CaptainBobBrown

I have an E-M1 with it's second round of green splotch disease. First time it happened within weeks of purchase so Oly repaired and I've been very careful to avoid "excess light" hitting lens but on recent travel in Alaska's Inside Passage it hit again. Fortunately, so far, it's EVF has not deteriorated to point of unusability. Oly must know of the commonality of the problem.

It's described by lots of E-M1 owners on photography fora but the Oly service department rep claimed she'd never heard of it when I called about the problem the first time. While I love my E-M1's size, weight, and general build quality this EVF problem in the OMD line could be it's downfall. Problem then is what to use instead.

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

If I was in the market and thinking of buying one ,this bit of news would turn me right of it . To what advantage of getting one would , would it be . Sure it might be a bit lighter. But they don't compare with the D7200 or the canon
70D . There a bit harder to figure out than the mentioned two , and with the
Nikon it's a much better bird camera . Faster focus faster shutter speed , just
Go on Dixomark and read the report on the dd7200 . It just does every thing
Well . I was thinking of a OMD a while back but the difference in a pound or what ever is just not worth it or what you don't get . IMHO .

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

Advantages of being a viewfinder hater...

CaptainBobBrown

I've already got a D7100 with a Tammy 150-600 lens. It's sharp for even small birds at up to 70 feet or so and big birds and animals farther out but it's a pain to lug around so my wide angle and landscape camera and lens combo is micro four-thirds cuz neither Oly nor Pano have come out with a micro four-thirds high quality in the 300 mm range or above.

There is a four-thirds 300 f2.8 prime and I'm getting one from B&H next week. If it works for me for small birds and wildlife I'll definitely consider my big Nikon gear as a backup rather than primary even with the OMD "green splotch" problem and just hope that Oly solves the problem in their "upgrade" model of the E-M1 should they come out with one.

londonfire Loc: NY to NC

When you guys talk about diopter adjustment are you talking about the little wheel next to the viewfinder or is there something in the menu I'm missing? I haven't had an issue with 2 EM-5's but you've given me something to think about on my next MFT move.

CaptainBobBrown

Yes, the hypothesis is that by upping the diopter adjustment to improve focus visibility for near sighted folks one is amplifying the signal to the OLED pixels in the EVF and that this is "burning out" EVF pixels, the green splotches, and results in green splotches in the EVF... or something like that. I'm not sure I buy the hypothesis but the green splotch problem is real.

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

Yea for sure . Adjusting the eyepeice diopter should have no bearing on the
Picture your going to get . Doesent make sense , IMO

CaptainBobBrown

I thought the thread was about the problem of EVF OLEDs burning out in the OMD line's EVF's...not about picture quality but whether or not E-M1's and 5's had a fundamental design flaw.

RiverNan Loc: Eastern Pa

EM5 never had that problem
the problem I have is the eye cup.
I have replaced it about 3 times already.
Have to be really careful not to knock it off
because once it is off it never stays on as well again.

I always thought the diopter was for fine tuning....not to correct near or far vision...
I look through the view finder with my glasses, but if I use the live view at half arm distance I have to look under them....Old eyes.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Remember that few unhappy customer will raise all the fus. I wouldn't be happy either, but it doesn't mean that it is a design flaw. If one is into birds, go buy a dslr - looking at dxo does nothing. Give me a d810 and my pictures will still look like "my" pictures. I never had any issues with any m4/3 camera or lens. So as far as I'm conserned these cameras are well designed and well made and I shoot into the sun all the time. Every brand has their issues. At double the price how about the d610/750 issues? Talk about design flaw. No camera will ever improve your composition skills, make you more artistic or improve your post processing skills.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

What do you mean by don't compare?

londonfire Loc: NY to NC

Bob, you're saying that adjusting the diopter wheel is in effect doing the same thing as starting a campfire with a magnifying glass, correct?

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

For BIF kany

tdekany Loc: Oregon

True, although you should see on m43.com what shots of big some people can do with these cameras.

londonfire Loc: NY to NC

This is a reply I just received from Olympus so they are at least admitting to the issue. I disagree, however, with the claim that it will happen to any camera but maybe EVF's haven't been around long enough to reveal all their traits.

Dear Ed,

Thank you for contacting Olympus Technical Support.

This concern is not ignored by company, and we are aware of it. We fully support the small number of users that have experienced it, offer repair service to correct the problem, and advice on how to prevent this from happening in the future. As warned in the manual, this burnout occurs when the camera is left exposed and pointed with direct sunlight entering the EVF in the same static position for extended period of time.
For example, such as when the camera is left on a tripod for extended time, and the sun in the background may be setting in the horizon. In this angle, if you are not standing in front of the EVF, the sunlight will enter and burn the EVF. There is a greater chance of this happening if you have the diopter adjustment set in the viewfinder, as this will act similar to a loupe, concentrating the intensity of the light hitting the EVF.

Please note that this consideration for user caution is not limited to Olympus cameras, but can happen with any camera from other manufacturers that use the EVF under the same conditions.

If you require additional assistance please reply to this email leaving the complete history intact.