E-M5 Owner - Comments, Critique, Reviews, and what-nots :-)

[milez]

Dear Forum members,
I'm a new owner of the amazing OM-D E-M5.
The images out of this camera are amazing and I am impressed by everything about this beauty of a thing.
BUT.... there is one really non-issue tiny little thing that's bothering me. I'd like to check with you folks if this is something wrong with my unit or it's the same for all.
The OLED display appears to be showing really faint thin dark lines that run vertically across the screen. Especially when viewing grayish regions on my image in preview I see these lines. Do you see them on your OLED displays? It's rather faint and you need to be looking for it to see it. But I don't recall seeing this on regular LCD displays on my previous cameras. When the lighting is dim it's even more noticeable.

Bring back to olympus. Its not normal.

 

[TheStig]

Of course there is contrast and sharpen option in the menu.... right from the super control panel. you can adjust +2 .. 0 .. -2 for each setting. Or custom set it from the menu option, save it as one of your profile.

Oh OK got it. It's on the super control panel. I was looking for it under "menu" lol. I set the sharpness to -1, but there's only a slight difference. Olympus really does set the sharpening aggressively. Pics are incredibly sharp. Too sharp lol.

 

[milez]

Oh OK got it. It's on the super control panel. I was looking for it under "menu" lol. I set the sharpness to -1, but there's only a slight difference. Olympus really does set the sharpening aggressively. Pics are incredibly sharp. Too sharp lol.

Under menu also can adjust. You can adjust sharpening and contrast to -2, as also proposed by DPR. Personally, i like it this way. Mine is set to zero or -1.

 

[jin06]

I have the EM-5 together with my old Panasonic GF1's 20mm 1.7. However with the EM-5 + 20mm 1.7 combination, the auto focus during low light situations is terrible. Sometimes it doesnt even focus properly. Anyone else experiencing the same problem?

Now Im thinking of getting: Panasonic 25mm 1.4, Olympus 45mm 1.8, or Olympus 12mm 2.0. Together with the EM-5, any of these 3 would have faster and better autofocus right? Which one would be the fastest? Its because I take a lot of pictures of my less than 1 month old baby and she moves a lot so I need fast autofocus.

 

[rhema83]

I have the EM-5 together with my old Panasonic GF1's 20mm 1.7. However with the EM-5 + 20mm 1.7 combination, the auto focus during low light situations is terrible. Sometimes it doesnt even focus properly. Anyone else experiencing the same problem?

Now Im thinking of getting: Panasonic 25mm 1.4, Olympus 45mm 1.8, or Olympus 12mm 2.0. Together with the EM-5, any of these 3 would have faster and better autofocus right? Which one would be the fastest? Its because I take a lot of pictures of my less than 1 month old baby and she moves a lot so I need fast autofocus.

The focal length is for you to decide. What is your current experience with the 20mm focal length? Is it wide enough, or long enough? We won't know. The 3 lenses you quoted are all fast, but they can still fail to acquire focus under low light. This is a weakness of contrast-detect autofocus. I own the 25/1.4 and have plenty of experience having to MF because the AF simply cannot acquire focus under dim light (e.g. street at dusk).

 

[milez]

I have the EM-5 together with my old Panasonic GF1's 20mm 1.7. However with the EM-5 + 20mm 1.7 combination, the auto focus during low light situations is terrible. Sometimes it doesnt even focus properly. Anyone else experiencing the same problem?

Now Im thinking of getting: Panasonic 25mm 1.4, Olympus 45mm 1.8, or Olympus 12mm 2.0. Together with the EM-5, any of these 3 would have faster and better autofocus right? Which one would be the fastest? Its because I take a lot of pictures of my less than 1 month old baby and she moves a lot so I need fast autofocus.

Not sure if you are aware of this .. 20mm f1.7 Lumix lens has some issues with EM5 which is acknowledged by Olympus.
Check out DP Review website under Olympus news

 

[Frosty1971]

What is the focusing distance of your 20mm, you might be too near to your subject. sometimes if you moves quite a bit, minor motion blur are being mistaken as oof.

 

[Jedi R]

Is there any setting that I need to do when I use the remote cable ? I can half press to focus but I cannot take a shoot ? Any advise ?

 

[jin06]

The focal length is for you to decide. What is your current experience with the 20mm focal length? Is it wide enough, or long enough? We won't know. The 3 lenses you quoted are all fast, but they can still fail to acquire focus under low light. This is a weakness of contrast-detect autofocus. I own the 25/1.4 and have plenty of experience having to MF because the AF simply cannot acquire focus under dim light (e.g. street at dusk).

Great point In terms of focal length I am very happy with the 20mm. I am just frustrated with auto focus on low light. For example while im in a small room lit just a lamp since I dont want to wake up my baby daughter while Im taking a picture of her. Another example would be while Im in a room with sunlight from the outside diffused by curtains, its sufficiently lit in my opinion but the 20mm still has a hard time focusing. I have been following the .2 meter focusing distance so I dont think its the problem. The reason why I want fast autofocus is so that I could take pictures of my daughter easily who at less than 1 month already moves a lot (what more in the next few months ). I also want to avoid using flash on my daughter as she gets irritated even if I bounce off the ceiling. And the reason why I want 2.0 or less aperture is because I love the bokeh of these fast prime lenses.

With my explanation the logical choice for replacement would be the Panasonic 25mm, however they say the Olympus 12mm and 45mm have faster autofocus when mounted on the EM-5. Thats why Im having a hard time to decide. I want the 25mm focal length but the autofocus speed of the Olympus. I know there is nothing perfect for me right now but I cant find that "thing" that can make me jump and buy one of these lenses. By the way, keeping the 20mm is not an option for me since I almost hate it at this point

So in your experience 25mm auto focus is still not that reliable on low light?

 

[jin06]

Not sure if you are aware of this .. 20mm f1.7 Lumix lens has some issues with EM5 which is acknowledged by Olympus.
Check out DP Review website under Olympus news

Yes I read about it. Its just banding on very high iso. Doesnt bother me that much since I dont really push the camera to very high iso. But I did test my EM-5 with 20mm and it also has the banding issue.

 

[Expat yorkshire]

Just moved from an x100 to OMD - M5


I feel that I have moved from a troublesome convertible Alpha Romeo to a top of the range Ferrari

 

[Dan]

That is a big step forward.... looking good.

Just moved from an x100 to OMD - M5


I feel that I have moved from a troublesome convertible Alpha Romeo to a top of the range Ferrari

 

[rhema83]

Great point In terms of focal length I am very happy with the 20mm. I am just frustrated with auto focus on low light. For example while im in a small room lit just a lamp since I dont want to wake up my baby daughter while Im taking a picture of her. Another example would be while Im in a room with sunlight from the outside diffused by curtains, its sufficiently lit in my opinion but the 20mm still has a hard time focusing. I have been following the .2 meter focusing distance so I dont think its the problem. The reason why I want fast autofocus is so that I could take pictures of my daughter easily who at less than 1 month already moves a lot (what more in the next few months ). I also want to avoid using flash on my daughter as she gets irritated even if I bounce off the ceiling. And the reason why I want 2.0 or less aperture is because I love the bokeh of these fast prime lenses.

With my explanation the logical choice for replacement would be the Panasonic 25mm, however they say the Olympus 12mm and 45mm have faster autofocus when mounted on the EM-5. Thats why Im having a hard time to decide. I want the 25mm focal length but the autofocus speed of the Olympus. I know there is nothing perfect for me right now but I cant find that "thing" that can make me jump and buy one of these lenses. By the way, keeping the 20mm is not an option for me since I almost hate it at this point

So in your experience 25mm auto focus is still not that reliable on low light?

When shooting indoors, 45mm will feel too long. The 12mm is actually quite good for indoors and many other purposes, but you will not get much bokeh out of it unless you are very close to the subject, which will make AF slower and also cause a lot of perspective distortion (think huge nose). 25mm may be the best compromise.

The 25mm is in my experience a very fast focusing lens. Equally fast, if not faster, than the 12-50mm kit lens which Olympus uses to claim the "fastest AF" title for the E-M5. So I can probably conclude that it is among the top performers in m4/3 world. You need to choose your AF point smartly to maximize its potential, though. For example, if you take a picture of your baby, you should focus on the eye because the contrast between the pale skin and the dark eyelashes provides the "edge" required to acquire focus.

To share with you, when I had my EOS 60D and 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, I also had difficulty with AF under low light, even though it is phase-detect autofocus. For example, around a campfire. So I had to MF a lot too.

 

[milez]

Just moved from an x100 to OMD - M5


I feel that I have moved from a troublesome convertible Alpha Romeo to a top of the range Ferrari

Congrats!
Wont say Olympus is Ferrari ... but probably top of the range Porsche.

 

[Liang Yu Chang]

Yes I read about it. Its just banding on very high iso. Doesnt bother me that much since I dont really push the camera to very high iso. But I did test my EM-5 with 20mm and it also has the banding issue.

You may try to give a point position for the camera to focus. These will help. I had encounter this too.

 

[Oly5050]

After using for a while, I have noticed a couple of things :

1. The WB can be a little unreliable. Especially indoors. It can vary from shot to shot.
2. The type of card you use can affect the start up speed considerably

 

[milez]

After using for a while, I have noticed a couple of things :

1. The WB can be a little unreliable. Especially indoors. It can vary from shot to shot.
2. The type of card you use can affect the start up speed considerably

Question
1. Did you turn on "keep warm" in white balance?
2. What type of card are you using? Any difference between SDXC 45mb/s and SDXC Pro 90 mb/s?

I realize the battery can really last only 350 shots. And its really short. My fully charged battery was flat in 3 hours.

 

[Umeiko]

I have the EM-5 together with my old Panasonic GF1's 20mm 1.7. However with the EM-5 + 20mm 1.7 combination, the auto focus during low light situations is terrible. Sometimes it doesnt even focus properly. Anyone else experiencing the same problem?

Now Im thinking of getting: Panasonic 25mm 1.4, Olympus 45mm 1.8, or Olympus 12mm 2.0. Together with the EM-5, any of these 3 would have faster and better autofocus right? Which one would be the fastest? Its because I take a lot of pictures of my less than 1 month old baby and she moves a lot so I need fast autofocus.

I have Panasonic 25mm 1.4, Olympus 45mm 1.8, and Olympus 12mm 2.0. If you want fast autofocus, it has to be Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4. Should be great to use for taking your baby.

For me, I have Panasonic 20mm f1.7 on my e-m5 most of the time because of its focal length and compactness.

 

[116520]

Sorry I know this is not a Car forum but top of the range Porsche, e.g. 911 turbo S, is faster than most Ferraris...

Congrats!
Wont say Olympus is Ferrari ... but probably top of the range Porsche.

 

[jin06]

When shooting indoors, 45mm will feel too long. The 12mm is actually quite good for indoors and many other purposes, but you will not get much bokeh out of it unless you are very close to the subject, which will make AF slower and also cause a lot of perspective distortion (think huge nose). 25mm may be the best compromise.

The 25mm is in my experience a very fast focusing lens. Equally fast, if not faster, than the 12-50mm kit lens which Olympus uses to claim the "fastest AF" title for the E-M5. So I can probably conclude that it is among the top performers in m4/3 world. You need to choose your AF point smartly to maximize its potential, though. For example, if you take a picture of your baby, you should focus on the eye because the contrast between the pale skin and the dark eyelashes provides the "edge" required to acquire focus.

To share with you, when I had my EOS 60D and 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, I also had difficulty with AF under low light, even though it is phase-detect autofocus. For example, around a campfire. So I had to MF a lot too.

Great info! Wasnt aware of contrast affecting autofocus and phase detect autofocus. Will research on it as well to help me make use of the autofocus better.

Yeah I was afraid of distorted photos using the 12mm. This would now be my last choice.