Is Your Camera a Dog?

Anyone who has ever had a dog has dealt with the bad decisions they can make and have had to clean up the messes they left behind. Sometimes the damage is so bad, you have to buy a rug to cover it up. Camera manufacturers are no different, and sometimes the choices they make permanently impact the quality of your photos so much, there is no fix. This leads to missed opportunities and less-than-optimal photos. I get very frustrated seeing photographers stuck with bad results as a result of manufacturer decisions, so I am going to start documenting them to help you avoid their messes. 

I try to be a good umpire and call the balls and strikes fairly. I don’t care about brands. I care about results, and when a camera or lens gives results that are way outside my expectations, I’m going to call it like I see it.  We all have some “dogs” in our equipment bag, so this isn’t about being a perfectionist. But improving our kit helps us succeed, so it is up to you to decide how to fix things. Just don’t be mad at me for telling you a piece of your kit doesn’t perform as well as it could. Don’t be a fanboy. Avoid the temptation to think a piece of equipment is “good” just because you shelled out your hard-earned money for it, or some reviewer assured you it was “the best.” Learn how things work and how to evaluate quality, so you can make more informed decisions.

I’m going to start this series with Olympus because I’ve been working on some student files taken with their “flagship” camera, which is not quite up to that title. In the immortal words of Frank Costanza, “I got a lot of problems with you, Olympus, and you’re gonna hear about it!”

Olympus cameras have become popular because of their small size and weight, which works well for those with smaller hands or those who want to travel light. The Micro Four Thirds format allows less-expensive long glass, which has attracted many wildlife photographers. But Olympus has cut a corner that significantly affects your image quality. 

Instead of capturing 14-bit RAW like everyone else, their “flagship” OM-1 cameras (and some other models) only capture 12-bit RAW. There is a big difference between capturing 4096 luminance values per RGB channel and 16,383, and I see it in the results, again and again. In most lighting conditions, it degrades results and makes editing/processing more difficult. That’s not what you want.

Seeing this degradation in some student files is what prompted this piece. I just can’t get the same results I’ve come to expect from other brands that are using 14-bit RAW, and that frustrates me to no end. 12-bit reduces the dynamic range and the range of colors and tones you have to work with. At a practical level, it is getting about 1/4 of what you can with a 14-bit file.  

Frankly, this decision by Olympus is unacceptable for most types of photography. You only get one chance to make most photos, and limiting a camera to results that were state-of-the-art in the 2000’s with your 2024 flagship camera is not ok. The value of our best photos increases over time, in part because they record things we can’t go back and experience again. So, you want to be capturing your photos with high quality, whenever you can. The rest of the industry does this with 14-bit RAW, but not most Olympus cameras.  That’s why they make my “Bad Dog” list. Specifically, I am calling out the OM System OM-1 and OM System OM-1 MARK II. There are other models with this problem, so check if you own an Olympus. 

What’s the fix? The OM-D E-M5 III, and OM System OM-5 offer 14-bit RAW. That should solve it, but I don’t have first-hand experience with these models, so I can’t speak to what other unknowns may crop up. Edit 3-10-2025 An observant reader has pointed out that while the B&H website shows some cameras capable of using 14-bit, those specs do not agree with the OM System website, and it appears all their cameras are 12-bit. I am going to assume that all OM cameras are 12-bit until proven otherwise by actual files. The more experience I gain with the OM system, the more I see significant issues. If I had one, I’d be selling it immediately.

The bottom line is that the quality of your photos will be limited until you or Olympus resolves this issue. My recommendation is this: Do not buy one of the models limited to 12-bit RAW, and if you already have one, make replacing it with a 14-bit RAW model your top equipment priority. Edit 3-10-2025 My recommendation is to sell your OM system and buy one of the major three brands. The Sony APS-C offers the best image quality in the small form factor.