Here are examples how camera / lens / flash affects image quality
The 5x5 matrix of pictures were taken in RAW format and converted to 90-quality jpg without modifying them.
| Cameras | Olympus Pen E-PL1 25€ |
Olympus Pen E-PL8 150€ |
Olympus OM-D E-M10 mk2 200€ |
Panasonic G80 300€ |
Olympus OM-D E-M1 mk2 800€ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenses | Risespray 35mm f1.6 25€ |
Olympus 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 150€ |
Panasonic 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 160€ |
Olympus 45mm f1.8 180€ |
Voigtländer 42.5mm f0.95 900€ |
| Flash | Godox AD200pro *380€ |
||||
| Trigger | Godox Xpro O 70€ |
| No Flash | 1 Flash | 2 Flashes |
|---|---|---|
| Manual Mode | Manual Mode | Manual Mode |
| ISO 3200/6400 | ISO 200 | ISO 200 |
| 1/20s | 1/160s - 1/250s | 1/160s - 1/250s |
| F5.6 | F5.6 | F8.0 |
Shots were taken hand-held to simulate casual studio setting, or how the handling would be in 'real' situation.
Flash power of 1/32 was the maximum so you could swap flashes to cheaper units too.
Framing was decided to be: leave space on top and next to palms, crop knees away. That is why framing varies a bit between photographs.
With lenses that have zoom 39-42mm focal length was used.
Also focus was acquired quite freely and you will get better results if you take multiple pictures.
Flash power of 1/32 was the maximum so you could swap flashes to cheaper units too.
Framing was decided to be: leave space on top and next to palms, crop knees away. That is why framing varies a bit between photographs.
With lenses that have zoom 39-42mm focal length was used.
Also focus was acquired quite freely and you will get better results if you take multiple pictures.
On separate test each lens was tested with different aperture values and F5.6 to F8.0 was sharp, does not affect image quality.
Shutterspeed does not matter because flash duration is shorter than the selected Shutterspeed.
Flash price is calculated from cheapest option of Godox V350 (140€) and not from AD200pro, because that would be enough flash power for this project. Other prices are calculated from 2nd-hand prices.
Shutterspeed does not matter because flash duration is shorter than the selected Shutterspeed.
Flash price is calculated from cheapest option of Godox V350 (140€) and not from AD200pro, because that would be enough flash power for this project. Other prices are calculated from 2nd-hand prices.
Unedited pics straight from RAW
Prices are in camera + lens + flashes
| Risespray 35mm f1.6 | Olympus 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 | Panasonic 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 | Olympus 45mm f1.8 | Voigtländer 42.5mm f0.95 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-PL1 | 0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
| E-PL8 | 0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
| E-M10 mk2 | 0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
| G80 | 0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
| E-M1 mk2 | 0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
0€ |
64MP phone camera
For reference this is 5.4mm F1.9 (FFeq: 25mm F8.0+) 1/20s and ISO2704 picture from a 64mp phone camera.
Default camera app using pro-mode that had all settings on auto. Image was then put through GIMP and stripped of exif and exported as 90-quality.
Original image was 16MB and was not any better.
270+0+0 = 270€
108MP phone camera
500+0+0 = 500€