Lumix GH3 Review Part 9, Stop The Shakes

LUMIX GH3 REVIEW PART 9,  STOP THE SHAKES

How to get really sharp photos handheld or on tripod

Author  AndrewS  April 2013

Circular Quay Sydney. GH3 with 35-100mm lens on lightweight tripod, 1 sec @ f4.  Shutter Delay used. This frame is sharp but several others in the sequence were slightly unsharp due to the breeze causing camera movement on the light tripod.

Introduction  SLR and DSLR cameras can produce unsharp photos at certain shutter speeds due to a phenomenon called "Mirror Slap". The flipping mirror shakes the camera as it lifts up just prior to the exposure. DSLR's avoid the problem by using mirror lock up. Mirrorless ILC's have no mirror slap of course but they do have a potentially even more troublesome problem which I call Shutter Shock.  The standard mechanical shutter on a MILC cycles through four movements with each exposure, like this:

Press shutter button>Shutter Closes>Shutter Opens>.....Exposure Occurs...>Shutter Closes>Shutter Opens.

A DSLR shutter only has 2 movements in SLR viewing mode, The sequence is: Press Shutter Button>Mirror flips up>Shutter Opens>....Exposure Occurs...>Shutter Closes>Mirror drops.

Shutter Shock    It appears that the initial MILC Shutter Close  action sends a shock wave through the camera and lens which can cause unsharp pictures typically in the shutter speed range 1/20 to 1/200 sec. Not all lenses are affected and some lenses are affected more than others. I have written about this at length in previous posts on this blog in May and September of 2012. The mechanical shutter also produces a small but palpable shock from the first Shutter Open action. Does this also degrade image quality ? I don't know but presumably it is less a problem than the shutter close action.

The camera makers know all about it but they have not, as far as I am aware, referred  directly to the problem in their communications to consumers or in the published owner's manuals. I find this most disappointing. If they openly acknowleged there is an issue and engaged consumers with information about effective strategies to deal with it they would make many friends, I feel sure.  Failing to deal openly with problems is a sure fire way to alienate actual and potential customers. I would very much like to see Panasonic and Olympus come out and discuss this matter frankly.

However since it seems that is not happening, I hope this little article fills the void and will help you  Stop The Shakes and fully realise the imaging potential of your GH3 (and other M43 cameras) and lenses.

A recent reminder  I have recently been using and testing the Lumix 35-100mm f2.8 lens which is capable of extremely sharp results but only if used in such a way as to allow the lens to deliver it's full potential. More about that when I publish the lens test but it mostly consists of achieving exactly correct focus and making sure the camera is still at the point of exposure.

Palm Beach, Sydney. Lumix G5 with Lumix 45-150mm lens, hand held, OIS on. I included this to show that very high quality results can be obtained even with a middle level camera and budget zoom lens.

Hand Held Camera

Techniques  There are several camera work techniques which increase the likelihood of sharp photos. They could apply equally well to any camera.

* Slow down.  Hold the camera securely but not tightly. Do a little muscle relaxation exercise before a photo session. Mini meditate with some slow breaths in and out to slow the pulse and reduce muscle tremor. Look through the eye level viewfinder which helps stabilise the camera. Achieve focus with back button or half press of the shutter button. Breathe in, then out and smoothly squeeze the shutter button at the point of maximum exhalation.

* Manual focus if the subject and circumstances permit. Think about which part of the subject should be the focus point. Think about depth of focus and aperture required.

* Use the optimum aperture of the lens.

* Watch the shutter speed readout in the viewfinder and change ISO as required to keep it at or faster than the reciprocal of the lens focal length x 2.

If your lens is or might be one of those subject to the shutter shock problem, avoid shutter speeds in the 1/20 to 1/200 sec range.

Don't know if your lens is one of those ? Try asking a question on dpreview.com Micro Four Thirds Talk Forum, or one of the Mu-43.com forums. Somebody will know.

Crop of the photo above. The time is 1045.

Technologies

* Optical Image Stabiliser (IBIS in Olympus cameras) There has been much debate on M43 user forums about the value of  OIS, with some users and reviewers reporting a degradation of image quality at some shutter speeds and some lenses with OIS switched on.  There appears to be no general consensus about this so I generally leave OIS  ON for hand held photography. Some users routinely leave it  OFF.  Be aware that neither OIS or IBIS are truly OFF when the camera is powered up. The Image stabiliser module, which is  either a lens group in the case of OIS  or the entire Sensor module in the case of IBIS does not assume correct operating position until it is powered up continuously. It is held in the correct place by electromagnetic forces not mechanical restraints.   I can only suggest you conduct your own experiments if you think there may be a problem with the OIS on one of your lenses.

 * E-Shutter is, at this time,  available on the G5 and GH3 cameras. E-Shutter eliminates shutter shock but has some side effects and causes some limitations to camera performance.

E- Shutter is an electronic process which scans the image frame line by line in 0.1 seconds, something like an electronic focal plane shutter moving up the sensor reading out one line or group of lines (I don't know which) of pixels at a time.  As a result if the camera is panned horizontally or the subject moves horizontally during the exposure the shape of the object becomes distorted.

Images made with the E-Shutter can show alternating horizontal lines of light and dark with certain pulsing light sources which interact with the scanning action of the E-Shutter. I have encountered this with fluorescent lights but I believe other types can have the same effect.

E-Shutter limits available ISO to 1600, I have no idea why.

E-Shutter limits the longest available shutter speed to 1 second.

Flash is not possible.

Apart from all the above it works really well and I find that in many situations it is my preferred shutter type. I have it allocated to the Fn5 button on the GH3 for quick access. For further information about E-Shutter see http://m43photo.blogspot.no  

Luna Park, Sydney
GH3, 35-100mm lens at 100mm, 1 sec @ f4. Lightweight tripod. Shutter Delay, 2 sec. You can see individal rivets on the Harbour Bridge 900 meters from the camera.

Tripod Mounted Camera

Techniques

* Understand the relationship between aperture and depth of focus.

* Focus manually where possible.

* Use remote or delayed shutter actuation, see below.

* Avoid shutter speeds between 1/20 and 1/200sec with the mechanical shutter.

* Switch OIS  OFF.

* Never forget the benefits of the proverbial Sturdy Tripod.  I was doing some evening shots in the city recently using a lightweight Velbon Max i 343E (0.9 Kg) tripod, which I selected because I did not want to carry the larger Velbon Carmagne 630 with it's sturdy, ancient and long out of production Manfrotto 3 way head (1.9 Kg). There was a light breeze that evening which was enough to cause several of my shots with the Lumix 35-100mm lens to show definite signs of camera movement. There is nothing wrong with the Max i 343E in calm conditions, it's one of the best sub 1Kg tripods ever made, but in wind, there is no substitute for size, rigidity and mass. 

Technologies There are three ways to achieve indirect shutter actuation.

* Wireless, via Wi-Fi using a smart phone.

* Wired shutter release cable, DMW-RSL1, genuine Lumix or copy, they all seem to work OK.

* Self Timer. I usually find 2 seconds delay is sufficient.

* E-Shutter works well on the tripod, but is not available for exposures longer than 1 second.

* Shutter Delayis a new feature on the GH3, not seen on previous Lumix cameras. You find it in the [Rec Menu, page 3/6].  Shutter Delay cannot be allocated to the Q Menu or to a Fn button. You can however include it in a group of settings allocated to a Custom Mode. It works as follows with the mechanical shutter:

Press shutter button or activate shutter by self timer or wired or wireless remote> Shutter Closes......The set time passes......Shutter Opens>......Exposure Occurs......Shutter Closes>Shutter Opens. 

Shutter Delay can be set to 1, 2, 4, 8 seconds or Off.  It works  like Antishock on Olympus cameras but with a longer time delay. The briefest delay available with Olympus Antishock is 1/8 second.  The purpose of both technologies is to allow vibrations from the first shutter closing action to dissipate.

You can combine Shutter Delay with one of the indirect shutter actuation methods.

Note that Shutter Delay is also compatible with E-Shutter. In this case it delays exposure by the set time after actuating the shutter button, directly or remotely.

All this leads to two suggestions for operating method with the camera on a tripod.

Method 1, Shutter Speed less than 1 second.  This method gives a stable camera without the need for a wired or other remote.

* Timer 2 sec delay [Drive Mode set and see dial]

* E-Shutter ON. [Allocate to Q Menu or a Fn Button]

* Press the Shutter Button.

Method 2, Shutter Speed Greater than 1 second.  This method also allows stable operation without remote shutter actuation.

* E-Shutter OFF

* Drive Mode to Single Shot.

* Set the Shutter Delay to preference, 2-4 seconds is generally satisfactory.

* Press the Shutter Button.

To streamline access to the Shutter Delay setting, you can prepare the camera before the shooting session. Set [Menu Resume] ON, Setup Menu, Page 4/6. Next go to Shutter Delay in the Rec Menu, Page 3/6. Leave the setting to OFF until you need it and close the Menu Screen. Then when you next go to Rec Menu, it will open at Page 3 with Shutter Delay already selected ready for you to change.

Technology not found in M43 cameras  Some cameras offer the so called "Electronic First Shutter" technology. If I understand this correctly exposure is started electronically and ended mechanically. I have tested this in a Canon EOS 60D and found no evidence of shutter shock with live view shooting. I have no idea why it is not offered in M43 cameras. Patent issues ?

 One day, I hope to see the advent of the long hoped for "Global Shutter" a technology which promises to make most of the complicated strategies in this article redundant.

Summary  Extremely sharp photos can be made with the GH3 and other M43 equipment. The percentage of sharp shots will increase if the techniques and technologies described here are used.