MagicNikon wrote:
Wow, that really blows. I haven't even tried the 14-45 on my EM5 yet. This is one of those things that concerns me about owning both Panny and Oly lenses for either one of ther bodies.
Well I find the IBIS to be at least as good, if not slightly better than the 14-45 OIS so I'm not sure it is a big deal at all. Still, I'd prefer it works as intended and perhaps it will in a firmware update some day.
Probably the bigger question would be on something like the 100-300. In that case maybe the OIS would be better than IBIS...
Took a few test shots around the office and noticed a few things.
1) ISO sensitivity seems the same as my GH2. It METERS 2/3 stop 'slower' than the GH2, but the images are also 2/3 stop more exposed, so just a difference in metering calibration here.
2) When shot at same exposure/ISO, the E-M5 is SIGNIFICANTLY better at all ISOs than the GH2. Might not be quite a stop, but I have a feeling it is. Will, of course, have to do more thorough tests. However, ISO 25,600 is a step too far. Files are usable at 12,800, but fall apart at 25,600.
3) The IBIS is frickin awesome. Sharp shots at 1/5 sec with the 25/1.4, 1/20sec at 150mm with the 40-150 and sharp at 0.4 sec with the 12/2. That's absolutely amazing for an IBIS system to my eye. It's also wonderful to have a stabilized viewfinder with an IBIS system. This is unreal.
4) The menu system sucks. I don't know why Olympus can't group needed functions in easy to see areas, but it took me forever to find a few well needed functions. The good thing is that everything is customizable...the downside is that I'm going to need to spend a week diving in and out of options before I figure out where anything is.
5) First impressions overall are very good, though, and while the buttons are a bit squishy, I like the overall feel of the camera, and the images look fantastic so far. Can't wait to give it a proper workout over the next few days.
Thanks...I had accessed the Super Control Panel by pressing the monitor button, but this makes it nicer. Still, Olympus really needs to work on their menus. Stuff is hidden all over the place.
I had a very brief time to shoot with the camera at dinnertime, and while I was not out to get great shots, I did try and stress the dynamic range to see how it worked in real life. Let me just say, I'm very impressed. This is non-scientific, but the E-M5 looks to me to have at least a full stop, and possibly two stops more dynamic range than my GH2. Shots that would have resulted in clipped highlights are now easily managed, and even extreme shots are recoverable to an amazing degree. Here are a few shots to demonstrate.
#1: This shot isn't super challenging, but I know from experience that some of the highlights on the white buildings usually clip if I expose for the average scene at this time of day. The shadows on the steps are also easily exposed with tons of detail. This is a shot that would fit in the DR of the GH2, but only by underexposing a little and pushing the shadows. With the E-M5, I didn't need to touch the file in RAW. http://www.jordansteele.com/2012/em5-dr1.jpg
#2: This shot is very challenging, and I am fairly certain that my GH2 would not have held detail in the bright white patch to the left. This is a very extreme DR scene, shot under a railroad bridge in the shadow, with the bright white wall paint in direct sunlight on the left. I also stopped down a ton and challenged the IS a little (though not too much with the 12mm) and did a longish exposure as a biker swept by. ALL of the detail of the white wall is present, and the shadows have detail all the way to the underside of the beams. The E-M5 got it all: http://www.jordansteele.com/2012/em5-dr2.jpg
#3: This shot is something I've tried with a bunch of cameras, but I can't find some of the other shots to compare. This is under the railroad bridge, shooting into the sun (the sun is in the upper right, coming through one of the beam areas). I've done 5 shot HDRs with my GH2 on this lighting and still only managed to capture about what the E-M5 did in one shot after doing highlight recovery and shadow recovery. The shadows are pushed a ton here, and as a result, they are quite noisy, but they still hold the detail. The first shot is the image as it appeared upon import into Lightroom, the second is after highlight and shadow recovery. The ONLY place I have unrecoverable highlight data is at the very top right, where the sun is. I do have some blocked shadows in between beams, but still, that's not bad at ALL considering the huge range of tones here...again, this is from one RAW image. It is worth noting that the preview JPEG on the rear LCD showed the majority of the detail as well, which leads me to believe that JPEG DR is pretty good too (as was shown with the DPReview tests).
Oh...and I just did a test shot with my 45/1.8, at 1/5 sec...tack sharp. Seems I'm consistently getting 4 stops from 'ideal' with the OM-D's IBIS. Really impressed with it, though it does whirrrrr.... (though only noticeable in a quiet place).
Jman13 wrote:
Oh...and I just did a test shot with my 45/1.8, at 1/5 sec...tack sharp. Seems I'm consistently getting 4 stops from 'ideal' with the OM-D's IBIS. Really impressed with it, though it does whirrrrr.... (though only noticeable in a quiet place).
Nice examples. I am also very impressed with the DR and the IBIS system.
Olympus really pushed the envelope with this camera
Took a few test shots around the office and noticed a few things.
1) ISO sensitivity seems the same as my GH2. It METERS 2/3 stop 'slower' than the GH2, but the images are also 2/3 stop more exposed, so just a difference in metering calibration here.
2) When shot at same exposure/ISO, the E-M5 is SIGNIFICANTLY better at all ISOs than the GH2. Might not be quite a stop, but I have a feeling it is. Will, of course, have to do more thorough tests. However, ISO 25,600 is a step too far. Files are usable at 12,800, but fall apart at 25,600.
3) The IBIS is frickin awesome. Sharp shots at 1/5 sec with the 25/1.4, 1/20sec at 150mm with the 40-150 and sharp at 0.4 sec with the 12/2. That's absolutely amazing for an IBIS system to my eye. It's also wonderful to have a stabilized viewfinder with an IBIS system. This is unreal.
4) The menu system sucks. I don't know why Olympus can't group needed functions in easy to see areas, but it took me forever to find a few well needed functions. The good thing is that everything is customizable...the downside is that I'm going to need to spend a week diving in and out of options before I figure out where anything is.
5) First impressions overall are very good, though, and while the buttons are a bit squishy, I like the overall feel of the camera, and the images look fantastic so far. Can't wait to give it a proper workout over the next few days. ...Show more →
congrats!, awaiting more samples at m4/3 sample thread
some at iso1600 would be great
An update on ISO...I did a controlled test for ISO sensitivity. Early findings:
The E-M5 is actually a little MORE sensitive at the same ISO as the GH2...a little less than 1/3 stop.
Noise is similar at lower ISO (though the E-M5 is a little finer grained). At ISO 800 there starts to be a small advantage to the Olympus, and it gets progressively greater the higher the ISO. By ISO 6400, it's a marked advantage for the E-M5. Taking into account the higher sensitivity, it may be between 2/3 - 1 stop better at the highest ISOs (excepting 25,600, which is garbage).
I'm planning on taking a few hand held night shots tonight...see how good a night street shooter it is.
Jman13 wrote:
An update on ISO...I did a controlled test for ISO sensitivity. Early findings:
The E-M5 is actually a little MORE sensitive at the same ISO as the GH2...a little less than 1/3 stop.
Noise is similar at lower ISO (though the E-M5 is a little finer grained). At ISO 800 there starts to be a small advantage to the Olympus, and it gets progressively greater the higher the ISO. By ISO 6400, it's a marked advantage for the E-M5. Taking into account the higher sensitivity, it may be between 2/3 - 1 stop better at the highest ISOs (excepting 25,600, which is garbage).
I'm planning on taking a few hand held night shots tonight...see how good a night street shooter it is. ...Show more →
Mind if I ask how you tested this? Seems to contradict DPR's result of 1/3 stop overstated.
I set both cameras with the same lens and same framing to the same ISO, same shutter speed and same aperture under constant light...took photos from ISO 200 to 6400. OM-D shots were slightly brighter with everything else held constant.
Ok....I think I'm in love with this camera. I'm not saying it's perfect...it's not. The buttons are a bit squishy and not as precise as they should be...the menu system is overall terrible (though amazingly customizable), I have this horrible fear that the IS unit will break (when off, the sensor just drops down into the body, and floats around free...kind of scary). But...image quality is excellent for a small sensor (heck, it's pretty darn good for most any sensor, save a recent full frame release), good dynamic range (by far best in class), and the IBIS is outstanding. Like I said, I took a little walk around Columbus tonight with my E-M5 and no tripod, and I was amazed at what I could do.
And a few more. Being able to shoot at low ISOs and still get usable night photos is amazing. At these longer exposures, it does seem to affect corner sharpness a little, but it allows you to get the shot.
Jman13 wrote:
I had a very brief time to shoot with the camera at dinnertime, and while I was not out to get great shots, I did try and stress the dynamic range to see how it worked in real life. Let me just say, I'm very impressed.
That's some pretty amazing performance! I am very impressed with this camera. So much so that I must not buy it, otherwise my Nikon might be in danger Seriously though, I would love to have one, but don't want to spend so much on a second system, and my Nikon system will stay, for the resolution, FF look and ZF.2/Leica lenses.
Jman13 wrote:
4) The menu system sucks. I don't know why Olympus can't group needed functions in easy to see areas, but it took me forever to find a few well needed functions. The good thing is that everything is customizable...the downside is that I'm going to need to spend a week diving in and out of options before I figure out where anything is.
Seriously though, I would love to have one, but don't want to spend so much on a second system, and my Nikon system will stay, for the resolution, FF look and ZF.2/Leica lenses.