OLYMPUS Om1 Mk11. 1600 iso 1/250th at f4. 300mm f4 Olympus lens.
I am now on my forth Micro Four Thirds camera. I have owned the Panasonic GH2, GH3 and Gh4. Each was slightly better than the previous, but I have now tried the Olympus EM1 Mk11 and finally feel this is a camera to seriously challenge the DSLR. In fact after I have reviewed today’s pictures I wonder if I will ever want to use my Canon gear again.
Small, lightweight, 100% silent and up to 60 fps with the ability to take a picture before you press the button and a feature to limit the focus to whatever range you want. Only focus between 5 to 6 metres for instance. What is not to like.
The quality at higher iso settings was amazing, but I need to experiment more yet. I can well imagine 3200 iso as my standard setting it seems that good. The viewfinder image has almost no time lag, unlike any other EVF system (electronic viewfinder) I have used and is flicker free compared to a DSLR. Following birds in flight should now be possible and in fact easier than with a DSLR. I need to try more before I am certain.
There is still a downside. The manual (PDF file) will take more reading and digesting than the Bible. There are many settings I do not understand and the manual does not explain. My friend Google is also unable to help. There appears to be a micro adjustment for the focus for instance, but how do you use it?
I started using it with the Panasonic 100-400mm lens, but turns out to be one of the worst lenses I have ever owned. Do I have a faulty one? They can’t all be as bad as mine. The Olympus 300mm f4 however is wonderful and the equivalent of a 600mm f4. I do not normally get excited about camera gear, but today Micro Four Thirds came of age for me. It is the future and I need to invest in more gear for it.
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