Olympus cashback ?

[lucanus81]

Hello,
Hope you’re all doing well. I really would like to buy an M1.3 and I was wondering: do you think we’ll see any Olympus cashback this winter?

 

[Tapper]

EM1-3 is already discounted by $400 USD. I personally don't think they will offer any better deals this year.

I also would like to buy one, but keep going back and forth. The JIP takeover leaves so many doubts, and it's also hard to ignore how little the EM1-3 is updated in terms of primary hardware components (sensor, EVF, LCD). Still a capable and compelling body IMO, but mainly because the EM1-2 was already a great body design, and the new processor and firmware offer some interesting features.

Considering I'm not even doing much photography right now, I will probably wait for a future further price drop, perhaps next Spring? At $1200 I would go for it. $1400 still gives me pause, although it's probably worth that price - I've never used an EM1-3 and have no way to do so without ordering one.

This is such a frustrating time to be an Olympus user. :-(

 

[lucanus81]

I aferę with you hut still I Javę faith: the M1.2 „special offer” ended in October, and now Olympus launched a very similar one fir the M1X, so maybe in December we will get a special offer for the M1.3?

 

[stevedo]

Hello,
Hope you’re all doing well. I really would like to buy an M1.3 and I was wondering: do you think we’ll see any Olympus cashback this winter?

I consulted my crystal ball but it was all fogged up. I don't think anyone on here will be able to wildly guess the answer to your question any better than you can. IMHO

 

[lucanus81]

I consulted my crystal ball but it was all fogged up. I don't think anyone on here will be able to wildly guess the answer to your question any better than you can. IMHO

Yeah, same here. I tried to consult my crystal ball as well, but nothing came out

 

[Mike Wingate]

Buy now before the end of the world.

 

[lucanus81]

Buy now before the end of the world.

You know, I am just trying to find an excuse for not buying right now an M1.3 with that wonderful 17 f/1.2

 

[MacBook]

EM1.3 is scheduled for delivery today. Here is some rationalization.

1. It seems like the best option for my interests and needs at the moment. The alternatives in MFT are either not as desirable or are Olympus products. Investing in a new system is not as reasonable for me as an enthusiast rather than a professional.
2. In a mildly optimistic vein, perhaps more purchasing of Olympus products will lead JIP -- or someone else -- to keep it all going.
3. I have sold photographic equipment in the last few months to use the money to update my camera.
4. There is so much high quality kit around that there are many good choices, and we cannot know what will happen to the various camera companies and their corporate strategies.

 

[lucanus81]

EM1.3 is scheduled for delivery today. Here is some rationalization.

1. It seems like the best option for my interests and needs at the moment. The alternatives in MFT are either not as desirable or are Olympus products. Investing in a new system is not as reasonable for me as an enthusiast rather than a professional.
2. In a mildly optimistic vein, perhaps more purchasing of Olympus products will lead JIP -- or someone else -- to keep it all going.
3. I have sold photographic equipment in the last few months to use the money to update my camera.
4. There is so much high quality kit around that there are many good choices, and we cannot know what will happen to the various camera companies and their corporate strategies.

Let me add one more thing (even if this is a bit oiu-of-topic). Now that JIP pretty much took over, I thought it was the right time to give to FF again a try. I went to my local photography shop, where they gave me for one hour a Sony A7III with a couple of lenses (50f/1.4, because on my M1.2 I use really a lot the 25mm) and an f.2.8 zoom (24-70f/2.8, just like my 12-40f/2.8).
After one hour I thanked them and went home. I feel like you: the alternatives are not good for me (I am perfectly happy with the image quality I am delivering to my -few - customers).

ps. I am waiting till December and them I'll order the M1.3

 

[Tapper]

Let me add one more thing (even if this is a bit oiu-of-topic). Now that JIP pretty much took over, I thought it was the right time to give to FF again a try. I went to my local photography shop, where they gave me for one hour a Sony A7III with a couple of lenses (50f/1.4, because on my M1.2 I use really a lot the 25mm) and an f.2.8 zoom (24-70f/2.8, just like my 12-40f/2.8).
After one hour I thanked them and went home. I feel like you: the alternatives are not good for me (I am perfectly happy with the image quality I am delivering to my -few - customers).

ps. I am waiting till December and them I'll order the M1.3

I'm waiting too. I'm cheap and still holding out for even lower prices. I won't really have use for a new camera right now anyway, maybe in the Spring.

About your Sony A7III experiment - I would like to hear your thoughts. What made you decide "nope" and stick with M43? We all feel that FF pull these days...

 

[RS86]

Let me add one more thing (even if this is a bit oiu-of-topic). Now that JIP pretty much took over, I thought it was the right time to give to FF again a try. I went to my local photography shop, where they gave me for one hour a Sony A7III with a couple of lenses (50f/1.4, because on my M1.2 I use really a lot the 25mm) and an f.2.8 zoom (24-70f/2.8, just like my 12-40f/2.8).
After one hour I thanked them and went home. I feel like you: the alternatives are not good for me (I am perfectly happy with the image quality I am delivering to my -few - customers).

ps. I am waiting till December and them I'll order the M1.3

May I ask why you didn't like Sony A7III? I have read these newer models are better ergonomically.

 

[lucanus81]

Sure, no problem!
So let me just say that this is my second experiment with the A7III (not sure if this was clear from my previous email). It is a great camera, really, and I loved it. My first initial test (back in late 2018) consisted of a Batis 25/85 (I do portraits/family, so I wanted a wide angle lens for groups and a bright prime).
The eye AF was really great, however I didn't like the ergonomics. I wanted at the time something "not too heavy", something under a 1KG, and the Batis line fitted my needs perfectly. However the ergonomic was terrible, I really didn't like it and at the time it was just too expansive. In the end (after trying Fuji) I bought an M1.2.

With the JIP taking over Olympus Imaging, I thought I wanted to give a try again. Why? Because now I have an incomplete system (12-40, 25, 45) and I'd really love to have a 17mm for low light, but I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to invest on Olympus again. Also, to be fully honest with you, my photography style changed a bit. I have been doing mainly family sessions (indoor and outdoor) with small kids and while primes give you excellent results, sometimes it is hard to fully compose a shoot with a prime (this my be user error, of course!). Now let's go back to the present I have here two choices: I can use 2 cameras (M1.2 + a new one), one with a 25mm and one with a 17, or I can have a zoom (like the 12-100f4). I do a lot of studio work, so I am fine with f4.

That's why this time when renting the A7III I picked up 2 different lenses: the 50mm 1.4 (to match the 25f/1.2) and the 24-105f/4 to match a potential 12-100f4. While still being a great camera (cannot afford the a7R4 nor the upcoming A7IV) with heavy lenses the ergonomic is much worse (we are already in the 1,5KG territory) and simply for me it was just too heavy (and expansive). Now add to the whole story the fact I have a 3 years old kid that sooner or later will start playing some sport and this probably means I'll need (want? ) a longer sense, like the 40-150f/2.8. I compared (using camera size.com) the A7III+70200f/2.8 (we have already more than 2KG) vs M1.3+40-150f/2.8 (around 1,3KG), and even excluding the price difference (almost twice as much), I decided a FF camera doesn't fit my needs.

So all these comparisons made me realise what I really wanted:
- a camera with a better eye AF (and the M1.3 seems much better than the M1.2), and
- a wider prime lens (the 17mm).

That's what made me stick with Olympus. Everyone has different requirements, and in my case money and size are very important. Hope it makes sense.

 

[lucanus81]

So I just received today the M1.3 (in bundle with the 12-100f/4) and we added the 17mm f/1.2. I don’t even know where to start from. I see a huge improvement in the AF (especially the eye AF), the camera is much faster, everything seems much better. Not sure if it just me, but I see a better high ISO performance (at 1600 and above), just a little, but I think it is there. I am really extremely happy and now I am wondering is those out/of-focus images I got were nothing more than user error.

 

[MacBook]

So I just received today the M1.3 (in bundle with the 12-100f/4) and we added the 17mm f/1.2. I don’t even know where to start from. I see a huge improvement in the AF (especially the eye AF), the camera is much faster, everything seems much better. Not sure if it just me, but I see a better high ISO performance (at 1600 and above), just a little, but I think it is there. I am really extremely happy and now I am wondering is those out/of-focus images I got were nothing more than user error.

Congratulations!

I have to say that I backed out on the Olympus. I was going to get the camera with the 12-100 kit, but then decided the Panasonic G9 and PL 12-60mm lens might work better for me. I got that kit (almost $800 less) and am quite pleased with it. It is no knock on the E-M1.3, it is a great camera. My lenses are mostly Panasonic and my existing camera, too. I just thought it best to update my earlier post.

 

[LilSebastian]

Thanks for sharing your experience @lucanus81

I have a Sony A7III with Tamron 28-70 f2.8 and Samyang 45mm f1.8 for the week on rental as we speak. Having only a Pen-F and E-M10 II (no PDAF) I knew autofocus performance in C-AF with eye tracking would be better. In fact, it’s outstanding on the Sony A7III. My 5yo son was doing circles on his bicycle and it kept him in focus the whole time. I’m not convinced that the rest of the Sony system advantages outweigh the trade offs for ME at this time which leaves me with the question to you...

How does the C-AF for photos in the E-M1 III (or even Mark II) compare to the class leading Sony at this time? I’m not a professional and my kids will join sports in the next few years. I love the Olympus lenses, IBIS and quality. Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

 

[ac12]

Thanks for sharing your experience @lucanus81

. . .

How does the C-AF for photos in the E-M1 III (or even Mark II) compare to the class leading Sony at this time? I’m not a professional and my kids will join sports in the next few years. I love the Olympus lenses, IBIS and quality. Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

I used the EM1-mk2 to shoot high school sports (football, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, volleyball, tennis, softball and baseball).
I have NOT found an issue with the AF. I shoot in AF-C, electronic shutter (so that I can shoot at 19fps).
I use single point or 3x3 AF. My experience is that in team sports where the players mix up, tracking and zone AF will not work. The camera does not have link to your brain, to determine who is YOUR subject. The only time that I have used tracking is tennis singles, where there is only the ONE player, and it worked.
The EVF of the EM1-mk2 is a BIG improvement over the mk1, for sports.

My personal issue is with the Olympus zooms. The Olympus zoom rings are too stiff (too much drag), even on the pro lenses, for easy fast zoom work for sports. When shooting sports, I am CONSTANTLY working the zoom ring, as I follow the action. One of the worst games is a "quad": boys JV + boys Var + girls JV + girls Var. That is about 6+ hours of shooting. With a stiff zoom ring, I have to use thumb back arm zooming, and that is not as easy and effective as thumb forward finger zooming.
The best zooms that I have used are: the P-Lumix 12-60, Nikon 70-200/4 and Tarmon 70-210/4. Those have light easy to turn zoom rings. I was hoping that the Olympus 40-150/2.8 with its internal zoom would be easy to use, but it did not match the Nikon 70-200/4.
For this reason I usually shoot field sports (football, soccer and lacrosse) with the Nikon D7200 + 70-200/4.

 

[lucanus81]

So for today I did 2 tests. Outdoor shots were really good (with the 12-100) and I had only one case where all the shots were OOF: my wife running towards me (I think 1/320 SS was probably too low so that’s user-error, but I will retry). I was testing indoors shots with the 25mm all at f/1.2 with face/eye af in C-AF. Keep in mind my family was not running, they were like eating, moving their headsleft and right (so can we say they were moving “moderately”? ). All with natural light so ISO usually was 800+ up to 1600 (it is usually dark where I live) and I am astonished: pretty much most of them were in focus (sure a couple maybe over 200-300 photos are like nothing). Face detection (and eye af) works really well: new firmware updates hopefully will improve it (well, I hope JIP wil release new substantial firmware updates) even more.

I did briefly tested AF-S and now it’s like “instantly focusing”. Sometimes with the M1.2 I was noticing a very small lag.
ps. I still think Sony is better (compared to an A73) but the difference is very very small.

 

[lucanus81]

Congratulations!

I have to say that I backed out on the Olympus. I was going to get the camera with the 12-100 kit, but then decided the Panasonic G9 and PL 12-60mm lens might work better for me. I got that kit (almost $800 less) and am quite pleased with it. It is no knock on the E-M1.3, it is a great camera. My lenses are mostly Panasonic and my existing camera, too. I just thought it best to update my earlier post.

I think you did the right thing. I bought an an Olympus because we have all Olympus glass and my wife started to help me with photography.

 

[lucanus81]

Thanks for sharing your experience @lucanus81

I have a Sony A7III with Tamron 28-70 f2.8 and Samyang 45mm f1.8 for the week on rental as we speak. Having only a Pen-F and E-M10 II (no PDAF) I knew autofocus performance in C-AF with eye tracking would be better. In fact, it’s outstanding on the Sony A7III. My 5yo son was doing circles on his bicycle and it kept him in focus the whole time. I’m not convinced that the rest of the Sony system advantages outweigh the trade offs for ME at this time which leaves me with the question to you...

How does the C-AF for photos in the E-M1 III (or even Mark II) compare to the class leading Sony at this time? I’m not a professional and my kids will join sports in the next few years. I love the Olympus lenses, IBIS and quality. Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

So I think we have a similar background. My son will start doing some sport and I want to be able to photograph him.
Sony AF-C is better, and I think you’ll get more keepers: the question is if really “that many more”. The thing is that AF-C for my needs is perfect and the price of pro glass is still affordable (well, not the 150-400 ).
I’ll be shooting families Christmas sessions this year so I’ll be able to tell you more in a couple of weeks (this should be a great test for the AF).

 

[ac12]

Thanks for sharing your experience @lucanus81

How does the C-AF for photos in the E-M1 III (or even Mark II) compare to the class leading Sony at this time? I’m not a professional and my kids will join sports in the next few years. I love the Olympus lenses, IBIS and quality. Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

Another thought.
Gym and night sport need a FAST lens.
You are shooting in a LOW light environment, and you need a fast shutter speed, to freeze the action. At least 1/500 sec.
Although, if you are selective and can shoot at the peak/pause of the action, you can get away with shooting at slower shutter speeds. That is what we had to do back in the film days.

When I shoot in the gym (volleyball and basketball), I use the 12-40/2.8, or with my Nikon D7200 the 35/1.8 or 50/1.8.

I don't have a 20 or 25 for my Olympus, so I could not try the fast primes.​

If you have a bright gym, you could use the 12-100/4, which will give you more reach, to the far court.​

If you are in the bleachers, you can use the 40-150/2.8, for tighter shots.​

I am shooting on the court floor for basketball, and on the floor and on the bleachers for volleyball.​

​

For field sports (football, soccer, lacrosse), enjoy shooting the day games, cuz shooting will get harder with night games.

With day games and plenty of sun light, you can use the slower lenses 40-150R on the field, and 70-300 on the bleachers.​

When I shoot on the field at night under lights, I use the 40-150/2.8, or with my Nikon the Nikon 70-200/4.

For the Nikon, the faster 70-200/2.8 is the preferred lens. But I don't use it because it is 2x the weight of the f/4 lens.​

I am shooting on the sidelines. Got to watch out, to not get run over; I have had several close calls.​