• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Our Websites
  • Contact Us
  • Donations
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube

MirrorLessons

Mirrorless camera reviews right at your virtual doorstep!

  • Home
  • Camera reviews
  • Lens reviews
  • Accessory reviews
  • Galleries
  • IN-DEPTH
    • Mirrorless on the job
    • Tutorials, Tips & Tricks
    • Essays
    • Musings
  • GUEST POSTS
You are here: Home / Olympus Camera Reviews / E-P5 / Obtaining a Shallow Depth-of-Field in Bright Sunlight with the Olympus Pen E-P5

Obtaining a Shallow Depth-of-Field in Bright Sunlight with the Olympus Pen E-P5

10/07/2013 By Heather 4 Comments

Update: our full review of the Pen E-P5 is now up!

In terms of specifications, the Pen E-P5 is so similar to the king of the Olympus mirrorless line-up, the OM-D E-M5, that one would hardly connect it to the prosaic Pen bloodline. To use a shallow metaphor, it is the “Kate Middleton” of cameras – a maiden arisen from humble beginnings, but destined for something much greater.

And, as with every queen-to-be, this new Pen is a shrewd mistress. Not only does she insist on being on an equal footing with the King, but she also upstages him in a number of subtle ways. Two of these aspects are shutter speed and low ISO performance.

Whereas the OM-D can reach a very respectable 1/4000th of a second, the E-P5 has a mechanical shutter speed of 1/8000th of a second, making it the mirrorless camera with the fastest mechanical shutter speed on the market to date. (Note: the most recent models in the Nikon 1 series can reach 1/16000, but only with an electronic shutter.)

As for ISO performance, the E-P5 can reach 100 ISO, dubbed Low in the menu. It isn’t a native ISO value but rather an extension of the low value 200. A lower ISO value will, of course, result in less noise in your images, but could also slightly reduce the dynamic range. The E-M5, by comparison, can reach a maximum low ISO value of 200.

So, why are high shutter speed and low ISO so important to photographers?

Well, imagine you are out on the streets at midday preparing a photo shoot. The sun is so strong that you can almost visualize that proverbial egg cooking away on the pavement. You know that if you want to use a fast aperture to produce a shallow depth of field (thus isolating your subject from the background), you’re going to need the fastest shutter speed and the lowest ISO possible. This is where a camera like the E-P5 can really come in handy because it gives you the equivalent of two stops down to work with.

To test these two improvements, I took the E-P5 out for a walk on a bright sunny day here in Turin in search of some close-up shots in which I could easily isolate the subject from the background. For every shot, I used 1/8000 shutter speed and Low ISO along with the widest aperture available on my M.Zuiko 45mm lens, f/1.8.

E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100

I have to say that, combined with the fast aperture of the 45mm, 1/8000 was the ideal shutter speed for midday shooting. Even when standing in direct sunlight on the lightly coloured (and extremely reflective) pavement, the exposure value would always sit between 0.0 and -0.7. I would be very curious to see if 1/8000 sec. were enough on, say, the beach or a snowy landscape.

E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100

Of course, with a lens that has a slower aperture, such as a kit zoom for instance, it would be difficult to find a situation in which the sun were bright enough to use 1/8000. This is why this fast shutter speed is intended primarily for portrait and macro photography with fast primes.

E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100

Regarding the dynamic range at Low 100 ISO, I didn’t notice any substantial differences between 100 and 200 ISO during my test. The extended 100 ISO equivalent seems to be doing its job just fine.

E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100
E-P5, 1/8000, f/ 1.8, ISO 100

What do you think of these shots? Is the Pen E-P5 the sort of camera you could find useful for your kind of photography you do?

Filed Under: E-P5, Olympus Camera Reviews Tagged With: em5 vs ep5, ep5 vs em5, new olympus pen, olympus pen ep5, omd em5 vs pen ep5, pen ep5 1/8000, pen ep5 depth of field, pen ep5 fast shutter speed, pen ep5 iso 100, pen ep5 low iso, pen ep5 review, pen ep5 shutter speed, pen ep5 vs omd em5

About Heather

Heather Broster was born in Canada, has lived in Japan and Italy but currently calls Wales home. She is a full-time gear tester at MirrorLessons. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter or Facebook!

Primary Sidebar

Reminder

We have moved! Our latest reviews can be found on Mirrorless Comparison and YouTube.

DISCLAIMER & COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Heather Broster is participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Heather Broster is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.

Heather Broster and Mathieu Gasquet are also participants in the following affiliate programs: B&H Photo Affiliate Program, Ebay Partner Network, Skylum (Impact Radius), Expert Shield, The Inspired Eye, and Mediterranean Photo Tours.

To read more information, visit our full Disclaimer page. Thank you!


© HEATHER BROSTER/MATHIEU GASQUET AND MIRRORLESSONS, 2013-2020

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Heather Broster/Mathieu Gasquet and Mirrorless Comparison with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.