Olympus OM-D E-M5, E-M1, E-M10 - Mk1, Mk2 & Mk3 Owners Thread

Here's a quick edit from the lunar eclipse. I thought it might be of interest to some people because this is shot with the 40-150 pro + x1.4 at max zoom (210mm) wide open (f4) at ISO 800, with a near 100% crop. In other words, a stress test.

Edit: There's also a reasonable amount of light pollution where I live.

13420-1443997135-16f8208f2b45f4d0315e99cf804337d5.jpg
 
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Well, a bit of a luxury I know, but having one purple blob too many on my Olympus / Panasonic 7-14 F4 combination, I finally gave in and traded the lens in for a shiny new Olympus 7-14 F2.8 Pro (completing my trinity of pro lenses). Yes it's bigger and bulkier than the older Panasonic but absolutely superb in every way and tack sharp throughout the focal range and at any aperture - OK, it's very slightly soft at the extreme edges @ 7mm and F2.8 but I think I can forgive it that.

So he's is my dream team.




Shown is the following

Olympus OMD-EM1 with battery grip (main camera)
Olympus OMD-EM5-II (with half it's battery grip)
Olympus 7-14 F2.8 Pro
Olympus 12-40 F2.8 Pro
Olympus 40-150 F2.8 Pro
Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro
Olympus 17mm F1.8
Olympus 45mm F1.8
Panasonic Leica 25mm F1.4

Also have (but not shown) - the 1.4 converter for the 40-150, and Panasonic 100-300 OIS (soon to be sold), Lee Sev5n Filter system (Big & Little stopper and ND Grads).

I think my M43 kit is now complete. Also, just sold my D750 as I didn't use it with also having a D810, so still have change over after trading in the Panny 7-14 and selling the D750, so I have my new lens and still financially better off !

Must stop spending now.
 
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Lets hope Oly doesn't disappoint with the EM1 successor otherwise you might start to question all that investment glass!

Could be worthwhile getting all those pro lenses though if they knock one out of the park with the next sensor shift hi res mode.
 
Nice kit. But I'd never want to carry all that stuff around. Making it too expensive to leave at home.
 
ianp5a said:
Nice kit. But I'd never want to carry all that stuff around. Making it too expensive to leave at home.
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Different tools for different jobs. I never take my whole lens lineup with me, just a few that I think I'll need. You can drive yourself nuts packing for every possibility and then have to carry it all around (been there done that), so I find it easier to anticipate the situation and pack light. If I end up without the perfect lens it's no problem, I'm forced to work with what I've got, which is a good learning exercise in it's own right.
 
Xenon54 said:
Different tools for different jobs. I never take my whole lens lineup with me, just a few that I think I'll need. You can drive yourself nuts packing for every possibility and then have to carry it all around (been there done that), so I find it easier to anticipate the situation and pack light. If I end up without the perfect lens it's no problem, I'm forced to work with what I've got, which is a good learning exercise in it's own right.
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I tend to agree with you Will, so much so that I decided to cut back on the lenses I had and stick to just a few. So far I've not noticed the loss, I just have to think about the shot more! And the Oly Pro lenses are so good I find that helps as well! And the prospect of the EM1 MK2 could make it all very exciting!
 
wellyboot said:
And the prospect of the EM1 MK2 could make it all very exciting!
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I hope they keep it at 16MP to allow them to really improve the base IQ, then use the sensor shift tech to satisfy the high-res crowd. Also, my 40-150 pro is gagging for some better C-AF ;)
 
Guys wanted to ask for some guidance.

I read quite a few of the blogs on what we should have and not have set but i mainly wanted to ask

iso upper limit what do you all set yours to and whats the lower number.
Dave Thorpe uses 200 lower and 4000 higher, yet i watched Ians video and that guy uses 800 lower and 1600 higher... any pros and cons with it ?

Also the default for the camera is WB warm on, how many of you switch that off ?

thanks
 
littleted said:
Guys wanted to ask for some guidance.

I read quite a few of the blogs on what we should have and not have set but i mainly wanted to ask

iso upper limit what do you all set yours to and whats the lower number.
Dave Thorpe uses 200 lower and 4000 higher, yet i watched Ians video and that guy uses 800 lower and 1600 higher... any pros and cons with it ?

Also the default for the camera is WB warm on, how many of you switch that off ?

thanks
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That would depend on what you are shooting and how.

My cameras rarely move from ISO 200 but shooting landscapes with a tripod or macro with flash why would I.
 
Not interested in the EM1 MK II as my current 2 bodies do everything I want of them, use them all the time, and well pleased with the results, so I've certainly not acquired these lenses for the "next" generation of M43 bodies . Yeah I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but considering I once had a Nikon 14-24 F2.8, 24-70 F2.8, 70-200 F2.8 VR, 300 F2.8, 105mm F2.8 Macro, 50mm F1.4, 5mm F1.4 and a 80-400 VR - then the M43 kit is still tiny in comparison and all the above fits into a much smaller back pack for a days shooting, something I could never do with my full frame kit, and I would have to choose the lenses I took on the day or else hire a Sherpa. It's all relative.

Full frame is now just limited to a D810, 24-120 F4 VR, 16-35 F4 VR, 50mm F1.8 and a Tamron 150-600 VC - that's it.
 
littleted said:
Guys wanted to ask for some guidance.
iso upper limit what do you all set yours to and whats the lower number.
thanks
Click to expand...

I allow my auto ISO to range up to 6400 for the odd occasion when it's better to get a sharp-but-noisy shot than a blurry one, but I try and avoid that if possible. In reality my natural max is 3200 and even then the amount of noise really bugs me having come from full frame, so I always try to work within 100-1600 range if possible.
 
littleted said:
sooty u need this and then i,ll rubber stamp you as complete...


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-4...UTF8&qid=1444123674&sr=8-1&keywords=42.5+f1.2
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Rob, thanks but I don't do many portraits, (did once consider the Olympus 75mm F1.8), but the little 45mm F1.8 that I picked up for under £100 does me for the small amount of portraits I do. Contrary to what the above photo might show, I'm not trying to aquire every lens, just the ones I use for my photography. Everyone's requirements are different.
 
agree i have the 45mm and its a great unit, sometimes a little too close but nice, my next one is 40-150 i think then maybe a smaller prime.
When I'm out its the 12-40 pro most of the time with a swap to 75-300 when needed...

thanks for the ISO comments I'm pretty much setup the same. cheers
 
I set Auto ISO max to 1600 on my EM5ii. But could be talked into going higher.

The camera should make it easy to switch directly between:
- Best Quality. Fixed ISO 200
- Auto Quality. 200 - 1600
- Auto Speed . 200 - 6400

Changing the auto top limit is typically 22 clicks. During blue hour for example, I'd jump between all 3 of the above if it was available. Going from indoors to outdoors the same.
I could use fixed ISO for individual shots. But changing from 200 to 6400 is still 16 clicks. Helped by the wheel which you will need to roll about 8 times, and scroll too fast and you go past it, so you scroll with caution.

Come on Olympus. Buck up. Touch screen could do it in 2 clicks. Or let us jump to favourite or recently used ISOs.
 
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ianp5a said:
That just moves the problem upwards.
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Ha, Yes. True.

I actually kinda get round this problem by shooting in Manual with auto ISO. I do this primarily because it's often more important to control aperture and shutter than worry where in the ISO 200-1600 range I am. However, if I spot the ISO creeping up to unacceptable values, it's only one to two clicks of the control wheel to open up the aperture or slow the shutter a bit. The camera will always pick the minimum ISO possible.

If I can't change the aperture/shutter for some reason, then I'm already in the territory of better-to-get-a-sharp-but-noisy-image, at which point I'm glad my max ISO is 6400 so I can let it range all the way up there (assuming I can't add more light).

In general though, I agree with you, the software side of cameras could definitely be a lot better with more customisable pre-sets and quick-select options.
 
Thanks. That wasn't on my radar. I must give that a go.

I still like to point out Olympus's cock ups though.
 
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Xenon54 said:
Lets hope Oly doesn't disappoint with the EM1 successor otherwise you might start to question all that investment glass!

Could be worthwhile getting all those pro lenses though if they knock one out of the park with the next sensor shift hi res mode.
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Why keep worrying about the next one,love the one your with after all its the one your taking photos with now :)
 
ianp5a said:
I still like to point out Olympus's cock ups though.
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Yes, always a good sport.

It would be great to have slightly more control over the auto-ISO and also have it on a super control panel style screen (accessible via one click) that allows you to quickly change all the key settings. Right now they're all buried deep with terribly names.
 
I'm new to the M5ii, but I am favouring manual with auto ISO. I've also set the function 2 button to ISO and WB so I can alter that with the viewfinder to my eye.
Today I've connected my iPad and downloaded an image which I've converted from RAW in camera.

Things I'm loving about the M5ii so far
- touch screen for focus and take photo at the same time - love this for candid street shots
- even in auto, the images can be recorded as RAW
- choosing the focus point on screen In addition to using the pad when using viewfinder
- the weight or lack of, of all the kit
- the custom buttons so I can set it up just like my DSLR

I'll attempt to attach a photo taken with the 40-150 lens that I got for £100 as part of the deal. Not a great photo for composition as I didn't want to risk it if anything goes wrong, but I am impressed with what I can see so far.
 

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Xenon54 said:
Yes, always a good sport.

It would be great to have slightly more control over the auto-ISO and also have it on a super control panel style screen (accessible via one click) that allows you to quickly change all the key settings. Right now they're all buried deep with terribly names.
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Isn't that what you see when you click the OK button?
 
SCP.jpg
No, that SCP screen covers many different functions.

The camera needs an ISO screen something like this simple 2-click solution:

iso-2.jpg
  • Press one button to pop up the ISO menu.
  • Tap one to select a value and exit.
All ISO settings are directly accessible from here too. Naturally!
 
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Ah I see what you mean - there are too many options.

I've set my auto ISO max to 1600 but with one click of my function2 button I can control ISO on one dial and WB on the other. I haven't been able to check any photos on a computer yet, so I'm not sure how high is 'safe'.
 
ianp5a said:
The camera needs an ISO screen something like this simple 2-click solution:
Click to expand...

Yes, something like this, although I'd also want quick control over the key auto-ISO parameters, such as max ISO and min SS etc. You could show only full stop increments of ISO to make room.
 
Yes. Lots of possibilities.
  • Press and hold AUTO to pop up standard AUTO settings.
  • Press and hold HIGH to pop up the HIGH ISO AUTO settings.
  • Show just the full stop ISOs but T9 style toggle for the in-between ones
You could even use the arrow keys (UP/Down, L/R) at eye level. Where from ISO 200 to 6400 goes from 16 clicks to just 6.

You would change things more often and more freely as there is no scrubbing the wheel back and forth or menu hunting and missed pictures.
 
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Still waiting to be able to actually rename my presets as well. I mean, how simple is that to implement, but it would make life so much easier, esp if I could have up to 10 of them.

I could easily list out 10 scenarios right now that I'd like to be able to tailor the camera for. Once done, just give me a quick way to flip between em, like pressing a preset button which then displays the list on the screen for me to scroll through or touch.
 
Why do we need a mode button?

You can change mode via an app while it locked in place.
I rarely change mode so something else in its place would be more useful as a direct control.
 
My main complaint about the UI is not being able to use the buttons to toggle individual features.

For example, I would love to be able to set one of the function buttons to toggle between matrix and spot metering, I can't figure out a way to do this.
 
Bonfire nights approaching and some of you will have mastered the Live comp settings or live view, which do you use and what aperture or shutter times.

I'm currently light painting with my daughter and I use live comp and F22 if I want total blackness but the torch has to be bright, the lower the light intensity I lower the F number. I use live comp and shutter time of 1.6

Anybody got any good settings for the Live elements of the camera for fireworks?
Thanks
 
75 is really too long for me usually so I'm not sure it would get much use.

I had a 45 and sold it..now I'm thinking about another one :D
 
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