Olympus OM-1

[Martin Kuipers]

1 hour ago, Vurhd said:

Can anyone please comment on how Panasonic M43 lenses pair with Olympus bodies for stills and video in terms of IS and AF? Pro's / con's.

Lenses include 12-35mm f2. 8 and 200m f2. 8

 

Thanks

The 12-35mm pairs great with my em5iii. Ibis works just as good as the Olympus 12-40mm, autofocus is fast and silent to so no problems there. Its either ibis or lens IS, but I read that Olympus ibis is better / just as good as panasonic sync IS.
 

Manuel focus fly by wire is not so great, very erratic. The panasonic/leice 15mm for example seems to be more linear and pleasing. Also keep in mind that weather sealing is not perfect. For that you unfortunately need Olympus on Olympus or panasonic on panasonic. 

[ac6000cw]

4 minutes ago, Martin Kuipers said:

The 12-35mm pairs great with my em5iii. Ibis works just as good as the Olympus 12-40mm, autofocus is fast and silent to so no problems there. Its either ibis or lens IS, but I read that Olympus ibis is better / just as good as panasonic sync IS.
 

Manuel focus fly by wire is not so great, very erratic. The panasonic/leice 15mm for example seems to be more linear and pleasing. Also keep in mind that weather sealing is not perfect. For that you unfortunately need Olympus on Olympus or panasonic on panasonic. 

Just to add to that, the Pana 14-140mm f3.5-5.6 and 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 lenses work fine on my E-M1 ii (using IBIS).

One thing I have noticed when using C-AF in video (with my E-M1 ii, hopefully OM-1 behaves better) is that if a lens is well stopped down (e.g. f16)  it can sometimes rack focus a little (presumably to check it's still in focus), so it's best to use lenses with low focus breathing. I don't notice the change in focus when this happens (due to high DOF at f16), but the focus breathing is noticeable with some lenses e.g. the Pana 14-42mm 'pancake' power zoom lens is particularly bad for this.

[John Matthews]

49 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

Were they accepting any in the first place?!

I checked their website as soon as the camera was officially announced and pre-order for body only was available, but the kit simply read, "add your name to our contact list and we'll get back to you some time".

Good point. Not sure now, but I checked Spain and UK and they were still available. Strange that France is out of the mix.

[PannySVHS]

How much is it with the 12-40 f2.8? The same as in Germany, 2799 EUR? I think I can wait despite the good price😃

[John Matthews]

1 hour ago, Vurhd said:

Can anyone please comment on how Panasonic M43 lenses pair with Olympus bodies for stills and video in terms of IS and AF? Pro's / con's.

Lenses include 12-35mm f2. 8 and 200m f2. 8

 

Thanks

Dual IS won't work with any Panasonic lens though I've heard some behave better than others. Focus stacking in camera is only for Olympus lenses. AF in video works better with Olympus lenses, but in my experience it performs well enough with all PDAF bodies. However, I don't have any experience with the lenses you mentioned above.

40 minutes ago, jgharding said:

After recently getting a little Sony B-cam for autofocus, I'm interested in this...

Does anyone have experience with their log format? Is it any good?

If log is a need, I've heard they've improved it, but don't hold your breath. Olympus hasn't been good at log in recent years. I'd wait if I were you if absolutely need this feature.

[John Matthews]

1 minute ago, PannySVHS said:

How much is it with the 12-40 f2.8?

2799 (euros) with a mark 2 version. The mark 2 version is 999 (euros) alone.

[MrSMW]

6 minutes ago, John Matthews said:

Good point. Not sure now, but I checked Spain and UK and they were still available. Strange that France is out of the mix.

It's France. Nuff said.

The banks don't allow you to spend your own money and at lunchtime on the day you have set aside for a confirmed courier collection, you get an email saying you have to TELEPHONE to arrange a collection...but it just rings out.

Last week I had the joy of driving 30 minutes to a collection point for a parcel that they claimed not to be able to deliver because I wasn't in...and the collection place turned out to be a local bakery...and they had not been a collection point for at least 4 weeks. Then they just send you in more circles as the system can't cope with anything that doesn't work.

Oh the joys of rural France...

[jgharding]

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

Oh the joys of rural France...

I've often stayed in for long periods in the far south east. It is quite hard to get anything done haha

1 hour ago, John Matthews said:

If log is a need, I've heard they've improved it, but don't hold your breath. Olympus hasn't been good at log in recent years. I'd wait if I were you if absolutely need this feature.

Really it's just decent DR that is a need, whether that is LOG or HLG. Is the issue the colour response of said LOG profile?

[jgharding]

I'm guessing even the quad AF may be sluggish with adapted lenses through a speedbooster? 

I really am guessing as i don't know haha

But is that generally the case?

[ac6000cw]

1 hour ago, jgharding said:

I've often stayed in for long periods in the far south east. It is quite hard to get anything done haha

Really it's just decent DR that is a need, whether that is LOG or HLG. Is the issue the colour response of said LOG profile?

You might want to have a quick look at the 'video performance' part of the dpreview 'initial review' video. Also (according to that mini review) if you use H.265/HEVC to get 10-bit recording, the only picture profiles available are 'OM log 400' or HLG. I think H.264/AVC is limited to 8-bit recording.

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

On 2/18/2022 at 2:42 PM, John Matthews said:

If M43 is in trouble, so is Fuji and FF. I'm not really bothered by companies closing up shop as there are still a bunch of cheap bodies and lenses for a lifetime- that's just reality (I probably have enough right now). You make a really good point about margins and I suspect there will be pressure from investors to make money.

The Olympus sale was a little more complicated than what many think. Yes, Olympus couldn't make money in M43, but this was primarily debt from scandals and a new factory. The sale of JIP eliminated much of the debt and allowed them to restructure. I think there are significant opportunities for them. In video, they could do damage as they don't have a cinema line to protect unlike Sony, Panasonic, and Canon. Also, it's a fact that many people just won't use a phone for photography or video (me included).

The reason I think there might be a new PEN-F is that OMDS is showing they're interested in nostalgia of former great cameras and the PEN-F is one of them. I'm not sure it matters that people want or don't want to buy it and they can price it in a way that makes sense to their profits... someone's going to buy it.

In terms of Panasonic, I truly believe they don't know what they're doing anymore. They're doing too much and not enough with all of their imaging business. I'm worried for them, much more than OMDS.

My dream (besides a really good Pen-F II): one digital Olympus XA. 🙂 I have the original and it is amazing.

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

On 2/20/2022 at 6:13 AM, MrSMW said:

Decision made: S1H + S5 (plus some lenses) outbound, pair of OM-1's inbound.

Sticking with Panasonic S1R/L Mount for at least the time being until I can test the stills capability of the OM-1's.

Of course they are not going to match, never mind beat, the 47mp FF S1R, but how close can they get and is that 'close', good enough...

For my video needs however, I just need that 'well above average' and reliable AF.

The fact that it will come in a lighter and more compact package, is a bonus.

I've had 2 absolutely shitty years financially and perhaps more importantly, creatively.

The work I have booked in this year is an absolute opportunity to make a massive dent in the latter and I really don;t wish to be going into it with compromise.

Not 100% decided on lenses yet, but pretty sure it will be the Panasonic f1.7 pairing of the 10-25 and 25-50, plus the Olympus 17mm f1.8 for gimbal work.

Just need to find some used versions of all the glass in good nick.

EXTREMELY sad to see the S1H and S5 go.

The S5 less so because despite it's excellent photo and video output (plus nice size and weight), I wasn't 100% happy with various other aspects. Great bit of kit, but not quite good enough for my needs.

The S1H has been the best camera I have ever owned. For video at least. Could have been a bit smaller and lighter and the only real 'deal-breaking' issue for me has been the less than decent AF and the wrestling & fudging I have had to do to get around it.

Obviously, the new boys have not arrived yet and won't until March, but they tick all the boxes for my needs and the only criticism I could level at this time is that they are maybe a little over-priced and something more like 1950 euros might have been more appropriate.

I believe it's the right decision for me and my needs.

The S1R is going to be a tougher one to replace, NOT THAT I AM LOOKING TO!

By divorcing my video needs from my stills needs totally going forward, it does give me a few other options and my preferred one would be to keep it all 'in house' with 3 matching bodies and cross platform lenses.

Absolutely zero rush though as anything that isn't the S1R would need to be a bloody good option!

Good luck - but be sure to try the OM-1 first.

Looks like I was the only one underwhelmed by the MTB video - for me, looks like that Olympus still have a huge codec problem, present since the original EM-5, kinda mitigated now but still present: the image starts to degrade when a lot of details are present in the scene.

In the original E-M5 and in the first firmwares of the E-M5 II, it was easlily detected - point the camera to a tree with the leaves moved by the wind, and you can see the image "blocking". When the bitrates where raised in the firmware (I guess) 2.0 for the E-M5 II, it was still present, in a much lesser extent.

I guess I saw some hints of it in the MTB OM-1 footage, specially in some slo-mo parts. Hope I'm wrong - liked a lot the O-M1.

[Andrew Reid]

2 hours ago, jgharding said:

I'm guessing even the quad AF may be sluggish with adapted lenses through a speedbooster? 

I really am guessing as i don't know haha

But is that generally the case?

Might be fixable if it is. I remember on E-M1 II which also has phase-detect AF, actually it could be quite decent in stills mode with EF lenses... But in video mode, it all went to shit. Which is probable, when you consider the limitations of the EF lens bandwidth and that the adapter probably needs to do a lot of translation on the fly or can't use it as optimally as a native EF camera can.

I'd be curious to see if the OM1 is the first M43 camera to give us MC-11 like performance with Canon glass though.

That would be huge.

I'd dust off the Speed Booster for that!

[John Matthews]

14 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Might be fixable if it is. I remember on E-M1 II which also has phase-detect AF, actually it could be quite decent in stills mode with EF lenses... But in video mode, it all went to shit. Which is probable, when you consider the limitations of the EF lens bandwidth and that the adapter probably needs to do a lot of translation on the fly or can't use it as optimally as a native EF camera can.

I'd be curious to see if the OM1 is the first M43 camera to give us MC-11 like performance with Canon glass though.

That would be huge.

I'd dust off the Speed Booster for that!

Was that with firmware 3.0 or later because it was a completely different camera for video after that?

[Dave Maze]

Based on what I'm seeing with GH6, it seems OM-1 will still have better autofocus for video. All of this complaining would be over if Panasonic just ate dirt and put phase detect on their cameras. So annoying they won't be humble and just admit that DFD is not good enough for video hybrid shooters. That being said, I still love my Olympus bodies and there is something about it that I can't escape. I love the feel of the camera, I enjoy their color science, and the micro 4/3 lens ecosystem is just a wonderful thing. It's not necessarily smaller than full-frame now with the compact lenses for E-mount...but the overall balance of the whole package on micro 4/3 is something I truly enjoy. Planning on selling my EM1 mkii and mkiii and buying the OM-1 when it goes on sale in 6 months. 

[Andrew Reid]

To be honest you don't really need 10bit unless doing heavy grading with LOG, and even then very good image processing can overcome the limitations of 8bit to a degree. I can see why Olympus, or OM, or JIP or whatever it is designing this camera chose 8bit for Olympus picture profile colour science - same as JPEGs and nobody is going to notice a difference to 10bit because it will be a good codec and a high bitrate in 8bit.

A big fan of the ergonomics (from the look of the body anyway) and the huge EVF.

0.83x at 5.76 million dots is on par with a GFX 100!

The computational photography modes are really welcome.

Wish live ND could be made to work in video mode for 180 degrees look at fast shutter speeds.

I didn't think the OM1 would generate much excitement in the full frame world. Especially as E-M1X reception was lukewarm to say the least. Nobody seems to like big expensive micro four thirds cameras, they go against the grain.

But maybe with the quad pixel AF and the rest of the camera being such a big upgrade, maybe they are onto something.

Time to sell my E-M1X and E-M1 II.

[Andrew Reid]

17 minutes ago, Dave Maze said:

Based on what I'm seeing with GH6, it seems OM-1 will still have better autofocus for video. All of this complaining would be over if Panasonic just ate dirt and put phase detect on their cameras. So annoying they won't be humble and just admit that DFD is not good enough for video hybrid shooters.

Yep it is infuriating, but maybe it isn't Panasonic's decision.

It's possible that Sony just refuses to grant them the license, knowing it will be the death of a major rival's camera division.

Sony will give a license to OM System and Sigma (Fp-L) as they know these are more of a niche system.

But Panasonic and Leica they seem to want them pegged.

17 minutes ago, Dave Maze said:

That being said, I still love my Olympus bodies and there is something about it that I can't escape. I love the feel of the camera, I enjoy their color science, and the micro 4/3 lens ecosystem is just a wonderful thing. It's not necessarily smaller than full-frame now with the compact lenses for E-mount...but the overall balance of the whole package on micro 4/3 is something I truly enjoy. Planning on selling my EM1 mkii and mkiii and buying the OM-1 when it goes on sale in 6 months. 

Is it a 6 months wait then?

That's a bit of a pity.

You may want to wait and sell the old cameras later, because at this rate nobody is buying a new one!

There's going to be some big shortages and limited units manufactured.

This will push up the price of used cameras a lot in the coming 12 months, by my reckoning.

[Andrew Reid]

34 minutes ago, John Matthews said:

Was that with firmware 3.0 or later because it was a completely different camera for video after that?

From memory I don't think it improved with Metabones EF adapters in that update - the limitation is more on the adapter side than the camera side.

I could be wrong, as was ages since I tested.

[MrSMW]

33 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

a 6 months wait then?

I think Dave means 6 months before the price drops below the initial launch price rather than actual availability of the camera?

[MrSMW]

So now the GH6 is officially unveiled, how do they ‘compare’?

It will be interesting to see some direct head to heads down the line…

For me, the OM-1 is my preference…

Positives = more compact, lighter, better AF, probably a better hybrid.

Negatives = prefer the rear screen on the GH6 (by about 1 billion miles) and I think the launch price is around 250 dollars/euros more than it should be.

I think if the GH6 had comparable AF however, it would be game over and a win for Panasonic…but it ain’t, so…

Both great bits of kit I reckon with some crossover, but I think slightly different use case.