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

And my take on the new EM1X?

Bloody daft.

If I had £2800 sitting around I'd go back to full frame.


This is what I'd say 70% of people will say on it, going by the comments under the various articles and preview videos on it. But again, it's not aimed at you in that case. Nor me for that matter, but only because of the price. There is no FF out there that can do what this em1x can, and that alone will see it sell - not a tonne, but it'll see use.

9:45 in this video :eek: I wonder how many A7III or D850 owners would do this with their camera?
 
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Looks a bit like to me one of those concept cars you used to see at the Motor Show
Handy test bed for R and D, bonus if you sell some and expect much of the tech to trickle down the range
 
I must admit as a self professed Olympus fan, I am somewhat underwhelmed with this announcement as well.

There's the regurgitation of the same rear screen and EVF display (though not the optics) as discussed further up the thread, but no 4k 60p ? I thought that was one of the "confirmed" rumours that the X had ?

Also, I've just watched an unboxing video and whilst I'm pleased that Olympus put two batteries in the box, why oh why two single BCH-1 chargers. Surely for the price they are selling this thing for they could have developed a dual charger (using one power cord), which could then be bought as well by EM1 MK II users that use a grip and need to charge two batteries at the same time as well ?

I've also had a look at some of the things that the X brings (or at least I would have liked on my EM1 MK II) - things like
  • AF Joystick
  • Customizable menus
  • 4K 60
  • Bigger and more detailed viewfinder
  • More AF point arrays including user customisation patterns
  • Better Video AF
  • Much better video slow motion options
  • Dedicated WB, ISO and EV buttons.
  • USB charging
oh wait....their all available on the Panasonic G9 at 60% cheaper than the EM1X (price as of today G9 - £1,147, EM1X - £2,799), with pretty much the same identical sensor. Sure the G9 doesn't have some of the EM1X's party tricks (Live ND, Hand Held Hi Res etc.), but has a very good AF-C system (after the last firmware upgrade), and the EM1X would have to be brilliant to beat it. Think now I have my G9 back from WEX, I'll keep it.

I don't think an EM1X is due in my life yet, but I really hope the camera is a success for Olympus and generates a lot of much needed revenue (fingers crossed).

The New Olympus 150-400 F4.5 lens though...wow I'd love this, but I suspect this will be north of £3-3.5k GBP, so well out of my price range, but we'll see.
 
I must admit as a self professed Olympus fan, I am somewhat underwhelmed with this announcement as well.

There's the regurgitation of the same rear screen and EVF display (though not the optics) as discussed further up the thread, but no 4k 60p ? I thought that was one of the "confirmed" rumours that the X had ?

Also, I've just watched an unboxing video and whilst I'm pleased that Olympus put two batteries in the box, why oh why two single BCH-1 chargers. Surely for the price they are selling this thing for they could have developed a dual charger (using one power cord), which could then be bought as well by EM1 MK II users that use a grip and need to charge two batteries at the same time as well ?

I've also had a look at some of the things that the X brings (or at least I would have liked on my EM1 MK II) - things like
  • AF Joystick
  • Customizable menus
  • 4K 60
  • Bigger and more detailed viewfinder
  • More AF point arrays including user customisation patterns
  • Better Video AF
  • Much better video slow motion options
  • Dedicated WB, ISO and EV buttons.
  • USB charging
oh wait....their all available on the Panasonic G9 at 60% cheaper than the EM1X (price as of today G9 - £1,147, EM1X - £2,799), with pretty much the same identical sensor. Sure the G9 doesn't have some of the EM1X's party tricks (Live ND, Hand Held Hi Res etc.), but has a very good AF-C system (after the last firmware upgrade), and the EM1X would have to be brilliant to beat it. Think now I have my G9 back from WEX, I'll keep it.

I don't think an EM1X is due in my life yet, but I really hope the camera is a success for Olympus and generates a lot of much needed revenue (fingers crossed).

The New Olympus 150-400 F4.5 lens though...wow I'd love this, but I suspect this will be north of £3-3.5k GBP, so well out of my price range, but we'll see.
So the EVF is the same as the EM1-II, which is the same as the EM1? That's a crying shame as, whilst good, they are quite a way behind 'modern' EVFs.
 
Just skimmed through this, he does seem to be able to get the best out of the Olympus, the image quality is top notch (I wish I knew the secret). However one thing I did find odd was that he talked about the AF tracking mode tracking cars at Sepang, but then went on to talk about C-AF saying he didn't try it out as he didn't find a suitable scenario. Err, what about said cars at Sepang? o_O:thinking:
 
le on the Panasonic G9 at 60% cheaper than the EM1X (price as of today G9 - £1,147, EM1X - £2,799), with pretty much the same identical sensor. Sure the G9 doesn't have some of the EM1X's party tricks (Live ND, Hand Held Hi Res etc.), but has a very good AF-C system (after the last firmware upgrade), and the EM1X would have to be brilliant to beat it. Think now I have my G9 back from WEX, I'll keep it.

.

The G9 is a beast, I think its the best all-rounder M43 body to date if you're not too big on the video side of things. It can also be got for less than a grand now at the likes of HDEW
 
The G9 is a beast, I think its the best all-rounder M43 body to date if you're not too big on the video side of things. It can also be got for less than a grand now at the likes of HDEW

But does CAF work with Oly lenses? Or is it DFD with Pany lenses only?
 
But does CAF work with Oly lenses? Or is it DFD with Pany lenses only?

Pany lenses only, but tbh I'm not sure it makes an amazing difference. I'm currently using the Olympus 12-40 2.8 on my G80 and find it's AF is very good, it is an exceptional lens though - I chose it over the Panasonic 12-35 for a number of reasons: Better build, closer focusing and better magnification, the extra 5mm is always nice, I believe it's a tad sharper and the manual focus clutch mechanism is great for video and also close ups
 
Just skimmed through this, he does seem to be able to get the best out of the Olympus, the image quality is top notch (I wish I knew the secret). However one thing I did find odd was that he talked about the AF tracking mode tracking cars at Sepang, but then went on to talk about C-AF saying he didn't try it out as he didn't find a suitable scenario. Err, what about said cars at Sepang? o_O:thinking:

He tried C-AF + Tracking that's different to C-AF.
Rob.
 
He tried C-AF + Tracking that's different to C-AF.
Rob.
Yeah I got that, but he said he didn't have the right scenario to try C-AF but surely that same scenario (ie race cars) should have been an ideal scenario to try C-AF? That's the setting I use for all my sports, I find it more reliable than tracking modes.
 
For me the M1X is a camera to aspire to along with the G9, I am a bit disappointed by the reported focus performance as I would be buying this as a direct replacement for my A77ii which autofocus wise appears to outperform my E-M1mk1. Although I have not had the opportunity to really get used to the E-M1 yet! The size is actually a bonus for me as I prefer a larger body. Looking at the way it compares with the G9 is interesting since the G9 seams as capable for what I want as the EM1X. It is all hypothetical for me since I doubt I can afford either having just got the Pano 100-400, but I figure that as an incentive to give up smoking the E-M1X or G9 will both fit the bill, by the time I have saved up I hope to of tried both out!
 
For me the M1X is a camera to aspire to along with the G9, I am a bit disappointed by the reported focus performance as I would be buying this as a direct replacement for my A77ii which autofocus wise appears to outperform my E-M1mk1. Although I have not had the opportunity to really get used to the E-M1 yet! The size is actually a bonus for me as I prefer a larger body. Looking at the way it compares with the G9 is interesting since the G9 seams as capable for what I want as the EM1X. It is all hypothetical for me since I doubt I can afford either having just got the Pano 100-400, but I figure that as an incentive to give up smoking the E-M1X or G9 will both fit the bill, by the time I have saved up I hope to of tried both out!
The EM1-II is a league above the EM1 in terms of AF, and therefore so should the EM1-X. The A77ii has very good AF though, I wouldn’t like to say how the EM1-X would compare without trying it.
 
Petr Bambousek review here . He's an Olympus ambassador with a wildlife focus, and some bias but takes great photos with his Oly kit.

Amazing wildlife photographer he is, precisely the type that I think this camera [+ the upcoming 150-400 w/TC] is aimed at primarily. I posted some of his stuff on here before
 
Just noticed they’ve moved the rear control dial from the top to the rear on the EM1-X, I hope this is not a sign of things to come with future Olly bodies, the positions of the control dials on the EM1 are spot on imo.
 
Anyone else noticed on Petr’s website review at the bottom there’s mention of a new piece of Olympus image processing software to replace the old and clunky Olympus Viewer 3 called Olympus Workspace ?

Wonder if this is still free and when it comes out?
 
Anyone else noticed on Petr’s website review at the bottom there’s mention of a new piece of Olympus image processing software to replace the old and clunky Olympus Viewer 3 called Olympus Workspace ?

Wonder if this is still free and when it comes out?

According to the livestream yesterday morning, it will be free. I don't recall a release date because I wasn't bothered ( sorry )
 
According to the livestream yesterday morning, it will be free. I don't recall a release date because I wasn't bothered ( sorry )
Anyone else noticed on Petr’s website review at the bottom there’s mention of a new piece of Olympus image processing software to replace the old and clunky Olympus Viewer 3 called Olympus Workspace ?

Wonder if this is still free and when it comes out?

It is mentioned in Robin Wong's review too.

I'm always interested in these things as I am always on the lookout for a way to ditch Adobe, not holding my breath though...
 
Think its easy to get carried away and forget why you chose m4/3 in the first place.
I nearly bought a G9 last week, but glad I didn't now, just too big and perfectly happy with my GX9.
There are some nice fast primes, but the little Olympus ones are perfectly adequate.
Currently have the 12mm on a lot and makes for a great light travel outfit

Also liked a fast zoom, but again it makes the whole thing a lot bigger, exact opposite to what I really want.
So that's it for me, small primes and bodies and no more grandiose ideas.
 
So yesterday I was on a photo walk with Olympus and Practical Photographer Magazine and borrowed the Em1X - sample copy with a 12-100 lens.

I only had a short time to play with it and there was no Olympus person in my group, so i was trying to set it up as we walked. I struggled to detach the focussing from the shutter - the menus were a little different. Back button was set up though and I prefer the position of the AE/AFL button to the Em1ii. The viewfinder was better though I’ve no complaints on the Em1ii.

I’ve never used a grip before and quite liked the handling of the body. The battery ran out and it flicked to the other one (wasn’t fully charged when I got it).

I didn’t get much chance to try the focusing - indeed I had a 30 second brief on the new features, so all very rushed. I did try s ome hand held shots with th built in NDfunction. That was fun. Then remembered I had a mini tripod in my pocket, but the walk moved on. I’ll check images when home later. .
 
Think its easy to get carried away and forget why you chose m4/3 in the first place.
I nearly bought a G9 last week, but glad I didn't now, just too big and perfectly happy with my GX9.
There are some nice fast primes, but the little Olympus ones are perfectly adequate.
Currently have the 12mm on a lot and makes for a great light travel outfit

Also liked a fast zoom, but again it makes the whole thing a lot bigger, exact opposite to what I really want.
So that's it for me, small primes and bodies and no more grandiose ideas.


True, but as I always continue to state, for me it was never about reducing the body size, but the set of lenses. The lenses I used for FF combined were 5 times heavier than the FF body, and I used to feel like I had to carry all of them about every time I wanted to go shoot. I'm an indecisive tw@t though :D And with a dodgy back and sciatica it was never fun carting up to 10kg about - the bag itself was 3! - which is 3x heavier than most bodies. I still have 2 f my old bags and just use them for storage nowadays, they're ridiculous and my M43 gear would be swimming in them. The Nikon 24-70 I owned alone was heavier than the G80+12-40 combined. For me, the G9 would be perfect size, I love a chunky grip, I had the grip for the G80 for a while and that was just a little over what I'd like for general use - so the em1x wouldn't be ideal for me either, but anyone used to leaving the grip on the em1 mkII wont see it as much of an issue. It's just a tad bigger than that combination. I do still think the grip chould have been optional, and the em1x the same camera without - it seems to have enough going for it to be a sweet upgrade for mkII owners and would surely have sold a lot more [assuming minus the grip and batteries it would be a fair bit cheaper]

At the same time, I was never buying a D4 because that thing is a proper brick! but same thing here, this huge [for M43] body is just another option, the teensy side is already more than well covered.
 
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... for me it was never about reducing the body size, but the set of lenses.

Same here, I watch these reviews and they all say "if you want such and such this FF camera will do it better" and I'm thinking, yeah but, for that FF I'd also need those massive lenses!

I have an EM1 Mk2, 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO, 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO, 1.4x TC, Panasonic 25mm f/1.7, and just bought a Panasonic 100-400mm f/4-6.3, and it all fits in a Lowepro 180 shoulder bag! The idea I could swap that for a FF set-up with lenses from 24mm to 800mm, and NOT need a gigantic backpack to cart it all around is nonsense.

Not interested in the EM1x but I am interested in the 2x TC Olympus has also announced. It'll fit my 40-150mm giving me a 300mm (600mm FF equivalent) f/5.6 lens, and take up hardly any extra room in my bag (in fact I suspect I'll regret buying the 100-400mm as I doubt I'll need it when the 2x TC becomes available).
 
Unless of course the 2 converter degrades the image quality just a wee bit too much, in which case, you'll probably prefer the 100-400 which is a stunning lens. I do regret selling mine, but I had (and still have) the 40-140 F2.8 and 300mm F4 (with the matched 1.4x converter), so it was too expensive to just sit there doing nothing.
 
The upcoming 150-400 4.5 has a TC built in, no doubt it'll be a pricey bugger though
 
I'd love to ditch all of my FF gear for m4/3 but for what I do/want IQ (noise handling and micro contrast) and AF aren't quite there. These new pro lenses are going to some way to helping give a bit more 'pop' I feel, but I'm just not sure that m4/3 will ever get quite there as my one and only do it all system. Here's to hoping though (y) ;)
 
The thing that I'm wondering about the EM1-X is that it is billed as a sports camera and all the reviewers seem to be wowed by the 7.5 stops of IBS BUT if you are shooting sports you are going to need a minimum shutter speed to freeze the action so are you really going to need all that IBS if the shutter speed is reasonably high? And a higher shutter speed means higher ISO means more noise than FF, am I missing something?
 
The thing that I'm wondering about the EM1-X is that it is billed as a sports camera and all the reviewers seem to be wowed by the 7.5 stops of IBS BUT if you are shooting sports you are going to need a minimum shutter speed to freeze the action so are you really going to need all that IBS if the shutter speed is reasonably high? And a higher shutter speed means higher ISO means more noise than FF, am I missing something?
I guess it depends on the sports some may require a slower shutter, but even then I'm not sure how IBIS copes with/affects panning. But yes, photographing football, athletics, tennis etc etc you'll be up at 1/1000+ shutter and possibly high ISO (especially if you live in the UK ;))
 
One thing I've not seen mentioned, is that apparently the EM1X can shoot for over 250 raw files in a go according to Petr Bambousek

"Those, who shoot large series, can now take up to 287 RAW images at a speed of 60fps "


Not sure how many my EM1 MK II does, but it doesn't feel as deep (oh err misuses :p)
 
I assume it has a panning mode like some lenses have?
I would assume so too, although I'm not convinced with how effective these are either tbh. I still can't make my mind up whether I get more hits with or without VR on my Nikon lenses when panning at 1/50 and slower.
 
One thing I've not seen mentioned, is that apparently the EM1X can shoot for over 250 raw files in a go according to Petr Bambousek

"Those, who shoot large series, can now take up to 287 RAW images at a speed of 60fps "

Not sure how many my EM1 MK II does, but it doesn't feel as deep (oh err misuses :p)
It does beg the question why though, seriously who wants a series of 287 shots of the same picture :oops: :$
 
I assume it has a panning mode like some lenses have?

The EM1 Mk2' IBIS can be set to various modes, one of which is vertical only, so that when you're taking horizontal panning shots (motorsports) it only compensates for the vertical movement. In practise I haven't found this to be hugely effective, but then my panning technique still needs some work!

For non-motorsports, where you would want to freeze the action, and so use higher shutter speeds / higher ISO, then I'm sure FF does a much better job, but that's when you have to take into account the size / weight / cost difference and ask yourself if it's worth it. If you're a pro earning a living from sports photography it undoubtedly is, but for people like me doing it as a hobby, my wallet can't take the cost, and my back can't take the weight! :)
 
So considering that the Nikon 180-400mm f4 with built in TC, and Canon’s 200-400mm f4 with built in TC are both over £10k what’s folks’ guesses at the price of the newly announced 150-400mm f4.5? £5-6k?
 
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