I’m convinced it was a bad copy - probably the lens. I know the Fuji’s have a wrap about AF but not sure how bad it could be compared to the simple AF on my old D40.

Having recently had the X100 and X-Pro 1 the AF on the OMD (if it works!) is night and day better than than either of Fuji's

__________________
Olympus OMD EM-5, 7-14, 25, 45, 100-300, Canon FD 50mm f1.8, Konica Hexanon 135mm f3.5, Gorillapod SLR Zoom, My Flickr
http://chrismitchell.zenfolio.com/

BH Photo has the Black OM-D E-M5 with 14-42 in stock. Almost willing to pull the trigger on another one.

Go for it! The focus issues you were having must have been a faulty body/lens.

__________________
Olympus OMD EM-5, 7-14, 25, 45, 100-300, Canon FD 50mm f1.8, Konica Hexanon 135mm f3.5, Gorillapod SLR Zoom, My Flickr
http://chrismitchell.zenfolio.com/

My OMD might be faster to focus but honestly I have more miss focused shots with it than I do with either the X100 or XPro 1, all depends on how you want to shoot

Something looks wrong with this camera, lens or both

__________________
http://www.bobdamico.com

That's interesting...I have found my Olympus lenses (2 copies of the 45/1.8) were pretty squirrely when it came to focus. Interestingly it was worse on Olympus bodies.

It certainly sounds like you had a faulty one. if you really like what the OMD has to offer then you shouldn't let the bad experience with one stop you. That said, it's not the be all and end all of cameras and there are some terrific options out there in the same price range (or close).

Considering I was using an Oly C-700UZ that only had contrast focusing 10 years ago and was always able to get a focus lock (in decent light), it works very well.

The issue is (especially for people who have gotten lazy with phase detection focus) is you have to look for contrast in your focus area. For instance if your scene has lots of contrast but within your camera's set focus area is only white on a white background without any shadows to create contrast, your camera won't have anything to lock on to.

It's covered on page 98 of the manual.

One other idea... have you considered picking up a late generation Panasonic body (all on discount now)? You could get a G3 or GX1 (maybe even a GH2) and then also pick up the new Sony RX100 (meeting your wife's size requirements) for about the same total price as the X100. Maybe would put a little less pressure on you, giving you time to come up to speed on CDAF, liveview, etc.

__________________
Kyle / E-M5 and E-PM2
Flickr Photostream

Good idea, Kyle. G3 and GX1 are great deals right now.

__________________
Amin
Mu-43.com Webmaster (Site FAQ | Help Forum | My Disclosures | My Flickriver | My G+ Profile)

Note: Links in this post may be to our affiliates. We get a small referral fee when you buy after clicking our link. Your price is unaffected.