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Olympus E-330 histograms

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Colin Jago

New member
I know the E-330 is a minority taste even in this minority corner, but I'm picking up an odd quirk in the histograms and I'm looking for some corroboration before I report it to Olympus.

Briefly, when using raw but previewing and reviewing in monochrome the in-camera histogram doesn't seem to pick up when one channel is over-exposed (regardless of whether the histogram is showing one or four charts).

I've got examples where the camera shows the graph comfortably under but the raw converter shows a marginal over-exposure when one channel is way out of line with the other two.

I'm writing a short piece for Asher about why one would want to use mono preview. I'd quite like to work out whether I'm dealing with a 'fault' by Olympus or whether there is a work around.

Any E-330 users out there?

Colin
 
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Tom Yi

New member
Histograms are JPEG representations of your RAW image. So if you increse the JPEG's contrast, saturation, and sharpening, that will affect the histogram you see.
If you haven't, set saturation, color, contrast, and sharpening for the JPEG setting at neutral when shooting RAW.
 
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Colin Jago

New member
Tom,

I thought that that might be the case (but, is that speculation or knowledge? I don't think in can be universally true. My P20 doesn't produce jpegs. The histogram there has always struck me as remarkably accurate).

If it is, then I have a conflict of desires.....as I wish to use the camera to compose in monochrome, the display can't be set to neutral.

Colin
 
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Tom Yi

New member
Adjusting the JPEG settings can make very slight changes to the histogram.
I leave mine in neutral for the Canon but realize that since this is a JPEG representation, that some of the clipped off areas are actually not clipped since I'm shooting in RAW.

Colin,
Any views or impressions of the Oly?
 
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Colin Jago

New member
Tom Yi said:
Colin,
Any views or impressions of the Oly?
Click to expand...

Tom,

The short version is that it an OK camera producing excellent results in the field that I am interested in. I'm using it, almost exclusively, as a studio camera with the 10x focussing magnification.

For the long answer, can I direct you to my blog?. Coverage of the E-330 begins in June 2006.

Colin
 
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Moshe Ronen

New member
Colin,

From your blog on E-330:

"Well, not quite. I had already used one of the menu options to allocate the drive button on the camera back to allow depth of field preview. So now I had to hunt through the menu structure (sigh) to find a way of telling the camera to expect an IR trigger. The E330 does not have an industry leading menu structure. I eventually worked out how to select IR as a drive option and have the drive button enabled as a depth of field preview (all of which I immediately forgot, so I hope never to have to do it again). Sorted."

Please, try to remember what you did! I couldn't figure out a way how to do it.

Thanks,

Moshe
 
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Moshe Ronen

New member
Thanks Colin!

Very clear, and works fine!

Let me give you another challenge: As you have probably noticed, the 'Auto bracket' function is actually semi-auto, you must press the shutter button repeatedly for each frame in the sequence, unless you set the mode to sequential shooting. That means you cannot use the IR remote in 'Auto bracket', and when you repeatedly press the button you are likely to move the camera from one shot to another...

There are numerous small quirks, I think the camera needs a basic firmware update (ver 1.2 was OK, but more is needed).

Thanks,
Moshe
 
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Colin Jago

New member
Auto bracket

Moshe Ronen said:
Let me give you another challenge: As you have probably noticed, the 'Auto bracket' function is actually semi-auto, you must press the shutter button repeatedly for each frame in the sequence, unless you set the mode to sequential shooting. That means you cannot use the IR remote in 'Auto bracket', and when you repeatedly press the button you are likely to move the camera from one shot to another...


Thanks,
Moshe
Click to expand...

Moshe,

I may be missing your point here. With the camera set to expect IR input and AE bracketing turned on via the menu, repeated presses of the remote release takes you through the number of AE bracket steps that you have selected. It seems to work exactly like pressing the shutter button on the camera.

All just tested in Live View B mode, as auto bracketing is not something I do much of. I'm usually f-stop bracketing to get different focus effects.

I agree that this is still only semi-auto as there isn't a continuous IR release mode, but you don't have to touch the camera.

Colin
 
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Moshe Ronen

New member
Colin Jago said:
Moshe,

I may be missing your point here. With the camera set to expect IR input and AE bracketing turned on via the menu, repeated presses of the remote release takes you through the number of AE bracket steps that you have selected
...
...
Colin
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm sorry, you are right, you can do it from the IR remote, do not have to touch the camera. But, as you said, it's still only semi-automatic...

On the Bracket subject, why only 3 frames?

Thanks,
Moshe
 
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Colin Jago

New member
Moshe Ronen said:
On the Bracket subject, why only 3 frames?

Thanks,
Moshe
Click to expand...


Moshe,

Probably for the same reason that I had to look up how to do AE bracketing to answer your last question. Histograms seem to me to have consigned AE bracketing to the dustbin except in very rare circumstances. Five brackets would be nice, but only in a 'nice to know that it is there' sort of way.

It might be fun to ask this question in one of the more general forums. Does anybody use AE bracketing with a dSLR?

Colin
 
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Moshe Ronen

New member
Colin,

Your remarks about AE bracketing are probably correct. The only time I find it really useful is when I don't have the time to analyze the hidtogram and correct the exposure. The 'shot-gun' approach is practical, one of the shots will hit the target...

But it would have been nice if you had the histogram in the live-preview, as it is in the Oly c8080.

Moshe
 
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Colin Jago

New member
Live histograms. Not.

Moshe Ronen said:
But it would have been nice if you had the histogram in the live-preview, as it is in the Oly c8080.

Moshe
Click to expand...

Moshe,

I really don't understand why Olympus did not put a live preview histogram in this camera. There are a number of aspects of the camera which suggest half baked development. I think that the need to be first and the need to have new products every x months meant that the E-330 was left unfinished.

That doesn't stop it being a great machine, but it could so easily have been better.

Colin
 
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Moshe Ronen

New member
OK, we all noted the declaration date, and Oly got first place... Now they can go on and improve the product. Many of the things may be done in firmware.

Moshe
 
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