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

Micro-four-thirds said:
Thank you for your help I’m getting confused with all the different em1 om10 etc Olympus cameras out there.
So if you were to start again could I have some recommendations on the best m4/3 camera to get for much improved focus for wildlife etc please. I have to admit I get on really well with the control dials for aperture etc on the em10 mk3 so if I could still have those that would be great.
Many thanks.
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It is confusing with all the names. On here, we tend to shorten them to the end of their title e.g. The OM-D EM1 mark 3, we call the em1 iii as it’s only the last bit that changes.

In recent years Olympus sold off the camera part of their company and it was taken over by OM Systems and they have named the next camera the OM1, so the naming convention has become simpler….. although this is also confusing for some because Olympus also produced a film camera called the OM1…

So, latest and greatest in descending order would be the OM1, EM1x, EM1iii, EM1ii. All of these would be a step up on fast moving subjects. Em1x is a bigger form factor.
 
How about the E-M5 iii, top control dials with basically the innards of an E-M1 ii, weather proof too.
 
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Micro-four-thirds said:
That’s what I was considering yesterday. It does look a decent bit of kit.
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Thought about it myself a couple of times, but in general I prefer Panasonic cameras.
Last Olympus I had was an E-M1 ii, no major complaints with it so don't think you would be disappointed.
 
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nc_killie said:
OM 1 is £1549 from hdew, also comes with the wee Olympus flash
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E infinity have the OM1 for £1485 at the moment if money is a bit tight I have bought from the main grey importers Panamoz and E Infinity and HDEW in the past cannot fault any of them

Even though I have the OM-1 good to see price has dropped as I know a few people who are keen to purchase but need prices to soften a bit Tempted to sell my back up EM1X and my 300mm Pro (which hardly gets used since I bought the 150-400) and buy a second body
 
Hi all, following some research today I think I’m set on either the Olympus om1 mkii or the em5 mkiii.
Any pros or cons for either would be gratefully received.
Could people confirm that the autofocus will be an improvement on my current em10 mk3 please.
Thank you
 
Micro-four-thirds said:
Hi all, following some research today I think I’m set on either the Olympus om1 mkii or the em5 mkiii.
Any pros or cons for either would be gratefully received.
Could people confirm that the autofocus will be an improvement on my current em10 mk3 please.
Thank you
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A lot of the cheaper M1 ii will have loose rubber grips.
I have also heard reports of the thumb grip becoming loose on the M5 iii
There has also been a few M5 with broken bottom plates around the tripod mount.

No in camera charging with the M1 if that's important.
M1 does have dual card slots which often comes in handy.

Never used a M10 so cannot comment on the AF capabilities
Both the M1 and M5 have PDAF so presumably better for moving subjects.
 
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Micro-four-thirds said:
Hi all, following some research today I think I’m set on either the Olympus om1 mkii or the em5 mkiii.
Any pros or cons for either would be gratefully received.
Could people confirm that the autofocus will be an improvement on my current em10 mk3 please.
Thank you
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Can’t comment on the m5. I bought my m1 mk2 from WEX they offer a 1 year warranty as well, but don’t have any mk2’s right now. MPB have quite a few but only a 6 month warranty.
I decided that the extras the mk3 offered was not worth the extra £350 odd it would have cost me.
I went for the m1 over a m5 for the larger grip because of the arthritis in my fingers
 
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leaky5 said:
Can’t comment on the m5. I bought my m1 mk2 from WEX they offer a 1 year warranty as well, but don’t have any mk2’s right now. MPB have quite a few but only a 6 month warranty.
I decided that the extras the mk3 offered was not worth the extra £350 odd it would have cost me.
I went for the m1 over a m5 for the larger grip because of the arthritis in my fingers
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Thank you. I think im more tempted by the m1 mk2 than the m5. Plus I believe it’s a metal body compared to the plastic on the m5.
 
Micro-four-thirds said:
Thank you. I think im more tempted by the m1 mk2 than the m5. Plus I believe it’s a metal body compared to the plastic on the m5.
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Don’t be swayed by the metal versus plastic argument. Plastics are more sophisticated these days and in some cases are actually stronger. I have both the M1iii and the M5iii, and I find no difference in build quality. In fact, I prefer the M5, although the M1 has certain extra features which are sometimes useful to me like ND and Live Hi-res. Although I do accept that for some people the smaller size of the M5 can be a disadvantage.
 
Stephen L said:
Don’t be swayed by the metal versus plastic argument. Plastics are more sophisticated these days and in some cases are actually stronger. I have both the M1iii and the M5iii, and I find no difference in build quality. In fact, I prefer the M5, although the M1 has certain extra features which are sometimes useful to me like ND and Live Hi-res. Although I do accept that for some people the smaller size of the M5 can be a disadvantage.
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Thank you for the reply. That’s interesting to know.
 
Stephen L said:
Don’t be swayed by the metal versus plastic argument. Plastics are more sophisticated these days and in some cases are actually stronger. I have both the M1iii and the M5iii, and I find no difference in build quality. In fact, I prefer the M5, although the M1 has certain extra features which are sometimes useful to me like ND and Live Hi-res. Although I do accept that for some people the smaller size of the M5 can be a disadvantage.
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Is ND an option on the m1 mk2, I thought it was but can’t find the setting
 
Micro-four-thirds said:
Thank you for the reply. That’s interesting to know.
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One think to watch out for on the 1-mkii is grips coming unstuck .. IF a you have oily skin the rubber will absorb your skin oils and loosen . Mine went back twice in a year . So if your skin is oily / greasy I.e your phone or I.pad screen needs constant cleaning then go for 1-mkiii
 
the black fox said:
One think to watch out for on the 1-mkii is grips coming unstuck .. IF a you have oily skin the rubber will absorb your skin oils and loosen . Mine went back twice in a year . So if your skin is oily / greasy I.e your phone or I.pad screen needs constant cleaning then go for 1-mkiii
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Or buy my grip set, which is still in Classifieds - somewhere :D
 
the black fox said:
One think to watch out for on the 1-mkii is grips coming unstuck .. IF a you have oily skin the rubber will absorb your skin oils and loosen . Mine went back twice in a year . So if your skin is oily / greasy I.e your phone or I.pad screen needs constant cleaning then go for 1-mkiii
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Thank you. I’m glad you mentioned that as I do have oily skin on my hands. Do you think this could be alleviated by using one of those leather half camera covers at all?
 
Micro-four-thirds said:
Thank you. I’m glad you mentioned that as I do have oily skin on my hands. Do you think this could be alleviated by using one of those leather half camera covers at all?
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It’s not something which has affected me, but yes, those half-cases could indeed help.
 
Sorry to be a pain but I’ve gone back to have a quick look at the m5 mk3 quickly and have found one with hdew for £600.
Would anyone have any experience of the focus on this mainly for wildlife? It’s just im reading reviews online saying it’s great and others saying it could be a lot better.
 
Micro-four-thirds said:
Sorry to be a pain but I’ve gone back to have a quick look at the m5 mk3 quickly and have found one with hdew for £600.
Would anyone have any experience of the focus on this mainly for wildlife? It’s just im reading reviews online saying it’s great and others saying it could be a lot better.
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Autofocus on the E-m5 mk3 is very similar to the e-m1 mk2 and mk3. If you need better AF get the OM-1 which is streets ahead.
 
Micro-four-thirds said:
Sorry to be a pain but I’ve gone back to have a quick look at the m5 mk3 quickly and have found one with hdew for £600.
Would anyone have any experience of the focus on this mainly for wildlife? It’s just im reading reviews online saying it’s great and others saying it could be a lot better.
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That’s where I bought mine from a couple of months ago. Must have gone up in price a little since then - currency fluctuations no doubt. Still great value.
 
Micro-four-thirds said:
Sorry to be a pain but I’ve gone back to have a quick look at the m5 mk3 quickly and have found one with hdew for £600.
Would anyone have any experience of the focus on this mainly for wildlife? It’s just im reading reviews online saying it’s great and others saying it could be a lot better.
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You could also consider the Panasonic G9, this compares it with the E-M1 iii
 
tijuana taxi said:
You could also consider the Panasonic G9, this compares it with the E-M1 iii
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Again, I have owned the G9 also. An excellent camera, whose ergonomics are a lesson to other manufacturers. However, I finally sold it in favour of the E-M1iii, because of the latter’s hand-held high res, and more so the live ND. Also, though the G9’s viewfinder is large, I found it distorted even at all 3 settings. That’s my opinion, anyway :)
 
Stephen L said:
Again, I have owned the G9 also. An excellent camera, whose ergonomics are a lesson to other manufacturers. However, I finally sold it in favour of the E-M1iii, because of the latter’s hand-held high res, and more so the live ND. Also, though the G9’s viewfinder is large, I found it distorted even at all 3 settings. That’s my opinion, anyway :)
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There is a bit of pincushioning especially at the largest viewing size. Still find it much more pleasing than the small evf of the E-M1 ii and iii.
One more option might be the G90, I've had one of those and its a very decent all round camera.
 
Hello! I have some spending money from Christmas and I'd like you all to help me spend it! I want a small fast prime wide-normal lens, or maybe a fast zoom. I use an em1 mark 2 and an epl-7.

Options are
- Panasonic 20mm 1.7
- sigma 19mm 2.8
- olympus 17mm 1.8
- olympus 25mm 1.8
- Panasonic 12-35mm 2.8
- olympus 12-40mm 2.8

I favour small size and light weight, but the zoom would mean I can potentially carry a one-lens solution for lots of stuff. The Panasonic 12-35 is a bit smaller and I wonder if I should look into that...

I'll be going used from cex, Wex or mpb!
 
I'm going to put my 25/1.4 on the classifieds around the 200 quid mark if that's of any interest.
 
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ThePrettyDamned said:
Hello! I have some spending money from Christmas and I'd like you all to help me spend it! I want a small fast prime wide-normal lens, or maybe a fast zoom. I use an em1 mark 2 and an epl-7.

Options are
- Panasonic 20mm 1.7
- sigma 19mm 2.8
- olympus 17mm 1.8
- olympus 25mm 1.8
- Panasonic 12-35mm 2.8
- olympus 12-40mm 2.8

I favour small size and light weight, but the zoom would mean I can potentially carry a one-lens solution for lots of stuff. The Panasonic 12-35 is a bit smaller and I wonder if I should look into that...

I'll be going used from cex, Wex or mpb!
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Also check out great western cameras EBay shop. Bricks and mortar shop in Swindon as well, have lots of good deals on Olympus kit.
Recently got the 12-45/4 from them, advertised as removed from a camera kit, but turned up in full retail box and £200 under list price
 
leaky5 said:
Also check out great western cameras EBay shop. Bricks and mortar shop in Swindon as well, have lots of good deals on Olympus kit.
Recently got the 12-45/4 from them, advertised as removed from a camera kit, but turned up in full retail box and £200 under list price
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They have a 12-40 for a very good price, refurbed apparently...

I'll check the rest of their listings, as it's very much top-price for me. The pana 20mm or oly 17mm are probably the best options for me, to complement the 45mm 1.8.
 
leaky5 said:
Also check out great western cameras EBay shop. Bricks and mortar shop in Swindon as well, have lots of good deals on Olympus kit.
Recently got the 12-45/4 from them, advertised as removed from a camera kit, but turned up in full retail box and £200 under list price
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Pretty damned good on prices to just had a browse
 
ThePrettyDamned said:
Hello! I have some spending money from Christmas and I'd like you all to help me spend it! I want a small fast prime wide-normal lens, or maybe a fast zoom. I use an em1 mark 2 and an epl-7.

Options are
- Panasonic 20mm 1.7
- sigma 19mm 2.8
- olympus 17mm 1.8
- olympus 25mm 1.8
- Panasonic 12-35mm 2.8
- olympus 12-40mm 2.8

I favour small size and light weight, but the zoom would mean I can potentially carry a one-lens solution for lots of stuff. The Panasonic 12-35 is a bit smaller and I wonder if I should look into that...

I'll be going used from cex, Wex or mpb!
Click to expand...

for some reason I’ve always found the O 17/25 a bit “meh”. They’re quick to focus and sharp but a bit clinical IYKWIM. On the other hand the P20 is slow to focus in low light and should be dismissed but I’ve had several and they’re great.

Its a conundrum. So I have the P20 and the P25/1.4 currently.

I‘ve also have the 12-35 and 12-40. I sold the Panasonic for the Olympus, the 5mm of extra reach outweighed the extra size
 
Just listed a 25/1.4 in the classifieds if that's of any interest
 
Just a couple from the weekend. The Heron was with the E-M1iii, Panasonic 45-150 @150mm, f5.6, 2000 ISO, and the mono was with the E-M5iii, Panasonic 25mm (f1.7 version), f4.5, 200 ISO

The local Heron by Stephen Lee, on Flickr

Rain incoming by Stephen Lee, on Flickr
 
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