Author Topic: Optimum in camera setting for low light pictures? (Read 1943 times)

candyspan6 · « **on:** October 08, 2010, 07:20:05 AM »

Hey, I was looking at some of my low light photography from my E-PL1 and started noticing a good amount of noise. It may be do to my Minolta lenses capabilities, or something else, then I started to wonder if the resolution in which I choose to take my pictures has anything to do with the amount of noise that appears in the photos?

I usually have it set to its finest setting for crisp pictures, but this may be a rookie mistake. I consider myself an intermediate photographer, but now trying to figure out some techniques I may be overlooking. The E-PL1 is supposed to be somewhat good in low light, although not excellent. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

adash · « **Reply #1 on:** October 08, 2010, 09:21:09 AM »

Set Sharpness to -1 or -2 and saturation to -1 or -2 again. Set the Gradation to Low Key. That ought to give you about half a stop or even a full stop of better High ISO performance. And of course open the aperture to the max possible setting.

candyspan6 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 08, 2010, 09:56:02 AM »

Quote from: adash on October 08, 2010, 09:21:09 AM

Set Sharpness to -1 or -2 and saturation to -1 or -2 again. Set the Gradation to Low Key. That ought to give you about half a stop or even a full stop of better High ISO performance. And of course open the aperture to the max possible setting.

Thank you, now if only I knew how to specifically set sharpness and saturation one at a time. I'll look in the manual, but if you can shoot me a quick "how to" it'd be greatly appreciated. Also, thank you for the quick response!

Wait... I know how to do it...

adash · « **Reply #3 on:** October 08, 2010, 10:34:50 AM »

No problem - while in LiveView (the common one that the camera starts in) press OK. If you are not seeing the big control panel, press INFO to toggle to it. Then with the arrow keys find the appropriate setting boxes ( up right corner for E-P1) and set with the zoom in/zoom out buttons ( i suppose). Half depress the shutter activation button in order to exit the Control Panel.
I apologize if it does not work the same way for E-PL1.

Centauri27 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 08, 2010, 12:39:15 PM »

Or maybe try one of the preset Scene settings for low light photography--the camera may make some of these adjustments for you.

In general, if you're shooting low light, use a tripod or put the camera on something steady. Then use a low ISO and slow shutter speed--that'll get you the best low light pics. If you must hold the camera, set the camera to ISO 400 or 800 max and then try letting the shutter speed drop to as low as 1/15 or 1/10 sec. (Hold the camera steady and make sure IS is turned on.) Don't forget--there are many good noise-reducers out there. One of the better ones is Noiseware Community Edition--it's good and it's free.

candyspan6 · « **Reply #5 on:** October 09, 2010, 01:21:56 AM »

What I did was turn on the master control panel, you know the normal control panel that usually appears on the big dslr cameras, and it has those individual settings.

Do you think that Noiseware program you're speaking of is any better than Photoshop CS3? I have that and have been learning some of it's noise reduction techniques, but reducing noise there (at least for now) seems to be a trial and error process...

count_zero · « **Reply #6 on:** October 09, 2010, 01:32:53 AM »

I like using Dfine 2.0 from Nik Software. It's a photoshop plugin.

Centauri27 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 25, 2010, 11:26:28 AM »

I can't compare Noiseware to CS3 because I've never used Photoshop, but Noiseware has the ability to "learn" and improve the more you use it. I paid for the upgrade Noiseware Standard Edition and have constantly marvelled at its noise reducing capabilities.

Brianetta · « **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2011, 05:56:11 AM »

If you're shooting hand-held on an Olympus, put the image stabiliser on and enable the anti-shock feature. Once set to a time (rather than off) it doubles the number of entries in the drive menu (by default, the one you get by pressing down on the d-pad). The extras are duplicates of the normal ones, but with the configured delay applied between the shutter release being pressed, and the shutter opening.

I have mine set to 1/8 of a second, which means that I can squeeze the trigger without spoiling the shot with finger-induced camera movement.

Centauri27 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:50:35 AM »

Using the anti-shock feature is a novel ideal for handheld low-light shots. I think it was originally intended for macro photography and super-tele photos. If using for handheld, remember to turn it off immediately afterwards, otherwise the increased "shutter lag" could catch you off guard and cause you to ruin subsequent photos.

Optimum in camera setting for low light pictures?