Nabil Fathi tweeted that Olympus will add 4K to the E-M1. Important to note is that he tweeted this on August 13. Days before I posted the rumor I got from a new and yet non-trusted source.
The real interesting thing is that Olympus official twitter account favorited his tweet! It doesn’t mean anything yet, it’s certainly not a prove this is coming for real but it’s an interesting coincidence. For now let’s stick to what one of my trusted sources said yet. E-M1 firmware is indeed coming but he said there is no 4K video recording feature coming.
I repeat it again, for now 43rumors doesn’t believe this 4k firmware will happen! I just wanted to point out the strange rumors I got and that as you see not only I am getting!
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I am getting mixed signal Aaron
http://jp7.r0tt.com/l_751f6260-dcb5-11e1-a456-293d9ea00007.jpg
Nice, Mark. Is that a still from an E-M1 4K-video clip?
No way, WAY too high bitrate…..
It’s almos impossible to tell, but it’s actually a photoshopped picture.
Wow this is starting to become one of the weirdest rumors ever. As an EM-1 owner i can’t wait to see how it all turns out….. although i’m very skeptical.
I would call BS but it’s really strange that Olympus acknowledged this tweet.
It is strange, but if there is just some lackey manning the Twitter account who is just boosting every tweet they believe is “pro olympus” then the technical content of the tweet may have been overlooked?
Be interesting to see how this rumour turns out =)
This finally convinces me there will be no 4K. Spreading this false rumour is on someone’s agenda for whatever reason.
Interesting, especially that Olympus “acceptance”.
This would hurt a lot Olympus I’d not true, and they don’t do anything to cut wings of the rumor if not true.
But this generates buzz and if they release firmware enabling 4K and other framerates, it will blow many person mind and wallet.
But is twitter “favorite” really a such or is it more like “bookmark”?
I don’t know anything really about twitter, but that would be a silent bless if not made in mistake.
And what would that person gain from false rumors spreading? Anything else than get brand of liar to forehead?
So let’s see…. Rumor twister has been going week almost. And “trusted source” didn’t even mention anything about Olympus own advertisements about improved framerates for E-P5 that is going to be replaced with E-PL7.
So I still wonder, if Olympus has states E-P5 is capable to 120fps and 240fps but not yet… It means there is been firmware coming.
And if Olympus has favorites (blessed) this rumor tweet, it would mean there is something serious going on Olympus. Either seriously wrong or seriously secretive.
I have started to believe more about 4k, but I want see it from Olympus before I trust so.
I hope so, about time Olympus! 😀
Be 100% awesome if Olympus catches up with its fellow Micro Four Thirds partners, Blackmagic Design and Panasonic.
Hang on… who is this Nabil Fathi guy? I can’t see why Olympus would be letting him in particular try out the latest firmware for them?? But anyway… I still hope it is 100% true! 🙂
You never know who he knows, who has access to such possible prototype camera.
Like I know people who had access to Nokia Windows Phone smart phones two years before they were announced to world, but I didn’t feel sensations to leak it to others as my friends trust me I don’t speak unreleased products or business.
Two years?? Yeah right. Technology changes so fast in two years, that can’t possibly be possible. Unless it is only the earliest of early prototypes, which get drastically changed between then and launch.
And yes, who knows, maybe he did somehow have access. But looking at the odds of the probabilities, it doesn’t seem particularly likely! And that is my point.
This guy is listed on IMDB as being a freakin’ extra in a few movies. Otherwise, his claim to fame is editing a crappy skate video… so much for being “big in the movie business.”
Indeed, that is exactly what I found too…. hence why I made my previous comment just a few minutes ago.
If this rumor doesn’t pan out, he’ll never make another skate video in this town again! lol
If they don’t include 4k because of overheating, that would be a shame. Even a limit like 10s would be incredibly useful for action shots and such. A limit of 1-2 minutes would cover 99% of cases.
So, now we know who started the rumor.
Not really. The source for 43rumors says they saw the firmware in action and this was after the tweet from the other person. It is more likely that they were at the same event.
He doesn’t exactly say It will include 4k.
You could read his tweet like this:
The upcoming firmware for the @getolympus OMD E-M1 is crazy !
My production company http://never-prod.com now offers 4K, Slow motion, high bitrate, new codec, log.
🙂
He doesn’t seem like someone who gets awsome new cameras before release. But maybe he knows someone who does ?
Whatever – we’ll see soon.
okay, listen up guys, here is an update I would like to see, and would get me buying the camera… Can they update the olympus smart port mic adapter to be a headphone jack please 🙂
Then I have a mic in and a headphone out… Until that point it is much harder to hook up my zoom, tie it into the camer with the headphone port for a backup, split the feed to monitor sound etc…. For my kinda video right now, the IBIS is a godsend, the video is good enough, but jumping through hoops to monitor sound could be fixed with that smart port and the existing adapter.
I’d be completely fine with no 4k. But I’m pumped about 24/60p and higher bit rates. That’d be fantastic!
Even my cellphone does 4k video, so it shouldn’t be a problem for a decent camera if the hardware is there. Maybe Olympus got a little help from Sony to implement the 4k..?
i guess a 4k on a cellphone has surely much lower bitrate and quality standard there is much lower also, so cant compare the hardware requirements .
Excactly. 4k is just the resolution of the picture, then there is bits per pixel, frame rate and compression and other factors that decides the video quality. We really don’t know anything about this yet – IF the 4k rumour turns out to be true 🙂
olympus doesn’t need to bring a hi quality 4k if it’s done via free firmware upgrade… after all, e-m1 owners didn’t buy that cam because it could do 4k.
But olympus could proove that they’re now working on better video implementation, and that would be a positive sign.
My OnePlus One (phone) records 4k 4096x2160p24 at around 64Mbits/sec including audio, that’s about 500MB per minute of footage.
It also records 3840x2160p30 at a slightly lower bitrate, around 56Mbps total.
High end cameras offer more to allow greater headroom in post production, but this has plenty to allow for great looking footage, and far exceeds what Olympus currently offers for bitrates, or any other manufacturer except for the GH series. Remember Blu-ray movies are usually around 33Mbits/sec.
i have to see it to believe the detail qualiy especially in not ideal light situations,I dont think can compare it with bluray bitrates as the sources for encoding there are mostly superior then what we use
Sony is not able to produce 4K in a camera, even not in A7s.
They are not capable to compress and store a 4K file on SD in real time.
Apart from the Xperia Z2, the FDR-AX100, the FDR-AX1, the F5 and F55 from 2012…
Apart from those, you were close…
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.
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Only kidding – out by a country mile.
What is your point??? They are all small sensors.
Do you believe Sony didn’t give the A7 4K-Writing because they disliked that?
My point s that you were wrong.
Perhaps they don’t believe in cannibalism. Perhaps they rushed the A7 to market and the hardware is willing but the software is weak and will be ‘fixed’.
it´s because overheating sony engineers confirmed it, the a7s is a small camera with all the components cramped plus 4k on FF sensor generates even more heat,
Olympus would not need help with 4k from Sony. They know enough to be able to do it themselves. They were working on ultra def a few years back with Hollywood film companies.
Your cell phone was probably released this year and has either a dedicated CPU core purely for 4K video encoding or even a dedicated 4K chip. Devices released last year such as the EM-1 does not have such a thing, which means they have to process 4K video through existing CPUs, which greatly increases the heat because it is wasting cycles doing inefficient processing. This heat is the main reason why you don’t see all cameras just get a 4K firmware update.
New rumour: the new firmware will have 5K and lots of updates regarding video features. In fact the new firmware will delete any capabilities the camera has of capturing still images and leave it as an olympus 5k camcorder
LOL good one!
😉
Seems like a publicity stunt just to get more people aware of Olympus cameras to me…or..it could be the WACKY lLone Ranger syndrome! 🙂
If I would be considering cameras and I like shoot video sometimes and I hear one of them might get a better video in couple weeks, I would hold purchase until confirming the feature. And id it doesn’t come, I would not even look that manufacturer after the confirmation and it has lost possible future customer.
Lies are never good publicity stunts, there IS a bad publicity.
Lol i care soooo Much i Ordener my em1 today, but that had more to do with 100 euro discount and THE additional 200 euro rebate from Olympus ending this month…
That’s pretty good reason to order it anyhow & why I got mine back in June (with similar good deals in Australia). Another firmware improvement coming just makes it nicer regardless if this rumour is true or not.
If that rumor would be true….
The only thing that made sense is
– Oly got a Panasonic sensor and specifications for 4K
– they designed E-M1 hardware to be ready for 4K
– they had to implement their own software and were not able to finish that in time
If the EM1 goes 4K the GH4 will go 4K RAW internal. :-p
… and still jiggle and shake. 8-P
The tweet is clear enough. The update mentioned in it, it says, will never become a product. Crazy for Olympus to follow such strategy, but they confirm they will not deliver what users want.
Yes, that is their entire strategy. To make you upset. /rolleyes
The Sensor inside the E-M1 is from Panasonic, isn’t it?
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2014/02/10/olympus-om-d-em-1-sensor-is-made-by-panasonic-not-sony
It could make sense, that the Sensor offers 4K Video, but Olympus wasn’t able to impement it until the Launch of the E-M1 last year.
Or maybe Panasonic first wanted to lauch the GH4 and Olympus was not permitted to implement it before?
IT’S HAPPENING
Source: My dog barked 4 times this morning. His poo was very firm when I cleaned it up today.
1 dog = EM 1
1 firm poo = firmware
4 = 4K
Ergo- EM1 firmware 4k
You are a genius.
I printed the 4K rumor page. My Labrador Retriever carefully sniffed it then wagged his tail. My cat walked around it and purred approvingly. So, based on the lab report and cat scan, I can confirm that the rumor has some element of validity.
i love you
not to put rumors on 43rumors but the sensor on EM1 is made by panasonic – MN34230 according to this website – http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2014/02/10/olympus-om-d-em-1-sensor-is-made-by-panasonic-not-sony
and the spec here at panasonic states that 4k is atleast supported on sensor – http://www.semicon.panasonic.co.jp/ds8/c3/IS00006AE.pdf
though the question is that what else is needed. Does the TRupic VII has enough juice.
I am still not sure that this would happen but if it does happen, sure lot of EM1 folks would be happy regardless they say they don’t care about 4k.
Thanks for those links. The specs (in the 2nd link) show what it is capable of & also its limitations, so it will be interesting to see what might come in a firmware update. It looks possible that more could be squeezed out of that sensor than is presently used for video if the supporting hardware can handle it. Here are some of the specs details; 4k2k movie mode (30fps) & High speed mode 240fps / 481fps, also of interest is Electronic shutter (Full scan) – Full scan 10bit mode (22.5 fps) 1 / 22.5 s ~ 1 / 81300 s (1/81300 s step).
If true, the new firnware seems to enhance videography a lot. Then what a waste for me ! I am never interested in videography and never use my E-M1 for video.
No one has told anything about fixes and other improvements than now about video and “some double exposure” things. That is the problem.
This guy is absolutely full of crap.
Claims that it is visible in the 1.3 firmware but locked and also claim that the Sony A7 and A7r will get S-Log, XAVSC and 120fps. Apparently he is the only one in the world to have heard about that.
Panasonic sensor specs say It is capable to 4k. It isn’t outruled by sensor capabilities. It is up to electronics and digital processing is E-M1 capable. If it supports UHS-1(not same as UHS-I) cards, there is little change.
Can the firmware be updated so the camera can read/write to these cards or is the E-M1 limited in this respect?
SanDisk 32GB Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-II Memory Card – 280MB/s
UHS-II Class 3
Maximum Read Speed 280MB/s
Maximum Write Speed 250MB/s
Supports Advanced Shooting Modes inc. 4K
Waterproof, Shockproof & X-ray Proof
I guess that is now a ‘burning’ question.
As far I know, it can’t. Unless the speed is limited already via firmware (that can be done).
So we are again in limitations of hardware and, you know.
It’s possible any 4K video length of time would be limited by the cameras buffer size if the SD card compatibility is limited to
SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I Memory Card – 95MB/s which might then mean there might not be a heat issue,……. maybe.
I have recorded 60 minutes video (3x 21min 1st limit for some reason) camera in 55-65 degree celsius at 1080p IBIS enabled without a problem. (camera at lower level, 50cm higher temperature is ~90 degree)
The problem was that the objective didn’t like at all the heat, instead I became afraid that its rubber/plastic would start suffering or temperature would cause a lens to break by expansion or grease from fingers gets burned to body or other elements (filter) so it can’t be easily if at all removed.
And what worries me is how well the rubber seals survived from it.
But no heating problem with IBIS enabled.
It’s the writing speed to the SD card I am wondering about.
Maybe the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I Memory Card – 95MB/s won’t keep up with 4K video & hence unless the camera can use the following SD card then maybe the buffer size will limit the recording time.
SanDisk 32GB Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-II Memory Card – 280MB/s
UHS-II Class 3
Maximum Read Speed 280MB/s
Maximum Write Speed 250MB/s
Supports Advanced Shooting Modes inc. 4K
Waterproof, Shockproof & X-ray Proof
At least it looks interesting that the sensor supports 4K video so we shall see what eventuates in the firmware.
Olympus has stated the supported cards are UHS-1. And that brings question again up, that what it means. As some card manufacturers has taken Class 10 card and market it as UHS-1, while some markets faster cards as UHS-I.
And even that card is marketed as xx/Mb per seond, it is usually just the read speed and not writing speed. And the speed can dramatically get lower when there is less than 50-30% space left or if there is gaps (files fragmented).
So if we use UHS-II card, can we really benefit from it at all in worst situations?
With sensor cabable and not a very impressive 7 release they might enable 4k to have something.
Aye but what about E-M5 firmware
We’ll just have to wait & see, but I’m not confident of much more coming to that model.