I’ve had the OM-D for a month now. I’m loving this camera. So is my son as you can see above… Micro Four Thirds (MFT) has finally matured to a point where it’s an amazing little system. I owned a Panasonic GF1 a few years ago and liked the system then, but the image quality from the first generation sensor just wasn’t good enough for what I wanted. It couldn’t really go above 800 ISO and the Dynamic Range (DR) wasn’t that impressive. But this new sensor that’s in the OM-D (and panasonic GX1) is quite impressive. I’ve been shooting at 3200 with zero issues and 6400 is even usable in a pinch. The DR is also quite good as well. If you follow this blog the last ~6 family posts have been almost 100% taken with the OM-D. Now, this isn’t the first time that’s happened. When I got my GF1, NEX5 and X100 I used them for entire posts in the past as well.
Let’s jump right into some pros and cons shall we?
Pros:
- Best MFT body to date
- it’s a MFT system camera, so you have PLENTY of awesome lens choices
- Built VERY well. Feels solid and is sealed.
- VERY customizable
- very fast AF, and the touch AF rarely misses. Snappy
- Small, although the EVF design takes away from this a bit
- great IQ, even at 3200 and even 6400 in a pinch
- touch screen to change settings including which AF point to use
- touch screen to focus AND shoot if you want
- flip out LCD is built really well and works well for weird angle shots (I love ground level with my kids)
- EVF is very good
- in body IS is worth 3~5 stops and works very well
- DOF is a tad deeper which leads to less OOF shots and faster AF times.
- works very well with Eye-fi cards
- image replay tied to orientation sensor, when camera is horizontal, horizontal images fill the screen and verticals have black bars, rotate the camera 90° and verticals fill the screen and horizontals have black bars. Why has it taken this long for someone to figure this out?!
- It’s pretty big for a MFT body. Smaller than panasonic’s bodies with EVFs but still bigger than an X100 or 5n
- The on/off switch is in a bad position
- the Fn1 button is tucked in behind the rear LCD and too small to effectively use for rear button AF
- Because it’s MFT and has all those lens options, you’re going to want more and most likely have a more expensive kit
- “locks up” with the panasonic 20mm at times (removing the battery always works, cycling the power works about half the time)
- the DOF isn’t as thin as an APS-C or FF camera (but with the 20 it’s basically identical to the X100)
- spare batteries aren’t available yet (but I haven’t really NEEDED one yet)
- the battery charger requires a cord, I’ve replaced it with a spare apple plug
- menus could be a lot better, and give us a “my menu” please.
- the camera will shoot in any aspect ratio you want, but replays in the “info” mode will show the 4:3 image with a white box to show how it’s cropped. You CAN NOT recover any of the info it shows, but it shows it to you anyway…
- histogram looks like an 8-bit video game…
- no spare batteries available!
- if you use touch shooting and set the camera down when powered on, it’ll shoot random shots!
Here’s my shorter video review (yes I know this isn’t really short, but at the bottom there’s the long version which is over a half and hour!):
Image Quality: Here you can see one of the first images that really impressed me image quality wise. I was out shooting landscapes on morning after first getting the OMD and decided to try a side by side comparison with my 5Diii w/16-35II. Now, the framing is as close as I could get with 2 completely different systems (that shoot in different formats) so it’s not exact, but it’s pretty close:
Mouseover this text for the Canon 5Diii version
There are some color differences which is my biggest complaint. The 5Diii image seems to just be more correct with less effort on my part in LR4. You can argue that you could easily process them to be the same which I won’t disagree with, it’s just that the 5Diii file is easier to deal with to get it to look “right”. But the details and dynamic range in the OMD shot are very impressive. Obviously MFT cameras have more DOF for the same effective FL, so that helps the OMD, but it’s just impressive to see the OMD that close to the 5Diii considering the size and price differences.
In the end though, the OMD is an amazing camera IQ wise. I’ve been shooting it up to 6400 ISO w/o much issue. I did have to make a LR profile for the camera that added some contrast and saturation back into the files, but the results have been amazing, especially considering the sensor size. There’s a bit more luminance noise than I’m used to in the files initially (which is why I boosted the contrast) but almost zero chroma noise and the crazy thing is the amount of detail even with the luminance noise. This camera routinely beat my 7D w/24L in high ISO tests in terms of details seen both before and after noise reduction. It’s that good, even at 3200 and 6400.
Here’s another rollover set, these shots were taken with the OM-D w/o 20mm 1.7, Canon 7D w/ 24mm 1.4, Fuji X100 and Sony NEX5 w/16mm 2.8. These are shot hand held with the same apertures chosen when possible (wide open means wide open, not matched) and focus and composition as close as possible. White Balance was on auto for all cameras, and all images were recorded as RAWs then processed with LR’s defaults. The second set of forester images had the “auto” button used in LR just to see how they’d all handle having the highlights and shadows pushed around a bit:
OMD Dock | X100 dock | 7D Dock | NEX5 Dock
OMD Boat | X100 Boat | 7D Boat | NEX5 Boat
OMD Jetty | X100 Jetty | NEX5 Jetty
OMD Forester SOOC | X100 Forester SOOC | 7D Forester SOOC | NEX5 Forester SOOC
OMD Forester Recovered | X100 Forester Recovered | 7D Forester Recovered | NEX5 Forester Recovered
OMD houses | X100 houses | 7D houses | NEX5 houses
Lenses: Another great and terrible aspect of the MFT system is picking lenses! While it’s nice to have choices this aspect will also cost you a lot more time and money when picking out a system. For me, I like wide lenses and fast lenses so I usually end up with the widest fast lens in a system. For MFT that’s the 20mm 1.7 from panasonic. This lens has been used for ~75% of my OMD shots, if not more. I love that it’s fast, but also a pancake so it keeps the overall size down. I can actually just squeeze the OMD w/20mm into my shorts pocket if I need to. But it’s not quite wide enough for me all the time. For me this brings up the choice between the 12mm Olympus and the 14mm Panasonic. The 14mm is much smaller and less expensive while being only a 1/2 stop slower. The IQ between the 2 is very close. Here’s a video of my thoughts between the two:
and here are some sample images to compare:
12 -vs- 14mm vertical:
12 -vs- 14mm horizontal:
Choosing Lenses: The other things to consider with your lens purchases is how are you going to use this camera. For me, it’s mostly a family and go everywhere camera. I still have a DSLR for when I need to use a professional camera. Personally, I got the OMD kit with the 14-42mm because for $100 extra I figured a tiny midrange zoom was worth it. I did not go for the 12-50 kit because it’s $300 over the body only kit, and it’s NOT a small lens. Sure it’s thin and yes it’s sealed, but the length is a non starter for me. From there, as I mentioned above I chose the 14mm panasonic over the 12mm olympus because of the size and price difference. I want this camera to fit in jacket pockets so the 20 and 14mm lenses are perfect there. I also picked up the olympus 45mm because it’s fast and a wonderful portrait lens. I don’t use it all that much, but when I do I’m always impressed by the results. If I were to be replacing my DSLR with a MFT setup, I’d also get the olympus 40-150mm if I wanted a tele as it’s a very small option, but it also works with Olympus’ macro converter as a 1:1 macro (the converter also works on the 14-42 and 45mm). From there I’d need a UWA zoom for landscape work, it’d be a very hard choice between the panasonic 7-14mm and the olympus 9-18mm. The panasonic is a wider lens, but it’s much bigger (the 9-18mm collapses in on itself like the 14-42mm) and the 9-18mm has filter threads while also costing less… Regardless of what you’re looking for though, you can find just about any lens you’d want for your MFT camera to build the system you need. This is the major draw to MFT for me, coming from the sony NEX5.
Build: This camera is very solid. You don’t feel like you’re playing with a toy even though it’s quite small. It’s rock solid AND it’s sealed. The tilt out LCD feels very solid (I HATE the side ways tilt out and swivel designs from canon’s G series and 60D) and I use it quite a but for getting super low angle shots of the kids playing. It’s something I learned to like with the Sony NEX and I’m still loving it here. With the added touch element it’s quite nice. Some of the buttons however feel very cheap. The playback and Fn1 buttons come to mind. They’re too small and tucked in too close to the thumb grip to be usable for me while shooting. Because of this I can’t use rear button AF, but I’ve either been using touchscreen AF or the shutter button w/o complaints (the AF is that good). The OK button an 4way buttons are small but I’ve gotten used to them. Borrowing the X100 showed me just how much worse it’s buttons are. The thumb grip on the back is awesome. LOVE it! It’s something you appreciate a lot more if you handle a X100 side by side quickly. The front grip could be better, it beats the X100 but the NEX beats the OMD with it’s solid shaped battery garage. The OMD has the optional grip for $300 which solves that problem, but it’s $300 and you have to remove it to swap the battery… I’m really hoping really right stuff comes out with a solution similar to their X100 L bracket with a front grip and a hole in the bottom to still change batteries w/o removing the plate. The dials all feel very nice and have solid clicks to them. My one complaint there is they don’t feel as connected to the changes on screen as the clicks happen, if that makes sense. IE 5 clicks on the wheel in fast succession and the screen lags to change the aperture 5 times.
Quirks: No camera is perfect. So let me get into some of the flaws I’ve found with the OMD. First off, if you shoot in an aspect ratio other than 4:3 (the native ratio for the sensor) it still replays the full 4:3 thumbnail with a white box around it showing you how it’s cropped. What’s frustrating here is if you missed something when you composed, you’ll see it because of this full sensor replay thumbnail, but you have no way to recover it! The camera records the RAW image with just the info within the white box. That is what it should record, don’t get me wrong, it’s just annoying to see when you made a mistake and know you have no way of getting it back. The white box is also ugly. Second, the histogram on image replay looks like a bad 8-bit video game. I know this isn’t crucial, but it’s simply ugly! And to top it off, the camera’s live histogram looks as detailed as you’d imagine. The previously mentioned Fn1 and playback buttons being hidden and flipped (from a functionality standpoint) is another big complaint. The grip shouldn’t be needed to get a good grip on the front of the camera, and you shouldn’t have to remove it to charge the battery. Also, I wish Olympus would hurry up and get some supply for the spare battery available! The viewfinder also has different view options, but for some reason you can only use them when you have the auto switch turned on to go from rear LCD to the viewfinder. Not sure why you can’t choose how it looks regardless of how you get there (I like one of the alternative views but I don’t use the auto switch option). If you leave the camera on with touch screen shooting on, expect to find some random shots on your card at the end of the day… There IS a weird hiss from the camera when in a perfectly quiet room. I heard it the first day I got the camera when I was home alone with it, and I heard it again doing the video reviews (it’s in the full video review below) but you don’t hear it in use if there’s any ambient noise what so ever.
Menus: The menus get the job done but aren’t pretty. I’m a canon user when it comes to DSLRs and IMHO they’ve got the best menus around. I switched to Nikon for a year and never got used to theirs, I’ve owned both an X100 and NEX5, so I’m used to dealing with terrible menus… The OMD ranks above the X100 and NEX5, so it’s certainly not bad, it’s just not as organized as I’d like and the lack of a “my menu” is pretty bad. To be honest though, the fact you can hit the OK button to bring up most of the camera’s settings, then use the 4 way directionals to change them makes most adjustments VERY easy. The only thing I really use the menus themselves for (beyond initial setup) is to format the memory card after import which is THE top option when you press menu… It’s not bad, and you don’t spend much time in them, but they’re also not great either.
Viewfinder: The viewfinder works quite well when you need it. I know some of you will wonder why I’m not going on and on about the viewfinder but it’s just not an option I use much. I never missed it on the GF1 or NEX5 to be honest, I actually really like using a rear LCD with liveview in all but the brightest of light. I will use the viewfinder when needed (bright sunlight) but that’s it. And because I don’t use it much it makes the camera bigger than I need it which means it fits in jacket pockets or pelican cases less easily (see the long video review below for examples). I’ve heard the IS sensors are housed in there, so you can’t just not have it, the camera will get bigger elsewhere. But I’d go without if the PEN4 had the seals, FPS, rear LCD, IS, and sensor from the OMD to shrink the form factor. It does get the job done and looks good doing it if you need it. There’s also 2 optional views (3 total). And you can setup the camera to switch between the rear LCD and viewfinder automatically. If you use the touch screen controls you’ll want to turn that off (a shortcut to that setting is to hold down the button on the side of the EVF for a few seconds until the option is on screen).
Conclusion: In case you can’t tell, I really like this camera. I’ve been searching for a small go everywhere camera for a long time. I tried a panasonic GF1 w/20mm, canon’s S90, Sony’s NEX5 (which I still own) an X100 and now the OMD. The OMD is the best solution yet. The only thing that’s not ideal for me is the viewfinder hump, and only when I’m trying to fit it either in a pelican to go sailing or a jacket pocket to go skiing. Out of the options, the OMD wins though considering the whole system. NEX doesn’t have the lenses to support the system yet, and a lot of what they do have is much bigger negating the body size advantage. The X100 is a great camera, and with the new firmware it’s much better, but it can’t keep up with the OMD in ISOs or AF speed and you’re stuck with one lens (but then again you can’t spend more money on lenses which might be a good thing). MFT is the strongest system because of the two big players involved and third parties starting to play as well. The OMD is the best body IQ wise so it’s the winner for me. It’s replaced my 5Dii/5Diii as my family camera and I don’t see that changing for quite a while (unless the Pen4 is something I might change to). The IQ is there, the focus is spot on w/o having my face smashed into the back of a camera, it’s tiny, it’s just a nice smart small package. I have 2 other friends who are also using and loving their OMDs for family shooting as well, and both have had very similar experiences with it (one even coming from a NEX5n to the OMD). If you go back through the last month+ of personal blog posts here on my blog, 99% of those images are taken with the OMD. Simply put this camera is turing into my family shooting workhorse. Some might question spending this much money to shoot images of their family, but when you think about it the memories we capture of our families might just be the most important thing we shoot. Spend what you can afford to make that job as easy as possible so you’re more likely to keep shooting! You should never leave your camera home because it’s too big or heavy to bring with you.
-vs- ??? So, what else should you consider when buying a OMD/MFT camera? Personally this camera goes against the NEX5/5n/7, X100 and GX1. I owned an X100 last summer and loved the IQ but the AF and menus drove me crazy. I borrowed one for this review, and even with the new update it’s AF (while MUCH better) is still a bit slower than the OMD. The single lens option is also a bit limiting, and it’s harder to hold in your hand (w/o lots of accessories). The menus are also worse, but the new firmware DID help it a ton there. Basically, with the new firmware it’s a usable option, but I prefer the OMD. The NEX options are some great cameras. The 5/5n with the 16mm pancake are VERY small. But there just aren’t enough lenses available for that system. No UWA option kills it for me. I kept mine just because it’s tiny and not worth much used at this point, and the FE is very fun to play with, but it’s menus are also less than ideal. The GX1 was a consideration as well. I actually prefer it’s form factor (no EVF) and price obviously. But… It’s IQ just isn’t as good as the OMDs from what I’ve seen (I was sorely tempted to try one though to see for myself). If you can get around it’s IQ, it’s shape and price make it a great option, and it’s got the same lens choices as the OMD as they’re both MFT camera. But in the end, having owned both the X100 and NEX5 and shooting both along side the OMD, the OMD is just the nicer camera of the group to shoot with. Low light, daylight, different focal lengths, dynamic range, handling… There are a lot of reasons, but in the end the OMD is just the camera I’d pick up first out of that group having shot all three for long periods of time. The GX1 is the only question and only because I haven’t used one, but pretty much all the pixel peeping review sites agree that the OMD is the better camera in terms of IQ…
here’s the longer video review, there’s a lot of good information in here but it’s over 30 minutes long, so I made the 2 versions:
I am a B&H affiliate and this blog is supported with your help. If you appreciate this review, please feel free to leave comments below. Also please use any of the affiliated links in the body of the post, the B&H banner in the post, or the support page above to shop via my affiliate links so I’ll get the credit. Here are the specific OMD links: Black Body Only, Silver Body Only, Black w/14-42 (what I have), Silver w/14-42, Black w/12-50, Silver w/12-50. Thank you!
Hi. Enjoyed your video. I went from dslr to m43 using the OM-D. Combination of iso 1600 to 2500 and f/1.4 from Leica 25mm is great. This combo equals or bypasses my IQ from my Canon 7D with 50mm 1.4
Cheers.
Phil
Phil,
I had a very similar experience with my 7D. I’m not sure what it is with that camera but it’s higher ISOs seem to really rob the images of details. The OMD beats it easily which is amazing. I’ve been loving the tiny package as well. Thanks for the comments.
Ben
Awesome write-up. I wonder if it’s worth having the E-P3 and 20mm as a walkaround camera, and an OM-D for more “serious” photo work?
my only problem with that is when I do more serious work I want a DSLR for a few reasons. I’m considering an E-P4 when/if they come with this sensor but w/o the EVF since I don’t use that much. I’ve considered the GX1, especially at the prices it’s going for now, but I don’t like their rear screen and the sensor isn’t as good. I’d give up sealing, and maybe even FPS to make the OMD smaller, but I want to keep Oly’s touch screen and hopefully even the tilting LCD in a smaller lesser model for a walk around/family cam for me.
Hi, read your review and watched both your long and short videos. Very in-depth and honest reviews, in my opinion. I own an EM5 for one week now and loving every moment I’m spending with it. I had done a lot of research online and checked out all reviews of mirrorless cameras before I decided to go for Olympus. Wish I had seen your videos earlier, that would have saved me a lot of time! 🙂
The issues that you mentioned, like the EVF hump or the picture ratio problem are there but it’s not going to affect everybody… it hasn’t, in my case. Also, the position of the on/off switch or the menu or the soft squishy buttons are things you get used to in no time. So it’s no big deal really.
The bottomline is, (I agree with you), I think it’s an amazing piece of equipment, better than anything in its class, or even many DSLRs. I’m loving it myself, and looking forward to its company on my trip to Prague next week! 🙂
What lenses do you recommend with his camera? I have the kit lens, planning to buy a pancake lens soon for more portability. Any suggestions?
All great points Souvik. I agree a lot of my “cons” are things you adjust to, but it wouldn’t be a good/full review w/o mentioning them. The on/off switch still bugs me only because I use touch AF so I have to turn the camera off to avoid it firing from bumping the screen. So I’d rather it be around the shutter like it is on my NEX and X100 as it’s a faster setup. I’ve learned as you said, but I wish I didn’t have to. The image replay button doesn’t bother me in the slightest anymore. The EVF hump is fine for me in day to day shooting, it’s just a PITA if I want to sail with it (in a pelican) but I’ve just been taking my NEX for that instead.
As for lenses, I’m revamping my lineup for MFT this week. I have the 14mm, 20mm, 45mm and 14-42mm. I only use the 20mm. So I’m selling the others (it’ll be tough to sell the 45mm, and the 14mm makes it tiny…) and getting a 7-14mm instead. I’m considering swapping the 20 for a 25 as well for the faster AF, but the 20 is just so much smaller and slightly wider I can’t commit to that move yet. I’ve used solely the 20mm for the vast majority of what I shoot since I got this because it’s a nice FL for every day for me and it keeps the camera small enough to get tossed in a diaper bag or jacket pocket.
Good Luck!
Ben
Thanks for the review. What are your thoughts on the RX100? Cheers!
I had a S90 back in it’s day. Personally the IQ on those small sensored cameras is too close to my phone to be worth carrying both. I prefer a dedicated camera, but if I’m going to bother bringing one I’d rather bring something like the OMD so it’s IQ blows my phone out of the water instead of just being slightly better. The biggest issue with the smaller sensors is their lack of ability to have thin DOF. That’s also why I use my OMD with faster primes -vs- the kit zoom.
What a great review! Thank you very much!
Hi Ben, it’s me again. Here are some pictures I shot with this camera recently. Would appreciate your views. Cheers! 🙂 http://www.flickr.com/photos/22758708@N00/
Nice write up – thanks.
Consider not changing lenses while the camera is on. Apparently the sensor is static while on and will attract dust.
Thanks. And yeah, I’ve heard that about lens changes as well, but in my ~10 years with digital cameras I’ve never turned them off to change lenses. Yes, I do get the occasional dust bunny, but I’m used to cleaning them so it’s not a big deal. I’ve been trying to teach myself to remember though.
Hey, I have to disagree about the 4:3 vs 3:2 aspect ratios in the camera. If you really look, you will notice that the viewfinder and the back screen both display the 3:2 ratio (if that is what you have chosen) when you compose the shot. It is after the image is captured that the 4:3 size image with the white box is shown.
I do very much dislike the 4:3 ratio and opted for the 3:2 when I had finally concluded that the camera is actually displaying the 3:2 ratio when I compose the shot.
Hope that helps…
Just got my om-d yesterday and spent today playing with it. Not quite as good as my 7D and L lenses but good enough to make me want to take it everywhere… It’s very good but pixel-peeping makes me cringe.
That’s what I’m seeing as well with the 4:3 and 2:3 issue I mentioned. It’s the white box on a 4:3 preview when I shoot in 2:3 that drive me crazy. If I missed something in a 2:3 image when I shot it I DO NOT want to see that in the replay when it’s too late to fix it. Hopefully that makes sense. But yes, when in 2:3 the viewfinder and rear LCD both show a 2:3 image, it’s only the replay that’s odd, but that’s enough to bug me. My solution is to shoot in 4:3 and just crop in LR via a preset.
As for the 7D -vs- the OMD, I sold my 7D within weeks of getting my OMD. If the OMD isn’t better it’s at least as good for what I use mine for (family camera that’s smaller). It goes everywhere. The 7D has far too strong of an AA filter (-vs- the canon FF options) and it’s noisy above 1600. The OMD can easily be shot at 3200 (where I avoided that with the 7D) and even 6400 in a pinch. Sony’s sensor tech is far superior to canon’s so you can get away with that even on a MFT sensor where with canon you really need FF to get into “good” 3200+ performance. I will say I’ll shoot 6400 and even 12800 in a pinch with my 5Diii but that’s a different beast.
Enjoy your OMD!
Hey, Ben. I’ve been playing with in-camera settings on my OM-D because I am experimenting with infrared photography. Much to my dismay, LR 4 doesn’t respect the in-camera settings when I shoot in RAW… This led me to find a way to preserve the in-camera settings yet still have the flexibility of a RAW file. The only thing I could come up with is to import files into Olympus Viewer 2 and then export them as a TIFF into LR4. It’s not an ideal situation but for the occasional times I am doing infrared photography or using the art filters, it works great. Otherwise, LR removes all the settings I had…
All this to say, you CAN GET BACK THE 4:3 aspect ratio if you use the Olympus software. The way the camera displays that hideous white box is annoying but the camera actually does record all the information in a 4:3 ratio even if you chose 3:2 aspect ratio. The hitch is that you have to use the Oly software. But if you did accidentally miss something and it is recorded outside the white box, you can get still get it.
I thought of you when I discovered this and thought you might be interested.
Cheers, Kristin
Thanks Kristin. The white box still drives me mad, but at least there is an option if I missed something crucial.
Ben
Hi Ben,
I’m wondering if you were prepared to share your OMD Lightroom profile with the rest of us?
Mark,
I’ll get that up ASAP!
Thanks,
Ben
I have a 5DMKII and after a recent trip, I’ve been thinking about ditching it for the OMD and the smaller size and weight. I don’t do a lot of wide landscape stuff. I do some studio shots (using pocket wizards and strobes) and I like to shoot boudoir. For the boudoir I like to shoot at 2.8 for the shallow DOF. From your family photos, it looks like you’re getting nice shallow DOF. Any reason not to jump to the OMD?
You’ll struggle with landscapes a bit because the wide lens options aren’t as good or are tricky to use with filters. Thin DOF wise the 20/25/45/75 and the new 17 can get you thin DOF easily. You basically just have to use prime in place of 2.8 zooms for that. The weight and size reduction is amazing though.
Good luck!
Ben
Thanks! Landscapes aren’t all that important to me
Hi Ben;
thank you very much for your review!! I would like to know if you can advise me witch camera you think is the best for shooting with vintage lenses? I know Olympus have IBIS and others not but, anyway, I don’t know if that is “that” important!? I use mainly old glass, fully Manual Mode and a lot in high ISO, so, what would you advise me to get between the OM-D, the X-PRO1, the Nex-(5,6 or 7?) or whatever (Fuji EX1?? or others?).
thank you!
Alex,
Great question. The first part of my answer is that it will depend on if you own the old lenses already and how attached you are to their current focal lengths. With MFT bodies (the OMD or panis etc) you’re going to have to deal with a 2x crop factor so a 50mm 1.4 becomes a 100mm 1.4. This is a plus or a minus depending on how and what you shoot. If you go with a fuji or NEX you’re at 1.5 crop so that 50 would be a 75. If you go FF (DSLR) you’d get to keep the lenses at their existing FLs. So decide on that factor first. Personally, for older lenses there’s 2 options for me. The first is the NEX system. Why? because the NEX5 series is tiny and has a flip up LCD. The newest 5r has WiFi and GPS and touch screen as well. But the key with the NEX system is the focus peaking. This makes manual focusing SO EASY!!!! It blows the MFT zooming options out of the water. I’ve heard fuji has peaking but it’s not as good as sony’s (there’s some weird zooming issue but I haven’t used it myself and don’t know). The other option would be an old 5D or 5Dii if you don’t mind the size. With their focusing screens and relatively short flange back distance they work with most any old manual focus lens. I’ve got olympus and nikon lenses that I use on both my 5Diii and NEX5. So it really comes down to what FL you’re after and what size body you want. But for me it’d either be the NEX 5r/6 or a DSLR. The NEX system really shines with manual lenses on it though. Their lens lineup puts it second or third in the EVIL race behind MFT and maybe fuji (depending on what you’re after) but for old lenses it’s the winner for me. I love my NEX5, I just wish they had a 24mm that was fast and small and <$1000.... The 16mm is too slow and the 24mm ziess is massive and expensive.
Thank you for your reply, it really helped me a lot! As for the focal length, I don t have a problem with that, since I have a couple of lenses and I tend to adapt myself to each lens I am using (I know it is weird but I like to do it this way). As for the NEX, a lot of people talk about the “Sony colors” meaning that they are not as good as Canon for example. What do you think about that? And for the size, yes, unfortunately it is an issue, I have 3 children and with an DSLR I end up having to choose between taking the kids to the beach or the camera with lenses, and, of course, I prefer to take the kids! And the last question (sorry for so many!), I am now used to the PEN with body stabilization, will I feel a lot of difference or problems with the NEX without stabilization to my old glasses? Thank you very much!
Remember, I have a NEX5 so there are TWO newer version now. With my 5 there is definately a color difference. With LR3 is was bad. With LR4 it’s almost completely gone. Reading Steve Huff’s site he said there was a big improvement with the 5n and I’d bet the 5r is even better. Pair either of those with the newest LR4 (which you’ll need for the 5r) and I’d bet it’s a non issue at this point. As for kids and cameras, that’s THE reason I love EVIL cameras. I go with one prime and make it work. Whatever body it is goes in a pelican case (the small ones) so I can toss it as needed and handle kids. The NEX5 is my boat and ski camera because it’s so small. The OMD was my everyday camera but I sold it because of it’s size and have an e-pm2 now (same sensor and af in a much smaller package). Size matters for me so I won’t be tempted to not bring it. As for in body stabilization, I don’t need it much except for video so I’m fine w/o with the sonys. It’s not really something I feel I need because when shooting kids I need a shutter speed over 1/125th anyway and I use wider lenses so there’s no camera shake at that speed and a wider focal length.
Ben
Hi Ben, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts about the suitability of the omd for wildlife shooting …..say for birds.
Many thanks
…. I should add birding in low light say in rainforest
well, the camera itself would work fine. This camera is on par with canon’s 7D in most respects (and all respects in terms of IQ). But the lenses aren’t going to be as good unless you use something that’s adapted and then what’s the point? So it’s a tough call. It’s sealed, it’s got great IQ, great IS, great AF, but the lenses for MFT for birding specifically might leave something to be desired…
Good Luck!
Ben
Ben, I shoot the Canon 5d2 and want to lighten the load and bulk, especially for traveling. I’ve been researching the Olympus OM-D and found your great reviews. I’m glad you tell the pros and the cons. It has been a while since you wrote/videoed the reviews. Are you still happy with the OM-D and do you have any updates to add to the review? Do you think there is a camera that has come out since the OM-D that I should also be looking at. I’m not in a rush to jump into a smaller mirrowless camera but I will definitely get a smaller system. I like to shoot in low light and I like narrow DOF. I like what is suppose to be sharp to be sharp. I like a good DR. IQ is important to me. Video is nice but I don’t use it a lot. So any thoughts you have for me will be appreciated.
Here is the kind of stuff I shoot. http://www.pbase.com/billie_mercer
Many thanks,
Billie
Billie,
Sorry for the late reply. In terms of moving to a smaller system there are three basic options. Olympus, fuji and Sony. Olympus is by far the most polished option. It’s also nicely compact. Fuji with the xe1 and xpro1 would be second but they’ve got some quirks in their first releases still. They also don’t have all their lenses out yet (but should this year). Sony is the last option. Their lenses are big and expensive to go with their tiny cameras. I don’t like their logic for auto iso at all so they’re out for me (these smaller systems are my family cameras where I use auto iso exclusively).
All three really are great systems and all will well. You need to choose which does what you need best. Personally though, if I were replacing my DSLR today that would be my preferences, olympus then fuji then Sony. Any would work and get the job done but olympus has everything I need today with logic that works and great IQ.
Ben
Hi Ben,
Thanks for such a detailed review of the EM5. I have been looking for a smaller dslr replacement for a while now, and when I played with the camera in BH I think I may have just found it. I really enjoyed the 12-50 lens, but it makes the camera much larger than what I’m looking for. Like you, a small compact size is one of my main goals. The 14-42 looks much more manageable. I see that that’s what you got, along with all of your fixed lenses. How did you feel about the 14-42? I’ll be taking a lot of family pictures, and photos in restaurants where lighting can sometimes be a bit dim. Will this camera be worth it? Thank you!
Aaisha
I liked the 14-42mm for a small zoom lens but I would NOT consider it for family shooting or dimly lit restaurants (or both). For either of those the primes capture so much more light and are smaller and lighter on the body. Find one or two focal lengths you really like, match those to primes and there’s your kit.
Good Luck!
Ben