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Olympus E7 (1 Viewer)

Unfortunately not.
In the moment when Olympus worked on E-M1 there was a E-7 prototype too.
After they realized E-M1 is good as any DSLR, they canceled E-7.

So it is 100% sure that E-5 is the last DSLR from Olympus.

A new DSLR (E-7) does not make any sense because it does not support m4/3 lense, while E-M1 can suport both type of lenses.

I know EVF is different than OVF, but a mirrorless is able to do things wich an DSLR can't doo.
E-M1 is a very capable camera, better than E-5 and can replace it.
 
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thanks so much for the reply.

i got both EM-1 and E5 but i still like what i get from the E5 + Sigma 50-500mm combo.

fro some reason i have never tried the Bigma with the Em-1 although i got the adapter.

Oh well then i should wait for the long awaited 300mm m4/3 prime.
 
Hello,

I have both E5 and E-M1. I use them with 4/3 lenses and with third party MF lenses/refractor scope.

The E-M1 is a very nice camera however it does not really deliver the CAF performance I was hoping for. You can get photos with BIF in focus, but quite often it is "almost in focus" only. Attached are some samples of challenging subject (these Sand Martins are lightning fast), 50% crops of frames taken with EM-1 + 50-200SWD + EC14. Out of maybe 1000(!) shutter actuations I got around 10 keepers with focus in par with these ones.

The E5 performs a bit better in that respect I think. It is also much easier to use since the OVF does not introduce any delay, shooting with the EM1 is a bit rolling a dice and hoping that the subject is still in frame throughout the sequence (usually not the case).

Before investing into the upcoming 300 F/4 I (it will probably be expensive) I will wait until Olympus have released a successor to the EM1, a body with CAF system with confirmed performance.
 

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The E5 performs a bit better in that respect I think. It is also much easier to use since the OVF does not introduce any delay, shooting with the EM1 is a bit rolling a dice and hoping that the subject is still in frame throughout the sequence (usually not the case).

you have said here exactly what i could not express with my poor English.

yes the E5 never failed me, when the light is right always giving me the best details, with my old Sigma 50-500 mm that i use mainly MF.

i wish i can afford the 300mm f2.8 prime.

was not very excited about the expected m4/3 300mm f 4 until i tried the 40-150mm pro zoom and i got this, in my first shooting with it.

maybe i will keep on dreaming about another DSLR, one that have direct mount for m4/3 lenses.
 
ammadoux:
What a fantastic image of the Ruppell's Weaver! What struck me first was the amazingly perfect and intricate nest. I miss out on so many bird families by not traveling overseas.

Dave
 
Tord,

I have a different experience with E-M1 (with firmware 3.0 installed).
I do not use CAF, but using S-AF i was able to get shoots which I do not think I could get with E-5.
I shot swallows and had a very good rate of succes.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/27603562@N04/18740231099/in/dateposted/

Swallows are hard to be shot with any system. Your low rate of focused picture could be because of tehnique.

OVF is probably more confortable to be used for BIFs, but EVF also brought advantages : seeing the picture imediatelly in the EVF. And in some situations, E-M1 focus was more accurate than E-5.

For me the overall performance was in the favour of E-M1.

I also tested E-M1 with 50-200 swd + EC-20 which was faster than when I used it on E5.

It is important to know that 40-150mm F/2.8 focuses much faster than 50-200 SWD, and probably 300mm F/4.0 will be much faster too (and much better for C-AF).
So not only camera matters, also the lens.


-
 
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Hi Toni,

That Swallow is very nice. I notice that you are using the m4/3 40-150 lens, and I believe the EM1 AF performance with CDAF is very good. I only have 4/3 lenses myself, though.

Even though the EM1 is a very nice camera built on later technology and a sensor with higher resolution and much less noise I would pick the E5 over the EM1 if I had to select one camera body only for my 4/3 lenses and if AF performance is important. The E5 AF is snappier and more accurate in my opinion.

E5, 50-200 SWD F/4
 

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Hi Toni,
The E5 AF is snappier and more accurate in my opinion.

Hi Tord,

Yes, this is true, but only in good light.
In low light, E-M1 is a rocket, much faster than E-5.

Olympus recently released a new firmware and all OMD cameras got nice functions.
One of these functions are focus-stacking and focus-bracketing.
I found a page with macro photos made with these functions. I rarely do macro, but these photos are really impressive:

http://pen3.de/OMD_E-M10II/omd_e-m10ii.html
 
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E-M1 focusing accurracy?

Same subject, two single frames, same target (shoulder), one second in between frames. Got AF beep confirmation for each frame.

SAF, single point focus.
E-M1 300/2.8 + EC14
FW 3.1

At a first glance these pictures look good but they are not. Look close and you will see they are sharp but the first one is suffering from 2 cm front-focus whereas the second one is suffering from 3-4 cm back-focus.

I see this happening all the time. It's not a lens calibration issue. There is nothing wrong with the lens, when coupled with the right body (E5) or used in MF it delivers superb results.
 

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Might the focusing area be a bit on the large size?

Secondly, do you have the latest firmware update installed? it does allow (from what I have read about, do not have an oly camera myself) a focus bracketing mode, have you accidentally turned that on?

Niels
 
Might the focusing area be a bit on the large size?

Secondly, do you have the latest firmware update installed? it does allow (from what I have read about, do not have an oly camera myself) a focus bracketing mode, have you accidentally turned that on?

Niels
Niels,
Focusing area was AF single spot.
I was aiming at shoulder, a large area with contrasting elements, more or less parallel to the sensor plane so should not pose much of a challenge.

FW is updated to latest (3.1)

There is no focusing bracketing involved in this.

It's just that the EM1 AF is, how to say... not reliable. 2 times out of 3 I get back-focus, 1 time out of I get 3 front focus. Sometimes AF locks focus spot on, though this does not happen very often, less than 1 time out of 10.

This particular example shows how bad it can be. 3-4 cm out of focus is totally unacceptable at a shooting distance less than 10 meters. 1 cm OOF is bad enough to turn a great shot into a mediocre one.

Shame because the EM1 is such a great camera in many other aspects.

Luckily I still have my E5. The EM1 was purchased as a second body/backup to the E5, but is hardly used except in MF mode.

I should maybe have mentioned I don't own any m4/3 lenses.
 
Hi Tord,

Yes, this is true, but only in good light.
In low light, E-M1 is a rocket, much faster than E-5.

Olympus recently released a new firmware and all OMD cameras got nice functions.
One of these functions are focus-stacking and focus-bracketing.
I found a page with macro photos made with these functions. I rarely do macro, but these photos are really impressive:

http://pen3.de/OMD_E-M10II/omd_e-m10ii.html
Hi Katran,
These are nice photos indeed.

Though I disagree with you on the EM1 AF performing better than the E5. Have a look at my example with the Robin.
 
you have said here exactly what i could not express with my poor English.

yes the E5 never failed me, when the light is right always giving me the best details, with my old Sigma 50-500 mm that i use mainly MF.

i wish i can afford the 300mm f2.8 prime.

was not very excited about the expected m4/3 300mm f 4 until i tried the 40-150mm pro zoom and i got this, in my first shooting with it.

maybe i will keep on dreaming about another DSLR, one that have direct mount for m4/3 lenses.
Hi Ammadoux,
You will not be able to use m4/3 lenses with 4/3 bodies (I suppose this is what you mean with "DSLR"?) because of the flange distance.
 
Tord,

I agree - your 2 pics are not focused perfectly.
But maybe there was something wrong with that particular E-M1 body you had or maybe was just a matter of settings : number of active focus points, size of focus points.... (and I hope "S-AF priority" was OFF, otherwise you get pictures like this).
Everytime you get an Olympus camera, you have to disable the 2 options : S-AF priority and C-AF priority. In my opinion Olympus should disable and remove these 2 options from the menus because are useless. Nobody wants OOF pictures.

I hardly tested E-M1 for a few days with 50-200 SWD and 40-150 F/2.8 mft. The precision was better than E-5. I loved the sharpness and the precission of E-M1, and this was one of the reasons I said E-M1 is better than E-5.
And the focus system of E-M1 works different than the focus system of E-5.

As you said, E-5 has a liniar/constant good performance, expect in low-light where is mediocre.
E-M1 shines and is better in many areas: very nice precision, very fast, very good in low light, but it's not constant - I find it sometimes hesitating in focusing on the subject.

I will post too pictures later on.
 
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I promised to post some pictures with E-M1 and very fast flying birds.
When I had the E-M1 for testing, I decided that the best BIF for testing are the swallows.
Swallows are extremely fast, there is a challange to keep it in the frame.
I used E-M1 + 50-200 SWD + all focus points active.
I had very good rate of succesfull pictures. E-M1 performed incredbli weell, it sticked on the subject not on a background.
I have E5. In a similar situation, E5 will focus on the bacground.

So my pictures:
http://www.olympus-romania.ro/forum/attachments/p6140731.jpg
http://www.olympus-romania.ro/forum/attachments/p6140738.jpg
http://www.olympus-romania.ro/forum/attachments/p6140739.jpg
http://www.olympus-romania.ro/forum/attachments/p6140740.jpg
http://www.olympus-romania.ro/forum/attachments/p6140743.jpg
http://www.olympus-romania.ro/forum/attachments/p6140748.jpg
http://www.olympus-romania.ro/forum/attachments/p6140755.jpg

In the flickr I found a guy which has a lot of BIFs and swallows in flight, perfectly focused. Another proove that E-M1 does BIFs very well:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14869355@N07/

So i think it is only a matter of technique, settings, hand...etc, to get it done with E-M1.
 
Very nice. It helped to have had good light!
I am not sure yet, but it seems to me I get faster and more accurate focus on BiF against a background with the half-press/IS turned off. With it on, it picks up something in the background and stabilizes it, and the AF tries to lock on. Without half-press/IS on is seems to go with what you are following. I have a Myset configured for just this sort of situation with ISO 800, S-AF with my Canon 400/5.6, 7 FPS, and IS off all together. Here is a crappy sample of what I mean. Not much flying around here now, and the light is bad. I have been trying to shoot the crows flying back and forth but haven't had any luck. It kept focusing on the busy background or busy foreground. But with IS off I was at least able to get this. Difficult situation for any AF system.
PA284643.jpg

PA284643-2.jpg
 
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