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OM-D size comparisions

monza

Active member
The Aria is a very petite SLR...the Olympus makes the F100 look huge...





 
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frelwa

Guest
Yeah, it's almost as small as an iPhone, but you can't text on it. :LOL:
 

Terry

New member
Looking forward to handling it. What I'm trying to get my brain around is at what point are we small enough. I can see the need/use case for super compact, but for your full featured primary camera the drive to go smaller and smaller is in my mind misguided.

I believe you get the smaller from no mirror and crop sensors allowing for size reduction but button placement and ergonomics are more important than size to me and I don't want the manufacturers to get carried away on size.
 

monza

Active member
I agree 100%, Terry. I am very impressed with the speed and responsiveness of the camera. I like that the battery compartment is separate from the SD card slot (unusual on a small camera.)

But the buttons are miniscule, and close to each other. Press the Fn button and you might hit the play button instead.

The EVF is centrally located, so it makes things a bit cramped when shooting (unlike the NEX 7 which has the EVF on the far left of the back of the camera.)

Handling would be greatly improved with the grip, I think. But then it's a $1600 camera.

5-way IS is impressive. EVF is great. Touchscreen! Lots to like here...
 

henningw

Member
This size thing intrigues me.

I'm 6'2 and 230lb, and digitally I use:
Canon 7D and 5DII; soon III. No grip, etc.
M8 and M9 Leicas
Panasonic GH2 and G3 primarily and soon, the OM-D

I still use a large variety of film cameras; some quite large and some small in all kinds of formats. I used to carry a ton of stuff around, but that was what was needed to get the job done. Now only a small fraction gets carried around, sometimes.

The ones I like using most now are the Leica M's, but next is the G3 and then the GH2. With a couple of upgrades that can easily be accomplished without increasing the size, the G3 would be ideal and I love the handling. The size is perfect for me. I have handled an OM-D for a short time, but obviously haven't used it for any length but if anything, it seems large for what it has to do. Also hard edged and pointy, which I don't like. That kind of retro really doesn't appeal to me, but I'll take it for the guts, which are what draw me. If it were in a body the size and shape of the G3, I'd like it even more.

All that said, most cameras have too many buttons and too many options. I know that if you remove some of those options and buttons, some people might not buy the camera, but if the controls on the OM-D were similar to those on the Leica S2, I'd buy two OM-D's right now.

Most options on 'serious' cameras really don't interest me. When I buy a new camera, I study it and the manual for a bit, set up the camera and then pretty much leave the options alone. I do have all the manuals uploaded to my iPhone, but really don't use them. Intelligent simplification is required. Give me a shutter dial with 'A' on it, an aperture dial with 'A' on it, a histogram and exposure is taken care of. RAW and AWB are the ruling settings, and if you need them, a couple of jpeg sizes and custom WB. I don't need another camera that does movies because I have many more that do that than I need, and most do it very, very clumsily like the 5DII and 7D. Even the GH-2 is clumsy as a video camera.

Small size with a bit of grip, simple controls that are intuitive and not too tiny, a large buffer with fast writes and I'm happy.

Maybe I'll air out the SWC on the weekend.

Henning
 

kit laughlin

Subscriber Member
With my nose (a generously sized example) this design can't fly; a pity. I think this one's going to be good for Olympus, and they do need a win. Joining this thread to keep an eye on the new Oly.

@ henning: I so, so, agree re. shooting video on a stills camera; I have two pro Panasonic cameras (HMC-152), and they are do good for that purpose: wave form monitors, zebra bars whose thresholds can be infinitely adjusted; hugely configurable video output, etc., etc.

I am planning on "setting and forgetting" the NEX 7 once it arrives, just as you say. Jono has an interesting thread here (Sony) on doing just that.
 

Terry

New member
I haven't used the OMD yet so this isn't a comparison or anything against that camera. I think with the x-pro1 it is the first camera in a long time where I feel like it can be shot in super simple mode. There is a learning curve to understanding the camera but there are very few buttons to deal with. Aperture on lens, shutter and EV dial. ISO can be set fast. I haven't even programmed the custom button yet because I don't know what I want it set to because I'm shooting it pretty purely without any fancy features. There Isn't really even much need for the back four way controller. I haven't said that in a long, long time.

Shooting the M8 and then eventually the tech camera got me in the keep It simple mode. I'm glad to be back there. Now if I need a little speed demon I will use the Nikon V1. I guess what I decided was I didn't want a jack of all trades in one camera.

Friday night..... Done work waxing on. Sorry.
 
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Vivek

Guest
Too expensive, IMO. I think the price will crash down to ~800 Euro (with all the grips) range in a few months. It may be too late as there are newer NEX' in the horizon and the NEX-7 already is cheaper than this!

BTW, the iphone is so huge!
 

monza

Active member
The NEX is actually higher in the US- $200 higher for body, $50 higher in kit form. Add the grip and the Oly goes up $300.
 
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Vivek

Guest
Olympus have a history of overpricing their cameras and then after 3 years on the shelves, trying to sell them for 1/4th the original price.

They are still trying to clear stocks on EP1, EPL1, and the whole works. The GH-1 is still available here so are the various GFs, etc.

The m4/3rds cameras need a serious rethink on the initial pricing. The early buyers/users are made to look like idiots with this pricing policy.
 

sagar

Member
Thanks to Monza I received an OM-D an hour back and as of now battery is charging.

I just handled a bit and this is incredible piece of machinery in m4/3 context. It's the best m43 made till date period. I have handled all m43 except g3 and this is the first time handling is giving a real camera feel. Like the one you get when you handle k5 or GXR.

I am very happy with the purchase with just the feel of it as I know other things to expect from OLY 43 camera
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
I haven't used the OMD yet so this isn't a comparison or anything against that camera. I think with the x-pro1 it is the first camera in a long time where I feel like it can be shot in super simple mode. There is a learning curve to understanding the camera but there are very few buttons to deal with. Aperture on lens, shutter and EV dial. ISO can be set fast. I haven't even programmed the custom button yet because I don't know what I want it set to because I'm shooting it pretty purely without any fancy features. There Isn't really even much need for the back four way controller. I haven't said that in a long, long time.

Shooting the M8 and then eventually the tech camera got me in the keep It simple mode. I'm glad to be back there. Now if I need a little speed demon I will use the Nikon V1. I guess what I decided was I didn't want a jack of all trades in one camera.

Friday night..... Done work waxing on. Sorry.
Terry,

good to hear you like the X Pro 1 and that it brings you back to that simple shooting mode. Thinking back to my M8 times this was also one of the things I liked most about this camera (very similar to all my film M Leicas of course).

Over the past years I more and more forgot about this and actually I am keen to get that feeling again. While I think the OMD is the best camera Olympus built for the last many years (at least since the E1) I still think it is far too complicated and offers far too much choices - which you actually do not need for serious photography!

So I am glad to see the X Pro 1 is finally coming close to this "ideal" tool (at least for you and also for me).

Hope to get one as they become available in Austria ;)
 

kit laughlin

Subscriber Member
I think with the x-pro1 it is the first camera in a long time where I feel like it can be shot in super simple mode. There is a learning curve to understanding the camera but there are very few buttons to deal with. Aperture on lens, shutter and EV dial. ISO can be set fast. I haven't even programmed the custom button yet because I don't know what I want it set to because I'm shooting it pretty purely without any fancy features. There Isn't really even much need for the back four way controller. I haven't said that in a long, long time.
Terry: lovely. I am intending to set the NEX 7 up exactly the same way, and like yourself, I feel very happy with this. I still really like the GXR (and it can be set up to a 1:1 ratio, if wanted) but the external finder makes it less than ergonomic, for me, and the visual quality of the EVF is... well, you can use it for framing. That's a bit harsh, but nothing like the X-Pro1 or the NEXs.

I think the NEX 7 arrives tomorrow... I wanted to buy the Fuji with the 35mm lens when I played with one in Torino but, frankly, my partner would have been deeply unhappy!
 
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