OM-D E-M5 does handheld night shooting

Ok....I think I'm in love with this camera. I'm not saying it's perfect...it's not. The buttons are a bit squishy and not as precise as they should be...the menu system is overall terrible (though amazingly customizable), I have this horrible fear that the IS unit will break (when off, the sensor just drops down into the body, and floats around free...kind of scary). But...image quality is excellent for a small sensor (heck, it's pretty darn good for most any sensor, save a recent full frame release), good dynamic range (by far best in class), and the IBIS is outstanding. Like I said, I took a little walk around Columbus tonight with my E-M5 and no tripod, and I was amazed at what I could do.

My favorite of the night: E-M5 and Olympus 45mm f/1.8 @ ISO 640, f/1.8, 1/6 second handheld



And a few more. Being able to shoot at low ISOs and still get usable night photos is amazing. At these longer exposures, it does seem to affect corner sharpness a little, but it allows you to get the shot.

E-M5, Olympus 12mm f/2 @ ISO 200, f/2, 1/4 second



E-M5, Olympus 12mm f/2 @ ISO 400, f/2, 0.4 seconds!



E-M5, Olympus 40-150mm f/4-5.6 @ 82mm, f/4.7, ISO 1600, 1/13 second



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Admiring Light - http://www.admiringlight.com
Jordan Steele Photography - http://www.jordansteele.com

Wonderful series of photos!!!

Dave
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Nice handheld job! Can't wait to have mine deliver!
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Bluephotons
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now. Bob Dylan

These are fabulous. Some of the best night shots I've seen posted here.
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Tony

you work some nice magic with that camera. Night photography is my favorite and your shots are really nice. Thanks for posting.

liza

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http://www.snootydog.com

Dang, they're all good, I especially like the first.

Imagine having been able to do that, say, five years ago. Now you can do it with a one-pound camera plus teeny lens.

Cheers,

Rick

Impressive! Great photos. Really shows off the image quality of the camera and the opportunities its IBIS opens up. JPEG or RAW?

Do the 100% crops show any camera shake? How did you hold your camera and is it currently gripped? Was it through a viewfinder shot or arms length P&S, etc.

I was not impressed with E-PM1's IBIS but not sure if its me or I got some bum refurb copies or if the OM-D IBIS is on a completely different level, etc. I'm guessing maybe both viewfinder stabilization + better IBIS will go a long way.

Timbukto said:

Do the 100% crops show any camera shake? How did you hold your camera and is it currently gripped? Was it through a viewfinder shot or arms length P&S, etc.

I was not impressed with E-PM1's IBIS but not sure if its me or I got some bum refurb copies or if the OM-D IBIS is on a completely different level, etc. I'm guessing maybe both viewfinder stabilization + better IBIS will go a long way.

Click to expand...

The first shot has ever so slight level of softness, though it's hard to tell whether it's a small amount of camera shake or just due to the fact I was shooting near infinity at f/1.8. I'd say that shot could print 11x14 without any issues at all.

The others above are all tack sharp. The IBIS on the E-M5 I'm finding to be 2-3 stops more effective than that in my old E-P1. I'm consistently getting sharp shots at 3-4 stops below 1/(2xFL). I even had a pretty sharp shot at 1.3 seconds with the 12mm, though I was braced.

I do not have a grip. These were just proper technique...arms in, eye to viewfinder, breath, steady shutter press.

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Admiring Light - http://www.admiringlight.com
Jordan Steele Photography - http://www.jordansteele.com

I don't think OMD is very different in that respect, it's pretty much in the same ballpark of what I'm getting from Panasonic camera and OIS lenses: 10/F on short end and 50/F on long end, so at F=12mm one can be reasonably successful with shutter speeds around 0.8 sec and at F=200mm with shutter speeds around 1/4 sec. It's, of course, individual, I do practice on a shooting range, and it's a lot more difficult to keep a gun steady than a camera.

The problem comes in when you use non-stabilized Oly lenses like the 45 mm 1.8. Which unfortunately seems to be quite the lens.

Nice job! those look great.

Thanks everyone! I'm really enjoying this camera.
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Admiring Light - http://www.admiringlight.com
Jordan Steele Photography - http://www.jordansteele.com

Clean

Very clean

more than sufficient for night photography

I'm glad to see you properly took these pictures at dusk, so there was still some light in the sky. I'm tired of seeing night scenes with pitch-black skies and street and building lights blown out.

By the way, you have very steady hands. Also, what city were these pictures taken?

--StevenN