Little thought after using the E-M5 II for fine art repro

[aaronchan]

Here is what I've used:
OM-D E-M5 II
DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8
2 Monolights
X-Rite Color Checker Standard
i1P (Input ICC Generator)

I was using the sensor shift function with the E-M5 II and the result is amazing!
I also used QImage to blow up the file from roughly 50MP after cropping to around 1.5GB Tiff 16bit file.
Printed the file on Epson S70XXX on canvas in 1.3m wide and 1.8m long

I used the i1P and Xrite CC to created an ICC profile for it.
I was trying to use the QPcard to create the DCP profile but seems like their software got some problem to load the 64MP RAW file.
The color came out good enough since this it not a super critical job.

Is there anyone have used the E-M5 II to do a decent Fine Art Repro job?
I was using my friend's camera and am really thinking to aquire one for further job use.
Plus this camera is not expensive at all compare to a 5Ds (R) which cost more than the E-M5 II + OM 60mm Macro.

I've never used a mirrorless camera before, (I was a LF film camera guy and DSLR guy for all of my life)
back in the day, I used 4x5 for fine art repro and Nikon D800 in the past few years.
and now I feel like I'm falling in love with something new.........

Never thought about a small tiny camera could do something like this.

aaron

[TonyVentourisPhotography]

The 60mm macro is excellent at F/5.6.  I have not used it yet with Hi-res mode...but in the right conditions Hi-Res mode really shines.  It can seriously deliver.  It's amazing that the pro lenses are even up to it.

[BobDavid]

It's a neat system for fine art repro. Do you cross polarize your lights/lens? Also, color consistency with lighting is essential. When I was in the business, I used Elinchrom monoblocks.

I think the EM5 II is an outstanding camera, and it is a viable alternative to PhaseOne and Hassey/Sinar multi-shot for copy work. The EM5 II's color fidelity is outstanding and the dynamic range exceeds medium format CCD technology. Canon, Sony, and Nikon are not good tools for repro. Trust me, I know.  The sharpest Oly lens is the 75mm f/1.8. Second to that, the 45mm f/1.8. I hear that the 60mm macro lens is quite fine too.

A really great feature with the Oly is that it tethers to a computer. You can adjust everything from the computer--focus, f/stop, sync, white balance, etc.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Canon, Sony, and Nikon are not good tools for repro. Trust me, I know

Hi,

As it says on the coins, "In God we trust", but all others pay cash.

Why are Canon, Sony, and Nikon, not good tools?

Cheers,
Bart

[Zorki5]

A really great feature with the Oly is that it tethers to a computer. You can adjust everything from the computer--focus, f/stop, sync, white balance, etc.

Not only that, but it tethers with live view on the computer screen. A huge benefit.

I hate it that I had it with Canon 5DII, and now don't have with Sony a6000...

[Jack Hogan]

It's amazing that the pro lenses are even up to it.

All the hardware has to do is keep up with one 16MP image at a time, as it does in most other current MFTs.  The rest is software.

Jack

[BobDavid]

Hi,

As it says on the coins, "In God we trust", but all others pay cash.

Why are Canon, Sony, and Nikon, not good tools?

Cheers,
Bart

Sensor shift technology allows data to be captured for each color. Bayer interpolation is not used; color is more accurate, and moire issues go away. Take a picture of a halfscreened image from a newspaper with a Canon and an EM5 II and you'll see the difference. Sensor shift also increase resolution by capturing more luminance data. Check out the Hasselblad website and see what it says about multi-shot technology; I think that will help you understand the advantages.

[AlterEgo]

and moire issues go away.

color moire goes away...

[AlterEgo]

Take a picture of a halfscreened image from a newspaper with a Canon and an EM5 II and you'll see the difference.

and may I use 5Ds/r and photoacute with the same number of shots as EM5II does in multishot mode ?

[Jack Hogan]

color moire goes away...

The way the EM5II does it, pretty well all aliasing goes away (see 'Excellent Bonus' section here).

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Why are Canon, Sony, and Nikon, not good tools?

Sensor shift technology allows data to be captured for each color. Bayer interpolation is not used; color is more accurate, and moire issues go away.

Okay, so it's not Canon, Sony, and Nikon in particular but it is Bayer interpolation in general.

I think there is no mystery there, Bayer interpolation is a necessary compromise to capture reasonably good color data in a single exposure. And given excellent Rawconverters like e.g. those in Capture One and RawTherapee (Amaze), the results are amazingly good, with minimal artifacting from the sparse color sampling, especially from the higher MegaPixel sensor solutions.

Multiple exposure (either shifted or with a color wheel) is a good/better alternative, although it is also more intolerant with respect to subject motion, vibration, and/or illumination changes. So it is basically only very good in tightly controlled studio situations, and is a much slower method of recording, and produces significantly larger files.

Cheers,
Bart

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

The way the EM5II does it, pretty well all aliasing goes away (see 'Excellent Bonus' section here).

Exactly, because of the 'virtual fill factor' of 200%. The photosite apertures overlap between shifted exposures, and as a result all aliasing is more or less eliminated. Of course the denser sampling already reduced the risk of aliasing, because fewer subject features that are resolved by the lens are not resolved by the sensor.

Cheers,
Bart