firmware 1.4

Very nice! Thanks.

Apparently Olympus postponed the release to May 21. Still good news!

 

"AF response when using four thirds lenses has been improved."

I wonder what that means. Will 4/3 lenses finally perform as fast as native ones?

P.S. Might want to update the thread title to mention the E-M1. There are other 1.4 firmwares already, just not for that camera.

 

I am wondering this too. That would make my recent 12-40 purchase less interesting ;-).

 

Do you actually believe that is likely? I wonder if it is at all even possible? That would increase the value of the big honking SHG glass though.

 

Hopefully there is a fix to make the focus peaking smoother.....

 

Likely? Not really, no. If it was, they'd have done it already when the E-M1 came out, to keep the 4/3 folks from selling their gear and moving to Canon/Nikon. Possible? I don't really see why not. The SWD motors in the 12-60, 14-35 and 50-200 certainly should be up to it and the micro-motors in the other lenses are good enough to make focusing on the E-5 pretty darn quick (in good light, though accuracy can be an issue).

 

Can we get the heder updated please. I just went throgh the process to find that it’s not released

 

I can tell you right now that the AF response with 4/3 lenses is as good with the E-M1 as it is with my E-3 and was with my E-5. I really can't spot any difference after numerous tests. Whether that has something to do with the fact that I have the fast SHG lenses I don't know.

 

Which SHG lenses are fast? Do you mean that the designs were updated over their life?

 

Fast as in wide aperture, f2 or f2.8. My 14-35mm has the SWD, but the others do not; however, they are still pretty fast when locking in focus. I just did another test (same lens, same settings) and the E-M1 didn't miss a beat, but the E-3 hesitated in several situations and in one went searching elsewhere for focus.

People who are selling off their 4/3 lenses, especially the SHG ones, may regret this down the track.

 

Perhaps but even the panny 100-300 lens is blazing fast on the GH4 and once the olly 300/4 and the 40-150/2.8 and the 150 /2.8 are released most of the draw of the shg glass will be bullied for me. I'd rather have slower aperture but faster focus glass for nature photography.

 

I'm not suggesting that people go out and buy the SHG lenses, unless they come up at exceptional prices, and then they may be worth getting regardless. But to get rid of them because you happen to own something other than an E-M1 where the focus isn't great, may end up being a mistake. Then again, there may well be people quietly wanting me to shut up, as they are specifically waiting for such bargains to appear.  

 

They really haven't appeared yet. I was waiting for then to come but they took too long. Now it is too late and I can avoid their siren song. I was trying to buy a 150mmf2 but the guy on ebay wouldn't really deal with me. I'm glad he didn't too.

 

Maybe more people are holding off than I thought. Obviously many would still be happy with their existing cameras, have bought the E-M1 and like how it performs, or waiting to see whether further improvements are on the horizon. The link only says AF improved, not which AF. If it involves C-AF and/or C-AF tracking, such that the tracking capability is available with 4/3 lenses, then I'm going to be very happy.

 

I mean I've seen some 300 2.8 for mid 4000s but the 150mm /2 price went up after the e-m1 release as have some of the others.

 

The new price of the 300mm is still somewhere above $8000, if available, and I read somewhere that this lens was only made to order, so $4000 odd is not bad. The 150mm f2 was always a very well regarded lens and I never heard of anyone not liking it, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if it actually appreciated in value at some point in time. I was always somewhat worried that my lenses would end up as paperweights, but I'm glad that I held off selling them, as it looks like they could have a long and healthy life.

 

It's not as good in low light & does not have twin cross AF sensors (like the E3, E30 & E5), only single vertical sensors & because of that there are circumstances where it struggles, especially black dogs in low lighting indoors.  

 

I own two black Labs and often take shots of them in their usual active state indoors (asleep) and I can certainly say that the E-M1 will focus better every time than did my E-5 or does my E-3. Low light focussing capability was something I used to curse with my E-3/E-5 when I used to do work for my newspaper. Every year I had to cover various awards nights etc and these were the bane of my life unless the podium was well lit. I would have absolutely no drama with the E-M1 under the same circumstances. I have compared the E-3 and E-M1 over and over again at home in darkened rooms etc and the E-M1 smacks down the E-3 in every respect, especially low contrast subjects.