Page 50 of manual - the blank ones show when partial colour is set or colour creator is used. .. screen print below...I’ve got a couple of questions regarding the EM1-II. Firstly, is there a way to set a button to quick access grid settings so I can quickly toggle it on and off without having to go into the menus?
Secondly, on the SCP I have a couple of empty slots as shown in the attachment (the highlighted slot and one next to it). Why is this and can I add anything to them, in fact can you customise the SCP completely?
No, grid in the viewfinder/lcd. You can choose different grid layouts but I choose the rule of thirds one, helps with composition but also helps me with tracking motorsports making it easier to make sure the subject remains in the same place within the frame.Do you mean SCP Toby?
If so once it's enabled (Gear, D1, Control settings) you just hit the OK button.
I have it enabled in all modes.
As far as I know you can't edit it (would nice if you could).
Not sure what you mean about more or less detail, but you can configure grid brightness and colour if that’s what you mean.I thought there was a way to choose more or less detail, but going through the menus now I can't find it, not necessarily specifying what.
I have the same blanks. Interesting that you've chosen a 3:2 aspect ratio.
If I needed the grid on or off, I might choose the Custom settings C1, C2 etc to save the setting, but then you save everything else with it
I don’t but that’s because I have live control turned off, SCP is much better that live control imo.I've just discovered on the EM1ii, if you hit the info button when you have the SCP up, you get the options along the side and bottom of the screen! Perhaps you all knew that already.
Ahh thanks.Page 50 of manual - the blank ones show when partial colour is set or colour creator is used. .. screen print below...
View attachment 238856
On one of my cameras, it may have been the Em5ii, I could either have lots of info on the SCP or just the basics. However I can't remember how or which camera. I haven't been able to find it on the Em1ii.Not sure what you mean about more or less detail, but you can configure grid brightness and colour if that’s what you mean.
The older OMD's don't have SCP activated by default so it would have been the live control panel that you would have been using that you say just had the basics. That being said, I think all the same controls are there just laid out differently and not all shown on the screen together.On one of my cameras, it may have been the Em5ii, I could either have lots of info on the SCP or just the basics. However I can't remember how or which camera. I haven't been able to find it on the Em1ii.
I hadn't come across Live Control before. I usually use SCP too. There is so much packed in to these cameras! I didn't realise you could change grid colour or brightness either!
I think you're correct. I didn't know it was called Live Control, and I had reset the default button to be peaking, hence why I've never spotted it again! It's on the Em5ii! Phew! I can sleep tonight nowThe older OMD's don't have SCP activated by default so it would have been the live control panel that you would have been using that you say just had the basics. That being said, I think all the same controls are there just laid out differently and not all shown on the screen together.
No, grid in the viewfinder/lcd. You can choose different grid layouts but I choose the rule of thirds one, helps with composition but also helps me with tracking motorsports making it easier to make sure the subject remains in the same place within the frame.
Thanks for the review, interesting read. I think the reason for not being able to use the ND function with hi-res is that it's not a true ND filter but a series of images compiled together to give the 'effect' of using a slower shutter. Think of it like a fancy multiple exposureMy short term EM1X review / thoughts
Bit of a long one this, so if you are prepared to read, grab a coffee.
Right, I’ve had a few days with my New Olympus O-MD EM1X, so some initial thoughts / observations.
As soon as you pick this camera up, it just moulds to your hand. It actually reminds me of my old Nikon D4s that I had some years ago, albeit in a smaller / lighter package. It really does feel that good and seems to be constructed like a brick. Love having the new ISO button under your finger, and generally really like the new button placement, with a minor caveat (but more on that in a bit).
Speed wise, although the frame rates etc are the same as my O-MD EM1 MK II, it generally feels much more responsive. From initial switch on, to the instant image review (even when the camera is still clearing the buffer by writing to the card). It’s a bit of a weird thing to say, but everything feels like the EM1 MK II on steroids – very familiar but faster.
I’ve tried some of the newer features and one in particular that I was keen to have a go at and that’s hand-held high-resolution shot. Put simply it just works and works well. Does it actually generate a similar resolution to say a Sony 7R or Nikon D850/Z7 – probably not, but it’s certainly a good step up from the Native 20mp. It takes a very short amount of time to take the image, (maybe less than 1 second – depending on the shutter speed), and between 10-15 seconds to generate the image, during which time you can’t do anything else with the camera. But for those odd images where you need the resolution, it’s a very nice feature to have. The tripod high-resolution mode (that the EM1 MK II already has), seems to generate a much sharper image in camera. It’s one of the things about that feature on my EM1 MK II, was that the high-resolution images were actually quite soft out of camera and needed quite a bit of post sharpening. The EM1X it seems, requires less so.
Not really had a chance to try the Live ND other than some shots in the back garden, but again, it does seem to work. Pity it doesn’t go down to 10 stops, as that would eliminate the need for my Lee big stopper. Also Live ND can’t be combined it seems with High-resolution mode.
Autofocus again seems really snappy in both AF-S and AF-C modes (not that the EM1 MKII was exactly a slouch in that regard (especially re AF-S)). Not had much of a chance to test out how much better the AF-C is and Tracking, but from my initial testing with my usual subjects (our Black Cocker Spaniels), the keeper rate is definitely higher. Not quite sure it’s up to the best of DSLR levels (yet), but certainly seems on a par (if not slightly better) than my new Fuji X-T3. There’s a awful lot more options re AF set up than there was on the EM1 MKII, so I guess it will take a little time to get used to all the options. I think the promising thing is that Olympus have room to grow on the AF front and with the embedded AI (although only for now Cars, Planes and Trains), if these can be added to via firmware (and maybe even ones not used so much like “trains” offloaded), then it’s quite exciting to see where this camera will go.
There’s so many new little things that better it would take forever to list them (i..e customizable my menu, GPS location including logging, Twin UHS II card slots, Dual AF joysticks, with a centre click to instantly zoom to 100% and back out again, improved IBIS, dedicated ISO and WB buttons etc), but as with all things there are a few idiosyncrasies / weird decisions (after all Olympus wouldn’t be Olympus without them).
Firstly, the much maligned EVF. Sure, it’s lower resolution than one would like (especially with Panasonic debuting a new 5mp unit – now that would be something in the EM1X), however it’s not disastrously worse than the 3.6mp units used in for instance the Panasonic G9 and Fuji X-H1 / X-T3 (as I own / have owned all 3 of them). Sure, there’s difference but it’s not night and day (at least not to me). The biggest difference in the EM1X’s EVF to the others is the slightly lower contrast, but that’s made up for by a viewfinder that is probably the most fluid and lag / jitter free, that I’ve ever used. It really keeps up perfectly with fast panning without breaking a sweat. Also, although the basic EVF panel seems the be the same one as in the EM1 MK II, the new optics sitting in front of it, give an appreciably larger image view than the MK II does.
Why no dual battery charger ? Seems like a strange decision to give you two of the EM1 MKII’s BCH-1 units, rather than a single dual charger ? Maybe in the future Olympus can develop a single high capacity battery (like Nikon have as a option to the EN-EL15’s on battery gripped D500’s for instance) ?
I said the button placement is very good, but there is a strange decision on one. That is the WB button, which weirdly Olympus chose to put on the bottom panel near the “Card” and “Delete” buttons. Why it’s not on the top next to the EV and ISO buttons is a mystery (just as Panasonic do on the G9, GH5 etc). Also, whilst talking about buttons, the “Card” button seems to serve no great purpose. I.e. it only serves to change the default save location if you have the camera set to single or auto switch modes. If you have already set say Raw to Card 1 and Jpeg to card 2, then it seems to do nothing. It would be much better if this could bring up the delete / format option instead.
Why no 4K 60p ? This seems a really odd omission, especially as the EM1X is running dual overclocked Truepic VIII processors, twin UHS-II card slots and a heat pipe sink to dissipate heat (that a number of other cameras don’t even have), then it seems a strange omission. Maybe this is something that can / will be added by firmware in the future ?
Also, why no top plate LCD screen, it’s not like the EM1X doesn’t have room for it (especially a smaller one like the one on the Nikon Z bodies, rather than the one on Panasonic G9). Also, if this camera was Olympus’s 100 year anniversary camera – throw the kitchen sink at it, for an company as innovative as Olympus, I wonder why thing like a higher resolution rear screen at least wasn’t included. When shooting the high res modes, a higher resolution screen would give a much better representation of what was capture than the 1mp one on the EM1X (and EM1 MK II). Also, I though Olympus might use this opportunity to incorporate something like a 4g/5g nano sim socket in the body, so that images can be offloaded immediately they are shot and uploaded to the web on the fly rather than having to rely on phone tethering ?
Anyway, there it is, my less than 1 week review of the EM1X. Am I happy with it – yes absolutely, (although I’ll be the first to admit that it’s about £800 overpriced and should be a nearly £2k camera body, but hey, that’s consumerism for you. Will it replace my EM1 MK II, no, that is still a fantastic body and with the battery grip removed, is still my go to travel camera (with the superb Olympus 12-100 F4 IS Pro).
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Perfect timing... I'd just sat down with a cuppaMy short term EM1X review / thoughts
Bit of a long one this, so if you are prepared to read, grab a coffee.
Right, I’ve had a few days with my New Olympus O-MD EM1X, so some initial thoughts / observations.
As soon as you pick this camera up, it just moulds to your hand. It actually reminds me of my old Nikon D4s that I had some years ago, albeit in a smaller / lighter package. It really does feel that good and seems to be constructed like a brick. Love having the new ISO button under your finger, and generally really like the new button placement, with a minor caveat (but more on that in a bit).
Speed wise, although the frame rates etc are the same as my O-MD EM1 MK II, it generally feels much more responsive. From initial switch on, to the instant image review (even when the camera is still clearing the buffer by writing to the card). It’s a bit of a weird thing to say, but everything feels like the EM1 MK II on steroids – very familiar but faster.
I’ve tried some of the newer features and one in particular that I was keen to have a go at and that’s hand-held high-resolution shot. Put simply it just works and works well. Does it actually generate a similar resolution to say a Sony 7R or Nikon D850/Z7 – probably not, but it’s certainly a good step up from the Native 20mp. It takes a very short amount of time to take the image, (maybe less than 1 second – depending on the shutter speed), and between 10-15 seconds to generate the image, during which time you can’t do anything else with the camera. But for those odd images where you need the resolution, it’s a very nice feature to have. The tripod high-resolution mode (that the EM1 MK II already has), seems to generate a much sharper image in camera. It’s one of the things about that feature on my EM1 MK II, was that the high-resolution images were actually quite soft out of camera and needed quite a bit of post sharpening. The EM1X it seems, requires less so.
Not really had a chance to try the Live ND other than some shots in the back garden, but again, it does seem to work. Pity it doesn’t go down to 10 stops, as that would eliminate the need for my Lee big stopper. Also Live ND can’t be combined it seems with High-resolution mode.
Autofocus again seems really snappy in both AF-S and AF-C modes (not that the EM1 MKII was exactly a slouch in that regard (especially re AF-S)). Not had much of a chance to test out how much better the AF-C is and Tracking, but from my initial testing with my usual subjects (our Black Cocker Spaniels), the keeper rate is definitely higher. Not quite sure it’s up to the best of DSLR levels (yet), but certainly seems on a par (if not slightly better) than my new Fuji X-T3. There’s a awful lot more options re AF set up than there was on the EM1 MKII, so I guess it will take a little time to get used to all the options. I think the promising thing is that Olympus have room to grow on the AF front and with the embedded AI (although only for now Cars, Planes and Trains), if these can be added to via firmware (and maybe even ones not used so much like “trains” offloaded), then it’s quite exciting to see where this camera will go.
There’s so many new little things that better it would take forever to list them (i..e customizable my menu, GPS location including logging, Twin UHS II card slots, Dual AF joysticks, with a centre click to instantly zoom to 100% and back out again, improved IBIS, dedicated ISO and WB buttons etc), but as with all things there are a few idiosyncrasies / weird decisions (after all Olympus wouldn’t be Olympus without them).
Firstly, the much maligned EVF. Sure, it’s lower resolution than one would like (especially with Panasonic debuting a new 5mp unit – now that would be something in the EM1X), however it’s not disastrously worse than the 3.6mp units used in for instance the Panasonic G9 and Fuji X-H1 / X-T3 (as I own / have owned all 3 of them). Sure, there’s difference but it’s not night and day (at least not to me). The biggest difference in the EM1X’s EVF to the others is the slightly lower contrast, but that’s made up for by a viewfinder that is probably the most fluid and lag / jitter free, that I’ve ever used. It really keeps up perfectly with fast panning without breaking a sweat. Also, although the basic EVF panel seems the be the same one as in the EM1 MK II, the new optics sitting in front of it, give an appreciably larger image view than the MK II does.
Why no dual battery charger ? Seems like a strange decision to give you two of the EM1 MKII’s BCH-1 units, rather than a single dual charger ? Maybe in the future Olympus can develop a single high capacity battery (like Nikon have as a option to the EN-EL15’s on battery gripped D500’s for instance) ?
I said the button placement is very good, but there is a strange decision on one. That is the WB button, which weirdly Olympus chose to put on the bottom panel near the “Card” and “Delete” buttons. Why it’s not on the top next to the EV and ISO buttons is a mystery (just as Panasonic do on the G9, GH5 etc). Also, whilst talking about buttons, the “Card” button seems to serve no great purpose. I.e. it only serves to change the default save location if you have the camera set to single or auto switch modes. If you have already set say Raw to Card 1 and Jpeg to card 2, then it seems to do nothing. It would be much better if this could bring up the delete / format option instead.
Why no 4K 60p ? This seems a really odd omission, especially as the EM1X is running dual overclocked Truepic VIII processors, twin UHS-II card slots and a heat pipe sink to dissipate heat (that a number of other cameras don’t even have), then it seems a strange omission. Maybe this is something that can / will be added by firmware in the future ?
Also, why no top plate LCD screen, it’s not like the EM1X doesn’t have room for it (especially a smaller one like the one on the Nikon Z bodies, rather than the one on Panasonic G9). Also, if this camera was Olympus’s 100 year anniversary camera – throw the kitchen sink at it, for an company as innovative as Olympus, I wonder why thing like a higher resolution rear screen at least wasn’t included. When shooting the high res modes, a higher resolution screen would give a much better representation of what was capture than the 1mp one on the EM1X (and EM1 MK II). Also, I though Olympus might use this opportunity to incorporate something like a 4g/5g nano sim socket in the body, so that images can be offloaded immediately they are shot and uploaded to the web on the fly rather than having to rely on phone tethering ?
Anyway, there it is, my less than 1 week review of the EM1X. Am I happy with it – yes absolutely, (although I’ll be the first to admit that it’s about £800 overpriced and should be a nearly £2k camera body, but hey, that’s consumerism for you. Will it replace my EM1 MK II, no, that is still a fantastic body and with the battery grip removed, is still my go to travel camera (with the superb Olympus 12-100 F4 IS Pro).
Thanks for taking the time to read.
My short term EM1X review / thoughts
Bit of a long one this, so if you are prepared to read, grab a coffee.
Right, I’ve had a few days with my New Olympus O-MD EM1X, so some initial thoughts / observations.
As soon as you pick this camera up, it just moulds to your hand. It actually reminds me of my old Nikon D4s that I had some years ago, albeit in a smaller / lighter package. It really does feel that good and seems to be constructed like a brick. Love having the new ISO button under your finger, and generally really like the new button placement, with a minor caveat (but more on that in a bit).
Speed wise, although the frame rates etc are the same as my O-MD EM1 MK II, it generally feels much more responsive. From initial switch on, to the instant image review (even when the camera is still clearing the buffer by writing to the card). It’s a bit of a weird thing to say, but everything feels like the EM1 MK II on steroids – very familiar but faster.
I’ve tried some of the newer features and one in particular that I was keen to have a go at and that’s hand-held high-resolution shot. Put simply it just works and works well. Does it actually generate a similar resolution to say a Sony 7R or Nikon D850/Z7 – probably not, but it’s certainly a good step up from the Native 20mp. It takes a very short amount of time to take the image, (maybe less than 1 second – depending on the shutter speed), and between 10-15 seconds to generate the image, during which time you can’t do anything else with the camera. But for those odd images where you need the resolution, it’s a very nice feature to have. The tripod high-resolution mode (that the EM1 MK II already has), seems to generate a much sharper image in camera. It’s one of the things about that feature on my EM1 MK II, was that the high-resolution images were actually quite soft out of camera and needed quite a bit of post sharpening. The EM1X it seems, requires less so.
Not really had a chance to try the Live ND other than some shots in the back garden, but again, it does seem to work. Pity it doesn’t go down to 10 stops, as that would eliminate the need for my Lee big stopper. Also Live ND can’t be combined it seems with High-resolution mode.
Autofocus again seems really snappy in both AF-S and AF-C modes (not that the EM1 MKII was exactly a slouch in that regard (especially re AF-S)). Not had much of a chance to test out how much better the AF-C is and Tracking, but from my initial testing with my usual subjects (our Black Cocker Spaniels), the keeper rate is definitely higher. Not quite sure it’s up to the best of DSLR levels (yet), but certainly seems on a par (if not slightly better) than my new Fuji X-T3. There’s a awful lot more options re AF set up than there was on the EM1 MKII, so I guess it will take a little time to get used to all the options. I think the promising thing is that Olympus have room to grow on the AF front and with the embedded AI (although only for now Cars, Planes and Trains), if these can be added to via firmware (and maybe even ones not used so much like “trains” offloaded), then it’s quite exciting to see where this camera will go.
There’s so many new little things that better it would take forever to list them (i..e customizable my menu, GPS location including logging, Twin UHS II card slots, Dual AF joysticks, with a centre click to instantly zoom to 100% and back out again, improved IBIS, dedicated ISO and WB buttons etc), but as with all things there are a few idiosyncrasies / weird decisions (after all Olympus wouldn’t be Olympus without them).
Firstly, the much maligned EVF. Sure, it’s lower resolution than one would like (especially with Panasonic debuting a new 5mp unit – now that would be something in the EM1X), however it’s not disastrously worse than the 3.6mp units used in for instance the Panasonic G9 and Fuji X-H1 / X-T3 (as I own / have owned all 3 of them). Sure, there’s difference but it’s not night and day (at least not to me). The biggest difference in the EM1X’s EVF to the others is the slightly lower contrast, but that’s made up for by a viewfinder that is probably the most fluid and lag / jitter free, that I’ve ever used. It really keeps up perfectly with fast panning without breaking a sweat. Also, although the basic EVF panel seems the be the same one as in the EM1 MK II, the new optics sitting in front of it, give an appreciably larger image view than the MK II does.
Why no dual battery charger ? Seems like a strange decision to give you two of the EM1 MKII’s BCH-1 units, rather than a single dual charger ? Maybe in the future Olympus can develop a single high capacity battery (like Nikon have as a option to the EN-EL15’s on battery gripped D500’s for instance) ?
I said the button placement is very good, but there is a strange decision on one. That is the WB button, which weirdly Olympus chose to put on the bottom panel near the “Card” and “Delete” buttons. Why it’s not on the top next to the EV and ISO buttons is a mystery (just as Panasonic do on the G9, GH5 etc). Also, whilst talking about buttons, the “Card” button seems to serve no great purpose. I.e. it only serves to change the default save location if you have the camera set to single or auto switch modes. If you have already set say Raw to Card 1 and Jpeg to card 2, then it seems to do nothing. It would be much better if this could bring up the delete / format option instead.
Why no 4K 60p ? This seems a really odd omission, especially as the EM1X is running dual overclocked Truepic VIII processors, twin UHS-II card slots and a heat pipe sink to dissipate heat (that a number of other cameras don’t even have), then it seems a strange omission. Maybe this is something that can / will be added by firmware in the future ?
Also, why no top plate LCD screen, it’s not like the EM1X doesn’t have room for it (especially a smaller one like the one on the Nikon Z bodies, rather than the one on Panasonic G9). Also, if this camera was Olympus’s 100 year anniversary camera – throw the kitchen sink at it, for an company as innovative as Olympus, I wonder why thing like a higher resolution rear screen at least wasn’t included. When shooting the high res modes, a higher resolution screen would give a much better representation of what was capture than the 1mp one on the EM1X (and EM1 MK II). Also, I though Olympus might use this opportunity to incorporate something like a 4g/5g nano sim socket in the body, so that images can be offloaded immediately they are shot and uploaded to the web on the fly rather than having to rely on phone tethering ?
Anyway, there it is, my less than 1 week review of the EM1X. Am I happy with it – yes absolutely, (although I’ll be the first to admit that it’s about £800 overpriced and should be a nearly £2k camera body, but hey, that’s consumerism for you. Will it replace my EM1 MK II, no, that is still a fantastic body and with the battery grip removed, is still my go to travel camera (with the superb Olympus 12-100 F4 IS Pro).
Thanks for taking the time to read.
I didn't actually realise how big the EM1X is until I looked on here (see below). It's bigger than my D850, and nearly as big as a D5I get that with the size thing, although 90% of the time I use my EM1 MK II with a battery grip and between that combo and the EM1X, there really isn't that much difference. Of course the beauty of the EM1 MK II is that you can remove the grip and have a much smaller lighter package than the EM1X.
I suppose it was the same decision that Nikon users used a decade ago when deciding between a D3 or a D700 - both using the same sensor, but the D700 could have it's battery grip removed.
If that's how you like to shoot then trust me the size and weight won't bother you, but if you are used to an un-gripped MK2 or better still an EM5 MK II or any of the EM10 series, then the EM1X will seem absolutely huge.
It's the grip that does it, its a shame its not detachable, if it where then it would likely be a little smaller than the D850. But then again, I suppose the camera is designed for those who would normally use a grip.I didn't actually realise how big the EM1X is until I looked on here (see below). It's bigger than my D850, and nearly as big as a D5
View attachment 238900
Yep, and that's why they'll continue to run the EM1 alongside it, like Nikon run the D8xx series agains the D5, and Canon the 5D series against the 1D series. Considering how much smaller the EM1 is compared to the D850 I did expect the EM1X to be considerably smaller than the D5, but it's not that much smaller. Circa 400g lighter thoughIt's the grip that does it, its a shame its not detachable, if it where then it would likely be a little smaller than the D850. But then again, I suppose the camera is designed for those who would normally use a grip.
O my word. I like my Em1 Mk2 and 5D4 because I can make them smaller... bit gobsmacked by this comparison!I didn't actually realise how big the EM1X is until I looked on here (see below). It's bigger than my D850, and nearly as big as a D5
View attachment 238900
Yes it certainly does- I have a 1DX2 which gets most use indoors for basketball.. and the Bewicks swans that have just left. I tried the 300f4 Pro a couple of weeks ago; it certainly was lighter - I found it hard to find the birds in the sky if they weren't the big swans - not the kit's failing though. Lovely piece of kit and one I could take in hand luggage. A friend has the 400 DO mk 2 having sold the longer lenses. He loves it and is taking it to Spain again soon -eagles, I think.I think it depends what your use too Im use to a 1DXMK II and 600 F4 MKII (just sold them ) so this camera is a bit smaller and lighter but the 300f4 pro is far far smaller and lighter I should get my EM1 X this week .
I do still use Canon too 5dsr and 400f4 DO mkII but this is a lot lighter than what I have just sold so its a win win for me.
Rob.
My short term EM1X review / thoughts
Bit of a long one this, so if you are prepared to read, grab a coffee.
Right, I’ve had a few days with my New Olympus O-MD EM1X, so some initial thoughts / observations.
As soon as you pick this camera up, it just moulds to your hand. It actually reminds me of my old Nikon D4s that I had some years ago, albeit in a smaller / lighter package. It really does feel that good and seems to be constructed like a brick. Love having the new ISO button under your finger, and generally really like the new button placement, with a minor caveat (but more on that in a bit).
Speed wise, although the frame rates etc are the same as my O-MD EM1 MK II, it generally feels much more responsive. From initial switch on, to the instant image review (even when the camera is still clearing the buffer by writing to the card). It’s a bit of a weird thing to say, but everything feels like the EM1 MK II on steroids – very familiar but faster.
I’ve tried some of the newer features and one in particular that I was keen to have a go at and that’s hand-held high-resolution shot. Put simply it just works and works well. Does it actually generate a similar resolution to say a Sony 7R or Nikon D850/Z7 – probably not, but it’s certainly a good step up from the Native 20mp. It takes a very short amount of time to take the image, (maybe less than 1 second – depending on the shutter speed), and between 10-15 seconds to generate the image, during which time you can’t do anything else with the camera. But for those odd images where you need the resolution, it’s a very nice feature to have. The tripod high-resolution mode (that the EM1 MK II already has), seems to generate a much sharper image in camera. It’s one of the things about that feature on my EM1 MK II, was that the high-resolution images were actually quite soft out of camera and needed quite a bit of post sharpening. The EM1X it seems, requires less so.
Not really had a chance to try the Live ND other than some shots in the back garden, but again, it does seem to work. Pity it doesn’t go down to 10 stops, as that would eliminate the need for my Lee big stopper. Also Live ND can’t be combined it seems with High-resolution mode.
Autofocus again seems really snappy in both AF-S and AF-C modes (not that the EM1 MKII was exactly a slouch in that regard (especially re AF-S)). Not had much of a chance to test out how much better the AF-C is and Tracking, but from my initial testing with my usual subjects (our Black Cocker Spaniels), the keeper rate is definitely higher. Not quite sure it’s up to the best of DSLR levels (yet), but certainly seems on a par (if not slightly better) than my new Fuji X-T3. There’s a awful lot more options re AF set up than there was on the EM1 MKII, so I guess it will take a little time to get used to all the options. I think the promising thing is that Olympus have room to grow on the AF front and with the embedded AI (although only for now Cars, Planes and Trains), if these can be added to via firmware (and maybe even ones not used so much like “trains” offloaded), then it’s quite exciting to see where this camera will go.
There’s so many new little things that better it would take forever to list them (i..e customizable my menu, GPS location including logging, Twin UHS II card slots, Dual AF joysticks, with a centre click to instantly zoom to 100% and back out again, improved IBIS, dedicated ISO and WB buttons etc), but as with all things there are a few idiosyncrasies / weird decisions (after all Olympus wouldn’t be Olympus without them).
Firstly, the much maligned EVF. Sure, it’s lower resolution than one would like (especially with Panasonic debuting a new 5mp unit – now that would be something in the EM1X), however it’s not disastrously worse than the 3.6mp units used in for instance the Panasonic G9 and Fuji X-H1 / X-T3 (as I own / have owned all 3 of them). Sure, there’s difference but it’s not night and day (at least not to me). The biggest difference in the EM1X’s EVF to the others is the slightly lower contrast, but that’s made up for by a viewfinder that is probably the most fluid and lag / jitter free, that I’ve ever used. It really keeps up perfectly with fast panning without breaking a sweat. Also, although the basic EVF panel seems the be the same one as in the EM1 MK II, the new optics sitting in front of it, give an appreciably larger image view than the MK II does.
Why no dual battery charger ? Seems like a strange decision to give you two of the EM1 MKII’s BCH-1 units, rather than a single dual charger ? Maybe in the future Olympus can develop a single high capacity battery (like Nikon have as a option to the EN-EL15’s on battery gripped D500’s for instance) ?
I said the button placement is very good, but there is a strange decision on one. That is the WB button, which weirdly Olympus chose to put on the bottom panel near the “Card” and “Delete” buttons. Why it’s not on the top next to the EV and ISO buttons is a mystery (just as Panasonic do on the G9, GH5 etc). Also, whilst talking about buttons, the “Card” button seems to serve no great purpose. I.e. it only serves to change the default save location if you have the camera set to single or auto switch modes. If you have already set say Raw to Card 1 and Jpeg to card 2, then it seems to do nothing. It would be much better if this could bring up the delete / format option instead.
Why no 4K 60p ? This seems a really odd omission, especially as the EM1X is running dual overclocked Truepic VIII processors, twin UHS-II card slots and a heat pipe sink to dissipate heat (that a number of other cameras don’t even have), then it seems a strange omission. Maybe this is something that can / will be added by firmware in the future ?
Also, why no top plate LCD screen, it’s not like the EM1X doesn’t have room for it (especially a smaller one like the one on the Nikon Z bodies, rather than the one on Panasonic G9). Also, if this camera was Olympus’s 100 year anniversary camera – throw the kitchen sink at it, for an company as innovative as Olympus, I wonder why thing like a higher resolution rear screen at least wasn’t included. When shooting the high res modes, a higher resolution screen would give a much better representation of what was capture than the 1mp one on the EM1X (and EM1 MK II). Also, I though Olympus might use this opportunity to incorporate something like a 4g/5g nano sim socket in the body, so that images can be offloaded immediately they are shot and uploaded to the web on the fly rather than having to rely on phone tethering ?
Anyway, there it is, my less than 1 week review of the EM1X. Am I happy with it – yes absolutely, (although I’ll be the first to admit that it’s about £800 overpriced and should be a nearly £2k camera body, but hey, that’s consumerism for you. Will it replace my EM1 MK II, no, that is still a fantastic body and with the battery grip removed, is still my go to travel camera (with the superb Olympus 12-100 F4 IS Pro).
Thanks for taking the time to read.
My short term EM1X review / thoughts
Bit of a long one this, so if you are prepared to read, grab a coffee.
Right, I’ve had a few days with my New Olympus O-MD EM1X, so some initial thoughts / observations.
As soon as you pick this camera up, it just moulds to your hand. It actually reminds me of my old Nikon D4s that I had some years ago, albeit in a smaller / lighter package. It really does feel that good and seems to be constructed like a brick. Love having the new ISO button under your finger, and generally really like the new button placement, with a minor caveat (but more on that in a bit).
Speed wise, although the frame rates etc are the same as my O-MD EM1 MK II, it generally feels much more responsive. From initial switch on, to the instant image review (even when the camera is still clearing the buffer by writing to the card). It’s a bit of a weird thing to say, but everything feels like the EM1 MK II on steroids – very familiar but faster.
I’ve tried some of the newer features and one in particular that I was keen to have a go at and that’s hand-held high-resolution shot. Put simply it just works and works well. Does it actually generate a similar resolution to say a Sony 7R or Nikon D850/Z7 – probably not, but it’s certainly a good step up from the Native 20mp. It takes a very short amount of time to take the image, (maybe less than 1 second – depending on the shutter speed), and between 10-15 seconds to generate the image, during which time you can’t do anything else with the camera. But for those odd images where you need the resolution, it’s a very nice feature to have. The tripod high-resolution mode (that the EM1 MK II already has), seems to generate a much sharper image in camera. It’s one of the things about that feature on my EM1 MK II, was that the high-resolution images were actually quite soft out of camera and needed quite a bit of post sharpening. The EM1X it seems, requires less so.
Not really had a chance to try the Live ND other than some shots in the back garden, but again, it does seem to work. Pity it doesn’t go down to 10 stops, as that would eliminate the need for my Lee big stopper. Also Live ND can’t be combined it seems with High-resolution mode.
Autofocus again seems really snappy in both AF-S and AF-C modes (not that the EM1 MKII was exactly a slouch in that regard (especially re AF-S)). Not had much of a chance to test out how much better the AF-C is and Tracking, but from my initial testing with my usual subjects (our Black Cocker Spaniels), the keeper rate is definitely higher. Not quite sure it’s up to the best of DSLR levels (yet), but certainly seems on a par (if not slightly better) than my new Fuji X-T3. There’s a awful lot more options re AF set up than there was on the EM1 MKII, so I guess it will take a little time to get used to all the options. I think the promising thing is that Olympus have room to grow on the AF front and with the embedded AI (although only for now Cars, Planes and Trains), if these can be added to via firmware (and maybe even ones not used so much like “trains” offloaded), then it’s quite exciting to see where this camera will go.
There’s so many new little things that better it would take forever to list them (i..e customizable my menu, GPS location including logging, Twin UHS II card slots, Dual AF joysticks, with a centre click to instantly zoom to 100% and back out again, improved IBIS, dedicated ISO and WB buttons etc), but as with all things there are a few idiosyncrasies / weird decisions (after all Olympus wouldn’t be Olympus without them).
Firstly, the much maligned EVF. Sure, it’s lower resolution than one would like (especially with Panasonic debuting a new 5mp unit – now that would be something in the EM1X), however it’s not disastrously worse than the 3.6mp units used in for instance the Panasonic G9 and Fuji X-H1 / X-T3 (as I own / have owned all 3 of them). Sure, there’s difference but it’s not night and day (at least not to me). The biggest difference in the EM1X’s EVF to the others is the slightly lower contrast, but that’s made up for by a viewfinder that is probably the most fluid and lag / jitter free, that I’ve ever used. It really keeps up perfectly with fast panning without breaking a sweat. Also, although the basic EVF panel seems the be the same one as in the EM1 MK II, the new optics sitting in front of it, give an appreciably larger image view than the MK II does.
Why no dual battery charger ? Seems like a strange decision to give you two of the EM1 MKII’s BCH-1 units, rather than a single dual charger ? Maybe in the future Olympus can develop a single high capacity battery (like Nikon have as a option to the EN-EL15’s on battery gripped D500’s for instance) ?
I said the button placement is very good, but there is a strange decision on one. That is the WB button, which weirdly Olympus chose to put on the bottom panel near the “Card” and “Delete” buttons. Why it’s not on the top next to the EV and ISO buttons is a mystery (just as Panasonic do on the G9, GH5 etc). Also, whilst talking about buttons, the “Card” button seems to serve no great purpose. I.e. it only serves to change the default save location if you have the camera set to single or auto switch modes. If you have already set say Raw to Card 1 and Jpeg to card 2, then it seems to do nothing. It would be much better if this could bring up the delete / format option instead.
Why no 4K 60p ? This seems a really odd omission, especially as the EM1X is running dual overclocked Truepic VIII processors, twin UHS-II card slots and a heat pipe sink to dissipate heat (that a number of other cameras don’t even have), then it seems a strange omission. Maybe this is something that can / will be added by firmware in the future ?
Also, why no top plate LCD screen, it’s not like the EM1X doesn’t have room for it (especially a smaller one like the one on the Nikon Z bodies, rather than the one on Panasonic G9). Also, if this camera was Olympus’s 100 year anniversary camera – throw the kitchen sink at it, for an company as innovative as Olympus, I wonder why thing like a higher resolution rear screen at least wasn’t included. When shooting the high res modes, a higher resolution screen would give a much better representation of what was capture than the 1mp one on the EM1X (and EM1 MK II). Also, I though Olympus might use this opportunity to incorporate something like a 4g/5g nano sim socket in the body, so that images can be offloaded immediately they are shot and uploaded to the web on the fly rather than having to rely on phone tethering ?
Anyway, there it is, my less than 1 week review of the EM1X. Am I happy with it – yes absolutely, (although I’ll be the first to admit that it’s about £800 overpriced and should be a nearly £2k camera body, but hey, that’s consumerism for you. Will it replace my EM1 MK II, no, that is still a fantastic body and with the battery grip removed, is still my go to travel camera (with the superb Olympus 12-100 F4 IS Pro).
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Dang. This will cost me. I've just seen there is a EM5 mk3 on the way (+/-soon). And a 12-200 zoom to tempt me to replace my 14-150.
Nearly missed your link assuming it was auto embeddedDang. This will cost me. I've just seen there is a EM5 mk3 on the way (+/-soon). And a 12-200 zoom to tempt me to replace my 14-150.
Thanks for that, it was an interesting read. I liked how new technology from their camera division makes its way to the medical stuff, and sometimes vice versaDang. This will cost me. I've just seen there is a EM5 mk3 on the way (+/-soon). And a 12-200 zoom to tempt me to replace my 14-150.
An E-m5 mkiii would be right up my street. I’ll watch that with interest though actually I have to admit there aren’t that many things that frustrate me on the mk2 so my wish list would be pretty short.
I think the only way to improve on the mark II is the new sensor, better phase detect AF, hand held Hi Res and better EVF. I can't see the latter two things though as I can't see it having the dual processors needed for hand=holding hi res, and I can't see it getting a better EVF if the EM1X hasn't had one.After owning the em5mk1, and deciding yes, I do like M43 and can live with the few downsides [I was switching from Fuji and one could argue that system has just as many, just different ones] - I was left with the decision between the Em5mkII and the G80. I opted for the G80 because I felt the em5 original [same size/weight I believe] was just that bit too small and 'slippery' for my liking in hand. I like to have a real good grip as I used to use long MF lenses quite a bit and it's all about balance. I could have added a grip but it still wouldn't be as comfy for me as the G80 - proper ergonomically comfortable this camera without being in any way large. So, for me, the III would have to have a design over-haul, and none of these companies are brave enough to do this it seems. I think Fuji for example are getting beyond stale with their design - 3x near identical bodies now in the XT10/20/30 and XT1/2/3 ranges ... remember when an upgrade actually looked a little different? There'll be way more that disagree with me and love the body style as is. I'd just like to see a more prominent grip. Btw, the em1mkII was just out of my price range at the time, it's very much within it now and I think because of that a lot of people waiting on the em5mkIII would opt for that instead unless this mkIII has something pretty juicy in store.
Things I'd like to see it have: Another stop of IBIS - we can never have enough! - Pro capture and phase detect with more AF points - c'mon Oly, break the trend of companies defending their higher end bodies and just go for it, you can add more bells to the em1mkIII! A new sensor, doesn't have to be 20mp, just one aimed at performing better in low light, maybe a lesser version of the hand-held high res mode from the emix, more AF points and maybe a 6K photo mode.
I think the only way to improve on the mark II is the new sensor, better phase detect AF, hand held Hi Res and better EVF. I can't see the latter two things though as I can't see it having the dual processors needed for hand=holding hi res, and I can't see it getting a better EVF if the EM1X hasn't had one.
I think the EM5-II is a cracking looking camera but I too prefer the grip hence going for the EM1 and then EM1-II. I know you can add a grip to the EM5-II but why then not buy the EM1 if you're going to do that (excluding price of course )
On my wish list would be something like a 12-30(ish)mm f2 so that I could have a walkabout zoom with a bit more shallow DOF, and then some lightweight f1.4 primes. The new Sigma 56mm f1.4 is probably something I'll be buying but it's a bit of an odd focal length and ideally I'd like a 42.5mm f1.4. The 42.5mm f1.2 and 45mm f1.2 are too big and heavy (especially for travel), not to mention pricey, and I would like a bit more shallow DOF than the 45mm f1.8.On a side note, I'd love to see some less exotic lenses form Olympus. I'd love to see a replacement for the pancake 17mm 2.8 and maybe a similar sized 25mm and then maybe something similar to Pansonic's 14mm 2.5.
Panamoz seem to be pricey at the moment for some reason, everything I've looked at recently seems to be quite a bit more than HDEW and e-infinity. I recently picked up my EM1-II for £889 from HDEW, although this was on a managers special and it's now gone back up to £949.I agree the EM5 MK III will have to have something very special about it to usurp the EM1 MK II. On Panamoz today the EM1 MK II is listed at £990.00 (albeit a grey import of course), but even so at that price, it's one hell of a bargain, and I very much doubt a new EM5 MK III would be much cheaper (probably more expensive in fact at launch ?).
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On my wish list would be something like a 12-30(ish)mm f2 so that I could have a walkabout zoom with a bit more shallow DOF, and then some lightweight f1.4 primes.
Ooh, looks good although not exactly compact is it Looks about the size of the 12-100mm f4 if not bigger.So how does the Panasonic 10-25 f/1.7 sound to you then?
https://petapixel.com/2018/09/27/pa...7-to-be-the-first-f-1-7-wide-angle-zoom-lens/
My daughter saw a mock up of it at Photokina, so its more than just a pipedream