Hitman
Senior Member
I wonder how this guy does it.... but here he is again, this time with a hands-on review of the E-M5
Robin Wong: Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review: Batu Caves, KL
Robin Wong: Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review: Batu Caves, KL
[ closed ] Olympus Announces its latest Micro4/3 camera and lenses - OM-D
- Thread starter ed9119
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esoeij said:
I think it's IT Show. You can only preorder at the Olympus booth. They say collect at Courts Somerset in mid April.
$1488 for the body is really expensive. Minus off the $100 SD card, you're still paying $1388 or US$1105 for the US$999 body. The kit is equally bad at $1788 or US$1424 for the US$1299 kit. More than US$100 markup above RRP!
By the way the memory card door is not taped up so you can try putting in your SD card. I think it's because the firmware is more or less final. There are at least 5 sets for you to play with. All are equipped with the 12-50.
Beware that both black body and silver body will come with black kit lens only - even though the silver kit lens is on display.
First impressions and iPhone snapshots coming soon. After I eat lunch and get back to office.
Beware that both black body and silver body will come with black kit lens only - even though the silver kit lens is on display.
First impressions and iPhone snapshots coming soon. After I eat lunch and get back to office.
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silence
Senior Member
same here....... I donno if I should get it with the kit 12-50mm lens not(that's my first m4/3).. given the price, I can get an oly 45mm F1.8 already..
rhema83 said:
Courts actually though Amos from Olympus was there. Sales person keep pester me buy after the show at courts woodlands since I dun want buy just now
he say got other freebies but I think regular shops should be cheaper. Btw, there will be a handson session soon for Olympus e-club and likely Clubsnap member
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Courts actually though Amos from Olympus was there. Sales person keep pester me buy after the show at courts woodlands since I dun want buy just now
Ah, thanks for the clarification. I was already suspicious when I heard that collection will be at Courts Somerset. Courts is definitely not known for low camera prices.
What kind of hands-on session are you talking about, by the way? Do you mean something like the launch at National Geographic, where Olympus staff will give explanations of how the latest features work, before the crowd is the let loose on the demo sets?
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jamestan75
New Member
if RRP is US$999($1250), retail shop should be able to get around $1100 to $1150 for body.
it made no sense to buy $1488 for body.
it made no sense to buy $1488 for body.
As promised, here is my personal "first impressions" review. Disclaimer: I am a Canon DSLR user and have intentions to switch to m4/3. So I will come from a "is it good enough to make me switch" angle. I have also never written a review so please forgive me for my "noob" style of writing.
Build and Ergonomics
The first thought when I picked up the camera with the 12-50 kit lens was "wow, it is heavy for such a small package"! And that was before I asked the counter staff for a battery. To confirm my impression, I separated the kit lens from the body (with battery). Apparently they weigh about the same. I would say the entire setup "feels" almost like an entry-level DSLR kit (e.g. 1100D + 18-55) in terms of weight. The ergonomics are pretty good, though. While the grip is a bit too shallow especially for one-handed shooting with the heavy kit lens, the thumb grip on the rear is a very nice touch. Those with big hands should consider getting the body grip. I personally have big hands and long fingers - big enough that I chose 60D over 550D due to comfort. So I found the grip too shallow for extended shooting. My right pinkie felt like it was going to cramp up!
The rear directional and OK buttons are easy to get at and press. They have nice tactile feedback. However, the PLAYBACK button and the adjacent INFO button are no good. They are very small and recessed due to the thick tilting screen. It is very difficult to press them accurately without supporting the camera with your left hand and carefully poking the button with your right thumbnail. Those with stubby thumbs literally need not apply! The top control dials and shutter release are very DSLR-like in feel with enough resistance to accidental actuation. Good!
Next up was the menu system. As I have not used a late model Olympus at all (my last Olympus was a 2.1mp C2Z), this is a fair test of how intuitive the menu is. I could turn on and off the touch-focus and touch-shutter easily as there was a graphical button on the screen. However, for everything else like WB, picture quality, etc., I couldn't figure out in a minute how to adjust them using the touchscreen. After a couple of tries, I gave up and pressed the MENU button to dive into the traditional menu system. Fortunately, that part was easy enough. It is a typical leveled menu system which most DSLR users should be used to.
EVF, LCD and AF system
There is a split-second lag between bringing the camera to your eye and the EVF turning on. I think it is responsive enough that most of the time you shouldn't end up staring into a blank EVF. However it may be an issue if you bring the camera up to your eye really quickly to take a snapshot on the street. You are better off using the touch shutter for that. The EVF was set in info bar mode (i.e. no overlay on the image, all the shooting info is on a blue-colored bar below it like a DSLR) which was probably not optimal as it did not use up the entire EVF. There were blank spaces on the left and right like when you use a widescreen to view standard aspect ratio videos. The EVF is good but not as good as I thought it would be given the rave reviews of the recent high-resolution EVFs (i.e. G3, GX1's LVF, NEX7). It felt a bit grainy, and the refresh rate still reminds you that you are using a EVF. It also flickers due to the artificial lighting, which is a concern. Too bad I couldn't figure out how to change it to full-screen overlay mode (maybe I should have read the manual before hand). Perhaps if I switch it to full-screen mode it would perform better? On the other hand, it is large and bright so there is no fear of ending up with tunnel vision. There is also little rolling shutter effect at least when viewing through the EVF.
The rear LCD is a joy to use. It is smooth like glass and feels very similar to the iPhone. The LCD is bright and contrasty, and the colours are vivid. I didn't have a chance to test it in sunlight (duh) but it should not differ too much from an iPhone. The touch interface is responsive with minimal lag, comparable to the latest smart phones. That also means instant response for the touch-focus and touch-shutter. This is extremely convenient for street photography. However, since I couldn't figure out how to get other things set up on the screen, I did not test the LCD much more than that. Without an SD card, I also could not test out the playback-related functions.
On to AF. I only had enough time to figure out how to select AF zones, so although I found the menu option to switch AF modes, I stuck to AF-S with manual zone selection. I basically used the center zone for the entire session. AF felt very quick, although still a little behind my 60D with 15-85 lens. I am not sure if it is due to the body, the lens (particularly the AF motor) or the lighting condition. Also, the AF hesitated when I pointed it at bright light sources. For example, when I tried to focus on the ceiling beams where there were hanging floodlights, the AF took some time to focus on the beams. Nevertheless, the AF performance is good enough for all but the most demanding action shooters. To add on, in macro mode, the kit lens could also focus very close and accurately. The bright LCD screen just makes close-up shots that much easier. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to test the in-EVF MF assist, so I will wait for somebody else to review that part for the benefit of those who want to mount legacy lenses.
Conclusions and Pricing
I didn't bring a SD card so I can't show any sample image here. But all in all I think this is a VERY nice camera. Olympus definitely has a winner on its hands. Is it good enough to make me switch from the 60D? You bet... if I get a fat bonus! (See the not-so-attractive pricing info below.) Both the black and silver models look gorgeous and feel solid (think Macbook Pro aluminium unibody). Note that both black and silver bodies will come with black kit lens. So if you are going for a full-silver retro look, you are out of luck. Maybe check again with your favorite retailer later.
Now comes the biggest problem of them all, PRICE. US RRPs are US$999 for body alone and US$1299 for 12-50 kit. IT Show prices are $1488 for body alone and $1888 for 12-50 kit, with either MMF-3 or 32GB UHS-1 SD card bundled. That represents more than US$100 markup from US RRP. Please check with your favorite retailer and see if you can get better prices. I am personally hoping for about $1200-$1250 for body alone and $1600-$1650 for the 12-50 kit. Otherwise, you might want to look into importing from cheaper sources (like HK or USA).
I will try to post pictures once I figure out how to get them from my iPhone to CS. Anyone wants to help?
Build and Ergonomics
The first thought when I picked up the camera with the 12-50 kit lens was "wow, it is heavy for such a small package"! And that was before I asked the counter staff for a battery. To confirm my impression, I separated the kit lens from the body (with battery). Apparently they weigh about the same. I would say the entire setup "feels" almost like an entry-level DSLR kit (e.g. 1100D + 18-55) in terms of weight. The ergonomics are pretty good, though. While the grip is a bit too shallow especially for one-handed shooting with the heavy kit lens, the thumb grip on the rear is a very nice touch. Those with big hands should consider getting the body grip. I personally have big hands and long fingers - big enough that I chose 60D over 550D due to comfort. So I found the grip too shallow for extended shooting. My right pinkie felt like it was going to cramp up!
The rear directional and OK buttons are easy to get at and press. They have nice tactile feedback. However, the PLAYBACK button and the adjacent INFO button are no good. They are very small and recessed due to the thick tilting screen. It is very difficult to press them accurately without supporting the camera with your left hand and carefully poking the button with your right thumbnail. Those with stubby thumbs literally need not apply! The top control dials and shutter release are very DSLR-like in feel with enough resistance to accidental actuation. Good!
Next up was the menu system. As I have not used a late model Olympus at all (my last Olympus was a 2.1mp C2Z), this is a fair test of how intuitive the menu is. I could turn on and off the touch-focus and touch-shutter easily as there was a graphical button on the screen. However, for everything else like WB, picture quality, etc., I couldn't figure out in a minute how to adjust them using the touchscreen. After a couple of tries, I gave up and pressed the MENU button to dive into the traditional menu system. Fortunately, that part was easy enough. It is a typical leveled menu system which most DSLR users should be used to.
EVF, LCD and AF system
There is a split-second lag between bringing the camera to your eye and the EVF turning on. I think it is responsive enough that most of the time you shouldn't end up staring into a blank EVF. However it may be an issue if you bring the camera up to your eye really quickly to take a snapshot on the street. You are better off using the touch shutter for that. The EVF was set in info bar mode (i.e. no overlay on the image, all the shooting info is on a blue-colored bar below it like a DSLR) which was probably not optimal as it did not use up the entire EVF. There were blank spaces on the left and right like when you use a widescreen to view standard aspect ratio videos. The EVF is good but not as good as I thought it would be given the rave reviews of the recent high-resolution EVFs (i.e. G3, GX1's LVF, NEX7). It felt a bit grainy, and the refresh rate still reminds you that you are using a EVF. It also flickers due to the artificial lighting, which is a concern. Too bad I couldn't figure out how to change it to full-screen overlay mode (maybe I should have read the manual before hand). Perhaps if I switch it to full-screen mode it would perform better? On the other hand, it is large and bright so there is no fear of ending up with tunnel vision. There is also little rolling shutter effect at least when viewing through the EVF.
The rear LCD is a joy to use. It is smooth like glass and feels very similar to the iPhone. The LCD is bright and contrasty, and the colours are vivid. I didn't have a chance to test it in sunlight (duh) but it should not differ too much from an iPhone. The touch interface is responsive with minimal lag, comparable to the latest smart phones. That also means instant response for the touch-focus and touch-shutter. This is extremely convenient for street photography. However, since I couldn't figure out how to get other things set up on the screen, I did not test the LCD much more than that. Without an SD card, I also could not test out the playback-related functions.
On to AF. I only had enough time to figure out how to select AF zones, so although I found the menu option to switch AF modes, I stuck to AF-S with manual zone selection. I basically used the center zone for the entire session. AF felt very quick, although still a little behind my 60D with 15-85 lens. I am not sure if it is due to the body, the lens (particularly the AF motor) or the lighting condition. Also, the AF hesitated when I pointed it at bright light sources. For example, when I tried to focus on the ceiling beams where there were hanging floodlights, the AF took some time to focus on the beams. Nevertheless, the AF performance is good enough for all but the most demanding action shooters. To add on, in macro mode, the kit lens could also focus very close and accurately. The bright LCD screen just makes close-up shots that much easier. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to test the in-EVF MF assist, so I will wait for somebody else to review that part for the benefit of those who want to mount legacy lenses.
Conclusions and Pricing
I didn't bring a SD card so I can't show any sample image here. But all in all I think this is a VERY nice camera. Olympus definitely has a winner on its hands. Is it good enough to make me switch from the 60D? You bet... if I get a fat bonus! (See the not-so-attractive pricing info below.) Both the black and silver models look gorgeous and feel solid (think Macbook Pro aluminium unibody). Note that both black and silver bodies will come with black kit lens. So if you are going for a full-silver retro look, you are out of luck. Maybe check again with your favorite retailer later.
Now comes the biggest problem of them all, PRICE. US RRPs are US$999 for body alone and US$1299 for 12-50 kit. IT Show prices are $1488 for body alone and $1888 for 12-50 kit, with either MMF-3 or 32GB UHS-1 SD card bundled. That represents more than US$100 markup from US RRP. Please check with your favorite retailer and see if you can get better prices. I am personally hoping for about $1200-$1250 for body alone and $1600-$1650 for the 12-50 kit. Otherwise, you might want to look into importing from cheaper sources (like HK or USA).
I will try to post pictures once I figure out how to get them from my iPhone to CS. Anyone wants to help?
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MichaelLee
Senior Member
can not compare like that lah. OMD comes with VF. if you get Panny VF for GX1, got to add another SGD300.
vainqueur
Senior Member
In a way, you are right, like when I first bought my EPL1+VF, it is already $1300+
I was pretty impressed with the high iso, for my taste, iso up to 12800 is usable without any post processing noise reduction needed (provided you did the right setting in camera). (I set the NR to auto and NF to off and the noise at 12800 is not as bad as my ISO3200 on my EPL1)
I tried JPEG+RAW mode, saving to my sd card is so so, could be because I am not using a high speed sd card.
The buttons on the body too soft for my taste, sometimes takes more than 1 press to activate a button like the directional button.
The 2 dial wheel, the front wheel feels a bit hard to scroll, I prefer the back wheel. Maybe I just need to get used to the wheel.
The LCD looks great, it feels richer and sharper than the previous PEN.
The VF interestingly looks smaller in action than it looks from photos.
I couldnt find the off on switch for a moment. HAHA...
Doesn't feels too heavy. The weight is just nice.
Couldn't seem to activate the macro mode, so couldn't try it out.
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