The first E-M5 camera is now in Stock at Adorama (Click here). And BHphoto (Click here) changed the status from “available April 16th” to “releasd in limited quantity“. But keep an eye on that superdeal: Panaosnic 45-200mm zoom lens is now in Stock for $199 at Amazon (Click here). That lens also got a firmware update…see Panasonic Japan (Click here).
For those of you that own (or will soon own) the Olympus E-M5 there is a new firmware update (Source: Olympus Imaging). These are the new features/fixes:
- Issue of updates stopping while updating firmware has been resolved.
- Image stabilizer function when using the following lenses has been modified: ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 8mm F3.5 Fisheye, ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 18-180mm F3.5-6.3, LEICA D VARIO-ELMAR 14-150mm
58 Responses
typos:
not Panaosnic 45-20mm but Panasonic 45-200mm.
any news on primes?
Yeah, from comments I’ve seen, B&H got the silver kits and instead of shipping them to people with pre-orders, they’re offering to sell them in the store. (at least that’s the story I got from someone who went there yesterday)
This launch has been a big disappointment. Olympus really dropped the ball, and I’m bummed with B&H also. Wouldn’t preorder from them again.
Mine arrive tomorrow also from B&H , i can’t wait to get it ^^
When was your pre-order? Mine was Feb 22.
Isn’t the release-date as planned? Or is there something else that is a big disappointment?
Interesting – what should happen when you use the EM-5 with the Leica 14-150mm??? Does it support the O.I.S?
And regarding the 45-200mm: Great – 200$ (152€) in US, 275€ in Germany…
i hope it will make the AF more faster also on LEICA D VARIO ELMAR 14-150 coz ,this is 4/3 version right? -not the 14-140 HD VARIO .
i think 14-150 LEICA D VARIO ELMAR is one of the best super zoom around ,.better than my nikon 18-200,DX.or 28-300 FX
They just said something on Image Stabilizer Improvement. AF is already ok on my GH1, so maybe its faster on the OM-D. The Leica is really great on the L10 – on the GH1 its a little big with the adapter…
I tried Leica D 14-150mm with re-production E-M5 fair month ago at photography expo and focusing speed was quite impressive and more like in E-30 than slower searching and clear overshooting of Panasonic GH2. And that was also at lens zoomed to 150mm.
Though for some reason lens being exactly at 14mm caused focus to just hunt back and forth. (between one extreme end of focus range and nearly to correct focus)
E-P3 was roughly as fast in focusing speed, and had same 14mm bug.
Photozone has tests of quite a big amount of lenses including most of the super/travelzooms and in overall Leica D 14-150mm is best by notable margin. Even quite even corner to corner sharpness of better 4/3 lenses is present.
Again that 18-200mm DX Nikkor is basically that average consumer grade travel zoom (though good center resolution) and 28-300mm FX Nikkor is simply too small to have good performance with bigger FF sensor leaving it well below second best such zoom which is Canon’s big and heavy EF 28-300mm L.
Don’t worry, it’s not even worth $200. I have one and never use it because frankly a compact superzoom can match its quality.
Really? The Tests looked quite good. Maybe I try the 100-300mm or the Sigma FT 70-200mm. For double the price…
b&h said their online store and walk in store are separate. you can walk in and buy an omd, but you have to wait if you preordered.
walking in – taxes
preorder – no taxes, no shipping.
i guess i will wait.
just got this message from henry at bh
I just got off the phone wiith Olympus and was assured we’re getting regular shipments and that they’re as eager as we are to ensure all back orders are filled as quuivkly as possible.
– Henry Posner
That’s bullsht, and I will never pre-order from B&H again. If you pre-order, you should get the stock. That’s the point of a pre-order, so you don’t have to wait. I live in NY, so I pay taxes on it, and shipping isn’t that much. Disappointing customers though, will surely hurt your business more.
Most companies with online and B&M stores operate the same way. If they didn’t then any time a new item appeared, people would buy them all online and leave the real stores with nothing buy outdated product. It’s the same with Adorama, 17th st Photo, J&R, Wolf, Samy’s etc…
It’s more common that not for the online store to be run as a separate entity and not share stock or prices with the brick & mortar division. They should emphasize the division a bit more – I can completely understand the confusion and frustration on your part – but understand, in these situations, there’s nothing either division can really do, and they’re not trying screw with you.
Good luck.
Wasn’t the price 999 at first?
Never saw that price
That’s the price for body only. $1300 for kit 12-50, $1099 for plain 14-45 kit lens.
Any tests of focusing with “ordinary” fourthirds lenses? Is it better than PENs?
There are lots of clip on youtube, and many have even been posted here. Try do some research on your own before asking ey?
It’s not in stock it’s on the way to them. Read the copy when you try to order.
I ran the firmware update last night, and now my wireless shutter release makes my E-M5 lock up when connected. I can still activate the shutter with it, but I can’t change any settings- the controls don’t do anything. It was working fine yesterday. It isn’t a big deal- the trigger is one of those super cheap Pixel ones & I don’t use it often, but it is a bit annoying. The camera works fine again after unplugging the wireless. Hopefully that is my only problem, so far everything else seems as it should be. I don’t usually jump on firmware updates right away like that, but my curiosity got the best of my judgement.
I just got a call that my black OM-D with kit lens has arrived today. I ordered it a few months ago at my local photo shop here in cologne, germany.
1:0
i was at B&H yesterday as i wanted to know the status of the OM-D ,..they said they’re not sure when is going to be release,.but suddenly there was a men from olympus came to visit,. and of course me and B&H employee want to know the news ,.according to him ; some of them it’s already at B&H storage and there will be more to come on Friday .
first one it will be the with the kit lens 14-42 followed by the 12-50 kit lens ,but the body only both black & silver would have to wait until the end of this month,..so disappointing [mine body only],..
WE ASKED ABOUT THE SENSOR ,..? WHO MANUFACTURED IT ?
He said ; I can not tell you ,.but suddenly HE POINTED HIS FINGER TO PANASONIC BRAND as he MUTED ,..it was hilarious ,.and suddenly somebody said ,; it is the same sensor as G#/GX1 ,right,..? He said ; No it is different ,.A BRAND NEW SENSOR,..
my conclusion is : It is Probably right ,that Olympus maybe design the sensor and Panasonic manufactured it
i was at B&H yesterday as i wanted to know the status of the OM-D ,..they said they’re not sure when is going to be release,.but suddenly there was a men from olympus came to visit,. and of course me and B&H employee want to know the news ,.according to him ; some of them it’s already at B&H storage and there will be more to come on Friday .
first one it will be the with the kit lens 14-42 followed by the 12-50 kit lens ,but the body only both black & silver would have to wait until the end of this month,..so disappointing [mine body only],..
WE ASKED ABOUT THE SENSOR ,..? WHO MANUFACTURED IT ?
He said ; I can not tell you ,.but suddenly HE POINTED HIS FINGER TO PANASONIC BRAND as he MUTED ,.and suddenly somebody said ,; it is the same sensor as G#/GX1 ,right,..? He said ; No it is different ,.A BRAND NEW SENSOR,..
my conclusion is : It is Probably right ,that Olympus maybe design the sensor and Panasonic manufactured it
Perhaps its the brand new GH3 Sensor!? 🙂 Pana might want to help Oly, or Pana is in delay with camera production but has the sensor ready & produced. :-))
Its not panasonic. Keep repeating this over and again. They are not going to give olympus a new sensor, and olympus found somebody else. Much better for them.
You speak as if this is a fact. Do you have a source or is this just your opinion?
I feel strongly from people I know and the fact mr terada told ian at four thirds users.
Panasonic is not the only game in town contrary to popular belief.
Mr Terada just kept saying nothing concret to the sensor in the interview.
Tests in magazins, like german photography, state explicitly that it is a panasonic sensor. And they usually have good connections to the manufacturers.
Panasonic will certainly give Olympus the newer sensor if part of the design contains an Olympus patent. It’s just like Nikon and Sony. Sony manufactures the sensors, but Nikon always has a 6 to 12 month exclusivity on the sensor before Sony can use their own sensor, and part of it is because there’s something in the design that belongs to Nikon that Sony really wants, so they agree to the terms.
If Olympus has a design that has a key advantage Panasonic wants, they would certainly agree to let Olympus use the sensor first in order to have full access to the design.
That, and Panasonic will be making decent money out of selling the sensor to Olympus, Olympus will effectively be one of their best customers so they won’t want to upset them.
In the same way Apple are Samsung’s biggest customer for LCD screens for the iPhones. Despite the companies being massive competitors, they are also in business with each other.
I’m not saying that Panasonic make the sensor or not for Olympus (I personally don’t care), but I certainly wouldn’t rule them out producing a new one for them.
Also the rep in store won’t have a clue who makes the sensor either, it’s just his opinion. It will be kept to the top bods only (although I really have no idea why), maybe it’s a secret because it is Panasonic and they don’t want the Panasonic fan club to feel like they are giving away the sensor to a competitor before putting it in their own products (which again, is a business decision to make money from Olympus, not because there is anything wrong).
Hello,
So why should i buy olympus OM D EM-5 999 USD ( body only) on amazon instead of Pentax K-5 989.89 USD ( body only)? Only for tickness?
Thank you,
Nicos
Size is the reason. Combined with the lenses its a lot smaller. Otherwise no real reason other than its cool and sexy. Those are good enough for me.
Size is the reason. Combined with the lenses its a lot smaller. Otherwise no real reason other than its cool. Those are good enough for me.
There’s a lot of cameras you can buy for 999 that on paper seem better on paper. I shoot APS-C sized Nikons usually here are the reasons why the OM-D caught my eye:
-Size, I want to see someone lug a 70-200 2.8 or the 24-70 2.8 into a casual social setting. You have to remember that everything gets bigger when you go with cameras with bigger sensors, lenses, accessories, etc. It’s not just a camera body that’s bigger.
-Only EVF fast enough to continuous shooting: I do a lot of panning shots and being able to confirm where you’re aimed without a ton of EVF lag is a very big deal for me. I have been searching for a responsive EVF camera, but even the Sony Alpha A77 didn’t cut it, honestly I don’t know why you would have a camera with a fast continous shooting mode where the EVF can’t keep up. I also think that EVFs provide a lot easier to read information than prism VFs, but previous to this camera it just wasn’t workable.
-Weather sealing/weather proofing/magnesium body: The weatherproof point and shoot experts finally weather proofed a mu43 camera, you won’t see these types of claims on any other manufacturer’s camera unless it’s pro level so pretty much full frame cameras only.
-5-axis IS – you would not believe what you can hand hold on good 3 axis IS systems. From what I am reading this new 5 axis system is the best there is.
-Seemingly excellent high ISO performance: being able to shoot ISO has been key to being able to take pictures where I haven’t been able to before with my current equipment, this camera seems to be even better than mine and appears to be on par with a Nikon D7000 and better than the afformentioned K-5. I believe the new K-01 has excellent high ISO performance though.
Those are my reasons, but realistically I think for a lot of people it just comes down to size and lens selection. Lens selection is another big reason why people would pick one camera over another. I was looking heavily at Pentax for a compact system for daily use, especially due to the series of pancake lenses they just released that mount almost flush to the camera body. They’re amazing!
The K-5 should be more sturdy and durable, with better IQ and the E-M5 is more versatile and a lot more portable. You should know which one fits your shooting style. Both are great cameras worth their price but really different from each other.
As of yesterday, my credit card shows a charge from B&H, and my order summary on their website shows my silver om-d + 12-50 has shipped!
only problem is the USPS tracking # doesn’t seem to work…hmmm
Mine was charged for the full amount as well, but only the flash (rebate deal) shows ‘processing’. The camera itself shows ‘backordered’. I just ordered it a week or two ago though so I’m sure I’m down on the list. And body-only sales are not usually a priority for camera manufacturers either so those tend to not get as much initial stock. I have a feeling I’ll be waiting a while…
USPS can take up to 48 hrs to show the events in shipping & maybe you will see it’s progress tomorrow.
When update firmware to solve exposition flickering in record videos?
I just got of the phone with mi local shop.
They told me it has been pushed for May.
Oly you suck!!!
🙂
Although tentative and not official, I got my body only arrival rough estimate of late June at amazon, assuming things went smoothly. I asked the customer service for this info, and my order status still shows no estimated date.
God, I hope that’s not true~
Yeah, I’m hoping its not true too. I’m afraid by the time I get my body only, the product will be readily available at vendors and it was no use preordering. The only problem is I got the mmf3 adapter for the rebate program, and that has already shipped. I contacted oly about potentially not meeting the postmark deadline(june15th) for the rebate few weeks ago, but no reply.
Strange, as vendors in Japan list the OM-d as available to ship within 4-5days.
False alarm on the Adorama deal.
Ordered the above OM-D setup from Adorama. The item description said it was available and would be arriving to the warehouse. I placed an order and it went through. An hour later, I got an email saying that they don’t know when the kit would arrive.
Too good to be true, I guess…
I ordered this yesterday and today customer service told me that its on the way, but not in stock. No word when it’ll be available. I promptly cancelled. Boo…
I ordered this kit from Adorama yesterday when it showed they were on the way to the warehouse (not a preorder). I called today to ask if it would ship and they told me they had run out of them and that it would be the middle of May before they received some more. Well, about an hour ago I received an email with a tracking number. So they did indeed have some in stock.
The camera kit was available earlier, it is now sold out.
B&h failed. Their site said April 16th release date. They quickly took my money and now it is on back order. Last time I go with them.
Well I wrote B&H and this is what they said
Initially Olympus had indicated that this camera would be available on the 16th, but the release appears to have been delayed and they have not advised us of a new date yet.
Gotta luv the firmware update that fixes the issue with lockup during the fimware update…
That phrase proves they disclose everything and there is no such thing as a hidden firmware fix.
This fact needed to be hidden! It sounds scary!!!;-)
Good luck updating!:-)
Just got a call from my local camera store, and my black E-M5 w/ 14-42mm will be in for me tomorrow.
Interestingly enough, it is the ONLY one they got in. They still have no clue when the bodies or 12-50mm kits are coming in.
Oh and this is from the Vancouver, Canada region.
Mine came from Amazon today and when I signed for it the UPS driver said he got a text to take it back and he grabbed it and left. He said it was called the Olympus tease and they were doing it all day. He did leave the rebate flash and laughed saying I would not have the camera in time to file and that all the UPC codes were already torn off by UPS depot employees.
^LOL! 🙂
Sigh, got a reply from B&H, but not very informative. A basic “one or more items in your order are back ordered. We are sorry for the inconvenience and we will keep you updated weekly”.
How long man! Hopefully by sometime next week (Silver – body only).
The Olympus E-M5 has undisputed qualities, focus, sharpness, image stabilization unprecedented and unique, quality, etc ….But …… video recording suffers from what most of their industry ….. the codec is mediocre is not recognizable by much video editing software (EDIUS). Olympus does not know is that their cameras are sold in Europe (I say for the PAL system). This camera are buying many photographers to take pictures and record videos to social, advertising, etc. …..Panasonic took the famous Look GH2 and suffered from the same as the Olympus, codec bitrate average and a ridiculous and recording at 30 fps. After a firmware rectified soon removing and improved codec, bitrate (to 27 MGPS) and incorporated 25 fps progressive but not good a deal worked.Then a Russian hacker on such Vitaly improved it and demonstrated it could be a camera to make even movies. I have it and I put the hack recording at 35 MGPS and INTRA AVCHD movie and I will. Sensitivity bestial, very little noise (grain nice guy makes it even Cinema night shooting in low light) and thanks to 25 fps can deliver my work to clients in PAL.Well you have to do with the Olympus E-M5 for a similar thing. Putting real 24p and 25 p. Improve the codec to HCV1 INTRA or INTRA AVCHD at 35 MGPS minimum and not be so compression artifacts when light passes from high to low or vice versa and the Olympus E-M5 comprobad yourselves what is this small sample of the compression artifacts on the next page you can download vimeo https://vimeo.com/42262621 the original MOV. I think the camera will not heat my bitrate improving the Panasonic GH2 is not for me or warms me and I think neither will OLYMPUS.Many of you will say that I want the 30p 25p if I can transform that records at 25p …. it does not in any way, gives you a jump every second to make the audio and that is to tinker.And incidentally improve something such …. offer an original screen saver that would remain constant touch …… logo indicating the battery ….. let the recorded time constant and the remaining card give …… possibility of varying the exposure and speed while recording live ….. etc … etc ….. (The Panasonic GH2 takes home) ……If all this change or add a new firmware 1.2 before September the GH3 next camera would not take out sales to this wonderful Olympus camera, you can have it all and be the top seller in 2012 (which needs it Olympus by the crisis is happening).But if this is not clear what the Japanese say they spend everything and fix it to us as we can. I have commanded you to e-mails to the factory in Japan and I have answered it already studied but I’m afraid my opinion fall into the trash.My opinion is that of a professional who uses cameras to record video, Canon, Panasonic, Sony and Olympus now and of course you can not give the couple a video jumping, seeing a bunch compression artifacts, etc … .We left at the end the only option to go to Lourdes or the famous Vitaly the hackee and give us joy as we gave the Panasonic GH2 but Olympus E-M5 can get even better record than any other.Your screen, your display, the battery life, ergonomics, the water seal, his touch, speed of approach, their stabilization (bestial), its clarity, its filters are exceptional but puts the icing on the quality of video.Lords of Olympus hear us, and change something this camera!!And for those who say I have no reason to go through this analysis that gives me more than ……http://www.eoshd.com/content/8149/olympus-om-de-m5-first-impressions