Quailane
Well-known member
Nothing earth-shattering here. Just thought I would share my experience.
I had been thinking about this purchase for a while:
I promised myself that I would only buy a new camera after I got rid of my existing cameras. It took me too long to finally pull the trigger. That finally happened a week ago when I sold two Pen-F bodies and a Panasonic GF6, and purchased a new OM-1 Mark II.
As a long-time Pen-F user, these are my thoughts on the OM-1 II.
1. The IBIS is unbelievable. I always thought the IBIS in the Pen-F was amazing, but the OM-1 is on another level. To me it feels like the difference between the IBIS on the OM-1 and the Pen-F is like the difference between the IBIS on the Pen-f and any other camera without IBIS. I was out at night taking shots at 150mm focal length at slow shutter speeds down to 1/5 of a second and they look sharp on my computer monitor.
2. I understand what people were complaining about with the OM-1 S-AF in low light. I can't compare side-by-side, but it doesn't feel much better than the Pen-F in this regard. Trying to focus on something with low contrast is difficult. I have no problem with this though as it is what I am used to.
3. The grip helps a lot. I had the ECG-4 on my Pen-F and also tried a beefier grip from another brand, but my right hand and fingers would tire holding the camera, especially with any heavier lens. I could walk for an hour holding the OM-1 without feeling much fatigue in my hand. My hands are below average in size, but I think that I prefer the grip of my father's Nikon Z6II. A very minor issue though.
4. The OLED viewfinder is nicer than the one of the Pen-F, but I like the placement of the viewfinder on the Pen-F better. It is more comfortable holding the Pen-F to my face. The sensor to enable or disable the viewfinder on the OM-1 is a little more resistant to stray light than the one on the Pen-F, which is a plus. I don't find that the enhanced resolution really adds anything to my ability to take photos. In fact, when focus peaking it can make it more difficult to see the brightly colored pixels. The dealbreaker for me even considering an EM-1 III was the LCD viewfinder, so I can see the OLED viewfinder being more of an upgrade if you have that camera.
5. The ergonomics of using the camera are ok. I still need more time to get used to it. I had the Pen-F for over 6 years and I've only had the OM-1 for a week. The newer menu is good, but I didn't have many issues with the older style menu. I guess I was just accustomed to using it. The newer menu does let you go through things a little bit faster. I immediately noticed that some options from the Pen-F menu were taken away, but they were probably just made the default or don't really matter much anyway. The new features added are great and faster to access and change.
6. C-AF and subject detection really stand out. C-AF is so good that I could probably just use it instead of S-AF. C-AF on the Pen-F was literally unusable for me. C-AF is why I had to switch from the Pen-F. Subject detection works pretty well, but I have only tried it on people and two and four wheeled vehicles. Eye detection always selects the nearest eye. My hit rate is not particularly high, but like I said, I need to gohrough the entire manual and test more things out. Even so, I am very happy that I can finally photograph moving subjects again after having sold my Canon M50.
Bye-bye!
Hello!
I had been thinking about this purchase for a while:
I promised myself that I would only buy a new camera after I got rid of my existing cameras. It took me too long to finally pull the trigger. That finally happened a week ago when I sold two Pen-F bodies and a Panasonic GF6, and purchased a new OM-1 Mark II.
As a long-time Pen-F user, these are my thoughts on the OM-1 II.
1. The IBIS is unbelievable. I always thought the IBIS in the Pen-F was amazing, but the OM-1 is on another level. To me it feels like the difference between the IBIS on the OM-1 and the Pen-F is like the difference between the IBIS on the Pen-f and any other camera without IBIS. I was out at night taking shots at 150mm focal length at slow shutter speeds down to 1/5 of a second and they look sharp on my computer monitor.
2. I understand what people were complaining about with the OM-1 S-AF in low light. I can't compare side-by-side, but it doesn't feel much better than the Pen-F in this regard. Trying to focus on something with low contrast is difficult. I have no problem with this though as it is what I am used to.
3. The grip helps a lot. I had the ECG-4 on my Pen-F and also tried a beefier grip from another brand, but my right hand and fingers would tire holding the camera, especially with any heavier lens. I could walk for an hour holding the OM-1 without feeling much fatigue in my hand. My hands are below average in size, but I think that I prefer the grip of my father's Nikon Z6II. A very minor issue though.
4. The OLED viewfinder is nicer than the one of the Pen-F, but I like the placement of the viewfinder on the Pen-F better. It is more comfortable holding the Pen-F to my face. The sensor to enable or disable the viewfinder on the OM-1 is a little more resistant to stray light than the one on the Pen-F, which is a plus. I don't find that the enhanced resolution really adds anything to my ability to take photos. In fact, when focus peaking it can make it more difficult to see the brightly colored pixels. The dealbreaker for me even considering an EM-1 III was the LCD viewfinder, so I can see the OLED viewfinder being more of an upgrade if you have that camera.
5. The ergonomics of using the camera are ok. I still need more time to get used to it. I had the Pen-F for over 6 years and I've only had the OM-1 for a week. The newer menu is good, but I didn't have many issues with the older style menu. I guess I was just accustomed to using it. The newer menu does let you go through things a little bit faster. I immediately noticed that some options from the Pen-F menu were taken away, but they were probably just made the default or don't really matter much anyway. The new features added are great and faster to access and change.
6. C-AF and subject detection really stand out. C-AF is so good that I could probably just use it instead of S-AF. C-AF on the Pen-F was literally unusable for me. C-AF is why I had to switch from the Pen-F. Subject detection works pretty well, but I have only tried it on people and two and four wheeled vehicles. Eye detection always selects the nearest eye. My hit rate is not particularly high, but like I said, I need to gohrough the entire manual and test more things out. Even so, I am very happy that I can finally photograph moving subjects again after having sold my Canon M50.
Bye-bye!
Hello!
