Olympus XZ-1


ryan11640

New Member
Aug 13, 2012
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1
Bishan
Hi,

Currently I am using an Olympus XZ-1 and usually set to Aperture Priority.
Recently, I notice that in low light condition, with the Aperture set to F1.8,
the shutter speed is 1/2 sec. When I change to Aperture to higher number like F2.8,
I expected the shutter speed to be slower than 1/2 sec but instead it stays at 1/2 sec
and start flashing in red.

I go over the user manual and did not see any information regarding this situation.
Is the XZ-1 faulty or this is the expected behavior ?

Many thanks in advance.
 

Raise the ISO. If I'm not wrong under "low light", the auto-ISO is set only at 200!
 

Just to clarify my question. I am asking in A mode, is there a limit on the slowest Shutter Speed ?
I understand that in Shutter Priority mode, the Aperture will be limited to the camera aperture range.
In the case of Olympus XZ-1, the Aperture can range from F1.8 to F8 in S mode.

In my testing, I manually adjusted the ISO but it seems the camera limit the slowest shutter speed to 1/2 sec regardless.

I did further test using Panasonic FZ5 and it seems the limit to the slowest shutter speed is 1 sec.

All the testing was done hand held and I know this will induce camera shake as such low shutter speed.

Just like to know whether this is normal for compact camera or is there some setting I need to do to lift this limit.
 

Just to clarify my question. I am asking in A mode, is there a limit on the slowest Shutter Speed ?
I understand that in Shutter Priority mode, the Aperture will be limited to the camera aperture range.
In the case of Olympus XZ-1, the Aperture can range from F1.8 to F8 in S mode.

In my testing, I manually adjusted the ISO but it seems the camera limit the slowest shutter speed to 1/2 sec regardless.

I did further test using Panasonic FZ5 and it seems the limit to the slowest shutter speed is 1 sec.

All the testing was done hand held and I know this will induce camera shake as such low shutter speed.

Just like to know whether this is normal for compact camera or is there some setting I need to do to lift this limit.

That's why they have manual mode.

It's perfectly normal, don't worry. The camera is designed like that. The automatic settings are set as such by the manufacturer to what they think is the best automatic range. For xz-1, the auto ISO nv go beyond 200 because they don't want u to get noisy image (the jpeg noise reduction algorithm is very aggressive). The auto shutter speed nv goes below 1/2 because they think that's the slowest speed and average user can get blur free images with its IS.

The camera will rather u underexpose then get blur/noisy handheld images.
 

Hi,

Currently I am using an Olympus XZ-1 and usually set to Aperture Priority.
Recently, I notice that in low light condition, with the Aperture set to F1.8,
the shutter speed is 1/2 sec. When I change to Aperture to higher number like F2.8,
I expected the shutter speed to be slower than 1/2 sec but instead it stays at 1/2 sec
and start flashing in red.

I go over the user manual and did not see any information regarding this situation.
Is the XZ-1 faulty or this is the expected behavior ?

Many thanks in advance.

Just a question to clarify your question.

You said that you have been using the XZ-1 and usually set it to Aperture mode. So when you discovered what you just describe, was it different from what you have experience in the past? I mean, in the past, did you encounter the same 'issue'? If it was different from what you have encountered before, then something is wrong, you might have done some setting or there might really be an issue. If the camera performed just the same, which mean, all along you are seeing the same thing, then most probably, it was a non-issue, the camera is designed that way... nothing to worry about.
 

I cannot recall whether I have notice this behaviour in the past.
To be honest, if this behaviour occurs in the past, I would simply switch to either P or S mode and continue with photo taking.
It was just that day I notice it and decided to investigate further with different setting, instead of just photo taking.

Panasonic FZ5 also has the slowest shutter speed at 1 sec for A mode and it was documented in the FZ5 User Manual.
As mentioned by Silvermoon, the slowest shutter speed of 1/2 sec in A mode is probably determined by Olympus.

So, nothing wrong with the camera and that means I don't have a excuse to buy the new Stylus 1 now ......
 

So, nothing wrong with the camera and that means I don't have a excuse to buy the new Stylus 1 now ......

lol. Still have a reason. Get the Stylus 1 as a backup camera... or retire your XZ-1 to the second line.