dreilly
Chillin' in Geneva
Just got my E-M5 from Adorama yesterday, black. I also picked up the 20mm f1.7 Panny lens to compare with the Lux 25/1.4. For my rebate freebie, I got the 43/m43 adapter, though I'm not sure I'll really use it. I just knew I didn't want either of the other two things. I thought I'd share my first impressions. I haven't really done much with the images yet, so this is strictly related to UI and usability and overall impression and at a cursory level...it'll take me a while to suss out the custom settings and figure out what works for me. So, anyway...
First thing that I was pleased about is a bit vain, but I like the black finish on it. Most photographs of the camera make it look more like a shiny black enamel, but that's not the way it presents in person even if it is enamel. It's matte...not the powder-coated combat black of "serious" DLSRs these days, but it looks better than I thought. In general it feels well made. I'm really glad that cheap-feeling little wheel around the control pad is gone (more on the in UI section). The little thumb nipple is a thoughtful touch. It looks a little funny, but it's really needed to keep your thump in place. I'd hate to see what contortions would be needed for an add-on "Thumb's Up" device. Would probably remind most people over 30 of orthodontic head-gear. So nipple, you're welcome around here.
The design aesthetic is interesting. I wasn't wowed by the camera in photos. I was impressed by the specs...it was pretty much what I was looking for in a m4/3 camera. Weatherproofing, better sensor, better controls, blah blah blah. In the flesh/circuitry, the impression is much better. It's a serious little thing, and like my old and impressive Pen D3, it's like a little jewel. It feels wicked solid. I could quibble with some design choices. Looking at it now in front of me, the largest woudl be the decision to bevel the control dials with silver (it's probably clear anodized?) Anyway, it makes the camera look unduly complicated and bristling. Without them they controls would be more humble and less flashy, but still there when you need them. Same with the silver bevel under the shutter button and main dial...I guess I like my black cameras...black.
I know aesthetics isn't everyone's concern, and I certainly don't think of cameras as fashion choices, but I do appreciate them as objects of industrial design, in which these considerations are important. They are also important for how people perceive them and how they buy them. In this respect I think Olympus was striking a middle ground between the people who want some shiny chrome and those who want their cameras to look like mil-spec badassedness. One thing that will impress the latter group is the great switch for the battery door and the serious-looking and not easily changed by accident on/off switch.
The E-M5 is indeed very small. I read that a hundred times before opening up the box, but I still whistled through my teeth. Hello...little thing. In this respect and others, people coming from OM film cameras or DSLRs might be disappointed. Though Olympus is trying to start a new line, the camera feels like a Pen with a built-in viefinder in the hand.
That's not a bad thing in practice, only in terms of expectations. The Pens are great little cameras. My E-P1 was one of my most used and loved cameras. It's been a great line, Olympus has nothing to be ashamed of, at least, in this department. Though the E-M5 doesn't feel hugely different, it does feel right, as if the Pens had been perfected and honed.
The twin control dials are perhaps the biggest deal in terms of controls. They seem to fit my hand really well, and having one on the same axis as the shutter button was the right choice. I haven't used the Nex 7's tri-navi system, but the placement of the main dial harkens back to the Leica M5, which was simply too much camera too fast for Leica users but got the shutter speed dial placement right. The CL, with it's slightly-different approach, also got it right. Change the main setting with one finger. Nice.
The evf is nice. I like it. It's not the OVF from the X100, but it's very...decent. I don't mind looking through it. Kirk Tuck's take on EVFs from his blog and The Online Photographer just yesterday strikes me as insightful and pretty spot on...and anyway, Kirk is right that this is where things are going. That's good and bad, like everything, but I'm still young enough to try to see the possibilities in inevitable technological change, and there are some. One of Kirk's points is that you can see the IS working in the EVF. That's true, though it's a little disorienting. Like when you pan fast, it takes a second for the EVF to catch up. The smoothness of the motion makes me think this is the effect of the IS and not lag.
The LCD is really, really nice. Camera makers haven't fully grasped the potentials of capacitative (touch screen) LCDs yet, but they are making little strides. Likely it's the smart phones that will innovate that and it is already starting to filter down to the dedicated cameras. It would be nice to see a camera with a slot in the back for a iphone as a main control-device/interface, allowing a variety of firmwares in the form of "apps". But I'm on crack and not talking about a Ricoh...
The touch-focus-shoot feature is very cool and I can see it as being extremely useful. I rarely if ever change my AF point in use...instead I focus and recompose. In part this is habit, in part it's the sense that the center AF point works best, which is likely not at all true with a contrast-detect system like that on the E-M5, but mostly it's that it's fiddly to change back and I would often forget it and then get stuck focusing and recomposing more drastically because the AF point was upper right and the next thing that caught my eye was lower left. But the touchscreen interface changes that entirely. Poke what you want in focus, the E-M5 does it's thing, focuses rather quickly and records and image. Very cool and really brings LCD shooting into its own as an alternative way of composing and controlling the camera. I think this is a big deal, and part of the larger deal that touchscreen devices represent. My new ipad should be here any day, so you know I'm a believer in that.
The shutter on this camera is VERY quiet. Quietest I remember from quite a few cameras. Not as quiet as the X100 or other leaf shutters, but certainly among the quietest focal plane shutters I've heard.
First Impression Summary: I'm impressed. Very impressed. I don't care about it's failure or success as a digital OM...it doesn't really seem to be that in many practical ways. At least judging on feel and interface and build...it's a very good micro-4/3 camera, and it brought me back to the system after a short time away. I'm happy to be back.
First thing that I was pleased about is a bit vain, but I like the black finish on it. Most photographs of the camera make it look more like a shiny black enamel, but that's not the way it presents in person even if it is enamel. It's matte...not the powder-coated combat black of "serious" DLSRs these days, but it looks better than I thought. In general it feels well made. I'm really glad that cheap-feeling little wheel around the control pad is gone (more on the in UI section). The little thumb nipple is a thoughtful touch. It looks a little funny, but it's really needed to keep your thump in place. I'd hate to see what contortions would be needed for an add-on "Thumb's Up" device. Would probably remind most people over 30 of orthodontic head-gear. So nipple, you're welcome around here.
The design aesthetic is interesting. I wasn't wowed by the camera in photos. I was impressed by the specs...it was pretty much what I was looking for in a m4/3 camera. Weatherproofing, better sensor, better controls, blah blah blah. In the flesh/circuitry, the impression is much better. It's a serious little thing, and like my old and impressive Pen D3, it's like a little jewel. It feels wicked solid. I could quibble with some design choices. Looking at it now in front of me, the largest woudl be the decision to bevel the control dials with silver (it's probably clear anodized?) Anyway, it makes the camera look unduly complicated and bristling. Without them they controls would be more humble and less flashy, but still there when you need them. Same with the silver bevel under the shutter button and main dial...I guess I like my black cameras...black.
I know aesthetics isn't everyone's concern, and I certainly don't think of cameras as fashion choices, but I do appreciate them as objects of industrial design, in which these considerations are important. They are also important for how people perceive them and how they buy them. In this respect I think Olympus was striking a middle ground between the people who want some shiny chrome and those who want their cameras to look like mil-spec badassedness. One thing that will impress the latter group is the great switch for the battery door and the serious-looking and not easily changed by accident on/off switch.
The E-M5 is indeed very small. I read that a hundred times before opening up the box, but I still whistled through my teeth. Hello...little thing. In this respect and others, people coming from OM film cameras or DSLRs might be disappointed. Though Olympus is trying to start a new line, the camera feels like a Pen with a built-in viefinder in the hand.
That's not a bad thing in practice, only in terms of expectations. The Pens are great little cameras. My E-P1 was one of my most used and loved cameras. It's been a great line, Olympus has nothing to be ashamed of, at least, in this department. Though the E-M5 doesn't feel hugely different, it does feel right, as if the Pens had been perfected and honed.
The twin control dials are perhaps the biggest deal in terms of controls. They seem to fit my hand really well, and having one on the same axis as the shutter button was the right choice. I haven't used the Nex 7's tri-navi system, but the placement of the main dial harkens back to the Leica M5, which was simply too much camera too fast for Leica users but got the shutter speed dial placement right. The CL, with it's slightly-different approach, also got it right. Change the main setting with one finger. Nice.
The evf is nice. I like it. It's not the OVF from the X100, but it's very...decent. I don't mind looking through it. Kirk Tuck's take on EVFs from his blog and The Online Photographer just yesterday strikes me as insightful and pretty spot on...and anyway, Kirk is right that this is where things are going. That's good and bad, like everything, but I'm still young enough to try to see the possibilities in inevitable technological change, and there are some. One of Kirk's points is that you can see the IS working in the EVF. That's true, though it's a little disorienting. Like when you pan fast, it takes a second for the EVF to catch up. The smoothness of the motion makes me think this is the effect of the IS and not lag.
The LCD is really, really nice. Camera makers haven't fully grasped the potentials of capacitative (touch screen) LCDs yet, but they are making little strides. Likely it's the smart phones that will innovate that and it is already starting to filter down to the dedicated cameras. It would be nice to see a camera with a slot in the back for a iphone as a main control-device/interface, allowing a variety of firmwares in the form of "apps". But I'm on crack and not talking about a Ricoh...
The touch-focus-shoot feature is very cool and I can see it as being extremely useful. I rarely if ever change my AF point in use...instead I focus and recompose. In part this is habit, in part it's the sense that the center AF point works best, which is likely not at all true with a contrast-detect system like that on the E-M5, but mostly it's that it's fiddly to change back and I would often forget it and then get stuck focusing and recomposing more drastically because the AF point was upper right and the next thing that caught my eye was lower left. But the touchscreen interface changes that entirely. Poke what you want in focus, the E-M5 does it's thing, focuses rather quickly and records and image. Very cool and really brings LCD shooting into its own as an alternative way of composing and controlling the camera. I think this is a big deal, and part of the larger deal that touchscreen devices represent. My new ipad should be here any day, so you know I'm a believer in that.
The shutter on this camera is VERY quiet. Quietest I remember from quite a few cameras. Not as quiet as the X100 or other leaf shutters, but certainly among the quietest focal plane shutters I've heard.
First Impression Summary: I'm impressed. Very impressed. I don't care about it's failure or success as a digital OM...it doesn't really seem to be that in many practical ways. At least judging on feel and interface and build...it's a very good micro-4/3 camera, and it brought me back to the system after a short time away. I'm happy to be back.
dreilly
Chillin' in Geneva
Oh, in case you haven't seen it, DPReview has done what appears to be a nice write-up on settings for the E-M5. Reading through it now, and waiting for my battery to charge! http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9115179666/user-guide-getting-the-most-out-of-the-olympus-e-m5
It appears to be a hell of a camera. Glad you got it and like it. Been thinking of adding one due to the weather sealed aspect alone. Please let me know how the 20mm panny performs on it (with regard to focus speed).
Johann Espiritu
Lawyer / Ninja
Focus speed is snappy and accurate. Definitely faster than on the GF1. I was surprised on how quick it was. If it's any help - the last DSLR I owned (Canon 5D + 24-70L) is slower than the OM-D+20mm combo.
jippiejee
Well-known
Same here. This would be such a great rain and snow camera... I just wonder if the touch screen focus and shoot function works with gloves on? Oh and OP, thanks! Great evaluation.
Great... I was satisfied with it on the GF1, so I'll be good.
dreilly
Chillin' in Geneva
Fast with the 20, I concur. I can't tell much difference between the AF with the 20 and the 14-whatever kit lens which is somehow made so it has no mass and has a reputation for fast-focusing.
Touch screen will not work with gloves unless they have little capacitative patches on the fingertips...or leave your fingertips exposed. If you come to rely on the touchscreen or your iphone and are outdoorsy and live in a place that still experiences the thing ancient humans used to call "winter"...looking into those gloves is probably a good idea. I haven't tested the weathersealing...and I don't have a sealed lens. But my experience with the E-1, E-3 and E-5 has me trusting Olympus.
Touch screen will not work with gloves unless they have little capacitative patches on the fingertips...or leave your fingertips exposed. If you come to rely on the touchscreen or your iphone and are outdoorsy and live in a place that still experiences the thing ancient humans used to call "winter"...looking into those gloves is probably a good idea. I haven't tested the weathersealing...and I don't have a sealed lens. But my experience with the E-1, E-3 and E-5 has me trusting Olympus.
See that's the thing though. I don't really want to use it with a weather sealed lens, since I really want to use the 20mm. How dangerous is that?
(is the 14-42mm kit zoom weather proof?)
coelacanth
Ride, dive, shoot.
My first impressions have been very positive as well.
Got it last week from Adorama and have shot a wedding (no, I wasn't THE photographer, just a groomsman with a camera) focusing on the "back stage" part of the wedding prep and traditional Chinese style tea ceremonies and the banquet. I had OM-D + 45/1.8 and M8.2 + CV35/1.4. They both did their jobs rather well, and the OM-D did extremely well in the ceremonies and the banquet in trickily lighting conditions, getting me quite large number of nice keeper shots, and the couple and the best man are happy. AF nailed it very well in most situations though I didn't do continuous tracking stuff. Battery life seemed pretty good as well.
I'm sure it looked weird I was shooting with "miniature SLR" looking camera while the official photographer and the "photog" relatives were dragging their gigantic Canon/Nikon with huge lenses.
I shot a company trip recently with M8 and it seems that got me another paid gig. (minds you I am not a pro photographer and I don't do this for living) I'll see if I can use the OM-D in addition to M8...
Got it last week from Adorama and have shot a wedding (no, I wasn't THE photographer, just a groomsman with a camera) focusing on the "back stage" part of the wedding prep and traditional Chinese style tea ceremonies and the banquet. I had OM-D + 45/1.8 and M8.2 + CV35/1.4. They both did their jobs rather well, and the OM-D did extremely well in the ceremonies and the banquet in trickily lighting conditions, getting me quite large number of nice keeper shots, and the couple and the best man are happy. AF nailed it very well in most situations though I didn't do continuous tracking stuff. Battery life seemed pretty good as well.
I'm sure it looked weird I was shooting with "miniature SLR" looking camera while the official photographer and the "photog" relatives were dragging their gigantic Canon/Nikon with huge lenses.
I shot a company trip recently with M8 and it seems that got me another paid gig. (minds you I am not a pro photographer and I don't do this for living) I'll see if I can use the OM-D in addition to M8...
rbelyell
Well-known
yup dave, youre right, the 'touch, focus, shoot' lcd is truly groundbreaking, esp for street photography. not only is this the fastest 'mirrorless' AF ive ever used, its the fastest AF camera ive ever used period, including the FF 5d. and accurate.
another great feature no one has really focused on is this cameras default white balance. it is nothing short of astounding in a wide variety of difficult lighting situations it is almost always spot on, and never seems to need more than very minor corrections. in this regard also it blows the 5d away.
enjoy!
tony
another great feature no one has really focused on is this cameras default white balance. it is nothing short of astounding in a wide variety of difficult lighting situations it is almost always spot on, and never seems to need more than very minor corrections. in this regard also it blows the 5d away.
enjoy!
tony
Paul Luscher
Well-known
Since you got the MM3 adapter, I 'd be interested to know what your experience using E-series lenses on this camera is like. I've heard there might be focusing issues, given that the lenses are phase detection AF, and the camera is contrast-detection AF.
Johnhw
Established
yes, told you you would love that touch focus point screen. The Ep3 had it and it is so quick to ficus. You may use the touch/shoot some of the time, but remember anytime you touch that screen in that mode it fires...and its very "touchy"...you can shoot when you didn't mean to.
I especially likes the ability to change highlight/shadows via curves in the viewfinder by the dials. Instant change for picture balance.
Glad you are enjoying it.
Take a look at Robin Wong's site...he does some great stuff with it.
Keep Shooting!!!
I especially likes the ability to change highlight/shadows via curves in the viewfinder by the dials. Instant change for picture balance.
Glad you are enjoying it.
Take a look at Robin Wong's site...he does some great stuff with it.
Keep Shooting!!!
BobYIL
Well-known
Congratulations, it seems to be the best M43 up to date, at least from the points of AF and IS, performing better than even some professional DSLRs.
I have used the 20mm Panny, a great lens; however I would love to hear your impressions about the Summilux 25 when compared to it (assuming that the Summilux in your hand is the DG version.)
I have used the 20mm Panny, a great lens; however I would love to hear your impressions about the Summilux 25 when compared to it (assuming that the Summilux in your hand is the DG version.)
kuzano
Veteran
I am elated at the size... with grip...
I am elated at the size... with grip...
When I think camera, my hands automatically curl into the form for holding my old OM's 1 & 2m mostly shot with grip/winder. This camera with the grip/battery pack is the same dimensionally, except 1 CM shorter width. I can close my eyes and feel years of OM holding and shooting coursing through my veins.
In all other respects this camera trounces most other digitals I have encountered in Canon, Oly, and Nikon in regard to what I shoot and use for my photography.
I knew Oly would eventually get here. Good bye RAW and PP.
I am elated at the size... with grip...
When I think camera, my hands automatically curl into the form for holding my old OM's 1 & 2m mostly shot with grip/winder. This camera with the grip/battery pack is the same dimensionally, except 1 CM shorter width. I can close my eyes and feel years of OM holding and shooting coursing through my veins.
In all other respects this camera trounces most other digitals I have encountered in Canon, Oly, and Nikon in regard to what I shoot and use for my photography.
I knew Oly would eventually get here. Good bye RAW and PP.
dreilly
Chillin' in Geneva
Kuzano,
i'm with you on JPEG, though as OP I respectfully ask dissenters on the JPEG only position to go to one of those other threads that endlessly hash that out, with roughly the same (and very good) points on both sides. I will say that this is one aspect of Oly digital that has always made me very happy. I largely don't have to do PP and no other brand has consistently been that good with JPEG processing: not Nikon or Canon, or Pentax, and certainly not Ricoh or Panasonic. I'm not really thrilled with X100 JPEGs so when it counts I do shoot raw with that. But with Oly I shot RAW/JPEG so often and never bothered touching the RAW files...eventually I gave it up. Shooting an Olympus digital is like shooting slide film except the exposure is usually spot on, and dynamic range is getting better all the time.
JSrockit: I hear you on the weatherproofing and the 20. I'm fairly brave with my cameras and have taken a lot of reasonable risks with unweatherproofed lenses (and bodies for that matter). I wouldn't leave it out in a downpour but a drizzle to a light/medium rain I'd be likely to somewhat shelter it but still use it, and not worry overmuch about drops. The real danger with the lens would be a stream of water that could really get absorbed.
I wish I could comment on the use of 4/3 lenses more....I haven't had one since I used my 12-60 on my E-P1. That wasn't terrible by E-p1 standards, but it was certainly slower than using an E-1 (not exactly a speed demon in AF!). Thinking about getting a 14-54mm II version built for CDAF, but I keep going back and forth on it. I have the Panny 14 coming and if I get the Oly 45, that will have the same range covered. The kit 14-42 is tiny and capable if slow. The 11-22 is a nice lens but is likely to also be slow.
I hope to do a comparison of 25 and 20, at least informally. Right now I can tell you that I keep grabbing the 20. The form factor scores large (meaning: small)! The Lux DG is huge in comparison, like a snake that swallowed three 20s....!
i'm with you on JPEG, though as OP I respectfully ask dissenters on the JPEG only position to go to one of those other threads that endlessly hash that out, with roughly the same (and very good) points on both sides. I will say that this is one aspect of Oly digital that has always made me very happy. I largely don't have to do PP and no other brand has consistently been that good with JPEG processing: not Nikon or Canon, or Pentax, and certainly not Ricoh or Panasonic. I'm not really thrilled with X100 JPEGs so when it counts I do shoot raw with that. But with Oly I shot RAW/JPEG so often and never bothered touching the RAW files...eventually I gave it up. Shooting an Olympus digital is like shooting slide film except the exposure is usually spot on, and dynamic range is getting better all the time.
JSrockit: I hear you on the weatherproofing and the 20. I'm fairly brave with my cameras and have taken a lot of reasonable risks with unweatherproofed lenses (and bodies for that matter). I wouldn't leave it out in a downpour but a drizzle to a light/medium rain I'd be likely to somewhat shelter it but still use it, and not worry overmuch about drops. The real danger with the lens would be a stream of water that could really get absorbed.
I wish I could comment on the use of 4/3 lenses more....I haven't had one since I used my 12-60 on my E-P1. That wasn't terrible by E-p1 standards, but it was certainly slower than using an E-1 (not exactly a speed demon in AF!). Thinking about getting a 14-54mm II version built for CDAF, but I keep going back and forth on it. I have the Panny 14 coming and if I get the Oly 45, that will have the same range covered. The kit 14-42 is tiny and capable if slow. The 11-22 is a nice lens but is likely to also be slow.
I hope to do a comparison of 25 and 20, at least informally. Right now I can tell you that I keep grabbing the 20. The form factor scores large (meaning: small)! The Lux DG is huge in comparison, like a snake that swallowed three 20s....!
Johann Espiritu
Lawyer / Ninja
I should add that the high ISO files are great and the IS works wonderfully. Some samples taken in low light with slow shutters:
Purgatorium Cathedras by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr
Restore me! by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr
Restore me! by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr
Purgatorium Cathedras by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr
Restore me! by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr
Restore me! by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr
I'm looking to go out in the heavy rain with the camera. The WP zoom is just too slow and big for me. I may just chance it. Let me know of any conquering of the rain you do if you remember.
gilpen123
Gil
In my few weeks of use, the size is a bit of a problem to me in lowlight conditions as I can not hold the OMD solidly due to it's small size. I just got the grip and battery holder which I was initially apprehensive as it might make the camera heavier and larger like a small dslr. I'm glad it was not and now a heaven to handhold. The vertical shots are much much easier than without the grip. I highly recommend this accessory. Moreso, the F5xb still fits it easily plus 2 lenses.
dreilly
Chillin' in Geneva
Gilpen...even with stabilization? I never found holding a pen an issue in low light...the stabilization usually makes up for it. I had a real problem with the Nex 5N in this respect...much more motion blur than I would like to see. Stabilization is key for any camera with which you'll be composing and shooting off the LCD.
I'd like to see the grip in person...I am intrigued by it.
I'd like to see the grip in person...I am intrigued by it.