[ Product Discussion ] - Olympus E-5 hand on _thought and sample pic

[spidey89]

This improved E3 is really good news. I do think that E-3 owners would welcome this improvement, since the image quality improvements alone justify the upgrade. And all the other functions like Live View performance (since it is pretty much tied to the video functionality) is a big welcome. Looks like this new camera has great improvements internally.

I still have to frown at the form factor, but internally, I think Olympus delivered a better camera than the original E-3.

Shall wait for the final release to see if it really is worth getting the flagship thumbs up.

Last question.

Battery life and performance in harsh conditions (like heat). Heating issues (it existed on some E-3s when it was first released). Any thoughts?

Never noticed it when I took it out to shoot around my area, but then again... it was a cool day after the rain so I can't really vouch for it

 

[diCam]

This improved E3 is really good news. I do think that E-3 owners would welcome this improvement, since the image quality improvements alone justify the upgrade. And all the other functions like Live View performance (since it is pretty much tied to the video functionality) is a big welcome. Looks like this new camera has great improvements internally.

I still have to frown at the form factor, but internally, I think Olympus delivered a better camera than the original E-3.

Shall wait for the final release to see if it really is worth getting the flagship thumbs up.

Last question.

Battery life and performance in harsh conditions (like heat). Heating issues (it existed on some E-3s when it was first released). Any thoughts?

I'm one of them that also frowned at the form factor of E-5 but I understand the rationale of this design and the reasons that goes behind it.

I shot with 2 BLM-5 with HLD-4. At certain situation I intentionally did 5fps with C-AF. It was done on a morning at about 9am. It was cloudy and the weather was already hot and humid. Battery life was good considering that I already shot about 500 frames the night before. I continued using the same set-up the following day without charging the batteries. The battery indicator dropped a bar half-way through the morning shoot. There is no indication of heating-up.

That was my experience. Maybe I didn't 'hoot' the setup hard enough. :bsmilie:

 

[diCam]

I am starting to get soft in E5 but then again I cant really afford it nor like the size... but comparing it to my current Oly setup this is a huge improvement specially if the AF is really than fast

Now, AF speed and performance is subjective.

You can argue until the cow come home and there will still be no agreement to this hot topic. :bsmilie:

Coming from a E-3 user, lets just say... I'm happy and satisfied.

 

[albertri]

Now, AF speed and performance is subjective.

You can argue until the cow come home and there will still be no agreement to this hot topic. :bsmilie:

Coming from a E-3 user, lets just say... I'm happy and satisfied.

yeah I read R. Wong's blog looks like based on his experience the Af is fast... well atleast it nice to know that AF has been upgraded he even say using 50mm f2 the AF locks on pretty good.

 

[K3N]

Sounds sweet. Looks like they have solved quite a number of problems with the E3 with this release.

How is live view performance? Fast?

Thanks for the prompt reply.

Does this mean that it is more like a PEN now, in terms of AF response? What about non CDAF enabled lenses? How is the AF response like as compared to a PEN? I use a lot of Live View in events photography, and therefore this is something interesting.

Hybrid was a pain because it was painfully slow...

Liveview is nice and clear on the new screen.. The screen has a matte finish and doesn't have much glare. You can select between PDAF/liveview or CDAF/liveview. It is now a menu option.

CDAF is as fast as a PEN. Subjective opinion is its faster than the other PENS but didn't test side by side. It is okay fast with a 50mm F2 macro which is not one of the fastest 4/3 lenses but it can still loose focus lock and hunt. The 50mm macro with CDAF has a more positive lock than the 14-35mm with PDAF, it just searches more slowly.

A future PRO CDAF with 5" touchscreen and broadcast camera quality EVF (even monochrome) might be quite interesting. I think CDAF has the potential to be faster than PDAF in low light and offer subject tracking not linked to fix focus points. This appears to be Olympus's future direction.

 

[microcosm]

I am starting to get soft in E5 but then again I cant really afford it nor like the size... but comparing it to my current Oly setup this is a huge improvement specially if the AF is really than fast

I always tell folks I meet, that it is only sensible to buy the flagship camera whenever possible because of the benefits it does for one's photography, even if that means saving for another year to make it materialise. Size is relative, really. A good tool in the hands of one who is passionate yields amazing images.

 

[microcosm]

Liveview is nice and clear on the new screen.. The screen has a matte finish and doesn't have much glare. You can select between PDAF/liveview or CDAF/liveview. It is now a menu option.

CDAF is as fast as a PEN. Subjective opinion is its faster than the other PENS but didn't test side by side. It is okay fast with a 50mm F2 macro which is not one of the fastest 4/3 lenses but it can still loose focus lock and hunt. The 50mm macro with CDAF has a more positive lock than the 14-35mm with PDAF, it just searches more slowly.

A future PRO CDAF with 5" touchscreen and broadcast camera quality EVF (even monochrome) might be quite interesting. I think CDAF has the potential to be faster than PDAF in low light and offer subject tracking not linked to fix focus points. This appears to be Olympus's future direction.

Nice to know the options are there when you need them.

Yes, HD EVF in full color is already something common and its parts aren't that expensive. Just that Pro DSLR users still have some time before they can fully jump on the bandwagon for a pro-body with HD EVF. But it is something worth looking forward to. Not to mention that with EVF, the viewfinder can be made bigger than it is now. That is something worth celebrating when it does come out.

 

[microcosm]

Never noticed it when I took it out to shoot around my area, but then again... it was a cool day after the rain so I can't really vouch for it

Push it! Review units are meant for that.

I'm one of them that also frowned at the form factor of E-5 but I understand the rationale of this design and the reasons that goes behind it.

I shot with 2 BLM-5 with HLD-4. At certain situation I intentionally did 5fps with C-AF. It was done on a morning at about 9am. It was cloudy and the weather was already hot and humid. Battery life was good considering that I already shot about 500 frames the night before. I continued using the same set-up the following day without charging the batteries. The battery indicator dropped a bar half-way through the morning shoot. There is no indication of heating-up.

That was my experience. Maybe I didn't 'hoot' the setup hard enough. :bsmilie:

Few questions then... what is the rating for the BLM-5?
How is battery performance if the BLM-1s are used?
Wondering how it would perform as an event camera in the Singapore humidity and heat, like covering sports events? I am sure the chassis and seals work perfectly, but the internals? That is my concern.
Maybe someone can do a "how many shots till flat" by holding down the shutter button.

Now, AF speed and performance is subjective.

You can argue until the cow come home and there will still be no agreement to this hot topic. :bsmilie:

Coming from a E-3 user, lets just say... I'm happy and satisfied.

I am more than happy with SWD lenses and E3. And I agree, AF speed is subjective.

 

[spidey89]

Haha,oh well,the review unit no longer with me,hahaha,will keep that in mind the next time i get my hands on a review unit of another model XD

 

[bousozoku]

Being objective and stating facts about improvements on the E-5 does not mean it is growing in me. The camera that is capable of that is the Pentax 645D. Not the E-5. By miles. I give credit where credit is due. Still not compelling me to buy it. What is lacking now in the E-3, I am able to do it in software. Spend a little more effort maybe, but it gives me what I want. The "feel" of things are more important than specs.

You can fix the soft images in software by returning sharpness stolen by the anti-aliasing filter? I want to learn how to do that.

The 645D is almost 6 times the price of the E-5 body. I know that the image quality differences are extreme, but of course, they're meant for different uses. As big as the E-5 is, hand holding a 645D on the street with a telephoto lens will tire a person much more.

Even though the E-5 isn't an appealing solution, it is a workable solution, even for me. It's just too bad it didn't arrive in 2008.

 

[microcosm]

You can fix the soft images in software by returning sharpness stolen by the anti-aliasing filter? I want to learn how to do that.

The 645D is almost 6 times the price of the E-5 body. I know that the image quality differences are extreme, but of course, they're meant for different uses. As big as the E-5 is, hand holding a 645D on the street with a telephoto lens will tire a person much more.

Even though the E-5 isn't an appealing solution, it is a workable solution, even for me. It's just too bad it didn't arrive in 2008.

Not in that sense. Physics is physics. Fixing the soft images in software by returning sharpness stolen by the anti-aliasing filter is doing the impossible, though the colors in RAW can always be improved by better RAW developing software.

But as an image, increasing sharpness to make an image pleasant is do-able, enough to get me paid in any case. So save that sarcasm. :cry: And some masterpieces does not even have the details that can be captured by a E1.

Shooting 645D with ridiculously long tele, and handholding like a DSLR... Don't think the 645D is meant to be used that way, unless of course, he is from the same village as George Bush. Anyway the 645D is lacking in lenses and I am still waiting, but the unit I used in Tokyo at the hands on launch and spending a week with the loaner simply blew me away.

If I were to move on, might as well move on to a larger format anyway... and 35mm full frame is not really a huge step. It is almost like investing into a 1Ds system with a slight top up. But you get a 645 medium format. Mamiya is working on an affordable system too, so it is waiting to see what is in store in the coming year or so. By the way, the 645D price I have been quoted is more like 4 times the price of a E5 body. And my shooting needs are always differing, so the 645D fills a gap where the DSLR platform fails to deliver. Though I have seen some strange Jap dudes shooting street with them in that week I was in Tokyo and they produced some really good images at the end of that "hands-on week". Guess that sort of challenged me to do better with the 645 platform. I can go on and write a few thousand words on why I want the 645D, but I guess no one will be interested in my story.

Back to the E5... you mentioned if it was 2008, so I assume you are skipping this release again? Unless the E1 dies on you?

 

[bousozoku]

Not in that sense. Physics is physics. Fixing the soft images in software by returning sharpness stolen by the anti-aliasing filter is doing the impossible, though the colors in RAW can always be improved by better RAW developing software.

But as an image, increasing sharpness to make an image pleasant is do-able, enough to get me paid in any case. So save that sarcasm. :cry: And some masterpieces does not even have the details that can be captured by a E1.

Shooting 645D with ridiculously long tele, and handholding like a DSLR... Don't think the 645D is meant to be used that way, unless of course, he is from the same village as George Bush. Anyway the 645D is lacking in lenses and I am still waiting, but the unit I used in Tokyo at the hands on launch and spending a week with the loaner simply blew me away.

If I were to move on, might as well move on to a larger format anyway... and 35mm full frame is not really a huge step. It is almost like investing into a 1Ds system with a slight top up. But you get a 645 medium format. Mamiya is working on an affordable system too, so it is waiting to see what is in store in the coming year or so. By the way, the 645D price I have been quoted is more like 4 times the price of a E5 body. And my shooting needs are always differing, so the 645D fills a gap where the DSLR platform fails to deliver. Though I have seen some strange Jap dudes shooting street with them in that week I was in Tokyo and they produced some really good images at the end of that "hands-on week". Guess that sort of challenged me to do better with the 645 platform. I can go on and write a few thousand words on why I want the 645D, but I guess no one will be interested in my story.

Back to the E5... you mentioned if it was 2008, so I assume you are skipping this release again? Unless the E1 dies on you?

I will buy the E-5 when things are in order. I suspect I'll wait until I can buy the body with the 14-35mm at the same time so I can break my lack of low light shooting. The E-1 has been good and lately, I've been shooting quite a bit more. I've probably shot a few thousand images in the past 4 weeks and few were problematic. I had trouble with the last set I shot because there were some dark areas around the woods during the day and ISO 400 wasn't enough to compensate. The 14-35mm wouldn't have helped as I was using the 50-200mm, but the 35-100mm wouldn't be enough, either. I might as well use a monopod and that's not likely to happen. I'd probably put people in the hospital with it, accidentally.

As far as I'm concerned 135 format digital SLRs are useless and you might as well shoot medium format. The only thing I have against the Pentax 645D is that the sensor is small for medium format. That said, the images are far beyond anything Canon or Nikon can do, even though their best fanatics don't know about medium format and will dispute it.

 

[microcosm]

I will buy the E-5 when things are in order. I suspect I'll wait until I can buy the body with the 14-35mm at the same time so I can break my lack of low light shooting. The E-1 has been good and lately, I've been shooting quite a bit more. I've probably shot a few thousand images in the past 4 weeks and few were problematic. I had trouble with the last set I shot because there were some dark areas around the woods during the day and ISO 400 wasn't enough to compensate. The 14-35mm wouldn't have helped as I was using the 50-200mm, but the 35-100mm wouldn't be enough, either. I might as well use a monopod and that's not likely to happen. I'd probably put people in the hospital with it, accidentally.

As far as I'm concerned 135 format digital SLRs are useless and you might as well shoot medium format. The only thing I have against the Pentax 645D is that the sensor is small for medium format. That said, the images are far beyond anything Canon or Nikon can do, even though their best fanatics don't know about medium format and will dispute it.

Considering the jump from E1 to E5, you might or might not have to invest in the SHG lenses, but this is a personal preference. The low light performance of the E5 might be sufficient, but there is always that "very low light situation".

The only reason the 645 format is good, from film days till now, is that it is hand holdable. I have used 6x6 and 6x7 and it is less forgiving. The larger the mirror, the more the vibration. And I have to agree, 645 has always been the one that the medium format shooters frown upon as the "neither here nor there camera".

But still, it wins my heart. Now waiting for either Pentax to get more lenses out or Mamiya to surprise me.

 

[microcosm]

Haha,oh well,the review unit no longer with me,hahaha,will keep that in mind the next time i get my hands on a review unit of another model XD

Sure bro.

 

[bousozoku]

Considering the jump from E1 to E5, you might or might not have to invest in the SHG lenses, but this is a personal preference. The low light performance of the E5 might be sufficient, but there is always that "very low light situation".

The only reason the 645 format is good, from film days till now, is that it is hand holdable. I have used 6x6 and 6x7 and it is less forgiving. The larger the mirror, the more the vibration. And I have to agree, 645 has always been the one that the medium format shooters frown upon as the "neither here nor there camera".

But still, it wins my heart. Now waiting for either Pentax to get more lenses out or Mamiya to surprise me.

If what I'm seeing correlates to what I'm shooting, setting to ISO 1600 would have handled everything but the bright situations last week and been no worse than my current ISO 400. I'll have to see what the Auto ISO setting range is. I thought that it was ISO 200 - 800. In what I was shooting, I had time to switch things, but that might not always be the case, especially since there are fewer buttons on the E-5 body.

What I meant about the 645D sensor is that it seems to be smaller than typical for 645 digital so far. The Mamiya/Phase One sensor (and price) is bigger, but of course, the lenses are heavier. If I remember they're all smaller than 6x4.5 anyway. I don't plan to shoot fashion, so I suppose it doesn't matter much. I'd rather shoot sports or anything else that really challenges me.

 

[microcosm]

If what I'm seeing correlates to what I'm shooting, setting to ISO 1600 would have handled everything but the bright situations last week and been no worse than my current ISO 400. I'll have to see what the Auto ISO setting range is. I thought that it was ISO 200 - 800. In what I was shooting, I had time to switch things, but that might not always be the case, especially since there are fewer buttons on the E-5 body.

What I meant about the 645D sensor is that it seems to be smaller than typical for 645 digital so far. The Mamiya/Phase One sensor (and price) is bigger, but of course, the lenses are heavier. If I remember they're all smaller than 6x4.5 anyway. I don't plan to shoot fashion, so I suppose it doesn't matter much. I'd rather shoot sports or anything else that really challenges me.

Tat E3 form factor will take a little getting used to. I remember being so frustrated not being able to quickly flick a switch to change focusing modes when the E3 first came out, and it is still something that is bothering me when shooting concerts. Until today it is still costing me shots.

As for the smaller sensor, Leica S2 is also "suffering" from the same problem (in a sense). But the fact is, the size is definitely larger than anything DSLR has to offer, so like you said, is enough to yield some really impressive resolution.

 

[bousozoku]

Tat E3 form factor will take a little getting used to. I remember being so frustrated not being able to quickly flick a switch to change focusing modes when the E3 first came out, and it is still something that is bothering me when shooting concerts. Until today it is still costing me shots.

As for the smaller sensor, Leica S2 is also "suffering" from the same problem (in a sense). But the fact is, the size is definitely larger than anything DSLR has to offer, so like you said, is enough to yield some really impressive resolution.

I figured there would be something to bother me about it, but it won't be the focusing modes. The switch on the E-1 is handy. I've flipped it by accident and wonder why I can't focus. :bsmilie:

I always wondered about putting a large sensor into a 135 format-style body like they've done with the S2. I think it's brilliant for those with big hands but the box shape with a grip is probably better overall.

Now, if Olympus will supply us with a micro Four-Thirds body in the style (speed, ergonomics) of the E-1, at least two of us would be happy. Panasonic's DMC-GH2 is knocking on that door already, though they're switching the buttons around to guess which works better.

 

[microcosm]

I figured there would be something to bother me about it, but it won't be the focusing modes. The switch on the E-1 is handy. I've flipped it by accident and wonder why I can't focus. :bsmilie:

I always wondered about putting a large sensor into a 135 format-style body like they've done with the S2. I think it's brilliant for those with big hands but the box shape with a grip is probably better overall.

Now, if Olympus will supply us with a micro Four-Thirds body in the style (speed, ergonomics) of the E-1, at least two of us would be happy. Panasonic's DMC-GH2 is knocking on that door already, though they're switching the buttons around to guess which works better.

I missed that switch, nevertheless.

Yeah, the ergonomics turned me off about the S2, and of course, the price tag too... though the concept was good, it ends when you hold it in your hands. Not too bad when compared to other medium format and even large DSLRs, but coming from E10/20/1, it is on opposite poles.

I am hoping that Panasonic continue to improve and who knows? One day they might come out with a pro m43 product that I would buy! :bsmilie:

 

[microcosm]

Just got a call from my regular shop...

E5 street price S$2,250.00
Regulars pays about S$100 less.

Comes with 8GB Sandisk Class 6 SDHC card, and additional BLM-5 battery with charger.

You get a total of 2 batteries to work immediately with a HLD-4 battery grip.
They did a continuous test shot, managed 951 shots in jpg machine gunning. BLM-5. Told me no time to test with BLM-1, busy selling E5. Ha ha ha...

 

[theITguy]

Another 6 months will sell below $2k

I miss my E-3 but am enjoying film. Think ultimately one must be learn to be happy with what they have and getting used to the stuff, then the photos will come.