d_chiesa wrote:
It might not be what everybody would like it to be, but hardly a concoction of 'off the shelf' parts and technologies.
Sure it is. It will look "new", becuase of the repackaging, but there is very little in this camera -- from what we know now from the leaks, etc. -- that isn't available in other products.
Lotusm50 wrote:
Sure it is. It will look "new", becuase of the repackaging, but there is very little in this camera -- from what we know now from the leaks, etc. -- that isn't available in other products.
Do mean from Panasonic? Because there is a lot new for Olympus. New TruePic engine with claimed faster AF including 3D tracking. New IBIS. And new to Olympus is the built in EV-F and body design. Maybe what you're saying is that what more do you get with an OM-D that you don't already get from a GH2, and my guess will be better AF and IBIS, for some that will be all it takes. Is it worth $400 more than a GH2, that we don't know yet because we don't have all the specs and sample images, etc. While I would have loved to have seen a "new" sensor in there, Olympus has showed that they can do some nice tweaks to Panny's sensors to get a "little" more out of them, if they can get a 2-stop improvement in high ISO over the E-P3 that will be impressive indeed, but hopefully it won't be through in camera noise reduction, I'd like to see that improvement not just in the jpeg's but also in the RAW. I also like Oly's OOC (out of camera) colors better than Panasonic's as well.
All of this does beg the question of when Panny might announce a GH3 and then how will that compare to the E-M5? Hmmm, EM5, that sounds like some secret government spy designation from MI6
Also new is the body itself, Olympus has never had a MFT body like this and I'm really hoping the external controls will rival the likes of the D3/D700 series. I really can't stand going through menus to get what I need
Well, with an internal combustion engine, four wheels, a chassis and so on, you can make radically different cars.
BTW, new tech is used in fighter jets and other military stuff; consumer only are given the illusion of 'high-tech' and on a commercially viable schedule.
I've been looking for a good digital camera (for my needs and tastes) for a while, and what turned me down most of the time was more related to the interface than anything else.
Lotusm50 wrote:
I think what we are looking at, and this is somewhat confirmed by the "E-M5" name and some of the leaked images, is something in-between the Pen cameras and the E-series DSLR's. Essentially, Oly, is re-packaging of a bunch of off-the-shelf, existing technologies into a revised hybrid package.
Yep, but I don't see that as a bad thing. This is largely the camera that I've been looking for from Oly for quite a while. The competition has raised the bar, certainly, but this will be an predictable incremental improvement. If you are happy with the Oly m43 offerings, this will be the best of the line to date. It's unlikely to be a Nex/X-Pro 1 killer for IQ, but there is still a lot that this will offer.
Speaking of body, for me, i want two separate controls for aperture and ev comp. or aperture/shutter speed in M. Is that too much tech to ask for? My GF1 makes me nervous with the push turn thing...
If i could then control ISO too on a separate wheel, might be even better.
I don't know exactly how thr GH2 works in this respect, but i see only a wheel on the back. At least in the leaked pics, i see two for the new OM; for me that's the biggest + so far.
wjmeyer wrote:
Love the X-Pro 1, do not love the price and the rumored AF performance. I'll stick with the OM-D for compact and the D700 for low light/AF performance
This is the way I'm starting to think as well (adding the size of the X-Pro 1 as an issue).
I really hope they have a designated button for ISO. And for some, the weather sealing alone will be worth it. Yes, the two wheels on top are very promising, I'm really hope that back has a lot of buttons/wheels/options as well.
Lotusm50 wrote:
Sure it is. It will look "new", becuase of the repackaging, but there is very little in this camera -- from what we know now from the leaks, etc. -- that isn't available in other products.
Even if it is true, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Just recall Carroll Shelby who basically took an American engine, merged it with a European chassis and created a wonderful roadster. One can also think about the same ingredients to 10 different cooks. You'll likely get 10 different dishes.
More news! According to 43rumors.com there are two new Olympus primes on the way, a 75mm f/1.8 all metal and similar in construction to the new 12-50 lens. And a 60/2.8 weather sealed macro lens witch focuses down to 0.19m. This is great news, these are the missing pieces in the m4/3 lens line up. Good work Olympus! It's almost definite that the 75/1.8 will end up in my bag as soon as it arrives.
photosmart42 wrote:
Great... Olympus finally caught up with Panasonic's 3-year old sensor technology... Not inspiring.
The sensor in question was used first time in the Panasonic G3 which was launched 12 May 2011. Unless I haven't gotten completely senile, that's less than 9 months ago. In addition, Olympus has shown with the E-5 that they can get considerably more out of "last year's technology" than what most other camera manufacturers are capable of.
AhamB wrote:
Isn't 75mm a bit of an odd FL? I think I'd prefer 65 or 90/100mm (closer to 135 and 180/200 equivalents).
My guess is that Olympus engineers were clever and decided that adding a little extra length would somewhat compensate for the loss in DOF when compared to APS-C (and using 85mm lens).
Lotusm50 wrote:
Sure it is. It will look "new", becuase of the repackaging, but there is very little in this camera -- from what we know now from the leaks, etc. -- that isn't available in other products.
You say that like it's a bad thing Do you like cocktails?
I think I'll be picking up the 75/1.8 if it is anything like the 45/1.8 in optical quality. Was just hoping for such a lens to appear! Adapted 85s are hefty and a bit awkward.
I've never understood comments like "150mm is weird, should have been 135" or other such variants. The difference is not that large, rarely is anyone able to distinguish the difference and of course for ages "real" photographers were shooting MF where a wide variety of "odd" focal lengths combined with a dizzying variety of film formats meant that portrait FoV was all over the place...
Anyway, hurray for Olympus on this one! (I guess assuming the rumor is true and the lens isn't a dog)
hauxon wrote:
More news! According to 43rumors.com there are two new Olympus primes on the way, a 75mm f/1.8 all metal and similar in construction to the new 12-50 lens. And a 60/2.8 weather sealed macro lens witch focuses down to 0.19m. This is great news, these are the missing pieces in the m4/3 lens line up. Good work Olympus! It's almost definite that the 75/1.8 will end up in my bag as soon as it arrives.
That is fantastic, I could see myself using both lenses. One of my absolute favorite lenses when shooting Canon on the 5D series was the 135mm f/2L, so I am thrilled to see this 75mm f/1.8, yes, it is 15mm longer but that is fine, not that big a deal at the long end anyway. Olympus' primes have been superb lately, and like others have already mentioned, if it is anything close to the 45mm (which I fully expect it to be, and possibly weather sealed as well) it will be a sure winner. The 60 macro would also be superb and most all macro lenses offer superb IQ just because they need to be, this one is indicated as weather sealed, so that is a plus. The big question will be on price, the 12mm was overpriced, while the 45mm seemed very reasonable, my hope is these lenses will also be "reasonable". Thanks for sharing hauxon.
Reading this again, I see the 75 has a metal design, the 12mm also has a metal design, so this lens may be in the $600 - $800 range, still not a bad deal if the IQ is up there. Heck, if the E-M5 is what I'm hoping it will be, I may start supplementing some professional work with this
Jorgen Udvang wrote:
The sensor in question was used first time in the Panasonic G3 which was launched 12 May 2011. Unless I haven't gotten completely senile, that's less than 9 months ago. In addition, Olympus has shown with the E-5 that they can get considerably more out of "last year's technology" than what most other camera manufacturers are capable of.
Where do you get this idea? If you believe DXO Mark, The E5 sensor tests almost identically to the E30 from 2008. Virtually no improvement at all over a 2 year span. Meanwhile Sony is putting out APS-C sensors that best the last generation full frame sensors. Don't get me wrong, Olympus and micro 4/3s have a lot going for them, but the one think that's lacking (and always has been) is sensor tech.
Yes, micro 4/3 sensors aren't as good as the NEX sensors...but they're still good. The GX1 sensor is a very good sensor. Panasonic improved the output over the G3 and it's better than the GH2 as well.
DxO is great as a starting point, but it's a numbers game, and often those numbers do not reflect real world image quality, mainly because it completely ignores what the actual output looks like. Supposedly the GH1 is better than the GH2 which is better than the GX1. I've owned all three cameras. I can tell you in my experience, the GH1 was indistinguishable from the GH2 at low ISO, and significantly worse above ISO 1600, where the GH1 exhibited noticeable banding. This basically made it unusable for higher ISOs. The GH2, on the other hand, has no banding. The GX1 has better high ISO noise than the GH2, and Dxo shows this, but it's even greater than the numbers show...since the GH2 experiences color shift at high ISO, turning green and washed out. The GX1 does not...it maintains solid color balance and better dynamic range at high ISO. At low ISo, supposedly the GH2 has better DR, but I'll be darned if I can see any difference in reality, and I have shot them side by side.
Hi flashinm, maybe you could clarify "who" you're referring to when you say "Where do you get this idea?" as you've quoted 3 different posts?
I don't think anyone would argue with you that Olympus has struggled with sensor tech; however, the point kwalsh was making was in rebuttal to what photosmart42 wrote where they claimed Olympus finally caught up with Panasonic's 3-year old technology and kwalsh's comment was that the sensor "rumored" to be used by the E-M5 is the same as that from the Gx1/G3 which is less than a year old.
So while we all wish Olympus came up with a completely new sensor design, or had used something from Sony or another good sensor mfg, we are still getting some of the latest sensor designs for MFT, I wish it were brand new, but I am okay with the latest Panny sensor.
) it will be a sure winner. The 60 macro would also be superb and most all macro lenses offer superb IQ just because they need to be, this one is indicated as weather sealed, so that is a plus. The big question will be on price, the 12mm was overpriced, while the 45mm seemed very reasonable, my hope is these lenses will also be "reasonable". Thanks for sharing hauxon.