Olympus OM-D E-M5

[Omaroo]

Hi all, this started off at a tangent to my Canon EOS-M thread, but maybe it should have its own. There is a fair bit of discussion on the net, and here, about the advent of serious Four Thirds and the new Micro Four Thirds camera systems coming out recently from not only Olympus but other manufacturers such as Sony, Panasonic and Fuji.They are maturing at a fantastic rate and are now edging up to (and in some areas exceeding) capabilities of the likes of the top prosumer models from Nikon and Canon. The OM-D is weather sealed too: ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmdo_K1XIE0 ) This is great when you sit there worrying unnecessarily about heavy due affecting your new camera. The body is made from magnesium alloy, so it is as tough as any pro Canon or Nikon body. It's a very solid little thing.

I hope to try it out soon on the back of my Tak Sky90, and also with the wonderful new Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens for astro. Hopefully it will give results that will work for this, although I stress that I did not buy it for astro work. I have a CCD for this. Might be interesting. One thing to its advantage is that the slowest exposure you can achieve without going to Bulb (or "LiveTime" - more is a sec) is a full 60 seconds. That's 30 seconds more than any Nikon or Canon I've owned - and you don't need a remote. I really like this for static Milky Way photography from a tripod. You can take a lot of ultra-wide field goodness in 60 seconds at moderate ISO. "LiveTime" is an interesting extension on the Bulb setting. You can set you camera to expose, and watch the image form on the screen as it "develops". Great thing I'm thinking about here is being able to gauge just when an exposure has had enough. Very nice.

I'll provide some technical detail shortly, and how I've found adjusting to the OM-D coming from a Canon 5D Mark-II and the use of several L-Series lenses.

Here are a few shots of the camera itself.

[mbaddah]

Hi Chris,

Looks like a fantastic camera! I've just recently upgraded to a Canon 5D II with a few L lenses. Absolutely love the image quality but must admit it was tiresome to lug around at times on my holiday :( The Canon S100 was a gem in those moments. I look forward to reading your report. This camera is starting to slowly grow on me. There's something about the Olympus IQ (like the Fuji) which grabs me :)

[Omaroo]

Hey there Mo :) Yes, that was the precise reason I chose to go this way and lose the 5D-II. Not that it wasn't a great camera - it was, absolutely. It is just too heavy to lug around with an L-Series or two as well. For studio or landscape work - they, and others like them (the D800/E), are unbeatable - short of going medium or full format of course.

This little guy is great in low light situations where there are lot of contrasty things in your FOV for its AF to latch on to. It's lightning fast in that department - way, way faster than the 5D and more accurate to boot.

the other thing I like about the OM is that you can operate it as a waist-level camera, keeping you in "stealth" mode. Leave the camera at your waist on the strap, flip up the rear screen and point in the direction you want to shoot. Tap the focus point on the screen (someone walking past for instance) and the camera instantly focuses and fires. All without the subject seeing or knowing a thing. Should be very handy - and it all is in principle. Looking forward to putting it into action. :thumbsup:

[sheeny]

Very interesting Chris. I only found this little camera on the web the other day and have been meaning the check it out.

I did notice you can get a 4/3 to m4/3 adapter which I think allows full auto connect to a 4/3 lens. Very nice for those of us with 4/3 glass.

I would love to upgrade the E510 for a 4/3 camera with less noise, so I'm interested to hear what you think of it, but realistically think it'll be a while yet before the 4/3 format drops noise significantly.

Al.

[mbaddah]

Sounds good Chris :) So any particular reason why you chose this over the other mirrorless cams, like the NEX-7 or the upcoming Panasonic GF5?

Darn it Chris why do you always tempt me with new gear after I've spent so much on new equipment! :P

[Omaroo]

Hi Al :)

Yes, There is a current offer on that sees you get an Olympus FT to MFT adapter when you buy an OM-D. They mail it out to you on proof of purchase.

From what I'm reading, MFT is now going to have more development pumped into it than FT. The sensor in the OM-D is pretty clean to 3200 ISO, but it's still aways behind the big sensors. Not as far as you'd think though...

[sheeny]

Hmmm that is encouraging. Its understandable they'll always be behind the big sensors noisewise.

Al.

[Omaroo]

Moh - The in-body 5-axis image stabiliser essentially, plus the AF speed. The IS system is incredible - making hand-held low-light photography eminently possible with any lens. It almost makes hand-held movies look as though they've been captured by a stedicam. It's brilliant. I also think that the lens selection is way larger than Sony's, and that's if you only stay within the MFT Olympus range. The other thing that I prefer, in all honesty, is the handling. The conventional body style (especially with the grip fitted) is far more natural for me hold than either NEX. The other handing attributes, such as the menu system, are also more logically laid out. It is highly customisable too - you can make any button do almost anything. Very nice.

[dannat]

FT is dead, the OM-d proves that, I doubt OLY will release another body, I have stuck by Olympus & finally they have something to rival the full slr's
The light weight of the bodies is really good when walking around, the only lens gals left a a 150/2.8 & 300/4

[gregbradley]

Drool.

That looks like a magnificent camera.

I agree these mirrorless cameras are really gaining ground and are already rivalling many of the DSLRs.

A large camera is not really that portable for walkaround.

Love the way that lens looks. Its got huge aperture.

I like the idea of watching the developing image appear on the screen.

The only thing about that is its likely to increase amp glow and noise as the on chip circuits are active
during live view and heat things up.

Greg.

[Omaroo]

No amp glow at all Greg - well, not that I've detected so far. I can't wait to piggy back it this weekend on the G11 and do a good 10 or 20 minute exposure. Darn moon!!!!! :lol:

[Omaroo]

The 5-axis image stabiliser at work. This image was taken HAND HELD by me, leaning against the side of my house. I set the IS logic to alert the camera that there was a 1,000mm lens attached (closest to the actual). I'm impressed.

At the 2x mag factor MFT gives you, this combination was effectively 1,200mm in focal length.

This image is straight out of the camera and sampled down to load here. It is a 100% crop. A great FOV for lunar/solar. Not bad for a 35 year old lens and teleconverter.

[mbaddah]

Thanks for the summary Chris. Sounds very very nice. Will you be bringing it to stargard next time :) ?

[Omaroo]

Oh yes, Saturday :)

[gbeal]

Looking forward to the images from the scopes Chris, the lunar/Nikkor looks great, nice and steady, against what most would have expected too.
Gary

[Omaroo]

Yep, me too Gary, although I have absolutely no intention to use this camera for that, nor judge its worthiness based on its astronomical performance. If it works well, then bonus! :)

[gregbradley]

That's great.

Greg.

[CometGuy]

Hi Chris,

That looks absolutely awesome! I reckon the camera is keeper based on it's inbuilt IS.

Terry

[Omaroo]

Cheers Terry, I agree wholeheartedly. It's impressing me with its capabilities daily.

[Deeno]

Well.....
You talked me into it!
First major photographic purchase in over five years and first non Nikon in twenty.....

Maybe you should send Olympus an invoice...

[Omaroo]

Wow! Congratulations Deeno :thumbsup: You're not alone, and are now the fifth friend to buy an OM-D in the last week. Have you picked it up already? I'm screaming for a free weekend to get out and give mine a real go. Have you ordered the Nikkor-MFT adaptor?

[Deeno]

Picked it up yesterday afternoon.
Feels good in the hand even though some of the buttons are a bit small for my larger than average digits.


First impressions is that the auto focus is super quick and quiet, looking forward to learning how to use it. Its going to take a while to be adept enough to take advantage of some of its features. Its like learning a new language, after speaking Nikon for so long....

Anyway, its early days yet and the instruction booklet (why can't they print one) is vague at best. And I think its a bit tight that Olympus don't include hoods with the lenses.

I love the retro look and its small, I mean tiny! If it performs as well as the reviews I've read on it claim, it will be quite a jump in performance over the old D200....

Haven't worried about the Nikon adaptor yet (did order the T-adaptor though)

Yes I'm excited!!!
Thanks Chris:thanx:

[gregbradley]

Congrats on the new camera.

It sounds like an awesome machine.

There are so many fantastic cameras on the market at the moment.

Greg.

[Omaroo]

Yep, hoods are a pain. The machined aluminium hood for my 75mm f/1.8 is damn-near $100. :screwy:

The PDF manual is much better than the printed starter guide, and covers all features, some in detail. I have it downloaded to my iPad and aspect ratio is perfect to read like a book.

I have big mitts too, and while the buttons are small, I've learned to navigate them in a few days of use in the dark. The only one I would like to see a little better is the NSEW multi-function switch. The switch petals could be deeper, letting you feel individual ones more easily. The other thing that annoys the crap out of me is the position of the power switch. Right at the bottom where the 5D-II's was. I really dislike it here, and wish they'd moved it up top somewhere. I guess that the front of the shutter button is out of bounds because of the sub-dial surrounding it, and the fact that the grip would interfere when mounted. It's no bogie, and certainly not a deal breaker.

One thing I'm getting to love is the EVF. Having it display EV in real time is brilliant. It makes selecting appropriate aperture or shutter speed so quick in manual mode.

I've made up a rubylith filter which slides over the monitor and is gripped by folds around the side of the monitor pane. Works fantastically at the scope.

Are you looking at any other lenses?

[gregbradley]

Its a minor point but I must say I love the Nikon D800's power switch wrapped around the shutter button. Always easy to find even in the dark.

In fact overall I find the D800 has pleasing ergonomics. The menus are well thought out although I still find it hard to find certain things at times I know are there!

Greg.

[Omaroo]

Hi Greg :)

It can't go there on the OM-D. The shutter button is surrounded by the aperture control sub-dial (if you've left it at its default dial assignment - you can swap them and even dial direction). With the front grip mounted, it's still easy enough to turn on the power one-handed, which is all I ask of a design.

[DavidU]

Chris, here is a little bargain...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AWkiZjHmmM

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fujian-35mm-1-7-f-Cam-Lens-m4-3-OMD-EM5-EP3-EP2-EPM1-EPL3-EPL2-EPL1-GF2-GF3-GF5-/261075605326?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item3cc951974e

[Omaroo]

LOL... :) Funny you mention this David - one was on its way Tuesday. :) Not bad value, and from what I've read, a top notch performer.

[DavidU]

Awesome, can't wait to see the piccies.

[Omaroo]

Here's an excellent blog on the OM-D at Cosplay. Most are taken with the 75mm f/1.8. Stunning lens. I love it even more now.

http://networkedblogs.com/AvrjP

Image 1 - full size: http://www.f8photography.com.hk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/cosplayfullsize-1.jpg

[Omaroo]

And another from the same guy: http://www.f8photography.com.hk/blog/2012/07/omdcambodia/

:thumbsup:

[Deeno]

Not even thinking about lenses as yet. Don't know much about them. Plenty to choose from though! Even some of the Panasonic 4/3 have a good reputation.




Yes.
The D200 is the same. A flick to the right and the LCD display lights up as well to quickly check settings in the dark.

Didn't realise how used to the D200 I am. Make all sorts of changes on the fly while pressed up to the eyepiece.
Had a little play with the OM-D today while with my Daughter. Spent quite a bit of time wondering how to change settings....really need to read the instructions....and....practise,pra ctise practise.
The whole kit went into an old camera bag I had thats barely 200mm long, 100mm wide and maybe 100mm deep.

I'd love a D800 but, if I came home with that my wife would kill me...and then she would get really mad!

The Olympus isn't meant to replace the D200, its something I hope Amanda will use as well and to be able to easily cart it around when were out and about with the baby is a bonus.

[Deeno]

Wouldn't believe it.....dropped mine today!

At the playground with my favourite test subject (20 month old daughter) when it fell from a park bench to the concrete.

Apart from cracking the UV filter (never leave home without one).....not a mark.
Tough little camera!

[Omaroo]

WHAT? You've only had it for a day or two... :eyepop:

It should be tough - it has a full magnesium body. It's sold as a pro camera, and people have reported that they take lots of punishment.

[Deeno]

Couldn't believe it. After all the abuse the Nikon has endured over the years, (mostly motorcycle related) I had never managed to actually drop it! And I've barely had the Olympus a week........