jurgen

Well, it's not like there is an American manufacturer taking over the niche, so I don't think import fees have much to do with it (which haven't changed much and are relatively low).  I just don't think there is any demand for this stuff. The phones are what kill this market, and those are manufactured overseas too.

The phone argument is a good one. Unfortunately, it's often presented as the pretense for the wrong case, i.e., "Camera technology is improving in such a way that in X year's time, the cameras in our phones are going to be as good as professional DSLRs." Obviously not true, but it doesn't change the functional outcome of the situation, which is that more people are going to be satisfied with what their phones offer relative to the costs of picking up something like a PEN or a GM1.

The problem that phones represent to the mirrorless/prosumer market is that they're good enough for a lot of the people who want to take photographs. Reasonable megapixel count, reasonable dynamic range, reasonable functionality, a host of plug-and-play post processing apps; couple all that with the fact that they're already carrying it around on their person and it means these cameras are good enough for a lot of people. I think these people see moving beyond their phone cameras as an exercise in diminishing returns: there's a technical learning curve, a more difficult post process, a more complicated pipeline, and an added bulk that diminishes the relative benefits of better image quality and increased creative control. Many people simply don't care enough about those things to move up from an iPhone.

Clearly the mirrorless/M43 fills a need in the market, but is it big enough and sustainable enough to warrant the R&D that goes in to advancing the format? I don't know. That's the question. My honest guess would be that it does, but ultimately at the expense of DSLR sales (for all the reasons Andrew stated, and because, anecdotally, it seems people are becoming more "aware" or mirrorless as a viable alternative, even if they aren't yet spending in such a way that reflects this).

I certainly hope it plays out this way, at least. I love my GH3 and think M43 is a great format. I'll be eager to see what the coming year brings!

i have seen a lot of videos with em1 and internal IS and if there is any camera movement is UGLY ... see for youself.

 

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And this is with wide angle lens!

 

The only time i would use the internal IS , would be only for static themes and there i could use my monopod with my A7 and RX10.

 

Its not very professional looking at all the results in video of EM1's stabilization (elastic distortion) ... good only for small movements, nothing else.

Try it for example with oly 45mm 1.8 while you are walking... and you will see what i am saying!

 

also, as i remeber in video mode you CANT change everyrthing when you prees REC. 

Is that enough for you ?

 

Focus peaking is laggy in video mode also , you cant change  the colour nor the intensity of it , not usable for me.

 

EM1 is very good camera for photos but not for video... please!

Very curious about your E-M1 review.

 

I was in the USA in the end of the last year, and used the opportunity to get some new gear - here in Brazil none of these cameras are available, and when (and if) they arrive here will be around 3x the USA price. Love my GH2, but I need a new one, for both stills and video.

The options were the GX7 and the E-M1. The GX7 ticked a lot of right boxes - windowed focus assist + peaking was a thing that once I thought that would be ideal for my needs, and when I saw it implemented I was overwhelmed. The low profile of the GX7 was a must too - a lot of people don't take it seriously, and are much more relaxed than in front of a 5D.

 

But the E-M1 came, and the stills quality were amazing. The ergonomics looked well too (except the on/off switch). The 5-axis IBIS was a dream for video. But when the video specs came...a low bitrate codec and no 24p. Olympus lost a 100% sure sell.

 

I was even more sad after testing the E-M1 in B&H Photo in NY - the handling was amazing, the responsiveness, the superb EVF, the stabilizer...but because of the codec, 24p and some features, it was the GX7 that came back home with me. (Very good stills - a bit worse than E-M1 - but a VERY good video mode, better than GH2 with the lighter hacks, very good high ISO performance and much less banding).

Suggestion for the E-M1 testing, if I can say one: scenes with a lot of moving details, like tree leaves in a windy day; it was the kind of scene that breaks the E-M5 codec, and I saw some footage from the E-M1 before my trip and saw the same problem (albeit much less pronounced than the E-M5). This and no 24p were the deals breakers - but I want to see what you can extract from the E-M1 (you have much more knowledge than me).

 

If Oly updates the video mode with a firmware upgrade, I can bought one - but I don't have hopes about it, looks like that Olympus and Fuji really don't care about video.

 

Regards,

Marcio

I have seen a quote of a quote flying around - so please, take this for what you will - that Olympus has pledged to "pay more attention to video going forward." Whether than means a firmware update for the E-M1 or a new model next year with more video-focused features, I don't know. But if true - if - it's good news, 'cuz man, that stabilizer is AWESOME.

I will have my sister's E-M1 Thursday through Sunday this week and I will run it through the moving details test.

I can't speak to the quality of the A7/R, because I have never seen one in person. My sister has an E-M1, though, and I got to spend the weekend playing with it. I can say these two things with certainty:
 

- The build quality is incredible
- It is an absolutely cracking still camera

Seriously, it takes incredible stills. Pictures are sharp and the color is phenomenal, with the JPEG engine being especially impressive. It wasn't comprehensive testing by any means, but with the Oly 45 1.8 and the Panasonic 14 2.5, I got pictures that were at least as good as any APS-C camera I had ever shot. Again, I wasn't zooming way down to pixel level and doing direct comparisons, but I was incredibly pleased with my shots.

On top of that, the video functionality is awesome! The bitrate is a little low for my liking (I am a GH3 owner :)) and 30p only is disappointing, but neither of these things struck me as dealbreakers when I got the footage onto her laptop and started looking at it. 5-axis IBIS is incredibly cool and the footage looks really nice. A firmware update that gave us focus peaking in video and 24/25p would be all I'd need to buy one (and I may do it regardless).

Looking forward to your review, Andrew!

Interesting!

The problem I'm having, though, is between the mount and the camera itself. The lenses all fit in snugly. Based on the fact that the camera itself is the female mount in that scenario, I don't know how well the paper method will work.

Will examine tonight! Thanks, guy!

Thanks for all the information guys. I hadn't heard of Novoflex before, I'll check them out!

Aside from light leaks (which I don't seem to have), this isn't going to, like, I don't know, damage the camera mount or anything, is it? I can't think of any way in which it would, but I'm pretty green.

Thanks again for all your help, guys!

Glad to hear you say that about the Kipon. Mine is as well. My FD adapter is almost solid, though none of them are really too bad (just a bit annoying to know it's there.)

Will be sure to pick up a native lens to see. Thanks!

Hey guys,

Have a GH3 that I use exclusively with adapters (for EF and FD). I have three different adapters and on every one there is a very slight wiggle - maybe 1/2 a millimeter - between the adapter and the mount on the camera. Is this normal? It almost feels like a tolerance "built in" to the mount but I can and have felt it move while shooting.

Is this normal, or do I have a faulty lens mount on the camera? It happens with every mount. I unfortunately do not have any M4/3 lenses to test with, otherwise I would have.

Thanks for your time!
Jurgen

*EDIT* just tested my Sigma 18-35 on my old 600D and it has this very slight wiggle as well. I guess it's just an allowable tolerance?

Took it to a camera shop today and had it serviced by their professional technician (who was kind enough to let me sit in and observe). Really good guy, one of those dudes who looks like he's been doing it for 30 years and you can tell really knows his stuff. Got it out no problem, took some test photos at a couple of different apertures, put together a little swab kit for me and that was that.

Definitely glad I sought advice on this forum and happy with the way things turned out. Everything looks great! Thanks guys!

Unfortunately the closest camera store is four hours away so for any advanced technical maintenance would mean shipping the camera away, which I'm not averse to, but it is a bit of a bummer :(

I bought a SensorPen and a cleaning kit off of Amazon and I'm going to reassess once the items arrive. The print doesn't seem to be affecting image quality any so I'm okay to wait and take a look at the kit when it comes in to see if it's something I'm comfortable doing myself.

I thought I was being too precious last night when I was going to wipe it off with a microfiber but I'm glad I asked first! Thanks for your help!

Last night while swapping lenses on my GH3 I accidentally verrrryyyyy gently nudged the corner of the sensor with my pinky finger. I now have about a 1mm by 1mm fingerprint on the corner of the sensor that I'm terrified to try and remove. It doesn't show up on images far as I can tell, but I still want it gone for peace of mind.

What's the best way to remove a fingerprint? I've used the Sensor Clean function from the menu four or five times and if it's helped it's been only modestly. All the web resources talk only about removing dust. What is the safest bet in removing this tiny smudge? I'm willing to buy products if need be/ship it off for cleaning, but if it's something as simple as "gently with a clean microfiber," then I'd prefer to do it that way (but will heed all advice before acting!)

Thanks!
Jurgen

I'll be interested to mount one of these on my quadcopter and see how it performs as an aerial shooter. With no 60p it could get a little wonky but if I can get relatively stable footage of this quality I'll be immensely pleased.

Great review, by the way!