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

@alfbranch Pretty impressed with those Alf. You mention you're looking to move it on, did you have a price in mind?
 
Tabbiekat said:
I'm currently using a EM1X for a couple of weeks through the Olympus Pro Loan scheme. I usually shoot with a Nikon D850. Have to say I'm impressed by the OLY thus far, particularly the IBIS. I will admit that carting the D850 with a sigma 150-600S sticking out of the front is back breaking at times, especially when it's attached to a pod and gimbal, and is my main consideration for the switchover. The Em1X is winning on points at the moment but on Wed/Thur I'll be going over to WWT London with both beasties to see how they stand up to each other in a field test. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks peeps.
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Hi Robert I am sure you will make your own mind up if the Olympus system is for you. What I can say having moved from Canon to Olympus recently is that the portability of the system is a great plus for me having had the Siggy 150-600 paired to 1D mark 3 and 80D bodies. The quality of the pro range of glass is also excellent. I have the OMD E-M1 mark 2 and have been impressed with the small form factor and the quality of the images.

As to the EM1X I cannot comment on the use of this body but the work of @RedRobin who shoots with a pair of EM1X bodies is excellent As to your day out at WWT the Olympus 300mm f4 pro would be a good choice and paired with either the 1.4 or 2.0 teleconverter would give you extended reach. Look forward to your feedback on how you view both systems
 
Lovely photo of a beautiful bird. This photography lark seems to run in the family :)
 
jakeblu said:
Seeing as the Pro long lenses are out of my reach, I was thinking of changing my Panny 45-175mm for something a little longer. Options in my price range seem to be either the Oly 75-300mm or the Panny 100-300mm. The Panny is a more expensive and a little faster as well as being weather-sealed but the Oly gives me a bit more at the wider end. Anyone here had any experience with either of these lenses.
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FWIW I had £120 CEX credit from trading in an old iPhone. I thought I'd probably use it on games or perhaps movies but didn't see anything I fancied so I took a look at their photography stuff. As I have all the lenses I really "need" I took a look at some I might like but seldom use - I take a trip to see the seals at Horsey once or twice a year and I watch an old mate doing motor racing once a year at my local circuit.
In the past I've used the 40-150 plastic fantastic Olympus and I've been happy with the results but a bit more reach would be nice in both.

CEX list the 75-300mm Olympus for £200 which is a lot lower than the other retailers I looked at.
They popped up and disappeared over the few months I looked and ummed and arrghhhed over it.
https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail...olympus-m.zuiko-digital-75-300mm-f-4.8-6.7-ii
They come with a 2 year warranty and can return for the cost of postage back within 14 days
https://uk.support.webuy.com/support/solutions/articles/17000042841-returning-a-faulty-online-order
You don't get any kind of condition report. Mine was in very good nick in the box.

CEX will also sell you the Panasonic 100-300 for £235.
https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail...title=panasonic-g-vario-100-300mm-f4.0-5.6-ft

At the time of posting they have both in stock which is very rare.

Regarding the actual lens. Mine arrived in the middle of January and apart from test shots I haven't used it in anger.
On the E-M10ii it's very hard to handhold at 300mm - as you would imagine. The later bodies with better stabilisation will be better but you'll always be fighting against f6.7 at the long end.
So for me it's an interesting option for very occasional outings - if I was going to need that long reach in anything less than idea conditions I'd be tempted to go for something brighter albeit more expensive.
 
Already bagged one at that price as I had nearly £800 paypal credit (that's been sat there for ages for some work I did freelance, that I'd totally forgotten about as I hadn't been into my Paypal account in ages) and I've just sold my MK 2 to a colleague (now it's been regripped) for £550.00, so it's only cost me an additional £100 to swap.For that amount, it was worth taking a punt but not at £1600.

According to Fedex tracking, should be with me on Thursday. I'll report back then. I'm hoping it will just be a more portable version of my EM1-X
 
Sootchucker said:
Already bagged one at that price as I had nearly £800 paypal credit (that's been sat there for ages for some work I did freelance, that I'd totally forgotten about as I hadn't been into my Paypal account in ages) and I've just sold my MK 2 to a colleague (now it's been regripped) for £550.00, so it's only cost me an additional £100 to swap.For that amount, it was worth taking a punt but not at £1600.

According to Fedex tracking, should be with me on Thursday. I'll report back then. I'm hoping it will just be a more portable version of my EM1-X
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Bought my 300mm pro from Panamoz 3 weeks ago was impressed with the price and service from them because they had a delay in shipping, without asking they e mailed to say they had refunded £50 to my PayPal account which was a very pleasant surprise. took the nett cost down to £1440. I will probably buy the Mark 3 from Panamoz when it hits the 1K mark just getting to grips with the Mark 2!:confused:
 
Sootchucker said:
Already bagged one at that price as I had nearly £800 paypal credit (that's been sat there for ages for some work I did freelance, that I'd totally forgotten about as I hadn't been into my Paypal account in ages) and I've just sold my MK 2 to a colleague (now it's been regripped) for £550.00, so it's only cost me an additional £100 to swap.For that amount, it was worth taking a punt but not at £1600.

According to Fedex tracking, should be with me on Thursday. I'll report back then. I'm hoping it will just be a more portable version of my EM1-X
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Your gear sig looks like WEX's stock list :)
 
jakeblu said:
Your gear sig looks like WEX's stock list :)
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:giggle::giggle: and that's just the stuff I've listed. I got some P&S cameras, Osmo Pocket, 3 go pro's 6 speedlights, studio flash and softboxes etc.

I need a bigger house !

TBH, most of it is self funded by shooting weddings, portraits, commercial stuff (my company is a multi billion Euro global engineering company - so I get a fair amount of stuff from them).
 
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Question time... we use a d500 and a 16-80 f2.8-f4 for shooting car-to-car rolling shots. This involves my 16 year old being "out of the car" to get the camera low to the ground for added motion. The only way to see what he's doing is to use live view, which is notoriously slow and clunky...

So.... does anyone have any clue as to how the e-m1 mk2 would fare in the same situation ? We have numerous OOF shots at the moment, sometimes due to the camera simply missing and sometimes because shooting at 1/40s when being buffeted by 70mph winds isn't easy

This is his instagram

https://www.instagram.com/charliemp/

I haven't shot Olympus for 2.5 years so am a bit out of touch..
 
damianmkv said:
Question time... we use a d500 and a 16-80 f2.8-f4 for shooting car-to-car rolling shots. This involves my 16 year old being "out of the car" to get the camera low to the ground for added motion. The only way to see what he's doing is to use live view, which is notoriously slow and clunky...

So.... does anyone have any clue as to how the e-m1 mk2 would fare in the same situation ? We have numerous OOF shots at the moment, sometimes due to the camera simply missing and sometimes because shooting at 1/40s when being buffeted by 70mph winds isn't easy

This is his instagram

https://www.instagram.com/charliemp/

I haven't shot Olympus for 2.5 years so am a bit out of touch..
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The EM1-II shouldn't have any issue with that, and of course live view is just as fast as the viewfinder.

Great pics those (y)
 
damianmkv said:
Question time... we use a d500 and a 16-80 f2.8-f4 for shooting car-to-car rolling shots. This involves my 16 year old being "out of the car" to get the camera low to the ground for added motion. The only way to see what he's doing is to use live view, which is notoriously slow and clunky...

So.... does anyone have any clue as to how the e-m1 mk2 would fare in the same situation ? We have numerous OOF shots at the moment, sometimes due to the camera simply missing and sometimes because shooting at 1/40s when being buffeted by 70mph winds isn't easy

This is his instagram

https://www.instagram.com/charliemp/

I haven't shot Olympus for 2.5 years so am a bit out of touch..
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Some lovely stuff on his Instagram Damian :)

Simon.
 
Thanks Toby - he's beginning to get his name out and about for his work which is good..

Maybe I need to try one... Is the Pro test thing strictly for professionals does anyone know ?
 
Tabbiekat said:
I'm currently using a EM1X for a couple of weeks through the Olympus Pro Loan scheme. I usually shoot with a Nikon D850. Have to say I'm impressed by the OLY thus far, particularly the IBIS. I will admit that carting the D850 with a sigma 150-600S sticking out of the front is back breaking at times, especially when it's attached to a pod and gimbal, and is my main consideration for the switchover. The Em1X is winning on points at the moment but on Wed/Thur I'll be going over to WWT London with both beasties to see how they stand up to each other in a field test. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks peeps.
Click to expand...

mazdaman said:
Hi Robert I am sure you will make your own mind up if the Olympus system is for you. What I can say having moved from Canon to Olympus recently is that the portability of the system is a great plus for me having had the Siggy 150-600 paired to 1D mark 3 and 80D bodies. The quality of the pro range of glass is also excellent. I have the OMD E-M1 mark 2 and have been impressed with the small form factor and the quality of the images.

As to the EM1X I cannot comment on the use of this body but the work of @RedRobin who shoots with a pair of EM1X bodies is excellent As to your day out at WWT the Olympus 300mm f4 pro would be a good choice and paired with either the 1.4 or 2.0 teleconverter would give you extended reach. Look forward to your feedback on how you view both systems
Click to expand...

.... Hi Robert @Tabbiekat, like Terry @mazdaman I also moved from Canon (1DX-2, EOS-R, L lenses) to Olympus E-M1X last November and have absolutely no regrets. I loved my Canon gear and its results but the smaller and lighter weight Olympus Pro system is much more enabling for what subjects I shoot which is primarily wildlife and outdoors in sometimes very harsh weather conditions.

I consider that a camera body is fundamentally just a control module to mount on a lens and therefore I always work with two bodies already mounted on the two lenses I most anticipate shooting the target with. This has the bonus of missing fewer shots through lost time spent changing lenses and also more internal protection from the elements. Also, Olympus Workspace makes it easy to Save all your settings and copy them exactly to a second body (as long as they are identical models with identical firmware installed). I might do all of my shooting in one session on one body+lens but the other combo is then immediately ready as and when needed.

I think that which camera system suits you best can be very personal as a camera is a fluid tactile tool but I immediately felt very comfortable with the E-M1X and know that I would not like a smaller size body (I have owned several though none Olympus).

A m4/3 system delivers a deeper DoF and if you are used to D-SLR full-frame telephoto lenses you might not like the different bokeh initially but a deeper DoF can actually be very desirable and anyway you can sometimes move your position accordingly - Deeper DoF is a definite advantage for close-up and macro shots.

If directly compared with a full-frame sensor, noise can be more evident at higher ISO but you learn to work with what you've got and not dwell on what you haven't got. Topaz DeNoise AI completely solves most noise issues.

This is a Flickr Album link to some of my best efforts on the Olympus E-M1X Pro system including x1.4 and 2x combos :

https://www.flickr.com/photos/114775606@N07/albums/72157711552661781

Although there is perhaps no such thing as a perfect camera, I think the Olympus E-M1X comes closer than I have ever been. I only shoot RAW and the colour science is reliable imo.

HTH
 
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damianmkv said:
Maybe I need to try one... Is the Pro test thing strictly for professionals does anyone know ?
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Some great car shots on the Instagram
The Test and Wow program is available to anyone. The only snag is being near enough to a dealer to borrow the kit.
https://wow.olympus.eu/
 
damianmkv said:
Thanks Toby - he's beginning to get his name out and about for his work which is good..

Maybe I need to try one... Is the Pro test thing strictly for professionals does anyone know ?
Click to expand...
As AMC says, test and wow is open to anyone and that’s what I did before committing. Ultimate AF won’t be as good as the D500, but live view will be way better. I’d recommend AF-C rather than tracking AF though.
 
Test and wow is 24hrs ( I think ? ) whereas the pro thing is 2 weeks which would be more helpful

We don’t use tracking, just af-c and d25
 
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Test and Wow is longer over a weekend.
 
damianmkv said:
Test and wow is 24hrs ( I think ? ) whereas the pro thing is 2 weeks which would be more helpful

We don’t use tracking, just af-c and d25
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As above, time it so that you get it over a weekend (y)
 
How the heck do you choose a camera and lens ? I know what the 12-40 does, I wanted 12-100 and em1 mk2
 
damianmkv said:
Test and wow is 24hrs ( I think ? ) whereas the pro thing is 2 weeks which would be more helpful

We don’t use tracking, just af-c and d25
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I thought it was three days. The day you pick it up, the day you return it and a day in between.
 
RedRobin said:
.... Hi Robert @Tabbiekat, like Terry @mazdaman I also moved from Canon (1DX-2, EOS-R, L lenses) to Olympus E-M1X last November and have absolutely no regrets. I loved my Canon gear and its results but the smaller and lighter weight Olympus Pro system is much more enabling for what subjects I shoot which is primarily wildlife and outdoors in sometimes very harsh weather conditions.

I consider that a camera body is fundamentally just a control module to mount on a lens and therefore I always work with two bodies already mounted on the two lenses I most anticipate shooting the target with. This has the bonus of missing fewer shots through lost time spent changing lenses and also more internal protection from the elements. Also, Olympus Workspace makes it easy to Save all your settings and copy them exactly to a second body (as long as they are identical models with identical firmware installed). I might do all of my shooting in one session on one body+lens but the other combo is then immediately ready as and when needed.

I think that which camera system suits you best can be very personal as a camera is a fluid tactile tool but I immediately felt very comfortable with the E-M1X and know that I would not like a smaller size body (I have owned several though none Olympus).

A m4/3 system delivers a deeper DoF and if you are used to D-SLR full-frame telephoto lenses you might not like the different bokeh initially but a deeper DoF can actually be very desirable and anyway you can sometimes move your position accordingly - Deeper DoF is a definite advantage for close-up and macro shots.

If directly compared with a full-frame sensor, noise can be more evident at higher ISO but you learn to work with what you've got and not dwell on what you haven't got. Topaz DeNoise AI completely solves most noise issues.

This is a Flickr Album link to some of my best efforts on the Olympus E-M1X Pro system including x1.4 and 2x combos :

https://www.flickr.com/photos/114775606@N07/albums/72157711552661781

Although there is perhaps no such thing as a perfect camera, I think the Olympus E-M1X comes closer than I have ever been. I only shoot RAW and the colour science is reliable imo.

HTH
Click to expand...


Thank you, very informative. Great Flickr album too, particularly the cover photo which speaks volumes.
 
mazdaman said:
Hi Robert I am sure you will make your own mind up if the Olympus system is for you. What I can say having moved from Canon to Olympus recently is that the portability of the system is a great plus for me having had the Siggy 150-600 paired to 1D mark 3 and 80D bodies. The quality of the pro range of glass is also excellent. I have the OMD E-M1 mark 2 and have been impressed with the small form factor and the quality of the images.

As to the EM1X I cannot comment on the use of this body but the work of @RedRobin who shoots with a pair of EM1X bodies is excellent As to your day out at WWT the Olympus 300mm f4 pro would be a good choice and paired with either the 1.4 or 2.0 teleconverter would give you extended reach. Look forward to your feedback on how you view both systems
Click to expand...

Thank you. Seeing two guys at least have made the switch from no less than 1D's has put my mind at rest. I can approach tomorrow with a completely open mind now.
 
Tabbiekat said:
Thank you. Seeing two guys at least have made the switch from no less than 1D's has put my mind at rest. I can approach tomorrow with a completely open mind now.
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.... What immediately struck me when I handled a M1X for the very first time (professional Andy Rouse's with a 300mm F/4 Pro mounted) was how much it felt as if Canon had designed a m4/3 smaller version of their 1D series. The layout is very similar but I think Olympus have improved it.

Btw, the M1X is exactly the same size (within a couple of milimetres) as the Canon EOS-R with battery grip fitted. And the Olympus is only about 50g heavier.
 
I switched from Nikon to Olympus , last September I have a tripod and gimbal in the car boot it’s not been used since I bought the camera .. omd1-mkii I mainly use mine with the PL 100-400 lens .the camera and lens combo weighs in less than 1.5kg . Has I.q suffered in that time not one iota if I didn’t declare EXIF you would not have a clue to what was being used
 
Guys, thank you very much for your input. I visited WWT London this morning in nothing less than gloomy conditions. Although the pics of birds in flight lacked any real detail given lack of light, the focus locked on very quickly and held it. Yes, it is noisier at high ISO but that's certainly a small compromise when viewed next to all the advantages. I'm sold.
 
Tabbiekat said:
Guys, thank you very much for your input. I visited WWT London this morning in nothing less than gloomy conditions. Although the pics of birds in flight lacked any real detail given lack of light, the focus locked on very quickly and held it. Yes, it is noisier at high ISO but that's certainly a small compromise when viewed next to all the advantages. I'm sold.
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It will always be the 'tools in the arsenal' situation.

When I switched to Olympus from Canon in 2018 one thing I factored in was, what will have to change in my PP workflow.....................primarily related to noise!

Based on downloading higher ISO RAW examples before I bought my E-M1 mk2 I trialed DxO PhotoLab2 and to see the way (on default settings) its Prime noise control tamed the noise in the higher ISO .ORF files......................sold me on both the camera and the DxO PL software.

Of course everyone's mileage may vary but that was my experience and decision process :)
 
Tabbiekat said:
Guys, thank you very much for your input. I visited WWT London this morning in nothing less than gloomy conditions. Although the pics of birds in flight lacked any real detail given lack of light, the focus locked on very quickly and held it. Yes, it is noisier at high ISO but that's certainly a small compromise when viewed next to all the advantages. I'm sold.
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Tabbicat

Topaz de noise seems to be the go to software to clean up the files at higher ISO please look at black fox recent output Jeff has really nailed the processing of Olympus files with Topaz de noise
 
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mazdaman said:
Tabbicat

Topaz de noise seems to be the go to software to clean up the files at higher ISO please look at black fox recent output Jeff has really nailed the processing of Olympus files
Click to expand...


yes indeed it has definetly boosted my output . I judge photos by the amount of "faves" I get on my flickrstream and its virtually doubled since starting to use topaz de-noiseA.i .. I hate spending money on what I consider to be just toys that give small increments. but after 4 weeks of trialing it in various ways Monday night I purchased it . worth every penny .
I usually tend to layer files in p/p and just de-noise the background layer then sharpen the subject , topaz tends to de-noise the whole picture then magically sharpen up the subject layer to enhance it . dont know how it works but its got rid of the main bugbear of MFT shadow noise
 
Very nice Jeff - what ISO
Rob.
 
the black fox said:
yes indeed it has definetly boosted my output . I judge photos by the amount of "faves" I get on my flickrstream and its virtually doubled since starting to use topaz de-noiseA.i .. I hate spending money on what I consider to be just toys that give small increments. but after 4 weeks of trialing it in various ways Monday night I purchased it . worth every penny .
I usually tend to layer files in p/p and just de-noise the background layer then sharpen the subject , topaz tends to de-noise the whole picture then magically sharpen up the subject layer to enhance it . dont know how it works but its got rid of the main bugbear of MFT shadow noise
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.... If are willing to adjust the DeNoise slider sometimes you won't need to do the extra work of creating a background layer and overall sharpening won't have an adverse effect (depending on what sharpening method you use). Personally from trialling it I most definitely do NOT recommend the separate Topaz Sharpen AI.

@the black fox Jeff, I assume you have not yet sharpened the "snow rock" bird in your Reply #19,077 because it doesn't look that sharp to me, even on Flickr.
 
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