Olympus OM-D E-M5 Officially Announced

M43 is getting there. I still think I'm going to hang on to my DSLR and GRD though.
When a nonhumped viewfinder and dual dials make it into rangefinder panasonic GX1 body i may make the jump.

I also just looked through the M43 lens lineup and it can be quite expensive if you want a premium lineup.
OMD E-m5, oly12mm, pan25mm, oly45mm =$2600
D700, samyang24mm,35,85,= $3000

Well why not D800 and 24-70 f2.8 Tamron/Sigma then?? will be roughly same price :D

On a serious note, Can't see myself comparing these two .. totally different systems!!!

Hoping eventually for a Pen version of this camera to use alongside my GH1 and replace my E-PL1 in a year or so.

Was thinking to replace GH1 with upcoming GH3, but now thinking its better to replace Pen E-P1 with this one. As GH1 is great as it is, don't really see much need to get it replaced with something new. GH3 possibly could only enhance on speed or resolution, and am fine with both on GH1. But this is such an upgrade to old and lazy E-P1. I need its tilt-touch and sharp LCD, responsiveness, tough body, IS improvement, sielent shutter ..


Dunno mate, I'm just a simple exposure compensation tweaking kinda guy. Thankfully the Olympus live view is quite accurate re: exposure to allow me to do this as opposed to Panasonic in particular.

The only time I changed the Centeral Metering recently, was in last couple of years when I tried to took moon shot and even the lowest Exposure compensation didn't helped.

BUT SERIOUSLY, can anyone explain to me why Oly does what it does? What's the big deal or difficulty about allowing FULL customization???

There could be couple of reason, possibly technical limitation, the way individual manufacturers implement these functionalities. There are some controls, more difficult to place farther from the their hardware system. If the function is a software/ firmware bound probably you can assign it anywhere. Hardware bound are probably better placed next to their units.

Then other possibility is your understanding, some of these buttons are standardised to be placed at some places. For example Shutter release button (I know its not the best example, but just make the point clear) always top right corner. Similarly ISO, AF Mode, Drive mode etc.

Then maybe a less possible reason could be the fact that Oly doesnt give you a top level LCD. So the function those are more like switches, you may like to see next to the bigger LCD at the back, to get a feedback after pressing if its enabled or disabled. As they are not on off switches.

Peace! Though I feel nothing gonna help you today , will pray for you before sleeping! :drinks:
 
hmm.
I realise I am out of step on this, but frankly it looks like an ugly lump to me, especially that VF tower (you can hardly call it just a "hump") ... the specs are fine, but then specs always are ... but if I'm going to shell out for a camera, I'll want something that cries out to be picked up and used, and this simply doesn't ...

The more and more I sit back and watch all this, I'm starting to agree.
 
Was thinking to replace GH1 with upcoming GH3, but now thinking its better to replace Pen E-P1 with this one. As GH1 is great as it is, don't really see much need to get it replaced with something new. GH3 possibly could only enhance on speed or resolution, and am fine with both on GH1. But this is such an upgrade to old and lazy E-P1. I need its tilt-touch and sharp LCD, responsiveness, tough body, IS improvement, sielent shutter ..

I'd like to keep to the formula of a larger body and a smaller body. For the larger body the flip screen on the GH cameras is an absolute must, so is the forward projecting grip, and the multi-aspect sensor not far behind it. The fact that the GH1 sensor may still be the best of the Micro 4/3 sensors at lower ISOs for everything except absolute resolution (need extra megapixels for that!), and that it can produce colours just about as good as any Olympus from RAW leaves me in no hurry to sell it. For my second Micro 4/3 body I just want something small yet still grippable. The E-PL1 is certainly that but could of course benefit from a boost in responsiveness and a higher DR sensor like the GH1 and (hopefully) the E-M5. That's why I'm waiting for parts of the E-M5 to trickle down the Pen line. A silent or near-silent shutter doesn't concern me greatly. If I'm feeling so concerned about taking a shot that I don't want to be heard then I probably wouldn't be attempting it anyway, and I don't do anything else like wildlife shooting where a quite shutter would be a benefit. There is also the fact that I like the sound of a mechanical curtain shutter* :)

*Exception being any Canon Rebel/XX0D camera - they sound like you are hurting them when you press the shutter!

BTW Armando, I also don't understand why Olympus chooses to be so selective about customisation either.
 
Ya know Armando....maybe they never even thought of it. Send them a note. It can't hurt. The worst that happens is you are ignored (which is what is happening anyways). Maybe if we camera consumers asked for stuff more vociferously, we might be heard and make a change.
 
It was fashioned after the OM1, and the "pentaprism housing" is now the EVF. It is form and function. Looking at the clip on VF-2 and VF-3, this is a nice solution. The clip on viewfinders are flimsy and prone to falling off. I'm not going to spend $1K on it to replace my EP2 with it's VF-2. But looking at this new camera, I wonder why Olympus ever went with the "hot shoe attachment" finder in the first place.
 
I'd like to keep to the formula of a larger body and a smaller body. For the larger body the flip screen on the GH cameras is an absolute must, so is the forward projecting grip, and the multi-aspect sensor not far behind it. The fact that the GH1 sensor may still be the best of the Micro 4/3 sensors at lower ISOs for everything except absolute resolution (need extra megapixels for that!), and that it can produce colours just about as good as any Olympus from RAW leaves me in no hurry to sell it. For my second Micro 4/3 body I just want something small yet still grippable. The E-PL1 is certainly that but could of course benefit from a boost in responsiveness and a higher DR sensor like the GH1 and (hopefully) the E-M5. That's why I'm waiting for parts of the E-M5 to trickle down the Pen line. A silent or near-silent shutter doesn't concern me greatly. If I'm feeling so concerned about taking a shot that I don't want to be heard then I probably wouldn't be attempting it anyway, and I don't do anything else like wildlife shooting where a quite shutter would be a benefit. There is also the fact that I like the sound of a mechanical curtain shutter* :)

*Exception being any Canon Rebel/XX0D camera - they sound like you are hurting them when you press the shutter!

BTW Armando, I also don't understand why Olympus chooses to be so selective about customisation either.

Interesting post.

I am coming to see that it's unlikely one camera will do it all for me. High ISO doesn't mean much to me - I am more interested in low ISO ability. I want to stay at least partly with M43, and am leaning toward a Nex 7 or new Fuji, and one of the smaller Pens. It would be nice to be able to share lenses, but I don't think M43 can yet give me the quality I want for certain applications.

I will of course wait to see how this Olympus performs, but I see no reason to expect any dramatic performance improvements over already available sensors. The big news here is the camera, not the sensor. As for the camera, it seems well thought out, and well put together. I look forward to playing with one, but the way I see things now I don't see it offering any advantages for my photography.

Oh - yes, I too don't understand the reason for limiting the customization of Fn buttons.
 
Well could not resist

I ordered mine off B&H via Fedex BLACK OM-D E-M5

I wanted the Battery grip but B&H don't seem to stock it I chose B&H because Amazon have the battery grip and camera but wont ship the camera to Aus.

Any suggestions I would like the Battery Grip.

Cant wait :) 5 axis IBIS just right for my non OIS primes
 
The E-PL1 is certainly that but could of course benefit from a boost in responsiveness and a higher DR sensor like the GH1 and (hopefully) the E-M5. That's why I'm waiting for parts of the E-M5 to trickle down the Pen line.
Well for the same reason I liked E-PL3, except not a major advantage over DR. But I know what you mean here, from the formulae of big and small body.

A silent or near-silent shutter doesn't concern me greatly. If I'm feeling so concerned about taking a shot that I don't want to be heard then I probably wouldn't be attempting it anyway, and I don't do anything else like wildlife shooting where a quite shutter would be a benefit.

The reason I was asking for it was the fact that I like taking photos at religious places, where people better not be bothered and some times only candids make sense. Like when absorbed into their prayers, singing or doing any other activity. I am already unhappy that I bought white color for my sielent camera purchase (Oly XZ-1, just bec I love its looks in white) and am bit concerned that am going to do same for my OM-D :((
 
That's exactly how I feel.

I will buy the camera with the weatherproof lens, which might eventually be decentered. Is there a name for the phobia ob buying decentered lenses?

I have changed my mind. The new Olympus is a great little camera, but in the meantime I have contemplated more about my style of shooting and I cannot ignore all the buts anymore. At Mu-43.com I wrote:


I chose "Will definitely pre-order." and have changed my mind. I won't pre-order it and most probably I won't buy it, either. The E-M5 is a great camera and I am convinced, that it is one of the best compact system cameras, but maybe not for me. The Panasonic GX1 is really small and together with the new 14-42mm zoom it is not much bigger than my G12 from Canon. Most of my favorite pictures are taken during hiking or during strolling around with my compact camera, the G12. So buying the GX1 just makes more sense for my needs. The GX1 is small enough to have it with me all the time, while the E-M5, which is a very small camera for what it is, seems to be just a little bit too big for that.

I would have ordered the E-M5 together with the 12-50mm. But I just cannot live with such a unusual slow zoom. Its macro mode would be nice, but not necessary. The difference between the GX1 kit and the E-M5 kit is also big enough, that I could buy the 25mm, too, and I would not spend much more money than for the E-M5 kit. I know that I am happier with a greater lens than with a more beautiful camera, because at the end of the day I prefer small cameras with great optics.

The GX1 is no new thought. When the Olympus had not been announced yet, I had a thrill of anticipation, but already thought that it might not be the perfect camera for me. I even considered the Canon G1X, but since I get a Panasonic GX1 for nearly the same price and the possibility to mount a great lens like the Leica 25mm on it, I prefer the GX1. But then the new Olympus was announced and I was carried away. In the meantime my brain functions have been recovered and I can think clearly again.
 
The GX1 is no new thought. When the Olympus had not been announced yet, I had a thrill of anticipation, but already thought that it might not be the perfect camera for me. I even considered the Canon G1X, but since I get a Panasonic GX1 for nearly the same price and the possibility to mount a great lens like the Leica 25mm on it, I prefer the GX1. But then the new Olympus was announced and I was carried away. In the meantime my brain functions have been recovered and I can think clearly again.

Congratulations on the GAS recovery! :D

I could still go either way on the preorder. The only thing holding me back is that I, like you, actually prefer the size of the E-P3 or GX1 and actually don't mind an accessory/modular EVF. I really use the viewfinder when I am doing outdoor shots during the day. For those lower ISO shots, I have been preferring to use my Ricoh GXR 28mm anyway and I do have the accessory viewfinder I can throw in my bag. When I am going out with friends or hanging with the family, and don't have my Domke manpurse handy, it would be a lot easier to throw my E-P3 in a jacket pocket... I think the OM-D may need to go over my shoulder.
 
I have changed my mind. The new Olympus is a great little camera, but in the meantime I have contemplated more about my style of shooting and I cannot ignore all the buts anymore.

Same here. I've had to get my GAS under control and really, I have enough cameras here to do for the rest of my life. My K-5 with its primes, or even the kit zooms, would be enough, but the other cameras I have are also adequate and better, for any task I may think to set them. The only out of control GAS I might have in future is likely to be related to a K-mount GXR module, in which case I know I will NEED to have a GXR.
 
Back
Top