My quick interview with Olympus on the E-M1

August 7, 2014 Micro 4/3, Mirrorless, Olympus, Travel 17

My quick interview with Olympus on the E-M1

EM1

When I was in Ireland with Olympus they sat down with a few of us at Castle Leslie and asked us a few questions about the fabulous and game changing E-M1 camera. Below is my short but sweet interview. Of course you can see my full E-M1 review HERE and my visit to Castle Leslie in Ireland to shoot the E-M1 HERE. I feel the same about the E-M1 today as I did the 1st week it was launched. Best Micro 4/3 made today!  Thanks Olympus!

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17 Comments

  1. I use a EM 5 and an EM1 and I am more than satified ( My D800 stays at home since that.
    But Olympus has to improve Video.
    4 K for EM1
    50 p for EM5/for Europe
    25 p for EM10 for Europe
    if not, a lot of Business goes unnecessarily to Panasonic ( GH 4)

  2. For the ones complaining about size and price – try the EP5. Lighter with the same sensor and 5 axis stabilization. Plus it comes with a POP-UP FLASH! LOL! The only thing you lose is the element resistance.

  4. Steve,

    It’s all your fault. Just as I was “sure” a full frame Sony was the camera for me I read your reviews of the EM1. Based on YOUR comments I bought one and haven’t enjoyed a camera more. Yes , it ‘s not the best for high ISO or DF but it is a superb performer for 90% of my needs and a very compact kit. Thank you for your opinion!!

  5. Steve, do you have any plans to review the Panasonic GH4? Many people like that, and of course there is the 4k video. I realize you are not into video, but one intriguing aspect of 4k is the ability to extract very usable stills from the video footage. Wonder if you have any thoughts on that?

    I do agree with you, though…I recently rented the EM-1 and it was fantastic. Ergonomically, probably the best camera I’ve ever used. Very tempted to purchase one now.

  6. Hi Guys and Gals!
    I am a street photographer from Ireland and I mostly use a Leica M8 with 35mm and 50mm Summicrons. My favorite camera however is the old film Pentax K1000 and I must say I also have fond memories of the old Olympus OM -1 from my youth.
    I am frequently asked what camera or camera system I would recommend and I must say it is a difficult question to answer. It is difficult because you do not know what direction a person’s photographic interest may take them ? Will it be sports photography, landscapes or macro ? -all need very specific equipment and you would like to have a person set up with a good universal system from which they can branch out in whatever direction they wish -without the idea or trading in their outfit because it has not the scope for growth in the direction they require?
    So I am puzzled what advise to give and normally say something like this :
    ” I would recommend a good digital SLR from one of the mainstream producers like Canon or Nikon and a medium zoom lens and see where that takes you ”
    It will have a very extensive range of lenses available and even if you opt for something better in the future -this camera will still be very usable as a back up to any future purchases you may make.
    I like Olympus cameras but am not sure I should be recommending them to everybody as I am not sure about how comprehensive their system is?
    Mind you had anybody said to me “You should opt for a Leica M system as I feel that documentary photography is where your interest lies and the Leica M is great for that and you will only ever need 2x lenses -would I have believed them ! Probably not I would have gone for a Canon or Nikon SLR !!

    Best Wishes

    • You have no idea of what you speak, period. The E-M1 is the BEST Micro 4/3 camera made today, and much better than previous models in build, in low light, AF speed, weather sealing and all kinds of ways. EVF, etc. The IQ is stellar and competes with APS-C, anyone who denies that is just a micro 4/3 hater.

    • Rubbish.

      – Pro build quality
      – Weather and freeze resistant
      – Full specification of features, e.g. shutter speeds to 1/8000 of a sec, fast flash sync speed, PC sync, etc, etc.
      – Terrific ergonomics
      – Great EVF
      – OLED rear LCD with full touch screen implementation, including tap to focus and fire
      – 5 axis image stabilization that suspends the sensor in a magnetic field!
      – A fast, 81point autofocus system
      – The most advanced face detection system on the market
      – TONS of customizability
      – Features offered by no other camera (e.g. Live Time)
      – etc, etc, etc.

      And a wonderful range of lenses that blows the doors of any native APS-C selection today.

      Plus a sensor that is on-par with most APS-C sensors.

      There is no way in hell this camera is, or was, overpriced, given the very high level of specific technology and performance it offers…some of which is not available in any DSLR, at ANY price.

      Horses for courses.

    • The EM-1 is a fantastic camera. It’s image quality is every bit right up there with that of the 2-1/2 year old EM-5.

      To me it’s biggest drawback is its size- just too big, bulky, heavy to fulfill the purported goal of micro 4/3- lightness, svelteness. This may be due its requirement to also satisfy full 4/3 lenses, I don’t know. But it’s bigger than the APS-C format Fuji XT-1, and equivalent in size to the 135 format Sony A7. I find it just too big to lug around for micro 4/3. Hopefully the EM-6 will retain the micro 4/3 lightness and svelteness of the EM-5.

      The second drawback is its price- just too much.

      Other than that, the EM-1 seems to have an awful lot going for it.

  8. Speaking of ISO, I love my EM1 but was sorely disappointed in the performance for high ISO astrophotography. Noise is horrible and I haven’t been able to get usable long exposure pics in low light situations using the higher ISOs. Tried to do some night time lapse sequences during a meteor shower using ISO 3200, all image stabilization off and the result was bad. I may be using the camera wrong but have yet to find success trying this type of photography.

    • One thing you will not want to do with 90% of cameras is high ISO astro shooting. When you do that kind of shooting, you will want a larger sensor (full frame) and a camera that is very good at high ISO. I have done long exposures with the E-M1 and E-M5 that are superb, no issues. But I do not use ISO 6400 when doing it. But if this is what I walkways wanted to shoot I’d use an A7s, a camera for that specific job.

      • Thanks Steve, Astrophotography is new to me but it’s not the main reason I bought the EM1. I did see the Olympus ad for the EM1 that touted Astro shooting so it was a bit disappointing for me to find it’s not the best suited for it. I’ll just need to perfect a technique that works for this camera.

  9. Hey Steve,

    Any thoughts on the EM-10 as a backup for an older EM-5, instead of upgrading to the EM-1.

    I’m considering both possibilities, and was amazed at the cool program Olympus is starting this weekend. You get to borrow on OMD and lenses for a weekend for free!

    I had to promise to provide some feedback and pics, which seems like a fair request. After thinking about it, I decided to try the EM-10 this weekend instead of the top of the line.

    Thanks for keeping this great site going!

    • Here’s a follow up in case it’s of interest.

      I received the Olympus invite by email, but they posted it on the “Get Olympus” Facebook site as well.

      Here is the link in case anyone in the area wants to try out an EM1, EM5 or EM10 for a weekend. This is through a local shop starting this week, but maybe Olympus is planning to do this nationally if it’s popular?

      https://www.lookingglassphoto.com/olympusweekends

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