Olympus PEN E-PL1

Aperture: f/13
Shutter: 1/250
ISO: 400

This local lake in Brighwaters, NY was shot in aperture priority mode using the natural picture mode, with digital ESP metering (i.e., full-frame). Sharpness is very good from edge to edge and corner to corner, with just a bit of chromatic aberration visible in the corner branches. The sky has a nice smooth gradation, with a well-saturated color that looks natural.

Focal length: 33mm
Aperture: f/11
Shutter: 1/500
ISO: 400

Shot in program mode, using the vivid picture mode to give some extra pop to the duck’s orange bill and feet. The level of detail is striking in the eye, the textured webbed foot and the feathers, though we’ve blown out some detail in the brightest sections of the plumage.

Focal length: 29mm
Aperture: f/11
Shutter: 1/60
ISO: 200

This building in Somerville, MA has been converted from a Masonic Lodge into an ornately decorated ‘temple of art’ (you’ll find information about the project here). We shot it in vivid mode on an overcast day to bring up some of the brilliant colors, though an additional bump in Photoshop is probably appropriate. The textures are nicely captured, and the noise level low at ISO 200, though the top corner gets a bit soft, with some visible chromatic aberration.

Focal length: 27mm
Aperture: f/14
Shutter: 1/50
ISO: 400

We shot this Japanese mask on a tripod using aperture priority mode with center-weighted metering and custom white balance, with the natural picture mode setting. The colors have a nice deep hue without resorting to pumping up the saturation, and the textured surfaces maintain detail except for the far right corner, which may be a result of focal depth depth on the 3D surface.

Focal length: 42mm
Aperture: f/10
Shutter: 0.77 sec
ISO: 3200

Shot on a tripod using the natural picture mode with a custom white balance, in aperture priority mode using center-weighted metering. We ran through the four noise reduction settings at ISO 3200 and had a welcome surprise. While raising noise reduction levels does cost us some detail, it’s nowhere near as drastic as we found when testing the Olympus E-P1 under similar circumstances (shown here).