Hi
Thinking about transferring to a lighter load of camera and equipment and have the Olympus EM1 camera in mind. Does anyone have any views on this particular model. I am particularly interested in Wildlife and Motor Sport photography.
Many thanks
Ken
Hi Ken
I've had the OM-D E-M1 for a couple of months now and use it as a holiday camera/back-up to my D800E.
Personally, I think it's a fantastic camera. The image quality is as good as the D7000 it replaced, the build quality is superb and the controls are brilliant once you've got them set up for your personal shooting style. I find it more fun to use than the D800E..............in fact more fun than any camera I've owned.
One thing you should bear in mind, no mirrorless camera is going to match the best DSLR autofocus system when it comes to tracking moving subjects. However, the E-M1 is as good as it gets for mirrorless.
I haven't extensively experimented with the focus tracking, it's not something I'd use in the area of photography I'm interested, but overall the focusing is lightening quick.
I read 1,000 reviews and opinions before I commited to buy the E-M1. There are many comparisons between this and the Fuji and Sony equivalents and each have their own pluses and minuses. But for me, the handling was the deciding factor and that's a very personal thing. I'd urge you to handle the camera(s) before you do anything.
I believe the E-M1 is a work of genius and everything about it suits me perfectly, particularly the size. I can get the body and 3 lenses (listed below) in a Billingham Hadley Pro with enough room for a packed lunch, a small bottle of water and 3 batteries without any problem.
The lenses are a 7-14mm f4, 12-40mm f2.8 and a cheap (but excellent) 45-150mm f4-5.6 and performance with all 3 is impressive. Particularly the perfectly matched 12-40mm which is a beautiful lens and is also weather sealed.
I hope that helps
Cheers
Mark