Micro 4/3 Panny GX1 takes how long to write to card !!!!!!

Judderman62

Veteran
Location
Greater Manchester, UK
Name
Mike
I have oft thought that M43 just isn't really a true competitor for the DSLR ...I still think this.

I bought the GX1 for general photogaphy and maybe a bit of street photography if I can summon the courage to go for street.

Yesterday I decided to take it Urban exploring ...after 3 shots I asked my friend for the keys to his car, took the Panny back and grabbed my Canon 500D.

I was in a chapel - all windows metal sheeted and very, very little light coming in. Took a shot with some light painting with a torch - 20 second exposure.

How long did it take to write the shot to card ? ...errr 20 seconds :eek: :eek: :eek::eek: what now ? 20 seconds !!!!

I guess I wont be using the GX1 for long exposure shots again - leave it at home when out Urban Exploring .

Is this common to M43 cameras ?
 
It should be in the custom functions menus on the 500D (long exposure noise reduction = 1 means that it is on, 0 is off. It's an extremely useful tool that allows the camera to measure and subtract the noise generated purely by the sensor being active for an extended length of time. For a second there I almost thought that a DSLR wasn't a true competitor for Micro 4/3 :D
 
Basically it's there for this reason: all cameras, m43 or DSLR, can have "hot pixels" or other recurring noise.

What long exposure noise reduction does is take another exposure with the shutter CLOSED for the same amount of time as your regular exposure.

Then the camera looks at what should be a totally black frame for any malfunctioning pixels. It subtracts the information from your original frame to balance out those pixels. The process is called "dark frame subtraction" and it's something all decent cameras do and some allow control of it.

Over time, it can be a good thing to have as hot pixels tend to be erratic and can come and go. I always leave it on to get the cleanest RAW file I can to start with since the frame subtraction is done at the sensor data level before processing. I do a lot of urbex in dark buildings which is what I presume you're up to also.
 
thanks for the full and thorough explanation.

yes indeed I mostly am to be found in dark, disused buildings :)

You're welcome. I was looking in Panny menu structure and it looks like the menu item to turn this on and off is called "Long Shtr NR" -- or at least it is in the G5.
 
With the LENR turned off the processing will be no different to the time it would take to process any normal shot i.e. not long at all. When it is activated, LENR usually only kicks in when the shutter speed is in the order of a few seconds or more. Even then it is not the processing that takes the extra time.
 
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