Curiosity from John Brawley on Vimeo.
John Brawley posted that great Vimeo video you can see on top. And there is another Behind The Scenes video you can watch on Vimeo (Click here). And there is an overall E-M5II review on his blog at johnbrawley.wordpress.com. At the end he says:
Olympus are officially in the filmmaking game and this is only their first serious effort at making a camera with appeal to those of us that want our stills cameras to also shoot motion. Although the headline specs might not seem all that impressive compared to others at first glance, you should consider the total package and with their IS it starts to become a really interesting camera for certain applications. There’s certainly nothing else like it.
Now let’s see what Olympus will do with the E-M1II 😉
Preorders (if you preorder through those links you will support 43rumors…thanks!):
E-M5II in Black or Silver at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus. In Europe at Jessops, WexUK, Namencolor.
14-150mm II lens at Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
FL-LM3 Flash at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
Olympus ECG-2 External Metal Grip at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
Olympus HLD-6P Battery Grip at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
HLD-8g at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
E-P16 eyecup at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
HLD-8G and HLD-6P kit at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
Full leather case at Amazon, Adorama and GetOlympus.
Olympus PT-EP13 Underwater Housing at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 at Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
80 Responses
Until this camera was announced, many commentators on this forum told us that Olympus users do not shoot video and it was an unnecessary for the company to offer proper video to succeed.
A few of us have always said that video will enlarge the “tent” of potential users and combining the excellent IBIS and the fantastic lenses available, Olympus had the possibilities to break free from its niche market to become mainstream. I believe this is happening now and even if you are not shooting video, this will still be a positive for all of us.
Olympus did good!
Totally agree
“Olympus users do not shoot video”?
I never really read that personally, nut hey, video is always good as the video crowd will then also buy the camera.
The result is that Oly makes more money, R&D is sooner recovered and it then gets cheaper for all of us…
🙂
Actually there have been heated discussion on this site for the last two years on this issue. I do not want to waste your time, but if you are bored and have some time, have a look.
I agree with your analysis about R&D and equally important, the firm needs to show a profit in its camera business or senior management will cut its R&D.
There was another argument that Olympus does not need to make a profit in this as it is a “loss-leader” for other more successful division. This is also nonsense as no major company can sustain heavy losses without recourse from shareholders. Olympus is no exception.
Brawley achieved some impressive results. But he used a $10.000 lens, a seperate gimbal to smooth the movement and lots of color correction. I think that would give nice results on ANY camera body. The footage from testers on Bermuda with the kit lens are a lot less impressive. I think Olympus is on a good track but not there yet.
From what I would estimate the gimbal was only in use in 30% of the shots, the other 70% were Olympus IBIS.
Actually only 7 shots (listed above) were gimbal shots. All the other shots are hand held.
So I guess the question is, do you see yourself using this camera regularly, or was this just a promo shoot?
Hi. As I said in the article, this camera has earned a place on my sets. While I’m not going to shoot a whole series with one, I can imagine using it for certain shots, especially car interiors.
It’s very typical for me to carry a lot of cameras in a series. Recent show was
3 x Sony F55 (one was full time Steadicam)
2 x blackmagic 4K cameras
2 x blackmagic Pocket Cinema cameras
1 x blackmagic 2.5K cinema cameras
1 x blackmagic URSA
1 x Olympus E-M1
You didn’t read the blog OR watch the behind the scenes video. He made plenty of shots with several native lenses and handheld w/o gimbal. The fact that you didn’t notice says a lot about the value of your opinion. Colour grading counters your argument as pro’s colour grade for the best result.
He likely did read the blog because Brawley says that he used a gimbal for a few of the shots. He also notes that he likes this camera with a gimbal because the stabilization helps to smooth out even the gimbal’s movement.
The video is ultra smooth and doesn’t quite reflect what you see in other people’s video test shots with the camera. Its clear something more was used. Still a very impressive camera but this video is misleading
He didn’t read it properly considering his absolutist nonsense. The video isn’t misleading considering the blog introducing it… (duh). and the behind the scenes video which actually visually explain how each shot…was taken. Everything is explained and if you can’t pay attention that’s your fault
Why don’t you tone it down? You are not overly clever and that sort of arrogance simply does not fit.
As I mentioned earlier, the gimbal was only on 7 shots, and the $10000 lens was a set of Zeiss Superspeeds. They were only used on a few shots, mainly at the end. The entire first minute and really the majority of Curiosity was shot using Olympus lenses.
Thanks for clearing that up. I’m positively surprised with the results you got out of the camera and I think the review you wrote is very fair. Appreciate your effort.
Brawley is a privileged man having open doors to him 24/7 that very few get to have…..lucky him yawn…..
There’s a link to original files you will find lens and IS tests, and uncorrected footage from the short
The man has skills
Indeed
ready to suck his c*ck next??
Yeah John Brawley did a great job and the blog is very detailed and insightful.
Olympus: We’re still waiting for an E-M1 firmware update for video!
Kauas Creative did a couple of handheld videos:
https://vimeo.com/kauas
Yes, it does ‘good’ 1080p. But not great. And I cant go back to 1080p after experiencing 4k on the LX100!
The best part about 4K is the quality of the downsampled video and the possibility to zoom/pan/etc in pp. But yes, I really really want those options.
1080p is dead!
(unless its at 240+ fps 🙂 )
Wow… so 1080p is dead?? You bought the hype, huh dude. Companies love blind buyers, just like you. I can imagine how many 3d and 4k tvs you have at home.
HD acquisition is dead for those of us who have moved on. That’s not hype, just a fact. Try not to be so butthurt about it.
Thanks for the explanation, so it’s dead for you and your friend. BTW, I produce videos professionally and sold my GH4 to get another BMCC with really no regret. So in your math a GH4 is ahead of an Alexa and a Sony F35, after all, it’s 4K, what else matters?
Are you comparing the MKII to those cameras? Yes, the GH4 is better for those who cannot afford to shoot on an Alexa or F35 or don’t want to carry them around on massive sticks or rigs. The Alexa and F35 still have a DR advantage over the GH4, but not by much. I’m not impressed with the MKII DR at all. Nothing wrong with BMCC’s if you like to rig them up.
I have 2 4k monitors and one 4k TV. In fact 4k TV are under $1000, decent ones unless u are into curve TV. By mid and end of this year they will be even cheaper and majority of people will buy 4k. I fact most of my friends have 4k TV or planning to buy next TV as 4k.
Nobody cares about 3DTV though.
Maybe you should get into hype and start upgrading your stuff to new thing.
Also, it’s hard not to like 4k once you have seen it. Looks at some 4k video shot with GH4 and LX100 side by side with EM5 m2 on YouTube. Decide it for yourself what’s the future, what’s past and what’s hype.
The flexibility of 4K in post, be it to downsize (making it look better than standard 1080p), crop, zoom, pan or smooth is quite a set of powerful tools that just aren’t there for 1080p (unless you want to downsize your video to 720p or below). Also, being able to capture stills from 4K video is not a trivial feature either.
Understand that and agree. But… when you start cropping and zooming you kinda lose that (downsible) 4K advantage. Remember that you are still shooting 8-bit and IMO 1080p 12-bit raw is way more pleasant. Not to say that I love shooting old style. 🙂
While 4K would be really nice to have, it’s not a deal breaker. Most content you see isn’t shot using a 4K camera, nor is it displayed in 4K. Shooting a supersampled format just in case of the need for post stabilisation is the tail wagging the dog.
JB
Sometimes you want a happy tail wagging the dog as opposed a limp still shaggy dog. Why not have that option? You can always turn it off and use 1080. In the case of E-M1, why not enable at minimum the same 1080 options or better as the new E-M5 MII and improve IQ on the flagship model and save 4k for another day then? Everyone and their grandmother has been asking.
You mentioned Mad Max and Olympus. Olympus P5 cameras (as pure “crash” cameras) and E-M5 (as “semi-disposable” cameras). I’m sure these were used for probably for very specific shots where IQ was not the goal or stabilization was, underneath vehicles or other shots where additional IBIS stabilization would be helpful. There is a rotating shot at 1:30, fast shots at 1:34/35 on the latest trailer maybe as examples. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWNWi-ZWL3c
Actually here is the quote that qualifies “The crash cams provide extra cut-away POV angles during action sequences, the cutaways are short so you don’t notice the shortcomings in image quality.”
Also how long has that movie been in production and post? If the 4k GoPro was around or 5D Mark III, GH4 for example, then I assume the outcome may have been different? I’m sure by now they’ve re-shot some sequences also.
Yes you’re right. it’s a mix of cameras for certain kinds of shots. That was my point no ? 4K isn’t a deal breaker in those situations. Something that works for the shot is. I was told by crew that I know that worked on Fury Road that the canon’s were overheating and shutting down, hence the use of the Pen’s, even though they don’t even shoot at 24 FPS.
Tech specs are only part of the story.
JB
Yep your point and universal I guess (right tool for the right job). At the end of the day amazing stuff out of Olympus (IBIS/OMD package) + your creativity and others to kick-off what is possible for this particular tool.
Agree 4k not a deal-breaker for this model, improved 1080 IQ with IBIS combo along with other new features = nice little package.
Cheers.
Maybe it’s just me (ok, not maybe).
I have the LX100 also,and not being into it too much for now, but i stil prefer the overall “feel” that my EM-1 gives to the images,especially with old good 43 lenses.
Can’t wait to “feel” the LX100 too.I’ve just received the Nebula4000 3Axis stabiliser to use with it and can’t wait to see what the combo will give.
http://youtu.be/YneS03z9S0U
Yay! $1,400 in Norway. Not that its a problem, but $1,100 would feel so mutch better..
4k doesn’t mean crap if your footage is shakey crap. I’m going to use the EM5II in addition to my GH4 because the EM5II will get pulled out for every shot where I need rapid deployment and moving camera shots. The GH4 simply can’t do fluid shots hand held. EM5 is a better run and gun camera. Both are equally useful to me and I don’t need to be an irrational fanboy who thinks 1 camera is the be all and end all camera let alone be someone who thinks sharpness is the be all and end all of motion capture.
You have tools available in post and also you can zoom/crop 4k if you plan to downconvert giving you more flexibility. Some enthusiast may want to run and gun where I think pros have stabilization equipment already so it is really a non-issue and they have better IQ to work with.
There are plenty of examples of stable GH4 videos out there in the thousands. How many overall E-M5 and E-M1 videos do you see? Probably not enough to exceed your fingers and toes.
While I want smooth stabilized video, I don’t want crappy smooth video.
The olympus videos already show you perfect examples of continuous shots where the stabilisation equipment wouldn’t be able to operate or cope due to certain requirements for instance steadycam systems do not allow you to zoom with a lens that has an extending barrel. If you zoom, it will ruin the balance of the unit. They also will have problems in cramped conditions. I can explain many of these things to you but you will just foam about resolution and miss the point. If you cannot understand the production value the added range of motion this camera gives you, there’s no point in talking to you because you don’t understand cinematography enough.
No I do get it, also John Brawley covered the challenges very well.
I have no idea what point you are trying to make
“I don’t need to be an irrational fanboy who thinks 1 camera is the be all and end all camera let alone be someone who thinks sharpness is the be all and end all of motion capture.”
Well, to be fair, sometimes when I make movies I want my shots to be shaky crap. But I do enjoy Oly’s 5-axis stabilization.
Completely agree with you Altaic! The EM-5 was the first camera I invested in 3 years ago when I started my wedding videography business. I chose to keep it over a hacked Gh2 I had tried due to the creative camera movements that the Oly allowed me to do. Have never regretted it! And I think the Panasonic’s have some clear advantages lately in certain applications BUT countless times I’ve shot weddings with both my Em5 and a GH3/4 and have been able to intercut the footage with good success. Just different tools for different jobs and this new Em5II is certainly going to be a creative film tool for those who don’t rule it out just because it doesn’t shoot 4K.
Stability rigs are expensive and add bulk and what the OMD’s can do is certainly as much as a tool as having 4K!
So Olympus now has stabilized video: doesn’t Panasonic, Samsung, Sony have OSS lenses: I don’t see what the big deal is; so they just caught up. OK you can shoot legacy glass stabilized that is good but Sony have 2x OSS F1.8 primes; Samsung has 16-50 F2.0 OSS zoom. etc it is not groundbreaking stuff.
Olympus IBIS already was better then OSS, especially for shorter focal lengths. Now it’s miles and miles ahead. If you’re sceptical, please watch the video here: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/olympus-e-m5-ii/olympus-e-m5-iiA.HTM
It is groundbreaking to have 5 EV stabilisation on ALL lenses. The best CIPA score for OSS is 4,5 EV, and thats jus one lens.
There’s a huge difference.
If they wanted to highlight the IBIS in video mode, why did they use a steadycam? I would like to see how IBIS works on its own.
Hi.
I used a gimbal not a steadicam. They are both very different camera stablising technologies.
IBIS makes hand held better, but it’s not a replacement for a dolly or a steadicam. You can use it to do longer camera moves, but they are still better done by using the appropriate tool for the job.
In the same way that steadicam hasn’t replaced hand held, the IBIS doesn’t replace what you would use a dolly for.
The vast majority of Curiosity is shot hand held.
The shots at 1:01, 1:22, 1:32, 1:39, 1:51, 2:15, 3:04.
That is, I used a gimbal for 7 shots in the entire clip.
The rest was hand held. No tripod. I think it gives you a pretty good sense of what you can do with hand held. Also, if you look at the behind the scenes cli, at the end you’ll see me directly intercut the same shot with and without the IBIS.
JB
beautiful work!
The IBIS is much more effective in my opinion than the optical stabilising, plus as you mentioned, it will work with any lens you can mount to the camera, and that is a heck of a lot of glass. For me, because I use a lot of cinema glass, that’s a big advantage no other camera gives me right now.
The video upgrade is good, the samples are (almost) fine… but this worried me a little, considering DPR did it right:
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/olympus-om-d-e-m5-ii/5
i’m thinking the same with you but if you see on sample videos the camera has a sticker as”Sample” camera. We must to wait when the Mark 2 will be available for real testing.
You know what you can’t buy that John Brawley has and most of us nut jobs complaining on the internet don’t?
Talent to make compelling videos.
He could have shot that on an iPhone with different rigging and got a similar result. He could have accomplished the same with an Alexa.
Know what? He used a M5II and seemed to enjoyed it for a hosts of reasons. Work flow being a big one. At a certain point all this complaining about IQ tech specs is ridiculous. It’s not JUST about that for creatives. I suppose it might just be about that for spec-geeks.
You can either use the tools are you can’t. Maybe if you can’t, that’s why internet message boards exist…?
Well… he did still have a stabilizer rig for alot of the shots and he wasn’t using standard oly/panny lenses either for this shoot. His cinematography is top notch, as is his use of motion. Even still… the image looks soft, with some DR issues. The IBIS is nothing short of amazing though in the right hands.
He used the gimbal in absence of a crane or dolly. This wouldn’t work with another camera though. As far as I understood there was at least the 12mm f2.0 and possibly the 45 f1.8 involved apart from the pro zooms. But he mentioned that DR was flat and may improve with the final firmware as he used firmware 0.95 and using an external recorder could also improve things
Fimrware was 0.9.
I used the Olympus 12mm F2.0, the 12-40 F2.8 PRO zoom, the 401-50 F2.8 PRO Zoom in the making of Curiosity.
In the behind the scenes you’ll also see some shots with the 45mm F1.8 Olympus..
I actually built a custom profile that WAS flat so I could try and maximise the DR by emulating LOG style shooting. This is the same thing that many do with a 5Dmk2 /3 for the same reasons….
I wouldn’t expect the DR would improve much beyond what it is now in production cameras. I’ve tuned the profile already to get as much out of it as I can and you get a sense of what the Olympus default profile is like in the ungraded clips in the behind the scenes shots..
JB
The dr in your vid definitely looked better than the other reviewers, but not quite where it should be. Regardless your vid is excellent and i admire your camera choreography.
Thank you.
DR is always a challenge when you only have 8 bits of video to record with. You can make lot’s of choice about improving that in the way you shoot as well as in the camera itself.
JB
Thanks John, that’s really nice of you to correct my half researched comment (I mean it’s all in your article)!
As I am just a wannabe photographer I have even less idea of maximising video output. I’m surprised you used the pro zooms: I always thought that video required very wide aperture shooting but I guess I have to watch the video again under that aspect.
What’s really nice to see though is what you were able to pull off with a last minute improvised story and realistically one day of shooting (all due to bad weather).
There are many that love to shoot at zero point six aperture and have a single eyelash in focus.
That really came about mostly because of the 5D mk2 which shoots 135 format 35mm, so called full frame (or as I like to call it, FOOL frame)
100+ years of cinema history and 135 FOOL frame has never really been what motion cinematographers use. 35mm to a cinematographer is closer to APS C. The ultra shallow depth of field look that goes with hat sin’t very practical for narrative drama shooting, which is why you only tend to see this lok in camera tests and music videos. No body shoots films like this because it’s completely impractical.
Never say never of course and I’m talking generalities, but realistically, no one can do it because no-one can keep anything in focus !
So F2.8-F4.0 is a common “wide open” stop for a lot of DOP’s. Gives a bit of focus depth fall off, and you’ve got a chance of keeping both eyes sharp…
JB
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Good point, and 4K is in fact not important to people who rarely shoot video, or they would have bought GH4 or other cameras already. Some complaints are so desperate for 4K that I start to feel the trolls have no talent and need best video camera as a toy to feel better.
There is a LOT more talent around that the ‘names’ sonny Jim! A LOT more!! Open your bloody eyes!!
My guess is that not many of them are here on comment boards, fartin’ around.
Which is to say, comment sections are filled with nonsense.
Just look at this thread and how most talk about camera specs as if it was the end-all-be-all of actually making something.
What camera body you own, what lenses you own, it’s only a small small piece of the puzzle. And NOT an important one. Not these days.
Let’s face it. People with talent actually go out and do stuff with whatever gear and make it good. Others just like to own gear, brag about it, but are creatively terrible at using.
I propose that those people, myself included, find solace from their inabilities by ranting about irrelevant crap here on the internet.
Beautiful little short film! The soundtrack could have been better at times…
Time to drop the question Admin: no rumors on a Em1 II? ;D
GX7 MII 🙁
Amazing work!
average
I thought that man is like a legend how it is talked about him. But then I saw that and did little research and must say that he is average. You can even see from his camera handling and movement that he doesn’t get how to work.
He seems to know enough to make a living at it. Do you?
Holy moire on the blue tiles, yikes! Video looks pretty good otherwise. But that moire is dreadful.
Sadly no PADF from the 18 month old EM1 means no sale for me. Maybe Olympus doesn’t skimp on the EM2?
That was the worst example. I was expecting the bricks to be a problem as they usually are the worst offenders.
It’s always going to be hard, because the sensor has no OLPF so video is always going to be a problem as long as they stick with that choice.
JB
Hey John, big fan of your work. I can work around the moire cause the video does look really good, but leaving out PADF – tech that Oly put in the EM1 in 2013 and should have trickled down IMO – makes it a no sale for me at $1100for just the body. Especially when the A5100/6000 and the new Samsung NX500 cost far less and offer better AF, better sensors, and so on.
The EM5II and the failure of recent pen models are worrisome, Olympus needs more hits than misses and this refresh isn’t going to slow the losses. Having used Sony’s hybrid AF and XAVC codec, I think for video the a5100 and a Nebula are a better option. It’ll shoot better stills as well.
Honestly if I were to go for a dead-end camera, I’d reach for the LX100 rather than a body from a system that’s no longer going to be supported (Sony APS-C). That’s stabilized too, and the lens, 1/4000 flash sync and 4k quality are insane.
I think they see the E-M5 as their more video oriented camera and the E-M1 designation and whatever that turns into will always be their flagship camera with those kinds of features.
JB
John, I love the music and the way you wove your imagery with your music to tell such a sweet romantic story. Thanks for sharing!
cliques……yawn…..how about a NO NAME FFS????