OM System OM-1 – Dynamic Range and Exposure Metering Expert Guide

I really like your presentation of the material. Without pathos and ostentation, which have become so much in our time. Very glad your channel was recommended on reddit. Subscribe

None other as comprehensive and easily understandable as what you're doing, keep up the good work... and none other as stylish as you are :)

Does a same type card eyists for the OM-5?

LiveND for OM-1 and Em13, 1x can also dramatically increase dynamic range when situation allows. It's averaging frames, which increases signal to noise ratio. There is a special section in photonstophotos about dynamic range in HiRes and LiveND for Olympus cameras. LiveND on OM-1 can achieve full 12 stops of photographic dynamic range, same caliber as the Hasselblad (potentially only limited by 12-bit raw for Olympus cameras?).

ThanksThomas, again such practical advice and the bonus guide saves me writing scratchy notes instead!

HoThomas, very intersting and understandable. The method you introduced is very accurate, but takes a lot of time. An alternative methode I am shooting mostly in A mode. I have set ON the highlight and shadow peaking and metering of the whole sensor. So, when I am shooting I also the the exposure correction so, that the clipping did appear, or is only on little part in the picture which is not necessary to have informations. What do you say to this method?

Great explanation. Thanks 😊

Love your video! Would love to see you talk more about the D800. :)

💎💎💎

Great Thomas! C'è un modo per avere la misurazione sul soggetto seguito con tracking ml

Is it nor easier to use onscreen histogram?

Hi Thomas. I am in the process of considering have a system change. The OM-1 is just a bridge to far for me. I am considering the OM-D-E M1-MkIII. Will the same philosophy apply.

I may have missed something but are you saying to meter only Spot H and Spot S, and not to use just full Spot metering?

So well explained, thank you

Hello. Wonderful and very straight to the point explanations. Graphics are superb. I have a curiosity, what is the source of information for this scale this EV values Scale (high fidelity) and up and down this values??

Thanks!

Good to know Gossen still makes light metres

Hi great video, I like the lack of padding and good info. Can I ask how did you determine the dynamic range in the first place as this is of course very critical to the data you provide? Thanks so much Mark

Thanks for the informative video. Unable to download reference card.

Here's an idea for you: do a video on HDR in the OM-1. I've just been playing around with various methods for HDR, and they produce very different results. So-called Averaging HDR, where you take a bunch of identical exposures, stack them, then average them, greatly reduces noise, but doesn't expand the high fidelity range of the sensor, so you can end up with noise-free, but very oddly colored, shadows. Somewhat true, too, for three-exposure traditional HDR processed in post by blending the images. In my experiment today, shooting out the window of my dark office, I got the best results with five-exposure HDR. Last night, shooting a distant hillside with houses on it, I got artifacts around the lights with the three-shot HDR. Last night, too, shooting the full moon rising above a hillside, I got a moon with a pronounced orange rim while using the in-camera (as opposed to the post-processing) HDR mode. So if you need a high dynamic range, you have to choose your tool carefully.

Very informative and important stuff for OM-1 users!

Hello
About the shadow recover I do sometimes use the extended ISO ranger like 64 or 100 ISO in order to have less noise and colo shift into the shadows for my landscapes pictures. ( OM-D E-M1 mark III )
If I do understand well 64 and 100 ISO are internaly over exposed pictures that are processed to be lowered but it also limits the high lights recover due to the over expose process.

very good video, thank you, consider also LiveND function, which extends dynamic range a lot, but you must be aware not to clip highlights

Terrific, really helpful, thank you.

Very useful again! It's really helpful to know where the high fidelity range is; I'd never seen anything specific on it. I particularly like your walk-through of the studio scene, using spot metering. I was aware the live histogram is a JPEG thing, and not necessarily reflective of the raw exposure, and would be interested in further info on that. Perhaps a future video? Also—and perhaps you also have a video already on it—I am curious about the HDR features of the camera. I've never had much luck with them myself, but figure it's probably from ignorance on my part. Finally, your wearing a coat and tie, while irrelevant to the content of your videos, is a really cool touch.

super videos, peter, whats about live histogram and ettr shoting with om-1?

When using HDR, do you get the image in sRGB only (like the user manual states), or, since you say RAW output is possible, can you open the file in Adobe RGB colour space? Sorry about the many questions.

Unfortunately I don’t have an Om1 but the em1 mk iii. I like your methodological approach. Will still give this try based on the dynamic range of the mk iii

So many people tell me that my OM-1 has bad Dynamic range compared to their full frame. Then I laugh when they say they shoot JPEG.

Thank you for another very interesting video. Regarding HDR RAW files, what is your source for the +1EV claim? To my knowledge the RAW file is a standard one, but the JPG benefits from the HDR compositing. I would also mention LiveND as a great way of increasing DR in the sadows.

Thanks for the reference sheet Thomas. I found the video extremely interesting. I like the technical approach of these videos It’s then up to us how we use that information.

Personally, I mainly photograph birds, so a lot of the preparatory steps won’t always be possible, but keeping the dynamic range you stated in mind will be very helpful. p.s. I was going to post this comment on your blog after I dl’d the pdf but I thought it would be of more value to you here

So, if I'm hearing this right the OM-1 has - effectively - 6 stops of "usable" dynamic range, i.e. -3 to +3 EV?

Really interesting. i will try i am sure it will improve my exhibits. These videos and tech tips are really very helpful for you to improve. thank you

Regarding HDR you’re talking about ”the resulting RAW-file”. The user manual, however, states that ”The combined picture is saved in JPEG format.” This means, as I understand it, that the OM-1 produces no combined RAW-file when in HDR mode.

Very good explanation! Thanks a lot!

I love your videos. Very informative on the subject and nicely to the point.
You are covering only iso 200 in this video but we all know sometimes you have to crank up the ISO anyway. Could you add a video about how the dynamic range changes then and how we can best approach preserving it in those cases?
Thanks in advance!

Great job! I am an OM user from China. Your video helps me have a better command of my camera. Thx a lot！

Hi Thomas. Good work once again. One question regarding light meter(s) and adding 0.7 when working with the OM-1. So, if I have the lights set up and a light meter reading is f/4...I should set my camera to approximately 3/4 of a stop (0.7) higher than f/4...or, approx. 1/3 (since we can only adjust in full, 0.5, or thirds of a stop) of a stop less than f5/6? Or do I set my camera to f/4 and set lights to give an f/4.7 light meter reading?

Excellent. Again.

Very technical. A side by side comparison of HDR and High Res mode for Dynamic Range comparison would have been useful. Also, would have liked more examples with real shots to drive home the point. Very educating nevertheless!

Another amazing video. Thanks, Thomas. Jose, from Puerto Rico. With the OM-1, I've set the dynamic range settings to around 253 to avoid clipping. But I've also learned to trust the histogram, which will let you know if you're in the danger zone. I've always shot in raw since I'm an amateur, and I can understand that sports photographers might need JPGs to send to editors quickly. In my case I like to take my time. But I'm eager to see the other videos you'll put here in the future.

Super interesting.... but you forgot to investigate the LiveND mode. It is amazing the extra headroom that you get in the shadows (bigger than HDR and HRes)

If landscape has no big dynamic differences is there .jpg not enough? ( i don t like to post process a lot)

A very interesting and informative video, thank you Thomas. I am a nature photographer and I am wondering if I am missing something in the settings I use but I cannot really foresee any problems myself. I suspect I am similar to many other photographers in that I use Evaluative metering, i.e. the whole scene and I use Auto ISO and I simply adjust the exposure to the right until I get clipping then I turn it left by 1/3 stop - so that clipping is not visible. I appreciate this would not be so accurate as your method demonstrated but having said that your method is not suited to fast action photography. I would welcome any views or observations you may have on this topic.

What metering mode would you use if shooting wildlife that are backlit, say on a safari? Will spot metering the animal not blow out the background?

Very interesting video, Thomas ! Thank you !
What is your opinion about activating "live shadow&highlight clipping" in the camera ? (to show in live-view the burned highlights with red and underexposed shadow with blue).
I activated this option on previous Olympus camera (E-M1 MK II). I ussually increased the exposure until the highlights started to clipping in the live-view.
For me it was a very good instrument to get the best DR from a scene.