Jump to content

Questions for E-M1 owners


jamie_robertson2

Recommended Posts

<p>After the revelation of the E-M5 MkII I am seriously thinking of finally ditching my full frame Canon gear and moving to micro 4/3rds when the E-M1 MkII is released. I have a couple of important questions for current E-M1 owners though...</p>

<p>1. My Canon DSLR is always left switched on when I am walking around. A quick tap of the shutter button brings it back to life instantly for any potential grab shot. I have the Olympus E-PL5 and find it very frustrating that it cannot do the same. What sort of standby mode does the E-M1 have? Can it be ready in an instant without draining the battery?</p>

<p>2. How bad is the continuous AF? This is the biggie. I know it's not going to set the world alight but is it half decent?</p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>The E-M1 has a sleep option that is described in the manual as: "The camera will enter sleep (energy saving) mode if no operations are performed for the selected period. The camera can be reactivated by pressing the shutter button halfway."</p>

<p align="LEFT">The E-M1 has a separate auto power off option as well. I believe that pressing the shutter button halfway also turns the camera back on, but I'm not certain on this.</p>

<p align="LEFT">I have not used continuous AF very much, but my impression is that as most Internet reviews indicate, it is not in the same league as most DSLRs.</p>

<p align="LEFT">I bought my E-M1 in December and I have not used it a lot as of yet. I principally purchased it to have a really good travel kit that is lighter than my 5DMkII + 5DMkI + lenses and accessories. I also purchased a LUMIX DMC-LX100 as my backup, so the total kit with lenses and accessories is less than a quarter of the weight of my DSLR kit. For travel photography (landscape, cityscape, architecture), both of these M43 cameras will give results comparable to my 5DMkII. For portraiture, sports and wildlife, IMHO, not so much.</p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The EM-1 is best left off and switched on when a shot appears. I mean It comes to life and functionality quickly enough for my reflexes. I tried to get a cattle egret on the hedge yesterday and the camera was ready well before the bird took its closeup:).

You can of course set power conservation to help. Keep the LCD back panel off until you need it and preserve the battery some. But battery life is not EM-1 main strength because it is kind of small wafer after all..... The vertical grip if I wanted it adds another battery; I do not need that kind of right at hand reserve power. You may. Mainly my feeling is that the EM-1 is not your perfect cup of tea from what I guess. Different style of shooting I gather. Perhaps have a look see at the GH-4 bigger but has more battery oomph or from all the reviews. I can recall. ( I have a GH2 and it is a worthy line of micro four thirds beasts)

I am sure others will come up with more ingenious workarounds re the EM-1 but I don't know what else I can add,except that it is a fine specimen of the breed.

Wait, you did say the Mark II version with improved power management? And 4K video and articulating screen? I am sure there will be a version like that down the pike, one of these days, ere long, etc etc...

Continuous focus? Never need it, others will know. Biggie not for me, but I read that it has improved with the hybrid focus arrangement .... Did I get that right, well maybe, but others will know who use that focus modality a lot more than yours truly.

 

 

But do take a look see at the top of the line Lumix GH-4 and see the several detailed B and H video for that machine. They give plenty dope on its features. You may like it. Needless to say one can't optimize everything. although we like to seek same.......

 

I still like and enjoy my Lumix GH2, so keep Panasonic micro 4/3 it in your sights for top drawer gear. Which may deliver the package you're after.

 

Finally, look over the field. Lots of competition on the market lately in the mirrorless category as shopping gets harder when one is just going after a new system to replace or augment heavier artillery.

 

I wish you well , gs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>I developed the habit of switching off when subjects were not immediately available when I used OM film cameras. I never found it an inconvenience.<br>

I continued this practice with my EP-2, and more strictly when I realised how leaving the camera switch on drained the battery. I now do the same with my EM-1. With both of them I find that having to change batteries is a pain and to be avoided, especially when:<br>

a) I am stalking insect macro subjects.<br>

b) I have a flash bracket which I have to loosen and swing to be able to access the battery compartment.<br>

c) As for b) when using a tripod.<br>

The above applies when I mostly use Manual mode and manual focus lenses. It would be all the more so with other modes and/or AF.</p>

<p> </p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>I violently disagree with the idea the continuous AF is bad.... Set up correctly it's at least as good as my old D90 was. I shot 5000 frames at an airshow last month. About 150 were out of focus and you could tell that it had not locked correctly at the time. I have more trouble keeping aircraft in the frame with the 75-300, I have never shot action with a 600mm equiv lens and it's like trying to track them with a damn telescope!</p>
Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>An extra point, not often mentioned:<br>

I shoot RAW files and convert to large TIFF files for processing. I then convert to high quality JPEGs at the size acceptable for posting in photography blogs.<br>

Images which contain a lot of detail often have such large files that I have to re-save at lower quality to be able to upload. The message is that you don't need any more pixels.</p>

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>Thanks again. Assuming that the continuous AF on the E-M1 is better than that of my E-PL5 I think it will probably suffice for most of my needs except for birds in flight. The only camera I own that can reliably nail birds in flight is my old Canon EOS 1D MkII and is the only reason I still use it.<br>

I read an interesting interview the other day (with an Olympus tech) and he said that Olympus' next goal is to improve the 40MP multi-shot mode of the E-M5 MkII to a point where it can be used hand held instead of tripod mounted. I am hoping they will manage this for the E-M1 MkII. If so then I'll be buying. It will finally mean that I can get detail to match that of my full frame Canon gear when needed. </p>

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>I took the camera on a three week backpacking trip and tried to conserve battery power. Accidentally leaving the camera switched on resulted in some standby mode (I had already turned the biggest power hogs off), but the camera drained my first battery rather quickly. From then on I got into the habit of turning it off after each sequence of shots. It starts up very quickly. By the time I have it at my eye it's there. My gripe with the power switch: the hand grip is on the right side, the switch is on the left, so turning it on (or off) is a two-handed operation. However, after a few days of dedicated effort even that became (almost) second nature.</p>

<p>Battery life is a limiting factor, which is a bid sad because it really is a great travel / back-country camera. I don't think this will change anytime soon.</p>

<p>I disagree with Chris Nielsen's characterization of the focus performance, but our camera usage might be too different for a meaningful comparison. I guess the light at airshows is good. At low light and fast moving subjects (poorly lit hockey rinks) my old D90 is better than the E-M1. To be completely fair: I've been shooting with my D90 for years and know what it can and cannot do, while the E-M1 sees only modest use. The lenses are also different (a 70-200 1/2.8 on the D90, the 12-40 1/2.8 on the E-M1), but I have about three times as many keepers with my D90 than with my E-M1. In poorly-lit gyms the E--M1 does better. Here the sport is tennis, where players' heads don't move quite as fast, or you can time moments of relatively slow motions.</p>

Christoph Geiss
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

<p>I moved from Canon 5D and 7D. My back thanks me, but there are some compromises.<br>

Battery life is poor. I have 4 spares, but 2 is usually enough for 700 shots.<br>

AF is not yet as good as the 7D, but I tend to use single AF plus MF for airshows etc. I will keep playing with the C-AF, but to date I have found it useless. Maybe the 40-150 2.8 will help. I find the 100-300 (Pani) hunts the wrong way first and I have missed shots. I tried the 40-150 and fell in love.<br>

Would I go back to Canon? No as I like the weight and quality, but if I needed full frame the Nikon 750 would be tempting.....</p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...