Olympus OM-D E-M1X

[Gear Head]

I did not know about this before this mornings announcement, but this looks real tempting
Olympus OM-D E-M1X - Robin Wong's Experience ~ ROBIN WONG
This video goes into some pretty cool features

Gary

 

[Pa]

Maybe so, but a µ4/3 camera that is bigger and heavier than a D850 and costs $3,000 is of no interest to me. What's the advantage?

 

[Gear Head]

The advantage, as in its better in every category? Not sure about that, but I thought the hand held stabilization was pretty cool at 50mp. Size is the thing I like about this one. Lighter and smaller are a fail for me
Gary

 

[ijm5012]

My thoughts on the camera:

• The EVF and rear LCD are a HUGE let-down. After shooting the D500 and Z6, the rear LCD and EVF on this $3,000 camera are not good at all.
• Video specs are ok. 1080p @ 120fps, but 4K is only at 30fps (haven't seen anything stating otherwise). For a camera with this much processing power, I expected more.
• The handheld hi-res still results in artifacts due to movement being present. If you want ~50MP files, the D850 is a better bet.
• The C-AF improvement is definitely a nice bump over previous Olympus cameras, but is it really any better then what's in the D500?

I came to Nikon from Olympus m43 because the C-AF performance was sub-par for shooting motorsports, which is what I really love to shoot. As soon as I tried the D500, I was blown away by its performance. I can say with 100% certainty that the E-M1X does absolutely nothing to entice me to switch back to m43.

 

[bsinc1962]

My thoughts on the camera:

• The EVF and rear LCD are a HUGE let-down. After shooting the D500 and Z6, the rear LCD and EVF on this $3,000 camera are not good at all.
• Video specs are ok. 1080p @ 120fps, but 4K is only at 30fps (haven't seen anything stating otherwise). For a camera with this much processing power, I expected more.
• The handheld hi-res still results in artifacts due to movement being present. If you want ~50MP files, the D850 is a better bet.
• The C-AF improvement is definitely a nice bump over previous Olympus cameras, but is it really any better then what's in the D500?

I came to Nikon from Olympus m43 because the C-AF performance was sub-par for shooting motorsports, which is what I really love to shoot. As soon as I tried the D500, I was blown away by its performance. I can say with 100% certainty that the E-M1X does absolutely nothing to entice me to switch back to m43.

I was in a similar situation except with wildlife. ISO performance, DOF, and at the time CAF were all an issue for me. The more compact size and extra reach were great for stationary subjects in good light but that gets pretty limiting to what you can shoot. I watched the attached video as well as Jared Poulins video and it's like they're reviewing two different cameras.

 

[ijm5012]

I was in a similar situation except with wildlife. ISO performance, DOF, and at the time CAF were all an issue for me. The more compact size and extra reach were great for stationary subjects in good light but that gets pretty limiting to what you can shoot. I watched the attached video as well as Jared Poulins video and it's like they're reviewing two different cameras.

Well, the video in the OP comes from an Olympus-sponsored shooter, so it's pretty predictable that he's going to say it's the best camera ever created. Jared on the other hand isn't sponsored by anyone. Take of that what you may.

All I know is that based on this camera, I don't regret for one moment my decision to switch to Nikon with the D500's and Z6. Fantastic cameras, fantastic glass, fantastic AF.

 

[gryphon1911]

Save yourself a ton of money and if you want to go m43, then definitely look at the EM1.2 instead.

Based on this release and my past experience with m43, I'm seriously thinking about dumping m43 and looking into Fuji as a smaller kit. The X-E3 would be near perfect if it had IBIS.

So annoyed at Olympus for this second blunder. Over promising and under delivering.

 

[OHcorgis]

I viewed the video. W/O reading the specs, the camera looks heavier and bulkier than my EM11....I had the ability to shoot my D4 by turning the camera up...never used that feature. The camera seems geared to those who have not learned to shoot a more complicated camera. So the camera can shoot moving cars? Lets see how it does on birds in flight, running animals...I have not looked to see the weight different between the EM11 and M1X.....sigh, not looking to add weight at my age.

 

[ijm5012]

Based on this release and my past experience with m43, I'm seriously thinking about dumping m43

After getting my Z6 and seeing this release, I have no qualms about having left m43. This was supposed to be the camera to trickle tech down to lesser cameras, but I honestly am not seeing a whole lot "new" over the E-M1 II.

I think m43 has really been left behind when it comes to the sensor development. When the E-M5 was released, it was pretty on-par with larger sensor cameras of the time. However, APS-C and FF sensors continued to develop, and m43 began to lag behind. Olympus' and Panasonic's reluctance to implement effective PDAF have been major detriments to their competitiveness as Sony, Fuji, and Nikon has continued to develop and advance.

 

[crazy]

Originally, I was going to wait for the new and improved Olympus flagship announcement, but I'm glad I followed my gut instinct and moved back to Nikon from Olympus. I am pleased with the Z6.

 

[Markb]

I've been shooting the EM1.1 for the past three years now, and I have enjoyed doing so for the most part. I still have my D300, which is for the times when I want to shoot something with very good AF on fast moving objects (which isn't much lately). The OLY form factor is great for travel and biking, family gatherings and teaching myself macro, which is mainly what I'm doing now.

Experience with the OLY IBIS has made me a convert to this type of stabilization and the quality of the OLY 12-40 PRO is awesome IMHO.

So a move to another camera is fully discretionary, I don't need to, but if wanted to, I can. Not the M1X for me, and I doubt that I am its intended customer.

I had a chance to have some hands on in the store with a Z6 today. If I was told I could have either one, the Zed wins. The skin tones and image's (even with bad photographs) are to my eye, almost perfect. And the buttons, BBF, are almost exactly where I want them. (I'd prefer the front dial be higher like my D300/EM1.1. But I picked it up, configured to my D300 set up in a snap. It was considerably easier than doing so with EM1.1 the first time, but it was possible).

There is no value in my D300 for trade in, so it will hang around for a lot longer. But I will be saving my nickels (no pennies in Canada) for a possible addition.

OLY makes quality products, so I hope they realize the goals they may have set.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

I love Olympus and consider them one of the finiest lens manufacturers in the business. Their Pro lens line-up is some of the best glass out there. Saying that, without C-AF Olympus is falling way behind. I'd rather Olympus PO their core M43 users and start fresh adopting the L or E mount, as opposed to putting more resources into a camera incapable of fast AF-C tracking. A landscape, macro and/or large print photographer doesn't even need an E-M1X sized body where this body seems to shine. Might of been better cramming all that tech into a new Pen-F mk.II or an E-M5 mk.III instead.

 

[bpdougd]

I love Olympus and consider them one of the finiest lens manufacturers in the business. Their Pro lens line-up is some of the best glass out there. Saying that, without C-AF Olympus is falling way behind. I'd rather Olympus PO their core M43 users and start fresh adopting the L or E mount, as opposed to putting more resources into a camera incapable of fast AF-C tracking. A landscape, macro and/or large print photographer doesn't even need an E-M1X sized body where this body seems to shine. Might of been better cramming all that tech into a new Pen-F mk.II or an E-M5 mk.III instead.

I do not understand the intended demographic for this camera.

 

[gryphon1911]

I do not understand the intended demographic for this camera.

I don't think Olympus understands either... Which is the problem.

 

[Pa]

Thom Hogan thinks it’s a “halo” product...provides cachet to their other cameras. He doesn’t think they will sell 50k units over the life of the product.

 

[ijm5012]

Thom Hogan thinks it’s a “halo” product...provides cachet to their other cameras. He doesn’t think they will sell 50k units over the life of the product.

I’d be shocked if they sold 5k.

Nobody is going to spend $3k on a m43 camera that isn’t a Panasonic “GH”

 

[turbodieselvw]

I've been an mu4/3 user since day 1; prior to that I only had point-and-shoots and my FM, FA, F2A and F2AS. I currently own two EM1 ii but can't see the x going anywhere unless they are able to get if right for bif shots. The claim that the x is for wildlife photographers is a joke if it isn't able to properly track birds and wildlife. The price of this thing is $3900 here in Canada. The Z6 with 24-70 lens kit is $500 less. I think Olympus has just shot themselves in the foot as I can't see too many people buying into the x at this price point.

I have not touched my EM1 ii since June and am thinking that I should just stick with my D500 and D7500.

 

[crazy]

Reading Oly users’ reactions, the halo seems more akin to an albatross.

 

[pdk42]

Well, I'm a hard core m43 user at present with an EM1.2, Pen-F and about 8 lenses. I think Oly have some fantastic glass and I love the size, feel and features of their cameras. However:

• Whilst at low ISOs they can hang with FF for most applications, by the time you get to ISO 1600 things get ugly. The same's true of the E-M1x from what I can see. As Ian says, there's been too little sensor development since the E-M5 in 2012. I've now given up waiting for m43 sensor tech to improve. Live with it now or move on. Time has not been good to m43.
  
  
• CAF is still not up to the best (i.e. the D500 ). I don't do action photography so it does't bother me, but I can see it would be a big deal for others.
  
  
• On the basis of the E-M1x launch (a damp squib IMHO) and Panasonic's move into FF, there's the worry about the future (but TBH the demise of m43 has been forecast every month since it was launched!).

So, I'm planning on picking up a Z6 to see what I think of it. I've owned an A7rii before (twice in fact!) and despite its stellar IQ I really didn't gel with the camera or the system. I'm hoping the Nikon does better.

I'm not letting my Oly kit go, but I'll see what Nikon can do for me. Losing all that wonderful Oly glass will be hard to swallow (let alone the price and size of equivalent Nikon glass).

 

[bruce rubenstein]

Kirk Tuck, professional commercial photographer and µ4/3 user has an interesting take on the camera and what he thinks is its primary advantage for a pro: The Visual Science Lab / Kirk Tuck: My thoughts on the Olympus camera announcement...

With an E-M1-II, this new camera does nothing for me.