There is no Olympus X-E1 :)
Not only the E-M5 sensor but also the EVF is very good according to LL.
Good Morning!
Let’s start the week by pointing out an error: Got many emails from readers because Luminus Landscape wrote that they tested an “Olympus X-E1“. Actually the camera they are talking about is the Fuji X-E1 
There is one small interesting info within that article that reviews the new A99 FF camera. They write that “in the EVF category we thought that the Olympus was superior in terms of clarity and refresh rate“. So it’s superior to the $2800 new Sony A99 Full Frame viewfinder. This is just to say that resolution (where the A99 is better) is not the only measure to take into the account when talking about electronic viewfinders quality.
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E-M5 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.
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E-M5 Case:
There is the official CS-36FBC Olympus case. A leather half case from Hong Kong. A full leather case with strap from Cina. Than we have half cases from two well known producers, Zelenpol, Kaza and Gariz.
E-M5 Batteries, and other things:
The Olympus GS-4 strap and the DSTE E-M5 batteries you have to use with an extra charger. There is an E-M5 car charger a new E-M5 LCD screen and a Front Cover+ Top Panel.
kesztió
8 months ago |A really important parameter is the magnification, which is at least as important as the resolution, clarity and refresh rate, and where the Olympus lags behind both – even older – Panasonic and Sony cameras.
Cannot understand why everybody ignores this aspect…
Napilopez
8 months ago |I agree with this assessment, and I don’t just mean that as a fanboy. My experience with the NEX-7 viewfinder is though the size is wonderful, you can barely notice the extra resolution because details seem to be crushed by being too contrasty, something that affects a lot of OLED displays. The fast refresh rate mode is really nice.
mahler
8 months ago |I disagree. Coming from the high magnification EVFs of GH1 and GH2, I would say that the EVF of the E-M5 is in practical use better, because it is clearer, gives better color, a more steady image with less flicker and moire, and is better for glass wearers. Depending on the EVF style you choose, the EVF finder image isn’t so much smaller than that of the GH2.
Currently, the E-M5 finder is the most “analogue like” EVF you can find in a mirrorless system camera.
Peet
8 months ago |It is the same again and again and again……
Don’t count just the pixel/points/dots/PS/KW, that is only one part of the truth!
Peet
8 months ago |Again, Olympus is much better than testcharts make believe, it is a good way and more and more people realize it – if they want to take great pictures instead of sitting in front of a computer.
Simon
8 months ago |I’ve had major problems using the EVFs of NEX 6 and NEX 7 in dimly lit areas/in the evenings. The contrast is way too high and hurt my eyes. In this respect I found the OM-D and Fuji EVFs much more usable and ergonomic.
DingieM
8 months ago |Any chance of new long-range zoom from Olympus? They gave us the 12mm, 45mm, 60mm macro, 75mm portrait…so where is the xxxmm zoom (>=150mm)?
Yun
8 months ago |DingieM is right .
I also want to know if Oly have plan to come up even longer tele prime lens such as 150mm .
If yes , please ensure the lens should equal to 4/3 in term of image quality .
I still not comfortable with Pana’s incoming new 150mm F2.8 , for me it should in F2.0 .
DonTom
8 months ago |@Yun, what would you use such a lens for? Most long, fast lenses are used for sports and wildlife photography. The CDAF systems on the current m43 cameras are not good for this, but a long fast lens would need AF motors optimised for CDAF to perform at all. That might sound acceptable, BUT:
What happens when m43 cameras are introduced with PDAF on sensor, or via some other technology? The very expensive, CDAF optimised tele lens you just bought won’t AF quickly, because it has CDAF optimised motors!
We’ll get long fast glass when we get a dual CD & PD AF camera, not before.
If you need a long fast lens for sports or wildlife, you’ll need to wait, or buy a DSLR in the meantime.
DingieM
8 months ago |A good quality 40-200mm with F2.8-F4 would be quite nice for me, and I guess would be in line with the latest high quality m4/3 lenses from Olympus.
Is 14-200mm f2.8-f4.0 even possible when keeping the size down?
Nawaf
8 months ago |I’d be happy with 100-200 F4 weather sealed lens with good optics.
Bart
8 months ago |Being f4 at 200mm will result in requiring a front element of at least 50mm, and for a zoom usually larger. The minimum diameter is a direct consequence of the focal length and relative aperture, and hence no amount of technology can change this, the only thing that can change this is a slower aperture, so, with such specs you will by definition end up with a lens with a substantial diameter.
With that kind of range, keeping it small in length will seriously compromise optics, through this gets better as technology improves.
So no, such a lens cannot be small.
Bart
8 months ago |Events, concerts, theater, close-ups of features in a landscape that are impossible to walk to, birds and wildlife in general etc.
Long lenses really have many more uses then sports.
Also, both the 100-300mm Lumix and the 75-300mm Olympus m4/3 lenses may have a way too slow aperture for some uses maybe, but the AF speed of either lens tend to work fine for such applications as I mentioned above.
Dummy00001
8 months ago |It’s the same EVF as in the NEX-7 I presume.
The quote from LL mirrors pretty much all other user opinions I have read on the EVF of the NEX-7 and the A77(?):
“I was not happy using the A99′s EVF in either bright sunlight or dim forest glens.”
Sony has simply rushed the half baked tech in order to claim highest EVF resolution (and AMOLEDness). (I sincerely hope we are not into another MP race – this time for EVFs.)
GeorgeTA
8 months ago |Every major review site I have read regarding the Sony NEX 7 EVF has been suitably impressed with it, I trust their experienced judgement a great deal more than random posts by folk who have probably never used it.
DPreview
■Excellent 2.4 million-dot OLED EVF in compact, slimline body
Imaging Resource
•New OLED TruFinder is best EVF we’ve seen to date ◦Very large, spacious view
◦Extreme resolution
◦Holds highlight detail better than most
DC resource
Gorgeous OLED electronic viewfinder
photographyblog
excellent built-in viewfinder,
mahler
8 months ago |Excellent does not mean best.
GeorgeTA
8 months ago |@admin, Where does scouring the net to find any positive statements { including from folk like Robin Wong who are almost shills of Olympus} made regarding Olympus { seldom Panasonic, mmm do I smell an Olympus fanboy lol} fit into a rumour site whose reason for existing is to find out information about upcoming mFT products which I much appreciate. I am a happy mFT user both Olympus and Panasonic but I do not need to have a constant pat on the head for choosing what I have. The non tested opinions of one person who is sproutiong little more than an opinion based on minimal contact with said cameras. I love the E-M5 EVF and it works for me verry well , though I have used my friends Sony NEX 7 and the extra detail in the EVF is very clear and an advanatge for very critical manual focus.
We are lucky to be in a time when the photographioc choice has never been better but I do tire with the childish mines is better than yours attitudes of too many posters here.Which I feel are encourged by this type of random posts
mahler
8 months ago |Michael Reichmann has shot with the NEX 7 extensively and to a lesser degree also with the E-M5. So he knows both cameras well enough.
Regarding my own experiences, I can only second his findings: the E-M5 finder is much better in practical use.
AdventureRob
8 months ago |The Sony EVF is generally rated the best (I don’t know if the A99 is different being full frame, so I’ll refer to the NEX and other alpha range here) because of its resolution. But I much preferred the Olympus one. It took a while to work out why, but I think it’s because the Sony one is so small. It’s in a cropped format compared to Olympus’ 4:3 format which is much larger and therefore nicer to look at. I was surprised after that as to why the Sony is rated so high. Yes it’s the technically best, but to get a large viewfinder on a small camera is a benefit of having a EVF so I don’t know why Sony skimped on the magnification when they have such a technical beast of a EVF.
mahler
8 months ago |The NEX 7 view finder is in my opinion overrated. It has higher resolution than the E-M5 finder, but its experience in real practice is much worse. The E-M5 finder gives a clear, flickerfree image at most working conditions, whereas the NEX 7 finder shows a lot of moire and flicker in areas of fine detail, which is very disturbing. Much less usable than the E-M5 finder.