Olympus E-M1 II mini-review - a sign of things to come with the Panasonic GH5?

[hoodlum]

Olympus released a major firmware update.  Most of the updates are related to AF improvement including the use of PDAF for video like the E-M1x.  Olympus also added support for OM-LOG400.

https://www.olympus-global.com/news/2019/contents/nr01270/nr01270_00001.pdf

 

 

[webrunner5]

Yeah I will give Olympus credit, they do improve their products long after launch. "AF low light limit -6EV support". That is pretty crazy when you think about it. In a sence the EM1-X is a bargain, but at 3000 Dollars for a m4/3 camera it is a hard sell. But for every half serious Birder, Antarctica shooter it is probably a dream camera. I would like one!

[Video Hummus]

All steps in the right direction 3 years after launch.

Im really crossing my fingers that the EM1 mark 3 will be more like a GH5 with PDAF. Hell, the EM1X with a 10bit codec and decent bitrate would make a great video camera. I was sad to see they didn’t have a new sensor in it. I think $3000 price tag would have been more justified.

[Dave Maze]

Already ordered an EM1 Mkii from B&H....gonna do a vid about it! I think this is now going to be a way better option for people than the EM1X...WAY cheaper. Paid $1,100 for it used.

If the AF is as good as the EM1X there is no reason to get the EM1X for video...other than the limited 120fps mode. 

EM1 Mkii may be the best option for solo content creators who want best bang for buck in both price and size. 

[ntblowz]

Em1ii with 10-25mm 1.7 will be a dream combo for handheld shooter 

Hopefully Panasonic can see the error (or snub) in their judgement someday.

[webrunner5]

EM1 cameras are pretty sweet no doubt. I regret selling mine. With the Battery Grip it fit my big hands great.

Here is a short John Brawley video he shot using the original. Sort of like the C100, terrible Codec, pretty good looking footage, not C100 good but..

https://johnbrawley.digitalpigeon.com/shr/X7nZoNLkEeW9oQYtQsGbAw/U9tcbgs89jr8RpHpwcf9DQ/file/646623a0-d2e4-11e5-bda1-062d42c19b03

From this article.

https://johnbrawley.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/olympus-em1-for-video/

[Andrew Reid]

19 hours ago, hoodlum said:

Olympus released a major firmware update.  Most of the updates are related to AF improvement including the use of PDAF for video like the E-M1x.  Olympus also added support for OM-LOG400.

https://www.olympus-global.com/news/2019/contents/nr01270/nr01270_00001.pdf

I am sure E-M1X owners are really happy about one of their main reasons for buying it going for free to a cheap $800 used camera body!!

[Mattias Burling]

2 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

I am sure E-M1X owners are really happy about one of their main reasons for buying it going for free to a cheap $800 used camera body!!

I would be super surprised if there was even one single soul out there that bought an E-M1X for the log profile.

If we are talking the GH5 etc, sure its aimed a lot towards videographers. But even that is still a stills camera first and foremost.
Its like complaining about video on the new Hasselblad... Or better yet, going to an auto dealer and complain that the latest Volvo isn't the perfect wedding camera.. because it isnt.. its a car. Not everything made by man is for shooting video

[Video Hummus]

4 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

I am sure E-M1X owners are really happy about one of their main reasons for buying it going for free to a cheap $800 used camera body!!

Well to be fair it doesn’t have the “AI” tracking stuff. 

1 hour ago, Mattias Burling said:

I would be super surprised if there was even one single soul out there that bought an E-M1X for the log profile.

If we are talking the GH5 etc, sure its aimed a lot towards videographers. But even that is still a stills camera first and foremost.
Its like complaining about video on the new Hasselblad... Or better yet, going to an auto dealer and complain that the latest Volvo isn't the perfect wedding camera.. because it isnt.. its a car. Not everything made by man is for shooting video

But the potential is there...

I think video performance today is almost as important as photo performance.

Our phones are taking better photographs than DSLRs took 5-8 years ago. They are good enough for most people to capture memories. If you are going to make/buy a DLSM you should make it a half ass decent video capture device as well. The one area phones still currently suck at.

[webrunner5]

1 hour ago, Video Hummus said:

 If you are going to make/buy a DLSM you should make it a half ass decent video capture device as well. The one area phones still currently suck at.

What??? Phones take on average better video than most consumer cameras do.  Better OIS, better colors, 3 lenses in some now, and hell even better DR with Filmic Pro than a lot of them. Low light well maybe, but most average "real" cameras suck in low light also. You must own a 5 year old phone.

Hand your wife or girlfriend a Sony FS5 or a new Smartphone and see which ones takes better video.

[nachbs]

Hello, I am much more into stills that into video. Mostly underwater stuff. However, I have been playing with video and the Firmware 3.0 is a game changer. I strongly suggest that some of you guys that know this stuff better get your hands on and make a review. The autofocus improvement has been massive, like a whole different experience altogether.

Eager to see your opinions and reviews!

Best Regards

[Video Hummus]

8 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

What??? Phones take on average better video than most consumer cameras do.  Better OIS, better colors, 3 lenses in some now, and hell even better DR with Filmic Pro than a lot of them. Low light well maybe, but most average "real" cameras suck in low light also. You must own a 5 year old phone.

Hand your wife or girlfriend a Sony FS5 or a new Smartphone and see which ones takes better video.

Not that old; iPhone 8+. You must have a lot of lens choices for your phone ?. I don’t know about you, but I can spot the average cell phone video 90% of the time. 

[webrunner5]

It doesn't matter what camera you use to take video with. If you have skill you can do anything. If you Don't have skill you can have a new Arri and make it look bad. This is not 1999, this is now, and anything is possible in this day and age. A hell of a lot of people on YouTube just use a GoPro and they make them look great. It is what is between your ears, not the camera. Excuses for poor video are over with.

And with the Beastgrip you can adopt any lens ever made to a Smartphone. And you can go cheap as hell Anamorphic wise on them. How many lenses does a person Really need for video. 3 tops. All these stupid lenses most people have ends up just being a distraction from getting out and making a video.  It ends up my dick is bigger than your dick stuff. It is more of a hobby than the shooting of the video it's self. Ohh, my 50 is better than your 50, get real. Little girl stuff.

[Mattias Burling]

1 hour ago, Video Hummus said:

Our phones are taking better photographs than DSLRs took 5-8 years ago. 

Nah, they can't even touch a 10 year old DSLR. The CM1 was decent, for a phone. But over all phone cameras suck balls IMHO

[Andrew Reid]

3 hours ago, Mattias Burling said:

I would be super surprised if there was even one single soul out there that bought an E-M1X for the log profile.

If we are talking the GH5 etc, sure its aimed a lot towards videographers. But even that is still a stills camera first and foremost.
Its like complaining about video on the new Hasselblad... Or better yet, going to an auto dealer and complain that the latest Volvo isn't the perfect wedding camera.. because it isnt.. its a car. Not everything made by man is for shooting video

The E-M1X and E-M1 II are superb video cameras. Better than any Volvo Camcorder in the same price range.

I really enjoy them both, but yet - LOG was indeed one of the reasons I upgraded from my E-M1 II - not the only reason, but one of them.

E-M1X is a superb hybrid that does stills and video very well, with some of the best ergonomics and colour science on the market.

In my opinion, camera companies need to be a bit more mindful of the gap between their high-end and mid-range cameras, it seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Look at the Z6 and Z7 for instance.

[Andrew Reid]

36 minutes ago, Mattias Burling said:

Nah, they can't even touch a 10 year old DSLR. The CM1 was decent, for a phone. But over all phone cameras suck balls IMHO

Depends what for. If these photos from my iPhone XS Max are the definition of sucks ass, then I don't think I can agree!

Of course the optics on a 10 year old DSLR is a defining difference. Now they are being simulated in software. It genuinely works. Additionally the iPhone XS Max has incredible dynamic range, better than most DSLR single shot JPEGs.... Not of 10 years ago but of now.

Resolution and low light performance are "enough" for my snapshot needs and phone screens. Of course, a full frame DSLR from 10 years ago like the Sony A900 will beat it for that hands down... but who is pixel peeping snapshots on Facebook?

The software side is just not something you have with any DSLR. I am as equally into grading RAW on an Android flagship as I am grading the superb HEIFs from my iPhone, which start off a bit like LOG frames. Not many DSLRs from 10 years ago have a 46 megapixel sensor (Xiaomi Mi 9) with 14bit RAW grading built in and a massive OELD do they??

The ability to shape the bokeh and change the focus point in post is very useful. Again all thanks to the computational advancements.

I had the CM1, but sold it. It was capable of some fantastic images but the lack of IS hurt it in low light vs the iPhone at the time, I remember it being rather noisy. Bit of a flat looking lens as well with not much 3D pop. Very basic software killed the rest of the experience, and old Android release. Credit to Panasonic to trying though.

[Borbarad]

On 6/19/2019 at 5:40 PM, webrunner5 said:

Yeah I will give Olympus credit, they do improve their products long after launch. "AF low light limit -6EV support". That is pretty crazy when you think about it. In a sence the EM1-X is a bargain, but at 3000 Dollars for a m4/3 camera it is a hard sell. But for every half serious Birder, Antarctica shooter it is probably a dream camera. I would like one!

Well, the thing everyone needs to consider now is what is actually possible. The Firmware 3.0 is working flawlessly on basically three year old E1MKII.

Now the E1Mx has twice the power, better cooling. Just imagine what a 2.0 firmware could do!

For me the EM1x only has two real downsides: no top status display which is a requirement for such a body and the 120 FPS EVF is now already superseded. And it’s priced in with an 500,- Euro discount ( 300,- cash back now). I’ll bet in 3-4 month you can get one for 2400,-.

Anyway,  I will exchange my GH5 for one by the end of this year.

 

B

 

 

 

[frontfocus]

4 minutes ago, Borbarad said:

Now the E1Mx has twice the power, better cooling. Just imagine what a 2.0 firmware could do!

Hopefully a lot more. While it‘s probably one of the best cameras you can get ergonomically and offers some unique feature, some main point such as image quality, autofocus or viewfinder performance have fallen behinde competition. Especially if you consider the price 

I guess 2019 won‘t be Olympus‘ year of the E-M1x, but the E-M5III

[webrunner5]

Like I have showed before, this is Just a frame grab from my XS. Is it perfect no, does it suck no.  First one is a Photo from it. Second one is using a Moment tele lens, third one the normal Apple lens using video also. All the colors are spot on right OOC. No editing on any of them. If isn't that good enough than I have no clue what you are wanting out of a Smartphone, or even whatever you shoot with..

The Apple iPhone XS series is just crazy good, even more crazy with the Filmic Pro app using the Log they have for it. Claimed 12.5 stops. Am I going to shoot a Netflix series with it no. But to say Phones are shit is not even close to being true in this day and age.

[sanveer]

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

Depends what for. If these photos from my iPhone XS Max are the definition of sucks ass, then I don't think I can agree!

Of course the optics on a 10 year old DSLR is a defining difference. Now they are being simulated in software. It genuinely works. Additionally the iPhone XS Max has incredible dynamic range, better than most DSLR single shot JPEGs.... Not of 10 years ago but of now.

Resolution and low light performance are "enough" for my snapshot needs and phone screens. Of course, a full frame DSLR from 10 years ago like the Sony A900 will beat it for that hands down... but who is pixel peeping snapshots on Facebook?

The software side is just not something you have with any DSLR. I am as equally into grading RAW on an Android flagship as I am grading the superb HEIFs from my iPhone, which start off a bit like LOG frames. Not many DSLRs from 10 years ago have a 46 megapixel sensor (Xiaomi Mi 9) with 14bit RAW grading built in and a massive OELD do they??

The ability to shape the bokeh and change the focus point in post is very useful. Again all thanks to the computational advancements.

I had the CM1, but sold it. It was capable of some fantastic images but the lack of IS hurt it in low light vs the iPhone at the time, I remember it being rather noisy. Bit of a flat looking lens as well with not much 3D pop. Very basic software killed the rest of the experience, and old Android release. Credit to Panasonic to trying though.

Nice pics @Andrew Reid and @webrunner5

These new Quadbayer/ Tetracell sensors not only have good HDR, but they also are much sharper than other 12MP smartphone sensor cameras.

 

I guess by the time the 64MP (/16MP) and 100MP (25MP) smartphone sensors make it to smartphones, the amount of detail and the improvement in HDR dynamic range will truly be impressive (especially if its anywhere close to the promised 100dB or 16.5 stops).