noise is much better compared to my C750. I’m also impressed with the control of flash. Even with the flash popped-up I can set the flash not to fire, instead it will act as a strobe and will help in focusing. Like the shot above, since the aperture is set to its widest, there were some DOF on the pic, but the main subject at the front is sharp since the strobe focused in that area. Shot this in Night+Portrait Mode, with shutter of 1/4sec handheld, aperture of f3.5, focal length of 28mm, WB of 5300k and an ISO 100.

Well that’s just about it for now. I think I’m getting a hang of my Toy and take advantage of all its features.

Tags: Araneta, Cubao, Photography, Quezon City

eric aka senor enrique Says:
November 20th, 2006 at 11:45 pm

Wow! Congratulations on your new toy! You seem to have started really enjoying it. Cool.

Sidney Says:
November 21st, 2006 at 9:22 am

It looks like you enjoy your new baby!
I think most digital camera’s can and will improve a lot in the next few years. We should really be able to capture what we see exactly as we see it. Especially with harsh light and strong shadows most camera’s are not doing a good job.

jhenny Says:
November 21st, 2006 at 10:21 am

wow! magkano ba yang toy ng makabili din ako LOL joke lang… hinde ko kaya yan hehehe… tsaka na lang kapag nakapag-aral na me hehehe…

Nostalgia Manila Says:
November 21st, 2006 at 11:19 am

Salamat sa pagbisita!

Link exchange tayo!

http://nostalgiamanila.blogspot.com

Maraming salamat ulit!
–NM

tina Says:
November 21st, 2006 at 11:19 am

Nice nice pictures. Hey your last picture is the same place where Iskoo had his shot also. Did you see each other?

rayts Says:
November 21st, 2006 at 11:36 am

i’m loving the effect. really. i am planning to buy a new camera as well, but I am prefering Nikon…although i’ve been using Olympus for quite a while. in your opinion, what do you think is the advantage of Olympus over Nikon? or is this rather a tricky question to ask.

lagal[og] Says:
November 21st, 2006 at 3:45 pm

enjoy your new toy bro. ok ung 14-45 kit lens mo. i’m saving up to get either a 12-24 or 11-20 and boy, even the third party brands are expensive. sarap mag-landscape shots using that so, shall we look forward to more of your great shots?

richard Says:
November 21st, 2006 at 5:28 pm

wow! that’s great! enjoy your new toy.. di ko masyado gets kasi wala akong ganong alam sa mga hi-tech equipments… hehe

nakakamiss ang Makita… btw, nice shots!

iskoo Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 12:58 am

mukhang gamay mo na ang bago mong toy… penge naman picture dito para magawa kong wallpaper sa pc ko

more more great pictures to come!

JMom Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 6:31 am

Hi Ferdz, salamat sa dalaw. I love your blog! You have beautiful photographs ang galing!

howling Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 7:30 am

splendid pics… i really like the araneta night shot. aperture and shutter speed is rocket science to me, but this kind of picture taking i have done with reasonable success, although as you implied you need to have a tripod to do it properly. i’ve done it with a steady hand and yes, the help of a wall or a lamp post. night portrait mode is like a walk in the park… bah! humbug.

lagal[og] Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 12:03 pm

bro! thanks for dropping by! hamo, will update you if i get my wide-angle wish this pasko happy shooting!

denver Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 1:38 pm

haneeep!!! naka-DSLR na! nakita ko rin sa wakas ang pics ng E500…. sana ako din!

Alternati Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 4:44 pm

hahaha… I always look stupid when I do night shots. Contorting your body or leaning on whatevers just to minimize moving the camera. I also do the whole… “everyone hold your pose for 5 seconds even after the flash goes off!”

hehehe… I have zero knowledge about apertures and white balance. I am good with compositions though, or so I’ve been told.

As usual, excellent pictures.

Imnas Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 9:37 pm

Congratulations on the new toy. =) I have yet to purchase a DSLR.. say twenty years from now (smiles) =) I hope I won’t be that old to try it =) Thanks for the comment on my blog too. Much appreciated. I’m an amateur/newbie.. still learning.. Anyway, enough about me, good luck on your new cam!