Olly OM-D E-M10 Good idea?

I shoot mainly nature and wildlife and love my Canon 5D MkIII and 100-400 MkII but for some time now I have been toying with the idea of a lighter setup as a second camera and one to take with me when tramping and trips into town, etc.  The Canon would still be my main wildlife setup but when exploring somewhere new I often don't want to carry that. I have a Canon GX7 but miss the longer reach that I am so used too and I find the IQ of the photos a bit hit and miss (bad photographer).

So I've been contemplating the Olympus E-M10 and pairing it with the Olympus 40-150mm Pro f/2.8 and 1.4x convertor. Now whilst I really would like the 12-40mm Pro f/2.8 I can't justify the cost, I was saving for a 7D MkII, but thought about the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5.

So views. Am I mad? Should I stick with what I have and keep my folding for the 7D MkII or go for a second lighter system? How do these two lenses stack up? Bear in mind that I am used to good quality photos that are tack sharp.

Thanks Gelbvieh

I love my OM-D E-M10  Go for it

There is nothing wrong with this camera in terms of image quality it will perform about as good as a Canon 7D. That's not a matter of Olympus being good, but Canon being so far behind with their APS-C sensors that its a joke.

Where you will suffer is from the slow AF speed, the Canon 5D is no speed demon itself, but the 7D is and you may miss this. I've taken plenty of good photos with my E-M5 though and wouldn't fault it. It's just not really cut out for fast moving birds and wildlife.

You could do it with the E-M1 but you'd have to want to spend the cash for that body and by your implied way of thinking I'm not sure you want to spend that kind of money. The 14 F/2.5 is a fine enough lens, and the 28mm frame is a pretty good one, not to long not to short, pretty much a modern "standard" lens, you wont have any problems should you decide to go down that pathway.

I like my E-M5 but I don't shoot action photography and if I'm shooting birds it's generally the type that will come to me. Food helps with that process of course, but its a demonstration of ways around that problem and it allowed me to get a speckled pigeon and a Tree Parrot in one shot. Those dragon fly shots are a whole lot of luck more than anything else.

The E-M10 will produce largely the same quality of images with two distinct advantages, those being, 0 second anti-shock and focus peaking, although you do give up the 5 point IBIS, weather sealing and grip extenders you can get for the E-M5 and E-M1. The grip for the E-M10 is just not very good. It doesn't add enough bulk to change the dynamics of the camera and the E-M10 was too fiddly in my hands. There is always the fotodiox grip if you want more grip, but it doesn't reposition the shutter button the way the battery grip does on the E-M5 so you're faced with the old Canon style reach around to get to your shutter button which is no good if you've got smaller hands https://www.fotodioxpro.com/fotodiox-pro-all-metal-black-camera-hand-grip-for-olympus-om-d-e-m10-mirrorless-digital-camera-with-battery-access.html

Gelbvieh wrote:

I shoot mainly nature and wildlife and love my Canon 5D MkIII and 100-400 MkII but for some time now I have been toying with the idea of a lighter setup as a second camera and one to take with me when tramping and trips into town, etc. The Canon would still be my main wildlife setup but when exploring somewhere new I often don't want to carry that. I have a Canon GX7 but miss the longer reach that I am so used too and I find the IQ of the photos a bit hit and miss (bad photographer).

So I've been contemplating the Olympus E-M10 and pairing it with the Olympus 40-150mm Pro f/2.8 and 1.4x convertor. Now whilst I really would like the 12-40mm Pro f/2.8 I can't justify the cost, I was saving for a 7D MkII, but thought about the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5.

So views. Am I mad? Should I stick with what I have and keep my folding for the 7D MkII or go for a second lighter system? How do these two lenses stack up? Bear in mind that I am used to good quality photos that are tack sharp.

Thanks Gelbvieh

There are 6 of us that are camera "friends" that shoot together. Of the six of us all but one have moved from Canon (7d, 7DII, 5M11) to M43 in the last year, We all do primarily nature photography, every thing from dragonflies to safari, and are all pleased with our move(s). Three of us shoot Olympus (E-M10 and E-M5 II)  and two shoot Panasonic (GX7). We all went from shooting the Canon 100-400L to using the Panasonic 100-300 OIS on our respective M43 bodies.

I went from a Canon 7d/100-400 to an E-M10/100-300 and my image quality improved greatly. Now this is primarily because at 70+ years I was beginning to have problems hand holding the Canon kit weighed as much as a  5 lb bag of potatoes. I've recently moved up to an Olympus E-M5 II and would recommend you take a look at that. The focusing is faster than the E-M10 and more akin to what you are used to with the Canon. You should be able to find a used M5II for about $800.

I've not had much time to try the M5II on bigger critters but here are a few "small" examples from my first outing with it and the 100-300.

Here's one with the E-M10 using the 100-300 and the internal 2x teleconverter  (1120mm equiv).

Thanks and great dragonfly photos.

Gelbvieh.

gary0319 wrote:

Gelbvieh wrote:

I shoot mainly nature and wildlife and love my Canon 5D MkIII and 100-400 MkII but for some time now I have been toying with the idea of a lighter setup as a second camera and one to take with me when tramping and trips into town, etc. The Canon would still be my main wildlife setup but when exploring somewhere new I often don't want to carry that. I have a Canon GX7 but miss the longer reach that I am so used too and I find the IQ of the photos a bit hit and miss (bad photographer).

So I've been contemplating the Olympus E-M10 and pairing it with the Olympus 40-150mm Pro f/2.8 and 1.4x convertor. Now whilst I really would like the 12-40mm Pro f/2.8 I can't justify the cost, I was saving for a 7D MkII, but thought about the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5.

So views. Am I mad? Should I stick with what I have and keep my folding for the 7D MkII or go for a second lighter system? How do these two lenses stack up? Bear in mind that I am used to good quality photos that are tack sharp.

Thanks Gelbvieh

There are 6 of us that are camera "friends" that shoot together. Of the six of us all but one have moved from Canon (7d, 7DII, 5M11) to M43 in the last year,

Now that does tell me something.

We all do primarily nature photography, every thing from dragonflies to safari, and are all pleased with our move(s). Three of us shoot Olympus (E-M10 and E-M5 II) and two shoot Panasonic (GX7). We all went from shooting the Canon 100-400L to using the Panasonic 100-300 OIS on our respective M43 bodies.

How have you found the Panasonic 100-300. Do any of you have the Olympus 40-150 Pro to compare against?

I went from a Canon 7d/100-400 to an E-M10/100-300 and my image quality improved greatly. Now this is primarily because at 70+ years I was beginning to have problems hand holding the Canon kit weighed as much as a 5 lb bag of potatoes. I've recently moved up to an Olympus E-M5 II and would recommend you take a look at that. The focusing is faster than the E-M10 and more akin to what you are used to with the Canon. You should be able to find a used M5II for about $800.

I wish I could find any second hand E-M10's or E-M5II's here in New Zealand. Due to price and my uncertainty with a second different setup I thought I'd be better with the E-M10 to start with. I can always upgrade the camera in the future especially is focus tracking improves. I thought all I was really losing was the weather sealing, and a little bit in frames per second and the 5 axis stabilization. Anything else?

Also given you have used both how have you found the 5 axis stabilization of the E-M5II over the 3 axis of the E-M1o?

I've not had much time to try the M5II on bigger critters but here are a few "small" examples from my first outing with it and the 100-300.

Here's one with the E-M10 using the 100-300 and the internal 2x teleconverter (1120mm equiv).

Internal teleconverter???

Your photos speak volumes for your skill as a photographer and the camera and lens package.

Thanks Gelbvieh.

Strick Shooter wrote:

This is basically the path I took. I would take a MKIIn or 7D and a 100-400 plus a shorter lens or 2 when I wanted shots. It got to the point that I would not take the camera because of size. Decided to play with mirrorless and after trying some other stuff I settled on Oly.

I picked up a e-m10 to start along with the "kit" 40-150 and 14-42 and could not be happier. I have since picked up more Oly gear (e-m1 and some other lenses) and find that this is now my go to system, even for sports and wildlife. The reach, versatility, and IQ can't be beat for the size and weight.

Hi

What made you also pick up an Oly E-M1 and what other lenses did you get?

Thanks Gelvbieh.

-- hide signature --

www.zoominphoto.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/strickshooter/

Gelbvieh wrote:

gary0319 wrote:

Gelbvieh wrote:

I shoot mainly nature and wildlife and love my Canon 5D MkIII and 100-400 MkII but for some time now I have been toying with the idea of a lighter setup as a second camera and one to take with me when tramping and trips into town, etc. The Canon would still be my main wildlife setup but when exploring somewhere new I often don't want to carry that. I have a Canon GX7 but miss the longer reach that I am so used too and I find the IQ of the photos a bit hit and miss (bad photographer).

So I've been contemplating the Olympus E-M10 and pairing it with the Olympus 40-150mm Pro f/2.8 and 1.4x convertor. Now whilst I really would like the 12-40mm Pro f/2.8 I can't justify the cost, I was saving for a 7D MkII, but thought about the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5.

So views. Am I mad? Should I stick with what I have and keep my folding for the 7D MkII or go for a second lighter system? How do these two lenses stack up? Bear in mind that I am used to good quality photos that are tack sharp.

Thanks Gelbvieh

There are 6 of us that are camera "friends" that shoot together. Of the six of us all but one have moved from Canon (7d, 7DII, 5M11) to M43 in the last year,

Now that does tell me something.

We all do primarily nature photography, every thing from dragonflies to safari, and are all pleased with our move(s). Three of us shoot Olympus (E-M10 and E-M5 II) and two shoot Panasonic (GX7). We all went from shooting the Canon 100-400L to using the Panasonic 100-300 OIS on our respective M43 bodies.

How have you found the Panasonic 100-300. Do any of you have the Olympus 40-150 Pro to compare against?

We all use the Panny 100-300, primarily because we all came from the Canon 100-300 and wanted the extra reach. On my 7d the 100-400 was actually 160-640, and the Panny 100-300 is 200-600 equiv. So, pretty close to the Canon.

I went from a Canon 7d/100-400 to an E-M10/100-300 and my image quality improved greatly. Now this is primarily because at 70+ years I was beginning to have problems hand holding the Canon kit weighed as much as a 5 lb bag of potatoes. I've recently moved up to an Olympus E-M5 II and would recommend you take a look at that. The focusing is faster than the E-M10 and more akin to what you are used to with the Canon. You should be able to find a used M5II for about $800.

I wish I could find any second hand E-M10's or E-M5II's here in New Zealand. Due to price and my uncertainty with a second different setup I thought I'd be better with the E-M10 to start with. I can always upgrade the camera in the future especially is focus tracking improves. I thought all I was really losing was the weather sealing, and a little bit in frames per second and the 5 axis stabilization. Anything else?

The M5II includes a First Curtain Shutter delay that eliminates "shutter shock", with between frame focusing even in low speed burst mode (about 5 frames per sec). The E-M10 has this feature, but only in single shot mode.

Also given you have used both how have you found the 5 axis stabilization of the E-M5II over the 3 axis of the E-M1o?

The 3 axis stabilization works very well and I've not seen, in my shooting, where the 5 axis of the M5II is noticeably better. I do however tend to rely on the Panasonic OIS when using the 100-300, even on the M5II.

I've not had much time to try the M5II on bigger critters but here are a few "small" examples from my first outing with it and the 100-300.

Here's one with the E-M10 using the 100-300 and the internal 2x teleconverter (1120mm equiv).

Internal teleconverter???

Olympus includes an in-camera crop that takes the middle of the image, crops it, and then upscales it back to the original image size.  a 2x factor. However, you will get the same results if you just crop after the fact and upscale....still kind of fun.

Your photos speak volumes for your skill as a photographer and the camera and lens package.

Thanks Gelbvieh.

Gelbvieh wrote:

I shoot mainly nature and wildlife and love my Canon 5D MkIII and 100-400 MkII but for some time now I have been toying with the idea of a lighter setup as a second camera and one to take with me when tramping and trips into town, etc. The Canon would still be my main wildlife setup but when exploring somewhere new I often don't want to carry that. I have a Canon GX7 but miss the longer reach that I am so used too and I find the IQ of the photos a bit hit and miss (bad photographer).

So I've been contemplating the Olympus E-M10 and pairing it with the Olympus 40-150mm Pro f/2.8 and 1.4x convertor. Now whilst I really would like the 12-40mm Pro f/2.8 I can't justify the cost, I was saving for a 7D MkII, but thought about the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5.

So views. Am I mad? Should I stick with what I have and keep my folding for the 7D MkII or go for a second lighter system? How do these two lenses stack up? Bear in mind that I am used to good quality photos that are tack sharp.

Thanks Gelbvieh

If you're gonna spring for the 45-150 Pro, you might as well pick up the Olympus 40-150 4.0-5.6 while you're at it. It's now just $99 and it's a darn good lens (and it's perfect for those occasions where you'd like to shed an additional 1.5 pounds). The build quality isn't great but hell, at that price, you can buy two.

Of course if you shoot wildlife you could always get yourself a proper camera and buy a G7

Nice shots Trevor, was that with the 4K Photo?

gary0319 wrote:

Nice shots Trevor, was that with the 4K Photo?

No that's just normal shooting with the 100-300.  although I like the 4K and I'm not convinced that it's the right thing for shots like this.  Tracking moving targets  in the EVF is a little more difficult. Where I see it being brilliant is jugglers, kids parties, kite surfers etc etc. For birds it will be great for catching the Tern or Gull just before it hits the water or the fishing Heron.

In terms of real world functional performance the E-M5, E-M10 and E-M5II are all much the same, the E-M10 and E-M5 II share newer firmware which still has upgrades, the E-M5 I which I have has older firmware, which means no updates. They're all about as fast as each other, which means slow CDAF based tracking which is not particularly good particularly at this stage given the other cameras out there such as the G7, GX8, GH4 and E-M1 which all have faster auto-focus.

The weather sealing? I thought I'd use it at first but it never really gets into a situation with weather in Australia where I can't shoot shots, it might be different in New Zealand due to the very different weather across the ditch.

You pick up focus peaking and zero second anti-shock though which at this stage? It's worth it... The E-M10 is a great camera provided you don't need a battery grip or AC power adapter, which also comes in the grip of the E-M5 and E-M1 series cameras.

What you lose is as I said a powered grip and weather sealing, you may not need these though and you lose some ergonomics. I find the E-M10 too small, it's smaller than the E-M5 and when you put a grip on it, it doesn't actually change the dynamics of the camera as none of the buttons move, the E-M5 with the grip on the front of it reassigns the shutter button and either the aperture control or shutter speed dial. The E-M5 II does this by default and its much better, as its not just a pass-through to the button from the existing buttons on the camera. The E-M1 gives you ISO controls on dial which is even better again.

oberlin1 wrote:

Picked one up for our trip to Alaska....was very please but get the Oly grip. Makes a huge difference. Good luck!

Oberlin1

+1

It will set you back maybe $50 but it's totally worth it.  Very little weight increase, but the grip is a must-buy.

The Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 was my favorite lens on the E-PM1, and now the same on my E-M10. It's so sharp and I love the colors. It just 'pops.' Maybe I have an especially good copy.

Gelbvieh wrote:

I shoot mainly nature and wildlife and love my Canon 5D MkIII and 100-400 MkII but for some time now I have been toying with the idea of a lighter setup as a second camera and one to take with me when tramping and trips into town, etc. The Canon would still be my main wildlife setup but when exploring somewhere new I often don't want to carry that. I have a Canon GX7 but miss the longer reach that I am so used too and I find the IQ of the photos a bit hit and miss (bad photographer).

So I've been contemplating the Olympus E-M10 and pairing it with the Olympus 40-150mm Pro f/2.8 and 1.4x convertor. Now whilst I really would like the 12-40mm Pro f/2.8 I can't justify the cost, I was saving for a 7D MkII, but thought about the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5.

So views. Am I mad? Should I stick with what I have and keep my folding for the 7D MkII or go for a second lighter system? How do these two lenses stack up? Bear in mind that I am used to good quality photos that are tack sharp.

Thanks Gelbvieh

I have been called mad many times...it is a badge of honor. Embrace it.

I do have that combination, the E-M10 with 40-150 PRO lens and 1.4x converter. I find that lens and converter seems more at ease with my E-M1, but nevertheless produces very fine images on the E-M10 as well. More often than not my 12-40 PRO is paired with the E-M10, and the 40-150 PRO is paired with the E-M1 with HLD-7 grip. They work just fine the other way around, but this way balances the lens and camera better. The E-M10 on the back end of the 40-150 PRO lens literally hangs in the air as I use the tripod mount for hand held shots.

Tack sharp is no problem with either PRO lens, the 12-40, 40-150, or even the 7-14. Enjoy what ever you decide to do.