[shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink] focus speed test.

There was an ongoing Olympus press meetings in Amsterdam and Yokohama and plenty of websites are now publishing new previews and videos. Here is a short roundup of the latest news:

Pen And Tell german report (Click here)
Interview at Akihabara (Click here).
New E-M5 accessories at Olympus Global (Click here and scroll down to see them).
Very basic ISO comparison at Zol (Click here).
E-M5 image samples on Flickr (Click here).

Biofos (Click here) has some news from Olympus UK about the Four Thirds lens support: “No AF improvement on 4/3 lenses I am afraid“. But Olympus made it also clear that they are working on that issue. Their goal is to make Four Thirds lenses fully operable on m43 cameras.

Focus Numerique now removed the ability to download the E-M5 RAW files. Our reader Olaf sent us this: “here is a raw-conversion from me aimed at maximum detail and less texture-smoothing than the internal jpegs, i think it really shows the potential of the E-M5, taken with a 300€ lens at f/1.8!
http://datenkeule.de/dl.php?file=file1329348705olympus-om-d-e-m5-preserie-exemple9.jpg
it is not easy to get the same sharpness olympus is doing with their jpegs while at the same time reducing noise and preserving texture-details.
now here the same file upscaled to 48mp (8000×6000) with a crop of here left eye (eat this nikon D800) ;-)
http://datenkeule.de/dl.php?file=file132934883148mp.jpg
here some crops to compare the potential of texture-preservation compared to the internal jpegs. 2 100% crops with jpeg to the left and the raw conversion to the right:
http://datenkeule.de/dl.php?file=file1329342465jpeg-raw.jpg
http://datenkeule.de/dl.php?file=file1329343823jpeg-raw2.jpg
unfortunately i wasn’t able to save all raws, i only managed to save 4 or 5 of them. maybe i can post some other conversions later, like the one from the bike and the other shot of the woman.”

P.S: If you love analyzing RAW files than check Fujirumors (Click here). They just posted the first X PRO 1 raw files!

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Full Preorder list:
1) Black E-M5 body at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Warehouse UK (Click here), Redcoon Germany (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
2) Silver E-M5 body at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Warehouse UK (Click here), Redcoon Germany (Click here), and Amazon Japan (Click here).
3) Black E-M5 body with 14-42mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
4) Black E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Redcoon Deutschland (Click here), Amazon Deutschland (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
5) Silver E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Amazon Deutschland (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
6) FL-600R wireless flash at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
7) MMF-3 Four Thirds adapter at
Amazon (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).
8.) HLD-6 power battery holder at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).

With all that Olympus E-M5 buzz we don’t have to forget that there has been another very exciting new introduction. The new Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 lens! The Spanish website DSLRmagazine (Click here) posted a short hands-on article and video (the one you see here on top). That lens is twice as luminous as the [shoplink 29192 ebay]Leica 35mm f/1.4 (and costs many times less)[/shoplink]. Valentin Sama says the lens has a top notch build quality (as expected) and the new pull down aperture ring which allows smooth rotation is completely noise-free (super news for filmmakers). The focusing ring is very long which is a good news if you want a precise focusing, bad news when you are in hurry :)  The only major difference with the also superb [shoplink 15659 ebay]Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95[/shoplink] is the major size and weight of the lens (See size comaprison here). What I haven’t found yet are image samples. Did you?

A first preorder is available here in [shoplink 29193 ebay]Europe on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. The lens should ship by late March /early April.

Merci Beaucoup Focus Numerique! Finally we can download the original RAW files form the new Olympus E-M5 (Click here to visit the site). To download the file click on “Télécharger le fichier raw“.

So there is nor excuse now! This is the very first time we can judge the image quality without having to worry if the JPEG settings were correct or not. Focus Numerique reviewers are quite satisfied with the results: “At 1250 ISO, the image retains a lot of details and the color rendering of Olympus is always pleasant“.

So take your time guys, analyze the files and give us some feedback. Click that link to see the ISO test with the GX1. It will be easier for you to compare the [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink] RAW quality. A couple of days ago I asked you if you were happy with the JPEG quality of the E-M5 but many of you answered that you have to see more full size and RAW pics before to give a final voting.

I am going to start a new Poll. As usual take time before to vote:

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Full Updated Preorder list:
1) Black E-M5 body at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Warehouse UK (Click here), Redcoon Germany (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
2) Silver E-M5 body at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Warehouse UK (Click here), Redcoon Germany (Click here), and Amazon Japan (Click here).
3) Black E-M5 body with 14-42mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
4) Black E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Redcoon Deutschland (Click here), Amazon Deutschland (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
5) Silver E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Amazon Deutschland (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
6) FL-600R wireless flash at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
7) MMF-3 Four Thirds adapter at
Amazon (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).
8.) HLD-6 power battery holder at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).

Finally you can see a first set of official [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink] full size(!) image samples. They have been posted by the Chinese website pcpop (Click here). To facilitate the picture analysis I give you the direct links to their eleven full size images:
Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Pic 6, Pic 7, Pic 8, Pic 9, Pic 10 and Pic11.
Surprise, Pic 3 has been actually taken in my city…Antwerpen! Olympus next time make me a call when you pass by! :)

HKgolden (Click here) posted a short ISO comparison. The website loads very slow so here is the direct link to the image: http://img860.imageshack.us/img860/5057/37492reuploaded.jpg

Our friend Valentin Sama from DSLRmagazine (Click here) posted a new set of E-M5 image samples (with firmware 0.95). Too bad they are not in full size. I asked him if he can share the original images but he said Olympus doesn’t allow to post them because the firmware isn’t final :(

Full Updated Preorder list (with new Redcoon Deutschland preorder):
1) Black E-M5 body at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Warehouse UK (Click here), Redcoon Germany (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
2) Silver E-M5 body at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Warehouse UK (Click here), Redcoon Germany (Click here), and Amazon Japan (Click here).
3) Black E-M5 body with 14-42mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
4) Black E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Redcoon Deutschland (Click here), Amazon Deutschland (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
5) Silver E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Amazon Deutschland (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
6) FL-600R wireless flash at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
7) MMF-3 Four Thirds adapter at
Amazon (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).
8) HLD-6 power battery holder at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).

Anyway, I am looking forward to see if the new [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink] will beat the image quality of the GX1.

Click theese linsk to check the price of the GX1: [shopcountry 26836].

Time to analyze the image quality of the new [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink]. At OMuser (Click here) you can find a new set of E-M5 ISO samples! Please keep in mind that these images have been taken with a preproduction camera and in JPEG format. So here are the direct links:

ISO 200: full image, crop.
ISO 250: full image, crop.
ISO 320: full image, crop.
ISO 400: full image, crop.
ISO 500: full image, crop.
ISO 640: full image, crop.
ISO 800: full image, crop.
ISO 1000: full image, crop.
ISO 1250: full image, crop.
ISO 1600: full image, crop.
ISO 2000: full image, crop.
ISO 2500: full image, crop.
ISO 3200: full image, crop.
ISO 4000: full image, crop.
ISO 5000: full image, crop.
ISO 6400: full image, crop.
ISO 8000: full image, crop.
ISO 10000: full image, crop.
ISO 12800: full image, crop.
ISO 16000: full image, crop.
ISO 20000: full image, crop.
ISO 25600: full image, crop.

And here is the question for you:

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Full Updated Preorder list (with Amazon Deutschland):
1) Black E-M5 body at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Warehouse UK (Click here), Redcoon Germany (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
2) Silver E-M5 body at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Warehouse UK (Click here), Redcoon Germany (Click here), and Amazon Japan (Click here).
3) Black E-M5 body with 14-42mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Redcoon Germany (Click here), and Amazon Japan (Click here).
4) Black E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Amazon Deutschland (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
5) Silver E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), BHphoto (Click here), Jessops (Click here), Amazon Deutschland (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).
6) FL-600R wireless flash at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
7) MMF-3 Four Thirds adapter at
Amazon (Click here) and Adorama (Click here).
8) HLD-6 power battery holder at
Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and Amazon Japan (Click here).

Image courtesy Photozone.

Those guys from Samyang are my favorites! They have a history of extremely well made lenses for a very low price. And I was pretty sure that their first Micro Four Thirds lens, the 7.5mm f/3.5 would have a decent image quality. While I am by no mean a Fisheye fan at least they really designed that lens for the m43 sensor! Unlike Sigma that in order to save costs designed the 30mm f/2.8 for m43 and NEX and the result is a big and slow lens :(

So it that lens really good? There is now a full review at Photozone (Click here): “the dwarfish and very light-weight Samyang is not only a pretty good lens it is also a very affordable one and as such we can recommend it to all ultra-wide angle enthusiasts out there!“. And the lens gets “highly recommended” which doesn’t happen very often! Go Samyang! Make more lenses like this! ;)

Now to buy this lens you have to keep in mind that the name changes depending from the country:
In USA it’s named Rokinon 7.5mm and you find it on [shoplink 29105 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink], Amazon (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
In Europe it’s named Samyang 7.5mm and you find it on [shoplink 29106 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink], Amazon (Click here),
In UK it’s named Walimex and you find it on [shoplink 29109 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and Amazon UK (Click here).

Same non sense goes with all very nice Four Thirds lenses. Just click on the name to see Olympus four thirds lenses: [shoplink 20647 ebay]Samyang [/shoplink], [shoplink 20684 ebay]Walimex [/shoplink], [shoplink 20649 ebay]Rokinon [/shoplink], [shoplink 20650 ebay]Opteka [/shoplink], [shoplink 20651 ebay]Falcon [/shoplink], [shoplink 20653 ebay]Vivitar [/shoplink] and[shoplink 20652 ebay]Bower [/shoplink].