New E-M5 reviews roundup and a black Olympus lens rendering.
M43.eu posted a self made black verison picture of the 12mm, 45mm and 75mm Black lenses.
It’s time for a short E-M5 recap:
E-M5 review at Digitalphotographyschool. E-M5 Ibis issues described by a user at Dpreview forum. E-M5 and Lightroom 4.1 expsoure article by Pekka Potka. On Assignment with the E-M5 by Giulio Scorio. Some thoughts on the OM-D by Soundimagesplus. E-M5 with 7-14mm Panasonic lens by Soundimagesplus and with Leica 14-150mm (here on eBay) again at Soundimagesplus. Full E-M5 review at Focus Numerique (Translation here).
New E-m5 and new lens (pre)orders:
E-M5 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.
Olympus 75mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon Germany and Amazon UK.
Panasonic 12-35mm X lens at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.
P.S.: I am out the full day. Don’t think I will have Intenret at 3.000mt where I will go now.
mooboy
12 months ago |I know should be more focused on how images from a lens look and not how the lens itself looks, but damn that black 12mm is easy on the eyes.
duy
12 months ago |agree =))
mpgxsvcd
12 months ago |Nice! That lens is damn sexy.
Giulio Sciorio
12 months ago |It does look good but its the optics that matter most to me and I don’t want to purchase another $90 lens hood.
duy
12 months ago |I am going save $$$ for that black lens, so beautiful!!!!!!!!!!
Izumi
12 months ago |A black coating on the glass would look really nice, too.
I guess I could buy a blue (or even another colour!) rubber band to put around the lens to really personalise it as well. Like SLR Magic does.
Ottoh – I could start to get a little bit excited about all this.
mooboy
12 months ago |Ottoh?
Oh toh toh toh?
Ma ma ma ma?
(For those needing context, look up the Japanese Tradition guide to eating sushi on Youtube)
Thomas
12 months ago |I would love to have that black 12/2.0 lens! Those with a black GH2 will understand why…
physica
12 months ago |If the black lens rumor is true , then oly is going right , the rendering is looking so good , hope the real product is the same or better:)
sneye
12 months ago |How can it be better?
Adriaantie
12 months ago |F1.4/F1.2 etc.
physica
12 months ago |The word “better” is just regarding to the BLACK OUTLOOK ONLY, the above picture is not a true produce shot , is just a virtual rendering……don’t think too much !
Mark
12 months ago |I miss the bleu ring (M.)Zuiko lenses always have.
I have the 12mm and it’s a great lens. Even if it’s a silver one on a black E-PL1 body it’s absolutely a beauty. Even people with no photography interest see that its a high quality lens.
lnqo-M
12 months ago |Well, image is maybe fake, i think the will be blue ring on this black lens too.
Pedro del Río
12 months ago |No blue ring? No blue ring no buy! How can one even think of shooting pictures with a de-blueringed Zuiko lense?
monkp
12 months ago |lol … silver ring is well known for 4/3 SHG standard lens … personally I wouldn’t mind about that XD
mooboy
12 months ago |Probably in another year – they’ll do black lenses with a blue ring and you’ll have to replace your lenses again
Don’t forget these are just unofficial mock-ups – but personally I like the silver ring on them.
Paulus
12 months ago |It finally sunk in!
I will buy the black 12mm/f2.0 and the black 75mm/f1.8.
Probably I will sell my silver 45mm/f1.8 and buy the black one.
OLYMPUS: Add weather sealing (+ $100) and a black lens hood ($50) for each lens and you are done.
If there would be a 17mm/f1.4 at photokina …
MrKal_El
12 months ago |Hell Yes to adding weather sealing…If that happens I would def sell my Silver’s…
Admin…Poll for that please!
physica
12 months ago |Yes….. we want more Water Resist lens. Only 12-50 is not enough…. I didn’t mind to paid a 100-200 more for the water resist capable lens.
FT1 - probably fake rumor
12 months ago |Forget your gloomy view!
Olympus marketing specialists made a very innovative study among owners of black E-M5s. Now they are quite sure that people who buy black camera bodies could also bid for black lenses.
The result of this study is very surprising said an Olympus spokesman in an exclusive press conference in Tokyo. Since the launch of the OM-1 in the year 1972/73 there was never seen such a fancy trend in customer behavior.
“We do not want to jump at conclusions but we believe it was a serious mistake to launch black E-M5 camera bodies at all. Now we created a special sales promotion to limit the damage. Customers who bought a black E-M5 will get an original Olympus signed silver spray future proof design update kit. Slogan: firmware updates are fine, silver graffiti is better!”
bbking
12 months ago |The thing about the DPreview thread is that some people have encountered a blurred image. As if the sensor moved when it wasn’t supposed to or over compensated.
I guess this CAN happen, but it’s not a fault. The programming for it (IBIS) is pretty damn good and so re-write it for those particular instances is just asking for too much.
There isn’t a known instance a user has come up with to say when it’ll fault. It just happens sometimes.
Anonymous
12 months ago |the black version of the 12mm looks smokin hot! however, the 45mm looks better in silver..
Ben
12 months ago |I had an IBIS problem with my E-M5: whenever it was engaged, the sensor would jump to the extreme left of its movement area and stay there. The onscreen image also jumped (of course), making composition difficult.
If I turned on only vertical IBIS (or turned IBIS off altogether), the sensor stopped jumping–which makes me think there was a problem with the horizontal movement sensor.
This happened with all of my lenses, and even without a lens attached to the body. You can see the behavior in these YouTube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LaE0MjOAcI&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Oto3-mkWqU&feature=plcp
It was intermittent at first but became constant over several days. I contacted Olympus and they asked me to send the unit in for repair.
Luckily, my vendor (a local shop) still had a few kits sitting in their warehouse and were nice enough to exchange the body even though I was well past their return period.
I haven’t read of anyone else having this particular issue.
bbking
12 months ago |Very interesting. Now THAT is a fault. You were able to replicate it in known settings and conditions more than once.
How did the photos turn out? Were there any affected areas?
Ross
12 months ago |There have been the odd one with this problem, but Oly are quick to resolve anybody’s issue with it (usually replaced by supplier), but I wouldn’t lose any sleep over this issue knowing there is a 2 year warranty with this camera.
Bob B.
12 months ago |I have other OM-D issues..my camera’s included Flash Unit and the RC Flash functions in the camera punked out on me… so I have to send it off to Olympus for who knows how long. I think it has something to do with the accessory port not the flash contact at the top of the camera.
Has anyone else had this issue?????
Ross
12 months ago |That sounds odd. I hope it is resolved quickly. Mine worked OK, but I haven’t used that function on a regular basis (yet). Hopefully the contacts in the camera are OK & all they have to do is replace the flash unit. I assume all the settings & channels are set correctly?
Bob B.
12 months ago |I was just sitting in my living room with two 300R flashes (one on Channel A, one on Channel B), and the little unit that comes with the camera. All the flashes were on TTL.I was just doing some testing and just trying to get in the RC groove (I am a very experience photographer…but obviously the OM is new to me)…everything was working fine…All the flashes were firing as expecting and I was just fine tuning the output from each strobe to get the results I wanted. (its VERY COOL!). I went into the RC menu and adjusted the output on the A Channel to lower it a little bit and after that there was no more firing. The camera acknowledges that the flash is on the camera but it will not fire. Also…none of the RC capabilities of the camera work any more either. I suspect that it has something to do with the port, not the hot shoe. The small strobe plugs into the port and only has one contact for the hot shoe. The 300R’s do not plug into the port and have 4 or 5 contact for the hot shoe.
If I put the 300R on the camera it fires and works fine….but they will not fire remotely using the RC function.
I have really taken care of the camera and it has not gotten wet or bumped etc. Sound like some kind of short out in that port….dunno….I am going to call tech support tomorrow. I am pretty sure I will have to send the camera in for repair.
bbking
12 months ago |“The small strobe plugs into the port and only has one contact for the hot shoe. ”
Just so you know, the little included one (FL-LM2) doesn’t have any hot shoe contacts and only communicates through the port. The little plug is just to keep it in place.
You’ll notice that when you press the side unlock button, it will move up/down.
” I suspect that it has something to do with the port, not the hot shoe.”
So you can guarantee it’s the port or flash unit, not the hot shoe.
EDIT: If you have access to another flash unit, try that. I’m going to guess (unfortunately) that there was a short circuit on the mainboard. Maybe go to your local store or friend to test another flash?
Bob B.
12 months ago |bb…thanks for the info. I thought the pin was a contact as it was metal. You are correct. At least I found someone with the same issue, Nik below. Seem like the flash may be the extent of the problem. I was under the impression that the camera sent out the RC signal to remotes. I guess it it the on camera strobe that does this? Can’t find any detailed info about using the OM-D with remotes and how they function.
mooboy
12 months ago |Hmmm… I got the new FL-600R flash and was using it in rc mode (using OM-D kit flash as commander) about 2 weeks ago. First time I was using it – and halfway through it suddenly stopped working. I thought maybe just unreliable IR so switched to radio triggers and all worked. I’ll have to try it again tonight when I get home.
Speaking of FL-600R, has anyone else played with it much? So far impressions are:
- Love the size – doesn’t look too monstrous on a m43 body
- Hate slaves modes – always pulses the video LED when in any sort of slave or RC mode (has anyone else encountered this or know how to disable it without using duct tape?)
- Annoyed by lack of terminal sync port for using with radio triggers.
Regarding last point, you need triggers that have hot shoes. I’ve tried with 2 types:
- Phottix Atlas (works fine)
- Yongnuo 301s (works maybe 5% of the time – and this is definitely flash/hotshoe issue – not the unreliable radio interface)
Anyone tried it with other triggers? I wanted it to work with the CTR-301s as their much smaller and lighter than the atlases.
Bob B.
12 months ago |mooboy…if you read my response up above to Ross…I explain the situation with my camera. Sounds like your small, included flash died too. Were you able to revive it or figure out the problem????????
Bob B.
12 months ago |I guess that the problem could just be the the small strobe is malfunctioning. Other than the flash issues the camera works fine.
Rik
12 months ago |Bob: mine did the same thing. It was just a problem with the FL-LM2. Just order a new one of those and send back your old one. No need to send back the E-M5.
Bob B.
12 months ago |Rik Thanks so much fot the post. That is great…I thought the camera had to go. I will call customer support today and hopefully I can keep the camera. I guess that the FL-LM2 sends out the RC signal to the other strobes? , not the camera?
Obviously there is a serious problem with the FL-LM2 flashes. I wonder how widespread this is.?
mooboy
12 months ago |Hi Bob,
I got home and tried again.. Everything is working on mine, but, after your story and my experience last time, think I will monitor it carefully.
One thing I do find is the ttl is way underexposed. Not sure if this is my error, but not as impressed as I am with the Nikon ttl. Maybe I have a wrong setting somewhere.
Good luck getting just flash replaced
bbking
12 months ago |I’d suggest to reset the camera and see if the flash works. Does the strobe fire at all now?
When in RC mode, all you can do is control the settings of external flashes wirelessly. It doesn’t actually trigger them to fire.
What triggers them is the flash on the body, which is why the wireless flashes need to be within range ( http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/download/manual/omd/man_em5_e.pdf page 97).
This got me the first time I used it. I thought RC meant everything was controlled by the body, even the firing but it’s not the case. You can just control the settings of other flashes.
This is also why when the body is in RC mode and there aren’t any other wireless flashes, the photo will be under exposed. The flash is only strong enough to trigger wireless flashes. Apparently infra red isn’t fast enough for wireless flash photography.
Adriaantie
12 months ago |I have also problems with the is. It causes unsharp foto’s.