Oly E-M1 got leaked

[biomed]

The E-M1 looks like a great camera. The original OMD was very attractive, but was too small for me. The E-M1 does not look to be overly large.There a lot of critical remarks about the size of the GH3 when it was announced, but I find it to be one of the most comfortable cameras I have held. There will always be a lot of naysayers, but I personally am excited to see the new developments in the m4/3 system!

Mike

 

[NazgulKing]

My first thought as well. Why is the grip so damn big in comparison to the rest of the camera?

That's because there's the 43 aspect. Quite frankly, Olympus should come out and admit the system is dead and get it over with.

 

[semilog]

That's because there's the 43 aspect. Quite frankly, Olympus should come out and admit the system is dead and get it over with.

That's the best troll you can manage? You're no effing Nazgul.

 

[NazgulKing]

That's the best troll you can manage? You're no effing Nazgul.

I'm not trolling. I just hate it when companies refuse to own up to their mistakes. This is effectively the 2nd mount that Olympus has abandoned. There will be no more system development, no updates to lenses, which though optically flawless, aren't mechanically flawless, from what I have read here and there.

 

[maitani]

I went from an extensive 4/3 System to a handful for m4/3 bodies, ending up selling all of them. is the first really interesting camera in a decade in this sensor size.

E-1 2004,
E-M1 2014?

it took them 10 years, but sounds like a winner for those with SHG glass in the drawer, 3.8 mp elecronic viefinder, did i get that right?

This camera is the reason i kept my 25 1.4 summilux along with the E-1, I knew it would happen sooner or later.

 

[Godfrey]

I went from an extensive 4/3 System to a handful for m4/3 bodies, ending up selling all of them. is the first really interesting camera in a decade in this sensor size.

E-1 2004,
E-M1 2014?

it took them 10 years, but sounds like a winner for those with SHG glass in the drawer, 3.8 mp elecronic viefinder, did i get that right?

This camera is the reason i kept my 25 1.4 summilux along with the E-1, I knew it would happen sooner or later.

The ZD 11-22 for me ... I sold the Summilux, figured I could get the mFT version if I wanted another.

FourThirds format has worked very nicely for me, the problem with the SLR system was the lack of fast, short focal length, compact primes. mFT doesn't have that problem.

G

 

[cosmonaut]

Function before beauty. The NEX was slammed as an ugly camera when it first came out as well.

 

[semilog]

I'm not trolling. I just hate it when companies refuse to own up to their mistakes. This is effectively the 2nd mount that Olympus has abandoned. There will be no more system development, no updates to lenses, which though optically flawless, aren't mechanically flawless, from what I have read here and there.

Tell it to Panasonic.

 

[amalric]

E-M1 is a game changer. Not only increasing focus speed of 4/3 lenses up to their designed ones.
But making m4/3 lenses so fast in CAF that m4/3 become action cameras. Need to check that.
Video to show things impossible for optical/dSLR.
Mind you: size not much different for E-M5. Again no dSLR can equal so much power in such a small size.

 

[thegman]

Quite nice, but I prefer the E-M5 in terms of looks. I don't use digital, but I do think the m43 players are doing a pretty decent job all round.

 

[amalric]

It's not a question of looks. The E-M1 is a strategic missile thrown at Canon and Nikon, as action cameras.

 

[Rodchenko]

That makes sense from a strategic perspective.

I wouldn't give one house room. But neither am I a consumer of DSLRs.

 

[maitani]

It's not a question of looks. The E-M1 is a strategic missile thrown at Canon and Nikon, as action cameras.

I'd rather see this as an excuse to seize classic 4/3 production for good (no need for an E-7...) also a flagship body for m4/3, but there are no real pro lenses, except the 75 1.8 and the two panasonic zooms maybe, but the incompatibility between olympus/panasonic lens/body combinations has been driving me crazy in the past.. and was a main reason to sell off the whole system.

we havent seen any new fourthirds lenses in half a decade, also the request for classic 4/3 seems to be nearly dead, I'd rather see this as a strategy that they can drown the system an kind of satisfy the few remaining 4/3 shooters out there. I'd rather put this body in the Pentax K-5 league, I'd not compare it to a D3s/D4 sports camera.

I'd love to see some real weathersealed pro lenses coming along with this new camera body.

 

[hans voralberg]

That's because there's the 43 aspect. Quite frankly, Olympus should come out and admit the system is dead and get it over with.

What on earth does the aspect ratio has to do with the grip?

 

[gustavoAvila]

The implementation of phase detection focusing in the E-M1 is a strategic necessity for Olympus, not just for legacy 4/3's lens support, but to enable the delivery of future "big" glass.

Contrast detection focusing only works acceptably well when the (lens) focusing group can be "jiggled" back-and-forth with sufficient frequency to achieve fast focus. This is why m43's lenses, in general, tend to be short focal length primes (and slow zoom lenses) as these can be built with low mass focusing mechanisms.

However, designing low mass focusing groups for fast zoom and long focal length lenses is much more difficult; these (lenses) require phase focusing systems to be practical. (By practical, I mean focus sufficiently fast to satisfy demanding users.)

And then there is continuous focus tracking, something which has remained elusive using contrast focusing alone.

As such, in order to move m43's forward, Olympus/Panasonic have no choice (as long they want to remain competitive) with regard to incorporating phase detection focusing in their higher spec'd camera bodies.

 

[Godfrey]

The implementation of phase detection focusing in the E-M1 is a strategic necessity for Olympus, not just for legacy 4/3's lens support, but to enable the delivery of future "big" glass.
...
As such, in order to move m43's forward, Olympus/Panasonic have no choice (as long they want to remain competitive) with regard to incorporating phase detection focusing in their higher spec'd camera bodies.

The same can be said for Sony and their APS-C and Full Frame cameras, as they are now well on their way to completely eliminating the mirror reflex viewing system in the Alpha series with cameras like the A99, etc.

I see it as simply the next step forwards in technological evolution, even though I'm no big fan of AF. ;-)

G

 

[giellaleafapmu]

I'm not trolling. I just hate it when companies refuse to own up to their mistakes. This is effectively the 2nd mount that Olympus has abandoned. There will be no more system development, no updates to lenses, which though optically flawless, aren't mechanically flawless, from what I have read here and there.

Not sure whether you are trolling or not but I also agree. Olympus comes out with great ideas, then they don't abandon at the proper time but rather offer hugely overpriced products to those who hope to be able to hung up with them till their next big product, then they drop completely everything till their next "great" product. The last few years of the OM system (sometimes around year 2000) had the completely outdated OM4Ti selling at Leica prices. Also, I am sorry if I sound like a troll now, saying that M43 has "pro body performance in a small body" is misleading to say the least. Nowadays almost every SLR or mirrorless (in the modern sense of the term) produce pictures that are good enough to be sold and published in all but the most demanding media, however I would urge those comparing M43 cameras with "pro bodies" to try out a D4 once in their life and see how it feels (or a Canon EOS 1D or a Sony Alpha A99), if speed is not their thing then they can also compare to any digital Leica with M mount and see...

Ah, I almost forgot, I do own OM bodies and lenses and E1 and E3 with lenses, they are nice cameras but the E3 was the last camera from Olympus I bought new and as a photographic tool (collecting vintage cameras is another thing).

GLF

 

[amalric]

I'd rather see this as an excuse to seize classic 4/3 production for good (no need for an E-7...) also a flagship body for m4/3, but there are no real pro lenses, except the 75 1.8 and the two panasonic zooms maybe, but the incompatibility between olympus/panasonic lens/body combinations has been driving me crazy in the past.. and was a main reason to sell off the whole system.

we havent seen any new fourthirds lenses in half a decade, also the request for classic 4/3 seems to be nearly dead, I'd rather see this as a strategy that they can drown the system an kind of satisfy the few remaining 4/3 shooters out there. I'd rather put this body in the Pentax K-5 league, I'd not compare it to a D3s/D4 sports camera.

I'd love to see some real weathersealed pro lenses coming along with this new camera body.

Yes, 4/3 lenses are but a stop gap for better things to come. Hopefully.

We'll soon see how the new constant 2.8 zoom fares, but I have no doubt that it will leave those legacy lenses far behind.

Olympus is a company that must answer to banks, camera division is still in the red, so investments can be made only if they later maximize cash flow.

Say, if Oly began to issue a new lineup of fast m4/3 zooms at a rate of five per year, it would probably go bust in only one year 🙂

So having those 4/3 zooms helps one being patient.

OTH I am pretty sure that the new hybrid AF will propel the company to absolute excellence, together with 5-axis IBIS and the top EVF.

It's not even a matter of the pricey E-M1, because the PDAF-on sensor will probably propagate to much cheaper cameras in 2014.

 

[aizan]

i'm still bummed that the e-1 died after a single generation. if i was the prez, i'd update it with the new 16mp sensor, 5-axis image stabilization, VF-4 (like how sony is about to go non-SLT in A-mount), and a big swiveling LCD. so many good 4/3 lenses are going to die ignominious deaths!

 

[defconfunk]

I own an E-510 with the fancy pants 14-54 lens, which I use to photo dogs at shelters. I like manual focus, but I'm just not fast enough to get these pups. The AF speed on the E-510 & 14-54 II is just fast enough.

I'd been on the fence about getting an OM-D E5 because I wouldn't be able use that lens to it's fullest (the rest of my lenses that I care about are all old OM manual focus). I agree this camera doesn't look anywhere near as good as the 5 (which is a shame), but I'm a fan of that grip, I expect it'll fit my large hands nicely.

Unless the initial reviews of this are utter crap, I'll be ordering it.