Atlasman2 wrote:
I've tested the E-M5 stabilization with the Pany 100-300 @ 300 and it has no problem.
Bifurcator wrote:
Oh come on...
Stabilization at 300mm (600 equiv)? That actually works... ? Reeeealy?
carstenw wrote:
Read more posts. About 2-3 stops at the long end. Maybe 2.
Jman13 wrote:
Did you seem my post on the previous page with my Canon FD 50-300L? It works. Won't get you 4 stops like the shorter focal lengths, but 2-3 is pretty easy, and let's face it, being able to hand hold 300mm (600 equiv) at 1/125s is pretty nice.
The IBIS is what is making this camera well worth the upgrade for me. AF is actually not quite as good in lower light as the Panny bodies (not bad, but not quite as good), and noise performance is only a small step up from the latest Panasonic's, but the outstanding IBIS and the improved dynamic range are the biggies for me. ...Show more →
Great news! That's pretty unheard of. I've used LBIS (VR) on fa$t 300mm primes and could hardly even tell it was engaged. And it's certainly (almost) no help at all on the Lumix 100-300 @ 300mm.
I'm the loser who takes pictures of himself in the mirror with new cameras. Though it helps to remind people how small this camera is. It looks much bigger in pictures than it is.
No. Selected focus point on my eye. I don't usually turn on the face recognition, but I'll put it on if my daughter is going to be moving wildly around, as it is a 'priority' mode, so it won't just go searching and give up...just a way to get some extra help if your subject moves around a bit too much.
Ok...OM-D dynamic range improvements are real and BIG in my opinion, especially in regards to holding highlights. I've thought the GH2 and GX1 both had good recoverability in the shadows, but highlights would blow SO easily. It was really the only negative I had about those cameras.
I shot some of my daughter playing in her sprinkler ball in the yard this afternoon, with bright, beating direct mid-afternoon sun, with water. There is no WAY my GH2 and GX1 would hold the highlights in these shots without having to really underexpose a good bit. Of all the shots, in aperture priority, that I took, I didn't have ONE shot that permanently blew highlights in the skin tones. It honestly feels like shooting my 1Ds II in that regard. It's really awesome. There is at least a full stop more headroom in the highlights IMO (in RAW, and certainly in JPEG with the Auto gradation setting).
Here's one shot (brought up the shadows a bit on her face so they weren't quite as harsh as they were in real life.) This is with the Minolta MD 135mm f/2.8, btw. http://www.jordansteele.com/2012/chloe_sprinkler.jpg
And here was a shot to test the system. The GH2 and GX1 will start blowing highlights pretty easily in direct sun at anything wider than f/2.8. Even f/2.8 is sometimes too hot at base ISO and 1/4000s.
So, as we took a little break, I was shooting at ISO 200 and f/2.8, and could easily see on the JPEG previews that the highlights were being held easily. So I went to f/2.0. On the GH2 and GX1, this would mean immediate blown whites and pretty badly blown highlight skin tones. On the E-M5? No problem at all. This is not an artistic shot, but a test shot, but you can see the highlights held beautifully (the blown highlights behind her are the stainless steel bar of the grill...nothing will hold that). http://www.jordansteele.com/2012/chloe_bunny.jpg
Well, Jordon, I also have a 1Ds2, and I have long sworn that I would never part with it. I just held my 1Ds2 with 24-70L in one hand and my G3 (about the same size and weight as the EM-5) with Leica 25 in the other and pondered them a bit. Looking at what you are doing with your EM-5 (great work, by the way) and considering that I have only used my 1Ds2 once since getting my G3, I'm beginning to have some qualms about the future of my "big baby." Do you think that your 1Ds2 is beginning to feel threatened
Oh, I haven't shot with my 1Ds II in over a year. I keep meaning to put it up for sale. It haven't gotten around to it yet. I only have one lens for EF now anyway. The gh2 actually made me do the full switch, but the E-M5 has given that last missing piece...solid dynamic range. And the IBIS is awesome.
I've made my final decision: I'm keeping it, with hesitation.
Hesitation is due to:
- the fact that the OM-D is $999 while the EP-2 is $230 (I got both, I'm going to have to return one)
- I preferred the EP-2's controls, which despite what I heard was not so bad. I find the OM-D's controls flimsier (buttons smaller, and cheesier), and not as well laid out.
(as an aside, I can't believe that both cameras have so many *I#(* options. In the case of the OM-D, all the things on the display make changing settings somewhat daunting. I would have preferred a straight ISO button, for instance)
- ALL of the olympus cameras are convoluted and difficult to focus IMO compared to the Nikons I normally use because the controls get in the way.
Things that led me to keep it:
- flip screen. The touch screen/focus thing is useful, too.
- size, size size. 12mm on the camera, 40-150 in the pocket easily switched vice versa. Impossible to do the same with Nikon DX array (Tokina 11-16 and Nikkor 55-200VR), which required what we once called 782 gear to carry around. OM-D+12mm+14-45+40-300 is in each area at least half the size of the equivalent D90+11-16+18-55+55-200, if not more. Whole OM-D array is about the same volume of the D2xs.
- I have no doubts about its AF-S or base ISO performance, though my rough impression is that the D2xs is still better in subjective subtleties at base ISO.
- ISO 6400 shot with minimal city lighting is very usable for 8X10s or ipad IMO, to say nothing of 4X6s, facebook or regular web use. Of course, you lose the greater dynamic range that you get base ISO, but still it retains the normal 6 or so stops, it looks good, and noise is very usable, especially when cleaned up with Nik Dfine. (in contrast, my limit with Nik Dfine was at 1600 for the EP-2 and 1600/3200 for the D90)
- customization is right what I want - e.g. I love the fact I can set it to shift ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and exposure comp in 1/3, 1/2, 1 stop intervals (1 stop for me)
Jordon, I originally tried the Pany GF1 as an upgrade from a Canon G10 for travel - and that was about a 4x improvement. Now with the G3 I think I have actually closed about 80-90% of the gap between the G10 and the 1Ds2 - way better than I expected. Clearly the EM-5 would be the next step, but I'll wait to see how durable the new magnetic sensor movement system turns out to be.
My one reservation is that for serious landscape work I am accustomed to using my collection of CP and gradient filters to fine-tune the light quality and balance, and with the G3 neither the EVF nor the LCD show me clearly enough the effect of the filters. So in my more sane moments I have to concede that the 1Ds2 will have to stay around for that last 10-20%. But it will be the G3, 12mm, 25mm, 45mm, 40-150 and Sirui tripod that go to Ireland with me next month and (weather permitting) we'll see how it works out.
Jman13 wrote:
Ok...OM-D dynamic range improvements are real and BIG in my opinion, especially in regards to holding highlights. I've thought the GH2 and GX1 both had good recoverability in the shadows, but highlights would blow SO easily. It was really the only negative I had about those cameras. [...]
That is very impressive. Plus, I want a sprinkler ball! Now!
Found one in stock! Hooray for me! I will hopefully be adding to this thread in the future.
I have to toss in a plug for Berger Bros. Really friendly on the phone, turns out I was talking to one of the Bergers himself. Keep them in mind if you are looking for some new toys, although I think I got their last E-M5 for now.
I have both X100 - (I love it and will always keep it) and the OM D-M5 - just got it - but already impressed by it's quick focus, interchangable lenses and above all - it has an amazing stabilizaion system - really a Great Camera!
Holy Highlight Headroom, Batman! As I've mentioned several times in this thread, the DR improvement on the E-M5 is probably the biggest image quality upgrade on this camera from any of the other m4/3 cameras. But, I was messing around today with a very cool feature, which is that it will highlight clipped highlights and blocked shadows in live view as you adjust exposure (showing them as red and blue, respectively). Of course, it does this for the JPEG. I decided to see how much I could go up beyond when I first saw the red blinkies to where they were unrecoverable in RAW (though this is tough because it only shows that they're blown in JPEG, not HOW fare they're blown).
So, I just took some shots of my absolutely desperately in need of cleaning desk in my study (never intending to show them to someone), but anyway, look at the white papers just right of center.
Then I pulled back exposure until the highlight warning went away. You'll get there eventually even if the highlights are blown, but you can easily see they have no detail and are just becoming gray. Anyway, that point was at -3.0 EV. Yes, a 3 stop pull. This is the image below: http://www.jordansteele.com/2012/blown_paper2.jpg
So I looked at the paper, and still couldn't see all the detail, but it didn't look blown either...so I pulled further until detail was truly visible to my eye, which was around -3.6EV. http://www.jordansteele.com/2012/blown_paper3.jpg
Now, I'm sure you've noticed that the green photo envelope in the foreground was blown beyond recovery in the green channel, but the paper right of center was fully pulled back with all detail, and appears to be in the 3 EV range.
Now, I know Lightroom's algorithms of how the 'exposure' works are a bit different now, so it might be closer to a 2 stop pull, but I thought this was crazy impressive. My GX1 files, even in LR4, I usually can only pull back about 2/3 to 1 stop of detail out of the highlights....I'm so impressed by the E-M5 sensor.
That actually works... ? Reeeealy?
Though it helps to remind people how small this camera is. It looks much bigger in pictures than it is.
