Olympus OM-D E-M5, E-M1, E-M10 - Mk1, Mk2 & Mk3 Owners Thread
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damianmkv
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I might keep the e-m1, there’s a lot to like about m43. That said, it’s not as good as lower spec models in the range at long exposures.
Mine has some paint missing from the buttons, some scratches to the base etc so I doubt it’s worth much
Mine has some paint missing from the buttons, some scratches to the base etc so I doubt it’s worth much
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So, you've made the decision then! I'll be really interested to hear how you get on once you have the new gear Damian, not just from a performance point of view, but also from a weight, size, ergonomics etc point of view as well.
Cheers,
Simon.
damianmkv
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My main “concern” is the body size compared to the e-m1, it doesn’t seem too heavy just bigger than I’m used to..
I think there isn’t too much weight difference in the like for like lens comparisons, something like 500g or so
I think there isn’t too much weight difference in the like for like lens comparisons, something like 500g or so
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The weight difference is noticeable imo, my D750 body only (which is roughly the same weight as the D500) is pretty much the same weight as my EM1 with 12-40mm f2.8 attached. The performance is well worth the weight though imo
That being said the 16-80mm isn't that heavy, it's when you start adding FX glass it starts to get pretty heavy.
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The f2.8's not that bad in use tbh as it's balanced well. The f4 is a very nice lens though and noticeably lighter.
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As above what do you want to shoot and why are you considering MFT?
My main aim with moving from DSLR was to reduce the size and weight of my kit but keep good image quality.
I started with an Olympus E-PL5 with 14-42mm 3.5-5,6 RII (the manual zoom) and 40-150mm zoom kit. That covered everything my Pentax K100D could in a much smaller, lighter set up.
I then bought some prime lenses and upgraded to a E-M10 Mki with EZ pancake zoom for the dials and EVF.
I like the 14-42mm EZ pancake for it's compactness but I can't see any real improvement in quality over the earlier manual version and I actually prefer the manual zoom action over the electronics.
If I were going again I'd go for an E-M10 Mkii (Wex have an open box for £415) and the 14-42mm 3.5-5,6 RII (Mbp have one for £59). Then think about primes or the cheapy 40-150 zoom.
If I weren't interested in an EVF then I'd be looking at one of the PEN bodies, 14-42mm 3.5-5,6 RII and a prime - probably the Panasonic F1.7 25mm
If you're not looking for the smallest size then a used E-M5 (£240 at Mbp) or even E-M1 (£440 at Mbp) is in budget if you're prepared to stick with a kit lens to begin with. They're both great bodies and an E-M5 would leave more money for lenses.
Can't comment on Panasonic from experience - if I were into video at all then I'd probably research them more.
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Exactly how I started. I then added the 40-150mm f4-5.6 R and Panny 20mm f1.7 II
If I was looking now and had £500 I would probably buy a used EM10-II (in silver of course
) and 14-42mm EZ
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I'm interested in the MFT range for macro mostly, portraiture and maybe some wildlife down the road. The reason I'm suddenly interested is I'm seeing a lot of the older models appear now on local used sites, some seem to be nice bargains. Like an EM5 + 12-50mm for €300 (£266) It is the IBIS and the nicely priced macro lenses I've seen for the format that attracts me.
I would be keeping my small Fuji set up along with [XT-1 + Xpro1 + 35 1.4 + manual lenses] Weather sealing would be nice but not an absolute must. I also like their fully articulating screens.
I moved to Fuji for the same reasons, I switched from an FX Nikon, had some hefty lenses too like a Sigma 150mm macro that was 1.2kg alone
I would be keeping my small Fuji set up along with [XT-1 + Xpro1 + 35 1.4 + manual lenses] Weather sealing would be nice but not an absolute must. I also like their fully articulating screens.
I moved to Fuji for the same reasons, I switched from an FX Nikon, had some hefty lenses too like a Sigma 150mm macro that was 1.2kg alone
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Yeah the older models are bargains. It was always the LCD resolution that put me off the EM5, but if you can see past that then the final image is no different to any other Olly (barring the 20mp Em1-II of course) and is a steal. Weather sealed too I believe. I'm not sure I would use Olly for macro though. I like the idea of the 2 x crop factor, but I'm often shooting at over 1000 ISO on my D750 and I think my cropped images on this would be better.
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I use off cam flash mostly when doing macro, and try to keep the ISO down. Even with the Fuji I don't like doing macro above 800, when you're in that close the noise tends to magnify. I will shoot natural light at times, but more for 'close up' scenes rather than intricate macro. The old YN-560 I have worked fine with Nikon, and now with the Fuji, I'm assuming it would be fine with the Oly too?
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Dunno, I've not used Yongnuo. I used off camera flash but still find that I need high ISO a lot of the time, but it's not something I do a lot of tbh. I guess on m4/3 you've got more DOF so don't have to shoot at f16 and so maybe can get away with f8.
Having said all that I've just had a quick look at macros I took earlier this year and they were generally 320-500 ISO so not as high as previous.
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Don't you manually focus with macro? I set mine at 1:1 and then move myself closer/further away to focus.
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It's all about jumping spiders don't you know
I would never use AF on a macro lens for macro photography.
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Atm I'm using the Fuji 35mm 1.4 on extension rings with OCF. The extension rings have full AF capability but I mostly use Manual focus for macro. It's much more reliable. Though, if I use the shorter ext ring that gives more a 'close up' scene rather than true macro, AF is snappy and works fine. at 1:1 though, no matter the system, MF is always your better bet.
I like the look of the OMD-em10 II .... I think? have to brush up on the dozens of models and letters in the range
SO far, I'm assuming - OMD is the lower spec? then you have the EM-5/II which are weather sealed? and the EM1/II are their flagship? And no idea in between. Not quite as complex as the panasonic range though
I like the look of the OMD-em10 II .... I think? have to brush up on the dozens of models and letters in the range
SO far, I'm assuming - OMD is the lower spec? then you have the EM-5/II which are weather sealed? and the EM1/II are their flagship? And no idea in between. Not quite as complex as the panasonic range though
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I can't see anything wrong with that combination and it's a good price.
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I go through spells with Macro. It can get frustrating.
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It looks like it might be sold sadly :/ someone else was obviously scouring for bargains like me
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It's not that hard if you stick to the OMD range, there's only 3 models, the EM10 being the most basic, EM5 next and then EM1 at the top. The EM5 and EM1 are weather sealed, which is the main difference between the EM10 and EM5. The EM5-II also has a larger viewfinder, the same as the EM1. The EM1's are primarily the same as the EM5's but with phase detect AF and the grip. The EM1-II is the first 20mp m4/3, the rest of the OMD's are 16MP.Atm I'm using the Fuji 35mm 1.4 on extension rings with OCF. The extension rings have full AF capability but I mostly use Manual focus for macro. It's much more reliable. Though, if I use the shorter ext ring that gives more a 'close up' scene rather than true macro, AF is snappy and works fine. at 1:1 though, no matter the system, MF is always your better bet.
I like the look of the OMD-em10 II .... I think? have to brush up on the dozens of models and letters in the range
SO far, I'm assuming - OMD is the lower spec? then you have the EM-5/II which are weather sealed? and the EM1/II are their flagship? And no idea in between. Not quite as complex as the panasonic range though
There are other bits and bobs on different models such as hi res mode, and fully articulated screen vs tilt screen.
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Yeah I think my problem was that I was looking at Panasonic in the mix also. They have F, G, GH, GX and on top of the Oly lines it seemed more confusing than it actually is .... when you put it like that ^^ cheers.
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I like an occasional bit of macro, I should use my 60 mm more
Here's one with my old E-M1 and the 60 mm.
Hoverfly by Huw Prosser, on Flickr
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I think there's quite a few differences between the EM10-II and the EM5 tbh, weather sealing, inbuilt flash, silent shutter/electronic shutter (not sure if the EM5 got this via firmware update), higher res screen and VF and probably a few other bits.
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I have a set of FOTGA extension rings that do the same trick on M43. As they make electrical contact then the electronic focus and aperture controls work. Auto focus too.
About £20 on eBay. I've only dabbled with them really, a lot cheaper than a proper lens and it scratched the itch
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You're probably right I read someone talking about it on the Olympus forums but didn't really investigate and they're often not that accurate.
It might be the similarity between mki versions of both.
I've played with them all but the em10 is smallest which mattered most to me.
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I have a set of FOTGA extension rings that do the same trick on M43. As they make electrical contact then the electronic focus and aperture controls work. Auto focus too.
About £20 on eBay. I've only dabbled with them really, a lot cheaper than a proper lens and it scratched the itch
Mine were same price, cheap and cheerful. Of course, one issue is you can't go straight from macro to general shooting without having to remove the rings.
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Fwiw the 12-50 Olympus zoom has a macro mode and it's weather sealed so would make a good companion to the em5.
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I just bought that lens from this very forum, and it's a very nice bit of kit, macro is only 1:2 but with my 250 Raynox on it's good enough for me.
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Yep, EM10 is definitely the smallest of the bunch.
On a slight tangent the EM1-II looks noticeably bigger than the EM1 to me, and a bit uglier too imo. Hopefully the silver one will look better
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I personally prefer the EM1 to the EM5-II (owned both), but both are cracking cameras.
