Olympus Om-d E-m1 Mark 1 Review

[Nikia Longino]

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Released in October of 2013 and the follow-up to the highly successful E-M5, the new E-M1 is slightly bigger, quite a bit stronger and subtly faster. After using the camera I thought Olympus must have been injecting the E-M5 with steroids for the past two years to give it some beef and the E-M1 was/is the result.

This next test should be illegal because Leica owners always hate when I do these tests (and remember, I am labeled as a Leica fanboy). I did one once where I pit the E-M5 against the $8000 Leica Monochrom. Of course, two totally different cameras but hey, why not? Sometimes that underdog gets mighty close to big dollar results but we all know it is a totally different experience and state of mind (and results when viewing full size). Now in all reality, the Leica Monochrome is one of the most beautiful and unique cameras made today and it is in another league but again, you CAN get B&W with an E-M1 ? Not all of us have $8k lying around.

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I am researching madly between the olympus om1 and the em5 mark 2. I have read your reviews and seen your videos. Im more a macro amateur photographer and not too much into video. Just wondering what you think the sensible purchase for a newbie to micro 4/3 is.

I have been using an Olympus E-30 with Zuiko Digital ED SWD lenses. I shoot in raw and use Aperture. How would this cameras picture quality compare with the E-30? I also believe I would need the micro adaptor for the lenses I have, is that correct?

This is not a very happy first Olympus interaction for me. I owned Canons for 25 years and never had one repair. Customer service like this is unlikely to keep me with Olympus beyond the next 2 years, much less a repeat buyer for 25. Short sighted, Oly!

So I have a new em-1 and I just put a new 60mm macro on it and noticed that when image stabilization is on and focus is achieved and an image is taken, I can gently shake the camera and feel something moving around inside then it tightens up (presumably because the IS has turned itself off after the image has been taken). This happens with every lens I own and it does not happen with my em-5. Funny how I never noticed it before I used the macro. Maybe because the macro is slower to focus than the other Oly lenses I own.

If you choose ISO 6400 with aperture f1.8 maybe you have enough power for one burst, before the flash will need to recharge. At ISO 400 and f4.0 you have 2 or maybe 3 shots but depends on the distance between your camera and your subject.

Steve, ordered the E-M1 through the link to support the website! Will pair with the 12-40 2.8 pro zoom mostly. Also looking for the best portrait lens with lots of bokeh. Would you go with the Olympus 45mm 1.8 (or even the 75mm 1.8), or should I look at the Voigtlander 42.5 0.95? What would you do if you had to choose 1 lens in this portrait category?

Thanks. Yes I would love the 12-40 as I have read a lot of good things about it but after buying the camera it is a lot of money. I have the Olympus 9-18 in mind or the Panny 17mm. I just want something for lansdscapes to start with, but plan to get the Olympus 60mm macro and some sort of longer focal length later. Forgive the dumb question but as I have normally been used to W/A zoom lenses would the 17mm give me a wide enough angle for landscapes?

From your description there are a couple of options. The Olympus 60MM macro is a great close up lens that can do portraits, etc. I use it a lot for that kind of work. For landscapes I use the 12mm Olympus which is expensive but a wonderful lens. The Panasonic 20mm or the 17mm olympus are good alternates too.

Just remember that you can zoom with your feet!!!

I am a new owner of the EM1 and have had zero experience with Olympus digital cameras in the past. The menu is what you expect from a pro camera. Very thorough and complete. But I agree with Harry, you dive in as much as you need to and the menu is no more complicated then any other PRO level camera I have used. How many times are you going to change the Flash sync settings? The manual reads like stereo instructions so that was no help to me but I found some great demos on You Tube that really helped me more than anything. (Im a visual guy, go figure!)

I have never needed to even look at the menu since day one of getting my E-M1. Using the quick menu (right side of the LCD) is all anyone would ever need and making any change you need takes seconds. But most settings are just done with the dials and buttons. Really there is never a need to go into the menu for anything once you set it up to your preferences.

A pro photojournalist friend was intrigued by my OMD last Spring and has basically set aside his D4s and D800Es and uses two or three EM1s for everything. And like me loves the weight reduction, the fun factor and the far superior image stabilization Oly has. He emailed me a shot last night he did of a onstage opera singer shot with a FF 500mm hand held (!!!) and it was sharp enough. Stage lighting and 1000mm equivalent. Crazy use of a MFT adapter from Nikon to Oly. Totally manual but he shot wide open and so it did not matter at all. Silly but true.

You can use Nikon, Canon, Leica lenses and others on the A7 or E-M1 using adapters. The Sony is full frame so you will be using the lenses as they were meant to be used. The E-M1 will give you a 2X crop so a 50 will be a 100mm. The 24-70 would be 48-140.

reached home from the showroom and took out the camera. and the lens. was inspecting the lovely equipment closely and i saw a 3-4mm long white thread like foreign particle inside the back element of the lens !! (saw it through magnifying lens-looks like a thread piece from the white inspection gloves they use in labs!)

Well, I bet you can use the lens without any effect of that thread..it will not show up in your photos or affect the lens so I would not worry about it as when your new lens comes in you can just swap it out ? Thing like that happen with Leica, Canon, Nikon, and all of the camera manufacturers.

I had a bad experience with Carl Zeiss too on their lens made for SONY. After about 10 months use in controlled environment in the Middle East (everything from car to houses to malls are a/c) took to India while on vacation. On return found white spots inside the front lens. It was fungal growth between the two cemented elements of front lens group triggered by the humid climate in South India!!! SONY promptly replaced the lens group for me though was about 11 months after purchase.

please see the comment I wrote above. The simple answer is no. The EM1 is utterly awesome, the 100-300 my least favourite of all lenses. The 150 f2, with a 2x converter is truly awesome with the EM1 and bif is a breeze ( and the 150 f2 are often available 2nd hand on ebay) also the 50-200 4/3 lens is also good with a 2x converter, but not as sharp as the 150 f2, but miles better than the 100-300. Just my opinion

sorry for my novice questions. My other question is regarding the 4/3s. which means i would have to step backwards more than i would have to on FF sensor to get a full body shot? Or can this be solved using wide lens.

I have found a strange thing, when I set the peaking option on of the optional buttons, the refresh rate of the EVF is going to normal, and there is no chance to change the refresh rate back to high, even if the peaking is not enable, I must deactivate the peaking from that button and set another function on it. Do you have any idea about how can I enable refresh rate enable on high when the focus peaking has a dedicated button?

I like composing and shooting using the EVF. Sometimes I would like to also be able to review the picture I have just taken on the EVF, but when I press the replay button it displays it on the LCD. The only way I can get it to display on the EVF is to press a second button to the left of the view finder. So my question is do you know a simpler way to do this?

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