OMD:what i do and dont know so far

[rbelyell]

been shooting a couple of days now, and wanted to share some knowledge/get some knowledge.

what i know:
1) the manual, which is only available in pdf, is perhaps the worst ever! this is a complex little fella, with loads of options, none of which are adequately explained. its all trial and error man,so get ready to spend a good long time ruminatin' as they say down south.
2) that great feature of 'touch screen focus and shoot' not only works for m4/3 lenses, but also works with manual focus legacy glass! of course the camera cant 'focus' legacy lenses like it will native m4/3, but if you pre or scale focus, you can shoot ANY lens unobtrusively by simply touching the articulating screen!
3) this is NOT your PEN series sensor! so your settings probably will not translate note for note. i like to shoot 'vivid' for outdoors. on ep2 i ratcheted up saturation, contrast and sharpness, set EV comp for -.7- -1.0 and got what i wanted. with OMD these settings my highlights were a little blown--i felt like i was shooting a sony sensor!):
so to get the most from bright light pictures, set 'Gradation' to 'Low Key', set EV comp to +.3, and meter (center weighted) for shadows. no more blown highlights.
4) general shooting settings: in color, +2 for either sharpness or contrast seems to add a 'jaggedness' upon 100% crop inspection. it seem +1 is better for both. in good light SHUT OFF ANY NOISE REDUCTION, it seems to interfere with sharpness even though its not supposed to do so at low iso. in bad light you need set it no higher than LOW (default is 'Normal' which is too high). also importantly, default jpeg compression is set at 'Fine'--change it to 'Super Fine' for sharpest result.
5) the 'My Set' function is the OMDs custom-setting-save-system. it saves EVERYTHING for 4 different set ups. this is GREAT because the main menu system is seriously the worst ive ever seen and takes way to much time to navigate through. i NEVER complain about ANY menu system ive ever had in almost a dozen digi cams. this is the first time so it must totally suck and it does. so use the My Set function and set yourself free!

WHAT I DONT KNOW:
1) how in the world can i turn off those DAMNED dialog boxes that come up constantly in the main menu??!! who thought that up, the japanese marquis de sade? i thought they are a peaceful people...
2) how can i lower the sound of the shutter?
3) why no matter what i do am i not able to call up the Super Control Panel? and yes, i enabled SCP in the main menu!

well, thats all for now.
tony

 

[Paul Luscher]

Well, the one thing I want to know is: how does this camera work with E-series lenses? Been trying to get some definitive answers, but no joy so far. Would like to how much slower focusing is using E-series lenses, as opposed to MFT lenses, and if use of E-series lenses affects focusing via Live View, as the Olympus website suggests it might.

Trying to figure if if I can use my E-series glass on this camera, or if I'm going to have to shell out for MFT lenses.

 

[rbelyell]

paul ive no firsthand knowledge, but i understand theyre pretty slow. E lenses i dont think were made for contrast focusing system of m4/3 cams.

 

[Speedfreak]

1) how in the world can i turn off those DAMNED dialog boxes that come up constantly in the main menu??!! who thought that up, the japanese marquis de sade? i thought they are a peaceful people...
2) how can i lower the sound of the shutter?
3) why no matter what i do am i not able to call up the Super Control Panel? and yes, i enabled SCP in the main menu!

Sad to read this. Looks like Olympus is still far from the classic OM line in terms of simplicity. But then, anyone is free to still opt for film and film cameras. I know why I do.

 

[rbelyell]

thats true SF. the PEN series was simple as a heart attack. the menu/manual combination for the OMD is heart surgery. i honestly dont think you can unintentionally put out something this tortuous...

for those who (errantly i believe) complained about the X100 in this regard, avoid the OMD at all costs, your head will explode!

 

[Texsport]

I love it!

I just don't know how much---because my wife won't let me have it back.

Texsport

 

[Johann Espiritu]

I find the shutter sound to be less obtrusive than the one on my M9. I actually like the sound of the OM-D shutter better!

I can't wait for Adobe Camera Raw to support this camera, though.

(Mine came with a printed manual in English, BTW.)

 

[rbelyell]

I find the shutter sound to be less obtrusive than the one on my M9. I actually like the sound of the OM-D shutter better!

I can't wait for Adobe Camera Raw to support this camera, though.

(Mine came with a printed manual in English, BTW.)

yeah, i'm anxious to see RAW files as well. i got a manual, but only the Quick Basic part, about 40 of the 130+ pages. rest on disc pdf.

as for shutter, no sound is good when youre doing street work. the ep2 had 5 levels of sound choice, the OMD, zilch, at leat that i can find in the byzantine menu!
tony

 

[Trius]

Looks like I'm sticking with my OMs. I can deal with byzantine menus, but I choose not to. It doesn't contribute to straightforward realization of vision.

 

[rbelyell]

well trius the long answer is a little more complex. the 'main' menu is indeed byzantine, even for residents of byzantium. however, your basic 'vision' settings can be made part of the vf or lcd screen 'info', and thus very easily accessed and changed w/o removing your eye from the target, in the same way they were available on the PEN series.

its just the main menu that is absurd, but the hope and expectation is that after the first few days of getting settings straight, one would not typically need to further access this menu.
tony

 

[rover]

What if you just put it on manual exposure and have at it like it is an OM1? Set it to center focus spot, two dials up top (aperture and speed), live histogram to guide metering decisions, shake reduction... can it give the best of both worlds?

 

[rbelyell]

What if you just put it on manual exposure and have at it like it is an OM1? Set it to center focus spot, two dials up top (aperture and speed), live histogram to guide metering decisions, shake reduction... can it give the best of both worlds?

yeah, but thats not really relevent because there are just so many other features to set up. as i alluded to above, once they all ARE set up, it runs pretty easily, and most important shooting functions are then easily accessed/changed within the 'shooting' vf screen. but finding out what each function is supposed to do and how it works (deficient manual) and then how to properly set it to your particular style (trial and error made very difficult by horrid menu system) is really geometrically more difficult than any of the other dozen of so digicams ive owned.

honestly, ive never complained about stuff like this as i think menu complainers are generally whiners, but i cannot imagine a more difficult system to get up and going.

 

[pdh]

I'm not sure whether I'm missing a joke here, but the sound an E-P2 makes is the focal-plane shutter firing and not some electronically generated sound effect.

it can't be turned on and off nor can the volume of it be adjusted.


the volume of video playback can be varied or muted however.


I expect the same is true of the E-M5.

 

[rover]

yeah, but thats not really relevent because there are just so many other features to set up. as i alluded to above, once they all ARE set up, it runs pretty easily, and most important shooting functions are then easily accessed/changed within the 'shooting' vf screen. but finding out what each function is supposed to do and how it works (deficient manual) and then how to properly set it to your particular style (trial and error made very difficult by horrid menu system) is really geometrically more difficult than any of the other dozen of so digicams ive owned.

honestly, ive never complained about stuff like this as i think menu complainers are generally whiners, but i cannot imagine a more difficult system to get up and going.

I sold my E-P1 because the user interface was, err, I can't explain it without the use of "colorful" words. So, I know what you are saying. That said, I really don't get along with all auto cameras. They never agree with me and are too stubborn to just do what I want them too. That probably says more about me then it does about those cameras which I have banished, but damn it, I am always right, and I just want a little camera that is willing to accept that. I am going to try to get along with this little guy, hoping it will think as little as possible and just be obedient.

 

[rbelyell]

oh i dont think you have to worry in that regard. i shoot pretty much manual everything in aperture priority. once your peripheral settings are set, theyre set, no need to go into 'main' menu. but the 'shooting' option menu can always be present in your vf by pressing 'OK' button, and easily navigated and changed w/o removing eye from subject. and the most common variables can be set to the 3 easily accessible top plate buttons and two dials. so changing 5 common shooting parameters are right there where you put them.