Yesterday, Olympus announced the new E-M5. After much internal deliberation and focus group discussion, the name of the new camera is the, wait for it, E-M5II. Catchy.
While the name maybe nothing special (I’d have gone with the Olympus Ninja; which is why I never worked in marketing), the camera does offer some solid upgrades from the old model. Stabilisation is even better than before; as is video and the overall camera hardware. Olympus didn’t make any noise about the sensor performance; but those who have tested it say that high ISO performance is improved.
The press has received the camera favourably; and there is one other new feature that has got everyone excited; the ability to take 40mp shots with a camera with a 16mp sensor.
The idea is not new, Hasselblad have already done it; but in a camera costing more than a very nice car. What you do is take a shot and then the camera moves the sensor slightly and takes another shot; then again, for a total of eight shots. Then images are combined into a combined image. As the Olympus sensor is already floating to support stabilisation, it is presumably easier for the engineers to move it around to implement this solution than it would be with a fixed sensor camera.
For a better understanding of the technology, go here. For a comparison with a Nikon 810 image, go here.
The results are impressive; but there are a few restriction given you are shooting eight frames to generate a single image. You will have to use a tripod; and any movement in your subject is going to come out blurred. But as a solution for product photography, interiors or architecture minus trees; it’s a clever feature. I look forward to using it when it is implemented in the E-M1 mark 2 when it arrives (next year?).
Another clever innovation from Olympus to join five axis stabilisation, live time and live composite; glad I joined the club.
Today there were announcements from the club I used to belong to, Canon.
Headline is a new version of the 5D into which has been stuffed a 50MP sensor. There are two models, one with a low-pass filter and one without. As you might expect, the one which does not include a low-pass filter is more expensive….
The good news is that it is 50MP. The bad news is that the dynamic range is still way off anything offered by Nikon or Sony (or Olympus). The maximum ISO is 6,400 which hints at poor low-light performance. The video features are crippled. To really take advantage of the extra pixels you will need to shoot on a tripod and lock up the mirror to avoid shake; which means the camera will be mainly used for studio work. Or you just buy a Nikon 810.
Meh.
But, perhaps more exciting is Canon’s latest foray into the mirrorless camera segment, the EOS-M3.
Just look at it, doesn’t that stir your soul? And it’s stuffed with innovations. It’s got a sensor. It’s got a shutter button. It’s got some controls. Astonishing. It has been reported that it is six times faster to focus than the original M which would be mildly exciting if it were not for the fact that the original M was so slow to focus it was a joke.
After years of potential development time, this is the best they can do? The first M was such a failure that they stopped selling it in the USA. The new model will not even by offered for sale in the USA; perhaps indicative of Canon’s expectations for this latest piece of crap.
So glad I left the club.
Comments 🔗
2015-02-06| Jason saysI am likely placing the pre-order for mine in the upcoming days. I want it mainly for its FPS as I won’t jam the buffer when shooting concerts. Still may need to sell a organ or two to afford the 40-150 2.8. I won’t mention my need for the 42.5 1.2. My account gently weeps.
2015-02-06| rjmorgans saysAn Olympus brand ‘promoter’ landscape photographer I know has complained of banding when processing the 40 mega pixel pics and, apparently, there were similar problems with Hasselblad. It’s new technology and I’d rather wait until teething problems have been ironed out.
The brand to watch, in my opinion, are Sony. The high ISO performance in the Sony A7s is superb. It only has 12 mega pixels but is capable of producing large prints.
Do we really need 40 mega pixel files? Just get the framing right to start with!
I think Canon and Nikon have let it late into the mirrorless market - a bit of catching up to do.
2015-02-06| Parry saysRJ’s right. Sony are worth watching, but frankly my A7r is a slow, clonking, lethargic device with ferocious shutter slap and lag, the battery life of geriatric fruit fly, ghastly AF and RAW compression that interferes more than a mother-in-law.
An A7sII with all that the A7II has would definitely be worth a look, if it can record 4K internally. Don’t know on the A7rII or A9, not been announced yet. Probably going to give it a miss.
One camera that would be of interest is the next RX1R iteration if it has a new sensor (curved) and Zeiss 35/1.4 or 35/2 along with an integrated EVF. Street shooters dream.
All that said, Spike alerted me to the forthcoming Pentax full frame, so all bets are off and the wallet is firmly closed until Q1/Q2 of 2016.
Viva la Pentax!
2015-02-07| Grant says…“focus group”… Very droll!
2015-02-07| Spike saysI have played with the Sony A7 in a store; it just doesn’t feel like a camera; more like a gadget with a lens on it. Plus I don’t want to get into another system as I am very happy with M43. But the RX1 is a different beast and if the new one comes with a version of that 12mp sensor, curved or not, I would be very tempted. Street shooters at night dream!
2015-02-07| Parry saysSony should stick to making sensors. They can’t make cameras.
2015-02-07| Ron saysI have both an EM5 and several Sony. Yes, M43 has plenty of lens variety but I kinda like the bigger sensor. I find that I can’t get close enough for many shots and to be able to crop a 24mp shot down to 6mp and still have really nice prints is a bonus. On a recent safari in Africa even a 150-500mm lens on the A7 couldn’t get the tight framing I wanted. A6000 with 18-200 was always my in-hand setup with the a7 readily available. Found the both cameras had all day battery life on standby. Five thousand plus shots, 900 really good, 200 very good running out of wall space.
2015-02-07| RJM saysSony make amazing cameras. It starts off with probably the best pocket camera in the world, the RX100m3. Their top end A7s is amazing. Period. And they’re getting better all the time.
2015-02-07| Andrew saysthe banding is most likely from something in the frame moving ( leaves, water, etc…)- hard to get a landscape to stay COMPLETELY still… this mode will ONLY work on 100% static subjects ( think product photos…)