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Shooting with latest Olympus PDAF cameras (E-M1 ii, E-M5 iii)? Tips/Tricks?


sgreszcz
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Hi there, I've recently decided to try the new Olympus OMD E-M5 iii after switching from the original E-M5 to Panasonic GX80 4 years ago (and more recently added a GH5). 

I've decided to try Olympus again now that they have good 4k video codec and great PDAF auto-focus.  I've also enjoyed the Olympus colours, the better viewfinder and IBIS (especially compared to the GX80) and the much smaller size/weight compared the GH5 (which I only used for paid jobs, and never carried around or travel with).

Is anyone shooting with the E-M1ii, EM1x, or the E-M5iii and can share tips, especially to get the best out of the PDAF C-AF system or other video tricks/tips?  From the little testing that I've done the EM-5iii works pretty good. Hopefully it will help me follow focus with the fast moving kids/events that I video, I need to do some more testing.  The touchscreen focus also works really smoothly too.

Some things I already miss on the Panasonics (like zebras) although I find the Olympus histogram is much more useful with the overall histogram and the focus point overlay.  I really do like how Olympus has managed to put all the custom function buttons and levers on such a small camera, which really helps change things quickly like 2x crop, peaking on/off, ISO, etc.  However I don't like how stills and photo settings like ISO carry over when changing modes, and I couldn't find a way to put a custom movie mode on the "C" dial.  Instead I had to put my stills Aperture mode settings on "C" and use the video mode for video.  Luckily is is really fast to change settings (like from 4k for 120fps HD) from the super control panel.  

I do also miss the focus point joystick on the GH5 though, and find that the Panasonic auto-exposure is better with face detection than the Olympus which seems to overexpose for some reason.

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No experience with the Olympus cameras, but I’d suggest that the best approach is just to google the various settings, do lots of tests and generally play with things.

Sports and fast-moving things is difficult for AF, so you’ll need to dive in deep to get the best results.

Good luck - i’ve heard that the Oly cameras have some real advantages over Panasonic but for some reason they don’t get the PR that the others get.

I was considering an Olympus before I bought my GH5, but the 10-bit internal was more valuable to me than the superior AF or IBIS, but PDAF would sure be a huge advantage to have!

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If Olympus released a EM-1 Mark 3 with 10-bit 422 150Mbps longGOP 4K with PDAF and their excellent IBIS they would at least be on people’s radars for video.

I’ve always wanted to mash the best from the GH5 and EM1 together into one MFT camera.

I don’t even care if it’s called the OM-D EH-5 Mark 1. 

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