Dpreview posted the .Olympus OM-D E-M10 shooting experience and studio test:
Overall it feels like an E-M1 Light – in both the literal and metaphorical sense. It’s a little less weight to carry, a little more space in my bag saved. Some features have been cut down (though not many, considering the price difference) but what’s left feels like an incredibly fun and responsive device, a little more than you’d expect from a casual go-everywhere camera, pushing on towards semi-pro territory.
And they also published an Interview with Hirofumi Imano of Olympus:
– but we’re actively working to optimize video performance in our lineup of both cameras and lenses.
– more of our customers in the US and Europe are vocal about wanting more advanced video functionality than in Japan and Asia, and our Asian customers are more vocal about ergonomics – things like how the dials feel. They’re very picky.
Interesting Imano says there are a couple of reasons why mirrorless isn’t selling very well in Europe and US:
– Perception that cameras from bigger brands are better
– Perception that bigger sensor size is better (for a long time mirrorless was MFT only and after APS-C sensor only)
– It would help if Canon and Nikon would make serious mirrorless cameras
Store links for US and Europe:
Special page with all new products at Amazon.
E-M10 Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
E-M10 Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
E-M10 with 14-42mm lens Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama , GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
E-M10 with 14-42mm lens Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
25mm f/1.8 Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
25mm f/1.8 Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
14-42mm Black at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
14-42mm Silver at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex UK, Amazon Germany.
Olympus SP-100 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama.
Olympus TG-850 iHS at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama.
Olympus ECG-1 Black Camera Grip for E-M10 at Amazon, Adorama.
Olympus 9mm f8.0 Fisheye Body Cap Lens at Adorama, GetOlympus. In EU at Wex Uk.
Olympus V321200BW000 Macro Converter MCON-P02 (Black) at Amazon,
33 Responses
I am Russian end I vont moar video functionality.
hopefully in the upcoming firmware update….
Ok, let me first say that I am not the least bit racist in any way…God created ALL people equal…but that made me literally LOL 🙂
I wonder who’s more picky, the customer that wants advanced video or the customer that wants better ergonomics.
I am pretty sure one of the next OMD will do 4K!
Undeniably 4K would boosts sales. If anything else, as a sales pitch. Yet, when you see how those who specifically wants 4K in their camera (as in using it with a purpose) tends to gear up, it would be interesting to see how many among them really care about IBIS at all.
A bigger sensor would boost sales.. You can put beatiful rims on a Lada but its still a Lada.
LOL a Lada.
What if you write “pro” on a Lada?
Lol yes that will do it…….
On spec, yes.
But then every cam and phone with video capture feature shoot 1080, but only a few deliver what GH2/GH3 is capable of… (okay let say cam under $2KUSD)
agreed. 4k alone doesn’t mean video has a top quality 🙂
“Interesting Imano says there are a couple of reasons why mirrorless isn’t selling very well in Europe and US:
– Perception that cameras from bigger brands are better
– Perception that bigger sensor size is better (for a long time mirrorless was MFT only and after APS-C sensor only)
– It would help if Canon and Nikon would make serious mirrorless cameras”
Those three things pretty much sum it up. I’d like to add to the first one, also that, perception that not just bigger brand cameras are better, but perception that bigger cameras are better.
If canon or nikon made a mirrorless, not the 1 or M, but something to compete, possibly with their marketing the “mirrorless” camera will be known, competition will ensue and more things will continue to be made. I don’t want to be left with a bunch of m4/3 equipment and un-updated bodies as dslr’s continue to be made.
Then there’s the pesky reality that bigger brands have a better chance of being around in two years, that bigger sensor size results in more detailed images with greater contrast and less noise.
Not to mention the annoying reality that Nikon and Canon mirrorless are selling quite well, certainly better than Panasonic and Fuji, possibly better than Olympus. That in fact Samsung mirrorless may be selling better than one or two of the above.
And the most damning reality of all, curiously entirely unspoken: Mirrorless cameras cost way too much compared to DSLRs.
Bigger brands don’t just stay around for the sake of being a big brand. Look at Polaroid and Kodak. In their heyday they were the undisputed global kings of photography, commercial and industrial optics. To the rest of the world, Polaroid and Kodak did not adapt and address the changing needs of consumers for years. So according to Polaroid/Kodak management, it seemed like one day out of the blue sales dropped every quarter until they almost went bust.
Similar things are occurring right now but big players like Canon, Nikon and Sony were aware of market changes, they just don’t know what to do about it. Facts are the four main factors killing DSLR/Mirrorless sales are:
1. Smartphones
2. Satisfaction with current DSLRs
3. Lack of innovative products from DSLR makers
4. Global economic downturn
The biggest one being smartphones.
Excellent post! I agree whole heartedly.
I also saw some one stating somewhere that the term mirrorless is wrong. You can’t promote a product by telling what it doesn’t have. Calling it a ‘compact system camera’ is also wrong, ‘compact’ doesn’t sound like it could be anything serious, just small. Since it is never too late to come up with a new name… what should we call it?
E-M10 looks better at higher ISOs ( 1600, 3200 ) than most APS-C cameras, Live Composite looks an excellent tool, but why is ISO 100 missing ( again )?
why on firefox or IE is the font of disquis twice big as the rest of text ? …ist nonsense …when reading on opera mobile it looks good …pls admin make something withthis if you dont want to bring back the old comment tool
I don’t understand why Admin won’t go back to the old system, apart from the fact he no longer responds to mail,which makes me suspect Disqus blocks it just as they block negative feedback, they have captured this site now they will try to destroy it. Of course the interesting thing is it has not stopped the Trolls.
on top of that I think there are less comments on each post …and thats due to new system
What I liked on the old system was:
– nice small fonts
– almost unlimited number of comments in 1 view( I think more than 100)
– the recent 5 comments per each post visible on initial screen
on the disquis I like that it notify when I get reply ..but otherwise is horible and mostly I dont read comments now
Well those settings can be changed in Disqus if the Admin wills it so. BenSwann.com uses Disqus as well and the fonts are tiny. Overall, Disquss is used on more websites globally, is a better format, easier to keep up/respond to replies than e-mail. Personally, I love the new system, but the font size is purely up to the Admin.
I find it rather amusing that in the interview with Olympus spokesman Hirofumi Imano, Mr Imano listed as one of the explanations for lackluster mirrorless camera sales, “It would help if Canon and Nikon would make serious mirrorless cameras.”
Mr. Imano is probably correct in his logic that Nikon and Canon could give m4/3 more credibility by making serious mirrorless cameras, and in the fullness of time they probably will. I suspect that day will come when mirrorless technology advances to a point where the DSLR just can’t compete.
However for the present time, why should Canon and Nikon undermine their own dominance in the camera world in order to save Oly’s bacon?
Suppose that Canon and Nikon already have serious mirrorless designs in development but can afford to wait until Olympus drowns, and then release their “serious mirrorless cameras.”
While canon and Nikon making a substantial effort in mirrorless CSC market would mean more CSC sales overall, I dont see how having competition from canon and Nikon would help Olympus/Panasonic/fuji increase their sales or market share in this case.
Most people have this notion that having a DSLR means you are a pro photographer, and having otherwise means you are just a tourist, or an amateur. Canon and Nikon are relying on this common perception. If Canon and Nikon will start seriously doing mirrorless, people will realize that mirrorless cameras are not that bad after all. And this will cause the decrease in their DSLR sales and an increase in the overall mirrorless camera market, including Oly, Pany, Fuji.
But if that did work the way you’re describing why are oly and pana out of the dslr business?
Historically I don’t think it worked out too well. Who needs to change the perception is oly/pans/fuji etc.
People don’t easily accept technological change. Oly, Pany, and Fuji are embracing this change, Canon and Nikon are not. Its just like a group of blind people, then someone suddenly opens his eyes to see, and everyone laughs at him.
A rising tide lifts all boats.
When you look at comments form Panny/Oly exces, there’s a lot of confusion about csc/mirrorless cameras compared to DSLR’s with casual shooters. People that frequent this site know, but someone with no knowledge of photography walks into a big box store and see a slew of CaNikon DSLR’s (familiar brand, familiar look, associated with good photos) and then a funky, small (small = inferior) camera from a lesser known company (my wife said “Panasonic makes cameras?” when I bought a GH2 years back) and what do they gravitate toward? What’s familiar. CaNikon has such a dominating presence here, they’re everywhere casual photographers shop, those are camera brands people that aren’t into cameras know. Small is not associated with high quality because for decades small cameras were just toys. When the big 2 push mirrorless hard and they’re able to match DSLR’s (so when people whip out their phones, look at reviews and don’t read about poor low light focusing, sensor envy and so on), people in the U.S. will take notice. Till then DSLR’s will dominate an ever shrinking market…
People are terrified at the prospect of seeming to be out of step with the herd. Nikon and Canon are “safe” choices. No one is going to question your judgement or your credibility because you are using a Nikon.
It takes a person with conviction to stand against the taunts of the herd. We in the m4/3 community stand virtually alone with our sensible sized cameras. We can either cave to the mob or ignore them and enjoy photography our own way.
If Oly & Pany can’t get it together to work for a common format m4/3 will eventually go bust. That alone will not inhibit our hobby or our ability to flesh out our m4/3 gear collection. In fact bargains could be plentiful. If one is concerned that a marketing failure for m4/3 could destroy the value of their camera and lenses, FEAR NOT . . . the same will happen to the value of ALL computerized electronics. NO computer/electronics have more than 5 years relevance.
I am glad you enjoy photography. Have you learned some of it already?
Show me how it’s done, son. You’ve been challenged, repeatedly, to show us YOUR fabulous photos. For some unexplained reason, you can’t back up your mouth with your pictures, YET you constantly trash others here who actually DO enjoy photography and take excellent photos.
When challenged, which you have been NUMEROUS TIMES, you quickly hide behind another fictitious name and try a different attack on someone else.
Grow up! Man up! Take a user name and try to build some respect for that name. Take some responsibility for your mouth, you might find you don’t have to adopt another fictitious name with each post. Put a little thought behind your words, they might carry a little more weight. Treat other as you would like to be treated, that way you won’t object to reaping what you’ve sewn.
Maybe if you had a real interest other than TROLLing here, you find acceptance.
Sheesh what temper. You do have issues. You can’t shoot and you can’t handle a forum.
And YOU?
Imano’s comments on US sales are ridiculous, and if they’re Olympus’ honest thoughts (vice spin) they’re completely detached from reality.
Olympus’s distribution and marketing in the US are almost nonexistent, and completely absent from the largest volume camera sellers (Best Buy, Wal Mart, Costco, Target, etc.).
And it’s trying to compete as a tiny player in a saturated market with (probably precipitously) declining future sales volume, where the capture-developing-sharing needs of most mass market users are met by a newer, sexier category of product (smartphone), and which camera makers are having a harder and harder time coming up with reasons to buy a new product (vice keep an existing product). [unless you’re an enthusiast who has to have the latest and greatest]