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My most aggravating camera is...

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Allan Brown

Allan Brown

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my EM1 III.

Rant

I have an EPL5; EP5 and an EM5 II. All of these work the way I set them up and are a pleasure to use.

The EM1 III has a mind of its own. Recent example-

I was out with two 1971 vintage Nikkor lenses trying to decide whether Focus Peaking or Magnify was better for me. All of a sudden, the EVF was way over-exposed and nothing would change it. Eventually, I realized that I had pressed one of those stupid buttons on the ON-OFF switch and had changed from Evaluative Metering to Highlight Spot. I did not notice the tiny icon in the EVF as I was shooting into bright light.

What a stupid place to put those buttons with no means of changing their function or disabling them. The EM5 III's buttons can be changed but not the EM1 III.

Another aggravating thing is - although you can disable the centre button on the joy stick, it is still enabled while you are moving the focus point and, thus disables the movement of the focus point. Really clever programming.

Are the OM1s like this?

Allan
 
Allan Brown said:
my EM1 III.

Rant

I have an EPL5; EP5 and an EM5 II. All of these work the way I set them up and are a pleasure to use.

The EM1 III has a mind of its own. Recent example-

I was out with two 1971 vintage Nikkor lenses trying to decide whether Focus Peaking or Magnify was better for me. All of a sudden, the EVF was way over-exposed and nothing would change it. Eventually, I realized that I had pressed one of those stupid buttons on the ON-OFF switch and had changed from Evaluative Metering to Highlight Spot. I did not notice the tiny icon in the EVF as I was shooting into bright light.

What a stupid place to put those buttons with no means of changing their function or disabling them. The EM5 III's buttons can be changed but not the EM1 III.

Another aggravating thing is - although you can disable the centre button on the joy stick, it is still enabled while you are moving the focus point and, thus disables the movement of the focus point. Really clever programming.

Are the OM1s like this?

Allan
Click to expand...
Consider using Custom Menu -> B2 -> O Lock -> On to disable both of the unassignable buttons on the top-left.
 
Last edited:
Bassam Guy said:
Allan Brown said:
my EM1 III.

Rant

I have an EPL5; EP5 and an EM5 II. All of these work the way I set them up and are a pleasure to use.

The EM1 III has a mind of its own. Recent example-

I was out with two 1971 vintage Nikkor lenses trying to decide whether Focus Peaking or Magnify was better for me. All of a sudden, the EVF was way over-exposed and nothing would change it. Eventually, I realized that I had pressed one of those stupid buttons on the ON-OFF switch and had changed from Evaluative Metering to Highlight Spot. I did not notice the tiny icon in the EVF as I was shooting into bright light.

What a stupid place to put those buttons with no means of changing their function or disabling them. The EM5 III's buttons can be changed but not the EM1 III.

Another aggravating thing is - although you can disable the centre button on the joy stick, it is still enabled while you are moving the focus point and, thus disables the movement of the focus point. Really clever programming.

Are the OM1s like this?

Allan
Click to expand...
Consider using Custom Menu -> B2 -> O Lock -> On to disable both of the unassignable buttons on the top-left.
Click to expand...
Thank you. This solves one of the problems.

Allan
 
Allan Brown said:
my EM1 III.

Rant

I have an EPL5; EP5 and an EM5 II. All of these work the way I set them up and are a pleasure to use.

The EM1 III has a mind of its own. Recent example-

I was out with two 1971 vintage Nikkor lenses trying to decide whether Focus Peaking or Magnify was better for me. All of a sudden, the EVF was way over-exposed and nothing would change it. Eventually, I realized that I had pressed one of those stupid buttons on the ON-OFF switch and had changed from Evaluative Metering to Highlight Spot. I did not notice the tiny icon in the EVF as I was shooting into bright light.
Click to expand...
those buttons don’t directly change settings. You also must scroll through the options - which you must have done
Allan Brown said:
What a stupid place to put those buttons with no means of changing their function or disabling them. The EM5 III's buttons can be changed but not the EM1 III.
Click to expand...
I agree that they could be more useful if they were programmable.
Allan Brown said:
Another aggravating thing is - although you can disable the centre button on the joy stick, it is still enabled while you are moving the focus point and, thus disables the movement of the focus point. Really clever programming.
Click to expand...
yes it is very clever as it lets you re-centre the AF pattern with a single press. I use this all the time.
Allan Brown said:
Are the OM1s like this?

Allan
Click to expand...
what I find aggravating is that, unlike all my other (non MFT) cameras

I can’t use the touch screen in Menu

and I can’t make the filename a global setting across all four M- modes - I have to change it 5 times

jj
 
Last edited:
Allan Brown said:
my EM1 III.

Rant

I have an EPL5; EP5 and an EM5 II. All of these work the way I set them up and are a pleasure to use.

The EM1 III has a mind of its own. Recent example-

I was out with two 1971 vintage Nikkor lenses trying to decide whether Focus Peaking or Magnify was better for me. All of a sudden, the EVF was way over-exposed and nothing would change it. Eventually, I realized that I had pressed one of those stupid buttons on the ON-OFF switch and had changed from Evaluative Metering to Highlight Spot. I did not notice the tiny icon in the EVF as I was shooting into bright light.

What a stupid place to put those buttons with no means of changing their function or disabling them. The EM5 III's buttons can be changed but not the EM1 III.

Another aggravating thing is - although you can disable the centre button on the joy stick, it is still enabled while you are moving the focus point and, thus disables the movement of the focus point. Really clever programming.

Are the OM1s like this?

Allan
Click to expand...
The things that aggravate you, are the things I like about it. I love the em5ii the most, but sometimes unwanted changed AF point by accidently touching the cursor buttons just by holding it while photographing. I never ever touched a button unwanted on my em1iii. However, when I just got the em1iii, I did take a lot of unwanted photos because the shutter is so much more sensitive (difference between half press and full press) than the one on the em5ii. Still find it too sensitive.
 
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I've had my OM-1 for two years and it still drives me crazy. I consistently find settings changed that I can't explain.
 
I've only had one truly aggravating camera, my very first M43, the Lumix GX1 - bought new, "kitted" with their 14-42 PZ...

To begin with, I feared its shutter-shaken images were indicative of the format's quality, and went over to my [lovely, light, super-IQ] Samsung NX gear - but was persuaded to get a second lens, which DIDN'T shake... and swapped the klunky GX1 with a different body very soon after that.

Panasonic UK should have recalled those kits, or at the very least sent all registered owners a kit lens of another model - and an apology!

Peter
 
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Right this minute my OM-1. Been back for repair 4 times. A couple days ago was shooting in raw+jpeg mode and then the next evening there was a rare event of the aurora down where I live, camera had somehow changed to JPG only where it was raw+jpeg earlier. Very, very annoying. I know I could have checked, but I'm used to not.

Oh well, might happen again in 487 years.
 
jjbinx said:
Allan Brown said:
my EM1 III.

Rant

I have an EPL5; EP5 and an EM5 II. All of these work the way I set them up and are a pleasure to use.

The EM1 III has a mind of its own. Recent example-

I was out with two 1971 vintage Nikkor lenses trying to decide whether Focus Peaking or Magnify was better for me. All of a sudden, the EVF was way over-exposed and nothing would change it. Eventually, I realized that I had pressed one of those stupid buttons on the ON-OFF switch and had changed from Evaluative Metering to Highlight Spot. I did not notice the tiny icon in the EVF as I was shooting into bright light.
Click to expand...
those buttons don’t directly change settings. You also must scroll through the options - which you must have done
Click to expand...
Yes, but this was not obvious at the time. The scroll wheel in question is the same one that I use for adjusting the EV which I was trying to do.
Member said:
Member said:
What a stupid place to put those buttons with no means of changing their function or disabling them. The EM5 III's buttons can be changed but not the EM1 III.
Click to expand...
I agree that they could be more useful if they were programmable.
Member said:
Another aggravating thing is - although you can disable the centre button on the joy stick, it is still enabled while you are moving the focus point and, thus disables the movement of the focus point. Really clever programming.
Click to expand...
yes it is very clever as it lets you re-centre the AF pattern with a single press. I use this all the time.
Click to expand...
I have that assigned to the red dot video button. This puts it in the same physical location as the "Home" button on my other cameras.

The problem with the centre button becomes apparent while you are moving the focus point. If you accidentally press it during that time, it disables the movement of the focus point. Disabling the button does not work in this instance as it remains active.

Allan
 
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Sonyshine said:
Having moved from Olympus to Panasonic I find the Panasonic menus and button layouts far easier to master and much more intuitive than Olympus.
Click to expand...
I started in M4/3 with a Panasonic G3 then a G5. However, for me, good IBIS is a must and Panny did not offer that at the time. Also, I prefer Oly's implementation of the anti shock (shutter shock) method over Pannys.

Most of my lenses are Panny though.

Allan
 
Allan Brown said:
my EM1 III.

Rant

I have an EPL5; EP5 and an EM5 II. All of these work the way I set them up and are a pleasure to use.

The EM1 III has a mind of its own. Recent example-

I was out with two 1971 vintage Nikkor lenses trying to decide whether Focus Peaking or Magnify was better for me. All of a sudden, the EVF was way over-exposed and nothing would change it. Eventually, I realized that I had pressed one of those stupid buttons on the ON-OFF switch and had changed from Evaluative Metering to Highlight Spot. I did not notice the tiny icon in the EVF as I was shooting into bright light.

What a stupid place to put those buttons with no means of changing their function or disabling them. The EM5 III's buttons can be changed but not the EM1 III.

Another aggravating thing is - although you can disable the centre button on the joy stick, it is still enabled while you are moving the focus point and, thus disables the movement of the focus point. Really clever programming.

Are the OM1s like this?

Allan
Click to expand...
I got so annoyed with mine that I sold it a few days ago. Not the same issues except that I still find the logic of Olympus autofocus controls baffling (maybe obtuse would be a better description) and counterproductive. I don't have these problems as much on my EM1X, probably because the EVF implementation is a lot better. I could barely tell what was going on with the EM1.iii EVF, even though they are basically the same in terms of specs.

I actually liked the two buttons under the on-off switch (three on the EM1X). Direct control over drive, autofocus and metering options without taking your eye from the EVF is very convenient.

Another example is that I hated the random movement of the focus point on my Canon RP and eventually turned the touch screen off. But then I could not make menu changes on the screen. So, I sold it.

You have to be comfortable with your camera's controls or you will just start leavong it at home.
 
Allan Brown said:
my EM1 III.

Rant

I have an EPL5; EP5 and an EM5 II. All of these work the way I set them up and are a pleasure to use.

The EM1 III has a mind of its own. Recent example-

I was out with two 1971 vintage Nikkor lenses trying to decide whether Focus Peaking or Magnify was better for me. All of a sudden, the EVF was way over-exposed and nothing would change it. Eventually, I realized that I had pressed one of those stupid buttons on the ON-OFF switch and had changed from Evaluative Metering to Highlight Spot. I did not notice the tiny icon in the EVF as I was shooting into bright light.

What a stupid place to put those buttons with no means of changing their function or disabling them. The EM5 III's buttons can be changed but not the EM1 III.

Another aggravating thing is - although you can disable the centre button on the joy stick, it is still enabled while you are moving the focus point and, thus disables the movement of the focus point. Really clever programming.

Are the OM1s like this?

Allan
Click to expand...
Hi Allan,

I can understand your frustration, although I don't share it. The camera world seems to be divided up into two groups: those who accidentally actuate camera controls, and those who don't. Fortunately, I'm in the latter group.

A bit of partial good news, at least regarding the OM-1. Although the control layout is essentially the same, the buttons you refer to above the on-off switch have been modified on the OM-1 to make them harder to use. Literally. :) I thought they were just fine on the EM1.2/3 but on the OM-1 they are now recessed with a bit of a "wall" around them. Hard to describe but you can see it in a close-up photo. The result is that it is almost impossible to actuate the buttons from the side or from an angle. To depress them you have to get your thumb/finger above the little wall and push down in to the recess, in a quite deliberate way.

Obviously Olympus was catering to the "accidental press" segment with that, so while the change is bad for me it should be good for you. I would think you'd not have the accidental actuations that you describe having with the EM1.3 with the OM-1.

As someone else pointed out, you can also completely disable those buttons through the menu. I think that's a waste because I like having button access and don't really care to use the SCP, but everyone has different tastes.

Another change in the OM-1 is the wheels, which I mention even though you didn't talk about having any problem there. Now the wheels are recessed, much less exposed, and harder to turn. Again (in my view) harder to use. Evidently some people were complaining about accidentally turning the wheels too. I thought the wheels on the EM1.2/3 were perfect.

Also compared to the EM1.3, the viewfinder on the OM-1 is radically improved. Worlds better. There's really no comparison.

So you might enjoy the OM-1 more and have fewer issues with it than the EM-1.3.

I hope this helps...
 
2ndact scene1 said:
Allan Brown said:
my EM1 III.

Rant

I have an EPL5; EP5 and an EM5 II. All of these work the way I set them up and are a pleasure to use.

The EM1 III has a mind of its own. Recent example-

I was out with two 1971 vintage Nikkor lenses trying to decide whether Focus Peaking or Magnify was better for me. All of a sudden, the EVF was way over-exposed and nothing would change it. Eventually, I realized that I had pressed one of those stupid buttons on the ON-OFF switch and had changed from Evaluative Metering to Highlight Spot. I did not notice the tiny icon in the EVF as I was shooting into bright light.

What a stupid place to put those buttons with no means of changing their function or disabling them. The EM5 III's buttons can be changed but not the EM1 III.

Another aggravating thing is - although you can disable the centre button on the joy stick, it is still enabled while you are moving the focus point and, thus disables the movement of the focus point. Really clever programming.

Are the OM1s like this?

Allan
Click to expand...
I got so annoyed with mine that I sold it a few days ago. Not the same issues except that I still find the logic of Olympus autofocus controls baffling (maybe obtuse would be a better description) and counterproductive. I don't have these problems as much on my EM1X, probably because the EVF implementation is a lot better. I could barely tell what was going on with the EM1.iii EVF, even though they are basically the same in terms of specs.

I actually liked the two buttons under the on-off switch (three on the EM1X). Direct control over drive, autofocus and metering options without taking your eye from the EVF is very convenient.

Another example is that I hated the random movement of the focus point on my Canon RP and eventually turned the touch screen off. But then I could not make menu changes on the screen. So, I sold it.

You have to be comfortable with your camera's controls or you will just start leavong it at home.
Click to expand...
Interesting, I didn't know there were differences between the 1x and 1iii in EVF. What is it that makes the one on the 1x better?
 
I'm in the 'no problem' group, I guess it's a matter of ergonomics and how you handle the camera.

Thanks for sharing some interesting details on the OM1s that aren't commonly known (at least new to me). Ofcourse I have heard about the much better EVF. Never tried it, because it might convince me to join the dark side, while otherwise I'm still perfectly happy with the em1iii.
 
Skeeterbytes said:
Photongraphy said:
Interesting, I didn't know there were differences between the 1x and 1iii in EVF. What is it that makes the one on the 1x better?
Click to expand...
Higher magnification, same display. OM-1 got the M1X optics and a new higher resolution display.

Cheers,

Rick
Click to expand...
Not just higher resolution, but the OM-1's display is also OLED. It's the EVF that should have been on the EM1.3 but wasn't.
 
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