Quick and Dirty Monitor Calibration

Colour management and calibration is one of those mystic arts. As photographers it's something we know we should be doing, but most of us never do. And lets face it, most of the time we get away with it. Modern LCD monitors are very good right out of the box, and computer software programmes (like Photoshop) apply ICC profiles automatically that help us get the best out of our gear without even having to think about it. I bet most of you don't even know what ICC profiles are - do you?

As a graphic designer who supplied files to different clients and commercial printers, I used to own a very expensive set of colour calibration tools. Dirty little secret time - I hardly ever used them. There's just so many variables when you really get involved with colour management (time of day, workspace surroundings, type of paper if your printing etc), that it's just easier to put it in the 'too hard' basket and forget about it. And as I've already mentioned, today's technology does a lot of it for us anyway.

Having said all that, I am still skilled enough to be able to tell if my monitor calibration is a bit 'off'. And this was certainly the case with my Asus monitor for my home desktop system. I built my own computer last year, and the monitor was unfortunately one of the last items on my list. I was running out of money fast, so purchased a cheap, second-hand monitor. Not ideal, but the best I could do. It's certainly not a bad monitor, but it's probably something I should be upgrading sooner rather than later.

I suspected that the monitor itself was set a little 'hot', and that I was over-compensating with the blacks when I processed an image. Whenever I took an image file from my home system into work (where I have a set of very nice Dell monitors), the image was a bit too dark. Since I don't have any of my colour calibration tools anymore, I did what any red-blooded modern man would do - I Googled 'free monitor calibration software'.

There are, of course, several options out there. But the one I decided to try was Natural Color Pro (only for Windows). It's a free download, and is actually a monitor calibration programme for Samsung monitors, but it will work on any brand. It takes you through six easy steps; allowing you to fine tune brightness, contrast, gamma (red, blue & green) and lighting conditions, before spitting out an ICC profile it applies to your computer.

The six steps are very easy to follow, and while it might be a bit too basic for the hard-core colour management gurus among us, it actually did a really good job of fixing the problem that I was aware of already. My monitor was indeed far too bright, and I had to lower the brightness way down from my original setting.

Once the profile was loaded, I went into Lightroom and looked at some of the images that I had edited recently. It was instantly obvious that I had been too heavy-handed with the blacks and shadows. The histograms were a bit of a giveaway as well (all bunching up on the left), which is partly what eluded me to the problem in the first place. Now that my monitor has been 'calibrated' I'm seeing so much more detail in the shadows, and my histograms are making much more sense!
 
Colour management is one of those topics that can make grown men run screaming from a room in fear. It's not for the faint of heart - but it's also something that, as photographers, we do need to be aware of. If you have a feeling that your computer monitor isn't displaying colours accurately, then some type of monitor calibration routine might be worth a crack. It doesn't have to be onerous. Maybe a simple - free - programme like Natural Color Pro might just be the answer?  

First landscape shoot with the OM-D E-M1

I have had the Olympus OM-D E-M1 for about a month and hadn’t really used it out in the field yet. I planned to rectify that this past weekend, and fortunately it seemed that we were going to get some clear weather here on the West Coast – even though the rest of the country was experiencing some of the worst (wettest) weather on record!

Despite this predication, the day dawned cloudy and grey. I hadn’t planned on getting up before sunrise anyway, but when I looked out on grey skies I almost flagged the whole idea. Fortunately I decided to go out anyway, although I also decided to not travel very far (only 5 minutes down the road) since it didn’t look very promising.

My local beach (Cobden) has a track that leads up to a lookout over the coast (an area known as Point Elizabeth). You can stop at the lookout and take in a great view of the coastline, or you can continue through to Rapahoe beach on the other side of the Point. It had been a long time since I had visited the lookout on the Cobden beach side, so that’s where I decided to shoot. I figured that even if the images weren’t any good, the walk would be worth it.

Lowepro Sling 100AW

My ‘landscape’ kit has evolved since getting the E-M1. It now consists of the E-M1 body with grip attached (I could get away with not using the grip, but prefer the ergonomics it brings to the camera, as well as the extra battery life), Olympus Zuiko 12-50mm f3.5/6.3 EZ, and Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200mm f4/5.6. This is a super light-weight kit, and fits easily into a Lowepro Sling 100AW camera bag (with room to spare). I also carried a Manfrotto tripod with the Vanguard SBH100 ball head. The Vanguard SBH100 is a new edition that I purchased recently (second-hand), simply because I wanted to pass on my previous ball-head (Benro BH-1) to my son Joshua. The Vanguard isn’t necessarily a better ball head, although its recommended capacity (20kgs) is slightly more than the Benro (16kgs). Both, however, are more than I will need for my mirrorless or DLSR set up.

The Zuiko 12-50mm f3.5/5.6 EZ is my main landscape lens (at the moment), given that it starts at a very respectably wide 24mm (my favourite wide angle focal length). Landscapes require a larger depth of field, with smaller apertures (of around f8 to f16), so the relatively ‘slow’ variable aperture of the 12-50mm isn’t a big deal for landscapes. Actually, it’s a bonus, since a micro-four-thirds sensor exhibits a greater depth of field natively. The depth of field achievable at f5.6 with the E-M1 is the same as f11 on a full frame sensor using the same focal length (i.e 24mm). So you can get greater depth of field without having to stop down as much as you would on a full frame system.

Panasonic Limix 45-200mm f4/5.6

Even though when I think of landscape images I automatically think ‘wide’, there is still a place for a telephoto lens in any landscape photographer’s bag. Not long after getting the OM-D E-M1, I also purchased a Panasonic Lumix 45-200mm f4/5.6. This is another ‘slow’ variable aperture lens, which again, doesn’t bother me for landscape photography. It also doesn’t bother me for sports and action, as long as there is a decent amount of light. I don’t imagine it will be a great indoor sports lens, but outside during the day it should cope just fine. Especially if my previous experience using the Olympus 40-150mm f4/5.6 kit lens is anything to go by. That lens is super sharp and worked perfectly when I used it to shoot motor-cycle street racing (see the post here). The Panasonic 45-200mm f4/5.6 isn’t said to be quite as sharp as the Olympus, but it does give the extra reach, which may come in handy for sports.

Given what I’ve already said about only thinking ‘wide’ when I shoot landscapes, means I often don’t even take a telephoto with me on a landscape shoot. But since micro four thirds gear is so small and light, it’s no big deal to carry one with you, even if you don’t end up using it (the same can’t really be said for DSLR gear). I’m so glad that on this occasion I did, because I ended up using it more than the 12-50mm – much to my surprise.

Cobden from Point Elizabeth track. Olympus E-M1 with Lumix G 45-200mm. 1/50th @f5.6, ISO 100 - 200mm

The initial track starts with a very steep gradient up the side of the cliff before you get into the bushwalk itself. The top of this incline offers stunning views looking back to the suburb of Cobden and the distant mountains (one of which in New Zealand’s famous Mt. Cook, Aoraki). I had almost decided not to go and photograph because of the weather, but when I reached the top of the incline and looked back towards Cobden I was greeted with a fantastic view with some decent light. I shot a few wide images with the Zuiko 12-50mm, but it was only when I decided to attach the Panasonic 45-200mm and zoom out all the way to 200mm that I got the image that I wanted. The telephoto lens has compressed the perspective within the scene, making it seem like the mountains, township and coastline are a lot closer to each other than they actually are. They now appear almost ’stacked’ on top of each other, whereas in reality they are obviously separated by a great distance.

Relieved to have captured at least one image I was happy with already, I continued on to the lookout. The sky continued to remain overcast, even though it was trying to clear in the east. The track itself didn’t offer up any photo opportunities, although a dedicated macro photographer would have probably had a wonderful time exploring the numerous flora. My destination, however, was the wide open vista of the Point itself.

Coast from Pt. Elizabeth lookout. Olympus E-M1 with Lumix G Vario 45-200mm. 1/320sec @f6.3, ISO 100 - 45mm

At the lookout I switched back to the Zuiko 12-50mm to capture the wide shot that I had come to take. Yet once again, it wasn’t really working for me. The light wasn’t right for capturing the whole vista. I zoomed the lens to 50mm and in doing so simplified the scene for a more pleasing composition, but I still felt that I could simplify even further. So once again, out came the Panasonic 45-200mm for landscape duty.

Rapahoe from P. Elizabeth. Olympus E-M1 with Lumix G Vario 45-200mm. 1/2000th @ f6.3, ISO 200 - 55mm

Once I isolated the subject and concentrated on the interesting light that was developing in the east, I had a much stronger image. All I had to worry about then was the strong contrast and tricky dynamic range of the early morning light. Presently I don’t have any ND filters for the E-M1, so I decided to bracket my exposures instead. The E-M1 has its own HDR mode, but I decided to do this myself later on in Lightroom. So I took advantage of the bracketing feature built into the camera and shot a series of 5 bracketed images in 1 stop increments (-2, -1, normal, +1, +2). This gave me detail in the shadows and the highlights, and a decent starting point for processing the final HDR image back in Lightroom.

Rapahoe from Pt. Elizabeth B&W. Olympus E-M1 with Lumix G Vario 45-200mm.  Shot 1:1 format

At the beginning of the day, it didn’t look like it was going to amount to much. In fact, I almost didn’t bother going out to take photos. But I was desperate to start using the E-M1, so I went anyway. And I’m very glad that I did. I got some OK images that I am reasonably happy with. I also got some much needed exercise. But finally, and perhaps most importantly, I began to discover the importance of using a telephoto lens for landscape photography. That’s valuable experience that I can take with me to improve my photography in the future. Worth getting out for I reckon!?

Checking the shutter count on an Olympus OM-D E-M1

Having recently purchased a ‘mint’ E-M1, I was keen to try to find out exactly how ‘minty’ it actually was. There are many factors that go into assessing the condition of a second-hand camera, but the one that most buyers want to establish is the shutter count – often referred to as shutter actuations.

Shutter count is seen as important for establishing the ‘life’ of the camera. Why shutter count? Well, if/when the shutter goes in your camera, you can pretty much kiss it goodbye. Yes, you can get the shutter unit replaced, and maybe that’s worth considering if the body cost you $4k? But many will consider it cheaper to ‘upgrade’ their camera instead. Although to be honest, most photographers will have upgraded their camera body long before their shutter has reached its limit.

Secondly, the older the shutter unit, the more likely it is to be ‘out’ in terms of shutter accuracy. You probably won’t notice it, since it may only be out by mere fractions, but it still won’t be as accurate as it was when it was new. When buying a second-hand camera, I like to see the shutter count at less than half its rated value. I have passed on at least a couple of DSLR’s whose shutter counts have been approaching 3/4s of the manufacturers recommended life.

Most manufacturers will quote an expected shutter count that a particular camera has been tested to – say 100,000 shutter actuations – although this is by no means a certified guarantee. Think of it as more of a guideline. The more ‘professional’ a camera, the sturdier it’s shutter, and therefore the more shutter actuations it will be rated at. For example, Canon and Nikon’s 1D and D4 series have been rated at around 350,000 shutter actuations, with many users claiming at least double these figures. From what I can establish, it seems that the OM-D E-M1 is rated at around 150,000 – which is quite a few photos!

Checking the shutter count on a camera is a case-by-case scenario. On some it is relatively easy, on others it is more difficult (if not down-right impossible). Depending on your make and model of camera there is probably a software programme that can easily spit out the shutter count for you. I’ve successfully used Camera Shutter Count (camerashuttercount.com) on many cameras – but it doesn’t work for all of them. Olympus OM-D cameras keep track of shutter actuations (among other things), although it’s not an intuitive process to retrieve the information. It can be done however – and here’s how:

Navigate to the 'Wrench' icon and the 'Adjust Brightness' Menu

First, with the camera turned off, hold down the ‘Menu’ button and turn the camera on. Once on, release the menu button. Then press ‘Menu’ again and navigate to the ‘Wrench’ icon. In the wrench menu, go to the ‘Brightness Adjust’ sub-menu and enter the Brightness Adjust sub menu by pressing the right arrow on the control pad. Once there, press the ‘Info’ button on the camera, and then the ‘OK’ button (in the centre of the control pad). Now press the ‘Up’ arrow, the ‘Down’ arrow, the ‘Left’ arrow and the ‘Right’ arrow (in that exact order) on the control pad. Lastly, press the Shutter button and then the ‘Up’ arrow again. This will get you to Page 1 of 4 pages of extra camera data! Finally, press the ‘Right’ arrow on the control pad again to move to Page 2 – the page that actually contains the cameras shutter count! Hallelujah, you made it! Could they have made it any harder to access? It is a lot easier to actually do than it is to explain in words, but still….

On the screen of the camera you should now see a series of letters with numbers beside them. The first four are the important ones in terms of shutter actuations. The first, ‘R’ is the shutter release count – this is the number you’ve been looking for. Whatever that number is equates to the number of times the shutter has been fired. My number is 002428 – meaning the cameras shutter has been pressed just 2,428 times. Wo-ho!

All the important numbers should be now visible...

The second letter ‘S’ refers to the number of times the flash has fired (no, I don’t know why it’s ‘S’ and not ‘F’ either?). My camera didn’t come with a flash – and I guess the previous owner lost it almost immediately, because my number is 000001. That’s right, the flash has fired – once!

The third letter – ‘C’ refers to sensor cleaning. If you have accessed the cameras menu to clean the sensor it will register here. My camera has never had this menu accessed.

And finally, the ‘U’ stands for Ultrasonic filter count. This is a helpful figure because it indicates how many times your camera has been turned on (since that’s when ultrasonic cleaning of the filter is activated by default). My camera has been turned on only 542 times. So yeah, I guess it pretty much is ‘minty’ fresh. There are other pages, with other figures, but I have no idea what they mean to be honest. The four above are the all-important numbers if you want to know the ‘life’ of your OM-D. Check yours out. You may be surprised at exactly how many images you’ve actually taken?

Olympus, Me and the OM-D

It’s a funny old world.

When I swapped my Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII a few months ago for a Nikon D7100, I thought I would be set for a while. I should have known better.

It was a big decision to let the OM-D E-M5 MkII go, and I guess, given the way that it’s gone with me and the D7100 (see last post), it’s a decision I’ve ended up regretting. Yet having said that, I was still happy with my replacement option for the D7100 – the Canon 40D. At least I was happy, until I saw a post on Facebook…

Olympus OM-D EM-1

I belong to a couple of NZ photography ‘Buy, Sell, Trade’ groups on Facebook and am updated every day with a slew of postings. In fact, that’s how I did the swap with the E-M5 MkII for the D7100 in the first place – buy replying to a post on Facebook. Largely, though, it’s just a stream of posts that I can mostly ignore. But a few days ago (as I write this) I noticed a post from a guy selling a mint condition Olympus OM-D E-M1 body with only 2300 shutter clicks on it. It had actually been advertised for a while, and the price had steadily come down since he was selling it body-only and just wanted rid of it. I Pm’d him to ask if it was still available (it was), and long story short – I’ve bought it!

If I’m 100%, utterly, completely, honest-to-goodness, straight-up truthful with myself, the OM-D E-M1 was the mirrorless camera I really wanted right from the beginning. And no matter how good the E-M5 MkII was (and it truly was), it was never going to be an E-M1. When I owned the E-M5 MkII, I assumed that the upgrade path would lead to the E-M1 MkII. But when that camera came out, and it was way out of my price range, my upgrade path disintegrated – and some of my enthusiasm for micro four thirds died along with it. I briefly considered swapping the E-M5 MkII for an E-M1 anyway, but then the opportunity to go with the D7100 came up, and that’s the way I jumped.

It was always a jump tinged with some regret however, and maybe that’s why the D7100 and I never really gelled? Whatever the reason, my love affair with the E-M1 remained. So when I saw the post on Facebook, and realised that now was the perfect time to get back into mirrorless with the camera I’d always wanted… well, I didn’t need asking twice.

Buying body-only means that it’s going to cost me a lot more money than I had originally anticipated spending on yet another camera system. I now have to buy a lens, spare battery, camera grip and new SD cards as well. It will largely deplete the funds I had accumulated from the sale of the D7100 kit. And yet, if I stop and think about it (and I have), it may very well be the best move I could have made.

How so? Well, I was spending the money in my head anyway, looking at all the super expensive ‘L’ glass I might buy for the Canon 40D. But, if I use the 40D primarily for landscapes (with the 10-22mm I already have), together with an 18-55mm EF-S kit lens I also already have, then the moments when I need a DSLR fix will be taken care of. With my Bronica ETRS medium format camera, Nikon F4 and Canon EOS 1, my film itch is most definitely scratched. And now, with the Olympus OM-D E-M1, I have my ultimate mirrorless camera. This, I think, will become my main system, and one that I can expand as and when I can. So I now have everything! Film (both medium format and 35mm), DSLR and Mirrorless. The whole kit and caboodle. My only decisions now will be what to take and shoot on any given day. Or maybe I’ll shoot all three? Do some sort of photography medium challenge? Film vs Digital SLR vs Mirrorless? Now that will be fun.