Olympus em-1 Impressions (APS-C to FF/APS-H to MFT and here to stay )

Hi everyone ,

I have been reading these forums for quite a while,

Looking around in the different sections and enjoying some photos people take!

The Micro Four thirds system really surprised me with it’s weight to performance ratio!,

So I decided to write a little something about my experience, which I hope might help others to try the system , or keep it a little longer, Hence my first ever post.

Im shooting mainly wildlife,

Having used quite a bit of different cameras, nikon / canon / sony I was a bit hesitant to switch over to a smaller sensor (This was partly due to having owned a nikon V1 besides a d800 …)

But the gh4 and em-10 kind of convinced me mft could be the place where i’d end up,

I normally shoot raw only (not raw+jpg due to buffer filling and clearing) , but the em10 jpg’s got a look I personally liked a lot!, I do like to edit raw files, but for mediocre ones i still like to keep it’s nice not having to spend any time editing.

I used it with a Manual focus lens and that somehow gave a lot of satisfaction and fun.. The gh4 had the panasonic 100-300 on it, It was good for reach and fun to shoot with ,but the sharpness was not close to what i was used to with the big canon or nikon tele’s (which I was not expecting off course).

Although i had been spoiled a bit with FF+Good glass, the MFT cameras produced some nice looking images!, and maybe just as important it somehow made me enjoy the process of taking photos even more !, That little em-10 with a MF lens was a joy to use,

So it made me decide to let the gh4 go, and get the em-1 with 40-150 and 1.4 converter, test it , see if I like it and maybe (probably) return it in case i didn’t. .

Having really enjoyed manual focus , and wanting some more reach on certain occasions, I found a really nice deal on a Canon 500 4.5L (FD). Im looking forward to learn and shoot with long manual glass, If i would not like the olympus combo , it would probably be used on a sony a7II/Nex 7

….Today was the first time I went out and tried the autofocus performance.

I had low expectations, I had read up on some user experiences after the firmware 3.0 and thought they might have been a bit over enthusiastic. It’s hard to express how surprised I was ….

This thing is like a mini canon 1d, I will not claim to be a professional nor a complete newbie, but I actually had higher keeper rates than i previously achieved with my 1d MK IV ( I still cannot believe this)

The tracking was really really good, way above my expectations. With busy backgrounds or small birds it did have a little trouble getting initial focus at times (With pre focus it actually managed ok, but just pointing and trying to focus it had a hard time, I have a feeling the lack of focus limiter also impacts this, where it’s looking through the range with a blue sky and just a swallow filling a tiny portion of the frame).

But overall the tracking was very good, I used C-af tracking with centre small spot/9grid , and tried Af lock :off/low/normal. I intend to test it more thoroughly and make some different ‘case’ settings (depending on subject size /distance /movement)

***Note : It was quite sunny , I am expecting low light to be much worse, even though I hardly shoot at dusk/dawn

It’s already well known that the 40-150 is quite a stellar performer, even with the teleconverter you still get really nice images, I did not do a lot of comparisons yet , but it hardly seems to get any sharper when stopping down , I saw some minor differences between 2.8 and 4, with the tc it’s unexpectedly sharp wide open(since it’s a zoom lens I thought i had to stop it down a tleast 1 stop), it does improve a bit @5.6 , But I would not hesitate to use it at f4 if that would mean shooting at iso 800 instead of 1600.

We all know that 2.8 on mft is around 3.6(APS-C) , 5.6(FF)

But this lens is approaching some whites or surpassing some nikon tele’s resolving power, quite a technologically achievement.

All in all it was an easy decision to keep the olympus and enjoy shooting!,

Some things that made me happy:

-The image quality (Personal taste but it reminded me of my 1d MKIV)

-The 10fps and Deep buffer! ( This is great, it’s my best buffer dept yet!, makes it possible to shoot RAW+Jpeg without being worried) , It really annoyed me for many years, Think nikon d7000(10-12?)/d7100(6raw)/d7200(18raw)/d600(16ish?)/d750/d800, canon 70d 7d/7dII(25raw), 5dIII, even the 1dmkiv(25ish raw).

-The many buttons and customizable options(also that switch!),

-Apparent build quality (Body/lens)

-The (unexpected) great autofocus performance

-Ergonomics ( Surprised such a small camera holds so well! , cannot wait for the grip to arrive).

-Size/weight

-No built in flash (personal and maybe a bit odd)

Some things I dislike/Would like to see in the next iteration.

-Little bit of stutter/lag in viewfinder @ high fps. ( I read it already had been much improved)

-No focus limiter I am aware of (On lens or in body), I am not sure if i missed it, but haven’t found it. I do hope they can implement this somehow in the future!.

-No top LCD screen, I know it’s all in the viewfinder and i probably just need to get used to it, but when walking around I liked that i could see my settings not he top of my camera.

-Even though it is not that much of a concern to me because I don’t do much low light shooting, I’d still liked a bit better high ISO performance.

-16 megapixels is plenty , but it’d be nice if they can get 30-40% more pixels in ( These high res monitors of today are 8/15MP )

-I could do without a touch screen( I do like that is’t not a flippy screen!)

-Battery life ( Is to be expected due to size and IBIS, but still)

**Not very interesting images, but it did not seem to make sense to post without any!,

Some test images with em1 and 40-150 (1.4tc), on first outing(last image without TC).

Some BIF, Different sizes , different lighting/situations.

Just for AF/sharpness, again the pictures are pretty bad imo (lighting and not filled)

sooc, large/superfine, natural picture mode, noise reduction low

Interesting read,thanks for posting.

A quick comment on the Pany 100-300.  It is what it is, a consumer grade lens.  However, I and a few others here would say that at f7.1 and ss greater than 1/1000, it can deliver entirely acceptable images.  What settings were you using?

Dave

do a search for Nzmacro and check out his work with small cameras and big lenses.....

B

Dave Stott wrote:

Interesting read,thanks for posting.

A quick comment on the Pany 100-300. It is what it is, a consumer grade lens. However, I and a few others here would say that at f7.1 and ss greater than 1/1000, it can deliver entirely acceptable images. What settings were you using?

Dave

Yes I agree it delivers (more than) acceptable images , I shot at many different settings, 5.6 6.3 7.1 8.0 , also i think you can get away with pretty slow shutter speeds ..

I know it is not fair to compare it to much more expensive equipment, it was just that I personally was looking for a bit more sharpness @ the longer end for photography ( I mainly used it for video with the gh4)

It's basically the only long option for panasonic if you want image stabilisation and autofocus, and for the price I think it's a really great wildlife lens,

Here are some images I took with it (gh4/em-10)

Cropped

Bill Wallace wrote:

do a search for Nzmacro and check out his work with small cameras and big lenses.....

B

Thanks , I had read /seen some of his threads and images, and took a look at his website.

I do not expect to get anywhere near such results, but it convinced me to at least try some long MF glass!

Good on you and great to see the shots. The Oly 300 F/4 will change things in m4/3 when it arrives.

The legacy lenses. The 500 F/4.5L is a lot of focal length hand held on m4/3, it takes a lot of getting use to for sure. On the NEX-7 its an excellent balance between focal length and field of view. It makes a huge difference for BIF's on m4/3 with the extra crop factor, its not easy at a FOV of 1000mm on FF. 400mm would be a good balance with the FOV on m4/3, 300mm should do fine as well and especially if used with the 1.4x TC if the quality is good.

The FD 500 F/4.5L is one heck of a sharp lens and no CA, its a special lens that one for sports and wild life, you will enjoy it Be stubborn and practise like crazy, it will happen.

m4/3 and APS-C is here to stay for me, they both have their benefits and their downsides.

All the best and nicely done.

Danny.

nzmacro wrote:

Good on you and great to see the shots. The Oly 300 F/4 will change things in m4/3 when it arrives.

The legacy lenses. The 500 F/4.5L is a lot of focal length hand held on m4/3, it takes a lot of getting use to for sure. On the NEX-7 its an excellent balance between focal length and field of view. It makes a huge difference for BIF's on m4/3 with the extra crop factor, its not easy at a FOV of 1000mm on FF. 400mm would be a good balance with the FOV on m4/3, 300mm should do fine as well and especially if used with the 1.4x TC if the quality is good.

The FD 500 F/4.5L is one heck of a sharp lens and no CA, its a special lens that one for sports and wild life, you will enjoy it Be stubborn and practise like crazy, it will happen.

m4/3 and APS-C is here to stay for me, they both have their benefits and their downsides.

All the best and nicely done.

Danny.

Hey,

I will sure need a lot of practise doing MF and handholding...,

The FOV and weight won't be that much of a problem i hope, shot quite a bit handheld at 910 equivalent with a significantly heavier setup, albeit with autofocus...,

I think i am going to love the challenge of manual focus, In my view it makes it more like a sport!, and you can only blame yourself for missed shots and not the autofocus from your camera  , You seem to have the hang of it ( I looked at several of your posts and took a glimpse at your website, really really nice pictures!)

What i liked about the nex 7 was the focus peaking , The peaking on the olympus em-10 was really 'laggy' when i used it, so i relied more on magnification, I am not sure if the em-1 is less lag , but i doubt it since it's actually an older camera than the em-10

The Dof with a 500 4.5 should be really thin , I imagine it relatively close distances it should be possible to see the approximate focus?, Do you have any hints or tips you could share :D? (Forgive me if i had missed that on your site or other posts).

FDD5 wrote:

nzmacro wrote:

Good on you and great to see the shots. The Oly 300 F/4 will change things in m4/3 when it arrives.

The legacy lenses. The 500 F/4.5L is a lot of focal length hand held on m4/3, it takes a lot of getting use to for sure. On the NEX-7 its an excellent balance between focal length and field of view. It makes a huge difference for BIF's on m4/3 with the extra crop factor, its not easy at a FOV of 1000mm on FF. 400mm would be a good balance with the FOV on m4/3, 300mm should do fine as well and especially if used with the 1.4x TC if the quality is good.

The FD 500 F/4.5L is one heck of a sharp lens and no CA, its a special lens that one for sports and wild life, you will enjoy it Be stubborn and practise like crazy, it will happen.

m4/3 and APS-C is here to stay for me, they both have their benefits and their downsides.

All the best and nicely done.

Danny.

Hey,

I will sure need a lot of practise doing MF and handholding...,

It comes in time. Don't expect to just go out and go click, it won't happen. Slowly you learn your own techniques and when to push the shutter button and when not to. You eventually learn what you can take from a certain distance and what you can crop after the shot. Set your shutter speeds high, your ISO as low as you can get for the conditions and shoot with the sun at your back. It all comes together in time. Patience is the best tool we have and don't expect miracles right from the start, you have to work at it. You have the right attitude already reading below 

Shoot at the lower burst for BIF's, not a fast burst. You need time to move the focus ring and a fast burst is a pain in the butt for that and it fills the buffer too fast.

The FOV and weight won't be that much of a problem i hope, shot quite a bit handheld at 910 equivalent with a significantly heavier setup, albeit with autofocus...,

I think i am going to love the challenge of manual focus, In my view it makes it more like a sport!, and you can only blame yourself for missed shots and not the autofocus from your camera ,

Bang on the money. Its the challenge and the hunt. It helps you breath and to keep the blood flowing Take away the challenge and I'll take up knitting and that doesn't appeal.

You seem to have the hang of it ( I looked at several of your posts and took a glimpse at your website, really really nice pictures!)

Thanks, but its all I know. I'm nowhere near as versatile as most in here and I look at their shots in wonder sometimes. With what I take, it all gets a bit boring I guess, but the challenge drives it all.

What i liked about the nex 7 was the focus peaking , The peaking on the olympus em-10 was really 'laggy' when i used it, so i relied more on magnification, I am not sure if the em-1 is less lag , but i doubt it since it's actually an older camera than the em-10

Can't stand the focus peaking on the Oly, very cartoonish and the Sony has the best system in how clear the image still is in the EVF. I still love it. However, the EVF is better in the E-M10 IMO and that sort of makes up for it. Excellent EVF that little Oly has

The Dof with a 500 4.5 should be really thin , I imagine it relatively close distances it should be possible to see the approximate focus?, Do you have any hints or tips you could share :D? (Forgive me if i had missed that on your site or other posts).

Try this one if you haven't already seen it ......

http://birdsinaction.com/thisandthat/index.php?post/2015/03/07/Manual-focus-techniques6

Read it slowly with a coffee or two. That's basically how I MF.

All the best and I like the way you think

Danny.

nzmacro wrote:

FDD5 wrote:

nzmacro wrote:

Good on you and great to see the shots. The Oly 300 F/4 will change things in m4/3 when it arrives.

The legacy lenses. The 500 F/4.5L is a lot of focal length hand held on m4/3, it takes a lot of getting use to for sure. On the NEX-7 its an excellent balance between focal length and field of view. It makes a huge difference for BIF's on m4/3 with the extra crop factor, its not easy at a FOV of 1000mm on FF. 400mm would be a good balance with the FOV on m4/3, 300mm should do fine as well and especially if used with the 1.4x TC if the quality is good.

The FD 500 F/4.5L is one heck of a sharp lens and no CA, its a special lens that one for sports and wild life, you will enjoy it Be stubborn and practise like crazy, it will happen.

m4/3 and APS-C is here to stay for me, they both have their benefits and their downsides.

All the best and nicely done.

Danny.

Hey,

I will sure need a lot of practise doing MF and handholding...,

It comes in time. Don't expect to just go out and go click, it won't happen. Slowly you learn your own techniques and when to push the shutter button and when not to. You eventually learn what you can take from a certain distance and what you can crop after the shot. Set your shutter speeds high, your ISO as low as you can get for the conditions and shoot with the sun at your back. It all comes together in time. Patience is the best tool we have and don't expect miracles right from the start, you have to work at it. You have the right attitude already reading below

Shoot at the lower burst for BIF's, not a fast burst. You need time to move the focus ring and a fast burst is a pain in the butt for that and it fills the buffer too fast.

The FOV and weight won't be that much of a problem i hope, shot quite a bit handheld at 910 equivalent with a significantly heavier setup, albeit with autofocus...,

I think i am going to love the challenge of manual focus, In my view it makes it more like a sport!, and you can only blame yourself for missed shots and not the autofocus from your camera ,

Bang on the money. Its the challenge and the hunt. It helps you breath and to keep the blood flowing Take away the challenge and I'll take up knitting and that doesn't appeal.

You seem to have the hang of it ( I looked at several of your posts and took a glimpse at your website, really really nice pictures!)

Thanks, but its all I know. I'm nowhere near as versatile as most in here and I look at their shots in wonder sometimes. With what I take, it all gets a bit boring I guess, but the challenge drives it all.

What i liked about the nex 7 was the focus peaking , The peaking on the olympus em-10 was really 'laggy' when i used it, so i relied more on magnification, I am not sure if the em-1 is less lag , but i doubt it since it's actually an older camera than the em-10

Can't stand the focus peaking on the Oly, very cartoonish and the Sony has the best system in how clear the image still is in the EVF. I still love it. However, the EVF is better in the E-M10 IMO and that sort of makes up for it. Excellent EVF that little Oly has

The Dof with a 500 4.5 should be really thin , I imagine it relatively close distances it should be possible to see the approximate focus?, Do you have any hints or tips you could share :D? (Forgive me if i had missed that on your site or other posts).

Try this one if you haven't already seen it ......

http://birdsinaction.com/thisandthat/index.php?post/2015/03/07/Manual-focus-techniques6

Read it slowly with a coffee or two. That's basically how I MF.

All the best and I like the way you think

Danny.

Great shots Danny

any legacy lenses you might recommend for birds in flight?

- under $500?

- under $1000?

i have the Panasonic 100-300 but looking for something longer without blowing the budget

thanks

FDD5 wrote:

***Note : It was quite sunny , I am expecting low light to be much worse, even though I hardly shoot at dusk/dawn

Unfortunately, that's the rub.  Once the light gets slightly low the tracking performance drops off a cliff.