Olympus EM-1 in Paris

[thebatman]

Can't wait to hear more of your initial impressions of this camera, Michael.  And I feel your pain on the early arrivals in Paris; last time I was there we arrived at ~7am, and spent a few hours half asleep walking past priceless treasures at the Louvre until our hotel was available. 

Although you cannot do a head-to-head with the GX7, I (and hopefully others) would be very interested in how it compares to the EM-5 ... put simply, is an upgrade "worth" it?  Any impressions you have about image quality, AF performance, and ergonomics comparing the two cameras would be immensely valuable.  Initially I was put off by the EM-1 because it was bigger than the EM-5 (after all, isn't MFT about small and light form factor?), but if it is truly a worthy upgrade I may have to reconsider.

Best,
Ken

[paulbk]

I love the "P" setting. When shooting fast moving events, changing light, and unplanned action (like a farm fair, busy street shooting, etc.) I use P. It works. And usually gets the shot as good or better than I would. I shoot with Canon 1D M4, great camera. Way smarter than moi.

[fike]

I love the "P" setting. When shooting fast moving events, changing light, and unplanned action (like a farm fair, busy street shooting, etc.) I use P. It works. And usually gets the shot as good or better than I would. I shoot with Canon 1D M4, great camera. Way smarter than moi.

People pooh pooh 'P' mode, but if you combine it with a wheel assigned to exposure compensation and another wheel assigned to rotate through shutter/aperture combinations, there isn't anything you can't do and probably a bit faster.  Throw in an exposure lock button, and I am in heaven.  This kind of customization is what I love about higher end SLRs and these OM-Ds are no exception.

[Manoli]

.. 'P' mode, but if you combine it with a wheel assigned to exposure compensation and another wheel assigned to rotate through shutter/aperture combinations, there isn't anything you can't do and probably a bit faster.  Throw in an exposure lock button, and I am in heaven.  This kind of customization is what I love about higher end SLRs and these OM-Ds are no exception.

Even my Sony RX100 does that !

[fike]

Even my Sony RX100 does that !

The RX100 is a fine little camera.  For a variety of other reasons, it isn't in the same class as an OM-D, but it is a nice little cam.

[BernardLanguillier]

Thanks for the rolling review, the new Olympus sure sounds interesting.

If you like early arrivals I advise you try the AF Tokyo-CdG arriving at 4:00 AM... :-)

Cheers,
Bernard

[Paulo Bizarro]

Ah, Paris... nice city for sure. It seems that even jet lagged, you can work up some very good images

Not sure if you have the time, or are a fan, but Roger Water's show "The Wall" in "stadium venue" will be in performed on the 21st. My son will be there, but alas, not me...

[laughingbear]

Michael,

the 5-axis IS appears to be like no other from what I've read. As low as 1-2 seconds might not be impossible to shoot with handheld, perhaps you can give this a try as well.

Enjoy Paris.

Best
Georg

[fike]

In all the talk about improved focus performance, I haven't heard whether they have an option for smaller AF points...I have real trouble focusing on things like bird's eyes with the E-M5 because the focus area is so large.  The camera ends up focusing behind the bird's head. 

[barryfitzgerald]

I've been sceptical of 4/3 since day one and didn't retract my thinking about it's inability to compete effectively with APS-C. As it happens that turned out to be right and 4/3 faded away.

Micro 4/3 is more interesting because it does genuinely offer more compact bodies and lenses.
On the other hand Olympus have some major European pricing issues, the EM-1 is priced right at the level of the D600 and 6d. I know apples and oranges but in my books you're asking for a hiding if you price a 4/3 sensor at full frame prices.

[OldRoy]

Michael,

the 5-axis IS appears to be like no other from what I've read. As low as 1-2 seconds might not be impossible to shoot with handheld, perhaps you can give this a try as well.

Enjoy Paris.

Best
Georg

This puzzles me. However good the IBIS is, surely for exposures of this duration its effectiveness is a function of the displacement's amplitude?
Roy

[jeremyrh]

I love the "P" setting.

"P for 'Professional' " as someone called it :-)

[BJL]

... I haven't heard whether they have an option for smaller AF points ...

It seems so; the official OMD EM1 press release says:

Users can select Group Target AF for a variety of situations, Small Target AF for pinpoint shooting, or Super Spot AF for capturing even smaller subjects and specifying a small area focus location during macro shooting

Michael: can you report on any such improvements in AF target sizes?

[jjj]

I love the "P" setting. When shooting fast moving events, changing light, and unplanned action (like a farm fair, busy street shooting, etc.) I use P. It works. And usually gets the shot as good or better than I would. I shoot with Canon 1D M4, great camera. Way smarter than moi.

My favourite street shooting mode is on my pocket Ricoh GX200. In manual you can press a button and it will auto-expose for you [aperture priority]. So simple and very useful, really miss it when using my other cameras.

[fike]

Users can select Group Target AF for a variety of situations, Small Target AF for pinpoint shooting, or Super Spot AF for capturing even smaller subjects and specifying a small area focus location during macro shooting

I guess I DID see that, but it was a bit vague on exactly what it means.  What is small target AF and super spot AF?

[Telecaster]

I suspect Small Target and Super Spot are simply FeatureSpeak for AF focusing rectangles smaller than the default size. I'll bet they correspond to the 7x & 14x magnification rectangles respectively.

-Dave-

[fike]

I suspect Small Target and Super Spot are simply FeatureSpeak for AF focusing rectangles smaller than the default size. I'll bet they correspond to the 7x & 14x magnification rectangles respectively.

-Dave-

That would be nice if that turned out to be true.

[Peter McLennan]

That is amazing long lens hand-held work.  Olympus' 5 axis IBIS looks great.

Michael's aversion to jerky footage is readily apparent in those super steady shots  You have to look closely to see any movement at all.   I'd love to see some wide angle, hand-held trucking (walking) shots.  Descending a stairway to the Metro?

[Manoli]

I read MR's rolling report with interest but one of his last comments surprised me.

quote
But, speaking of video mode, when the camera is set to video on the Mode dial, and one is in manual focus, peaking and focus magnification don't work. What's with that Olumpus. This is exactly when you want manual focus assistance to be present, when shooting video, because as nice as ..
unquote

I wasn't aware of any camera that offers focus peaking (or magnification) in video mode. The FUJI x-trans doesn't either. Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the Panasonics and Leica M240 (or any other camera) offer this ?

[Pete Berry]

I read MR's rolling report with interest but one of his last comments surprised me.

quote
But, speaking of video mode, when the camera is set to video on the Mode dial, and one is in manual focus, peaking and focus magnification don't work. What's with that Olumpus. This is exactly when you want manual focus assistance to be present, when shooting video, because as nice as ..
unquote

I wasn't aware of any camera that offers focus peaking (or magnification) in video mode. The FUJI x-trans doesn't either. Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the Panasonics and Leica M240 (or any other camera) offer this ?

The recently reviewed Panasonic GX7 has live shooting focus peaking, but unlike the E-M1, it's IBIS is off in video mode. OIS remains active in Pannys while shooting, but the m4/3 fast primes lack this. My GH2 &3 have no focus aids active while shooting.

Seems no one has the complete video package video package yet, and Oly was in position to hit one out of the park here if the E-M1 had offered active FP with 50/60p and 24/25p to complement its uniquely effective 5-axis IBIS.

PB