Olympus OM-D E-M5, E-M1, E-M10 - Mk1, Mk2 & Mk3 Owners Thread

the black fox said:
I have on my panasonic g80 as all the controls where on the rear toggle that is now set to move the focus points instead and the functions that were on there are now assigned buttons i.e iso, focus points , compensation .but each to there own both panasonic and olympus are very flexible systems the only thing I miss from my 1D cameras is the ability to quickly change from single to multi point focus in one click .

your camera BB is far more complex but surely has more adjustments and it will be a lengthy learning curve (we have all been there0
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I have long thought and sometimes said that modern digital cameras are in reality just computers with a lens attached. All we need next is a PC/Mac software GUI to do the setup & 'user programming' instead of using the more restrictive camera menu interface :)
 
This little chap ended up on my camera strap today when I was fiddling about with the flash. Not a great photo but I was quite fascinated to see the depth of field, much shallower than I would have expected with this sensor size even though I was close and zoomed in. This was taken at f/10 and at 40mm on the 12-40 Pro lens.

180803153549-BC032414.jpg
 
I have done a big cull of my first play with the camera and here are a few random offerings to share :)

All processed in LR and completed in PS.

Edit ~ should have said all so far taken in Manual >1/1000 , f2.8 and Auto ISO


#1 just to show that Pro Capture 'works' ;) other than it is rubbish underexposed and 4000ISO noisy :( That is why I remarked earlier about altering my choice of max ISO in Auto ISO
BiF1.jpg



#2 Butterfly in Flight ~ approx 50% crop and the tracking did manage to 'track' OK'ish
ButterflyIF.jpg

In the cases of both the above I should have been closer (including with the birds I need to place some approach perches outside the shadey bits)

#3 Fly me to the Moon ~ I kept an eye on any crossing planes and this one was the closest 'path' to the moon. Oh, again approx 50% crop
FlyMe2theMoon.jpg
 
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Bebop said:
This little chap ended up on my camera strap today when I was fiddling about with the flash. Not a great photo but I was quite fascinated to see the depth of field, much shallower than I would have expected with this sensor size even though I was close and zoomed in. This was taken at f/10 and at 40mm on the 12-40 Pro lens.

View attachment 131587
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My what big antennae you have. Nice when the wildlife pays a visit :)
 
Stop worrying about ISO - I used my G80, which is nowhere near as good as the EM1 mkII in low light and with a little help from LR, and I do mean a little, my ISO 3200 images were pretty clean and very usable. M43 is never going to be as good as up to the minute APSC let alone FF, but it's not as far behind as many make out. You do have to be that bit more mindful of your settings, getting the exposure near as bang on in cam helps a lot! Same with framing your images, just be more aware than you were with FF cameras, you don't have the same crop-ability. But when you expose and frame correctly at the time, there's little to distinguish between M43 and 'better' sensors. Use the IBIS to your advantage, we can get away with much slower SS than your average FF dslr user in low light, for non 'action' shots. Also don't be afraid to hold back on the sharpening in post, because M43 lenses in general do not require near as much sharpening as FF lenses, and we don't suffer near as much with soft corners. Take advantage of the benefits, and stop comparing. You'll enjoy it a whole lot more.
 
Cagey75 said:
Stop worrying about ISO - I used my G80, which is nowhere near as good as the EM1 mkII in low light and with a little help from LR, and I do mean a little, my ISO 3200 images were pretty clean and very usable. M43 is never going to be as good as up to the minute APSC let alone FF, but it's not as far behind as many make out. You do have to be that bit more mindful of your settings, getting the exposure near as bang on in cam helps a lot! Same with framing your images, just be more aware than you were with FF cameras, you don't have the same crop-ability. But when you expose and frame correctly at the time, there's little to distinguish between M43 and 'better' sensors. Use the IBIS to your advantage, we can get away with much slower SS than your average FF dslr user in low light, for non 'action' shots. Also don't be afraid to hold back on the sharpening in post, because M43 lenses in general do not require near as much sharpening as FF lenses, and we don't suffer near as much with soft corners. Take advantage of the benefits, and stop comparing. You'll enjoy it a whole lot more.
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Yup, still finding my way..............and one thing for sure as you say get the exposure right (i.e. avoid underexposure) and noise becomes less of a problem because simpler/easier to compensate for in post. One thing for sure never sharpen noise ;)
 
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Box Brownie said:
Yup, still finding my way..............and one thing for sure as you say get the exposure right (i.e. avoid underexposure) and noise becomes less of a problem because simpler/easier to compensate for in post. One thing for sure never sharpen noise ;)
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I just got the Pana-Leica 15mm 1.7, and I'm pulling LR's default sharpening down! The lens is so sharp it's almost too much! It's also the best lens I've used in a long time APSC and FF inc. for contrast and colour reproduction. The only thing about it for me is I found it a little too wide for portraits. And the past week I was shooting family get togethers and wished I had something a little longer for some scenarios, otherwise it was a pleasure. I rarely felt this about the Nikon FF primes I used, they just ... did the job. They didn't have any specific 'character' - in fact it was 2 Sigma lenses I ended last with my D800E
 
Cagey75 said:
I just got the Pana-Leica 15mm 1.7, and I'm pulling LR's default sharpening down! The lens is so sharp it's almost too much! It's also the best lens I've used in a long time APSC and FF inc. for contrast and colour reproduction. The only thing about it for me is I found it a little too wide for portraits. And the past week I was shooting family get togethers and wished I had something a little longer for some scenarios, otherwise it was a pleasure. I rarely felt this about the Nikon FF primes I used, they just ... did the job. They didn't have any specific 'character' - in fact it was 2 Sigma lenses I ended last with my D800E
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Yes, both the 12-40 and 40-150 come highly regarded in respect of the quality of the image.

In regard to sharpening ~ AFAIK but have yet to clarify to my satisfaction, as there is no AA filter on the sensor just what are (broadly speaking) the baseline Capture Sharpening settings compared to such as Canon & Nikon where you need to compensate for the AA. The typical advice with LR is 50 to 70 for sharpening and then detail and masking to suit. NB I am especially carefull with masking to only sharpen what is needed and certainly not the noise!

So and I know it varies image subject to subject but what is your starting point settings in LR for that first step sharpening????

TIA :)
 
Box Brownie said:
Yes, both the 12-40 and 40-150 come highly regarded in respect of the quality of the image.

In regard to sharpening ~ AFAIK but have yet to clarify to my satisfaction, as there is no AA filter on the sensor just what are (broadly speaking) the baseline Capture Sharpening settings compared to such as Canon & Nikon where you need to compensate for the AA. The typical advice with LR is 50 to 70 for sharpening and then detail and masking to suit. NB I am especially carefull with masking to only sharpen what is needed and certainly not the noise!

So and I know it varies image subject to subject but what is your starting point settings in LR for that first step sharpening????

TIA :)
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50-70!? Holy .... no! At a push I'll go to 40 on sharpening, then alt+masking and pull it back to the areas I desire. Honestly, with the PL 15mm I find I'm starting at 20-30 and even then pulling back, the lens is that sharp. I've zoomed in on some family portraits I did during last week and had to pull clarity and sharpness back with this lens. So the lens can make a huge difference. With the 25mm 1.7, which is a nice lens for the money, I would hit 45 on sharpening and from there mask. You'll get a feel for the different lenses you have as you go. I know that the 12-40 2.8 for example is sharper than the 25 1.7 prime, so you may only need hit the mid 30's on that one. Never over do it or it'll introduce weird noise you're not expecting even at lower ISO - also don't be afraid to push the noise reduction a tad more, it really helps more for M43 - latest LR NR is very good IMO


Here's an image I took mid week, it is a Pany image but the lens can be used on your Oly too so .... I pulled back sharpness, clarity and contrast on this because even in BW it was a tad too much. Have a look at it in full on flickr, it's still tack and almost too sharp
Brother by K G, on Flickr
 
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Pete B said:
Underexposure is easier to correct then overexposure. If the whites are blown then thats it.
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You need to expose appropriately but one things for sure, underexposure WILL give you lots of noise, especially in things like big blue skies. And blown whites aren't always the end of the world...

With regards to sharpening, I hardly bother with m43, doesn't really seem to need it much and the inherent noise doesn't respond well to it. If I do then I find it works best to drop the radius a touch, masking often somewhere above 60-80 and amount below 50.
 
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Nawty said:
You need to expose appropriately but one things for sure, underexposure WILL give you lots of noise, especially in things like big blue skies. And blown whites aren't always the end of the world...

With regards to sharpening, I hardly bother with m43, doesn't really seem to need it much and the inherent noise doesn't respond well to it. If I do then I find it works best to drop the radius a touch, masking often somewhere above 60-80 and amount below 50.
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Agreed, under exposing and then lifting in PP is a sure way to introduce noise on M4/3. I have to remember that after shooting with my Nikon which does allow quite excessive under exposure with no noise penalty.
 
Pete B said:
Underexposure is easier to correct then overexposure. If the whites are blown then thats it.
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I found Lightroom good at rescuing blown highlights on an M4/3 sensor, from memory, a couple of stops at least.
 
I agree with Steve even a third of a stop helps with most shots and with the 100-400 also gives a brighter v/f to , just have to be carefull with it as it also affects shutter speed
 
Box Brownie said:
My what big antennae you have. Nice when the wildlife pays a visit :)
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Indeed - except last night I got another visit when a cricket landed on my face in the dark in bed... :eek::eek: The night before I'd had a spider run over my hand twice. I just couldn't believe I could get such a narrow depth of field at f/10 on m4/3

On the sharpening issue, I pretty much leave LR on the default 25 for my RAW files. Occasionally I'll brush a bit more sharpness onto parts of the image such as eyes. If it is high ISO I might mask it to limit noise.
 
Expose to the right, always, just without blowing anything. It is much better to pull back exposure than push it up. If you find you are having to push exposure by over a stop then you need to change your habits. Having to up exposure above that in post you'd be better off going higher on the ISO when capturing.
 
my K&F concepts adaptor arrived this morning so been out in the garden having the obligatory play ,a friendly fly joined in the test session to . will be ordering a adaptor for the nikkor in the week .so far so good and very easy to use on the m4/3 as wysiwyg

helios 1 by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
 
Cagey75 said:
Expose to the right, always, just without blowing anything. It is much better to pull back exposure than push it up. If you find you are having to push exposure by over a stop then you need to change your habits. Having to up exposure above that in post you'd be better off going higher on the ISO when capturing.
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Depends on the camera tbh, Nikons benefit from underexposing then raising shadows imo.
 
snerkler said:
Depends on the camera tbh, Nikons benefit from underexposing then raising shadows imo.
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No matter the camera it's always the better option. FF Nikon cameras just happen to be great for bumping shadows, but they are also great for pulling back OE
 
snerkler said:
Depends on the camera tbh, Nikons benefit from underexposing then raising shadows imo.
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Ah! the subject of ISO invariance. Not sure where I saw it now but there was an example of either accidental or deliberate underexposure and correcting in post.......made me think that the E-M1.2 exhibited ISO invariance???

If I can find it I post the linky?

Edit ~ ok found it. scroll down to the section titled RAW Files and the leopard in the tree
http://www.wild-eye.co.za/wildlife-photography-omd-em-1-mark-ii/
 
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Cagey75 said:
No matter the camera it's always the better option. FF Nikon cameras just happen to be great for bumping shadows, but they are also great for pulling back OE
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Granted Nikons are great at recovering both, but in my experience shadow recovery is better than highlight recovery (at least with the D750 and D850). For most shots I just tend to get exposure as balanced as possible, but with landscapes (especially sunsets/sunrises) I tend to underexpose deliberately, sometimes 2-3 stops.
 
snerkler said:
Granted Nikons are great at recovering both, but in my experience shadow recovery is better than highlight recovery (at least with the D750 and D850). For most shots I just tend to get exposure as balanced as possible, but with landscapes (especially sunsets/sunrises) I tend to underexpose deliberately, sometimes 2-3 stops.
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There is definite advantage to FF DR, I remember doing same with the D800E. Almost felt like cheating :D
 
snerkler said:
Granted Nikons are great at recovering both, but in my experience shadow recovery is better than highlight recovery (at least with the D750 and D850). For most shots I just tend to get exposure as balanced as possible, but with landscapes (especially sunsets/sunrises) I tend to underexpose deliberately, sometimes 2-3 stops.
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Sunrise and sunset always look better under, it enhances the colour in camera, in my experience.
 
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Cagey75 said:
50-70!? Holy .... no! At a push I'll go to 40 on sharpening, then alt+masking and pull it back to the areas I desire. Honestly, with the PL 15mm I find I'm starting at 20-30 and even then pulling back, the lens is that sharp. I've zoomed in on some family portraits I did during last week and had to pull clarity and sharpness back with this lens. So the lens can make a huge difference. With the 25mm 1.7, which is a nice lens for the money, I would hit 45 on sharpening and from there mask. You'll get a feel for the different lenses you have as you go. I know that the 12-40 2.8 for example is sharper than the 25 1.7 prime, so you may only need hit the mid 30's on that one. Never over do it or it'll introduce weird noise you're not expecting even at lower ISO - also don't be afraid to push the noise reduction a tad more, it really helps more for M43 - latest LR NR is very good IMO


Here's an image I took mid week, it is a Pany image but the lens can be used on your Oly too so .... I pulled back sharpness, clarity and contrast on this because even in BW it was a tad too much. Have a look at it in full on flickr, it's still tack and almost too sharp
Brother by K G, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Nawty said:
With regards to sharpening, I hardly bother with m43, doesn't really seem to need it much and the inherent noise doesn't respond well to it. If I do then I find it works best to drop the radius a touch, masking often somewhere above 60-80 and amount below 50.
Click to expand...

Bebop said:
On the sharpening issue, I pretty much leave LR on the default 25 for my RAW files. Occasionally I'll brush a bit more sharpness onto parts of the image such as eyes. If it is high ISO I might mask it to limit noise.
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Many thanks for the sharpening insights ~ as mentioned the received wisdom in regard to capture sharpening is to mitigate for the presence and softening effect of the Anti Aliasing filter...............which the EM1 does not have. So logically Capture Sharpening these Oly images does need a more measured approach when working on the raw files :)
 
Re: further insights sought :)

In the past most kit has used CF cards apart from my pocket Canon S120 and the second slot on the 5D3, in these cases the SD card slides in and engages & releases cleanly.

However, in the case of the EM1.2 I was initially using one SD until the pair I had ordered came.

This morning I inserted the SD cards into both slots #1 slot did as it had done with my single card, went with a very slight resistance AOK.......but #2 slot was a different matter the card slid in but seemed not to latch (i.e. very little resistance) press it again to remove and nothing :(

Only thing I could do, because it did not appear to latch was using my thumbnail catch the edge of the card and lift it out which it did with a slight 'click' ~ odd I thought. I looked into both slots and I could see a minor difference in slot #2 to compared to slot #1

So, nothing ventured nothing gained.................I put both cards back in this time in #2 the card appeared to engage, latch and remove AOK. I did this a dozen times to ensure the action was 'sound' and not likely to jam.

The only slight difference I can now see is when both have been pressed to de-latch them for removal is that slot# 2 the card stands a few mm more proud than the slot #1 card.

The one thing I have yet to try is taking pictures and confirming they are being written to & preview readable.

Hence the insight request, how have you found the two slots and as such have you seen the slight differential in position once press & de-latched for removal???

Oh, meant to ask ~ with 2 cards what storage setup are you using i.e. Card full> next card or same to both cards etc. (NB my two cards are same capacity i.e. 32GB)

TIA :)
 
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As i never fill a card on one session i have slot 2 for backup
 
Box Brownie said:
Many thanks for the sharpening insights ~ as mentioned the received wisdom in regard to capture sharpening is to mitigate for the presence and softening effect of the Anti Aliasing filter...............which the EM1 does not have. So logically Capture Sharpening these Oly images does need a more measured approach when working on the raw files :)
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I don’t sharpen my EM1 files and leave it as default, although since a recent update default is now 40 rather than 25 :rolleyes: so sometimes I back it off a little.

What I do find is that m4/3 files lack a lot of contrast compared to FF so I give that a boost (without overdoing it). Also I find that m4/3 files don’t often reach either end of the histogram in LR far more often than FF, I’m guessing that’s the reduced DR coming into play?
 
snerkler said:
I don’t sharpen my EM1 files and leave it as default, although since a recent update default is now 40 rather than 25 :rolleyes: so sometimes I back it off a little.

What I do find is that m4/3 files lack a lot of contrast compared to FF so I give that a boost (without overdoing it). Also I find that m4/3 files don’t often reach either end of the histogram in LR far more often than FF, I’m guessing that’s the reduced DR coming into play?
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With contrast it definitely depends on the lens. The PL 15mm I just got doesn't need the big bump of contrast I used to give images from my 25mm or the Sigma 60. It's a very contrasty, and extremely sharp lens. I'm pulling the sharpness back on all images from it - must set the default to lower actually
 
Cagey75 said:
With contrast it definitely depends on the lens. The PL 15mm I just got doesn't need the big bump of contrast I used to give images from my 25mm or the Sigma 60. It's a very contrasty, and extremely sharp lens. I'm pulling the sharpness back on all images from it - must set the default to lower actually
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My most used lens is the 12-40mm f2.8 and use either the medium or strong tone curve to increase contrast.
 
A couple from yesterday in the garden.....................must get out & about and find some bigger subjects :lol:

#1 Butterfly under wings are beautiful too
Butterfly wing.jpg

#2 Buzzzzz ;)
Buzz1.jpg

What do you think?
 
Box Brownie said:
A couple from yesterday in the garden.....................must get out & about and find some bigger subjects :LOL:

#1 Butterfly under wings are beautiful too
View attachment 131658

#2 Buzzzzz ;)
View attachment 131659

What do you think?
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I think you're comfortable from the off with your new gear :) Only pity is the bee wasn't coming this way, but that's a hard shot to nail at the best of times
 
Cagey75 said:
I think you're comfortable from the off with your new gear :) Only pity is the bee wasn't coming this way, but that's a hard shot to nail at the best of times
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Thanks :)

There is a biggish learning curve ahead to fine tune my custom settings as well 'how to handle the controls'......but practice hopefully will make perfect, or at least more competent :) NB I do wish there was a simple method to toggle between C-AF & C-AF + Tracking but have yet to find such custom button assignment..........doubt it exists but to me it seems a very logical toggle control to have i.e. CF but track as needed >>>>>>email perhaps to Olympus team :lol:

In regard to the two images above ~
The butterfly was co-operative in landing where some lovely light fell on it.
The bee..................oh the keeper rate was dire but there are few more angles it gave me so maybe one or two better views worth processing???

Re: processing ~
These are both cropped but just enough to aid composition and subject positioning.
Process wise quite gentle on the capture sharpening and basic control of Highlights, Shadows, White & Black...............exported to PS, resized to web friendly, Smart Sharpen with a surprisingly light touch than I have used on any of the Canon files.

Next plan is to get to a reserve or the nearby lake???
 
I found this guys website via DPReview forum, some good work on show using Olympus gear with AFAIK mostly MFT now https://dwehner.zenfolio.com/
 
cropping isn't near as much an issues as some would have you believe with M43 - there's plenty of life in them files, just don't think you can severe crop down like you might get away with on FF. M43 isn't far behind APSC at all, remember they have up to a 1.6 crop factor [Canon] so APSC users frowning upon M43 are really just kidding themselves. Keeper rate is more down to luck, your own skill and familiarising yourself with the controls. Were you hitting such shots in one with FF? I doubt it, bees don't care what sensor you're using :D Just relax, enjoy the new gear, get to know your menu shorts and any quirks that inevitably come with any new system, and once you actually stop comparing, you'll feel and shoot a lot better.
 
Cagey75 said:
cropping isn't near as much an issues as some would have you believe with M43 - there's plenty of life in them files, just don't think you can severe crop down like you might get away with on FF. M43 isn't far behind APSC at all, remember they have up to a 1.6 crop factor [Canon] so APSC users frowning upon M43 are really just kidding themselves. Keeper rate is more down to luck, your own skill and familiarising yourself with the controls. Were you hitting such shots in one with FF? I doubt it, bees don't care what sensor you're using :D Just relax, enjoy the new gear, get to know your menu shorts and any quirks that inevitably come with any new system, and once you actually stop comparing, you'll feel and shoot a lot better.
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Other than the PP differences I am not comparing to my FF gear....different gear and setup potential are but horses for courses.........as for the bee shot, no not much luck in the past or hope with my FF gear. To me the camera is only a tool, if I can get the desired results with file size capable of as need to print to say max 24x16 (uprezzed as needed?) then I will be delighted :)

One thing for sure it was a pleasure using the EM1 and 40-150mm as so relatively light and responsive and keepers aside with the challenge of Bee in Flight the quality of the images I am seeing justified my confidence in the purchase :D The learning curve will continue ;)

PS yes, menu shorts and comfortable in changing anything smoothly & quickly I hope will come sooner rather than later :lol:
 
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This seems a good place to ask:

Long story short. Been shooting with Fuji the last year or so. It's been both my main camera and travel camera. But I'm going back to a DSLR for serious stuff and I'm likely to pick up either an E-M5 mk1 or an E-m10 mk1 as a travel, days out kind of camera. I've had an E-M5 and an E-M5ii in the past and a few different lenses but I'm really trying to keep this all quite budget and portable so this time around I'm looking for smaller, cheaper lenses. I basically want something short ish and something longish. Sorry I'm not more specific but that's about the size of it!

I'm currently borrowing an E-M5 with a panasonic 12-32 Lens. It's quite nice though it bugs the hell out of me that the lens is silver and the camera is black! But the lens performs well enough and I have the option to buy it for about £90. The other options I was considering here were the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 and the Olympus 17mm 2.8. My gut feeling is that I'd be happiest overall with the 14mm.

Longer lens is likely to be a 40-150r. I assume this is a still a decent budget choice? I've flirted with the idea of just getting a 45mm 1.8 instead but I suspect it would be a bit too restrictive.

Any pearls of wisdom or am I already on the right lines?
 
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