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OM-D's lack of built-in flash -- Oly actually recommends one...

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TrapperJohn said:
I suppose one could find the odd highlight that a popup can deliver, but if you're serious about getting a well lit shot, you'll have a decent flash with you anyway. Popups, for the most part, deliver P&S quality shots - blown foreground, dark background.
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Another photographer living in a 'me' bubble. There are quite a few you around here!

Not mine, but this is an example of the kind of photos I like to take using a pop-up flash. This was done with an X100:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vegaskent/5948535286/

Is it 'serious'? Do I care? It's what I, and many many others, enjoy (candids of people). You can't do this kind of stuff too well with a foot-high flash sitting on top of your camera - you'll look like a dork and no one will hang out with you. Some people might even call the cops.

Any of this making sense to you?
 
I wonder if he realizes he's calling the E-5 a 'consumer compromise', when Olympus calls it its 4/3 pro solution and charges more for it than the E-M5. Actually, maybe he does. He could just be trolling and we've fallen for the trap.
 
The smaller forward facing light below the flash head is actually more useful than you might have given it credit for. It is also a video light... something a rubberband and index card won't accomplish.
Uncle Frank said:
Louis_Dobson said:
Don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but the new FL600R seems to have dual flashes, one forward, one up.

Problem solved!
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It was solved decades ago by pros using rubber bands to attach scraps of paper to their flashes... bounce cards. Nikon speedlights do it a bit more elegantly, with built-in pull-out plastic bounce cards. Dual flash heads would be an unnecessarily complex solution.

On another note, I'll second Henry's rant about the lack of a flash on Oly's new flagship MFT camera. Putting together my first MFT system, the pl2's built-in flash was an important consideration. It's convenient for triggering remotes, plus it's the first popup I've seen that can be used in bounce mode!
--
Warm regards, Frank

Galleries at fdrphoto.smugmug.com
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--
Money can't buy happiness....It has to be converted into photo equipment first.
 
Jeremy_T said:
For people who do want the flash with them all the time, it will not be a big deal to just leave it clipped in. It will increase the size of the camera, but that is part of the tradeoff you must make.
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The problem is unless it has a locking knob, it may wiggle off as you carry your gear outside of the bag, much like some people have had the VF-2's come off. If you are carrying your camera on a shoulder strap for 8 hours at a time (as I sometimes do), you may not even notice it is gone until you try to use it.

I've taken my classic 14-54mm lens hood off and put it back on enough times that it no longer stays on, and I use a lens leash to keep it at least dangling from the camera after losing it one time (and fortunately finding it again). The lens hood I use on the micro 4/3rds 14-150mm lens is also starting to not fit so tight, and I got another lens leash for it.
 
Michael Meissner said:
The problem is unless it has a locking knob, it may wiggle off as you carry your gear outside of the bag, much like some people have had the VF-2's come off.
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I'm sure it has a locking mechanism - the E-PM1/PL3 flash does. It clips in and has a tab you must press to release it. I don't think it's possible for it to be removed accidentally.

In fact from a certain point of view you could possibly view that as a minus. I imagine any substantial impact would break the flash rather than dislodge it, and the flash is probably of weaker construction than the rest of the body.
 
Louis_Dobson said:
Reason: the Epson VF is quite large so Oly had no room.
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I love how there's always an apologist who tries to reason away poor design decisions. There's room for a flash. Move the port, extend the hump forward, insert flash. Next.
Louis_Dobson said:
fongyiktze wrote:
How many proper full-frame or serious camera has a built-in flash?
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As mentioned previously in this thread, perhaps you missed the weathersealed Nikon D800 announcement? Or maybe you've heard of the Canon 7D, the weathersealed Pentax K5, Fuji X100, Sony NEX7 or alpha A77? Are those serious enough for you?
Jeremy_T said:
For people who do want the flash with them all the time, it will not be a big deal to just leave it clipped in.
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No thanks, that hump is already tall enough, without stacking that non-bouncing flash on top. :)
Louis_Dobson said:
It will increase the size of the camera, but that is part of the tradeoff you must make.
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Or buy a GH2, or NEX7, which many will do.
PenFan2011 said:
Well, I know a good amount of professional users, and not one ever uses the pop-up on a professional job, even as a catch light.
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E-M5 is NOT a professional camera! Although it is admittedly very good.

Most people coming from the DSLR market, or the moving up from point-n-shoot, are going to expect built-in flash. EVERY mid-level Canon, Nikon and Sony DSLR on the market has a built-in flash! Every point-n-shoot does too. See the problem now?

The detatchable flash is one more thing to carry and fumble around with. A serious oversight, versus the competition. Oly better get it right from now on, including PENs.

The ultra-serious, professional, $42,000, 60 megapixel Hasselblad H4D-60 medium format camera has a pop-up flash!! END OF STORY!!

 
Mk7 said:
Louis_Dobson said:
Reason: the Epson VF is quite large so Oly had no room.
Click to expand...
I love how there's always an apologist who tries to reason away poor design decisions. There's room for a flash. Move the port, extend the hump forward, insert flash. Next.
Mk7 said:
fongyiktze wrote:
How many proper full-frame or serious camera has a built-in flash?
Click to expand...
As mentioned previously in this thread, perhaps you missed the weathersealed Nikon D800 announcement? Or maybe you've heard of the Canon 7D, the weathersealed Pentax K5, Fuji X100, Sony NEX7 or alpha A77? Are those serious enough for you?
Jeremy_T said:
For people who do want the flash with them all the time, it will not be a big deal to just leave it clipped in.
Click to expand...
No thanks, that hump is already tall enough, without stacking that non-bouncing flash on top. :)
Mk7 said:
It will increase the size of the camera, but that is part of the tradeoff you must make.
Click to expand...
Or buy a GH2, or NEX7, which many will do.
PenFan2011 said:
Well, I know a good amount of professional users, and not one ever uses the pop-up on a professional job, even as a catch light.
Click to expand...
E-M5 is NOT a professional camera! Although it is admittedly very good.

Most people coming from the DSLR market, or the moving up from point-n-shoot, are going to expect built-in flash. EVERY mid-level Canon, Nikon and Sony DSLR on the market has a built-in flash! Every point-n-shoot does too. See the problem now?

The detatchable flash is one more thing to carry and fumble around with. A serious oversight, versus the competition. Oly better get it right from now on, including PENs.

The ultra-serious, professional, $42,000, 60 megapixel Hasselblad H4D-60 medium format camera has a pop-up flash!! END OF STORY!!

Click to expand...
--
pics: http://www.pbase.com/arn
 
Mk7 said:
Louis_Dobson said:
Reason: the Epson VF is quite large so Oly had no room.
Click to expand...
I love how there's always an apologist who tries to reason away poor design decisions. There's room for a flash. Move the port, extend the hump forward, insert flash. Next.
Click to expand...
You can't move the port, it needs a flash shoe. If you extend the hump, it will stop being small and neat and looking like an OM1, which was a large part of the design brief. There is already endless moaning that the hump is "too big".

There is a free attachable flash. That's good enough,

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/acam
http://thegentlemansnapper.blogspot.com
 
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