Edgar Maguyon wrote:
Here is an update to the Dandelion chip (a convo between me and another person, from another forum):
"
"Well I had a conversation via email with the guy Viktor (most likely Viktor Lushnikov the developer of the chip) from Russian site filmprocess.
He is a man of little words, bu I think he understood me OK.
He stated that it should work fine. It works very well on his E-P2.
He also said he is not planing on getting the E-M5 cause it is very expensive in Russia and he cant get one of testing. If would send him the body he could test and correct the error if there is one. (not gonna happen, I love it to much, and shipping from Croatia to Russia must be killer)
I asked if he could test it on any newer Olympus camera cause maybe the new ones are different somehow. Hi didn't answer that. :-/
He went on to imply that I possibly did something wrong. But since it looks to me I mounted the chip flawlessly it makes no sense for me to try and mount it again.
I will order another copy and try again. maybe this one was bad somehow...
I am grateful for his answers, but unfortunately they don't help much to resolve this.
-- show signature --"
Ya, he just replied back to my email and told me similar things - they are very expensive and rare in russia. And, that the best/simplest way to correct/fix/update this, is if I/someone sent him over an OM-D body and he said it wouldn't take too long. But, I am obviously a bit hesitant to do so, since my OM-D is finally coming in this week and of course I would be too excited to just send over my brand-new-camera I am prolly going to instantly love and have been anticipating and waiting to finally get, hehe
I know many might feel the same way, hesitant to send over and lend their beautiful OMD... but maybe there's someone out there that's willing to lend him an OMD for a little bit. Most likely not me though, as this is my only, singe camera in my possession....perhaps someone whom owns multiple/many cameras, collectors or a photo/camera-blog writer, like Huff or something?
So...if there's someone out there, here, that is willing to lend him your camera, so he can fix the Dandelion chip and update it and make it compatible with the OM-D, please email him:
..whomever lends him your OM-D, will be a hero amongst us and we all would owe you a humongous debt of gratitude....probably hundreds, if not thousands, of OM-D users for time to come.""
Edit: Viktor said he could have it done very quickly and send back the body in 1-2 days after he receives it. I may just send over my own body..unsure yet, but thinking about it
Can't decide on which lens to order first ... 12-50 ... 12/2 ... 45/1.8 ... 75/1.8. Wish I can afford all of them, so I won't have to choose!
bobbytan,
Get the 12-50 kit lens with the OMD. It is underrated. Not fast, not fantastic but a darn good and extremely versatile lens. The ability to switch to macro with the click of a button is great fun. Then latter you can get the 20, 25, or 45 after you have used the 12-50 for a time.
By the way, the OMD is the most fun camera I have ever used.
Acme - yes, it is in reference to the Dandelion chip not working and being compatible with the OM-D (nor the newest Pen 3's either).
The developer needs the body so he can do chip/programming adjustments and make a new chip. He said he will ship back the camera body quickly in 1-2 days. The OMD is very expensive and rare in Russia; and he does not plan to buy one..so someone has to lend him a body.
That is what I am thinking and leaning towards. $1,299 for the OM-D with that lens plus a free accessory is not a bad deal I guess. I am lusting for the 75/1.8 lens. I think it would make a better portrait lens than the 45/1.8 as the background blur has to be better with the longer lens.
owyhee wrote: Can't decide on which lens to order first ... 12-50 ... 12/2 ... 45/1.8 ... 75/1.8. Wish I can afford all of them, so I won't have to choose!
bobbytan,
Get the 12-50 kit lens with the OMD. It is underrated. Not fast, not fantastic but a darn good and extremely versatile lens. The ability to switch to macro with the click of a button is great fun. Then latter you can get the 20, 25, or 45 after you have used the 12-50 for a time.
By the way, the OMD is the most fun camera I have ever used.
Bit confused here; does the Dandelion chip add much value with the newer bodies since you can set focal length manually and can magnify focus ?
Edgar Maguyon wrote:
Acme - yes, it is in reference to the Dandelion chip not working and being compatible with the OM-D (nor the newest Pen 3's either).
The developer needs the body so he can do chip/programming adjustments and make a new chip. He said he will ship back the camera body quickly in 1-2 days. The OMD is very expensive and rare in Russia; and he does not plan to buy one..so someone has to lend him a body.
Sweeeet! My ideal lens kit will then be 12-35/2.8 + 45/1.8 + 75/1.8 ... and I already have an old Zuiko 50/1.2 to complement these lenses. So I should get the the OM-D with the 45/1.8 lens first ... and pre-order or get on the wait list for the 75 and 12-35. And down the road I am sure we will see an OM-D Mk II with an improved sensor.
kwalsh wrote:
@bobbytan - Yes, will work on OM-D with AF and OIS.
bobbytan wrote:
I am lusting for the 75/1.8 lens. I think it would make a better portrait lens than the 45/1.8 as the background blur has to be better with the longer lens.
150mm makes for a rather awkward portrait lens first of all. It can work outdoors but for many indoor situations its going to be too tight.
Additionally, if your really after background blur, m4/3 is sort of a poor way to achieve it. The 75mm 1.8 will be good as far as m4/3 goes, but is only equiv to a 150mm f3.5 lens on FF. Perfectly workable, but hardly anything exceptional either in terms of achieving a unique looking shallow DoF rendering.
A 135mm f2.0 L lens on something like a Canon 5D will perform much better for the same overall cost of a 75 1.8 and EM-5 body.
Again, Em-5 is a great little camera system, but I can' see myself ever buying something like a 75mm 1.8 for $900 for it when I've got lens like the 85mm 1.4 and 105mm Ais, not to mention just a 70-200 2.8 for my D3s if the assignment is shallow DoF portrait work.
I hear what you are saying. I am also planning to get the 5D III which will breathe new life into my 24L II and 85L II ... as it will increase my keeper rate when I shoot these lenses wide-open. With my current 5D II I am rather gun-shy about shooting wider than f2 as the 5D II's AF is simply not reliable enough and is too much of a hit-and-miss. The 5D III is a different ball game altogether.
I will have the 45/1.8 for indoor portraits. And I am experienced enough to know how to get a softer/blurrer background outdoors - like increasing the separation between the subject and the background.
millsart wrote:
150mm makes for a rather awkward portrait lens first of all. It can work outdoors but for many indoor situations its going to be too tight.
Additionally, if your really after background blur, m4/3 is sort of a poor way to achieve it. The 75mm 1.8 will be good as far as m4/3 goes, but is only equiv to a 150mm f3.5 lens on FF. Perfectly workable, but hardly anything exceptional either in terms of achieving a unique looking shallow DoF rendering.
A 135mm f2.0 L lens on something like a Canon 5D will perform much better for the same overall cost of a 75 1.8 and EM-5 body.
Again, Em-5 is a great little camera system, but I can' see myself ever buying something like a 75mm 1.8 for $900 for it when I've got lens like the 85mm 1.4 and 105mm Ais, not to mention just a 70-200 2.8 for my D3s if the assignment is shallow DoF portrait work....Show more →
I look at the E-m5 as a supplement to what I already own.
For me I'd rather put $$ on a new Canon 24-70Lmk2 instead of investing on a 12-35 panny. This is more of a personal workflow decision.
As far at the m43 lenses are concerned I'll go with a 12mm f/2, 25 f/1.4, 45 f/1.8 and an undecided zoom for ultimate versatility of a small camera. Currently my 14mm f/2.5 and 25 f/1.4 is providing amazing IQ on this little format.
Alanu wrote:
I look at the E-m5 as a supplement to what I already own.
For me I'd rather put $$ on a new Canon 24-70Lmk2 instead of investing on a 12-35 panny. This is more of a personal workflow decision.
As far at the m43 lenses are concerned I'll go with a 12mm f/2, 25 f/1.4, 45 f/1.8 and an undecided zoom for ultimate versatility of a small camera. Currently my 14mm f/2.5 and 25 f/1.4 is providing amazing IQ on this little format.
$1,300 (with IS) vs $2,300 (no IS). FWIW I pre-ordered the 24-70L II last February.
I just bought the 45-175 for $300 at B&H and I'm really pleased with it for the money. What I really love about it is that its internal zoom, just like the 12-50. I just always think lens that double or triple in length when zoomed in all the way look goofy.
45-175 is really compact and light though, handles (and looks) great on the EM-5 and seems pretty decent optically, as good as the 45-200 I used to have. Focuses fast as well.
you2 wrote:
Bit confused here; does the Dandelion chip add much value with the newer bodies since you can set focal length manually and can magnify focus ?
IBIS doesn't work in Video-Mode (not even if you input FL) with adapted lenses (only for stills). The chip can activate it in video mode for adapted lenses, and some people have proved it works, but with many bugs still.
The chip needs to be updated to be fully compatible with the OMD, so we can have IBIS activate in Video-Mode with non-native lenses...but Viktor needs a body to test and he doesn't plan to buy one, since they are expensive and rare in Russia. (or...we can wait for olympus to hopefully fix this in their FW).
millsart wrote:
I just bought the 45-175 for $300 at B&H and I'm really pleased with it for the money. What I really love about it is that its internal zoom, just like the 12-50. I just always think lens that double or triple in length when zoomed in all the way look goofy.
45-175 is really compact and light though, handles (and looks) great on the EM-5 and seems pretty decent optically, as good as the 45-200 I used to have. Focuses fast as well.
I owned the 45-175 for a while, but returned it due to the edge doubling with OIS at mid-range shutter speeds. Now that I have the E-M5 and the IBIS would be active, I may give it another go at that price. The optics were pretty good and I love the build with internal zoom in such a small package. It wasn't worth dealing with faulty OIS vs my 40-150, but for $299, it might be worth the cost just for the internal zoom and better infinity performance (I found the Oly and Panny similar for closer work, but the 45-175 better at infinity).
Don't forget it also has a 46mm filter thread as well. Sharing a filter with a 12mm f2.0, 25mm f1.4 and the 45-175 certainly makes life nice and simple.
Jman13 wrote:
I owned the 45-175 for a while, but returned it due to the edge doubling with OIS at mid-range shutter speeds. Now that I have the E-M5 and the IBIS would be active, I may give it another go at that price. The optics were pretty good and I love the build with internal zoom in such a small package. It wasn't worth dealing with faulty OIS vs my 40-150, but for $299, it might be worth the cost just for the internal zoom and better infinity performance (I found the Oly and Panny similar for closer work, but the 45-175 better at infinity). ...Show more →
I've been very pleased with the Panasonic 45mm-175mm on a GH2. It's sharp at infinity across the zoom range for landscapes (especially from 45mm-125mm), and works great for sports at all focal lengths as long as there's enough light to freeze action. I only use OIS when necessary and haven't found an image doubling.
Interesting. Has anyone done the research or compared the Panny 45-175 to the Oly 50-150? I believe they are the same price but the Panny's range is much nicer of course. Does the Oly have any significant advantage over the Panny in terms of IQ and AF speed, etc?
