[shoplink 31035 ebay]
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Now Asian companies are starting to release more and more new E-M5 accessories. What you see on top is the new hand made E-M5 leather case made by Worldseller ([shoplink 31035 ebay]Click here to check the auction on eBay)[/shoplink]. It’s a bit expensive. A new much cheaper leather case has been made by Jieseker ([shoplink 31036 ebay]Click here to check the auction on eBay)[/shoplink].
And here is a triple new E-M5 review:
DCresource (Click here) published the full E-M5 review: “Overall, the Olympus OM-D EM-5 is an excellent Micro Four Thirds camera, assuming that you can survive with the less-than-stellar ergonomics“. Actually it’s the first reviewer compalining about the camera ergonomy!
The Canadian website Hereshow (Click here) posted an E-M5 review: “Granted, this camera is more expensive, but the EVF is built-in; it’s not an extra cost accessory. The classy E-M5 is one of the most desirable Compact System Cameras. With its SLR-like controls, speed and feature set, it would be a fine choice for photo enthusiasts.”
Macworld (Click here) doesn’t test Mac stuff only but also the E-M5: “Olympus has been a leader in the Compact System Camera revolution, and the OM-D E-M5 will solidify that position. It is a good-looking, well-designed, highly capable camera. I recommend the 12-50 mm zoom lens with the body, which currently lists for $1300 for the kit.”
E-M5 orders (Click on the names of the stores to see the product page):
Black E-M5 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Warehouse UK, Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
Silver E-M5 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Warehouse UK, and Amazon Japan.
Black E-M5 body with 14-42mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto , Digitalrev and J&R.
Black E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland , Digitalrev and Amazon Japan.
Silver E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, J&R, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland and Amazon Japan.
47 Responses
All those leather cases look crappy. With this kind of equipment, I wouldn’t trust opportunistic Chinese manufacturers and their crappy quality. It literally pays to wait and see if Olympus comes out with a decent accessory like that. If they don’t – it’s all the more sign that it doesn’t make sense for this camera.
I went the extra mile for the GF1 and bought the original leather case accessory – best choice I could have made. It feels so much better than all that cheap China-crap out there. I feel the same with the E-M5.
Even without any leather case, the E-M5 handles brilliantly without. Get the battery grip and use the partial grip and you get an even better handling.
Particularly the Brwon (presumably they meant brown) case looks ugly. However, I wouldn’t hold my breath for Olympus coming out with a decent case. I have a Japanese Aki-asahi case for my E-P2, and I love the feel of the camera in my hand with it. I’ve seen the official Olympus E-P2 case that was briefly on the market, and man that case was beaten with an ugly stick.
The Olympus case was a never-ready type case, and I never liked the hood of those cases, even in the 70’s. However, you could just take off the hood, and use the 1/2 case, but it still felt cheap in my hand. Given the Aki-asahi case was 3-4 times the price of the Olympus case, you would hope and expect it to be better quality.
However, the feature I liked about the Aki-asahi case (having access to the shutter release/video out/usb cable without removing the case) is missing in their later versions of the case for the E-PM1 and E-P3.
I should mention I like the feel of leather, and just bought a leather backpack at a renaissance faire today.
I’m not feeling a half case, or anything I’ve seen, for the E-M5.
Get the grip, take it like that.
When I tried the E-M5 in the store, the side grip was ok, but I hated the bottom grip, but then I disliked the SHLD-2 in the E-1, and HLD-4 in the E-3/E-5. I do use it when I want to be able to change the batteries when the camera is mounted on a tripod (or in my steampunk camera box).
Well, the hardware ergonomics are pretty good, yet the software ergonomics are rather average.
DCresource, another mob that thinks cameras and m43 are different things.
“the Olympus OM-D EM-5 is an excellent Micro Four Thirds camera” Does he ever say “is an excellent apsc camera” about apsc cameras? I could not find a review that does.
Where do these people with restricted outlook come from? OK, don’t answer that, I really don’t want to know, it only encourages them.
I think APS-C are the only category that doesn’t get this treatment. Reviewers use the same phrase for compact cameras, full frame cameras, medium format, weatherproofed cameras, cell phone cameras, etc…
It’s only APS-C cameras that don’t get this treatment because the 2 largest manufacturers are Canon and Nikon, and they each have their own alternative names to represent APS-C size.
Talk about whining and making the wrong conclusion. APS-C are simply the predominant cameras. Check the A900 review, he says “full frame”.
Yep, in film era 35mm film was that standard most people used.
In digital system cameras that standard is APS-C.
Perhaps they are unaware that there is a difference between APS-C and FF, after all they bodies look much the same and use same lenses (within reason), as well as which they are CaNiKoN. Not forgetting those companies use different formats, perhaps we should class them as APSC- and APSC+.
> Where do these people with restricted outlook come from?
So restricted that he calls E-M5’s image quality to be among best…
“Overall, I was very pleased with the photo quality on the Olympus OM-D EM-5. I’d say that it produces photos that are among the best of the interchangeable lens cameras on the market.”
If your own restricted mind overloads and crashes from reading more text than bulletpoints you’ll find it after studio test shots.
Though image quality being comparable to APS-C has been clear already from Dpreview’s RAW comparison.
Oh, that’s cool though. it makes silver lens looks better :p
Not sure if it has been mentioned before, but the Olympus OM-D E-M5 is now available in the Imaging Resource Comparometer to compare its photos with other cameras at http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM.
His samples creep me out.
I’m always wondering what he does with the manikin when it’s just him and “her”? 😮
“assuming that you can survive with the less-than-stellar ergonomics“. Actually it’s the first reviewer compalining about the camera ergonomy!””
Funny timing. I finally got to have a play with one yesterday in a shop. My first impression was the controls are too cramped. There’s a lot of buttons and dials squashed into a small space. Sure I would get used to it, but that was my first impression.
Still would prefer a button to a mode dial. You could replace that mode dial with 2 function buttons, and one of them would cycle through the modes as you pressed it.
No, a button interface is inferior, because you can’t read the status of the camera without switching it on. This pattern is the very reason, why the control layout of a GH2 is still much superior: lots of labeled analog switches and dials.
meh. considering how many other settings I have to fine tune to get it right for a scene, hardly seems a big deal knowing it is in P before I turn it on.
+1
Problem of GH2’s small dials and especially those tiny levers under them is that they’re harder to use in cold weather than high end DSLR controls.
And with need for direct access to lots of new settings beside those of World War II era camera there just really isn’t way to give them all own proper size fixed function analog control.
Without live view and processing running all the time DSLRs can be also kept powered on in hand with very low power consumption top LCD showing information of cameras status and settings.
About similar can be built also to mirrorless body: Just add power saving setting which keeps rear display off and activates EVF and whole live view only when EVF’s eye sensor is triggered.
Minolta already had such option in their prosumers along with top status LCD display decade ago.
I agree with you Nic. I love the OM-D.. but would agree some of the ergonomics are less than steller. I love the lack of mode dial on my D700. Very rarely do I want to change from either A or M… and having a mode dial is just something that good be bumped.
At the same time, I do miss some of those dials from GH2, especially for burst shooting modes. So, in my ideal world, the mode dial would instead have a mode button, WB button and ISO button – by holding one down, you can then move the thumb dial to change setting. Meanwhile, have a shoot speed dial around the 3 buttons with single shot, burst modes, timer, and one of my favourite things about GH2 design, burst bracket mode.
I just got the battery grip on Friday. Having that makes holding an OMD more comfortable like a GH2 – in two minds about whether it should have been built into the original design, or the option to remove it is better – as I did exactly that on Sat so I could fit it into my jacket pocked with the Pana 20mm.
Having said all that, I do prefer the ergonomics to GH2 – since for 2 dials if nothing else.
I agree. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found that the mode has been accidentally been changed on my GH2.
What is point of being able to see mode dial if can’t see most of the other settings? If you have such a high requirement to be able to see all settings before camera is turned on, then I think the Fujis have the right answer for you – so you can see shutter speed, aperture, compensation, etc. For me, that isn’t a requirement.
I agree the single shot, burst shot selector on GH2 is very convenient and useful, as that is something I am liable to change a lot. The focus type less so – but still a nice feature as a switch. But, the OM-D kills GH2 in ergonomics for one simple reason, two dials. Maybe just me, but I really hate the button dial used by Panasonic.
I think the GH2 Control Wheel is brilliantly simple.
Shooting in M mode with manual lenses, once I set the aperture on the lens, I can adjust shutter speed and pop in to fine tune focus with the wheel alone. By holding the Q Menu button, I’m able to toggle between different focus zones by rotating the wheel without taking my eye from the EVF.
Although, it can be frustrating using automatic lenses. I often find myself mistakenly adjusting f-stop instead of shutter speed.
It would be nice if the buttons were easier to distinguish by touch when using the EVF. That’s probably my biggest complaint.
I’m currently awaiting my Voightlander 25mm f/0.95 to arrive. Once it does, I may be really tempted to swap the dials controlling Aperture and Shutter speed around – though then will be opposite to D700 config which might be confusing. I just wish Oly had been able to place the thumb wheel in a similar location to the thumb wheel on GH2 – it is better placed for sure.
Ok, and, to admit my own ignorance – I never knew about the Q Menu button and wheel option for GH2 for changing focus zone. I’ll have to check this out.
“Actually it’s the first reviewer compalining about the camera ergonomic!”
Well, except for me: http://ranger9.net/2012/tenthings/
I got raked over the coals for it, too… in many cases by people who, it appeared, hadn’t actually used an E-M 5 yet! It amazes me that you full-time admins can put up with all the guff you take from the public (and I admit that from time to time I’m one of those who dish out guff; I promise I’ll try to be a lot more sympathetic in the future!)
I’m hoping that the still-not-available HLD6 grip will solve some of the ergonomic issues by providing more-widely-spaced control dials and extra buttons for programming. And conceivably a firmware update might improve the two things that are my biggest usability peeves about the E-M 5: the slow response of the EVF eye sensor and of the input dials (if you turn the dials too fast, the camera “skips” clicks.)
However, I suspect Olympus won’t bother to work on improving the response time of these controls unless a lot of people complain, and so far complainers are being drowned out.
Thats interesting.
I’ve never had so far a camera free of design glitches, yet whenever something new is out, there is this aura of perfectness. I want to believe that the E-M5 is perfect 😀
Good news is, despite spending too much time on the Internet, I am getting better at desiring what I already have.
To Ranger9: What do actually you mean with “still not available HLD-6”?? I bought the grip a month ago. No problem with getting that… but my camera still hasn´t arrived.
I mean the grip still isn’t available TO ME in the local shop where I bought my E-M 5. It isn’t currently shipping on US Amazon or at B&H Photo, either, nor are spare ELN-1 batteries. So accessory availability seems to be fairly erratic and/or varies drastically from country to country.
And Kai 🙂 And I have handled the EM5 enough times to say that I agree the ergonomics are is not its best point.
> I’m hoping that the still-not-available HLD6 grip will solve some of the ergonomic issues…
Unlike software problems built in deficiencies in hardware are hard to correct externally/later.
Landscape grip part improves grip from camera to better than GH2 because E-M5 gives at least little space for thumb in rear where GH2 has buttons to be accidentally pressed.
But rear controls still stays same and that retro position of “rear” dial on top doesn’t change any better.
Agree – just got the grip on Friday – and it is exactly as Esa says.
But, it’s a matter of taste though – Ranger 9’s review (which I find very sensible critisms of the OM-D) indicates he prefers the Pana dial with push to change setting. For me, this is my no. 1 pet hate of the GH2 – I really hate that dial. It feels cheap to me, and I always accidently push it in when I a trying to change a setting fast. I agree the rear dial of OM-D is far from ideal and not easy to get to with thumb… but much better for me than a single dial. It’s a pity the rear dial wasn’t more like the one on the E-P3 – that felt wonderful to me.
Aperture ring does not feel awkward when using legacy lenses: I wonder it just a simple firmware update would allow to use that by wire thing for something else than focus when shooting in AF mode. PASM mode would tell.
Anyone, any thoughts on that?
I hope I wasn’t raking you over the coals… I got mine recently (had to switch to black body to get it within foreseeable future…). Some first thoughts:
* the strap eye is no problem to me — I got over it within minutes by adjusting my position
* the hum… maybe I’m getting deaf… in a room with windows open to a quiet street, I had to hold it real close to the ear in order to hear a low “whisper”. No problem to me.
* so far, the main problem with buttons, etc is how to set up the camera the way I want it…
— can it be set up with a black/off monitor/OLED screen? To me, it is a waste of battery to have it on by default
— LiveView w/ highlight+shadows… I thought that meant blinking highlights+shadows in the EVF *before * I take the picture, so I can use the subwheel to +/- adjust for this…???
— is it possible to view pictures in the EVF — just as on the PEN+ EVF?
These questions indicate my main criticism so far: complicated user guide which doesn’t really answer my questions in a way that is easy to understand, and somewhat unintuitive menu names, etc.
Ok — I’ll answer 2 of the 3 questions myself…
* turn off SCP by repeatedly click info button
* for some reason, highlight/shadow marking works now.
Only thing that I miss is to be able to view pictures in EVF (in the case of strong sunshine).
Set-up (current iteration):
— Aperture priority mode
— S-AF + MF on shutter release button with MF assist (auto magnification upon rotating focus ring): this gives (1) stabilization of EVF during focus, (2) possibility to quickly fire shots
— AE lock on REC button: this optionally separates exposure and focus. Normally, light changes slower than focus/subject movement, and I’ll have time to move finger from AEL/REC to shutter release button.
Now I have more programmable buttons than I need — the set-up is nearly perfect *for me*
Which lens is that?
“Actually it’s the first reviewer compalining about the camera ergonomy!”
Admin, I’m not saying this to be petty, but rather to help you improve your English (which is excellent overall). Just a tiny correction; It’s not really correct to say ‘ergonomy.’ The correct term is ‘ergonomics.’
(In fact, as I typed this comment, my computer’s spell-checker tells me that ergonomy isn’t even a word. hehe.)
Ergonomy is a made-up word. It’s sort of a malapropism.
Do a search for “ergonomy” and you get ergonomics.
didn’t the chap from digitalrev make the same point about the buttons on the em-5 and how cluttered they were?
but it’s the em-5 how dare any one be negative 😉
as much as i love m4/3, small size and great small lenses, i do wish they would improve af-c. a friend and i tested the g3 and gx1 against the nikon v1 and if you are shooting moving subjects the v1 trounced the pannies and i suspect it will the e-m5. sad really as i’d have been very tempted if af-c had been at the v1 level.
and yes i know that m4/3 have a number of advantages over the v1.
DCResource is the reviewer I trust most to be un-biased – and healthy critical. We have to keep in mind that most of the sites we follow in reality are dependent/sponsored by business, not by us photo-interested.
There are other reviewers that have had things to say about ergonomy, not least about small buttons and button-feel.
I read the DCVResource review and it is very positive.
Leather casings…….?
> and healthy critical.
Todays reviewing is extremely lacking in that.
It’s very often like no other camera has ever existed beside that which is reviewed and that PR department’s excrements are some ultimate truth.
And that basically applies to basically any consumer products.
If H.C. Andersen were alive now he might be writing about this advertising/brand based reviewing and peoples blind belief to that instead of Emperor’s New Clothes…
And as example of that lack of critical journalism.
That Macworld review: “Olympus has been a leader in the Compact System Camera revolution”
Just how well does that claim correlate with reality of Olympus having previously only reiterated that same PEN for years while Panasonic actually did different type bodies?
Though any kind critical reviewing might be too much to expect from religious site…
Seems to be a wonderfull cam – the problem is the availability…
“Actually it’s the first reviewer compalining about the camera ergonomy!” – No, it is not. Kai also complained about this.
Actually, I complained about the OM-D’s ergonomics too in my drive-by review on fred Miranda. I also recall an earlier review linked here with complaints. Now that I’ve put in several photo shoots and over 500 shots with it (no, I’m not an event pro ;D), I’ve gotten past some of the more annoying problems, but there are too many options, poorly laid out, and the buttons seem flimsy. I do prefer the EP-2’s layout, oddly, from the little time I had with the latter.
But regardless, the OM-D is a keeper for me. Finally there’s a sane sized interchangeable lens digital camera that I can use for static and street photography. Even at the EP-2’s current prices (and the poor value for the money I believe the OM-D is), I still prefer the OM-D to other mirror less cameras.
like the mobile site – is that new ? well done.
That simple Jieseker half case is the right style for me.
Nothing fancy, logo on the bottom, right vintage color… I think I will ho for it…:-):-)
The Jieseker is much nicer looking, but why the contrasting stitching color?