If the E-M5 is the hottest mirrorless of the moment the Nikon D800 is certainly the most “discussed” DSLR of the moment. Both are hotsellers at Amazon (here is the mirrorless ranking and here is the DSLR ranking). The video on top compares the video quality of both cameras. Of course you really can’t make any final judgement based on a youtube video and that’s why I leave it up to you to make any conclusion.
Gulio Scorio (Click here) shot his first work with the E-M5 about an organization that creates awareness about craft and artisan beer: “The touch screen and the IBIS really sets this tool apart from anything I owned in the past and the fact that I can shoot some assignments with everything I need in a small bag is just awesome.”
Camerastuffreview (Click here) posted the full E-M5 test: “In many details you will find that Olympus has done it’s best to incorporate all the functionality a real enthusiast photographer wishes for. Buttons and dials are in general well situated, easy to use and also configurable via the menu. The super control panel very effectively minimizes the time you loose searching in camera menus for a specific function. The adjustable warning for underexposure and overexposure is much more intuitively to work with than a histogram. Too bad the camera makes a constant noise and that the play button is hard to reach.”
E-M5 (Pre)order links (Click on store name):
Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev. Cheap [shoplink 31278 ebay]third party E-M5 batteries on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. First full leather case bag is now available on [shoplink 31532 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. It is also available in [shoplink 31533 ebay]Brown (Click here)[/shoplink].
The E-M5 keeps to be present in the Amazon Bestseller list(changes hourly!):
USA: E-M5 on position 7/10 (Click here)
UK: E-M5 is on position 40 (Click here).
Germany: The E-M5 is on position 4/13 (Click here).
France: E-M5 on position 22/23 (Click here).
Japan: E-M5 on position 22/23 (Click here).
58 Responses
Well i not buy camera for video, but the is good thing for Olympus have good IQ for video too.
I think the E-M5 walks all over the D800 in nearly every shot in all respects…
not really. you see, the footage appears to have more contrast but that is a sign of lack of dynamic range. The other problem is depth of field. The d800 was out of focus more often than the olympus as it has a shallower DOF.
Wow…What a great video. Amazing it can not only keep up…but excel in many shots…
Admin, Thanks for post – this comparison is making me lean heavily towards getting the 12 mm f/2.0
Not too fast. That’s the 45mm 1.8 on the camera, not the 12.
Oh, thank you I didn’t realize it was the 45 mm….
As far as the video comparison…
The D800 seemed to have better color and contrast punch, and much better bokeh (of course-bigger sensor), but the OM-D really held it’s ground more than I thought it would. It’s image-stabilization is pretty amazing.
This video test mainly shows two things:
1) The sky has the wrong shade of blue on the Nikon
2) The Nikon video looks worse because of the DOF disadvantage the sensor has over 4/3 (although, to be fair, the Olympus was also shot too wide open).
Actually, I find the EM-5 to have more eye appealing color and contrast; the D800 appeared to have better bokeh.
“better bokeh” is what he just said. shallower DOF. meaning a lot of front and back detail that was in focus on the olympus was out of focus on the D800.
BOKEH.
Lol comparing video capability on flowers. Try comparing moving objects and the omd will look terrible due to its low specs.
what low spec? the E-M5 holds up well in terms of rolling shutter compare to previous gen camera
This video just confirms that I made the right choice in purchasing the E-M5. You would have to be blind not to see that the E-M5 excels in color rendition, resolution, and exposure. As for Bokeh, the Nikon is somewhat over the top. If you like a lot of Bokeh, which I do not, go ahead and buy the Nikon for 2-3 times the money. You are welcome to it. I will take the Oly any day.
BTW, if you showed this video to a general audience, guess which video (which camera) the majority of the audience would choose? The E-M5.
Like a lot of bokeh? Bokeh over the top? Do you have any idea what bokeh is?
Well I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean Bokeh in general. It’s more like the DOF which is shallower in the D800 sequences.
Spam, you idiot, I know more about photography than you do. Do you know what bokeh is? Clearly not.
His question is valid. What does “a lot of bokeh”, mean? It’s not very clear to me at least. Nor what “over the the top”-bokeh means either.
Bokeh is qualitative not quantitative. It refers to the rendering of OOF areas in the frame and as such is a characteristic of the lens and not the sensor.
Bokeh could be pleasant or harsh, but one could not say a lens or camera has more or less of it. It is also subjective.
Judging by the comments it seems most of you do not really know what to look for in video footage (no offence intended). For one, the Olympus has a much lower dynamic range which is obvious when comparing the burnt highlights between the two cameras.
The E-M5 colors are “classic” Olympus i.e. punchy and lively but as opposed to burnt highlights, colors can worked with in post (or defined in camera preset). Though less appealing, the Nikon has greater color depth.
Two other major advantages the D800 has is higher sensitivity / lower noise and uncompressed HDMI output for use with external recorder.
As nice as the E-M5 is, the Nikon is on another league.
@Frederic Hew
some of us like highlight clipping as it gives more definition and clues to the human eye 🙂
The Nikon pwns so much
In most of the shots the EM-5 side looks better to me. In many cases I see the wider depth of field of the 4/3 sensor as a feature, not a hindrance. Some of the foreground blur on the nikon is distracting.
Was the Nikon set to 24P or 30P? I wish the Olympus had more frame rates. That’s the one detail that holds me back.
Hey Mark, I shot the video in question – the Nikon was set at 30P (as the OM-D (frustratingly) doesn’t do 24/25fps. 30P was the lowest common denominator to ensure fair comparative examples.
Congratulations to the Olympus OM-D E-M5!
It’s unbelievable but in this sample the E-M5 has the better image quality in video mode than the Nikon D800.
OM-D-Image stabilization works great.
David beats Goliath.
There is one pro for the Nikon D800:
You can train your muscles more efficiently on the run.
If you want to increase the training effect just take an additional telephoto zoom with you.
Haven’t thought about the advantage in weight training a full frame would give you. I bought into m43 to be able to bring the full kit while hiking, maybe I shoul have gone FF for the additional weight and exercise? LOL
Nikon D800 plus 85/1.8 G, $3,500; Olympus OM D plus 45mm/1.8–$1,400, not so bad for the olympus. 5 axial IS really shines here, but I guess people don’t buy D800 for videos. Nikon has better color, especially the green and the orange. DOF award goes to Nikon also, because the FX format. Olympus images are sharper, but CA and flare is a problem. If you tune up nikon’s sharpness setting a notch or two, I think it can be as sharp as the Olympus.
well if you just want better image quality than the E-M5 for considerably less money there are several cameras with the excellent Sony 16mp sesnor at half the price of the E-M5.The D800 is better in every way to the E-M5 regarding image quality , these idiotic tests linked to on this site are little more than skewed fanboy rants. Try the direct HDMI video from the D800 joke link on a joke site
“skewed fanboy rants”? Isn’t thats exactly what your post is?
Video quality is identical! I see no difference and so does noone!
Just to clear things up: bokeh is a function of lens construction (arrangement of elements, number of blades in the aperture, shape of the aperture, etc) not the sensor size. Depth of Field is controlled by three factors: Aperture, Focal Length, and Distance from Subject. Sensor size has a secondary effect on DoF due to cropping. The lenses selected for the test were comparable (+5mm eFL towards Oly) and since the cameras were side-by-side (literally) I find this test to be very telling. The 5-axs IBIS in the E-M5 addes a whole order of quality to the video it produces. The Nikon D800, with it’s larger sensor, is more prone to registering tiny movements. Until someone produces an 85mm f/1.8 IS lens for Nikon, the E-M5 will have the edge with its IBIS. The jello effect will not go away until the industry brings out global shutters (reading sensor pixels in parallel instead of serially and allowing them to be turned on/off simultaneously). The video is all 1080p so sensor pixel count is a moot point.
“Too bad the camera makes a constant noise”
This is probably the most overrated con ever. You REALLY have to be in a completely silent room to hear it. If silent rooms are you main working environment, then you don’t need to go for m43 at the first place… 😛
I don’t even hear it once I start shooting.
The silky smooth shutter sound of E-M5 is soooo nice. Dare I say it’s even a nicer sound than the E-1’s. Almost nobody notices you pressing the shutter as was the case with the E-1.
BTW, I always turn of focus lock beep, which is a dead give away for someone taking pictures.
i only hear it if i put my ears directly onto the side of the body (which you’ll never do when actually shooting). dont know what the fuss is all about.
Shouldn’t point & shoots be compared to other point & shoots? What’s the point of comparing it to a professional camera? Don’t need to watch any videos to see which blows the other out of the water.
I beg to differ with you Dave. The OM-D is not a “point and shoot” camera. I own both a Nikon D700 & an OM-D. I have shot professionally with both and made money. Let’s compare the two:
FEATURE D800 OM-D
Interchangeable lenses X X
Weather-sealing X X
High-end glass X X
HD Video X X
Image Stabilization * X
35mm sensor X –
m43 sensor – X
Crop factor 1x 2x
Live View X X
OVF X –
EVF – X
Rugged Construction X X
*=only with stabilized lenses
So far the only difference is sensor size and the OVF/EVF. At what size does a sensor suddenly become pro? I could easily claim that “real men (and women) use medium format digital” and anything less is a toy. Honestly, if the camera does what you need it to do and you can make money doing it, then it is a pro camera.
Don’t mind me, Carlos, I’m just stirring the pot a bit and getting all those Olympus fanboys in a tither, like JimD. 🙂 I actually got to check out a friend’s brand new OM-D just yesterday and it really is a sweet camera. But don’t tell JimD I said so, he’s probably curled up in a ball under his bed right cursing me. 🙂
Of course the D800 is a far superior machine, but that doesn’t mean the OM-D isn’t a great camera in its own right.
I probably should mention, I’m not a Nikon shooter. They make excellent products, but I shoot Canon.
I have said many times on this web site that there is room for 135 and m43. Just pick the one that suits. But buy for the right reasons. Bigger and more expensive is valid, yes, but only if it satisfies the ego better than taking pictures. If you want DOF you can shave with then fine, if you want to print in bigger than A3+ most of the time, fine, get the 135 its what you need.
I am not sure, at this time, that D800 is a far superior machine, it has some superiority and advantages in some areas, not as many as some may think. It also has many disadvantages.
Do you pull the wings off flies and kick puppies, too. 😉
Yes, yes, we all know that you paid a lot for it and its really really big, so it looks great round your neck.
A small part of your head shows in the avatar, is that the bit that works and the rest is ego?
Go look at this, then get a grip on reality.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/kidding.shtml
For all you poor mFT guys .mFT’s only advantage and is size and weight, assuming you are too old, too decrepit, too weak or too ill to carry a typical FF kit lol. My kid’s school bag weighs more than my FF kit. I can see the new 1 inch sensor compacts having a major impact on mFT let’s face it for the typical user the image quality is just fine the 10mp Nikon sensor { first gen product} already matches the 12mp mFT output pretty well . And the new Sony is actually pocketable.It will be bye bye size advanatge and you will be left with a slight IQ advanatge which is all but irrelevent to most typical users , shallow DOF sucks right?
I will ignore the unpleasant tone of your comment (your attitude is your own problem – not my own) and will address the factual (mis)information.
The Nikon 1 system is Nikon’s first foray in CSC territory, but the sensor is definitely not 1st generation. Nikon is among the first to come out with a DSLR (the first was Kodak using Nikons F4 as chasis) and has been cooperating with Sony and others for a long to produce it’s own specified sensors.
The new Sony is truly pocketable, but this is because it has an integrated lens that can protrude into the body and can be optimized to the sensor (or the other way around). This is why the Fuji X100 is significantly smaller than the X-Pro 1 (or whatever it is called).
Nothing prevents Panasonic (perhaps Olympus as well) from coming up with a larger sensor compact, in fact according to rumors this is about to happen in the really near future.
Other than size and weight, m43 cameras happen to be much cheaper and are mass market products as opposed to FF cameras. As such the two categories can not be compared.
This video has no informative value therefore but your comments are just as absurd and are probably meant to provoke more than anything else.
Respectfully,
F. Hew.
The Nikon is a new 1 inch sensor format developed from scratch so that is a first gen product.
The 1 inch sensor used in the Sony allows for a far smaller camera than one with a FT sized sensor
“Other than size and weight, m43 cameras happen to be much cheaper and are mass market products as opposed to FF cameras”
FF is not the competition for mFT that would be APS-C and there are many inexpensive APS cameras including many with better sensors than even the best mFT {all with the Sony 16mp for starters}
I am sorry if my observation about who benefits most from small cameras causes you a problem. Though i stand by it the only advantage for mFT is size/weight a new generation of high performing compacts will have serious Impact. Other than the very smallest Pen coupled with one of the Panasonic pancakes no mFT is close to pocketable and once you require a bag to carry your camera a lot of the convenience is gone.
Even if the OM-D is considered a point and shoot, who says you can’t compare it to a DSLR. If one day there is a comparison to show the iphone camera can take photos as good as a DSLR by all means go for it. It’ll be great for people to know what they can pay less to get similar if not equivalent results.
Also, you don’t have to mention what camera you shoot with because no one cares.
Nope, just shoot fish in a barrel. 🙂
I buy a camera for photography, not videography. D800 is unquestionalby a winner for this regard.
Now we can get Olympus blue on video. Awesome!
The one conclusion I came to is that they are different.
well the video of OM-D looks great but you guys here are missing something.
1) with the OM-D it is not possible to use any serious microphone like a Rode. So if you would include sound with an external microphone, the D800 wins hands down. In video, sound is as important as the video itself
2) dynamic range of D800 is much better (check the shots on the trees)
3) Olympus blue has more punch on this video, in reality this is no issue since you can dial in more contrast and color on the D800 if you like. Although it is not possible to dial in more dynamic range on the OM-D
Ofcourse this is a 4/3 website… 🙂
They are both great cams, just pick the one which you like but if you do comparisons be honest in what is really there in the comparison.
I see much more DR in the oly video…do u see the last part with the flowers???
the wihte in the Nikon are blown away…
the olympus footage is under exposed. noticed the crushed blacks (the opposite problem) in that particular shot. You can’t compare DR unless both sources are evenly exposed. If you match the exposure, the D800 won’t blow highlights but the question is how much shadow detail would it keep? as the test is flawed, we just can’t draw any conclusions from that sequence.
Yes, I use E-M5 and agree that the DR of D800 is secone-to-none. To be fair, actually D800 should be compared with medium format cameras rather than m4/3.
I think some people are missing the point of this video. It is not saying the D800 is inferior to E-M5, rather the E-M5 is quite close the D800, particularly on video. That info would matter to some people.
The EM5 shoots good video – if you can work within its limitations – specifically the lack of framerates and the relatively low bitrate. These images look fine on the web, but the differences become more obvious when put on a larger screen – like a 42″ TV set. I have a EM5, along with a Nex7 and the Sony FS100 and using the same adapted lenses there is a noticeable difference in video quality on a bigger screen between the EM5 and the Sony’s. Any camera can shoot decent video of flowers and statues, the real challenge is shooting movement, people and pretty much anything in low light. This is where the DR of a larger sensor starts to put a little distance between itself and the EM5. Since most aren’t professional video producers, instead shooting family events and such – the EM5 is more than up to the task on the video side – audio is not so great. Olympus needs to produce a better microphone to plug into the accessory port, the current PEN add-on mic is junk.
Hi all / as: I hope you all are doing analysis of this camera the Olympus take out a new firmware to record at 24p and 25p and the britate step increase at least 35 Mbps Have controls aperture and live recording. etc ….. (so as GH2 Panasonic jejejejejeje) That’s the only thing missing from this wonderful camera that would have all and would be the best selling in the market. Olympus batteries should be placed as it is to fall in September the Panasonic GH3 that if you take for granted and recorded much better than the Olympus. Stopping by here: http://www.eoshd.com/content/8149/olympus-om-de-m5-first-impressions And you will see as I have reason …….
Hola a todos/as:
Espero que con todos análisis que están haciendo de esta cámara los de Olympus saquen un nuevo firmware para que grabe a 24p y 25p y de paso aumenten el britate como mínimo a 35 Mbps. Que tenga los controles de apertura y velocidad en directo grabando. etc….. (osea como la GH2 de Panasonic, jejejejejeje)
Que es lo único que le falta a esta maravillosa cámara que lo tendría todo y sería la más vendida del mercado.
Olympus se debería poner las pilas ya que está al caer en Septiembre la Panasonic GH3 que si lo llevará por supuesto y grabará muchísimo mejor que la OLYMPUS.
Pasaros por aqui: http://www.eoshd.com/content/8149/olympus-om-d-e-m5-first-impressions
Y veréis como tengo razón…….
It looks interesting but I noticed a few problems with your test which make it very hard to draw any conclusions:
1) You did not compensate properly for the shallow depth of field of the D800’s full frame sensor. As a result the D800 footage has a shallower DOF and it is clearly out of focus in several sequences. The larger DOF of the olympus keeps more in focus and therefore appears sharper. Additionally, in some of your shots the Nikon is COMPLETELY out of focus (such as the palm tree test). You can see in your pond test that properly focused, the D800 nearly matches the olympus, and the difference may be explained by my point 3.
2) Exposure is different on a lot of footage, sometimes the nikon is blown out and the onlympus has crushed blacks. Either way, it is hard to compare which has better dynamic range since the footage is clearly not matching.
3) The olympus seems to be perceptually sharper, and it may be by a small amount, but when both cameras are in focus at equivalent DOF depths (which rarely happens in this video), it seems that onlympus simply has bumps the contrast, leading to a perceived sharper image. For editing, you want as flat as image as possible so that you can get the most flexibility in grading. The olympus footage suffers from crushed blacks far too often and that is obvious from a lot of the footage that it would maker a poor editing source unless there is a profile to make it less contrasty (but that would yield video perceived to be less sharp).
Overall, I think the olympus is a nice choice and surely able to deliver good quality video. Yet this test’s flaws leave more questions than answers, although I’m sure it won’t be the last.
I created a small flickr set noting additional problems with the comparison. The OM footage seems to have been magnified (possibly trying to correct for FOV) in many shots resulting in different perspective and as a result it can often capture more detail due to the optical difference.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78078658@N07/sets/72157630248616642/