rbelyell
Well-known
wow! just got mine in chrome with the 12-50mm (24-100mm) weatherproof zoom. i was truly on pins and needles waiting for this one, and out of the box it didnt disappoint.
its bigger than the ep2--higher because of the 'prism' and meaningfully thicker (not as 'jacket-pocketable') because of the 'prism' and articulating screen. it feels just a tad less solid than the ep2, which was a brick (in a good way), but definitely more substantial than the x100. very pretty, but somehow not as 'classy' as the PEN series. with the thumb rest, it feels very good in my hands. the two dials and two programmable buttons on the top plate near the shutter make eye on subject adjustments a breeze. really, having 4 adjustable gizmos right by the shutter makes a big difference. i'm not off the bat crazy about the shutter itself--it protrudes while most of my others do not. it feels a little flimsy compared to the ep2, but it is responsive and fps is VERY fast. the evf is awesome, better than the very good olly external vf, very clear and i believe 1.15 magnification. plus it has 4 different focus magnificatin settings, up to 14x. if you cant properly focus with this cam, you need to trade it in for a guide dog. ):
the lens is nothing to write home about, but it does allow for a truly WA 24mm FOV. zooming to 100 will make it a pretty utilitarian street lens. somehow the 'whole' pictures look pretty good. its only when you zoom in that you kinda say 'thats a little muddy'. then you zoom out and say, 'hmm, thats not so bad'. it is what it is. i got it for the great FOV range for street work.
the autofocus is 'holy cr*p fast'. honestly instantaneous. one really cool feature, especially for street shooting, is that you can touch any point on the articulating screen and the camera instantly focuses on that point and shoots! in a freaking nanosecond its over! and because the screen articulates, no one will ever know you took their picture! i used it only on my dog, but she moves around and i never missed focus. exposure, like the ep2, seems 1/3-2/3 bright, at least for me. white balance, colors exceed the ep2, which tended to very warm as light decreased, and didnt handle artificial light so well.
good light/color IQ is maybe not such a big improvement over the ep2, though i only used two lenses and didnt take a whole lot of pictures, but i wasnt stunned by any dramatic difference when shooting in good light, except there is a noticeable dynamic range improvement. need to do more before i make a definitive judgement. now to be sure, i was happy with the IQ, happy with the extra DR, but i guess i was hoping for more of an 'aha!' moment than ive gotten so far. having said that, the b&w files are somehow much better to my eye than the ep2, though again, i have a very small sampling.
in low light/high iso, look out! this is when you know why you bought this camera! i used three lenses, zeiss cine tevidon 25/1.4, panny 20/1.7 and summicron-c 40/2, and each of them shot great up to iso 3200! 'aha! aha! aha!' the ep2 couldnt do 800! noise is very well controlled, and theres still a lot of detail, much more than i was expecting. i have to try to compare it to the high iso leader, the x100, but i think its going to compare pretty favorably. white balance was spot on in the same artificial light that confounded the ep2, x100 and even my 5d. colors were again spot on, not the typical olly warm. no blotches, just a tiny bit of CA only seen with my zeiss cine lens, and only then when zooming in 100%. great great great.
thats it for now. many features to explore, many lenses to try out.
tony
its bigger than the ep2--higher because of the 'prism' and meaningfully thicker (not as 'jacket-pocketable') because of the 'prism' and articulating screen. it feels just a tad less solid than the ep2, which was a brick (in a good way), but definitely more substantial than the x100. very pretty, but somehow not as 'classy' as the PEN series. with the thumb rest, it feels very good in my hands. the two dials and two programmable buttons on the top plate near the shutter make eye on subject adjustments a breeze. really, having 4 adjustable gizmos right by the shutter makes a big difference. i'm not off the bat crazy about the shutter itself--it protrudes while most of my others do not. it feels a little flimsy compared to the ep2, but it is responsive and fps is VERY fast. the evf is awesome, better than the very good olly external vf, very clear and i believe 1.15 magnification. plus it has 4 different focus magnificatin settings, up to 14x. if you cant properly focus with this cam, you need to trade it in for a guide dog. ):
the lens is nothing to write home about, but it does allow for a truly WA 24mm FOV. zooming to 100 will make it a pretty utilitarian street lens. somehow the 'whole' pictures look pretty good. its only when you zoom in that you kinda say 'thats a little muddy'. then you zoom out and say, 'hmm, thats not so bad'. it is what it is. i got it for the great FOV range for street work.
the autofocus is 'holy cr*p fast'. honestly instantaneous. one really cool feature, especially for street shooting, is that you can touch any point on the articulating screen and the camera instantly focuses on that point and shoots! in a freaking nanosecond its over! and because the screen articulates, no one will ever know you took their picture! i used it only on my dog, but she moves around and i never missed focus. exposure, like the ep2, seems 1/3-2/3 bright, at least for me. white balance, colors exceed the ep2, which tended to very warm as light decreased, and didnt handle artificial light so well.
good light/color IQ is maybe not such a big improvement over the ep2, though i only used two lenses and didnt take a whole lot of pictures, but i wasnt stunned by any dramatic difference when shooting in good light, except there is a noticeable dynamic range improvement. need to do more before i make a definitive judgement. now to be sure, i was happy with the IQ, happy with the extra DR, but i guess i was hoping for more of an 'aha!' moment than ive gotten so far. having said that, the b&w files are somehow much better to my eye than the ep2, though again, i have a very small sampling.
in low light/high iso, look out! this is when you know why you bought this camera! i used three lenses, zeiss cine tevidon 25/1.4, panny 20/1.7 and summicron-c 40/2, and each of them shot great up to iso 3200! 'aha! aha! aha!' the ep2 couldnt do 800! noise is very well controlled, and theres still a lot of detail, much more than i was expecting. i have to try to compare it to the high iso leader, the x100, but i think its going to compare pretty favorably. white balance was spot on in the same artificial light that confounded the ep2, x100 and even my 5d. colors were again spot on, not the typical olly warm. no blotches, just a tiny bit of CA only seen with my zeiss cine lens, and only then when zooming in 100%. great great great.
thats it for now. many features to explore, many lenses to try out.
tony
FA Limited
missing in action
nice report tony i'm wondering whether an OM-D would make a good companion to the X100
rbelyell
Well-known
yeah me too FA. i hate comparing the X to an interchangeable lens cam, esp because i use those cams primarily as mf vehicles for my legacy lenses. so really two different animals in my world. but others see the omd as an AF system cam, which makes it a little more similar to the X. i will tell you, in terms of AF, not even close. the omd is faster than my old 5d, and blows the X away in that regard. on the other and, while i personally have an initial impression that low light/high iso IQ is comarable between the omd and the X, my impression is also that i like the X files better. i cant put my finger on why, and i certainly cant make that statement definitively based on my very small omd samples, but its what i'm feeling right now. also, while the b&w olly files are much improved over the PEN series, i again 'feel' its really hard to beat the X in this regard.
tony
tony
This must be a killer body for Olympus' 12mm f/2.
kbg32
neo-romanticist
I am waiting to see what Leica has been up to before pulling the trigger on this one. I am a big fan of the m4/3 system.
Waiting, still, patiently, sorta. 
paulfish4570
Veteran
i'll send it on to you after i'm done with it ...
rbelyell
Well-known
yes, i agree. it would be an even better combination if the lens sold at a reasonable price!
celluloidprop
Well-known
I don't think the price is unreasonable for a fast wide-angle of that quality. For one stop faster, Canon and Nikon want $1200+ more.
rbelyell
Well-known
apples and oranges comparing FF cannikon to small sensor m4/3. but thats what makes the world go 'round...
sevres_babylone
Veteran
Thanks very much for the detailed review. I'd like to hear more about the lens, especially after you have had a chance to use it in bad weather, since part of my future justification for buying a camera I don't really need, will be the ability to use it in situations where I can't, or prefer not to, use my other cameras
The high ISO capability, the quick autofocus, and the ability to focus on shoot on the part of the scene you point to on the screen are very enticing.
The high ISO capability, the quick autofocus, and the ability to focus on shoot on the part of the scene you point to on the screen are very enticing.
robert blu
quiet photographer
As a satisfied user of the Leica x1 (35mm eq) I'm thinking if this camera with a M.Zuiko 45mm (90mm eq) 1,8 could be a good companion for the occasion when I need a medium tele lens, portraits or details. Or (if there is an adapter) with a 50mm Summicrom.
Anyway interesting options are (arriving) on the market...
robert
Anyway interesting options are (arriving) on the market...
robert
rbelyell
Well-known
sevres: thanks! the weatherproof body/lens combo is a big reason i bought the kit. when coupled with the touch/focus/shoot screen, the 24-100mm range makes this a damned good street combo. i dont know what other combo can beat it for speed/secrecy/versatility/weatherproof.
robert: while i hear the 45/1.8 is a good lens, the great thing about m4/3 is there are adapters for virtually any lens ever made. i primarily use mine as a vehicle for shooting legacy glass, most being m39 or m mount. and there are NO issues with color or focus shift or any other silly issue. they work like theyre supposed to work--only at 2x!
tony
robert: while i hear the 45/1.8 is a good lens, the great thing about m4/3 is there are adapters for virtually any lens ever made. i primarily use mine as a vehicle for shooting legacy glass, most being m39 or m mount. and there are NO issues with color or focus shift or any other silly issue. they work like theyre supposed to work--only at 2x!
tony
PrecisionCamera
Precision Camera & Video
Glad to hear you are liking the kit we sent you!
rbelyell
Well-known
hey christian!
yup, havin' a lovely time, wish you were here! ):
tony
ps ya know whats weird? i shot with a fourth lens today. and in good light, i just dont see much of an IQ improvement over the ep2(previous sensor). i'm really at a loss to figure that out. i'm thinking i need to change certain settings, but i think ive maxed out...i just changed to 'superfine' compression from 'fine', so we'll see what that does...
ppss, have lots of film i'll be sending in soon!
pppsss, the guys at precision are great! use them!
yup, havin' a lovely time, wish you were here! ):
tony
ps ya know whats weird? i shot with a fourth lens today. and in good light, i just dont see much of an IQ improvement over the ep2(previous sensor). i'm really at a loss to figure that out. i'm thinking i need to change certain settings, but i think ive maxed out...i just changed to 'superfine' compression from 'fine', so we'll see what that does...
ppss, have lots of film i'll be sending in soon!
pppsss, the guys at precision are great! use them!
Basset
Member
I'm a big fan of the Zuiko 45 / 1.8. I have the E-PL3, which gives me the articulating screen I needed. The 45 / 1.8 is very nice, and very inexpensive, considering.
gavinlg
Veteran
I had this exact feeling too when I was in the m4/3 system with the e-p1 when it first came out. They're really lovely little cameras, and the OM-D looks to be everything the system should have been from the beginning, but I'll tell you what it is that you're seeing - sensor size. I'm still a big fan of m4/3, but the larger sensor on the x100 is likely what makes you prefer the files from it. It's kind of like comparing 35mm film camera output to half frame output from the original olympus PENs. Not that I'm taking away from the brilliant Pens, but they are what they are!
Keep us updated on your impressions - I enjoyed reading!
aleksanderpolo
Established
Tony, have you look at the high ISO comparison in raw? Thanks for the report.
rbelyell
Well-known
hey alex! nice to hear from you on a different forum!
theres no RAW support anywhere yet, so i'm waiting to do that. i'm really anxious to see the RAWfiles generally; i'm hoping to see more of a difference vs the old olly sensor in color in good light, as well as RAW low light performance. as it is with the jpegs, i honestly couldnt be happier with the low light/high iso performance. give adobe a call for me and tell them to get on the ball! ):
hey gavin. you could be right, but i tell ya' why i'm a little skeptical about that position. i shot for a long time with a FF 5d and contax zeiss lenses. honestly, without spending gobs of money, i felt you couldnt do much better in IQ terms, and i was convinced the LARGEFF sensor was at the heart of it. but then along came the much smaler sensored X100, and frankly it was at least as good as my 5d/zeiss combo up to iso800 and from there on up it blew the 'full sized' sensor out of the water. so that experience gives me pause before i unalterably commit philosophically that a 'large' sensor will always beat a 'smaller' sensor. at this point i,m more likely to believe the X is just a freakishly special camera.
tony
theres no RAW support anywhere yet, so i'm waiting to do that. i'm really anxious to see the RAWfiles generally; i'm hoping to see more of a difference vs the old olly sensor in color in good light, as well as RAW low light performance. as it is with the jpegs, i honestly couldnt be happier with the low light/high iso performance. give adobe a call for me and tell them to get on the ball! ):
hey gavin. you could be right, but i tell ya' why i'm a little skeptical about that position. i shot for a long time with a FF 5d and contax zeiss lenses. honestly, without spending gobs of money, i felt you couldnt do much better in IQ terms, and i was convinced the LARGEFF sensor was at the heart of it. but then along came the much smaler sensored X100, and frankly it was at least as good as my 5d/zeiss combo up to iso800 and from there on up it blew the 'full sized' sensor out of the water. so that experience gives me pause before i unalterably commit philosophically that a 'large' sensor will always beat a 'smaller' sensor. at this point i,m more likely to believe the X is just a freakishly special camera.
tony
jpfisher
Well-known
The software disc has a Raw viewer/converter on it--I've got the camera in for review now and have been using that software to convert to 16-bit TIF and sending that over to Lightroom. Eats up hard drive space, but better than working with JPGs.