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Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III


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Hi there,

 Thinking of buying the Olympus camera, need some help re how good is it as I keep reading different things about sensors, as you may gather I know nothing about the techie details, so some help would be most appreciated .

Thanks

 

Janet

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I shoot with a Canon 1D MKIV and an Olympus OM-D E-M1.  Love my Canon but  now use my Olympus more often, lighter than my 1D and very little difference in image quality.  See if you can tell which of my photos where done with my Canon and which where shot with my Olympus. 

 

I did have some reservations about the smaller Olympus  sensor, but image quality is superior to my Canon 7D, and competes with my 1D Mark IV.

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The Olympus and Panasonic models have a different shaped sensor from the APS-c and full frame digital cameras. It is still rectangular but definitely not so long and thin.  This goes back to the attempt to launch the so-called IDEAL format as a more useful frame back in the days of film. So a little thought about how you shoot photos might be an idea. Personally, I always liked the move towards the squatter format but it's not a huge issue.

 

Technically, a sensor closer to a square would mean that the circular lens coverage would be a little smaller and so the lenses could be a little smaller and lighter. Every little helps as the late Sir Terry Wogan used to chant on behalf of Tesco

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Thank you both. Still lots to think about as I use an entry level Nikon D3200 at the moment.

Perhaps I should have proper look in a camera shop and see how it feels, when I'm not working (dodgy hours).

Still learning loads from the forum.

Janet

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I used to have an OM-D E-M5 and EPL5 with older sensors than the E-M10 of any version...it was excellent...I'd say I liked those images more than the ones from my Fujis...I eventually went back to full frame for better focussing systems and dual card slots as I was starting to do weddings.....I'd have no hesitation if you like the small form factor.

Best Olympus lenses in my opinion was the 45mm and 75 mm primes....the zooms are pretty good too even the ones that come with the kit. Other great lens choices are the Panasonic 20mm and the Leica/panasonic 25mm f1.4 (excellent)

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I've shoot with M4/3 since 2013.  Low light capabilities of full frame cameras will also beat those with smaller sensors but you will be hard pushed to find a difference between M4/3 and most cameras with APS sensors.  Pair the EM10 with the Olympus 12-40 f/2.8 lens and you will have a nice portable kit - add in maybe a 17mm f/1.8 and 45mm f/1.8 primes and you have reasonable low light performance .  I use an EM1 as the ergonomics are better than the smaller body on the EM10.  

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Wow, thanks for the advice, it's really confusing but I think I need some time to get my head round it all.

Are there any site that compare the sensor size as it's that my senior head can't work out.

 

Thanks

 

Janet

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I bought an Olympus OM-D, E-M1 MkII, but I did have some reservations about image quality.  I'm pretty happy with the Olympus.  I love the image stabilization system.  I do have to warn you about high ISO capabilities.  I don't shoot anything over ISO 320 because of the digital noise.  But, with the image stabilization I can shoot hand held down to 1/20th sec and hardly ever shoot over ISO 250.

 

For me, it is a camera for good light.  If I have to shoot higher ISO's I use a different camera or don't take the shot.  But the Oly goes with me every where.

 

Rick

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12 hours ago, Rick Lewis said:

I bought an Olympus OM-D, E-M1 MkII, but I did have some reservations about image quality.  I'm pretty happy with the Olympus.  I love the image stabilization system.  I do have to warn you about high ISO capabilities.  I don't shoot anything over ISO 320 because of the digital noise.  But, with the image stabilization I can shoot hand held down to 1/20th sec and hardly ever shoot over ISO 250.

 

For me, it is a camera for good light.  If I have to shoot higher ISO's I use a different camera or don't take the shot.  But the Oly goes with me every where.

 

Rick

Surprised to read you never shoot above ISO 320, a good number of my shots  with my Olympus are done above, some way above ISO 320. My night shots are done at ISO 1250 at 1\15 second, hand held.

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9 hours ago, phomme said:

Surprised to read you never shoot above ISO 320, a good number of my shots  with my Olympus are done above, some way above ISO 320. My night shots are done at ISO 1250 at 1\15 second, hand held.

 

I've found shadow noise creeps in, sometimes very heavily, at around 400 ISO and definitely by 800 ISO.  The software can remove most of it but sometimes it looks a little mushy.  Perfectly exposed images with little to no shadows are a different matter but I don't usually get that lucky.  It's just a function of the much smaller sensor but I really haven't found too many limitations because of it.

 

I like to see a little detail in the shadows, (comes from PPA competitions),  and bringing up the shadows is where the problem exists.  At least that is my experience.  The beauty of the camera is that wonderful IBIS.  I'm rarely over 250 ISO because I can hand hold the little gem to about 1/20th sec.  :D

 

Rick

 

Edit:  Forgot to mention, I hate QC failures so I over compensate, on occasion.  :-) 

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I love my OMD E-1. So light and even with the non-pro lenses I first purchased, the 17mm f/1.8,  25mm f/1.8 and the inexpensive, super light 40-150mm zoom, I'm very happy with the quality. I took the camera, brand new, along with my Nikon D700 and the incredibly sharp Nikon 20mm prime, to the Grand Canyon for and could not tell the difference until pixel peeping at 200% and even then it was tough - and I mostly used the inexpensive 40-150mm zoom (not the pro version) on the Olympus compared to the Nikon's super sharp 20mm prime. 

 

I found the lack of noise and the sharpness even with inexpensive lenses on the Olympus to be better than my backup Nikon D5100, so you will love it compared to the D3200 especially as the newer cameras like the latest M-5 are a bit better for noise reduction from what I've read. 

 

I just sold off all my Nikons (except for a couple of prime lenses) and bought a Sony A7Rii so I could have a mirrorless full frame option. The Olympus is better suited to cold weather than the Sony (whose screen can shut off below 32 F) so despite my new Sony, I have the 12-40mm f/2.8 pro lens on order as I plan to use both cameras for travel, with the Sony at night if I'm not carting around a tripod - low light is the one place where the Olympus can let you down if you don't nail the exposure - but I'm comparing it to the D700, one of the best low light cameras ever. As I said, it beats the D5100 hands down. I think the build quality of the Olympus camera is excellent. And the IBIS is better than the IBIS on the Sony I think - I can shoot as slow as 1/8th of a second hand held with the 17mm lens. I found I needed to shoot a bit faster with the Sony which is marginally bigger - maybe because the glass is heavier than what I have on the Olympus, but still the IBIS on the Olympus is great. I also found that I got gorgeous bokeh using my legacy Olympus lenses with an adapter on the MFT camera. 

 

I've shot some nice photos as high as ISO 1600 but they were action shots and perfectly exposed. I wouldn't shoot a landscape at that ISO. I got some great night photos in the Valley of Fire out in Arizona with the Olympus, but I used a small lightweight travel tripod and shot at lower ISOs.

 

Mirrorless will also save your back! I bought my daughter a D3100 when she took a digital photography class in college and I tried to get her to look at mirrorless options but she'd seen me shoot with Nikons for too long...I bought my Olympus a year or so later and after my Nikons have sat barely used for 3 years, I've sold them. 

 

Enjoy! Lots of sales deals out there too. 

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Hi Marinanne, 

Thank you so much for your very comprehensive and informative message. Almost made my mine up now and have a search around for a good deal.

Hope you get your daughter to go with the Olympics. 

Thanks again

Happy snapping

Janet 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Panasonic LUMIX mirrorless and Olympus can share lenses, so there are more options. I have the Panasonic LUMIX G7, have had no problems passing QC with high ISOs once processed in Lightroom. Just don’t buy the kit lens. 

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Hi, Janet,

Check out www.craigrobertsphotography.co.uk  Craig uses OM d EM1 and has advice on mirrorless on both his website and his E6 youtube channel. He shots for stock (G) , magazines etc, and has some very good vlogs.

Hope this helps,

Paul

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Hi Janet,

looking at your pictures -  as you dont shoot much at low light, the Olympus will work pretty well. I moved from a D800 & D300  to M10 I/II, now EM1II. Its easier to get sharp pictures, wider depth of field, and the stabilization works pretty well. Sensor cleaning better than on my Nikons. Lenses depend on your budget - all my Chile pictures here got shot with kit lenses (Panasonic 14-42, 45-150, rated slightly better than the Olympus ones, see dxomark.com). The 2.8/12-40 is tack sharp. Ephotozine has reviews of most lenses you may look for.

 

 

M10III - I would recommend the cheaper M10II, the III has no real benefits for still photography. M10III has a modified menu system, 4K video, both share 16 MP sensor and nice features like live-composite & focusstacking.

 

Andreas

 

 

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Hi there,

Thank you all for your advice.

Paul, will check out the website thanks

Andreas, yes I thought that there was not much difference between them and on a limited budget so cheaper is good.

Sally, will check out the Panasonic.

Happy Snapping

 

Janet

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