Rick's Olympus Images
- Thread starter Rick M
- Start date
I am predicting this will be a best seller. Great shot!
Thanks Carroll!!
Okay, I realize I'm incredibly late in finding this thread, but I honestly didn't even know it existed until recently. Rick, good stuff! My first DSLR was the Oly E-500, followed up by the E-3 and then the E-M5. The E-500 was good. The E-3 was fantastic. I bashed the hell out of that thing on rocks, trees, cobblestones, etc. I also loved that I could walk around in the pouring rain and not give any thought to protecting the camera. All I used was the Zuiko 12-60 and 50-200, both of which were excellent lenses. My problem with the E-3 is that it simply couldn't handle my typical outdoor shooting conditions. I'd either have blown out highlights or really dark shadowy areas w/out detail. And then I tried the E-M5, having bought into all the hype surrounding the new sensor. Focusing was pretty bad with my big Zuikos, so I sold those and got a couple of the m4/3rds lenses. Really liked the camera, although I had to get the full grip for it because I just couldn't hold onto it otherwise. Anyway, the reason I'm posting this in reply to your statement above, is because I found the opposite to be true with the E-M5. If I tried to push sharpness even a little, I ended up with really weird blotchy patterns all over the place. Extremely visible on a person's skin. That, and I was seeing visible noise/grain in the sky at base ISO. I really, really wanted it to work, but threw in the towel the day the D600 was announced. From my experience editing thousands of Oly E-M5 photos, I can easily say the D600 is many magnitudes better in the PP department (I only shoot RAW). This I know because I visit a lot of the same national parks each year, always with a camera in tow, which means many of the same shots from year to year with different equipment.
After my last trip, I've started looking around for a smaller system of really good quality specifically for overseas trips. Everything I've looked at will be a huge step down, but I keep coming back to the idea of the E-M1, or even the E-M5 II. Either one would be used with the 12-40. BUT, I have also downloaded a number of raw files and hundreds of full size jpgs to give me an idea on the difference, if any, between these and the E-M5 I had. A lot of the pictures are still showing me noise/grain at base ISO, which is what I would be shooting the majority of the time. Is it just me? You've posted up some wonderful photos, and I've only been able to see some noise/artifacts in a couple of them. That's the thing that keeps eating at me: I can find brilliant photos without a trace of noise or strange artifacts, but I can also find those that have them. Since you have obviously been shooting successfully with your E-M1, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Since that post and many images, I'm finding similar results as you have mentioned in the noise area. As far as highlights, using an ISO of 200 as a base has actually helped in PP, I could have done that with Nikon and had more latitude in post. It really comes down to the quality of the individual shot. The m4/3 sensor is a very close second to Nikon Dx, but obviously you'll get superior results with the D600 and above. Larger sensors will always be more forgiving. Form factor won me over and I really like the 2x crop for wildlife, the increased DoF is a benefit too (or a curse for some). The smaller 2.8 pro zooms are fantastic. On the negative side, Oly is still using 3 year old sensors, I think the next generation will be a huge step forward. I'm considering the EM 5 Mk II which has a 40 mp high resolution mode, for still life only, but it holds it's own against the D810 in that area.
I wouldn't jump back in until the EM 1 II shows up with a newer sensor (we are hoping for next year). I knew what I could do lugging 10 lbs of Nikon gear (excellent IQ), the challenge is can I do the same with 5 lbs of Olympus? Not exactly but I'm having more fun, hiking is more enjoyable.
One thing I miss is the corner to corner sharpness at all apertures. The interesting thing that also pushed me to the D600 was the fact that the body is lighter and smaller than the E-3. I figured gaining a big, fat sensor for less weight and bulk was pretty impressive.
Yeah, I pretty much agree about waiting. The true constant with Oly bodies is that they plummet in price fairly fast, more so when new bodies are released. The E-M5 is at $499, the E-M5 II at $899 and the E-M1 at $999. Pretty good pricing at the moment. The E-M1 II would be interesting, but knowing Olympus, it will have the same sensor with all the bells and whistles off the E-M5 II. Unless the rumor floating around about a new 4/3rds BSI sensor is true & Oly winds up using that in the next release. One of my favorite features from the E-M5 was the live bulb that allowed one to physically see the progress being made of a long exposure. Everyone should have that. I also think everyone should have some form of handheld twilight like Oly and Sony do. At this point, I think I'll just throw in the towel and play the waiting game. Maybe finally pick up that Tamron 24-70 I've been wanting to finally complete my needs.
The Tamron is an excellent lens! A lot of my images are 3 exposure HDR's, tone-mapping really cranks up any noise present. The cleanest shots are single exposures. I think if they try to put the same sensor in the next EM-1 they will lose a lot of followers. They will be announcing the EM 10 II soon, but as the entry model, it's not expected to bring anything new. The sensor shift is promising and they are working on handheld high res for the EM 1 II, that with a newer sensor would keep me happy for a long time
. If that doesn't happen, I may jump back into Nikon as a second system, hopefully they will have a mirrorless Dx or Fx by then. The huge benefit is not lugging a big tripod around to offset mirror slap.
I wonder if the Sony A6000 sensor is a bit more "noise free" than the Oly???The Tamron is an excellent lens! A lot of my images are 3 exposure HDR's, tone-mapping really cranks up any noise present. The cleanest shots are single exposures. I think if they try to put the same sensor in the next EM-1 they will lose a lot of followers. They will be announcing the EM 10 II soon, but as the entry model, it's not expected to bring anything new. The sensor shift is promising and they are working on handheld high res for the EM 1 II, that with a newer sensor would keep me happy for a long time
As much as I'd like to go lighter, I've got the best lenses to play with and I might miss that a lot.
Well, as they say, nothing is perfect, is it?
I wonder if the Sony A6000 sensor is a bit more "noise free" than the Oly???
As much as I'd like to go lighter, I've got the best lenses to play with and I might miss that a lot.
Well, as they say, nothing is perfect, is it?
I tried out the Sony Nex-5n for about 6 months back when it was released. The kit zoom was absolutely awful. The 16mp sensor was stellar, as is the Sony 24mp sensor in the a6000 now. Problem is, the only lens I would put on one is a prime, and that is not my idea of a versatile travel kit. The zooms available are simply not up to par. If they would at least bring out some fast standard zooms, I think they'd make a lot of people happy/ier.
"Out west" where?
We are going to Mt. Rushmore and The Badlands in August. I hope to have the EM 5 mk II by then for the 64 mp high resolution mode, Should make for some huge panos!
So I just picked up the EM-5 Mark II, check out the thread "My new baby". Loving the high res mode!