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Archive 2016 · New to M43, images to come.

BSPhotog
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · New to M43, images to come.

Hello all. Can't say that I've been over here on this part of FM until now, but definitely some interesting stuff going on. I shoot Nikon with all of my professional gear, but have some upcoming travel and really wanted to have something small and light again. I had an X100S for about a year, but eventually sold it out of frustration with AF performance and speed of use. Images were beautiful, but just not enough keepers. On a whim, I bought a used OM-D E-M10 and Panasonic a 20mm f/1.7 ver 1 lens here on the buy and sell to fill a similar role (all in, less than $450). It is actually a littler smaller than my X100s was, even with the hand grip.

So far, I'm really impressed with the customization of controls and how responsive it is. Both the EVF and rear LCD are lag-free and the camera just responds to my inputs instantaneously. The added WiFi is just an additional bonus.

Is there a way to change the D-pad function while shooting to move the AF point without pressing any other buttons first to initiate that?

Edited on Jul 03, 2017 at 11:01 PM · View previous versions

Jun 27, 2016 at 12:28 PM

riotshield
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · New to M43, images to come.

In one of the custom menus (I think B), select the Button Function submenu, then scroll down to Arrow Function (has a picture of 4 arrows). Change the setting to Direct Function to use the D-pad for selecting AF points.

Jun 27, 2016 at 01:42 PM

BSPhotog
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · New to M43, images to come.

riotshield wrote:
In one of the custom menus (I think B), select the Button Function submenu, then scroll down to Arrow Function (has a picture of 4 arrows). Change the setting to Direct Function to use the D-pad for selecting AF points.

YES, thanks! I don't think I understood what I was looking at with that menu item. Thank you.

Jun 27, 2016 at 09:34 PM

BSPhotog
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · New to M43, images to come.

A few shots. I've got the controls pretty close to where they should be to match my Nikonian muscle-memory. The tilty screen is nice but it would be nice if it moved more than it does. This little lens is stupid sharp through the aperture range, but really shining from f/2 to about f/4 or 5.6. I did a lot of walking yesterday and I was glad to not be carrying my D800 and a bag of lenses.

Jun 30, 2016 at 11:02 AM

BSPhotog
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · New to M43, images to come.

I've been thinking that the 17mm prime or maybe even the 12mm might have been a little better choice for this trip, but I've been able to make up for that with some stitched panoramas (done in LR). I do a lot of shooting with my 35mm f/2 on Nikon FX bodies, so 40mm fov has been a little awkward to get used to some times.

Jun 30, 2016 at 11:06 AM

cputeq
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · New to M43, images to come.

Good to see you enjoying the kit! Funny about the 40mm FOV being strange to you -- I feel that way about 35mm

. For a while I owned a 5D3 with just the little 40/2.8 and I grew to love that FOV as my normal. 35 (and even 50) are a bit "off" for me.

Jun 30, 2016 at 05:38 PM

Kit Laughlin
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · New to M43, images to come.

+ 1 to cputeq; the 20 is my favourite µ4/3rd's lens, as is the XF 27/2.8 on the Fuji. Agree with the OP 100% about the sharpness and drawing style of the 20. You will get used to it (I find 35 just a touch too wide for the environmental portraits I like to make). 40 vs. 35 is a decent step back (or the other way around if you like 35).

Edited on Jul 03, 2017 at 04:58 PM · View previous versions

Jul 03, 2016 at 02:53 AM

mawz
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · New to M43, images to come.

You'd probably be less happy with the 17. The 20's a great little lens, nice & sharp. Both the Oly 17's underwhelm in practice (they're the most disappointing primes in the system, the 17/2.8's truly mediocre, while the 17/1.8 is decent, but lacks the microcontrast & sharpness of the 45/1.8 and 25/1.8).

If you want something in the '35-ish' range, the 15/1.7 or the 20/1.7 are the way to go. Sadly there isn't a great AF ~17 in the system right now.

I personally shoot mostly with the 25/1.8, pending picking up either the 15/1.7 or the 14/2.5 in the hopefully not too distant future. I do like 35 on 135 format, but find it a little odd on 4:3.

Jul 04, 2016 at 08:53 AM

Kit Laughlin
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · New to M43, images to come.

Th Oly 17/2.8 is OK for video, but for many reasons its softness can be dealt with in my workflow (shooting and mastering in 1080p and downsizing to 720p for delivery). I do not use it for stills. I agree with mawz; there are no really good AF 35 EFOV primes in the lineup at present.

Jul 04, 2016 at 04:46 PM

BSPhotog
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · New to M43, images to come.

mawz wrote:
You'd probably be less happy with the 17. The 20's a great little lens, nice & sharp. Both the Oly 17's underwhelm in practice (they're the most disappointing primes in the system, the 17/2.8's truly mediocre, while the 17/1.8 is decent, but lacks the microcontrast & sharpness of the 45/1.8 and 25/1.8).

If you want something in the '35-ish' range, the 15/1.7 or the 20/1.7 are the way to go. Sadly there isn't a great AF ~17 in the system right now.

I personally shoot mostly with the 25/1.8, pending picking up either the 15/1.7 or the 14/2.5 in the hopefully not...Show more →

Yeah, the 4/3 ratio is just another thing that I'm still coming to terms with.

After 5 days in Chicago with this little camera, I'm really impressed with the AF speed and accuracy. Very few occasions of it hunting or missing. Definitely a big difference from my X100s.

Jul 04, 2016 at 09:59 PM

mawz
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · New to M43, images to come.

BSPhotog wrote:
Yeah, the 4/3 ratio is just another thing that I'm still coming to terms with.

After 5 days in Chicago with this little camera, I'm really impressed with the AF speed and accuracy. Very few occasions of it hunting or missing. Definitely a big difference from my X100s.

As a former 645 shooter, 4:3 is quite familiar to me, although I find I like slightly wider focal lengths compared to what I liked with 3:2.

AF in m43 is pretty well sorted for single-shot. It still can be a bit challenging for continuous though.

Jul 05, 2016 at 06:21 AM

omarccx
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · New to M43, images to come.

Give the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 a look, it's also a pancake and I quite like the 28mm FL.

Jun 30, 2017 at 12:59 PM

Kit Laughlin
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · New to M43, images to come.

Re. the 14/2.5: I use this for video often; great for interiors. I use the 20/1.7 mk I all the time; it's a brilliant little lens and not much thicker. I would like to get the 15/1.7, too.

Jun 30, 2017 at 05:33 PM

AmbientMike
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · New to M43, images to come.

Glad to see you using & liking m4/3, I have been using it a lot the last couple of years and it has really been working well for me. Not necessarily something I can quantify, I just get along with it.

But one thing I like is that it works well with alts since it has EVF. Also you can adapt Nikon lenses to it, especially if they have an aperture ring.

Curious why you are using f/2 on the 20mm? You got some really good stuff.

Jul 02, 2017 at 10:56 AM

BSPhotog
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · New to M43, images to come.

AmbientMike wrote:
Glad to see you using & liking m4/3, I have been using it a lot the last couple of years and it has really been working well for me. Not necessarily something I can quantify, I just get along with it.

But one thing I like is that it works well with alts since it has EVF. Also you can adapt Nikon lenses to it, especially if they have an aperture ring.

Curious why you are using f/2 on the 20mm? You got some really good stuff.

Hey Mike,
Thanks for the comments. I shot a bunch around f/2 - f/4 I guess because I am a junkie for wide apertures and I was moving in and out of shadow areas and riding the shutter & ISO. I think my appreciation for this camera & lens was greater during this trip than it has been since. I've taken the OMD with me to the zoo with the family, pumpkin patch, and some other stuff like that here and there. More often than not, though, I end up a bit disappointed. I've taken to slinging a D800 and 35 f/2 some times as well, going with the big body small lens combo. Actually, if Nikon would make a proper AF pancake lens, either APS-C or full frame, I'd be a happy camper and just let the M43 go all together.

I actually took the OMD setup on a trip to San Francisco earlier this year as well. If I get a chance I'll post some of those images up as well (EDIT - Photos added). It really is a love/hate relationship that I have with compact cameras. I've had suggestions to try out the Pan/Leica 25 f/1.4, with people saying that it will renew my faith in the system. I'm not sure that putting more money and a bigger lens on it is necessarily a good solution. I have been really enjoying my Sigma 50 Art on the Nikon end, though.

Jul 03, 2017 at 04:41 PM

gary0319
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · New to M43, images to come.

I think your images are great and I'm sorry to hear you are having a falling out with your M43 gear. I would encourage you to hang in there and here's a bit of my history with M43 and how it took some time to get the best (for me) out of this system. I came to M43 from Canon APSC DSLR and it took me over a year to finally get my head around the idea that shooting a mirrorless camera was a lot different than shooting my Canons.

I had to explore what seeing the image direct from the sensor meant in terms of preshot adjustments, both in terms of keeping the exposure within the limits of the smaller sensor and using things like focus peaking to insure I set the very best focusing points and depth of field. Then I had to begin to trust the Image Stabilization that allowed me shoot at lower shutter speeds to keep my ISO at the lowest levels possible..

After I finally mastered doing all of this while my eye was plastered to the EVF.........things began to click. I never again chimped to see if my blinkies were blasting away, and I never had to worry about whether my autofocus had nailed the subject, or my depth of field would get the whole bug, priceless. With my E-M1 II I now think nothing of shooting at over 1 second exposure to get down to ISO 64 (assuming a static subject).

Sorry for the long winded dissertation and I hope I didn't sound "preachy". I just wanted to share my experience and what I learned after spending some time in the mirrorless land.

Regards

Gary

Jul 04, 2017 at 11:59 AM

bobbytan
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · New to M43, images to come.

I will say that if you cannot get comfortable with any one system, go back to what you are comfortable with. I moved from a FF Canon to Olympus without much of a problem. But although I am generally happy with m43 I can clearly see the benefits of FF. I have been trying adapt to a dual system, but it's not working out for me and I am now thinking about selling my Sony A7R II for the 3rd time - simply because I just couldn't get comfortable with the Sony.

Jul 04, 2017 at 01:22 PM

InlawBiker
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · New to M43, images to come.

Dude, did you follow me here from the Nikon board

Keep in mind your camera is a bit older. The Panasonic bodies and E-M10 II have the magic touchpad focus feature. I used it almost all the time, or else face detect where appropriate. I have never found any Micro 4/3 body to work as well as a D700 in C-AF, but I can definitely get them to work just fine.

The 20 is a good lens, it's my most used. I know you are not a fan of most 50's but the Panasonic 25 1.4 is better than any Nikon 50 I used, and I used them all. I compare it to the 58 1.4. I don't think you can achieve the Sigma 50 Art look on Micro 4/3. But you can achieve a different look.

I just came back from India where my Nikon body would not have worked out to haul around. A small Panasonic body and a 20 is all I used, I love this package.

Greg.

Jul 07, 2017 at 09:07 PM

Kit Laughlin
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · New to M43, images to come.

A G6 or a GH3 plus the 20/1.7: for me a perfect focal length; the lens is inexpensive and has a lovely rendering. I also have the M Zuiko 25/1.8, but the Panny is on one of my bodies most of the time.

For the first time in my life (that includes 30 years of pro. shooting too), I am a one-system guy. The blade-thin DOF effect is harder to achieve with µ4/3rds, for sure, but some of my best portraits (including a featured one here) have been shot with an OM 50/3.5 macro, wide open, and its OOF characteristics are beautiful. And it's a piece of cake to focus manually and accurately with any of the modern µ4/3rd's bodies. When I shot FF (Nikon) all the time, I never shot portraits wide open; it was always ƒ2.8–4. µ4/3rds can achieve a similar look wide open, and the lenses are good enough to do that.

Greg wrote

I don't think you can achieve the Sigma 50 Art look on Micro 4/3. But you can achieve a different look.

And it's a lovely look, IMHO. I just like the small form factor of the GH3/G6 bodies and the grips are superb, for my hands, and they can be configured to do anything you want. The only time I dive into the menus is to set frame rates for different jobs and to format cards.

Jul 08, 2017 at 02:16 AM

AmbientMike
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · New to M43, images to come.

BSPhotog wrote:
Hey Mike,
Thanks for the comments. I shot a bunch around f/2 - f/4 I guess because I am a junkie for wide apertures and I was moving in and out of shadow areas and riding the shutter & ISO. I think my appreciation for this camera & lens was greater during this trip than it has been since. I've taken the OMD with me to the zoo with the family, pumpkin patch, and some other stuff like that here and there. More often than not, though, I end up a bit disappointed. I've taken to slinging a D800 and...Show more →

I'd hate to be without dslr or m4/3. Both systems are a different experience for me.

It took me a few years to use the m4/3 though, I got it in my head m4/3 iq wasn't good enough. Which was wrong. Also, the more I used it the better the iq got, it seems, if that makes sense. I think my processing improved, and I may shoot it different.

I use old alts, including Nikon, on m4/3. Just a different feel for me. Dslr is more automated, and easier. But better connection to subject, or something, with m4/3. Maybe a bit hard to describe.

Jul 09, 2017 at 10:19 PM


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