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Archive 2012 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2

  
 
JeffG
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


graham_martin wrote:
I'll be taking mainly stills. How are these cameras for sports photography? I shoot HS football for my local paper. Since I am only a volunteer they are not expecting 600mm f/4 images. However, I do want to get some good in focus shots with at least some bokeh in order to isolate the player.


cdaf has difficulty tracking moving targets. if you shoot sports with continuous af now you will be disappointed with any m43 system. it's also hard to get any decent fast glass (because it does not exist)

you may want to keep the dslr's for that.



Aug 03, 2012 at 11:51 PM
Bifurcator
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


curious80 wrote:
This is a bit of an exaggeration EM-5 body sells new for $999, and used is a bit less. So it certainly is not 3 times GH2, a bit less than 2 times. But yes it is an expensive camera!



Thanks for the correction... For some reason I had $1700 in my head for the full kit and just assumed it would be $1300 or so bare.

Still, That's twice as much and the same exact considerations apply IMO.



graham_martin wrote:
I'll be taking mainly stills. How are these cameras for sports photography? I shoot HS football for my local paper. Since I am only a volunteer they are not expecting 600mm f/4 images. However, I do want to get some good in focus shots with at least some bokeh in order to isolate the player.

JeffG wrote:
cdaf has difficulty tracking moving targets. if you shoot sports with continuous af now you will be disappointed with any m43 system. it's also hard to get any decent fast glass (because it does not exist)

you may want to keep the dslr's for that.


Yup! All true!

In the same breath however I shoot hobby sports at night using MF lenses and have about a 90% in focus ratio using 200mm and under lenses. - Just saying...


Edited on Aug 04, 2012 at 12:08 AM · View previous versions



Aug 04, 2012 at 12:04 AM
cputeq
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


^ You'll actually probably have better luck putting the camera into S-AF mode and hoping you get a few shots in a series, then attempt to refocus, etc.

Also, supposedly there is a 35-100 2.8 coming soon, but who knows on exact date or availability (which, knowing Panasonic, will be low).




Aug 04, 2012 at 12:06 AM
kwalsh
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


@larry -You need to play with your E-M5 custom buttons some more. Make one MF and then set the AEL/AFL mode in MF to S-AF. You'll be able to switch between half press and back button instantly with no menu diving. And you won't have to double press to refocus either. Also, I prefer the top buttons over the rear for such things and with the EM5 you can set the two top buttons for just that.

It is a personal preference thing but I despised the focus lock behavior requiring double presses to focus on the G series. Fortunately the GH2 finally introduced settings to allow single press back button focus.

Bracketing right on the drive dial is nice on the GH2. EM5 playback in the EVF is frustrating.

I found the GH2 while less customizable had a good UI to start with. I do really like the EM5 configurability.

RAW buffer much better on the EM5, deeper and clears faster. Shutter quieter. Live view highlight warnings nice. Dual dials awesome. A few of the buttons are mushier.

I also prefer AF point selection and sizing implementation on the GH2. You can get a smaller point on the EM5 than the default but it is troublesome to setup and often resets itself.

Legacy MF zoom a mixed bag on both. Prefer the mag options and fact they are remembered on EM5 but find entering zoom easier on GH2. However, IBIS while MF on the EM5 is the trump card and for legacy glass I'd pick it over the GH2 easily.

In the end my GH2 was sold to someone who needed the video features. Slightly better sensor, controls, RAW shooting speed/buffering/flushing and IBIS won the day for the EM5 for my uses. Close call though. For exclusively tripod mounted shooting I might pick the GH2.

Ken



Aug 04, 2012 at 12:07 AM
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


Out of curiosity why would Bracketing be useful for sports? Or do you just mean in general use?


Aug 04, 2012 at 12:13 AM
JeffG
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


kwalsh wrote:
You can get a smaller point on the EM5 than the default but it is troublesome to setup and often resets itself.

Ken



omg how!!!!

edit: nm figured it out



Aug 04, 2012 at 12:17 AM
Lleuallen
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


@kwalsh

I have played with the button configurations til the cows come home with finding nothing which suits me. But I am open to suggestions. I don't follow what you said on how to configure so if you would please give me a step by step process, I'll try it. One caveat, I want to have the shadows/highlights function in the EVF always available. That is another gripe - it is sometimes hard to tell if s/h is active or not. It seems to switch out of this mode unexpectedly. I would really like to see an icon in the EVF when it is active.

I am keeping both cameras and have the 13-35 and 75 1.8 on order. I am a pig. Hate to sell anything since I sold a very nice Leica M3 three lens outfit in the 80's for a song and regret it to this day.

Larry



Aug 04, 2012 at 10:18 AM
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


kwalsh wrote:
You can get a smaller point on the EM5 than the default but it is troublesome to setup and often resets itself.

Ken

JeffG wrote:
omg how!!!!

edit: nm figured it out


And for others wondering about this, you can adjust the size of the rectangle. If you have not worked out how to do this, and assuming you have the SDP (or whatever the quick menu is called) showing, you press the button on the side of the EVF, and this brings up Live View on the LCD. Touching the lower LHS cycles you through a number of options; one of them is the focus point (pointing finger and rectangle).

As soon as that's operative, a sliding bar appears on the RHS of the LCD; moving that changes the magnification and the size of the rectangle.

Nowhere in the manual does this appear, as far as I have found!

Unfortunately it does not stick if you switch the camera off...

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&message=41700086



Aug 04, 2012 at 11:42 AM
kwalsh
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


B. Button/Dial Menu
Button Function sub-menu:

Fn2 AEL/AFL
Rec MF

A. AF/MF Menu
AEL/AFL sub-menu:
S set to mode 1
M set to mode 3

How to use:

In S-AF half press focuses and AELs. Fn2 AELs. Change S mode above for other options.

Press record to switch to MF. Now Fn2 is focus and half press is AEL. Press record again to go back to first configuration.

Instant moving of focus from half press to Fn2 with no menu diving.

For Highlight shadows just make sure you have

I. Movie menu
Movie Microphone set to on

In this mode if you see the microphone and IS indicator (if IS is on) but not other shooting info you are in HS display. No microphone you are image only display. Lots of other info in normal shooting display.

Ken



Aug 04, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Lleuallen
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


Kwalsh

Thanks. Works fine, not as refined as GH2 but loads better than what I was using. Don't understand the relationship between the microphone and shadows/highlights but at least it works as an icon of sorts. Now if only s/h worked with the reduced focus box.

Larry



Aug 05, 2012 at 07:52 PM
Kit Laughlin
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


Bif wrote:

Unfortunately it does not stick if you switch the camera off...


No so, dear sir; I have written about this elsewhere. Assuming you have the Fn2 button set to the magnifying glass symbol, turning the camera on and pressing that brings up your last focus rectangle size and position. Again, not documented, but works perfectly.

hth, kl



Aug 08, 2012 at 01:34 AM
Access
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


I have both, I just got the OM-D this week and haven't show a whole lot with it yet, but will take it with me this weekend as well as the GH2. I've had the GH2 for over a year and used it for numerous events where I want to be more mobile.

To me the GH2 feels better in my hand, while the OM-D has only an okay feel, but less bulk. The three lenses I use are the 45mm, 20mm, and 14mm, and they seem to work well on both cameras.

I have to echo what some of the other posters said, GH2 for video (with the hack) and OM-D for photos. This weekend, for instance, I will be using the 14-140mm on the GH2 (for video) and the OM-D with the primes for stills.

The video hack I use is here: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/3337/gh2-flow-motion-v2-100mbps-fast-action-performance-reliability-for-all-class-10-sd-cards/p1

There are some other good ones like 'driftwood' or others, but this is the one that I found to work reliably with the class 10 SD cards that I have.

With that, the video far above and beyond anything else I've used, canon 5Dmk2 and 5Dmk3, etc.

For stills, the GH2 is still very acceptable, it just not exemplary.

The OM-D, the dynamic range, noise, sharpness, just general image quality looks very good in the around-the-house pet pics, etc. I've taken. 3-shot exposure bracketing fires so quickly it feels like you're only taking one photo. In camera IS, overall it's just a nice setup for stills. For video, it's okay, but some wierd format that some apps don't recognize at all, relatively low bitrate and the usual panning artifacts, etc.



Aug 09, 2012 at 01:44 PM
Jman13
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


I agree that the GH2 has better placed controls overall and is really well thought out from a photographer's usage point of view.

I disagree with Bif in saying that the DR is only slightly better than the GH2. The E-M5's DR is VASTLY better than the GH2's. In the neighborhood of two full stops or even a little bit more. I blew highlights all the time on my GH2...it is HARD to blow highlights on the E-M5. Very hard...the RAW file can recover about 2 stops+ of highlight data and more shadow detail as well.

In fact, I did a comparison between the two right when I got the E-m5 and before I sold my GH2. The E-M5 retained far more highlight detail AND more shadow detail to boot. See results here:
http://admiringlight.com/blog/olympus-e-m5-vs-panasonic-gh2-dynamic-range-battle/



Aug 09, 2012 at 01:53 PM
Kit Laughlin
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


I know the OP was comparing the GH2 and the OM-D; has anyone here compared the OM-D to the GX1?

I found the ergonomics of the GX1 suited me better (and I had a Milich grip and L-plate, with the upright removed on my OM-D), especially if the RRS modular bracket is fitted (because its design lengthens the bottom part of the GX1's grip and it fits my hand perfectly). I took the vertical section off the base plate in this setup, too.

I do not know which sensor is in the GX1, but images shot side by side with both cameras and the same lens (Oly 12/2) looked very similar to me. Does anyone know if the GX1 sensor is an improvement over the GH2 (which I owned, but sold)?

My GX1 is fitted with the new EVF; and side-by-side comparisons suggest that this performs similarly to the OM-D's built-in EVF.

The smaller form and lighter weight of the GX1 convinced me, in the end, to sell the OM-D.

If anyone has both here, I would love to hear your thoughts, or we could start a new thread to avoid hijacking this one!



Aug 09, 2012 at 06:02 PM
Jman13
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


DR is very similar between the Gx1 and Gh2. The GX1 has a little better High ISO performance, especially above ISO 3200, but it's not a big gap. The OMD is still about 2 stops better in DR and is slightly better than the Gx1 at high ISO, mostly visible at ISO 6400 and 12800.

But, since you've owned both too, what are your thoughts? I owned the GH2 for a year and a half (about 22,000 photos), and currently own the OMD and GX1. I still use my GX1, but the IBIS and better DR makes me use the OMD much more. I have the viewfinder for the GX1 as well...it's quite nice.



Aug 09, 2012 at 06:06 PM
Kit Laughlin
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


Thanks for that info, Jman; is the GX1 sensor a new one, do you know?

One more thing: when you remove the EVF, the GX1 is really small; I was amazed. See a comparison here between it and the Sony RX-100:

http://camerasize.com/compare/#183,332 (recall that my GX1 is slightly taller, due to the RRS bracket)

This makes it a daily carry in the tiniest of bags, and while walking/running this morning, I really did not notice it over my shoulder.



Aug 09, 2012 at 08:54 PM
Jman13
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


The GX1 has the same sensor as the G3, which was new for that camera. They gave it a few very slight tweaks, but overall it's essentially identical performance to the G3.

And yeah, the GX1 makes for a great tiny camera. When I use the GX1 now, I almost always carry it in a tiny little belt pouch that can fit one small lens on the camera, and one small lens in the outer pocket, so I always bring the 12mm f/2 and the 45/1.8, which covers me for a lot of stuff. Anything larger than those won't fit, so if I want to bring three lenses, or even just one lens that isn't those two, I generally bring my E-M5. That can fit easily with the holy m4/3 trinity (12/2, 25/1.4 and 45/1.8) in a slightly larger belt pouch/sling bag, which is still very small, but not quite as minimalist as what I carry with my GX1. For every day use and dedicated shooting, I generally carry 4-5 lenses with the E-M5 in a Think Tank Retrospective 5...it's a pretty full kit and still isn't that large or heavy. FAR smaller than what I carried when I shot with an SLR.



Aug 09, 2012 at 09:17 PM
Yakim Peled
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


Get the GH2 version which comes with IBIS. Seriously, I'd get the GH2 with 12-35/2.8.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.



Aug 10, 2012 at 09:42 AM
joychris
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p.2 #19 · p.2 #19 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


I've owned them both, and now happily have the EM5. I kept it over the Nex7, its that good. Shooting stills with the EM5 vs the GH2 - there's little to compare, the EM5 so far superior, both from a shooting standpoint with the customizable controls (esp if you have the grip) and the images show a lot more DR. If you shoot JPEG's, Oly's rendering really puts the GH2 to shame. The Sony sensor has left Panasonic (and everyone else) behind.

As far as video goes, hacking is not the be-all-end-all some make it out to be. There are issues, some patches are not so stable, most don't allow playback of the video without shutting off the camera and restarting it, and unless you're delivering to the big screen, the high bitrates really don't do much other than slow down your computer with incredibly large file sizes, some cards - even good class 10 cards - don't always work for whatever reason with some patches. Youtube compression wipes all that away anyway. The EM5 shoots surprisingly good video - so good I've regularly cut it with my Sony FS100 for paid gigs and the clients have never complained.

Then there's the IBIS, Panasonic's (and everyone else's IMHO) lens based system is eclipsed by the EM5. Its game changer and worth the extra cost over the GH2. Walk around and it looks like your camera is on a steadicam - that's how I use mine. If you shoot what most casual video shooters do - kids, vacations and such - you'll be amazed at the difference the stability makes. I hung the EM5 out of a car to get stable moving footage and it worked great. I've stuck mine to motorcycles, bicycles, rollerbladers, chased people on the beach and more, its great. The IBIS also works with adapted legacy glass on stills, hopefully an update will allow it to work with video too.

The EM5 is also weather sealed, the GH2 is not. You can shoot in the rain with no worries with the EM5 and the 12-50 kit lens. The vertical grip gives you an extra battery, vertical shutter and extra assignable buttons, and its two-piece if you just want the added grip. The OLED display on the EM5 is bigger and so sharp, its my favorite rear screen on a camera so far.

I can go on, but IMHO if you have the cash, the EM5 is well worth the added cost over the GH2.



Aug 10, 2012 at 07:35 PM
Yakim Peled
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p.2 #20 · p.2 #20 · Olympus OM-D EM-5 or Panasonic GH2


Of course, one needs to remember that the GH2 is a 2-year old model. It's highly likely that the GH3 will be introduced in Photokina next month. As such, it will probably be better than the M5. The cycle never ends.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.



Aug 11, 2012 at 09:13 AM
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