Olympus OM-D E-M5, E-M1, E-M10 - Mk1, Mk2 & Mk3 Owners Thread
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Thanks Huw 
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Thanks, We were lucky with the weather, hardly any rain. I only had time to nip out a few mornings evenings for photography and sometimes the weather was not great for taking shots
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I am replacing a set of four photos on my wall but i would be hard pressed to select the four I would use out of those five Julian, each one is excellent. The first one would be a certainty to go up though.
I like the game of "spot the watermark" too. The third one took me ages to spot
I like the game of "spot the watermark" too. The third one took me ages to spot
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Thanks Lindsay
Very kind Ian, glad you like trying to find the watermark I do spend a bit of time figuring out where to put them.
Very kind Ian, glad you like trying to find the watermark
I do spend a bit of time figuring out where to put them.
woof woof
I like a nice Chianti
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I think I'm convincing myself that they're just being over cautious.
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Few more from my holiday. The 12-35 was welded to my OM-D, definitely not a primes user anymore.
OP
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Few more from my holiday. The 12-35 was welded to my OM-D, definitely not a primes user anymore.
Stunning as usual Julian
Interesting how you find the 12-35 your favourite.
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Thanks Alan.
I was a primes guy previously, but the flexibility from having a tiny bag with the OM-D, 12-35 and 35-100 suits me far better and quality wise I can't really tell the difference either.
I was a primes guy previously, but the flexibility from having a tiny bag with the OM-D, 12-35 and 35-100 suits me far better and quality wise I can't really tell the difference either.
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Cracking shots Julian, seeing all the shots in this thread has me seriously contemplating an EM5 again!
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Thanks Huw, the 12-35 is superb
Thanks Chris. You should consider it, £565 at HDEW is a bargain. I've decided against a 2nd EM5, bit extravagant and keeps me traveling light just using the one EM5 and 12-35 + 35-100
Stunning images as usual Huw and Julian.
I am wondering if I could pick your brains both of you please?
I have pre-ordered the E-M1, and my husband is trying to persuade me to go for the 12-40mm as a package.
Now whilst I have read good things about it, the Oly is also 77g heavier than the Panasonic 12-35mm. It may not sound a lot, but I have Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis, and for my neck the lighter the better.
Having said that with Oly bringing out a 40-150mm next year the pair sound like a killer combo. But then I see the mock ups of the 40-150mm, and see it has a lens mount ring which suggests it will be very heavy.
I can see the results you both produce on these lenses is stunning, but you are both so skilful I think you would both take amazing shots on a pinhole camera!
But my question is this. Do the lenses work well on the OMD, or is much post processing required? And is the 35-100mm range sufficient for distant birds with cropping?
I suppose my slight worry is that often Panasonic lenses require more PP on an Olympus camera, and to be fair I am not great on PP!
Sorry for the ramble, and I hope this makes sense!
Thanks in advance
Marcia
I am wondering if I could pick your brains both of you please?
I have pre-ordered the E-M1, and my husband is trying to persuade me to go for the 12-40mm as a package.
Now whilst I have read good things about it, the Oly is also 77g heavier than the Panasonic 12-35mm. It may not sound a lot, but I have Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis, and for my neck the lighter the better.
Having said that with Oly bringing out a 40-150mm next year the pair sound like a killer combo. But then I see the mock ups of the 40-150mm, and see it has a lens mount ring which suggests it will be very heavy.
I can see the results you both produce on these lenses is stunning, but you are both so skilful I think you would both take amazing shots on a pinhole camera!
But my question is this. Do the lenses work well on the OMD, or is much post processing required? And is the 35-100mm range sufficient for distant birds with cropping?
I suppose my slight worry is that often Panasonic lenses require more PP on an Olympus camera, and to be fair I am not great on PP!
Sorry for the ramble, and I hope this makes sense!
Thanks in advance
Marcia
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Hi Marcia,
Thanks very much for the compliments
Difficult to answer really, firstly no question yes they (12-35 & 35-100) do work very well on the OM-D.
However as I shoot almost 100% RAW I do have to apply some distortion & CA correction in my converter of choice CO7. If you shoot mainly Jpegs the distortion correction is handled by the OM-D.
Having said that the output from both is really very impressive and they are very well built.
Of the two I think the output from the 35-100 is just a little more impressive but I think it's on the short side for birding unless you are very lucky or patient
I have the 75-300 Mk2 (and previously the 100-300) for birding etc..Now on the other hand I have no doubt whatsoever that Olympus will have pulled out all the stops with their new 12-40 constant f/2.8.
Having owned HG and SHG 4/3rds glass in the past I am sure this lens will be at the least the equal of the 12-35, Oly certainly know how to make prime matching high quality zooms.
I understand ordering it with the E-M1 means you will make a healthy saving too and 77 grammes is only a few christmas cards in weight.
If I were in your shoes I think I would go for the 12-40 but if you decide on the 12-35 & 35-100 I'm sure you would be very happy with the results.
Hope that helps
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I will consider it, realistically I'd probably be better off paying around the £700 mark for a UK one and getting the free grip as I would definetly need one of those.
I'm torn between keeping my D600 and replacing it with the OMD, I know that IQ will be better with the D600 but I've been finding I don't take it all the time.
I'm going to try a light Nikon 24-85 zoom and see if I would take that with me as its not really a size/weight thing of the body but the myriad of primes I like to carry (24, 35, 85).
I don't mind so much if I'm going out to take shots but I do like to have my camera with me and I may well find the D600 & 24-85 combo will be small and light enough for day to day.
An EM5 with the 12, 17 and 25mm is quite temping though as a package....
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Perhaps this will help. Ming Thein does a detailed comparison of the EM5 vs the D600 as part of his EM1 review (jpegs only though). Linky. And even though the EM1 might have a marginal IQ advantage on the EM5, I think his summary applies equally well to both cameras...
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Indeed. My other kit (now relegated to backup duties) consists of Canon 5D MkIIIs and a raft of L lenses. Knowing both systems very well enables me to make a considered decision - the IQ differences are not massive, nowhere near as great as one might think. I say that for all of the diehard full frame fans out there who have never even picked up an EM5 let alone used one in the field. In fact I often find myself preferring the EM5 files because the white balance is better than Canon and the images have a wonderful look to them which I can't quite put my finger on. File size doesn't come into it either because 16MP is more than enough and I would normally shoot my MkIII on medium RAW anyway and can still make massive prints.
Performance aside, the main consideration I feel should be given to the availability of quality lenses and this is another area where micro four thirds comes up trumps.
Of course the EM5 cannot compete with the big guns on tracking focus or video, but considering that many of my subjects are dynamic I just use the time honoured tradition of single focus - given how fast the EM5 can focus I have not been disadvantaged (however I will welcome the possibility of usable tracking focus on the new camera simply because it will make my life easier at times).
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Thanks I will take a look!
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Thanks Marcia, can't add much more than Huw. Other than in my case I do post process my images, but that is not specific to the OMD, I've always done, just my kind of thing (did it when I owned a Canon 5D2). My personal taste always requires some processing.
Regarding the new Olympus lenses, obviously we will have to wait an see, reviews hands on etc. If I was in your position I'd wait to see what they were like. But if you decided to go for the Panasonic 12-35 and 35-100 you would not be disappointed. I also have the Pany 100-300 and have always found it extremely good, IMO easily comparable to my old Canon 100-400 that cost lots more and was very heavy.
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It's situations like this that I was so happy to have the OMD. Bad nights sleep (holiday bed, never as good as your home bed are they?). slipped my way down a hill to get to the location, found this wonderful scene, took my shots and then had to climb back up the hill and back to the house for breakfast. Soooo glad for small camera gear
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I'm sure you'll let us know what you decide?
Thanks again for the kind words too
Thanks again for the kind words too
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Guys, question here and I know it might be subjective and obviously depends on the image but what is the biggest print size you would happily do with a shot from the OMD?...
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Got my hands on the EM1 last night. No chance for any proper tests, but here's a few random observations:
- It's basically the same size as my EM5 + first part of the HLD6, but because the integrated grip is a bit fuller and more rounded, it fits a bit better in the hand.
- The extra magnification in the viewfinder makes a BIG difference. It's very noticeable and you get much more absorbed in the experience. It think that the quality EVFs has now matured to an acceptable level vs the OVF on my 5DII, but all the other advantages probably make EVFs the better option, even though I still prefer OVFs in general.
- I liked the new flick switch on the back. It adds to the speed and ease of operation.
- You still can't rename MySets (come on Oly, it's not hard).
- The new 12-40 is smaller than it looks in the pictures. It's really not a big lens in the grand scheme of lenses. It appears well made and balances well on the EM1.
- It can focus down to a few cm from the front element, so with the hood on it seems like you're literally about to touch whatever you're taking a picture of!
- It's basically the same size as my EM5 + first part of the HLD6, but because the integrated grip is a bit fuller and more rounded, it fits a bit better in the hand.
- The extra magnification in the viewfinder makes a BIG difference. It's very noticeable and you get much more absorbed in the experience. It think that the quality EVFs has now matured to an acceptable level vs the OVF on my 5DII, but all the other advantages probably make EVFs the better option, even though I still prefer OVFs in general.
- I liked the new flick switch on the back. It adds to the speed and ease of operation.
- You still can't rename MySets (come on Oly, it's not hard).
- The new 12-40 is smaller than it looks in the pictures. It's really not a big lens in the grand scheme of lenses. It appears well made and balances well on the EM1.
- It can focus down to a few cm from the front element, so with the hood on it seems like you're literally about to touch whatever you're taking a picture of!
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Glancing at my product list, wall prints are offered up to 40 inches. Looking around my viewing room I have images that size which are many years old, printed from cameras which are a few generations behind the OMD.
The key to a good enlargement is of course very good technique, workable ISO, and (crucially) very good glass - that is by far the most important thing in my view. With respect to upsizing I find third-party software to be inferior to Photoshop's Bicubic Smoother, which is superb. This should be followed by careful sharpening.
You can test how an enlargement will look by creating the enlargement on your computer and then making say an 8 inch crop of a particular section and printing that out, then holding it at the likely viewing distance. Remember you're not going to be looking at a large print from the same distance that you would be reading a book.
Big OMD prints are excellent, no reason why they wouldn't be.
I had a play with the EM1 in Colchester london camera exchange today. It was fitted with the 12-40 2.8 and it was a nice combo. The viewfinder is very large and bright but I prefer the one in the E-X1. Focus was super quick and when I tried tracking it looked on to a shopper and filled but not sure how it would cope with faster moving subjects. It is a very nice piece of kit and feels like a EM5 with the grip fitted.
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Amazed at such a reaction, even more so that it was from a lecturer, sounds like a moron.
D
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Hi all. Any ideas on a long macro lens?
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srhmoto said:
Hi
Please note that Olympus recommends / warns that users should NOT attempt to clean their own sensors on the O-MD E-M5 (nor for that matter on the E-M1or E-P5)
This is because the sensor is fully floating on some sort of electromagnet system due to the 5 axis IBIS which makes the assembly easy to damage
All O-MD or E-P5 camera sensors should therefore be cleaned if required by a service centre
Although this is a little inconvenient it is almost unheard of for Micro Four Thirds Sensors to require to be cleaned due to the ultra sonic sensor cleaning built in to the camera which automatically dislodges small particles upon start up of the camera
It is of course more prudent to ensure your lens swapping procedures are as careful as possible on the 5 axis models
This is a small 'price to pay' for such a superb universally acclaimed image stabilisation system
This does not apply to 2 axis stabilsation system such as in older PEN models etc as the sensors in those and other cameras with ' normal' IBIS are not full floating sensors
Regards
Rob
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How about a four thirds mount Sigma 150 f/2.8 together with a 4/3rds to m4/3rds adapter?
You would need to look out for second hand Sigma as they are no longer manufactured in the 4/3rds mount.
D
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Cheers. Just set up an eBay alert for one. Do you know of any longer me to lenses?
woof woof
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Understatement of the decade there I think
Personally I doubt I'd trust a service centre with a sensor clean but then I'm a Canon owner and I wouldn't trust a Canon service engineer to find his own bottom with a guide and a hunting dog.My G1 has required wet cleans and I seriously doubt that an Oly can cope with everything the great out doors have to throw at it forever without needing a sensor clean. Of course it depends on what aperture you shoot at and MTF is at an advantage here as you can shoot at wider apertures. It also depends on how anal you are, I'm very anal but I've seen plenty of photos on line with dust bunnies that people don't seem to notice.
I have massive reservations about not being able to clean the sensor.
Time will tell but I think this is something that I just don't trust and need a lot more evidence on.
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Lots of professionals, including myself have switched to the OM-D. I have shot 29000 images on mine since the end of April, its doing well
D
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Quick question-do any other micro four thirds cameras share the same battery as the em5? Possibly looking at getting a second smaller body and shared batteries would be a great benefit.
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Only the new E-M1 as far as I am aware.