How is video on e-m10 compared to e-m5/e-pl5/e-pm2?

sgreszcz · May 9, 2014

Hi there,

I am currently using the e-m5 and e-pm2 as a dual-body setup. I mostly use the em-5 for shooting any video as the output seems to have less artifacts than on the e-pm2 an the ibis is a godsend for controlling shakiness!

The only downside is the sometimes blocky compression on the e-m5, especially in scenes that are shot wider or have more detail.

I think the e-m10 has a higher bitrate 24mbps vs the 20mbps of the e-m5 and has a newer processing engine. Has anyone shot video on both and noticed any improvements?

The reason why I'm asking as it is rumoured that the e-pl7 will be a e-m10 clone and if the video is improved and the e-pl7 has newer features like focus peaking and wifi I think that I will sell my e-m5/e-pm2 and get a pair of e-pl7 with EVF-4 next November/December sales.

owczi · May 9, 2014

I don't own either the E-M10 (only played with it) or the E-PM2 but I do own the E-M5 and the E-M1. The E-M10 uses the same image processor as the E-M1 (24mbps video indeed) so it will perform better than E-M5 for video, however if I were you I wouldn't swap the E-M5 for something with an add-on EVF (but then I mostly do stills). The ability to turn it from a PEN-sized camera to a well-handling big body with the two-part grip, combined with the IBIS and weather resistance are hard to beat - the E-M10 will not give you all of this.

Personally I find the PEN form factor great for walkabout shooting but for work it's better to have some substantial grip. OK, the E-M10 has the small grip available.

Right, enough waffling - yes, the E-M10 performs for video like the E-M1 - better than E-M5 (less artifacts but still not perfect), but without the full IBIS potential. The E-M10, like the E-M1 also has the "movie teleconverter" function like the GH series where you can record video in crop mode - 1080p area of the sensor that you can move and zoom in and out during the recording. This report: http://www.eoshd.com/content/12010/olympus-om-d-e-m1-review is about the E-M1 but you can expect almost the same from the E-M10 minus IBIS.

One detail is that the E-M1 has a microphone socket, and the E-M5 / E-M1 have the accessory port so you can install the SEMA-1 microphone adapter. The E-M10 has neither. E-M10 and E-M1 have more granular sound recording volume with dynamic VU meter shown in the menu when setting it. Unfortunately even at the lowest sensitivity, the volume is too high for concerts (while a cheap Olympus sound recorder deals with it fine under the same conditions).

sgreszcz · May 9, 2014

Thanks for the feedback!

I like the idea of a VF-4 as it has more resolution than the EVF in the E-M10/E-M5 and it can tilt down. For video this is like a mini Z-finder and can help with focus and shooting outdoors in bright light rather than having to use the LCD.

I think the E-PL5 has a removable grip and can be upgraded with aftermarket or larger E-P3 grip.

Is the movie teleconverter feature a true ECT (crop, no pixel binning) like the Panasonics? The EM-5 has a digital teleconverter, but I don't find it that great quality-wise. Punching in during live recording (as in the EOSHD article) sounds useful.

I'm not so concerned about in-camera sound recording as if I care much about the audio, I'll use an external recorder and sync up with the on-camera mic in post when editing.

hunyuan7 · Jul 17, 2014

Bump.

Can you take pictures at the same time while you are shooting video with an E-M1 and E-M10?

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How is video on e-m10 compared to e-m5/e-pl5/e-pm2?

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