Olympus acknowledges E-M5 / 20mm banding and is working on fix

It has been over 29 months and still no more word from Olympus about this problem.

It has been 22 months since Olympus admitted the problem and since then they have gone silent. I haven't heard another word about this. Olympus, you admitted it and said you were investigating. At the very least have the respect and courtesy for your customers to tell us what the result is.

4 months after, where is the Fix ?

I got here while searching for information on noise banding on the OM-D. I am patched to current firmware (v1.5). I noticed the noise banding in dark areas of the sky while shooting a night scene on a mountain. I could clearly see the banding at ISO800 and even down to 400 it was pretty obvious. Only at ISO200 did it *almost* disappear (still visible but not very noticeable).

Here's the kicker: THIS WAS WITH THE KIT 12-50mm LENS, not the Lumix 20mm. Also the board discussion about EM interference is probably not applicable since I was at least 300ft. away from the nearest electrical source. I'd really like to find some answers for this issue; high on my list of reasons to buy this camera was reasonable high-ISO performance (in a small package).

When is Olympus going to fix this? It has been almost 8 months since Olympus acknowledged this problem. I just got back from a month in Nepal and I used my E-M5 while there. I also used the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 in lower light and as I am processing the raw files in LR 4.3 today I am discovering that they all have serious banding. :-( I don't know if any of them can be salvaged. :-( By the way, I have the latest 1.5 firmware for the E-M5 and the latest firmware for the lens too.

I want to buy this lens to mount on my OM-D, but this banding problem is causing me to rethink whether I should buy this lens or consider the 25mm PanaLeica. I might wait for the Olympus 17mm f/1.7 to come out next year.

Is there any update?

It has been 2.5 months and we are *still* waiting for this. Also, Olympus released firmware 1.2 a long time ago to fix the lockup problem with Panasonic lenses (must remove battery to unbrick camera), but a few days later they pulled the release so we can't get a fix. :-( I am *still* waiting for a fix to this serious lockup problem. Anyone know what is going on with both of these problems?

Banding problem is present at any iso, not only 6400 or higher.

High isos only make it more evident.
Like exposure time do.
Like aperture very close do.

Obviously in optimal conditions problem is not noticeable and disappears.

I tried many long exposures last night and even a lower iso (500) problem was evident while increasing exposure time.

Hope in a fix.

I tried my new 20/1.7 for this and it looks easy to find the problem.
At iso 6400 just push the preview button (to check DOF) and you see a lot of banding!

I did a theatre shoot last night using the 20mm and 45 mm at 6400 ISO and RAW, definitely see banding, on pics shot with 20mm. I did a similar job a few weeks ago, same conditions, but shot jpegs and do not see the same problem.
Oh, and the problem seems to only exist in the shadow underexposed areas, I have to shoot more images tonight, if I use the 20mm I may try a slight over exposure as a test.

"...> it is considered a broken and defective piece of camera equipment...."

Spoken like a man (?) who is accustomed to speaking before thinking. Obviously someone who doesn't know what he (?) is talking about. I am one of the rare people who was lucky enough to buy one. I am not going to claim it is the best think since sliced bread, although I prefer to do my own slicing. But it is a really well made and competent camera that is chock full of features that other camera makers with a lot deeper pockets should have thought of. My main criticism of Olympus is that they included probably the worst owners manual ever published, but thanks to the several internet forums, all of the operational questions have been answered. Great little camera. I bought only the body and use all of my 4/3's Panasonic lenses including the f/1.7 with excellent results. I'll worry about the modest banding above ISO 8000 the next time I want to take available light pictures in a coal mine.

Don't forget to ask Olympus directly for Video-IBIS with adapted, non-native lenses :)

https://support.olympus.co.jp/cf_secure/en/contact/index.cfm?consumer=ProDigitalSLR

The banding is from the 20/1.7 pancake's syrup which gums up the pixel distribution. ;)

What a strange problem to be lens specific!

The "banding" I've seen in postings is really pretty straightforward-looking single-pixel lines with consistently wrong color -- easy to recognize and fix. Actually, much easier to fix than the Fuji X10 "white orbs" problem that my free DeOrbIt tool fixed... but I didn't get all that positive a response to doing that work for the community, so I'm not rushing to put a post-processing fix up for this technically less challenging (and less publishable as research) defect.

Olympus should be able to fix this pretty easily as a post-processing step when the 20mm Panasonic lens is detected, but I'd guess they're trying to fix it at the cause, and that's probably some lens-induced electrical glitch disturbing sensor readout. Really impressive that Olympus cares at all about a problem that happens only with another company's lens.... :)

Aaaah crap... *looks at the 20mm Panny behind him*

Let's hope a firmware update fixes it.

To the person who made an issue out of the name of the camera being E-M5 rather than OM-D: I don't know about your camera but my OM-D says prominently on the front OM-D, and in small letters next to the mode dial E-M5. Since this the first in the OM series, OM-D is perfectly acceptable. You're just being picky.
When they come out with the next model, you may have a point. Until then.....

Another post says it isn't a problem until ISO 6400. That being the case, I'll sleep well tonight and worry about banding the next time I take my camera into a coal mine to shoot available light at f/1.7.

It just takes Fuji a wile to get going, like a year later on x100 and x10.. Great cameras no doubt, Just like their updates like the Af, a little slow and sluggish..

I applaud Olympus for doing the right thing, coming forward and admitting the issue. While I wish they would have done that with the E-3 back focus problem and the 14-35 SHG lens problem of focusing in lower light, I think it's good to see them take a step in the right direction in disclosing issues.

This is the right thing to do, and makes the brand gain credibility, imho.

Good Work Oly..Unlike Fuji..... They actually listen and want to create the best product they can and further continue its development to satisfy those that own the 20 1.7

Just rolled some film through my Pentax ZX5n. Works like day one, fresh out of the box. When I bought it it was like $600 with the lens, Made in Japan quality, always ultra reliable.
Nowadays: excuses, bs, Chinese crap, overpriced plastic from almost all camera makers. Does anyone trying to put out an honest good camera these days, or it is all about selling the most garbage to the most people?

what is banding?

If you guys want Video-IBIS to work with non-native, adapted, MF lenses, don;t forget to email/message Olympus directly and request it....

Here's the link:
https://support.olympus.co.jp/cf_secure/en/contact/index.cfm?consumer=ProDigitalSLR

Banding? 20mm? ONE lens??? Who cares!!!!

Let's try the hundreds, thousands, of old & new, vintage & modern, adapted non-native MF lenses that don't have IBIS in Video-Mode!

Hmmm.... ONE Pana 20mm???

...Or, the myriad of lenses by Leica, Canon, Nikon, Voigtlander, Zeiss, Contax, Olympus Legacy, SLR and RF lenses, M39, M49, LTM, old Russian primes like the Helios, Yaschica, Minolta, and the list goes on and on............

Hi

On my E-M5 I have had the banding once with the 20mm at iso 6400. I have not seen it at iso 3200 and I do shoot a fair bit at that sensitivity.

These are complex electronic devices, not the simple mechanical ones of old. The occasional glitch is hardly surprising.

Berni

why ?????????????? it's a panasonic lens..................olympus didn't design it so why should they fix anything

I hope they can get it fixed soon.

Did they say anything about the lockup problem with Panasonic lenses? I and many others have had this problem:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=41250084

What about IBIS to work in Video-Mode with adapted and non-native lenses?????

IBIS works for Stills with adapted lenses.... why not video??????

Olympus needs to fix this issue first! There's many more people using and there are more adapted non-native lenses out there, than a single 20mm pancake.

And, native lens sales isn't the reason...since IBIS + Adapted lenses works with stills! And, this 20mm isn't even an Olympus lens! It's a Panasonic lens! So, I highly doubt Olympus' reason for not fixing IBIS-Video for adapted lenses isn't just to boost their native lens sales.

I'm from the 60's and 70's so it's kinda like looking in the mirror. I hope they fix the banding issue but I normally don't shoot high ISO anyway. The Panasonic 20mm is a fantastic lens. It looks nice on my silver OM-D.

Am I the only one that doesn't want a camera that looks like it's from the '70's?

Or maybe, we are just dealing with an extreme design of a small sensor, a small lens, extreme ISO's. Can't have it all. Everything is a trade off in life. Of course I am probably completely wrong but it does make me wonder. Reading that some of the EOS lenses had a similar problem kind of blows my theory out of the water. Still it raises the question, in the pursuit of smallest fastest sharpest everything, at what point do we say "this is good enough?"

Case in point: I am looking at the 19mm Sigma MFT vs the 20mm Panasonic. While I would prefer the Panny (who wouldn't) I could see myself being very happy with the "bulky" 19mm Sigma which seems to be almost as good with the exception of a fast F stop. I just can't justify the extra dough. I guess if you have the dough for the new OM-D though then this does not apply to you.