Switching from film to digital...

[zxcvbob]

after not doing much photography at all for about 10 years.  I used to love hiking up and down mountains with a Ricoh Diacord (Kodak Gold 100) and a Canon A1 or Pentax MX (Kodachrome 64 or Velvia 100) and a tripod -- and at least imagine myself taking pictures like the ones I saw on this website.

I think it's time to get back into it, and I've about decided on an Olympus EM-5. 

Where to start reading about raw formats and image post processing and all that?  And will this camera save the images in raw format but also export them as jpegs?  JPG should be just fine for most pictures, then go back and get the raw file for the rare great image -- or am I way off?

Can I assume that all current Zuiko lenses are good, even the "kit" lens?

That's enough q's for a first post   Thanks.

[Schewe]

Well...as a self serving plug, you might like The Digital Negative (by me) which has a certain analog (film) to digital bent. Not, I wrote this book so it's a bit of a plug, but it's an honest pointer to something that may really help. YMMV...

[Richowens]

  I'll toss a plug in here for the book, buy it You will get a lot of mileage from it.

  Rich

[francois]

I also vote for The Digital Negative book…

[zxcvbob]

Thanks, I will add that to my wishlist.

Is M43 (MFT, M4/3, whatever it's called) a reasonable platform for starting out?  I like that it can take my old Canon and Pentax manual focus lenses with an adapter, so I don't need to buy any long lenses right away.  Will probably just get a 14-40something zoom and a 17mm or 20mm prime lens at first.

[Isaac]

Do you have a local library and does your local library provide a way to borrow books from other libraries? (There are a lot of books about photography these days, so borrowing is the affordable way to find out if you'd want to buy a book.)

I find that some writers have a way of expressing themselves that clearly communicates their understanding to me, but that's personal. Michael Freeman's writing works for me, but maybe not so much for you.

Michael Freeman's Digital Photography Handbook -- I was surprised how well this book managed to be comprehensive, the best description I can come up with is a contradiction in terms - a detailed overview.

[SZRitter]

Thanks, I will add that to my wishlist.

Is M43 (MFT, M4/3, whatever it's called) a reasonable platform for starting out?  I like that it can take my old Canon and Pentax manual focus lenses with an adapter, so I don't need to buy any long lenses right away.  Will probably just get a 14-40something zoom and a 17mm or 20mm prime lens at first.

Is it a good format, yes, I personally shoot it and enjoy it.

4/3 (including M4/3) is about a 2x crop on your legacy lenses, so don't expect them to behave exactly the same. APS-C is about 1.5x crop, and Fuji and Nex series cameras will also use your lenses with the right adapters. I would choose from those three systems.

As far as lenses go, it can be hit or miss, as with any system. The 14-42mm Oly kit lens is adequate, but not great. The 12-50mm is less than stellar. I don't have experience with other kit lenses. However, quite a few of the primes are excellent performers. So there is plenty of good glass to be had in system.

If you are shooting legacy glass, I would highly, highly recommend focus peaking as a feature to look for. The E-M5 lacks this feature, but there is a "hack" involving the art filters that actually works quite well and has been very successfully for me personally.

[zxcvbob]

Select a particularly-ugly art filter, then throw the nasty JPG away and keep the RAW file is kind of cheesy, but hey if it works...    Thanks!  I can work with that.  I would mostly be using legacy glass for taking portraits and close-ups (and playing), and I don't do many of those.

Reading about the EM5 has me worried now about "shutter shock."  It seems to be the worst model for that.  Is it a *real* thing or just a potential problem with a few individual cameras?  I would go with an EP5, but the lack of an integral viewfinder is a deal-breaker.  I thought I could hedge my bet by using a Panasonic 14-42mm lens, but they removed the image stabilization switch from those and the default is OFF. 

[SZRitter]

Select a particularly-ugly art filter, then throw the nasty JPG away and keep the RAW file is kind of cheesy, but hey if it works...    Thanks!  I can work with that.  I would mostly be using legacy glass for taking portraits and close-ups (and playing), and I don't do many of those.

Reading about the EM5 has me worried now about "shutter shock."  It seems to be the worst model for that.  Is it a *real* thing or just a potential problem with a few individual cameras?  I would go with an EP5, but the lack of an integral viewfinder is a deal-breaker.  I thought I could hedge my bet by using a Panasonic 14-42mm lens, but they removed the image stabilization switch from those and the default is OFF. 

I haven't noticed "shutter shock", and if I remember correctly, it needs ver specific settings to reproduce it.

As for the art button trick, you set it to one of the user programmable buttons, and depress it while focusing, release when you shoot. Don't need to get rid of anything.

One thing, why the E-M5 over, say, the E-M10? Or for that matter, what about the E-M1?

Also, if you haven't, and you can, do go hold one. Some people love it, some hate it. And the grip makes all the difference in the world if you have larger hands.

[zxcvbob]

Thanks, I will try to find one to fondle.  I assume it's about the same size as my old Minox 35 rangefinder (with which I take lousy pictures.)

I don't know specifically why I latched onto the '5 rather than the '1 or '10.  I just like the look of it (especially one with the silver top plate) and it's about the right price point.  And in-body stabilization instead of in-lens, but that's true of all the Olympus models.

[SZRitter]

That it is, although, I will admit I think the 5-axis works better than the traditional in-body IS.

[Telecaster]

Re. m43 lenses, the original 14–45mm Panasonic kit lens is IMO very good. I left the larger Olympus 12–40/2.8 at home in favor of it on my late winter trip to Grand Canyon Nat. Park. No regrets about doing so. If you can live with an f/4–5.6 max. aperture the 14–45 will do the job fine.

-Dave-

[zxcvbob]

I ordered the E-M5 from Amazon, and a Panasonic 14-42mm lens.  (I remember one of the reasons I wanted the '5 instead of the '10, it's weathersealed.  And the '1 is too far out of my budget) They got here yesterday.  The camera has a nice heft to it;    it's a good size.  I've taken a few handheld snapshots in low light at ISO 1600, 42mm, and 1/4 second exposure.  They are reasonably sharp!  I can see just a little blurring if I zoom all the way in on the touchscreen.

I think they sold me a graymarket lens, but not sure yet.  Either that, or it wasn't new.  I've emailed Amazon and Panasonic.  Amazon it looking into it; Panasonic is closed for the weekend.  No problems with the camera part of the order, just the lens -- and the lens works just fine.

I am totally lost trying to figure out all the menu settings, the histograms (what's a histogram?) etc.  The manual isn't much help.  But I'll figure it out.