Patrick Porter , Jan 26, 2012; 05:52 a.m.
I've noticed that the sky in my E-P2 images is pretty nasty looking and am really hoping there is a fix for the problem. It looks chunky, to be honest. The sky isn't posterizing, there is just lots of areas that have almost a blocky appearance. Not large blocks, little ones that almost look like noise. It is significantly worse in areas of relatively sharp transition from dark blue to lighter.
Not the best example but: http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickporter/6492975553/ You can view the larger sizes to see what I'm talking about...
Is there a way to get rid of the "chunky" look of the sky?
Thanks
-Patrick
Jos van Eekelen 
, Jan 26, 2012; 06:15 a.m.
Stop pixel peeping and the sky will look quite nice. The flickr link only shows a reduced (3200 x 2400, less than what your camera is capable of) and compressed image. Hard to judge the real thing but check the possibilities of the camera first.
Bruce Rubenstein , Jan 26, 2012; 07:07 a.m.
Since the EXIF data has been removed there's no way to know how the picture was shot, or how it wound up looking like it did. Also, since sky don't naturally look like that, I suspect a processing issue.
Zach Ritter 
, Jan 26, 2012; 10:16 a.m.
I'm noticing noise all over. What ISO did you shoot at?
Sanford Edelstein 
, Jan 26, 2012; 10:19 a.m.
Maybe the sensor is seeing the bright white beach and underexposing the sky. M4/3 cameras are not known for their dynamic range. I can't a problem with the sample you posted. Try desaturating sky and see what happens.
Patrick Porter , Jan 26, 2012; 10:26 a.m.
It isn't the processing, there is nothing done to that photo outside of the raw processing. To get those colours I just reduced saturation and upped the white balance temperature. Besides, all my photos have the same "chunky" look, some worse than that one, but I generally delete them.
I always shoot manual, so it isn't about exposure being off in the meter. I find that compared to where I'm from (Eastern Canada) properly exposed images generally have a brighter sky because there simply isn't as much sun hitting the ground. Here in Egypt/Israel, the sun is so damn bright that to avoid blowing out ground details, the sky is exposed quite dark and this "chunky" look is much more apparent.
ISO is 200 btw. This camera has been dropped, kicked once, and generally abused beyond normal expectations, so I don't know if that has any effect.
Zach Ritter , Jan 26, 2012; 10:32 a.m.
Well, if the sky clears up, I can try for a few shots with my E-PM1. Seems to my memory that it's images are noisier than the D7000 at any ISO. That said, it never really bothers me.
Oh, and I am seeing as much in the sand as I do your sky. It's just easier to spot in the transitions of the sky.
Patrick Porter , Jan 26, 2012; 10:56 a.m.
Different shot
Patrick Porter , Jan 26, 2012; 11:05 a.m.
I've got all noise reduction in the camera turned off, shooting raw, developing with Olympus Master 2. The square image above is "straight out of the camera". Shot in Muted colour mode, sharpness/contrast and such all at zero.
Sanford Edelstein , Jan 26, 2012; 03:25 p.m.
All right, I think I see what is going on here "plausible justification". I know because I do it myself all the time - Patrick wants a new camera!
