OM-D E-M10
NikonsandVstroms
Registered Users Posts: 990 Major grins
I decided that I wanted a little more capability from my small camera so I replaced the Canon G1X which has served me pretty well for a new to me Olympus OM-D E-M10:
With the 14-42 pancake lens it's actually smaller than the G1X in every dimension though the zoom range/max aperture aren't as good, but you can change lenses and I'm planning to buy mostly primes to go with this body.
Both the E-M10 and 5 are hovering around 300 dollars for a used one in good condition so it's at about the right price point for a first DSLR or travel camera. With the lens I paid around 450. And if you don't need that small of a camera for the same money you could get an E-M5 and a Olympus 12-50 F/3.5-6.3 and have a relatively compact weather sealed rig. If anyone here rides that would be a great combo to put in your tank bag and then not have to worry much about the elements.
So some first impressions:
The small size of this thing is amazing, I had a similar experience when I first got an Olympus E-420 years but even that would be a huge next to this camera.
It's a really easy camera to just go out and shoot with, but only at a basic level.... one of the highlights and initial headaches is that Olympus throws TONS of features into their bodies. It wasn't too bad with the E-420/620 but with the E-M10 I've had to go into the manual/forums a decent bit to get it set up the way I wanted. It is worth it though because there are some things which I wish it was possible to have in traditional DSLR's like a live histogram in the viewfinder. I'd say that I still prefer an optical viewfinder especially in the D7200/D750 but from my experiences with pentamirror cameras like the D3X00/D5X00 series it's a draw between them and the EVF with both sides having some advantages.
As for the image quality and AF performance I'll know a lot more in the coming weeks. But with the initial dozen or so shots I gotta say it's doing a good job; while it doesn't have the latitude of Nikon's latest sensors but it's a lot closer to those cameras than the G1X. Right now I'm really excited possibilities for this camera, I have issues in my hands and wrists which make holding my DSLR's sometimes very painful so this could be a much more capable backup. Especially after I buy the 25 & 45 F1.8's from Olympus in the not too distant future.
Comments
It's great to see the "classic" '60s style SLR shape and layout back in the hands of classic photographers. At the $300USD price point* you're right; this is an excellent basic system with "go anywhere" capabilities that can be very enabling.
*($450 with the lens)
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Add another 225 to that. I picked up a killer deal on a 45 f1.8 and 40-150. While my Nikon gear will still be the go-to for work having this as a back up will be great for times when my hands are iffy and there's decent light.
Here's the E-M10/45 F1.8 vs a D750/85 f1.8G
^^ Looking forward to some example images.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I shot the E-M10 a lot in the past week so I can give a much more in depth review though low ISO portraits with the 45 F1.8 and 25 F1.7 to show off the detail will have to come at a later date.
For low light shooting such as concerts/performances the AF tracking does a decent job even at F1.8-2.8. Being CDAF it hunts back and forth occasionally to get focus missing a shot here and there but the vast majority of the shots were in focus. The one problem is when it loses focus and gets way out there it doesn't come back so you need to stop and recompose. This happened maybe a handful of times during the night.
(Edit: I talk about this more in a later post but it's taken me a bit of time to adjust to the RAW files, I rushed these first few examples and later adjusted them to be more in line with my regular photos. I'm leaving both here for the first image but switching out the next one)
These images are also punchier in terms of color then my Nikon shots with the same settings.
I even shot a circus aerial act which is really hard on the AF since you have fast movement and at this venue relatively dim lighting and it still got more than half the shots in focus/with tracking staying on.
Shadow recovery isn't as clean as the Nikon's but it's nowhere near as noisey as my old Canon G1X which is gives me a bit more leeway for this high ISO work.
Beyond that sort of shooting and in the types of photography the E-M10 was built for it has been great. AF is fast in good light, focus peaking is a huge help in fine tuning the AF in tougher situations, it's easy to get to the controls I need (once I learned how it works/adjusted coming from my Nikons), the output is nice and requires less work in Lightroom, and it's just fun. Not to mention a lot easier to lug around than a backpack full of my Nikon gear which I can't say enough!
The kit lens I have seems to be doing well so far:
Though from what I hear there is a bit of variation with the pancake zoom so YMMV.
Otherwise it's just an easy camera to shoot with and the in EVF histogram is a lot of help while using it on manual settings.
The salesman I've dealt with for 10+ years at my local shop turned me onto this very camera a bit over a year ago. I complained that nerve damage left me unable to use my 40D and L-glass very easily due to size and weight and he turned me in this direction. I was VERY skeptical but I trusted him and it was rewarding. I'm very impressed not just with the image but with the system. I'm shooting my 6-year-old's soccer games with a consumer grade 40-150 lens and it will focus track surprisingly well. I've even shot some motorsports.
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
I rarely contribute anything here but thought I'd comment on the m43 system. Every system has pluses and minuses. I shoot m43 and really like it for MY needs. l wanted a relatively small, light, and discrete system for travel, hiking, strolling the streets. I can even slip an E-M10 with small zoom or prime in my ski jacket pocket. I'd like a full frame system, but as an adjunct and not a replacement. I know me and I know it would stay at home, or stay in my trunk, way too often. It just fits my lifestyle.
So another update, the RAW files are definitely different with a good bit more saturation and contrast which isn't a bad thing per se, it's mostly just an adjustment and if you go back to my first post with examples I updated it. I'll also be making slight adjustments to my presets to address it.
While I haven't taken any portraits at low ISO yet I do have a lot more shots taken in low light with the Olympus 45 F1.8. And my quick review with this combo at least in relation to my work I'd say that I could do a lot of it with the E-M10, the only issue being that it does miss more shots due to CDAF occasionally hunting while tracking. So if the goal is to just capture moments from a show it's fine, but if there's one key moment that I really need to get that involves a lot of movement from the performers then it's not a good option. Though if they are relatively stationary it would be fine as the S-AF performance is great:
My only concern left is the noise which isn't bad at web size as you can see in these images. And I don't believe it'll be an issue in prints, though it is a finer more "digital noise" look that's a bit iffy if you pixel peep. But for my work people see the shots on the web or in print so as long as they're fine there it's all good.
I'll do another update in the future about more common types of shooting. I've taken it out a few times for that but I've been focusing on catching up on all of these shows.
So an update... over a month later my E-M10 is still my main camera with the Nikons only coming out when I have clients needing the better image quality. I've been so impressed that I just bought an E-M5 for a song since MPB had it on sale which should be here before the end of the week.
I'd say beyond the weight difference something very "freeing" about getting into this system is that it really is just a secondary one so my requirements when buying cameras/lenses is below what I'd demand from used Nikon gear. The E-M10 is near mint but this E-M5 has minor signs of use but nothing major and that's the sweet spot for me. It's allowing me to have gear capable of delivering very high quality results at a relative bargain and Olympus's commitment to including features even in their lower end cameras means that these are pretty much fully featured. Almost all of the performance images you're seeing were taken with the 45 f1.8 which has some minor scuff marks that you can see with close inspections and a couple specs of dust which is why I got it for 145 (from MPB again). With the E-M5 I'm getting that would be 365 dollar total investment.
Hallllooooooo strangers!!! Been a while since I've been around here (I kinda lost touch when the forum format changed, and I can't use Tapatalk on my phone to read).
Still shooting Canon, but really need a lighterweight alternative for my personal stuff - I injured my shoulder a few weeks ago and hauling my gear around for personal use is increasingly less of an option. The images from my Canon G1x, but for some specific shooting needs I have at the moment the (known problems) with autofocus are becoming a frustration, so I am currently looking at the Lumix GX85 or OM10 mk II (both at comparable and favorable prices this weekend). The Oly was actually the camera I most LOVED when I got the GX1 two years ago, but I didn't have the budget at the time (and it was pricier) - looking at it now I still love the way it feels!
Any thoughts between these two models? Here's my own summary, but any user experiences or comments very much welcome. And consider this a virtual "wave" - I may not check in often, but dgrin still feels like my photo home
PS Video isn't a priority for me, so that isn't a dealbreaker for me; I don't shoot a lot of fast action, either.Both can do selective focus, have touch screen shutters and wifi. I realise I won't get 5d-series high ISO performance from either, but to my eye samples on the Oly look a little better above 800. I use LR 5 and have no plans to upgrade to CC, so unless I can find a standalone copy of LR6, I'll have to use DNG imports for both, I believe.
Gx85
Oly
Have you tried using the forum directly in the browser on your phone? The new forum software has a mobile version that automatically shows when you are accessing it from a small device. I access the forum from my phone often; I've been quite happy with the mobile version of Vanilla.
I can't help with the camera questions but I was able to find Lightroom 6 for someone else recently. I just checked and it is still available on the Adobe site at https://commerce.adobe.com/anyware/checkout/?clientId=creative&countryCode=US&languageCode=en&marketSegment=COM&items[0][offerId]=0A5E0F7A7E9963C2C96ACDB90C734A3F&items[0][quantity]=1&returnUrl=undefined&promoid=5S7K88VB&mv=other.
You'll need to use the Type dropdown to switch from Full License to License Upgrade.
I suspect you'll be happy with the smaller camera (and lenses). I switched from Canon to Fuji two years ago and haven't looked back. No regrets!
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com