Camera Upgrade Questions: TG-6 to ?
- Thread starter Guitarcrazy
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OP
Guitarcrazy
Contributor
My photos would definitely improve if I had better skill, no question. I have some photos that I really like, but I am rarely able to get them to look good in a size that I would want to print and hang on the wall. That was the first reason I began looking for an upgraded camera. I would like to be able to do some cropping and zoom, and still have enough resolution to print. I really like the size of the TG, and the E-PL10 is only marginally larger, which is a bonus. I am hesitant to jump on the EPL10 as I am not sure that the 4 additional MPs will be enough of a step up to be able to print.
Furnari
Contributor
My 2 cents is that the EMmkIII is a significantly better camera than the EM10mkIV, just because of the PDAF focus system and because the M10 series has really become watered down compared to the feature set in other OMD bodies. If you want to stretch a bit, the M1mkIII has dropped in price significantly on the used market since the OM-1 came out, and the AOI housing has a much smaller form factor than the one for the M5mkIII (price difference is just $100). Only downside to the M1mkIII and OM-1 AOI housings is that they take PEN ports instead of the OMD ports (without an adapter). This may not be an issue for you for macro and general stuff, but it gets kind of kludgy if you want to shoot Pro lenses like the 12-40 and 8-25. As far as the bodies, topside ergonomics and build quality on the M1mkIII are worth the difference IMO, plus you get some additional features that the M5 doesn't have.
Source- the last several months of me going back and forth between the M5mkIII and M1mkIII for underwater, ultimately landing on the M1mkIII. I came from the M1mkI in the Olympus housing, and I have to say the housing size difference is noticeable and appreciated. That said, any of these choices are much more bigger than the TG, and that's likely to have a significant impact on your diving. With a TG, you can be a diver who takes pictures, but with the interchangeable lens cameras and everything else that goes with them, you become a photographer who dives.
Source- the last several months of me going back and forth between the M5mkIII and M1mkIII for underwater, ultimately landing on the M1mkIII. I came from the M1mkI in the Olympus housing, and I have to say the housing size difference is noticeable and appreciated. That said, any of these choices are much more bigger than the TG, and that's likely to have a significant impact on your diving. With a TG, you can be a diver who takes pictures, but with the interchangeable lens cameras and everything else that goes with them, you become a photographer who dives.
OP
Guitarcrazy
Contributor
Thanks for the reply. It is interesting that the housing for the EM-1 III is smaller than the one for the EM-5. The cameras look fairly similar.
Bladebreaker65
Contributor
An amateur tip on the TG series or any digital try to shoot on the bottom end of the zoom range. I see a large difference in grain this way. Most digitals also have a optical zoom range and a electronic zoom that ads, if you are in the add range it will be grainy. Try shooting zoomed out on the optical side for a dive fight the temptation to zoom in. This will allow you to crop tighter in post-production. A really good underwater photographer told me shoot the shot you want on the camera and post-production will be easy. I love my TG-6, ol housing, vid light and strobe
Bladebreaker65
Contributor
take the tg on land and shoot a test set at diff zoom levels and light same subject and then try your light room tricks
@Guitarcrazy I started underwater photography with a TG4 and found it to be a pretty capable camera paired with strobes, WAL etc.
I decided it was time to upgrade when a very specific limitation continued to present; because of the tiny sensor and lack of manual control getting WAL photos at any appreciable water depth (ie low light) and having any control of the background was very difficult.
Looking at your sample photos, I'm curious how close you typically are to your subjects and if you find you do substantial cropping usually?
A camera with a bigger sensor will be capable of generating "better" pictures but you might not be able to notice a very large difference if you're shooting through a lot of water, severely impacting sharpness, color and contrast and still having to crop significantly.
I decided it was time to upgrade when a very specific limitation continued to present; because of the tiny sensor and lack of manual control getting WAL photos at any appreciable water depth (ie low light) and having any control of the background was very difficult.
Looking at your sample photos, I'm curious how close you typically are to your subjects and if you find you do substantial cropping usually?
A camera with a bigger sensor will be capable of generating "better" pictures but you might not be able to notice a very large difference if you're shooting through a lot of water, severely impacting sharpness, color and contrast and still having to crop significantly.
OP
Guitarcrazy
Contributor
I typically don't zoom in for wide angle shots. The aperture changes with zoom so I generally keep it zoomed out. When I want to get a smaller subject I will zoom, especially in regards to super macro. I try to get as close as I can, but with current and shy creatures I am not always able to get really close. Thanks.
Getting close isn't always easy and often (at least for me) it seems I'm close enough when I take the picture only find once I download them I wasn't nearly as close as I thought. The first dives after a layoff are particularly good reminders regarding proximity.
Agree with the above regarding staying in the optical zoom range; you're probably better off zooming some to fill the frame if you can't get close enough.
My thoughts on the upgrade is that if proximity and thus needing to crop in post is common for you the change to a 16MP from the 12MP may not mean a lot more of your photos can be printed at a large size. If you look at quality guides on resolution necessary for print size, even at 16MP you can't crop a lot for a print size in the 20" x 16" range as example. You could try prints with lower suggested resolution in hopes the larger sensor generally provides better quality I suppose though.
The E-PL10 is a good camera at a good price though; combining that with conscience effort to get closer might provide great results!
Agree with the above regarding staying in the optical zoom range; you're probably better off zooming some to fill the frame if you can't get close enough.
My thoughts on the upgrade is that if proximity and thus needing to crop in post is common for you the change to a 16MP from the 12MP may not mean a lot more of your photos can be printed at a large size. If you look at quality guides on resolution necessary for print size, even at 16MP you can't crop a lot for a print size in the 20" x 16" range as example. You could try prints with lower suggested resolution in hopes the larger sensor generally provides better quality I suppose though.
The E-PL10 is a good camera at a good price though; combining that with conscience effort to get closer might provide great results!
What I see in your pictures here is a lack of photography skills. Sorry to mention, but the camera can do really better.
First, do you use TTL or manual for strobes? I only work manually. The turtle has a lack of colors, because there is no color anymore in the water. The strobes must bring the colors back. And somewhere the strobes where not bright enough if you have used them.
The fish is taken from the wrong angle and maybe becuase of this it looks like there is something missing. The first thing to start with is if using TTL is a +value for the strobe. You want more light=more colors. If using manual strobes, just add a little bit more light. The problem with manual is that the tg6 cannot be used completely manual, so you have to be aware of what settings the camera calculates to use. There are some tricks to make it almost manual, but still not completely.
I also don't know if you know your camera well enough to adjust settings. But to make good pictures, know the weaknesses of your camera.
Then about the pen series or the omd series: use them manual. You must know the 3 points of the triangle. If you don't know that, then you will be disappointed again. I only take pictures in the manual mode and I don't use ttl for the strobes.
I have an em5mk2 and the em1 mk2. No difference underwater in quality. But some features are nice above water. The em1 has more focuspoints, but I never had any problems with the em5.
And the picture you took from that boat would be as bleu as it is here with the em5 or the em1 also. It is the distance and that makes water bleu. I don't think a good strobe would be able to reach the boat to make it more colorfull.
First, do you use TTL or manual for strobes? I only work manually. The turtle has a lack of colors, because there is no color anymore in the water. The strobes must bring the colors back. And somewhere the strobes where not bright enough if you have used them.
The fish is taken from the wrong angle and maybe becuase of this it looks like there is something missing. The first thing to start with is if using TTL is a +value for the strobe. You want more light=more colors. If using manual strobes, just add a little bit more light. The problem with manual is that the tg6 cannot be used completely manual, so you have to be aware of what settings the camera calculates to use. There are some tricks to make it almost manual, but still not completely.
I also don't know if you know your camera well enough to adjust settings. But to make good pictures, know the weaknesses of your camera.
Then about the pen series or the omd series: use them manual. You must know the 3 points of the triangle. If you don't know that, then you will be disappointed again. I only take pictures in the manual mode and I don't use ttl for the strobes.
I have an em5mk2 and the em1 mk2. No difference underwater in quality. But some features are nice above water. The em1 has more focuspoints, but I never had any problems with the em5.
And the picture you took from that boat would be as bleu as it is here with the em5 or the em1 also. It is the distance and that makes water bleu. I don't think a good strobe would be able to reach the boat to make it more colorfull.
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