Anybody using an OM-D E-M1 Mk2 with / instead of Canon Full Frame?

Chipper

Chipper

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So, we went to the LCE show in Southampton yesterday and saw a couple of talks; one was excellent from Paul Sanders who uses a variety of Fuji kit. We also spoke with an Olympus ambassador who was a Canon user and is a very successful sports photographer of motor sport and jets. He was quite persuasive. I will most likely give the free trial a go. Is there anybody out there who has jumped ship from Canon full frame to the OM-D E-M1 Mark 2? I photograph, basketball, larger birds in flight but also like to be on the beach photographing people or landscape.

I would welcome your thoughts. I am eventually not going to want to carry the weight and getting one of these systems for travel could be a useful way of moving over and knowing my way around it before the Canon stuff went.

Thanks
 
I went from Nikon FF to Oly OMD cameras and have no regrets, recently bought an EM1ii but have yet to use it in anger, seems very nice though and the AF is much better generally and also much better in low light which was always a bit of a problem with the mk1.

The thing about the system is the spectacular lenses, the pro zooms really are fantastic and the primes are small and lovely.

edit: all the shots Marrakech onwards in my Flickr are shot with OMD.
 
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Olympus is a great system. IQ is excellent and so are some of the lenses. I've never run Canon but I do run Nikon FF alongside the Olympus system and for me as good as the Olympus is I still prefer the IQ and way FF renders/looks. I know it's a contentious subject but for me FF still give more depth to the image, and of course all things considered equal FF is sharper. That being said I am more than happy with the Olympus for times I don't want bulk, and in the right scenario it can be hard to separate the two. I believe Gavin Hoey's dropped Canon in favour of Olympus and he certainly knows what he's doing ;)
 
Hmmm been looking closely at the Oly system recently myself, I wonder how it compares to the Fuji X system........ similar I'd say...(??) Suppose the EM1 Mk2 body and lenses are closely priced against the X system etc...
 
macvisual said:
Hmmm been looking closely at the Oly system recently myself, I wonder how it compares to the Fuji X system........ similar I'd say...(??) Suppose the EM1 Mk2 body and lenses are closely priced against the X system etc...
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u thinking of moving away from Fuji, Peter?
 
Have both Canon full frame and the Olympus E-M1 Mark 2 with pro lenses and apart from a few paid jobs the Canon kit doesn't get used.

Have a look at my Flickr link for actual examples, will be using with the 300mm this summer for motorsport and aviation having sold my Canon 500mm L and 7D2
 
I use both a Canon 6D and an OMD EM5 II. The two things that the FF offers are shallower DoF and better high ISO performance, otherwise you wouldn't be able to tell the difference in my finished photos. The in-body IS on the EM5 is just wizardry and there is a great range of lenses Oly, Panasonic and others. If I had a nit pick it would be that it took me several months to get used to the small size and position of the buttons but stick with it, you will get the hang
 
Paul Holtom said:
Have both Canon full frame and the Olympus E-M1 Mark 2 with pro lenses and apart from a few paid jobs the Canon kit doesn't get used.

Have a look at my Flickr link for actual examples, will be using with the 300mm this summer for motorsport and aviation having sold my Canon 500mm L and 7D2
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Yes, just checked your Flickr there, impressive captures!

Can you shoot in 1:1 square ratio along with a 16:9 wide ratio with the EM1 Mk2 I wonder ? (As like the Fuji system)

Regards; Peter
 
macvisual said:
Cheers for that info. And what's the difference between the EM1 Mk1 + Mk2 bodies etc....?
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EM1-II has slightly different grip, higher res sensor with better noise handling, better AF especially AF-C/tracking. There's probably a couple of other things, but they're the main points.
 
Thanks for this. :ty:Do any of you have experience of birds in flight that I could go and look at?
 
I tried one but found it a little too much when using my Nikon FX Gear, having said that today, I have decided to go down the Mirrorless route!. ;)
 
Chipper said:
Thanks for this. :ty:Do any of you have experience of birds in flight that I could go and look at?
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There's some examples in the Olympus OMD thread.
 
macvisual said:
Cheers for that info. And what's the difference between the EM1 Mk1 + Mk2 bodies etc....?
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snerkler said:
EM1-II has slightly different grip, higher res sensor with better noise handling, better AF especially AF-C/tracking. There's probably a couple of other things, but they're the main points.
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Forgot to mention a couple of other important features. The mark II can shot at 18fps with tracking vs 9fps on the I. The mark II has the high res function like the EM5-II. One thing I don't like on the II is the fully articulating screen. I had it on the EM5-II and prefer the tilt screen. Another real big plus is dual card slots, that's probably my main concern when using the EM1 i.e. Just having the one slot.
 
Well, I am definitely going to book one of the loan sessions; it sounds like the perfect solution to the travel quandary. The sports guy said that he thought the zoom (notes downstairs so can't remember which one) was the best lens he had ever used and that included the 70-200 zoom mk 2. Olympus ambassadors have to buy their own kit so it is a bit different from those who hop between Canon and Nikon. His original motivation was the need to change after a horrendous cycling accident - car mowed him down and broke 8 ribs, his shoulder, smashed teeth. He says he would never go back....
 
I run both systems and agree with much that's been said here. For low light requiring high ISO I leave the m4/3 Olympus gear at home and lug the FF Canon stuff around. I say lug because for me having reached an advanced age :D I confess it has become less fun carrying heavy gear.

The new E-m1 Mkii is a brilliant box of tricks and for my type of photography has more versatility than FF and is a pleasure to carry around. I should say I'm talking about long lens wildlife shooting.

As @snerkler says, there is a quality about FF that I don't find using m4/3 but I'm certainly not complaining.
 
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I have full frame Canon plus an M43 outfit. They both have their uses. In the case of the M43, I went for a pair of GM5s plus a an E-PL5 with lenses covering 9mm to 150mm. The whole outfit with spare batteries weighs more or less the same as my 1Ds II with a short lens and a spare battery. The small outfit goes with when I don't know that I'll find anything I want to capture and either the 1Ds II or a pair of 5D bodies when I know what I'm looking for. It works for me but I guarantee that other people will have different needs and/or tastes.

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Well, I have booked a body and a couple of lenses when we are visiting the North East next weekend. Should be very interesting; want to try and find some sport that's not requiring a press / photo pass. Any ideas?
 
Chipper said:
Well, I have booked a body and a couple of lenses when we are visiting the North East next weekend. Should be very interesting; want to try and find some sport that's not requiring a press / photo pass. Any ideas?
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Local running events such as half marathons, local league footy, motorsports, local cricket, cycling events, just about any sporting event you can think of really.
 
Hmmm.
I went from the EM1 to a Nikon FF (D750) as the EM1 just didn't cut it in various ways, which have all been mentioned as having been sorted with the EM1ii.
While I think the D750 and the lenses I own are brilliant, this thread has made me wonder if I should be taking a look at the Olympus again as it did offer so much in so many ways..

Has anyone here read a comparison between the D750 and the EM1ii, or even better, has anyone here got both ?
 
stevewestern said:
Hmmm.
I went from the EM1 to a Nikon FF (D750) as the EM1 just didn't cut it in various ways, which have all been mentioned as having been sorted with the EM1ii.
While I think the D750 and the lenses I own are brilliant, this thread has made me wonder if I should be taking a look at the Olympus again as it did offer so much in so many ways..

Has anyone here read a comparison between the D750 and the EM1ii, or even better, has anyone here got both ?
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Unless size is of a concern (or you are made of money) I would stay with the D750, switching systems for no real reason is a bit of a fools errand, especially as the D750 will have better CAF and IQ.
 
stevewestern said:
Hmmm.
I went from the EM1 to a Nikon FF (D750) as the EM1 just didn't cut it in various ways, which have all been mentioned as having been sorted with the EM1ii.
While I think the D750 and the lenses I own are brilliant, this thread has made me wonder if I should be taking a look at the Olympus again as it did offer so much in so many ways..

Has anyone here read a comparison between the D750 and the EM1ii, or even better, has anyone here got both ?
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Don't have the EM1-II but do have the D750 and EM1 and the IQ and noise handling would have to be significantly better in the EM1-II over the EM1 to be able to compare with the D750, which I don't believe it is. AF still isn't quite there either I believe, however on all accounts the gap is closing.
 
For birding With the IDX mk ii 600F4 mkII +1.4TC you know that once you press the shutter most times the bird is going to veer off away from the sound and this has always been a pain more so when you have been waiting for an Owl for a couple of hours.

I am quite new to the OMD mkII 300f4 pro +1.4tc and still working on setting it up for me but what I can say is using the Electronic shutter I have now had 4 owls fly right passed me within 10 ft they just keep coming so im quite hopeful when these strong wind die down i will get a proper go at one the wind is just blowing them all over the place .

I wish the centre point had the assist like the canon but they all seem to be active so with 5 points (i find this the best ) any of them will grab say a wing tip so focus can be a little off that said it is so fast to AF It does seem to give a good chance of getting a head in focus too single point may be the answer if I can do my bit .

Low light well its not so good to me 800 iso is the max for birds, on the 1dx that's like 3200 iso given the sensor size .

The EVF now this takes some getting use to, to save the battery I let it sleep after 60 seconds so once I see a bird a quick jab of the shutter brings it to life very quickly but you do have to be on the ball or you will bring it to your eye and it will be blacked out and by the time you have pressed it the bird will be gone but im getting use to that now.

I will keep my other set up for now but im getting on a bit and the weight of the canon is limiting at time's but I am happy with the OMD mkII the more i use it I think Yes this is a nice bit of kit.

Rob.
 
Nawty said:
Unless size is of a concern (or you are made of money) I would stay with the D750, switching systems for no real reason is a bit of a fools errand, especially as the D750 will have better CAF and IQ.
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A fool and his money are soon parted - that happened last time when I sold my Canon gear for Olympus as it clearly wasn't right for me, but it had the desired effect of getting me out with a camera again, but it didn't take me long to realize that the limitations were too big for my needs. One of the big things the Olympus brings is a silent shutter which is a massive issue for me with the D750. However, when I need a silent shutter I also need high ISO, which seems a way off still...

snerkler said:
Don't have the EM1-II but do have the D750 and EM1 and the IQ and noise handling would have to be significantly better in the EM1-II over the EM1 to be able to compare with the D750, which I don't believe it is. AF still isn't quite there either I believe, however on all accounts the gap is closing.
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Again, low light noise and AF are big problems for me - school plays and the like.
Thanks to you both for your help !
 
stevewestern said:
A fool and his money are soon parted - that happened last time when I sold my Canon gear for Olympus as it clearly wasn't right for me, but it had the desired effect of getting me out with a camera again, but it didn't take me long to realize that the limitations were too big for my needs. One of the big things the Olympus brings is a silent shutter which is a massive issue for me with the D750. However, when I need a silent shutter I also need high ISO, which seems a way off still...



Again, low light noise and AF are big problems for me - school plays and the like.
Thanks to you both for your help !
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The D810 could be a better option as the shutter is noticeably quieter than the D750, although still not silent of course.
 
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