Camera Labs

What is the major difference between the 14-45mm 3.5-5.6 and the 14-54 2.8-3.5, that the price is almost 3 times more? Is it that the more the latter opens, the sharper the image get ? Is the only "major" factor here sharpness?

The Olympus raw file has a 12bit color sampling, once opened in Photoshop raw, we can select 8 or 16 bit only. What is the best option to choose?

Anyone knows what is the the DPI of the photo taken in the E-500?

Thanks for the help! I love the way you guys review cameras on this website. Very professional and comprehensive. Keep it up!

Hi LebPhotographer, welcome to the Cameralabs forums!

I've not tested the 14-54mm lens, but I've heard it's much sharper and better quality than the kit lens, hence the higher price. Perhaps some Olympus users could comment?

As for Photoshop, to exploit the full 12 bit range of the RAW files, you'll need to open them in 16 bit colour space. Photoshop doesn't offer a 12 bit mode, but 16 bit will encompass the full range available in a 12 bit file. Obviously there'll be 4 bits of unused range that's 'wasted' in the file, but that's the small price to pay. If you like, you can then adjust the levels, contrast etc, exploiting the broad dynamic range, then reduce it to 8 bit once you're done to save space if necessary.

Finally, as for the E-500, its files have 3264 x 2448 pixels, so to work out the effective dpi, just divide these figures by the print dimensions in inches. So if you were printing 10in wide, the effective dpi would be 3264 divided by 10, or 326.4 dpi.

Hope that helps!

Gordon

Thanks for the precious info Gordon.

I checked the dpi resolution in photoshop for some SHQ JPEGS taken and it displayed 314dpi. Is that a rounding or something?

How much can I blow up my E500 photo in print? What's the limit before artifacts start to appear, and the low quality becomes predominant?

In RAW mode I can set the DPI manually. What is that option useful for? I mean what diff. would it make if I go ahead and put 450, knowing my cam's limit is 314.
Thanks![/img]

Anyone?

Hi, LebPhotographer!

Don't be impatient - it's X'mas
I've just finished a major printing project: Three calenders for my parents and myself. Printing everything on DIN A3 (approx 30x42cm) and never had a single prob with resolution.
Although my D80 has a 10 MegPix sensor, believe me: you will not see the diff between 8 and 10 MP with prints even this large.
Much more important is, wether you took your pics at an ISO setting that does not poduce extra grain with your Oly.
As Gordons comprehensive test shows, the E500 get's a bit grainy at ISO 400 and worse at ISO 800. But as long as you stay at ISO 100/200, you should be on the safe side for large prints.

As for the lenses, I don't know (and will not comment on Canon lenses). But normally you get decent sharpness with almost every lens be stopping it down to say f8. The price difference between the two lenses stems from the larger aperture and the wider zoom range of the latter...

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses