Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

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Splintercat
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Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by Splintercat » December 27th, 2014, 8:08 pm

Santa gave me the green light to order a completely new camera kit this year -- basically a complement for my existing DSLR, but lighter on my old bones as a trail camera. It's an Olympus OM-D micro four-thirds format, the newish E-M10 model. I should have it in my hands in a week or two, and possibly soon enough to try taking it along to DC for a trial run, not sure. It's a consumer camera with lots of styling options, but I went for the sentimental and got this version:

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If you've used an old Olympus OM-1, then I don't need to explain why this camera body tugged at my heart strings! :lol:

Beyond being (even) lighter and more compact than my Olympus E-620 DSLR, it also has a couple of new features that I've been itching to use: HD video and built-in wifi. I've been getting more interested in video for awhile, but have only experimented with standard definition cameras and very little control over the image quality, so that should be new and challenging.

The wifi sounds gimmicky, but it will allow me to use an Olympus controller app on my phone to pretty much run the entire camera -- which, in turn, means I can shoot video and slow-shutter exposures without touching the camera -- very much looking forward to that, but we'll see if I actually use it. I ran into a shooter over at Rowena last spring who was using an iPad (mounted on his tripod) in this fashion to compose and shoot images, and while my initial reaction was a bit of an eye-roll, I started to see both the convenience and the opportunities that come with not having to keep your eyeball on the viewfinder/monitor (especially as my bones get older..! Those low shots are killers..!) :lol:

The only downer is that I really can't justify the pro-quality lenses for this camera -- something I indulged in for my DSLR. The reviews are very good for the pair of kit lenses that come with the body in the package I bought, so I'm hoping that I won't be disappointed. I'll also have to adjust to a 14mm wide as my widest lens... after enjoying 11mm for many years.

That's what I know for now, and I'll post some images once I've given it a test drive.

Say... turns out I was a GOOD BOY this year..! I'll be damned..! Thanks, Santa! ;)

Tom :)

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BrianEdwards
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Re: Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by BrianEdwards » December 27th, 2014, 10:15 pm

Congrats on the new cam, Tom. A micro 4/3rds at that!

The wifi option, once you've experienced it, you'll never willingly go back to anything without it! Set your camera up on the subject, whether it be down low in the water, up on a rock on a summit, or in a non-ergonomic position, then instead of having to stay in that body-aching position, you step back, stand up, sit down, etc and control it all on your phone. Many times I'll set the camera up, then step back and stand with my family while doing the camera on my phone. Before I'd have to be crouched down and focused on the camera. And as you said, for long exposures (something I am always taking), no need to touch the camera.

Happy holidays! Sometimes it pays to be on the nice list once every few years :lol:
Clackamas River Waterfall Project - 95 Documented, 18 to go.

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Guy
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Re: Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by Guy » December 28th, 2014, 6:31 am

Congrats on the New Camera Tom!

The jury is out on wifi for me. My Sony HX400 & Chiyoko's Lumix TS5 both have wifi & NFC but in my opinion they are not user friendly on either camera. You have to navigate a menu on both cameras to turn wifi on & then open an app on your phone & navigate another menu on the phone. For me the process just has too many steps. The Lumix is better than the Sony at getting the connection set up.

That being said Father Christmas gave me an entry level GoPro last week. I've found it to be very fast to connect & much more user friendly. I just have to press one button on the camera & click on the app I instantly have a view finder & full control of the camera on one screen so it can work!!

Enjoy your new Toy!
hiking log & photos.
Ad monte summa aut mors

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rainrunner
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Re: Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by rainrunner » December 29th, 2014, 4:15 pm

Nice camera setup.
You can look up camera lenses for this camera on dxomark and find one that doesn't cost too much but is sharp.
I've been eying the Sigma 19mm @ $199 for my Sony NEX-5T.

dxomark
The mountains are calling and I must go.
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Splintercat
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Re: Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by Splintercat » January 25th, 2015, 9:58 pm

Well, I finally had a chance to do a first test run with the new camera -- lots to figure out with the interface, still, but I've got "manual" mode (mostly) figured out... :lol: So far, I'm very happy with the image quality and tiny size/weight, still stumbling through menus to find the settings I'm looking for. I actually read the users manual wall-to-wall on the plane a couple weeks ago, but you kinda have to see/do with complicated electronic gadgets.

Weird not having a lens hood, but the camera and lenses are so tiny that my hand does just fine (and in truth, I've been augmenting the lens hoods on my dSLR for years, standard procedure). Love having dedicated manual dials for shutter speed and aperture -- just like the olden days! Haven't tried the wifi yet, but will need to figure that out, as my ultra-light tripod (part of the changeover) wiggles just enough that bracketed images get slightly out of alignment between frames when I bracket manually. I prefer to bracket manually, but may need to use the camera function to do that in the future... lots to learn, still.

No complaints about the electronic viewfinder -- it's definitely as close as can be expected to "real", and is basically enjoyable to look through, so I'm getting over my angst on that front. One thing I like is having a LOT of data around the edges of the LCD, including where I'm at with zoom lenses. So, I'm sure I'll get used to the pixel view of reality soon enough. :-)

Posting some images for anyone interested in this camera -- these are all taken with the kit lenses, the first with the telephoto zoom and the rest with the wide angle zoom. All have a polarizer filter, but are right out of the camera, not processing. I cropped to basically 50% and about 25% of full frame, just to give a rough idea of how it handles the details (albeit, compressed and resized for the web):

This first image is with the telephoto zoom at about 150mm:

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The next image is with the wide angle zoom at about 15mm:

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Another image with the telephoto zoom, at about 120mm:

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Image

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...and a final image with the wide angle zoom at 14mm:

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I did okay with 14mm as wide angle limitation, but definitely missing an 11mm lens. We'll see how long I last before I sell my soul (and possibly plasma and on kidney) to invest in more lenses... ;)

Tom :)

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Re: Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by jdemott » January 26th, 2015, 8:46 am

Looks like a great setup, Tom! All the sample photos show excellent color and contrast. I look forward to some great trip reports!

I agree with you about electronic viewfinders. I like having all the data presented in the viewfinder, such as a histogram for exposure. Also, I have found that the "pixel view" is ultimately very useful since it is a representation of the digital image that you will be capturing. I just have to remember that it isn't the same thing as reality.

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Re: Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by Splintercat » January 26th, 2015, 7:50 pm

I hear you on that, John! In a weird way, the evolution to nearly lifelike displays is sort of disconcerting in that you can forget that you're not looking at the world through glass at all. Like all things in the digital age, it's also one more step away from being able to manually override the electronics. My first SLR only needed a battery to power the light meter -- and on a few outings, I had to wing it by using the little f-stop chart that used to be printed inside film boxes. We've come a long way..!

Tom :)

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Sean Thomas
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Re: Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by Sean Thomas » January 26th, 2015, 8:24 pm

I love those doug fir cones, Tom. Really nice pictures.

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Splintercat
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Re: Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by Splintercat » January 27th, 2015, 9:19 pm

Well, thanks Sean! But they're just demo photos right out of the camera... though I did set up a tripod (of course). :)

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Just bought a new camera: Olympus E-M10

Post by Don Nelsen » January 27th, 2015, 9:42 pm

The quality of your photos is tempting me to get a better camera - but as my other hiking friends will attest: I'll just go out and drop it in a creek, lose it or fall and break it!

dn
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