It's a sad day when Olympus camera division has been sold off, but their cameras are still fantastic in my opinion. As an avid Olympus shooter and have used EM5 Mark 2 for 5+ years now, $598 is a fantastic price for this camera. They have fantastic lenses you can pair with this camera, and still industry-leading in body stabilisation.
I don't think the Mark 3 is worth the upgrade over the Mark 2 at their asking price.
You must be thinking of the E-M1 mkii. The E-M5 mkii only shoots HD, not 4k.
They talking about the iii for 4k - I thought the same initally haha
For the money you're much better off buying Sony a6X00.
@OzHan: An em5mkiii + 12-40 2.8 is going to be cheaper and lighter than any comparable of the a6x00 setups. A em1mkii, is probably a better choice though since you get log, dci, good luts, arguably the best ibis, etc.
Downsides are obvious enough and with sony you're buying into a platform that has a slightly more predictable future.
@Jenny Death: 12-40f 2.8 (382 grams)is good lens no argument there, the comparable one for Sony would be the 16-70/f4 Zeiss(309 grams) if you consider the crop factor. Body wise is 414 grams (mkiii) vs 404 grams (a6300). I use prime lenses primarily and I just don't see the benefits (cheaper and lighter) switching to m43 from Sony.
Then you end up having inferior image quality, AF, noise and DR with m43.
Ahh my bad, I thought I saw a ii not a iii.
Was not aware of the Olympus camera division sale News. I still have my first SLR, an OM-1MD I bought in 1974.
Sad to see how Olympus and all the other great Japanese brands of my youth have all gone to crap,
Pentax still makes a pretty good camera, though are a shadow of peak Pentax. They have changed hands a couple of times and the brand is still going and makes high quality, and very solid cameras.
Hopefully this isn't a case where the Olympus name is leveraged simply to sell cheap poor quality cameras after they've sold off all the tech.
Pentax are good but their stubborness to build mirrorless is worrying.
I have a Pentax mirrorless.
The K-01.
We'd best not go there. :)
@Jenny Death: The K-01.
Pentax's mirrorless K-mount camera from some years back. Kind of like a K-5, but without all the SLRish bits. It's like a small brick.
Most seem to think that it's ugly. Very ugly.
I'm reluctant to admit it, but I actually like it. For some reason, I like the design, and enjoy using it. Maybe I should be ashamed….but there you have it - my quilty secret!
It's mirrorless, but kind of misses the whole point of being so. It loses the prism and mirror, but still has to support a K-mount flange distance, and so it is still quite chunky (especially compared to mirrorless cameras now)! No EVF either - just the back screen. Sometimes people put a big film style eyepiece over the whole back screen and use it like that!
To really get the slim build, you have to redesign, and so the K-01 never really worked. I don't think it had much success.
Seems to be becoming a bit of a collectors' item now though.
But I take your point. Pentax does not want to get on the mirrorless train. Seems odd since EVF's are getting so good. Serious sports and wildlife shooters still like SLR's, but you'll rarely find them using Pentax for those ends. Pentax would need a new mount if they were to go properly mirrorless. I think they're too small to run two systems, and so would need to drop the K-mount to do so.
The idea of a tough, almost waterproof, mirrorless camera from Pentax is very interesting, but I think we shall never have it unless Ricoh is prepared to throw some money at it…and that would be most risky (and unlikely).
What would be really nifty, is a Pentax DSLR with a hybrid viewfinder (like Fujifilm). Wow.
@Banj0: Oh yeah, i forgot pentax never changed their mount so that explains it. Gotta love K-mount, my 50mm f1.4 is a beast.
I like that they're sticking to their guns. They don't need to follow the herd.
I highly enjoy my K1 and I'm not even using it to its full potential. But I at least know it has the capability to do so much more. Thank goodness they're updating their full frame lens catalogue for the digital world.
Indeed…nice camera, and very good option for a small, cheap, high quality ICL camera. I have one too, and will probably still be looking to get an E-M1 III at some point despite the recent news on the acquisition by JIP.
After that, it depends what JIP does with Olympus Imaging. The current crop of Olympus cameras still offer some fantastic photography options, and some of the best lenses I've ever used on any camera.
Yeah, I'm gonna wait to see what JIP does. I'm really hoping they improve the continuous AF in the entry level bodies. But for now, I'm going to stick with E-M10ii. With a new body comes a requirement for extra batteries and accessories so it never ends up cheap for me.
There is almost no chance JIP will actually run the business it seems. It apparently is not how their business operates - it sounds like they take money from companies to fire people on their behalf as a work around of Japanese labour laws.
Yup. I cut my losses and traded in literally all my MFT gear just then towards an x-t4 and 16-80
@wittyusername: It's too painful to relive lol. It was a lot of lenses plus em10ii and em5iii for almost $3k. Just gonna get myself a single really good Fuji and one super zoom (16-80).
Was getting fed up having a whole bunch of lenses sitting around gathering dust cos they were overlapping in use. My wife originally wanted me to keep the em10 for her but then she never touched it… So this was a good excuse for me to just simplify
How would this compare to Canon M6 or M50?
canon's are a better bet.
I'd go canons if I didn't plan on changing lenses much. Sensor would be bigger. M4/3 has a better lens catalogue though.
You sure that mft has a better catalogue than EF? Sure they may be smaller but EF has a much more versatile lineup.
@Jenny Death: Canons a good catalogue yeah.
I went Olympus for lighter and affordable pro lens options. The 12-40 pro zoom quality would cost a fortune to replicate in canon.
But saying that I won't be investing anymore in the system as its future sounds cloudy at best
For retro-styling digital camera, I think OMD series are the best. If you are not after a 4K video feature, this is the best travel semi-pro camera.
…and I think the E-M5 iii and E-M1 iii both do quite good video now…though there is the extra $$$ for those.
Keep in mind Olympus has been sold off.
that's…. what I wrote in the first line? And it's the camera division that's been sold off.
The plan is the new company will continue to manufacture and develop new models, back up and spares etc
Bit like Sony selling off Vaio, still making them for some markets
Pentax/Ricoh will be next to get the chop
I don't know, I'm not particularly optimistic about that. And Fiximol's post above is pretty damning too.
@lawyerz: Word is they purchased the company for the patents only. But I'm sure buying an Olympus will still serve you well for many years anyway.
"The plan is the new company will continue to manufacture and develop new models, back up and spares etc"
Yea no…
JIG plan is to sell off the patents and whatever's left and wrap it all up.
Olympus camera won't be around next year.
Ricoh itself is profitable, and they don't seem to be booking up big losses in Pentax (though Pentax is small in the scheme of things, and doesn't figure a mention in Ricoh's reports). 2020 may change things…not sure.
I'm optimistic that Pentax will hang about. I think their costs are probably much lower than Olympus Imaging had. Time will tell, and it depends if it's important to the broader Ricoh operation I guess.
People have been saying Pentax will die for years, yet they're still making great cameras and thankfully expanding on their digital-aged full frame lenses.
I though this was a camera. My bad.
what's more worrying is this could be the death of M34. Panasonic already has full frame solution, Olympus and Panasonic were the two main producers of consumer cameras with this format. I would not think JIP would be as invested in m34 than original Olympus.
We haven't really seen sign of Panasonic throwing in the towel yet - they just announced the G100 yesterday.
The whole consumer camera market is shrinking (along with the rest of the economy), it's going to be a struggle for everyone, sadly.
Could 2020 get any worse?
exactly how I feel :(
Only if Canon cancel the R5 and R6. Buy one of those with some CoronaCash and you be smiling in no time again. :D
R5 ftw!
Worth upgrading my E-M1 to this?
Is that an upgrade?
From memory, I think this is pretty close to the original E-M1 in specs. What you want is the E-M1 ii…but you'd be looking at a bit over $1k I think which would be an excellent price for that camera.
I had thought of picking up the E-M1 ii to replaced my E-M5 ii, but I prefer some aspects of the E-M1 iii, so I might save my pennies and get one of those. Who knows - it may be the last E-M1!
What do you like about the EM1.3? I was pretty underwhelmed at it on paper to be honest, but sure I must have missed something given that it was 4 years in the making.
Handheld hi-res, liveND, and better AF performance (though admit I manual focus a lot anyway). Starry As F sounds like fun too, but I don't think I'll be using an Olympus for Astrophotography (who knows, maybe it will surprise me)! Performance extracted from the sensor looks ever so slightly better than both the Mk ii and the X as well, so there's that.
Depends a lot on the price though. The Mk ii is coming down in price, and if the Mk iii is twice the price or more, then it makes less sense. We're all bargain hunters here though, so we should be able to do better than that in time.
I have the Oly pro zoom trio, which are very good lenses, hence I'm still looking at this system. It would be a big decision to sell off that glass and get out of MFT.
no. you'll lose pdaf focusing
You'd be downgrading.
For size, weight, and portability benefits only.
And maybe aesthetics. and a handy spare camera for casual street photography or the daytrips.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/520547
was $400 earlier this year, with 1year warranty.
Bought mine even cheaper than that
I would wait some more.
One is ex-demo, one is brand new. It's not really 1-1 comparable. But your deal is good
I would have said that the two year warranty on a new camera must be worth a little more too…but now…
Find it hard to justify the purchase even at this price. esp when it has likely become a dead end system.
Is there a big difference between EM5 mark 1 and 2?
2 is better built and heavier
IQ pretty much the same
I have had both. Not much difference. Incremental improvements and features.
…and do you prefer a flippy screen or tilt? It's the only thing I don't like about my Mk ii - the floppy screen. I'm primarily a stills photographer and personally I prefer a tilt screen. I still upgraded to the Mk ii though.
Flippy on the Mk ii is better for selfies/blogging.
I take stills too. I dont care much about the screen. I guess I will stick with my Mark 1 for now. May be invest in Lens instead.
WiFi
So I’ve been looking at Sony and Fujifilm mirrorless systems today, as my mind ticks over with the options (will I stay or will I go - yes, the interweb seems to have gotten to me). The cameras look nice, but I think that I simply can’t replace the micro four-thirds glass I own for anything short of stupid crazy dollars.
So, still onboard with Olympus and/or Panasonic for now.
What else do you need when you have the affordable Sigma F1.4 trio with Sony?
You're right, that looks like a cracker of a kit - and I do like primes. Excellent bang for buck. I don't tend to use my MFT gear that way though…I have the Oly Pro zoom trio, and the tele zoom gets me something that is difficult to find at a similar cost in other formats. It's a bit more - compact - than other high-end zooms (for obvious reasons), and still of very high quality. Not as good as equivalent zooms on FF for sure, but much of that is down to the sensor size. Close enough though, and a hell of a lot cheaper and smaller!
Always great to have a long zoom in a small carry bag for wildlife. And still have room for a few primes and a second camera body.
Can only hope that whatever remains of Olympus continues to sell lenses, and so keep Panasonic honest!
OzHan, you do realize that Sigma also sells a F1.4 trio for micro-four/thirds (Olympus + Panasonic)?
Got one a few years ago second hand for around $600 for travel photography. The build quality is good and I really liked the retro look. I sold it a year or so after using it as it was still a little bulky for me (especially because I needed the 12-40 travel zoom) and got myself a Sony RX100. I did like what it offered though!
Sone of the shops that are showing stock only have display units.
JB price matched for the silver one.
*Some - Blacktown said they had only a display unit, Gordon said they would try and get one from another store
I have a Panasonic fz80, which I think the picture quality from it are quite poor.
Is this one better? Should I sell mine to get this one in stead?
It'll depend on your lenses. Im not sure I'll recommend a new user to buy into this system. If you see yourself upgrading and really getting into photography, I'll steer you to a system which has a more certain future as these decisions could last decades.
Hi, I'm using the 18 - 55mm lens that came with the camera, and the photos shot with it are terrible.
This camera does not shoot 4k video like the fz80.
It depends on whether you want to work with different lenses which you can on this one.
Is changing a new lens for my fz80 gonna improve the picture quality? If so what would you recommend?
I dont think you can change the lens on the Panasonic fz80 - from what I can see, it has a 60x lens but it is not interchangable - my comment above was referring to the OM-D being able to change lenses (however you cant get 60x zoom in one lens), whilst the FZ80 you have the one built in 60x zoom lens.
The Panasonic FZ80 is a 'superzoom' bridge camera (20 to 1200mm FOV equivalent in 35mm terms). Can be handy for traveling, where you quickly alternate between taking a family snapshot of several people, and then the next minute try to take a photo of a bird drinking nectar from a flower 20+ metres away.
You mention 18-55 mm, which is a standard lens for APS-sensor DSLR camera such as made by Nikon, Canon, Sony etc., with approximate 28mm to 88m FOV equivalent (in 35mm terms). Panasonic doesn't make any cameras with an APS-sensor. I agree, plenty of 18-55mm lenses sold for those cameras are terrible! :) Then again, many of the cheaper zooms for any interchangeable lens camera (ILC) which covers that 'popular' range are built to a price, rather than to a particularly great standard. You can find better lenses which cover that range, but unfortunately it might not come packaged with the camera you buy.
The lenses for the Olympus OM-D EM5 Mk2 can be better than what is on the FZ80, but you won't find a lens for any of the interchangeable lens cameras which will do quite what the FZ80 does. As mentioned by @VeganLeather, you just won't find a 60x zoom for an ILC camera!
All ILC camera systems will have a 'travel-zoom' (sometimes called a 'Disney zoom') option, which has a lot more 'zoom'! The lower end of the zoom (wide angle) would be used for scenery and family group shots. The higher end of the zoom (narrower angle) would typically be used for wild animals/insects or perhaps flowers. Note that usually those zooms will be heavier (though not necessarily very heavy), will have relatively high f-stops (so more difficulty taking pictures in poor light, and less bokeh) and perhaps other qualities (such as poorer quality bokeh) compared to lenses with a more restricted zoom (or no zoom at all).
A typical 'Olympus' travel-zoom lense would be the 14-150 mm (35mm FOV equivalent 28-300 mm).
A very honourable mention should also go to the Panasonic 14-140mm, which will also work on this Olympus camera, as well as on Panasonic cameras such as the G7 or G85. My father uses just this 14-140mm lens (on his Panasonic G85) for everything. One benefit of the micro-4/3 system is that the lenses are usually (relatively) light compared to APS (let alone 35mm) systems. So that my 80-year old Dad has no worries lugging around a 28-280mm equivalent zoom with him when he is going for a walk. He also doesn't care about bokeh. Because he is of the school that a photographer who doesn't make the background interesting just isn't being careful enough…
(Very likely, however, you will eventually want to take human portraits with a blurry background. For which an Olympus 50mm, Panasonic 42.5mm or Sigma 56mm are the cheaper options for this Olympus camera).
A bit like buying a Holden now. Might get collectors value. Endoscopes got invented in Japan that is where the money is. Patriotic Japan is going to buy much less from China and they know where the long term money is going to be. The former enemy of the US is likely to be a closer darling for medical stuff. When Nasa contracted Kodak to make CCD's they re-contracted to Sony who in turn killed Kodak. DJI came out of no-where and just swallowed Hasselblad. So you want a name, give money to the CCP!
One of the benefits of the Olympus OM-D (and other Olympus interchangeable lens cameras) is that they weren't the only ones making micro-four-third mount (micro-4/3) cameras.
Panasonic makes micro-4/3 mount cameras too, and two of three micro-4/3 cameras currently in use by myself are Panasonics (the other Olympus).
The benefit of a (more-or-less) 'open' standard camera mount, which is also used in some Blackmagic cameras (they support other mounts too, I know), some cheap Chinese ILC cameras and perhaps an upcoming Sharp camera.
So other than whatever remains of Olympus selling an already very extensive lens line-up (lenses retaining value, both in sale price and value to the user, better than cameras which are subject to whims of yet-another-feature-no-one-needed-last-year trends), Panasonic - and to a lesser extent, Sigma - also continue to sell and develop lenses.
Still, rather sad to see Olympus go. Other than the general portability of the micro-4/3 systems, I also particularly enjoyed the benefits of competition between Olympus and Panasonic. There was typically a choice between two similarly featured bodies, with the major differences between style or ergonomics as well as price. The two companies eventually mostly duplicated each other's extensive lens line-up, resulting in plenty of choice. Will be sad if Olympus is no longer trying so hard to keep Panasonic honest…!
You are right, so sad but the market is changing like emotions. Facebook and tweets where camera phones are good enough. Drones have now captured a huge market, so much that DJI who purchased Hasselblad is stuck with an old horse to need Sony to get the brand to return numbers. Panasonic is not exaclty counting profits. Canon makes most its money from office equipment. I am wondering with the virus unlikly to vanish completely if Olympus are developping cameras going town the lungs to explore ?
Olympus probably will, but it won’t be part of the imaging division going to JIP.
Cheap bokeh available from the (AF only) Xiaoyi 42.5 F1.8 seems a bargain on Aliexpress at the moment for $62.64
I have this lens and it is great for the price, even has a macro switch.
looks like a few listings
e.g.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32580411587.html
review (comparison xiaoyi 42.5 1.8 vs olympus 45 1.8)
https://www.mu-43.com/threads/portrait-lenses-oly-45mm-f-1-8…
Not bad for the mkii. I'd say the mkiii is worth it if youre doing video work as well. Pretty much a monster for 4k at the price point.