OMD E-M5 MKII impressions

[barjohn]

Yes, I have been amazed at shots I have gotten with the 5-Axis and using the tele end at ¼ sec and once as long as 2 sec. I just took 3 shots at 300mm equivalent at 1.5, 1.3 and 1 secs and all but the first were tack sharp hand held. The A7II 5-Axis can't come close to that performance at 70mm. In single point AF (not continuous) I have shot people moving toward me and away from me, some walking fast and some running and it nails about 98%. When it misses, it is usually due to the IBIS not having stabilized yet and you can see it happening. Since I don't turn on continuos the IBIS does not start until a ½ press of the shutter button and with a 300mm lens it can take is a split second to stabilize. With shorter focal lengths, even down to the 80mm equivalent on the pro lens it is so fast you rarely see it happening. I find the pro lens at the wide end extremely nice for interiors and having the leveling indicators very helpful to help align for geometric distortions in perspective created at wide angles. A pro super wide would be very nice to add.

 

[Annna T]

A pro super wide would be very nice to add.

There are/will be two possibilities

1) The Panasonic 7-14mm F4 which is very sharp already from F4, especially at the short end. There is a drawback however, with the 16MB Sony sensors used by Olympus : when a sting light is in the frame or near if the frame, you can get ugly purple blobs in the picture and it isn't always easy yo avoid them and almost impossible to correct. I gave yet to try whether this problem is solved with the E-M5 II, but it was first discovered with the E-M5. Not sure that things were better with the subsequent cameras.

2) Olympus has announced a 7-14mm F2.8 to complete the line of Pro zooms. It should come out this year, along with the 300mm F4 tele.

7-14mm F2.8 Prozoom

I would rather wait for the Olympus zoom. I'm not sure whether I will update from the 7-14mm Panpasonic to the Olympus myself, I will wait to know the results of the tests.

 

[raist3d]

I have to say I still give the IQ to the Fuji. The DR and tonality I still find better. I think I would have had a hard time going this way if Fuji had an X-E3 with silent shutter ready (or X-E2 upgraded to that) and the new smaller F2.0 25mm prime.

But yeah, I think this OMD is a very "throw at almost any situation camera" and you still can walk out with a nice shot if you know what you are doing.

-= Ricardo

 

[LocalHero1953]

Another one who has succumbed to the E-M5II, today. I want something to do what my M240 won't do well i.e. crawling on the floor with grandchildren, and very low light theatre/musical performance. I just have the 12-40mm at the moment (for the former), but will go for the 75mm soon (for the latter). The trigger was playing with the camera at the Photography Show last week and seeing how quick and responsive it is - what the Leica T should have been (and may still be in the next iteration). The controls and menus are a bit intimidating after the M, but should be OK once I've sorted out what I actually need access to. First impression: the IBIS is shockingly effective.

 

[jonoslack]

Another one who has succumbed to the E-M5II, today. I want something to do what my M240 won't do well i.e. crawling on the floor with grandchildren, and very low light theatre/musical performance. I just have the 12-40mm at the moment (for the former), but will go for the 75mm soon (for the latter). The trigger was playing with the camera at the Photography Show last week and seeing how quick and responsive it is - what the Leica T should have been (and may still be in the next iteration). The controls and menus are a bit intimidating after the M, but should be OK once I've sorted out what I actually need access to. First impression: the IBIS is shockingly effective.

I think it's a really fine counterpoint to the M - Good Luck With Yours!

 

[raist3d]

I think I can close my impressions at this point but I am finding myself liking the camera more and more as I learn the operation parameters for where it shines. It really is a small portable system that can be thrown at any situation and even in the situations where it's not optimal for, you can still walk away with something if you know what you are doing as a photographer.

Anyway, all cameras are good now. Tradeoff here is a bit of IQ for smaller and the versatility of weather sealed, ibis, articulated LCD, great EVF, and small.

- Ricardo

 

[barjohn]

In comparing this camera to the Fuji's, I liked the XE-2 and thought it was a nice size but just not fast enough and I don't like the X-Trans look, especially as processed in LR. It is definitely better in Iridient but I prefer to stay with LR for now. Of course, if Adobe decides to move to a cloud based LR in the future, it will be bye-bye LR. I'm still not happy with what they did with PS after spending the large sum to purchase CS3 and having them abandon the product with the next major revision. I haven't touched PS since. Additionally, I don't want all of my photos under the control and access of a cloud based program where I don't know what they are doing or might do.

 

[barjohn]

If the first image doesn't have you seeing stars, then maybe the second one will. Olympus 14-150 f4-f5.6II lens at 150mm.

Worth a few stars I would say.

This one will definitely have you seeing stars!!

A Six Star Lens!!

 

[raist3d]

In comparing this camera to the Fuji's, I liked the XE-2 and thought it was a nice size but just not fast enough and I don't like the X-Trans look, especially as processed in LR. It is definitely better in Iridient but I prefer to stay with LR for now. Of course, if Adobe decides to move to a cloud based LR in the future, it will be bye-bye LR. I'm still not happy with what they did with PS after spending the large sum to purchase CS3 and having them abandon the product with the next major revision. I haven't touched PS since. Additionally, I don't want all of my photos under the control and access of a cloud based program where I don't know what they are doing or might do.

Turns out you can make Xtrans shine in LR after all, even if not quite all the way to Iridient/Capture One levels all the time. The secret is two bits:

i) Go to the details section and crank the detail up at least to 75% if not all the way to 100%. On Bayer cameras you see a lot of grainy dot artifacts. On Xtrans you see details. The reason for this has to be with the nature of how the Xtrans and Adobe algorithms respond to the sharpening they do.

ii) Use the Fuji film simulation color profiles and you don't have to worry about good color.

- Ricardo

 

[Godfrey]

In comparing this camera to the Fuji's, I liked the XE-2 and thought it was a nice size but just not fast enough and I don't like the X-Trans look, especially as processed in LR. It is definitely better in Iridient but I prefer to stay with LR for now. Of course, if Adobe decides to move to a cloud based LR in the future, it will be bye-bye LR. I'm still not happy with what they did with PS after spending the large sum to purchase CS3 and having them abandon the product with the next major revision. I haven't touched PS since. Additionally, I don't want all of my photos under the control and access of a cloud based program where I don't know what they are doing or might do.

Not sure what you mean by a "cloud based LR". Photoshop CC is not "cloud based" ... It is resident on your computer, your photos are where you put them as always. Photoshop CS3 was succeeded by CS4, then CS5, then CS6. CC simply make the licensing subscription based and adds automated incremental updating. The only thing I don't like about CC is that I'd prefer to have the option to buy a perpetual license at a sweet point in the development and just stick with that until next I see enough upgrade to move to the subscription again. Just like I always used to buy CS every other update rather than every time.

LR is the same, but you can buy a perpetual license instead of a subscription. I've stuck with perpetual since I don't use PS enough nowadays to bother with the subscription updates, and you can only get LR bundled with PS on the subscription. Or at least that's my understanding.

It's good to hear everyone pleased with the E-M5II. I'm still very happy with the E-M1, and firmware 3 really improved the C-AF and overall focusing with my SLR lenses nicely. But when they roll the new IBIS hardware and pixel-shift capabilities into an updated model of the E-M1 it will be a temptation to update.

The E-M1 does excellent service as my "technical" camera. I've been using it a lot to do table top work for Ebay sales lately. (First round of sales and all the no longer needed bits for the M9 have sold at my expected prices...

G

 

[barjohn]

Godfrey,

Thanks for clarifying. I misunderstood and thought the software resided on the cloud and was kept current. Nonetheless, I prefer a perpetual license over a fee based structure. I didn't need many of the updates but wanted different cameras to be supported.

 

[kit laughlin]

I agree with everyone's points re. the MkII as a stills camera, especially the near-silent mechanical shutter (let alone the electronic one). Truly sweet. But (as some here know) most of my work is video now, and even though the IBIS works as advertised, there is no manual adjustment of exposure once you are shooting, and ditto for ISO, unless you want to tap and delve into a menu, while recording... No thanks. That was a deal-breaker for me, and I sent it back, and got an LX-100 as my carry-everywhere, dual purpose stills and video cam. The LX-100 shares one flaw with the MkII: 29'59" video recording limit, but I simply restart and manually sync its footage.

I have three G6 bodies (and a MkI Oly as my el-cheapo Steadycam); the G6s are perfect as video cameras: fully adjustable once recording, no recording limit, and the colours are excellent (and AWB can be warmed or cooled as desired). They are just so ... ugly. And the LX-100 is only marginally better in this regard, but at least it's an excellent B-cam and it shares the same colour palette.

There have been many, so many, complaints on the more video-centric forums about the MkII's shortcomings that I am sure the MkIII will correct these (as might a firmware update), but I could not wait. We are getting very much closer to the manufacturers delivering what we actually need though, so I am excited. I loved the MkII's form factor, too; it was quite an emotional thing to send it back.

 

[BradA]

Jono, are you using the new 14-150ii? And what do you folks think of that lens?

 

[kit laughlin]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but what do people think are the best zooms in the approximately 34/45–100/150 range? It's for video, so ƒ2.8 not essential for my needs.

 

[Tonygamble]

Gosh this thread is going quiet.

Now most of you have had the Mk 2 for a while can you give me a view on how much better it is at handling noise at high ASA ratings when compared with the Mk 1.

It'll cost me almost six hundred UKP to do the swop. Will I see the difference?

Tony

 

[raist3d]

Both the EM5 MKII and MKI behave similar at high ISO with one key thing I noticed- at ISO 12800 and up, the MKI could show banding. the MKII doesn't.

- Ricardo

 

[Tonygamble]

Both the EM5 MKII and MKI behave similar at high ISO with one key thing I noticed

I've never felt worried about banding - so I guess I keep my 600 UKP a bit longer. Thanks Ricardo,

 

[LocalHero1953]

Sadly, my Mkii plus 12-40mm lens have had to go back - it stuck on MF. AF still worked on a 75mm, so it might be just a lens issue, but I was having trouble with presets and menu choices apparently resetting themselves, so it's difficult to be sure. Those nice people at Wex decided without pressure to swap both (they came as a kit).

It also happened at an unfortunate moment, just at the start of a musical performance. I'd shot during rehearsals, and had created a preset with AF, high ISO, manual exposure and silent shooting. Once I realisd something had gone wrong, I had to check all the settings again, especially silent shooting, and set up the focus aid - not an easy task at high speed when you're still learning the menus. MF wasn't easy in this scenario as performers moved around, and I lost a number of shots; I didn't realise how much I relied on the use of the focus tab on my genuine (Leica) MF lenses to tell me which way to turn. And reducing the aperture to be sure of getting reasonable focus meant shutter speeds were a bit slow for comfort.

Act 3 Opera, in their performance of "Enchantment":

 

[Tonygamble]

it stuck on MF.

I assume you know that the front slider ring turns this on and off?

Tony

 

[k-hawinkler]

... by pushing it forward and backward. I am now used to it.
Same for the 40-150/2.8 Pro lens, if I am not mistaken.