Allan
Rookie
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
It has not been reported on this Forum, but on others there is much discussion about the image quality from the Olympus XZ-1. The complaint is that the image looks "smeared," or "plasticky" when viewed on the screen at full magnification. This is the first thing I noticed too, shortly after unpacking my XZ-1 and looking at the first few test shots.
Actually, I was crestfallen. The smearing was not subtle. You would not have to be a pixel-peeper like me to notice it. I tried shooting RAW, to no effect.
The problem was generally thought to be a result of over-zealous noise-reduction instituted by Olympus on the JPEGs. There is no provision to turn NR off on this camera. But I found the problem was not restricted to high ISO -- it was just as strong at ISO 100, where you would expect noise reduction to not be implemented.
Now I think I have an answer to what is causing the probelm. My hypothesis is that the Image Stabilization on my XZ-1 is faulty.
I was in the process of documenting the smearing problem, in anticipation of returning my XZ-1 to Ritz Camera. I decided to use a wall hanging as a test subject. This Peruvian rug is handy, since I don't have to get up off the couch to take the shot.
But this time I decided to center the photo, so I put the camera on a tripod and squared it up. Then I turned Image Stabilization OFF, as you are supposed to do when the camera is on a firm support.
Much to my amazement, the smearing problem disappeared! The photo was as detailed as another shot I took with my Pen E-P2, also with IS set to OFF.
Now, things make sense. Image Stabilization is supposed to be of a different magnitude at different zoom focal lengths. If IS is somehow getting the wrong info about the focal length, the result can be skewed. Or for some other reason, the IS is just plain faulty.
I like this hypothesis, but it needs to be tested by others who are experiencing the problem. So if anybody else here has an XZ-1 and is experiencing this problem, I'd like to get some feedback.
Actually, I was crestfallen. The smearing was not subtle. You would not have to be a pixel-peeper like me to notice it. I tried shooting RAW, to no effect.
The problem was generally thought to be a result of over-zealous noise-reduction instituted by Olympus on the JPEGs. There is no provision to turn NR off on this camera. But I found the problem was not restricted to high ISO -- it was just as strong at ISO 100, where you would expect noise reduction to not be implemented.
Now I think I have an answer to what is causing the probelm. My hypothesis is that the Image Stabilization on my XZ-1 is faulty.
I was in the process of documenting the smearing problem, in anticipation of returning my XZ-1 to Ritz Camera. I decided to use a wall hanging as a test subject. This Peruvian rug is handy, since I don't have to get up off the couch to take the shot.
But this time I decided to center the photo, so I put the camera on a tripod and squared it up. Then I turned Image Stabilization OFF, as you are supposed to do when the camera is on a firm support.
Much to my amazement, the smearing problem disappeared! The photo was as detailed as another shot I took with my Pen E-P2, also with IS set to OFF.
Now, things make sense. Image Stabilization is supposed to be of a different magnitude at different zoom focal lengths. If IS is somehow getting the wrong info about the focal length, the result can be skewed. Or for some other reason, the IS is just plain faulty.
I like this hypothesis, but it needs to be tested by others who are experiencing the problem. So if anybody else here has an XZ-1 and is experiencing this problem, I'd like to get some feedback.