Another trusted source shared more tidbits about the E-M1 2.0 firmware upgrade:
1. Olympus Capture: software tethering, you can do almost anything from your PC.
2. 2 new art filters : vintage and partial color
3. Faster EVF response 16ms (improved from 29ms)
4. Total 16 improvements.
5. Keystone feature: The good news, It works in liveview and you can use the 2 control dials to manipulate vertical and horizontal axis separately. Bad news, it doesn’t work in retouch mode and you can manipulate only 1 axis on a single image.
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132 Responses
Completely underwhelming firmware update. The relative difficulty of adding variable framerates such as 24/25 fps is extremely low compared to the clamoring of requests from their user base. Why can’t Olympus simply understand that? Basically no one is asking for a “keystone” feature, yet valuable resources are wasted when they could have been put to better use. Not implementing competitive video upgrades is a result of a depressing misallocation of priorities by Olympus.
you are right but they surely have their reason not to do, is that so hard to accept?
I don’t understand what reasons could stop a company for selling more of their products.
yes but i dont understand alot in the world, so why should i bother about this, if i would, i can always choose another brand. but hey this is just me speaking
I agree and don’t understand why 24/25 can’t be done! Is the new alliance with Sony stopping Olympus from making a camera for the PAL world – Australia Europe etc?
Priorities are subjective.
For me getting photography by adding things such as live composition, better EVF response rate (for action), etc are massive improvements.
For you video maybe more important and a priority.
For both of our “tastes” there is a body either from Olympus or Panasonic! Variety is what makes m4/3 so great imo!
Others (into video) may not be as impressed, but I’m looking forward to this update. I hope the Live Composite is still part of it as first suggested it was. EVF refresh rate has got to be of great benefit for any action type use with birding, children, sports etc.
Lots of people are trolling or just trying to justify themselves why the X camera is better. I love it that a few years ago dSLRs didn’t even have video and now everyone makes it look like “a must” and act like they are in the next megapixel race.
If you are into video there are better hybrids or dedicated for video cameras. But at the long term updates like this enhance the product and make indirectly effect videographers. Afterall this is a FREE update with additional features.
Since I’m not interested in video (except for the odd video take of something on the very rare occasion) & as you say, it is free, I am quite pleased with the offerings so far. My only beef is when using a lens like the 14-54 II on the E-M1 is that it defaults to PD-AF without giving me the option to use CD-AF which can be so much better than using PD-AF in some situations & I am forced to switch it my E-M5 if I want to use that lens in those low light, low contrast situations.
The fact that no sources mention 25 fps as a new feature, makes me fear the worst. Is no one listening to customers in Japan?
There has been an interview where they said that they want to get photography right first, and then concentrate on video. If someone cares more about video get the gh4, but as a person who doesn’t care that much about video I’m glad that they improve the photography aspects further. Better have a camera that’s good at one thing rather than a camera that’s mediocore at both. And we have the option to use both .. Olympus for photography and Pana for video while keeping the same lenses.
I think panny does both exceptionally well. Sure there’s no 5axis ibis, but real photographers don’t need that to get a good picture. I think the GH4 is better at just about everything else.
I shoot PL15 and PL25 on the GH2 and there is only a handful occasions where I could use IS. It is a useful feature, albeit not a killer feature.
Wide angle lenses like that are not going to be affected by camera shake anywhere near as much as the longer focal lengths are. I use the 75-300 lens a lot & without IBIS I would not get the shots I can now without a tripod. Who wants to carry a tripod when they don’t need to? Anyhow, it would get in the way a lot of the time!
How much better is ibis at 300mm than the ois in the 100-300 at 300mm? Not much if any is my guess. The longer the fl, the more ois catches up because of where it’s at. Again, nice feature, but I surely don’t need it for the work I do. It’s like oly people have this one thing they cling to. Good for you, but it doesn’t mean the GH4 is not a very good camera for photography, which was my point.
I had the 100-300 for a couple weeks and it was clearly better to use the IBIS on my EM-5 over the in lens stabilization. Having the stabilized magnified view in the viewfinder is a huge help with framing and shooting long telephoto.
Don’t get me wrong I lust after the GH4. But I’m primarily a stills photographer, and I focus manually alot. After having the EM-5 and getting spoiled by the IBIS, I just can’t go back.
I rarely shoot long and when I do it’s not a problem for me, but besides ibis I just don’t see what makes Oly better than Panny for stills. I love having the cross hair focus point. I love the auto + manual with zoom to make sure I have the right thing in focus. I love the eye tracking so it tracks and locks focus on the eye. The Gh4 shoots more raw frames per second. The GH4 has silent mode and electronic shutter. The Gh4 can lock focus at -4ev. The GH4 has a built in flash. The Gh4 has a fully articulated screen (used this at a shoot today). The GH4 has wifi. The list just goes on and on and all of these are photography features that are important, and out perform the EM1. Yet people still say it’s only good for video. I don’t think Oly offers these great photography features, yet some people just can’t accept that Panny is just as capable (more so for me) at taking pictures. I don’t do video, yet still paid an extra $700 over the Em1 to get the Gh4. Whatever helps you sleep at night I guess.
I sleep fine at night. So well, I’m not even going to bother correcting you on the myriad errors and misconceptions in that post. Enjoy your GH4.
No worries, and just fyi, my tripod goes a bit higher then my arms can reach handheld so I’m not sure your idea would have worked. Thank goodness for the android remote app. Also without understanding what I was shooting and why, it’s kind of difficult to truly critique comp, don’t you think? Also I would never post a clients photo they paid for on a site like this, this was a throw away, so I used it here. As far as all my spec errors above, they were pulled from the DPR specs so if they’re wrong it was an honest mistake, but I’d be surprised. I did extensive research on both before making my decision. I really wanted the one touch WB on the EM1, but everything else just didn’t line up for me. ibis wasn’t even a factor because of the type of work I do, but it would be nice to have of course. I’m sure the EM1 has a laundry list of strengths as well, just not things that were going to help my photography business more than the features on the GH4. I think both Panny and Oly make very capable stills cameras and I’m sorry so many out there can’t see that as well.
Half the features you list as Pana advantages, Oly also has(eye tracking, wifi). Of the other half, half don’t matter to “real photographers”, to use your own words. Built in flash? Fully articulating vs tilting? Who cares? Even if the only EM-1 advantage you consider is the IBIS, it’s enough of one to seal the deal for most stills photographers that try it. There’s a reason even popular internet reviewers that prefer full frame constantly call the 5 axis IBIS “spooky good”. That reason is because it’s the truth.
I’m not even trying to trash the GH4, it’s a great camera that takes great stills and owns at video. Yet your defense of it seems desperate to misinform about the EM-1, and just how good the 5 axis is. If you haven’t tried it in hand, then you really have no place to speak on it. It seems pretty clear that you haven’t.
As to my critiquing your photo without knowing your intended vision, isn’t that generally the way of it? Will you reveal a gallery one photo at a time, so that you can force the viewers to listen to an explanation of your vision before they view each piece of work? Not if you want anyone to stick around to see your whole show. You claimed to be a working photographer and posted an example of your work in order to reinforce a point. That opens you and your chosen example to critique, does it not? As to sharing paid work, most pro photographers have in their portfolio work from paid jobs, so I’m not sure what you’re on about. You need to rework your contract if you don’t retain the rights to show your own work as you please. Of course, I’m just an amateur, so what do I know.
I have 2 friends with EM5’s so I have tried it more than a few times. I’ve found it only helps in very limited situations. I rarely shoot low light, static objects in my work or for fun and that’s when it helps. As far as my EM5 friends go, one is a birder and he uses the Panny 100-300 with OIS on, and turns off the ibis He tells me he gets better results, and the other who is a pro skipped the EM1 and upgraded to the GH4. I know there are far more Oly fans than Panny fans and I like their products as well, but they are not the be all and end all of M4/3’s photography by any stretch.
This all started because someone early on implied that only Oly was good for stills and Panny was only good for video. I was just calling BS on that statement. I didn’t intend to turn it into a war.
My only point with the photo was that on the rare occasions I need to I can get a shot with a slow shutter speed even though I don’t have ibis, so it’s not important to me. I would not risk wasting my time or my clients money hoping my IS worked only to find out the shots were blurry when I got home, so even with ibis I most likely would have used my tripod instead in this situation.
I haven’t typed this much in a thread in years. It’s almost dinner time. Thanks for the chat, I’m outta here.
Cheers
Mark
OK, so you’re insecure too. Please stop with the silly ‘mines better than yours’ for goodness sake!
OK, so ‘yours is better than mine’! Whoop de do!
IBIS is much better than the OIS on that lens. I use it and the 4/3 50-200 a lot. The great thing about the IBIS vs OIS is I don’t need an OIS lens to take advantage of the stabilization.
If I want to shoot the OM 300/4 on my OM-D, I can, and I get it stabilized. Just need to dial in the focal length. Or I can shoot the much better 50-200 lens, it’s stabilized. Perfect.
I’m sure the GH4 is a very capable camera, but if you haven’t experienced the 5 axis IS with any lens in Olympus cameras with it, then you obviously don’t understand why owners/users with that IS system love it. The shorter focal lengths don’t have OIS do they? That’s because there isn’t much advantage at those focal lengths, but at 300mm it has the IS system working much harder & nothing to do with ‘catching up’. The 5 & 3 axis systems also have that rotational corrections too that isn’t possible with OIS. That is also nice too.
BTW, It’s got nothing to do ‘mine’s better than yours’, it’s just that I like what I have.
Yes I know all that and for the few times I still use my 14-140, the ois does get some use. What I find is that in good light, I mostly don’t need it at all.
I can’t see why you would need any sort of stabilization for those focal lengths.
What does “real photographers” mean? Camera shake is a problem for ALL photographers. With IBIS I can take sharp pictures with much slower shutter speeds handheld than I can without.
I mean people that make money from photography. Even if I had ibis, if I was shooting something static in low light that could handle slower shutter speeds, I’m not going to take a chance with handheld, I’m going to use a tripod. It’s a nice feature, i’m sure. I’ve just never been in a spot where I needed it. I was shooting for a client the other night and while I might have been able to get this handheld at 1/15 with 5axis, I’d never risk it when they are paying my by the hour to get it right.
If you’re on site for a particular shoot like this, then it is better that you have your tripod with you for the best outcome. On other occasions you may not have the luxury of being able to use a tripod & that is where IBIS helps.
With an olympus body, you might have made a better capture. You could get the same shot from the tripod, then take a handheld shot from above your head, to try and shift the road sign out of the path of the neon some more. With the IBIS, you might get that overhead shot. And since I’m already critiquing your photo I might as well give you my full opinion. The exposure is nice. I know neons can be a challenge to get balanced exposures, and you have captured a nice dynamic range. The nature of this sign is dying for a symmetrical crop, and maybe straighten the image a smidge based on the sign. I might have tried shooting in line with the street sign to catch the narrowest profile if shooting overhead wouldn’t get it out of the way. Lastly, you clipped the top of the neon sign, seemingly in favor of keeping the entire base in the frame. Maybe this is just a badly cropped thumb.
Hope I didn’t offend, just my honest input. Feel free to view my site and tear up my images if you feel the need, I like the input.
Sometimes tripods aren’t practical. I shoot a lot of sports, so longer lenses, and the IBIS stabilizes things nicely so I can shoot longer focal lengths with confidence. Improves the keeper percentage immensely, which is rather important when trying to grab publishable images, right?
I carry a tripod, but it’s not always the most practical item for sports photography.
Neither is IBIS… Normally, sort means motion. Neither is m43, to be honest.
IBIS is fantastic for sports, and m 4/3 is REALLY fantastic for sports. I get 2x the range on my lenses, so the 50-200mm acts in terms of FOV as a 35mm 100-400mm. Lovely.
Don’t talk about that which you know nothing about.
There are quite a lot of people who use both, Olympus for photography and Panasonic for video because they feel the same way. The IBIS, the long exposure features, a display that tilts on the lens axis and not on the side of the camera, the ergonomics and button layout, the slightly larger EVF, some little features, the option to use the old and still fantastic FT lenses … there are a couple of things that make it more pleasant to use for photography.
Both are fantastic cameras, but you can see and feel in the details that Olympus has a long history and knowledge in photography and Panasonic has the same in video. The demand that people want both in one device also results in compromises on one or the other side. You can just see and feel that they’ve developed the E-M1 with photography in mind and the GH-4 with videography in mind.
Sure it would be cool if they would also add some new video features, but I doubt that the E-M1 would ever feel as good for video as the GH4 does the same way I would never like the GH4 for photography as much as I like the OM-Ds for it. And I bet they know that most people picked the E-M1 with photography in mind so they try to improve it for those people rather than hoping that some videographers might buy the E-M1 instead of a GH-4 (which would rarely happen I think). Focusing on their own strengths.
It’s just my opinion but I think it’s not bad to focus on their own strength and trying to improve the functionality and experience for the people who already bought it (most likely with photography in mind).
I could say the same about autofocus.
What does in-camera keystoning have to do with anything? As a pro-level camera it’s really not needed.
Is a Pro above using useful tools? Even if is only applicable to JPEGs it is still useful for getting the framing right if desired for later RAW edit. BTW, not all Pros rely on only RAW as some have to hand over images immediately & if they aren’t capable of producing a good OOC JPEG, then they can’t be much of a Pro then, can they?
Yes, but what about the E-P5??!! Is it going to get upgraded too or not? There are a lot of non-EM1 users here.
Keep saying 16-20 improvements, mention the same half dozen each time. What are the other dozen or so?
I can’t believe Olympus don’t understand that just adding 25/60p, better video codec and clean hdmi output will boost the sale of the EM-1 like crazy. Look at the damn gh4 for christ sake. I don’t really care about 4k at the moment (1440p would be a nice upgrade but one can dream) but the IBIS is an absolute killer feature for my work and I would buy one in a split second if those features are implented in the next update.
Maybe it’s easier said then done. I’m sure it would be there if they had figured it out.
Terrible. People want video improvements. That is basically all anyone with this cam expected in a firmware upgrade. Yet we get things no one was asking for. I expect much more in a successor like big sensor improvements. I expect 24 mpx sensor.
The sony solution is looking like the winner of the mirrorless wars.
People in this case = some people on this site. I think most people use their OM-Ds for stills and find the video good enough. And given the lack of focus on upgrades to the video capabilities by Oly I am sure their research is telling them the same.
Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE some video improvements myself, but it’s hardly a deal breaker if they don’t come.
I bought E-M1 last week based on FT5 video improvements rumor. If I don’t get 25p, better codec or higher bitrate I’m done with Olympus.
It’s simple, if they don’t listen I’m buyin’. It 2014 and no good video means no Olympus.
Who asked for more useless filters in a pro, flagship model?
Admin, if you play with us and there are video improvements I’m done with 43R.
If you’re butthurt because you bought a body based on unfulfilled rumors, you have none to blame but yourself.
If you bought a camera based on a rumor of an update, then it is your problem. If videography is that essential to you, then a GH3/4 was a better option which are already released.
Not everyone asks for a good video, I for once welcome the EVF update more than any video “upgrade”. It will make the camera overall more responsive and better for things such as sports, closing the advantage of the OVFs over EVFs.
For the art filters: The more the better; if you give them a try you ‘ll love them. Since an Olympus Ambassador taught me how to use them, I keep using Dramatic Light more and more! Saves me time from post-process!
Best I can say if you live in EU you can still under CPA return the camera for a refund.
Please, make a user post on how to use them well. Admin will post it here. Thanks in advance
Some really light things: Art filters got a bracketing mode; you can use different filters at the same time. Now if you shoot JPEG + RAW you get all the filter shots + a clean RAW. From the top of my head:
Dynamic Light = One Shot heavily processed pseudo-HDR ala HDREfex great for:
1) Areas with high contrast of shadow and light.
2) Backlit situation.
3) Heavy textures as you get much more details/ emphasis on your textures. I.e.cloudy weather, rough surfaces of a wall/ rock, etc
4) Areas with flat lighting.
But is a no-go if you using high ISOs, portraits, etc.
Grainy Film is the same as Dynamic Light; only in B&W. Same pseudo-processing and “rules” apply.
Soft focus supposed to be good for that “watermark” feeling and portraits.
Personally I see Dynamic Light as a good way to preview pseudo-HDR photos in camera and even create a final image with limited to none post-process.
Note: While using filters settings such as vibrancy, contrast, switch to mono, etc are still available 😉
My E-PL5 doen’t has Dynamic Light. Thank you
Then you are brainless. You bought a camera based on a rumor of a software upgrade? I would question your judgment about ANYTHING in your life, if these are the kind of decisions you make.
“I bought E-M1 last week based on FT5 video improvements rumor” – are you f’ing stupid. You bought a camera and expect such a featureset, based on rumors…and you’re going to be disappointed. Wow.
You are holding admin responsible for your lack of judgment? Really?!?
Please do. Be done with 43R.
Obvious troll alert! Nobody buys a camera based on a rumored firmware upgrade, especially one that costs > $1000USD.
Sorry but there are idiots on the move in daily life. There are idiots who take one week off from work to play $20 PC game on it’s release day and lose $1400 from work week, and get angry when game developers announce two week before release that they need to push release by 3 weeks more. Then these idiots gets angry as they now lost $1400….
Or who bought a camera based rumors.
More fool you if you bought on a rumour! Get a life! A real one, not one based on a rumour!
judging by the comments, i deem this A Very Good Troll
I find it really stupid when people buy a Big M43 camera for 1000 euro when you can buy a much better small APSC camera for 500 euro.
You seem to be as smart as the average m43 buyer. Keep going.
You guys have no mercy 🙂
Who told you I’m not smart? Actually if they don’t deliever better video via firmware update I’ll sell it. Plan to earn $300-400 from this purchase!
Mind you I don’t ask for quality my BMD cameras deliever… all I want is a small, hybrid camera with that IBIS.
Olympus must understand after GH1 the world has changed, not to mention BMD cheap raw cameras.
BTW. To all smart “buy GH4” guys: have you even compared skin tones on OMDs vs GHs? I don’t even mention IBIS…
So funny on Panny rumours/new people would say they don’t care about video feature, yet on Oly rumour/news there is plenty of ppl say no video improvement no sell
the world is crazy yes
I wonder if M10 will get a firmware update with the new art filters.
If you want to download and flash/install the 2.0 firmware now: http://lightsnowdev.blogspot.com/
wowzers?
wowzers? what should that be or mean?
it means something like wow
Out of curiosity, if you have the official firmware, why aren’t you listing any of the improvements that the rumor sites haven’t?
Because currently I just have an E-M5 available.
But the file was tested by someone on an E-M1.
Anyone actually had the cojones to install it and see?
A friend of mine did install it that way.
I just did. It says firmware is now 2.0, and I found the keystoning and the new art filters. Haven’t found any video changes at all, and of course, can’t really tell if the EVF has improved given we’re talking microseconds.
One thing that’s missing: All the Anti-Shock settings that used to be in the drive/self timer settings. Haven’t figured out if they moved somewhere
Nevermind. The firmware reset everything, and I had to go turn Anti-Shock back on. Anti-Shock L and Anti-Shock H are still greyed out, as on the previous firmware.
Found the Composite settings at the bottom of the E menu. Settings run between 1/2 second and 60 seconds.
Thanks Mate! 🙂
Have you found anything in the Menu that would look like it applies to direct tethering?
Yes. When you plug in the USB to a computer, you now have a fifth option in the middle of the list for tethering. I think there must be a new Oly Viewer needed, as it recognized the camera, but Olympus Viewer could not find it.
“Yes. When you plug in the USB to a computer, you now have a fifth option in the middle of the list for tethering. I think there must be a new Oly Viewer needed, as it recognized the camera, but Olympus Viewer could not find it.”
I wonder if they will bring back a new level of Olympus Studio that will need to be purchased like the old one (to include tethering)?
It would probably be fair thing to do as only those requiring tethering will require it, but I hope it is part of Olympus Viewer (or new software) that is free.
Other things I’ve found:
Frame rate + IS has been relabeled Image Stabilization. Function seems same.
A new “lock” setting that keeps DoF preview in effect even after you release the button
You can now set the zoom speed for power zoom lenses.
And I can find no way to make changes to the video that aren’t in the old firmware.
That’s great! Thanks. I am not game to try what you’ve done, so thanks for taking the plunge & filling us in, but I am looking forward to updating to this next week. The DoF Preview Lock sounds an interesting idea. I wonder if it can speed up multiple exposures in the process as some lenses slow the frame rate (fps) down because of its slowish aperture control for each exposure sequence?
I’m interested to know how the tethering will be implemented & apart from these additional E-M1 features being added to the OV3 software, what they will be doing in it or other software to achieve tethering. But I guess that I will have to wait for that.
When Oly had tethering in the 4/3 days, they had a seperate program called Olympus Master for tethering. I would expect a new application with some kind of “Pro” designation, and hopefully similar operation to the old software. Olympus Master worked great, I still have a copy and occasionally fire up my old e-330 for tethered bellows shooting. I’m just hoping they provide for both wired and wireless tethering.
I don’t know about Master doing that but I know Studio did (for a price) & was the last tethering program available.
Ooops you’re right it was called Olympus Studio. I had to look in my warez folder to look at the copy I have. 😉
BTW, I sent you a bit of cash. That was some nice work you’ve done. Thanks!
I only clicked on this to read the comments, but it led me to see a used E-M1 on amazon for $899US, so thanks! Now I just need to grab a 12-40 the next time getolympus lists a few. 🙂
Yeah I want it to have better video, but ultimately, I’m a stills photographer that wants to dabble in video, so the EM-1 still beats the GH4 for my usage. Tethered shooting is something I’ve wanted since snagging my EM-5, having used it alot for macro when I shot 4/3(I had an e-510 and e-330 back then). Nice to see at least some real feature added. I could care less about filters/ keystoning. I shoot RAW and do that stuff in post to my own tastes, if at all.
Please allow me time to buy my lens before posting about a new drop of gear on getolympus. You always post about it before I even receive the email from olympus! 😛
I’m flabbergasted by the lack of real improvement!! I thought the new firmware increases the size of that tiny sensor!!!
yawn. pedestrian trolling, at best. you can do better.
yeah you’re probably right, but firm software always increases the size of my not so tiny probe, er.. sensor
what you do to the exposed mount and sensor of your camera in your own home is really none of my business. I must say though, I doubt even Olympus self cleaning sensor tech can handle the kind of mess your headed towards… Good luck explaining that to the camera shop when you take it to be cleaned.
Being able to use 0 second anti-shock in sequential drive modes would be nice.
I installed the “official” firmware mentioned below, and you still can’t use anti-shock in anything but single-shot. Take with a grain of salt until it’s released, but…
So to sum up so far, using LightSnowDev’s “official” firmware, I’ve found:
1. No change to video settings
2. You still can’t use anti-shock in anything but single-shot.
3. Frame rate + IS has been relabeled Image Stabilization. Function seems same.
4. A new “lock” setting that keeps DoF preview in effect even after you release the button
5. You can now set the zoom speed for power zoom lenses.
6. Keystoning is there and works as described.
7. The new art filters
8. Tethering appears in menu when you plug in USB. Haven’t gotten that to do anything yet.
9. EVF may be faster, but I can’t tell at this point.
10. Composite setting found, with settings between 1/2 second and 60 seconds.
If I run across anything else between now and the 15th, I’ll let you know.
Brave man. Thanks for taking one for the team.
Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing. Zoom speed setting might be a glimmer of hope for those of us looking for more video features from Olympus. I can’t see this being anything but a video feature.
Anything new when you switch the mode dial to video and look at the menus then?
Not a thing appeared different between my old firmware E-M1 and the new one (I have two, so I was able to compare side-by-side.) Perhaps this is an incomplete firmware, but given how little time is left before releasing it…
OK. I followed the steps again and now it seems to work. Except it says firmware found is 1.5, is this the same thing you got? I did not proceed.
Yes. When you install and check the firmware in camera, it says 2.0
It should say it found 2.0.
This is 1.5 firmware and 4k video is in 2.0.
Any chance face recognition can be set with to custom button? I tried to update it via link provided but I cannot get it to start server.
Not that I can see.
(And you’ll probably need to edit your hosts file to make it work. He’s added a note about that in the directions page)
Thanks again!
“2. You still can’t use anti-shock in anything but single-shot.”
Huge disappointment because sometimes I get a habitual blinker that forces me to shoot in continuous shooting mode to get them on the second shot, but if light is low, I will get shuttershock. And because the way contrast AF works, if I do a quick double tap it will completely refocus instead of just micro adjusting like a PDAF. That millisecond seems trivial, but I have come across some tough people to photograph.
“4. A new “lock” setting that keeps DoF preview in effect even after you release the button”
I found this a handy and faster alternative to using Liveview “Boost”. I always hated working in studio because the light is very dim and having the “boost” on makes it easier to see what one is doing. But I also like seeing my ambient levels and having to dig it to menus to make the change was annoying. Using myset set to a dial did not work either because the changes I was making would reset to defaults.
“9. EVF may be faster, but I can’t tell at this point.”
It actually seems a bit more jittery, but its late and very dark, I will reserve judgement until daylight.
——–
A couple of observations:
– I no longer have the ability to set MF on Fn1 button.
– Something I noticed, may have already been there before, B-Level Function 5, the ability to set different AF functions by lever. It’s ok, but to bad it only sets S-AF, C-AF, MF, etc., and not the focus square size or face detect. A lost opportunity.
All in all, for a version 2.0 firmware it has been disappointing. I will wait until final release, but I think this is the real deal, the link used for the download pointed to an Olympus server.
Thanks for sharing your observations.
Surely you can come up with more than 10 things this firmware doesn’t do? Try harder.
So much videographers here.
29ms = ~32fps
16ms = ~62fps
That difference in a lag. Now already offering 120fps.
Huh?
16ms !!! that too slow ,i want < 4ms likes my IPS LED 🙂
I have ff and apsc sony and an em1 and an em5. I am grateful that panasonic is leading the way and willing to give people more value for their money with release of the gh4. I am so tempted to sell my em1 and get an gh4. Sony is too interested in protecting their pro video segment. They wouldn’t budge to give us any decent video codec without panny upping the anty. When they won’t give it out with a firmware update only in some new models. I am interested in a camera that does photo and video well. Other companies don’t want to do it. They just want people to buy the next new model will only a few improvements. Olympus needs to look at the market and respond now. Make the em1 competitive to the gh4 now. Their release of their pro line lens is so slow. My a77ii and a6000 are awesome except for the missing xavcs codec. I am losing interest in m43.
You say “I’m tempted to sell my em1 to get a gh4” and you conclude by “I am loosing interest in m43”.
Am I missing something?
what about em5? still many bugs are not fixed…
After 2 years, bugs aren’t bugs anymore. Call them “specific features” instead 🙂
Market prices UK= EM1 £800 body GH4 Body £1299 what does this say?
That I can afford an e-m1?
You guys are getting reamed for the GH4. Why is it so much more expensive there?
European premium price. All electronics are more expensive here -sometimes they just “change” the dollar sign for the Euro/Pound sign and call it a day. Olympus is one of the few companies now that they started to adjust their prices to make them equal worldwide, at least now that they dropped their worldwide warranty.
It says that the E-M1 was out 6 months before the GH4 you can always guarantee prices of digital cameras fall over time. Also where are you getting the E-M1 for £800 it comes up at £950 on camera pricebuster website
http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Olympus/Olympus-PEN-System-Cameras/Olympus-OM-D-E-M1-Body
Interesting.
The fact there there were no 4K is hardly surprising to most people here.
But no other improvements on the video side at all?
Codec, frame rates, formats? Anything?
I realize many Olympus user only shoot still, but by making the “tent” bigger everyone will benefit.
I think 1080p with decent codec and frame rates should be sufficient.
Olympus cams will never be best in class video, and that is ok, their strength is still.
That being said, even with slight improved video quality, Olympus cameras will be better than most platforms (for non-pros users), why?
– 5 axis
– Great glass suitable glass for video. (12, 25, 45 and 75mm)
– SEMA-1 mic input system, small, easy and good quality audio
Considering the company horrible earnings the last 10 years, one would think they would change their way.
It’s really hard for japanese mega companies to change their way, it’s like a train with no brakes.
Electronic shutter (silent mode)?
Yes a big disappointment. The original rumours were totally wrong. Why would they have mentioned improved video 24/25p?
I previously suggested that perhaps those people were actually experiencing a mule which had updated hardware in it which is being tested for an updated E-M1 and they thought/assumed/were told that the new abilities were just firmware.
Or perhaps they are testing a future update i.e. 2.1. Software isn’t done overnight; most companies got 3-4 years in advance projects in development and you always try to get your stuff code complete and tested months before the release. Especially if you are an ISO-compliant company, such as Olympus is due to their medical division.
Or maybe they have many beta versions of firmwares under testing, each with its own new features (ie: v1.8v for video, v1.8s for stills) and they only merge the 2 after testing is done…
Nah; it doesn’t go like that in software development. The most optimistic scenario based on the fact the “leaked FW” is labeled 1.5, that this is an older build or an incomplete build.
Actually it goes like that on HARDWARE development.
Firmware isn’t normal software development. You have a base firmware that covers base features of hardware so it works. Then you throw away everything else that doesn’t apply to specific hardware feature. And you test of lying that specific hardware feature again and again.
You make different test benches where each can have different feature for different parts.
After testing, you do merge all final versions to one and start testing it’s compatibility.
Even in normal software development it is done. We have different branches with different features that can be merged later.
And do you know why GIT is so damn popular over other version control systems? Because it actually WORKS and allows very easy distributed and separated testing.
With hardware we do simply so that in cameras there is no body or anything else than board and required electronics. With cameras we do not even have mounts as lenses are not required yet.
It is all about code and hardware data. No field testing until firmware feature works. Merge to base, run preliminary tests and then testing camera is taken from shelf and flashed.
Test camera might even miss all other functions than the specific being tested.
Usually we do not see final product until it is out and announced.
As you look here, Olympus has pulled the firmware out. Not because it is ready and someone has flashing tool for it but because it isnt ready.
Firmware is low-level software for embedded systems. While a camera in an embedded system, it contains both the low-level firmware to make the hardware “work” and talk to the OS, the OS and any software ontop of the OS. As we are talking about a small system and not a PC, we often consider everything as a “firmware” and still all software rules are applied to it.
A software when it hits the “alpha” or “beta”, it means it is code-complete in terms of features, aka the functional requirements set earlier. From that point and onwards the testers are working on builds -available as nightly builds or major versions, aka release candidates. Each iteration, version, has to be tested throughout. A change in the code at that stage to fix one bug may create bugs at other places. Now when you test an embedded device out; obviously not everything needs to be there at all stages (i.e. a lens in the body) and code can often be tested via unit testing. Once you start real world testing, everything, every feature must be present otherwise your tests may not take into consideration how the X person thinks or if you have that X and that Y piece of code how they work.
SVN over Git for me 😉
Olympus pulled the firmware; as I said above the reported FW with all the other improvements maybe a different version/ release. Afterall this one was labeled as 1.8; thus Olympus may decided to skip this and provide 2.0 with even more stuff as a single update. That is 100% project management decision; either due to marketing or the 1.8 was late and near the 2.0 release or 1.8 had too many errors or X,Y,Z reasons.
Good possibility.
Or a panafanbois just thought it would be fun to lead everybody on!
Bloody hell. No fps additions?