OMD E-M1X Previews, reviews, and official announcement

[AlwaysLearning4]

The a6400 looks fantastic I must say. The lack of good Sony APS-C lenses is the killer in their system though.

I think my photo future has Nikon FF mirrorless written on it.

I agree but I'm spoiled by the m43rds weight. Therefore I would only consider f/4 zoom lenses in FF. The Sony 24-70mm f/4 is soft. That leaves the Nikon 24-70 S but I don't jump on first gen cameras. So right now I plan to wait.

(Fuji is too small a step up in quality to be worth the cost and hassle of a switch IMHO).

 

[JDS]

It just seems like this is a period of flux- nobody has the complete package now. I imagine there will be a big shake-out in the next few years, remember that Nikon looked to be in its last legs a couple years ago. Hard to know who will have a healthy, complete, competitive lineup in a few years. M43 has the lenses if they can figure out a few things on the camera. Or maybe those things are beyond their reach, and its a dead-end system. I think the weak partnership put both Panasonic and Olympus at risk, they both should have understood that the M43 ecosystem has to be incredibly strong before either of them could succeed.

 

[AlwaysLearning4]

I’m also considering Nikon Z, but I’m waiting to see what Panasonic’s S1/S1R have.

I'm curious too but wouldn't actually buy a Panny FF because I'm so tired of switching mounts. If I ever switched mounts it would be to one of the big three so there's the smallest chance I would ever switch again.

 

[JDS]

That would make sense if Olympus made EVFs, but they're just off the shelf components purchased from Epson and Sony. Agreed about the E-M1ii, that EVF was already dated when they put it into the E-M1ii; it's ancient now.

That's true if these components are commodity components. I wouldn't be surprised if they are unique to each camera company, regardless of their origin of manufacture. Epson probably charges development costs on these, pure speculation at this point though. At least, that's how Olympus is behaving. I can't imagine them saying "we have a choice between an awesome EVF and an obsolete one for our flagship product, let's definitely go for the old one".

 

[Lcrunyon]

I never expected this big of a fail... I'll stick with what I have for µ4/3 for now, and see what the landscape looks like in a few years. But this is the first time I'm looking to a future that might not have Olympus in it.

 

[Drdave944]

That's true if these components are commodity components. I wouldn't be surprised if they are unique to each camera company, regardless of their origin of manufacture. Epson probably charges development costs on these, pure speculation at this point though. At least, that's how Olympus is behaving. I can't imagine them saying "we have a choice between an awesome EVF and an obsolete one for our flagship product, let's definitely go for the old one".

Perhaps it is because I don't have the eyes of an eagle,but I thought the EVF is for composing the picture and is like a sight on a gun. One would not expect the number of pixels to be of paramount important if it did the job of capturing the shot. I have heard others complain that various camera sights did not have the perfect color balance,brightness or whatever. I do hate the way some EVFs,in the name of battery conservation ,give rather puny amounts of light. But,then we might not get the maximal number of shots per battery.
Also I have a Panny G9,and their touted EVF is plagued with dimness and the little pale focal boxes on the screen obscure the photo.I much prefer the EM-1 II which outlines each focus point in bright green. I did not think that the Panny screen was much better. I have just wondered why the great concern about this EVF issue,which ,to me seems peripheral. Evidently others agree with you,so maybe I am wrong.

 

[ijm5012]

Perhaps it is because I don't have the eyes of an eagle,but I thought the EVF is for composing the picture and is like a sight on a gun. One would not expect the number of pixels to be of paramount important if it did the job of capturing the shot. I have heard others complain that various camera sights did not have the perfect color balance,brightness or whatever. I do hate the way some EVFs,in the name of battery conservation ,give rather puny amounts of light. But,then we might not get the maximal number of shots per battery.
Also I have a Panny G9,and their touted EVF is plagued with dimness and the little pale focal boxes on the screen obscure the photo.I much prefer the EM-1 II which outlines each focus point in bright green. I did not think that the Panny screen was much better. I have just wondered why the great concern about this EVF issue,which ,to me seems peripheral. Evidently others agree with you,so maybe I am wrong.

All I'll say is I felt the same way until I looked through a Z6's viewfinder. Originally I though "the EVF's can't be that different, and it really doesn't matter". I was wrong. Once you use a more modern EVF that is bigger and more detailed, you understand what people are talking about regarding the E-M1 II's EVF.

The difference really is that big, and for something as important as the EVF & rear LCD, which you use to frame your subject, review your images, etc., the larger, more detailed displays are very welcomed.

 

[whumber]

All I'll say is I felt the same way until I looked through a Z6's viewfinder. Originally I though "the EVF's can't be that different, and it really doesn't matter". I was wrong. Once you use a more modern EVF that is bigger and more detailed, you understand what people are talking about regarding the E-M1 II's EVF.

The difference really is that big, and for something as important as the EVF & rear LCD, which you use to frame your subject, review your images, etc., the larger, more detailed displays are very welcomed.

I can see that if you can't fully correct for any vision issues one may have then a high resolution EVF is a complete waste.

 

[Mike Wingate]

I bet the E-M1X mark II will be brilliant.

 

[ijm5012]

I can see that if you can't fully correct for any vision issues one may have then a high resolution EVF is a complete waste.

Can't comment on that. My 29 year old eyes with corrective contact lenses or glasses certainly appreciate the bump in resolution and size.

 

[whumber]

Can't comment on that. My 29 year old eyes with corrective contact lenses or glasses certainly appreciate the bump in resolution and size.

Same here, but imagine the best you could correct to was two or three diopter clicks away from ideal and then see if the resolution matters as much. That would definitely fit with the...errr...demographic differences of those complaining about the EVF vs those saying the current EVF is more than good enough. Also, I can't imagine ever using an EVF or OVF with glasses, that seems like it would be super obnoxious.

 

[Drdave944]

I can see that if you can't fully correct for any vision issues one may have then a high resolution EVF is a complete waste.

I am afraid I am there. I blow up my images on a hi res monitor.

 

[rogazilla]

EVF is not kind to my older eyes. The problem I have with ANY evf is that after looking through it for a while my eyes don't adjust when i take the camera off my face fast enough. I will say the A7r III is very nice in the EVF, Fuji XT-2 is pretty decent too. However, I suffer the same thing and I try not to look in there more than I need to. Em1, Em1 ii and Em5 ii works, I am not so picky about them in this regard. It bothers more when chasing fast object and the EVF don't keep up, keeps me dizzy.

Personally I just dislike EVF but I like the m43 size/weight and I don't want to carry my canon 30lb bags anymore. Compromise...

 

[mike3996]

I read the "review-in-progress" and watched the DPRTV review and Jared's opinions. (You have to forgive Mr Polin. He's obviously shot FF all his life and doesn't know any better. Besides he's not a birder so the lenses he most commonly uses aren't that different between m43 and FF.)

The way I see E-M1X, while not in the intended audience, it's a premium pro camera that handles everything as best as it can. It battles against Canon 1DX and Nikon D5. That much is obvious based on the design language, some of the specs (400k shutter actuations, extreme weather sealing) and the price tag. If I was a photog going in dangerous gun-fights-in-dust-storms kind of situation, I'd love an EM1X with half the price tag of a 1DX.

They did F up with the EVF, just like Nikon F'd up with the single card slot and Canon with their... EOS R. Then again, it's again the case of "Sony can't do no wrong" (A7iii has the same low EVF resolution, of course it's also in the low price bracket of FF cameras while EM1X is in the top-tier of m43)

Canon made the 1DX to work in every conceivable situation, be it arctic freeze or a sports event. That's why it's humongous and impractical in safer surroundings. When you knew you were going to shoot in tamer environments, you took your 5D. Now Olympus has a "5D", the E-M1.2, they wanted to show off with a "1D".

Maybe the problem is that E-M1.2 is already such a warhorse you don't necessarily need the EM1X because of its best-in-class weather sealing?

So yeah, I fully understand the market segment they're aiming for but perhaps its undoing is that E-M1.2 is already too good.

 

[dmcgrew]

Bottom line for me.. if I had $3000 to spend on a new body there's no way I'm buying a crop sensor camera.

 

[John M Flores]

It just seems like this is a period of flux- nobody has the complete package now. I imagine there will be a big shake-out in the next few years, remember that Nikon looked to be in its last legs a couple years ago. Hard to know who will have a healthy, complete, competitive lineup in a few years. M43 has the lenses if they can figure out a few things on the camera. Or maybe those things are beyond their reach, and its a dead-end system. I think the weak partnership put both Panasonic and Olympus at risk, they both should have understood that the M43 ecosystem has to be incredibly strong before either of them could succeed.

Micro Four-Thirds has a "healthy, complete, competitive" lineup now. Sony's not as complete and it will take years for Nikon and Canon to fill out their offering.

 

[cnyap]

Apt. As it seems many Olympus users feel like this today (NSFW) [Start at 3:00]:

Was shot in my hometown area...

 

[Lcrunyon]

The issue is the asking price. They can't take the same EVF, the same sensor, and the same processor (only now there's two of them) as a three-year old camera, call it a pro model and charge $3k. I know it's a new body, but all of the real upgrades were software-based -- and even they are largely just iterative from the E-M1 MkII. The AF upgrade is entirely too motorsports-specific, though maybe they can add 'bird' or 'toddler' options in the future. Olympus should have saved themselves the hardware design trouble (such as it was) and put what software updates they could (those that didn't require two processors) into an E-M1 MkII firmware update. The My Menu and the ND Filter both could easily have been that, and we'd have been happy (those of us with an E-M1 MkII, anyway).

What a missed opportunity. Had this camera updated screens and even a little bit better of a sensor (as long as they showed some forward development), and fleshed out their C-AF direction more fully, I probably would have been drooling over this even at $3k. I believe a lot of people might have been swayed by its combination of telephoto and Hi Res stills capabilities for wildlife and landscape. Instead, now I am wondering how badly this misstep is going to hurt Olympus' future.

 

[ddekadt]

I watched a bunch of the video reviews of the camera, and have been following this thread, and, honestly, I feel like we all need to take a step back and take a deep breath.

I was really excited for this camera, and tbh I'm still kind of excited by what they're doing, even if the camera looks a little raw at launch. Yeah it's disappointing that they didn't get it all right off the bat. But what I came to realise while watching the video reviews is that our photographic tools are already so incredibly good that spending money on a new camera is, outside of a few cases, basically just nuts.

Take a deep breath, go outside, and make some photos with the gear you have. Sorry to patronize, but the measurebating isn't helping anyone.

 

[Saledolce]

I'm speechless. At the price point it's at, and given its size and build, this camera should be providing state of the art CAF on animals, birds, people etc.

They should have pushed the camera launch, go back to write sw and come back with perfect tracking. The a6400 makes this launch a joke, and all the interesting innovative features in it almost disappear, and Sony was cruel to show most of this could be packed in a reasonably small body. Really disappointing.