The official Olympus launch event will start on August 30.
I keep receiving confirmation from more and more sources that Olympus will indeed launch a new Silver E-M1 edition. And more important a quite HUGE(!) firmware update with many improvements and new features.
I have no reliable info about the kind of fw updates but an anonymous source once told me there is something “4k” related. But I am skeptical this will happen..and if it happens I suspect it’s a sort of “low-quality” 4K.
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130 Responses
I wonder if the firmware will apply to all 3 omd’s or just the em-1?
I would think it would be primarily for the E-M1 being the Pro model that should be well supported above all their models. There might still be something for their other models but we shall have to wait & see.
I can’t imagine it being a 4k video upgrade. Olympus is the furthest behind of any of the camera manufacturers in video because video isn’t really a priority for them.
Except Fujifilm, I guess. Their video quality is seriously messed up. I really wish Panasonic and Olympus could put their best features and qualities together…
I think it will become, or is becoming a higher priority for them, but they have the least experience with it. Both Sony and Panasonic have long histories in making both professional and consumer video equipment. That gives them a huge advantage. It may be that Olympus can aquire the technology from someone else to catch up because I think it would take them too long to do it entirely in-house. Any suggestions on who they might tap?
Olympus have made proffessional highspeed video cameras for years
http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/hsv-products/i-speedpl/
I don’t need 4K, just a competent implementation of 1080p. Full manual controls, full selection of frame rates, a nice clean codec and focus peaking – all seemingly no problem for Panasonic and Sony – alongside your 5-axis IBIS. In 2014 this can’t be too much to ask, can it? If you can do this by firmware upgrade, Olympus, I’ll duck on down to my brick and mortar this afternoon and pick one up. If not, well I’ll hang on to my current mish-mash of your competitors products, waiting for the day..
I agree. Frame rate options and overall improved video and I’ll buy a new EM1. I’m looking for an excuse to upgrade from my GH2 and GF1.
Add in some weatherproof primes (9mm, 25mm) and I’ll be set. Oh, and stealth mode too. Looking forward to the news on 43rumors!
Hear hear.
My understanding is that there is a hardware limitation on the processor as far as the frame rate and codecs are concerned. Fuji has similar issues with its cameras.
In both cases, going from 30 to 24 fps and reducing the amount of compression, it will be easier for the CPU. 4k on the other hand…
You are right.
However, I was told that the hardware limitations of the processors used in Olympus and Fuji are restricted to 30p and not a software issue.
I would imagine they will include the Live Composite from the E-M10 for the E-M1. It looks a very useful feature. Check it (including video) out on the FB page. https://www.facebook.com/OlympusOMD.Official
I’m hoping the in camera stacking (Live View Composite) feature from the EM10 will be included in the new Firmware update. The camera is capable of it.
Many of us have made that wish, but I hope they were already doing it without waiting for the many requests. It appears to be a very useful feature. Does it combine for a JPEG only or does it produce a composite RAW file too?
I would not care about RAW if it gives Olympus quality JPEG.
It’s still nice to be able to manipulate the RAW file in Capture One (Pro 7) when I want to.
Hope the EP5 gets firmware update too!
Do you think it will get it too?!!!!!
Like i said befere in other rumor….we need new firmwares, not new cameras!
Look at this video (Is the E-P5 doing a High Speed Movie Video):
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVZABJ-lzeA[/url]
If anyone nows how to do it, please let me know o if it can’t, i think the E-P5 has everything needed to create those High Speed videos…if so, then why olympus didn’t include it on the E-P5 at the since the EP5 launch?
Hopefully the firmware update includes support for the Panasonic 15mm manual aperture ring, but I guess that’d be wishful thinking…
Can be marketing reason or schedule to get it ready and tested correctly. If you can add something via firmware, then it is no reason hold product release.
But I have been expecting exactly that 120fps for 720p. As 720p is now more than enough for high speeds. And if we get that 240fps mode too… It will be awesome.
1080p 60fps would be as well a dream. So 25/30 FPS modes for 1080p and maybe 50/60fps too if dream comes true.
Then 720p with 25/30/50/60/120 FPS and 320×240 in 240 fps
So, why to release a new model if released model can be updated and boost sales with that?
New E-M5 firmware update, such as Anti-shock 0sec mode, will be released as well?
That would be nice but I wouldn’t be holding my breath waiting for it though!
I must hold out little hope for Anti-shock 0sec mode on E-M5. haha.
It (electronic first curtain) might not be possible with that earlier processor perhaps.
Wow, over the top a color change for M1
I hope the EM-1 gets real focus peaking and not that choppy art filter based fake peaking.
? ? ?
That’s on E-M5! E-M1 has real focus peaking, like E-M10 (same proc).
Have you actually used the focus peaking on the EM1? You call it “real” focus peaking because it’s in the menu and you can enable it but enabling it retards your viewfinder refresh and makes it choppy. It’s not real focus peaking on the EM1, it’s an art filter cheat. Try it and report back will you?
It’s applying a processed image for display & Art Filter images with similar amount of processing does degrade the refresh rate of the display, so maybe you could wish for a firmware upgrade for such but it’s most likely hardware limited.
Also, it’s for MF, so how fast & responsive do you expect it to be?
Probably 4K HDMI output to view pictures in 4K on a TV.
TruePIC VII supports only 1080/30p 24Mbps movie for now. If that processor was 4K-capable, then Oly must support more higher bitrate for E-M1 since it was released in 2013. There’ll be no 4K for E-M1 firmware upgrade – I bid 95% – but maybe 24p/60p will possible. High bitrate and well-rendered 1080/60p is still worthier than 4K for now.
The video goes up to 34Mbits on my videos, as it is variable instead constant.
And 24fps isn’t good, we only need 25p for electricity grid reasons. 24fps is very overstated by people who doesn’t know why they like it.
I’d also rather well rendered 24/60p 1080p video than some half-assed 4k video. Come on guys really? You want 4K? 1080p is just not gonna do for you right? Forget 4k and do the following:
1. Further improve the auto-focus speed and accuracy
2. More customization options for the camera controls
3. Further improvements to auto-focusing on additional
Safe 4K, Better ISO performance for the next “EM-1”, where there is significant advances in sensor technology.
Give 4k a rest for now, seriously….jesus christ.
I agree, clean 1080p24 is more important than 4K, but that should have been here 3+ years ago. I question though, if Oly can even do a nice clean 1080p, without edge enhancement and other processing garbage.
Today 4K is already on the market. My mobile phone can shoot 4096x2160p24 @ 64Mbps, also 3840x2160p30 @ 56Mbps. Not to mention 1080p60 and 720p120.
Yes, my mobile phone. This is why Olympus needs to catch up.
Displays? Entry level 4K TVs start at $339. 2560×1440 is becoming the common resolution of 27″ desktop monitors and many smaller tablets and laptops. For phones 1080p is “normal” and 1440p is starting to show up.
Agreed, but not in the EM-1. I see no value focusing their development on a half-assed 4k implementation. Do 1080p right and then focus on 4k for the next version of the camera….or if you are in dire need of 4k, go out and buy and GH4.
As for 5″ phone displays with 1440p……..i don’t even need to comment on the usefulness of that.
Easy: Automatic 4K timelapse.
My thought exactly
Very good point…. Maybe just a time lapse for it. Could be enough for many.
How much of the E-M1 is using Sony components?
IF this mythical 4K functionality is brought to bare, it could be 4K recording in the same way the A7 does it: on connecting an external recording device.
Otherwise, internal remains 1080p.
That could be possibility, as one rumor said Olympus is bringing external attachments as well. So how about 4k video base and then timelapse motor/control base?
Chipworks have shown that the E-M1 has a Panasonic sensor, not a Sony sensor like the other OM-D models. If it’s the same sensor as in the GH4 (but with added PDAF pixels), then it should be ready for 4K. But it’s also a question about the processor and the internal heat dissipation of the body.
The 2 main problems for 4K recording are processing power & heat dissipation. A lot of video is shot in very short clips. EG: 15 to 90 seconds at a time. Of course there is a need for continuous video for hours, but that is different. What if Olympus gave us the ability to record 4K video, but say limited to clips to no longer than say 90 or 120 seconds with a 90 or 120 second cool down period in between clips. Would this be useful to a lot of EM1 users? I say yes, and should not be that difficult to implement in a firmware update.
The main problem is that the E-M1 is probably unable to encode 4k video internally anyway. It’s highly unlikely the hardware supports it.
It is frustrating trying to explain to people who refuse to accept hardware limitations.
You can’t easily add high end video recording via firmware to a camera anymore than you can add high end gaming abilities to a cheap PC via software.
What if Olympus would limit the sensor to 15-90 seconds for long exposures? That’s right… There is no heat dissipation problems as people believe for the sensor.
We can now record FullHD video what use whole sensor area, we have live view what use whole sensor area, we have long exposure times what use whole sensor area and all are possible with IBIS enabled.
We can do long exposures, videos or live view IBIS on for hours now when external temperature is 35+°
But the main problem is the CPU and battery. More processing means more heat and CPU needs to be cooled, why they are passive and connected to body. Battery lifetime will take a hit but not sensor.
But if we already can decode video to 1080p in real time from 16Mpix area and do a 1:1 mapping in video mode to get a real video crop, it shouldn’t be a problem for 4k if caches and memory slot writing speed is up to it.
So maybe we should just see what comes. I would be happy for 720p at 120fps or even 60fps. 25fps mode added next to 30fps for countries where are 50hz electricity grid and then small other changes from long exposure timer in rear display, or it really powered down when turning off it with display switch so EVF gets enables when eye gets close.
Other small fixes are possibility to operate camera when cache is being flushed to card, like changing FPS mode. Or starting to preview photos what are already written to card (or are still in cache). Then there could be small changes what can be binded to what buttons/dials etc.
Did you ever try to en(trans)code a 1080p video to H264 on your computer? A very fast PC CPU alone isn’t even capable of doing this at 24fps+, now imagine how much processing power 4k really costs(4x as much).
The good thing is, is that your camera does not encode on the CPU, but on a specialized piece of hardware. The bad thing is: That specialized piece of hardware can not be programmed to do other things(as a CPU can). It does what is does. Maybe it is designed to to 1080p@ 30fps and 1080p@24fps, maybe it could do 720p@60fps but there is no evidence nor reason to think that Olympus(in 2013!!!), has designed a camera with capabilities to encode live 4k in body, and tell nobody about it. Even Sony’s A7s can’t do it, and that camera is much more recent, and more designed for video.
E-M1 will never ever have 4k video with internal encoding, this is just nothing more then wishful thinking.
Seriously stop being selfish and negative !.
The EM5 had already the capability to record in 4K but Olympus was not interested about including this functionnality.
The EM1 is even more capable, after looking into the firmware, here which mode are possible.
1080p/24/30/60p/120, 720/120p/60p/30/24
4K/24/30p (and even more) higher bitrate it’s possible, a new codec was included on the EM1 but not available yet (need to improve this one)
So if you don’t know anything about the engineering of the OMD series, stop talking please. What you said doesn’t make any sense
While the GH4 is not that much bigger and can record in 4K
the A7s can even record in internal 4K but Sony is hiding this feature for a future camera…
It is not a wishful thinking, is the reality, Olympus recently made a deal with different cinema studio to put on top the EM1… don’t worry about Olympus, they know exactly what they are doing.
They don’t tell to anybody because they don’t care, that’s the point, you don’t need to know all about their camera but now is time to stop this selfish thinking and stop saying that 4K is impossible when it’s possible, 4K is just a resolution, making a simple algo will let you record the 4K easily, even more easy if you bring a new codec that can take care of the file on a better way (compressing, let’s take example of the codec on the AX100 Sony or GH4)
You don’t even realize what a Olympus camera can’t do… by the way stop saying wrong information… we are not in 2000 but in 2014 and and soon 2015,
The EM1 have all the capability to do 4K internally, the main problem is that you don’t know anything how a codec and engine work.
You have no idea what you’re talking about.
Which hardware limitations ?
Do you know exactly what Olympus put on the OMD E-M1 and E-M5 ?
Do you know exactly how the Engine and Sensor work on it ?
Don’t say BS about the size of the camera and cooling issue
E-M1:130x93x63 mm
DMC-GH4:132x93x84 mm
Almost the same size, and the SoC of the E-M1 is even better than the one on the GH4 (the E-M1 has by far a better engine and compression picture than one on the GH4).
The E-M1 will receive the expected update that unlock the 4K (locked functionnality), slow motion, high bitrate, new codec and more capability… it is commercial, Olympus know exactly why they did this. Keep interest on the same product and boost the sales without releasing a new camera (that will cut their financial)
Anyway check out in September and hope you that will calm you down for a long time.
E-M1 can record 4K internally (It was made for it)
E-M1 can do slow motion (even at 1080p120p it was made for it)
E-M1 has a new codec (but was not available yet, still fixing a matrix issue)
E-M1 can have easily a higher bitrate (new codec and update for the available codec coming)
E-M1 upcoming will a new kind of s-log features.
I can’t talk too much about it, i’m one of the beta tester for it.
So please stop saying that 4K is impossible on E-M1… i doesn’t make sense.
Bye have a nice day and enjoy your camera
Sorry, but what a load of crap…
Hey Bytheway…
I recall speaking to an Olympus rep and had him to task about the limited features regarding the video functionality, especially with such an amazing ibis system. The rep went on to argue that the issue was with agreements with Panasonic. In regards to the strength of what the two companies have produced by way of recent cameras. It can be seen as a plausible argument. I see where you’re coming from in regards to the aspect of ‘Financial’ argument (imho) it makes perfect sense. From a personal point of view. I’m enjoying my EM5 with all it’s querks, my main focus is on investing in a decent set of lenses in order to get the best out of the sensor that I have. I’m just happy to have a camera 🙂
As has been pointed out, the sensor is being read all the time, which is how you get live-view, so heat-dissipation may not be an issue at all. You already have smartphones with 13Mp that can do 1080P at 60fps and 2160P at 48Mbps while also recording sound at 256 Kbps. At 2160P they are limited to 5 minutes or so.
Even if they kept with 1080P and added 60 and 24 fps and improved the codec the resulting combo plus IBIS would see off the GH4 for anyone wishing to shoot video hand-held or in a situation where movement and jiggle would be an issue.
It’s the heat from the processing of the image, not the sensor itself. That’s what’s holding the quality back on every consumer camera that shoots video. This is an even greater issue when shooting high frame rates. There’s a reason high end camera systems built for video productions actually have fans built into them. There’s a operational reliability that needs to be met.
The only reason the Canon 5D mk III can shoot RAW now is because it dumps the live feed to the card with no processing. The GH4 can do what it does because it has a body built around heat dissipation and a very high end processor.
The EM1 will never approach the GH4 for video quality, period. The EM2 or EM5 mk II could if Olympus wanted to.
I am conservative everytime I see sth labeled as “huge” 🙂
My FW wish list:
– Further improvements to 4/3 lens focusing
– Possibility to create file folders in playback mode
– Possibility to move files to different folders in playback mode
– More focus peaking color choices
– More customization options for the controls. In the E-M10 I can change the control dial operation to ISO/WB by pushing one button, and after the settings are done, the dials return to normal automatically. This is not possible with the E-M1, and the 2×2 lever is not as functional for this purpose, as it needs to be switched back and forth and the location is bad with vertical grip
One more thing: more options to customize the layout of the live view. Now there are only 3 modes, of which only one works well with 4:3 image aspect. The other two work well only in 3:2 image aspect.
“- Further improvements to 4/3 lens focusing”
The part I would like added is the ability to use CD-AF if desired for lenses like the 14-54 II lens that works better on the E-M5 in a lot of situations.
I would like if timelapse files were saved to separated directory per timelapse. Would make things easier to manage.
Then have possibility to have a markes/locked photos in different directory and that’s it.
Great I want 4k in all cameras I might buy and if the em1 gets that I will buy it
What do we mean by ‘silver’ EM-1? I assume it’s not silver, just silver-colored.
Cameras used to come in black (paint over brass) or chrome (plate over brass). Chrome was a harder, more protective material. I doubt this is chrome, or they would have said so. So what is this silver- just silver colored plastic?
Secondly, I’ll go out on a limb and say there is nothing 4k about an upcoming firmware upgrade. If there were 4k it will have to be an entirely new model.
Because if they could do 4k on a mere firmware upgrade, why haven’t they done so 9 months ago? Not only make existing customers happy, but take all the thunder from Panasonic and Sony?
Because there would have been no return to holding off and allowing competitors to make more money just to wait for a trade show. Indeed, trade shows are there to make you money in the long run, not to cost you sales.
More: there is no return in giving a huge hyped capability like 4k to existing customers for free when you could make those loyalists pay all over again for a brand new model.
Why are you making it more complicated than it is? It’s a silver coloured EM-1 – just like the silver EM-5, EM-10, or even the silver Panasonic GX7.
Thanks, very informative response. Now we know exactly what the silver-colored coating is. It is silver-colored-shut-up-and-quit-asking-questions.
It’s a metallic paint actually.
Well, you get stupid answers to stupid questions.
I know what you are talking about. I have the Oly 45 (in silver) and got a scratch in the “paint” within the first week despite being overly cautious! However it is that Oly paints their plastic it is extremely fragile.
Nothing what so ever like unto the GX7 which is mostly metal and much more durable. Seems like Oly’s use of “plastic” is a sad attempt to meet their user’s incessant demand for ever “cheaper and cheaper” gear. Yes, the optics of my O45 are excellent but the lens housing, barrel and shade are not of that same caliber.
The e-m5 and e-m1 bodies are both magnesium, so it will essentially be a different paint job.
Even back in the nineteen-seventies, some of the cameras with “chrome” finish, including renowned SLR models like the Minolta XD5, were made with metallized plastic casing parts. Sometimes that was so well made as to be virtually undistinguishable from the real thing – like the XD7, which indeed had a solid metal exterior.
The body of the E-M1 is magnesium. Magnesium is not black nor silver. Olympus doesn’t use plastic to make the camera black anymore than they’ll use plastic to make the camera silver.
A 4k video requires to use 8Mpix instead FullHD , as you can see it is 4 times (hence name 4k) bigger. Meaning there are two pixels per line when FullHD has one.
To get a 4K video out of 16Mpix sensor, there is requirement to have a algorithm how the video is composed from pixels. Or better algorithm to actually compress data for processing (not same thing as video compression).
With firmware there are lots of possibilities to be done if hardware just have capability like busses, processor, card reader caches and finally electricity from battery etc.
And if Olympus does give a 4k capability, it isn’t eating sales, it is exactly boosting sales and bringing more customers as they know Olympus isn’t just releasing a new model with a new price tag to be paid off and abandon 9 months old model because something small.
The shows are not there to make sales now, they are there to make sales in next 3-5 years. That is what people don’t get, the shows don’t bring boost to sale now, they are just money drain what’s results comes in next few years without information that it was that specific show. That’s reason why corporation finance department hates shows as for their books it is nothing than waste of time. And that’s reason why you need to be in these bigger shows as there are more influence to people than holding own private show.
The E-M1 is a near perfect platform (to me). If the rumour about a significant firmware update materializes I will be very pleased. The days of replacing one’s camera every couple of years may well be over.
Related to that, IMO manufacturers will soon start to charge owners for some firmware updates (those which add features rather than just fixing issues with existing ones). A small fee of $50 or so would not be too painful to the users and may slightly improve the manufacturers’ balance sheets vis a vis the declining demand for new hardware.
I think until the next iteration of sensor technology comes along we are at a bit of a hiatus in sensor performance in all formats . I will not be buying another mFT camera till there is a genuinely worthwhile advance in sensor tech.
Other than features/gimmicks depending on your perspective there has been no advance in mFT image quality since the E-M5. Which despite the hugely exaggerated claims other than DR it was only marginally better than the GH2 or GH1.
The high ISO of current mFT cameras in situations where I actually need it remains very poor [ I do not care how a 3200ISO shot looks when taken in good light] .In genuinely low light where you may have to lift shadows even a little the noise becomes unbearable.Yes IS works wonders for static subjects alas for moving objects it does nothing. For me personally I want better low ISO performance , much lower shadow/sky noise and lower base ISO with higher MP count we have the lenses to support this but sadly it seems that camera makers think we all take images at 6400ISO
There are many things I would want for a new E-M1 long before a color change { seriously !} . Better video tops my list , I am not sure that the E-M1 has the video hardware to deliver the higher video quality Panasonic offers. Better AF with FT lenses for starters, dual card slots and critically , better C-AF, but as I mention above no new truly improved sensor no sale.
The E-M1 did not even catch up with the previous gen of APS let alone the current .In many ways it is an excellent machine . With a better sensor and genuinely high quality video it could be oh so much better
Sadly I fear camera companies would use charging for additional features in firmware as an easy way to make money .Simply disable a feature in camera , then launch an “”upgraded” firmware that turns it on and voila you have a nice easy way to make money.
http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Nikon-D5300-versus-Olympus-OM-D-E-M1-versus-Nikon-D5100___919_909_698
DLC for cameras. Hmmm. I’ll be right back. Have a few phone calls to make.
This is not a new idea. The Sony a7 series already has this. Unfortunately the “apps” are gimmicky one trick ponies that anyone with decent Lightroom/Photoshop skills could do 10x better
Or they add features what are done other manners. Like 3-5 frame exposure braketing? Seriously, a app for that?
Sure it is pretty innovative idea that we could add/remove features we don’t need, have a unmarked buttons in body and bind features to those.
A thing what I like in E-M1 is the MyMode sets what allows me to configure everything to profile. From EVF grids to frame rates and focusing systems. So when I want to feel retro, I switch dial and I am in black and white mode, burst 3 shots a second, grid of 9’s and even resolution set to low with full manual focus.
My problem with E-M1 is now the shutter lifetime. Way too good camera (with many small glitches fixable with firmware) what makes photography easy and especially fun. That causes more shot to be taken and it wears shutter more
I think the shutterlife (tested for 150k) is in line with its price?
That would inevitably lead to charges that the manufacturer was sandbagging models; charging a high initial price for a deliberately underconfigured and unfinished machine, and then turning around and charging additional fees for turning on already designed-in features.
And what if you bought a new model two years after introduction and after a string of $50 upgrade releases… do you have to pay to apply each firmware upgrade, or do you get them all automatically in the new purchase? And if so, how does that make the early adopters feel?
It was just a thought. There could be a variety of possible models to implement this.
A camera manufacturer would have to be quite bold to sacrifice the competitiveness of new products in order to milk prospective buyers later on. It doesn’t make sense.
Early adopters are masochists even now. Paying a small extra fee once a year will only fit their natural predisposition. But seriously, such a model would save early adopters a lot of money as they can buy new firmware instead of new cameras.
Chargable firmware update? Yes by all means, please do! After all, no one is going to crack it, no one is gonna take advantage of its vulnerable digital nature….
Charging for firmware updates will lead to initial camera releases with cripped features, that are then unlocked for money.
Exactly, those of us who’ve worked in television/video production for any amount of time are familiar with Sony Broadcast’s track record in this regard. Quite annoying actually.
Actually I would like to see the only issue I had so far with the Em1: long exposure shots show a pointed image (when taken at around 30 seconds).
I wonder if it could be the reason why it can’t do 4k (higher quality anyway) video.
I’d like to have yellow and blue lines for focus peaking, so that it can be really useable.
Other than that I am a bit scheptical about the word “huge”.
When you say pointed, do you mean noisy? I am considering an em5 when it gets a bit cheaper and do long exposures with nd filters.
Some kind of noise, yes, but different from that of high ISOs.
I usually don’t take those long exposure shots, but I was playing with infrared filters yesterday and realized those files were noisy.
If you look at the overall picture you might not notice it, being photos of trees, but on plain surfaces like a clear sky, a lake surface, this issue is evident.
On Em5 there’s no problem at all. Different sensors, after all.
What you are describing is long exposure noise, related to the Panasonic sensor in the E-M1. It can’t be fixed with a firmware update. Only a sensor replacement with a different model. Assuming you have “reduce long exposure noise” turned on, you will only see some noise and softening of the image. If you have that turned off, you will see an ocean of hot pixels.
The E-M5 and E-M10 don’t suffer from this issue.
It can’t be “fixed” but if there is better algorithm to remove it, then it is possible.
People underestimate the software.
Like with software we can do things like this: http://alpha.hstor.org/storage2/eff/36d/77a/eff36d77a583b46e461c12a3c0037063.png
Or like this: http://habrastorage.org/storage2/73c/4ef/470/73c4ef470d38e37db24cf61230640dc1.png
We can do very good noise removing http://telin.ugent.be/~frooms/ipi-topics/restoration/denoise/ProbShrinkDen.jpg
The dark-frame extraction is the simplest and most effective in time (exposure*2) but after it we can do amazing things with software. If we can apply such algorithms in camera, we can add it updating firmware.
It’s the hot pixels from a long exposure on the E-M1 with a Panasonic sensor that is the difference to the E-M5 (with a Sony sensor) & with a Dark Frame Subtraction (Noise Reduction process) it performs OK which unfortunately is usually turned off for star trails, but one little new feature on the E-M10 is the Live Composite that takes a Dark Frame first before the sequence of frames for the image & the result can be very good (so it would seem) for star trails, light trails & fire works etc. See the Olympus OM-D FaceBook page for a video demonstration https://www.facebook.com/OlympusOMD.Official & hope they bring this feature to the E-M1 in the next firmware upgrade, because I hope they do. It may not be perfect for long star trails, but I’d like to see it’s results if applied to the E-M1.
4K timelapse, perhaps. I hope they add a good sweep panorama.
You do the sweep panorama with tripod, not with software.
And 4k timelapse you do from frames, not from video in camera.
🙂 I think you mean that *you* do panorama with a tripod. *I* like having a software option. And the 4K timelapse is not a wish list item for me but rather a possible explanation of the 4K EM1 firmware rumor that seems more likely than actual 4K motion. I’d be happy to be wrong, of course.
Make that a VERY nice to have! 😉
A while back Olympus said they would start to focus on video more. It would make sense to me that the firmware would add 25/50p recording and possibly high speed and pdaf for video as well. I wouldn’t expect any kind of 4k video due to the heat generated.
Does your camera sensor generate so much heat that you are incapable to continue photographing when you are doing long exposures like 30-60 minutes? Does your sensor generate so much heat that you can’t empty your battery in one event without turning your camera off when taking the 700-1000 photos (with single battery)?
Does your camera now heat up when you take 1080p video card full (couple hours)?
And we can do those in high temperature situations like 35 degrees.
The 4k isn’t a magical heat generator, if the CPU is well mounted to body so heat can be transferred from CPU to body. And CPU is in different compartment than sensor.
A long exposure is even worse than what the 4k is. A full sensor continually being read out and stabilized. The added noise comes from reason that the exposure is single frame, not multiple frames.
But there is a small truth that the temperature affects to noise quality, but it isn’t very dramatic. But taking a long exposure (like 15 minutes) when camera is in -10 or even -40 degree temperature and when it is in +35 degree temperature does give small difference but very subtle.
The main problem is the power drainage.
taking 10 FPS a second of RAW+JPEG generates in second 320 MiB processing and saving, while 24Mbits 1080p/30fps generates _only_ about 180MiB in _one minute_, or about 2.4MiB a second for processing and saving.
And 4k video is only 4x 1080p video by resolution (hence 4k name) and only 8Mpix per frame instead 2Mpix, instead 16Mpix. The data amounts grows quickly by doubling, but quality requires quadrupling. And even today AVC codec (what h.264 is) requires low bitrates to get a good quality/compression ratio. It is around 3-5Mbits and after that the quality doesn’t get much better. For high end blu-ray the limit is 40Mbits for video (only video). 54Mbits is the maximum _data_ rate, 48Mbits is for audio+video bitrate.
Already a FullHD videocamera is capable to capture 1.5 Gbits, what requires to be compressed down to lower rates. Cable TV’s, blue-ray movies etc are only around 18-19Mbits bitrates. And E-M1 is now giving a 25-26Mbits capture (official is 24Mbits bitrate but it is the lowest) in normal but can jump way over 30Mbits if scenery allows.
And if we lower 30 FPS to 25 FPS, we get the extra bitrate even from there.
The heat generated per frame or per second is lower on video than it is on high bursts what puts electronics and digital technology to near its limits. Long exposures where all the time the data is captured and operated until at the end the data is simply flushed trough compression.
Problems really comes to CPU and I/O. How well can processor manage h.264 compression what is heavy (not at all so heavy as h.265/VP9) when those are primarily designed to manage RAW data and just flush it or compress it with JPEG algorithms.
It’s not the CPU of the camera, but the actual imaging sensor that heats up during video production. It’s the reason some cameras have time limits on how long they can record video at certain resolutions. The heat issue was discussed when Panasonic, and others, introduced 4K recording. Heat dissipation was the main obstacle.
I previously owned a Sony NEX 7 that shut down consistently after 8 minutes of continuous video shooting and messaged “sensor over heating.” Not the “hybrid hero” I was hoping for. A Google search revealed that it was a common complaint and never seems to have been acknowledged by Sony. I sold all of my NEX gear to go M43.
And still we can do continues sensor usage in 16Mpix instead 8Mpix without heating technical problems while IBIS enabled….
There is juridical restriction in Europe for 29:59min recordings. But GH4 doesn’t shut down, and GH4 use almost same sensor as E-M1….
I really hope they don’t forget E-M5 owners. Still waiting for focus peeking!
And don’t forget about 0-second antishock…
Not addressing shutter shock issues in earlier models and only fixing it for the newest releases is unconscionable.
Post your shutter shock ruined images. Neither the E-M5 I had nor my E-M1 ever demonstrated this mythical shutter-shock problem.
Olympus addressed the issue directly in the EM1 with a firmware update, giving credence to this as fact, not myth. I don’t own an EM5 but have seen enough complaints to believe that some people are experiencing it. People seem pretty effusive in their praise for the camera, in general. Why would so many single out the same issue?
As a current Olympus owner (and potential future customer) myself, I’m interested in seeing how they serve their customers after purchase. To me, while the existence of an issue is bothersome, worse is when there is a solution offered to some customers but not others.
Its great that you have not experienced the issue and are enjoying those two cameras. I love my EM1 and EP5, am running the latest firmware, and am looking forward to whatever goodness the rumored next rev will bring.
With the E-M5 and the 1.8/45 it happens a lot, because the lens is so lightweight.
With the 12-40 at 40mm I never had it. The much heavier lens just don’t get moved by the little shutter 😉
I checked my camera before I paid for it in store and found no such problem what others showed. Even when testing with 45mm f/1.8 or 60mm f/2.8 there was no such problem. When the new feature came, I could do frame by frame comparison and I found so slight difference that I needed 200% zooming and quick switching between two frames to spot the “clear” difference.
i dont understand why there is not a EM5 successor coming, seems long overdue. Their going to loose people who are looking in this segment to Panasonic. I was looking at GX 7 but just found out that is not one is not for me as i use a lot of long exposure.
I don’t need te pro-level EM-1 and honestly don’t have the cash. Just update the EM5 better EVF, Wifi, focus peaking, slightly better video … all i ask.
I don’t want EM1 for it’s too big. I’d like EM5 to have better video or EM10 to have built-in audio in. As there seems no developement towards my needs I’m selling my EM5 in favor of GX7. It’s not perfect either, yet still.
i actually saw some footage of em5 video on Vimeo, looked pretty nice actually. Would dust like higher frame rate
Because there would not be reason to buy a E-M1 when you would only get a integrated grip.
Olympus needs to wait over one year before releasing a successor to E-M1 and then same time it can release successors to E-M5 and E-M10 with lower specs.
Now Olympus should just focus to improve cameras features with firmware, after all 90% of the camera is today digital technology what software controls. Then the limits comes what the electronics are really capable but many things can be still changed. Like bring a new ways to use EVF, what doesn’t depend EVF resolution. Or improve operation by giving new ways how to bind buttons. Or bring new features like live composition if the electronics are just up to it.
The E-M10 seems to be the one what you are asking for, as you didn’t say you need weather proofing.
It is just stupid to expect to get new model every 6-12 months. Even 18 months is bad. And actually having a pre-set release time is bad too, as 9-6 months before new expected model the sales take a dip and just 3-2 months before new expected model the sales are almost flat at low.
Instead just release when released without warnings, in 6-9 month bracketing of expected times.
Thanks for your response! Maybe Em10 is the on for me, just not sure if the build quality is as good as EM5. Don’t need weather sealing but would like magnesium alloy body. don’t know what EM10 is made of. Also i read that EM5 has better video, is this true?
The body is same, without sealement of course so no shooting in heavy rain, no protection for heavy dusty environments or in frozen Winters (careful when taking camera in jackets and out for shooting how moisture builds up).
And as far I know, video is worse only in 3-axis IBIS. What isn’t much difference as 3-axis is awesome too.
Otherwise E-M10 has better A/D.
If they fix the multi-point S-AF focusing and ESP metering system I’ll be happy. I’m so sick it insisting on focusing on the background and metering off the background instead of the thing I’m focusing on. Olympus cameras are almost comically bad at AF and AE intelligence.
Maybe you just need to understand the way Contrast Detect AF works & then you will be able to use it to your advantage. Birds in bushes are easier to focus on with that system. Its the majority of subject in the focus area box that matters & if the majority is the background, then that is what it will focus on (hence the need for the right size focus area). Also you may need to cycle the focus onto something closer first to actually see the subject you wish to focus on as foreground small objects will be just a total blur if the focus is on the background.
All good advice. However, keep in mind that I’m comparing it to the E-M5 in terms of focusing. With the E-M5, if it focused at the wrong depth/wrong subject, recomposing and focusing again would bring the focus to another depth. However I’m not sure why the E-M1 refuses to do this. For example if I’m trying to focus on a face in front of a forest landscape, it will again and again pick the landscape, even after pre focusing on the ground at my feet. What I’ve had to do with the E-M1 is manually pick a focus point that doesn’t overlap the background at all and use that. Not sure why this is so much worse on the E-M1 than the E-M5, but it’s frustrating until you get used to always using a single focus point.
Depends from objective you use. As some are designed to focus closest subject and some to furthest.
And if you keep large focusing grid, you give power to automatic mode choose it for you. So don’t use full frame or 9-point focusing if subject is small.
I don’t know does Olympus have a any intelligence for subjects like Sony A6000 has, in other modes than in iauto (AFAIK).
They do have face+eye detection and the manual says it’s supposed to automatically meter for the subject in focus. But it doesn’t, ever. 😉 IMHO, the E-M5 has one of the best focusing systems I’ve ever used for S-AF. With the E-M1, the same is true in burst mode and C-AF…it’s very good at finding the thing that’s moving toward you and keeping focus on it. It just sucks with static subjects, which is a strange complain for a camera whose predecessor is one of the best in the world at S-AF.
And it isn’t even comically funny that people believe they have DSLR where the ESP metering system is important one as you can’t see what you get.
So simply, just look the rear screen or EVF and you see what you will get. No need to meter exposure what is required thing with DSLR. That is the benefit of DSLM you get what you see.
What I usually do if I’m in a hurry is use spot metering + AEL, compensate exposure, then focus, compose, shoot. The time smarter ESP would be handy is for spur of the moment sots where you want to be able to raise the camera and shoot and have it figure out the exposure correctly. This is where Olympus really lags the competition, IMHO.
I simply use 1EV exposure adjustment as i don’t care 1/2 or 1/3 modes mostly. As I can fix 4-5 stops in post production ao I don’t need to get it perfectly in camera. That means I can only look scenery and let my experience tell the exposure values. Then while I raise camera on eye, my fingers does use the best wheels what any camera has, E-M1 wheels and I can set all three exposure values correctly in 1 or sometimes 2 stop accuracy and when I finally see the image, it is just one or two clicks to correct direction without even looking the values. What really anymore matters to me is that artificial bubble is horizontally straight (I hold camera naturally 2 degrees to left) so when I see green at bottom, I can press shutter.
Faster than with any other camera, something what others struggle with their exposure metering and exposure metering modes.
And that is The speed what matters. No checking rear display, no reading exposure values and choosing exposure metering modes. Simply looking the subject and focusing to the moment.
Of course I use mainly M as I know what I want and when. And if I use i-auto or other, it is again mainly corrected with EV correction mode.
So now you just reprint old rumors with “Yep” in front?
I’m hoping for massive firmware updates to my E-P3 and E-5, unlocking all the amazing features they are capable of!
E-5 has some great hardware, they can pump the pickles up to 20, and add 5-axis IS and 4k@120FPS with a firmware update.
I also hope they’ll add weather sealing to the E-P3.
I prefer Olympus over Panasonic and Sony, I want to buy Olympus, I prefer the cameras in every way save one- the video sucks. If they put the slightest effort into it they could’ve sold a ton of cameras to people whose primary interest is video. The 5 axis IS is awesome. But I’ve given up on Olympus at this point. They are so far behind Panasonic and Sony when it comes to video it’s pointless to consider them- unless your primary interest is photography.
This is exactly where I’m at. If you could shove the video capabilities of the GH4 into the EM1, you’d have the perfect camera for me. I love my em5 and don’t want to buy a 2nd body until I can get 5 axis stabilization with great video capabilities. Sadly, it looks like I may just add the GH4 to my bag, and continue to use my em5 when I really need the stabilization.
If only Olympus could see how many more bodies they would sell if they would just upgrade the video processing. They only need to look at gh4 sales to see what they are missing out on.
People should start telling exactly why they can’t use Olympus for videography, instead bashing.
Like only real good reason currently is the missing 25 FPS option, what causes that lights will flicker in countries where is 50Hz electricity grid.
But there is no other real good reason say it is behind others in video in stopping manner.
It’s not just the fps, it’s also about resolution, bit rate and codecs. And there are other useful features that videographers appreciate, like zebra stripes, clean HDMI out, different options for audio recording etc.
Sure, where is the 6k or 8k what videographers appreciate? Where is the 65mm sensor? Where is the pure RAW 19 stops exposure range capability? Where is the skilled camera operator what can so focus pulls manually better than automatics? Where is the 12 terabyte SSD RAID storage device?
Where is the steadycam level stabilization system?
All those are appreciated by videographers, only amateurs whine about zebras and clean HDMI etc….
Did you get the point?
Yep, if I can get PAL framerates and 4k or even 1080p but super detailed, I would buy the E-M1 in a heart beat. The IBIS is amazing.
They already put slightest effort and then little more.
– E-M1 has 5-axes IBIS enabled for video
– 1080p resolution
– H.264 codec with very good compression
– Minimum 24Mbits bitrate
– Possible to use shadow/highligts tool to get almost 13 stops exposure range (aka flat video)
– Mic jack for external microphone
And where did they drop the ball?
They implemented only the 30fps mode what suffers in countries where is 50Hz electricity grid what causes fluerecent lights flicker 25 times a second and they cast easily different color spectrum on each flicker, what is easily captured by camera sensor.
Nothing else really isn’t bad or weak in video mode. Only missing, what typical photographer doesn’t need. As shooting video is different task than taking photos and you can’t do both well same time, why you need two bodies and assistance or tripod for video.
Olympus weakness in video is greatly exaggerated from what it really is.
Instead just whining how bad it is, there are people who have actually made very good looking footage without such problems as many claim in video quality.
Where the hell is the forth coming EM-5 update.. I want Focus peaking ability… and i would love if they added tethering capibility.