Manual mode on E-pl5 and E-pm2 - any good?

[Christian Grevstad]

How do you adjust aperture AND shutter in M-mode in these cameras + ISO?

I shoot mainly in manual mode, so I have to be able to quickly change aperture, shutter and ISO. That's why I prefer my GX1.

Any way to do this by e.g. controlling the wheel?

Thanks,

Christian

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[rrr_hhh]

Christian Grevstad wrote:

How do you adjust aperture AND shutter in M-mode in these cameras + ISO?

I shoot mainly in manual mode, so I have to be able to quickly change aperture, shutter and ISO. That's why I prefer my GX1.

Any way to do this by e.g. controlling the wheel?

It is all done with the fourways controller :

In P mode : strike the up arrow once then using the up and down arrows allows you to shift the aperture and shutter speed couple and using the left and right arrows allows you to adjust exposure compensation.

In A mode : strike the up arrow once then using the up and down arrows allows you to adjust the aperture and using the left and right arrows allows you to adjust exposure compensation.

In S mode : strike the up arrow once then using the up and down arrows allows you to adjust the shutter speed and using the left and right arrows allows you to adjust exposure compensation.

In M mode : strike the up arrow once then using the up and down arrows allows you to adjust the shutter speed and using the left and right arrows allows you to adjust the aperture; there is no exposure compensation when in manual mode.

The ISOs have to be changed via the SCP or the LV mode : strike the OK button in the middle of the fourways controller and once you have it on the LCD, choose the ISO either with the touch screen, or with the arrows, or the fourways controller wheel if it is enabled (see lower).

Alternatively, you can affect the ISOs to the Fn button or the Rec button. You can also choose the function you want to affect to the right and down arrows, but you can't affect it to the up arrow which is needed to control the other exposure parameters as described above, nor to the left arrow which controls the positionning of the focus point.

Note that the E-Pl5 is very customizable. In particular, the fourways controller can be used in different ways. You can allow the rotating wheel around it (which I like because you can change settings more fluidly, but many dislike because you can change settings accidentally), or lock it. You can use the arrows in direct mode (accessing functions directly with them), or in indirect mode : then you use the arrows only for the positionning of the AF target (I prefer to use the left arrows to get there and keep the arrows for direct access to more functions).

The E-Pm2 works more or less in the same way, the same customizable functions are available, but you loose the Fn1 button, so you are left with the Rec button and two arrows for customization.

The customization options are almost daunting. You have less buttons to customize, but almost as many I options as with the E-M5. You could read DPreview introductory guide on how to make out the most of the E-M5 because the logic is more or less the same. It is a little hard to customize the Olympus cameras at the beginning, but once you have set up the camera to your liking, you can forget about it.

 

[Christian Grevstad]

rrr_hhh wrote:

Christian Grevstad wrote:

How do you adjust aperture AND shutter in M-mode in these cameras + ISO?

I shoot mainly in manual mode, so I have to be able to quickly change aperture, shutter and ISO. That's why I prefer my GX1.

Any way to do this by e.g. controlling the wheel?

In M mode : strike the up arrow once then using the up and down arrows allows you to adjust the shutter speed and using the left and right arrows allows you to adjust the aperture; there is no exposure compensation when in manual mode.

Thanks a lot!

This is what I wanted to hear, as it doesn't seem to work that way on the e-pm1!

 

[Christian Grevstad]

Note that the E-Pl5 is very customizable. In particular, the fourways controller can be used in different ways. You can allow the rotating wheel around it (which I like because you can change settings more fluidly, but many dislike because you can change settings accidentally), or lock it.

Oh, one more thing: How does the rotating wheel work when in M-mode? CAn you set the wheel to e.g. control the shutter, and then the right and left arrows will control aperture?

 

[John Bean (UK)]

Christian Grevstad wrote:

rrr_hhh wrote:

Christian Grevstad wrote:

How do you adjust aperture AND shutter in M-mode in these cameras + ISO?

I shoot mainly in manual mode, so I have to be able to quickly change aperture, shutter and ISO. That's why I prefer my GX1.

Any way to do this by e.g. controlling the wheel?

In M mode : strike the up arrow once then using the up and down arrows allows you to adjust the shutter speed and using the left and right arrows allows you to adjust the aperture; there is no exposure compensation when in manual mode.

Thanks a lot!

This is what I wanted to hear, as it doesn't seem to work that way on the e-pm1!

It does on mine...


Incidentally, you can also configure the wheel to act as one of the adjustments without needing the up-arrow initial press, so if you change one parameter more often than the other it makes it even easier.

I normally use aperture priority and use the wheel to change EV compensation and up/down to alter aperture. It's all very configurable - even on the humble E-PM1.

 

[rrr_hhh]

Christian Grevstad wrote:

rrr_hhh wrote:

Christian Grevstad wrote:

How do you adjust aperture AND shutter in M-mode in these cameras + ISO?

I shoot mainly in manual mode, so I have to be able to quickly change aperture, shutter and ISO. That's why I prefer my GX1.

Any way to do this by e.g. controlling the wheel?

In M mode : strike the up arrow once then using the up and down arrows allows you to adjust the shutter speed and using the left and right arrows allows you to adjust the aperture; there is no exposure compensation when in manual mode.

Thanks a lot!

This is what I wanted to hear, as it doesn't seem to work that way on the e-pm1!

I down own it, I just checked in the manual ths is page 26. I hope that they didn't make a blunder.. I see that he E-Pm2 has the same bulb and time mode as the E-M5 (a novity about which Olympus made much of a do when it appeared on the E-M5 for the first time). You can see the exposure in progess in live time (you choose the refreshing rate) and stop it (close the shutter) when you are happy with the result. Handy for night photography !

 

[Jorginho]

Don't know about the GX1, but the GH2 is much easier than EPL5. I can do it with the GH2 with my eye on the EVF, nto so with the EPL5. But it is okey in my view.. Just one push up and you can toggle between aperature and shutterspeed and the Fn button is my ISO button. So no too difficult still.

 

[Vedochiaro]

Christian Grevstad wrote:

This is what I wanted to hear, as it doesn't seem to work that way on the e-pm1!

This is the way it works on the E-PL3


In M, wheel rotation switches from aperture to time (in A & S from whatever parameter is in to exposure compensation).

 

[Christian Grevstad]

Thanks guys, I haven't used the e-pm1 much, so I will have a look at it again..




If you set the rotating wheel to control shutter in Manual mode, do you still have to press the up-button before you can control the aperture with the left and right buttons. In other words a two-press operation? Or can you go straight to pressing the right and left buttons to control aperture?

 

[micksh6]

Christian Grevstad wrote:

Note that the E-Pl5 is very customizable. In particular, the fourways controller can be used in different ways. You can allow the rotating wheel around it (which I like because you can change settings more fluidly, but many dislike because you can change settings accidentally), or lock it.

Oh, one more thing: How does the rotating wheel work when in M-mode? CAn you set the wheel to e.g. control the shutter, and then the right and left arrows will control aperture?

In M mode you can set the wheel to control either shutter or aperture - whichever you change more often. Then the other setting can be assigned to Up button. Once you press Up you can change it with Up and Down arrows. It's faster than using Left and Right.

And I wouldn't worry about ISO control. If you have to raise ISO over base level you can just use auto ISO. With Olympus auto ISO works in M mode too and it does a good job. Alternatively you can assign ISO to button too and then change it manually.

 

[baxters]

Christian Grevstad wrote:

This is what I wanted to hear, as it doesn't seem to work that way on the e-pm1!

I have an EPM1.

In manual mode, the wheel changes the shutter. This will happen as soon as the camera comes back in M mode. Then one push on the "UP" button, and now the wheel changes the aperture. Next, press the "OK" button, and the wheel will change ISO, providing that the SCP is enabled, and ISO was the last thing I changed there. Pretty fast, in my opinion, but I don't use Manual Mode, mostly A and S.

Now I may have had to set the camera mode to enable the wheel. Don't remember. However, I would hope the EPM2 and EPL5 can do the same.

 

[Christian Grevstad]

Thanks guys, sounds good!

 

[Christian Grevstad]

So I went ahead and got an E-pl5 on black friday. :-D

Thanks to you guys I know that the manual control will be sufficient.




I will sell my GX1. I will miss the tiltable flash, but gain a better sensor, IBIS and wireless flash.

Really looking forward to putting it through its paces!