mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

I have the Olympus mark 5 III, aka m1 III lite, and I adore it, I also have the m5 II and love it as well. The stabilization is incredible. I used to be a Nikon shooter until I grew tired of lugging it around. I’ve never looked back. I use the camera more, I’ve gotten better results than ever before, and I think I’ve become a better photographer. I have a number of Oly lenses which are great and recently acquired the 12-40 Pro. I couldn’t be happier.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

I posted a few days ago about the OM-D E-M1, but because I had included a link, my post was moved to Links and Resources.
Saturdays and Sundays I not the days I like to go to a shopping centre, Monday is a stat holiday here, so maybe Tuesday I will visit the camera shop that sent me the first e-mail about the Mark iii, have a chat with the staff there, and see if they'll take my OM-D E-M1 as a trade-in.
I don't know when the new one will actually be released for sale, as the e-mail included a link to "pro-order".
But, the shop isn't that far from where we live, and an easy bus-ride, so I'll go an pay them a visit, as I prefer to talk face-to-face to someone, rather than phone, or e-mail.

Dave Sr Loc: Nazareth, Pennsylvania

I'm an amateur photographer and have the EM1 and EM1 MkII. My wife and I do a lot of hiking and the smaller lighter weight of the Olympus is much appreciated after I sold my Nikon D800. The photos are very sharp. At a night photo tour in Arches Nat'l Park, the instructor said he "might" be able to see a little more noise in my Oly milky way photos compared to those taken with my rented Nikon D750. Olympus Image Stabilization is beyond comprehension: I've taken hand held shots at 1 second and can't see any blur at maximum magnification. Check out the "Pro capture mode, as well as in-camera focus blend and HGR. They work wonderfully as does the 'live composite.' The Olympus 'Pro' lenses are just wonderful and amazingly weatherproof. The many reviews of the 'pro' lenses rate them very highly and I concur.

Hip Coyote

I’m an avid Oly shooter. Use the pro series lenses as well. With one exception, my OMD em5ii is the perfect travel camera. The IBIS is fantastic, the lenses are great and the minimal size of my kit is perfect. The camera and lens setup that I carry are weather resist. It starts raining, I make no adjustments at all. The only downside that drives me crazy is the start-up time. When we head to dinner (on vacation) and I want a very small camera I just attach the Oly 14-42 ez lens. When we were in Africa, I had two em5ii bodies, one with a 12-100 Pro Oly lens and one with a Panasonic 100-400. Perfect set up.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I resemble that remark. (EM-5 and Z7)

Peteso Loc: Blacks Hills

I have been using the EM1 Mark II for a few years (shortly after it's release), and it's excellent. I have Pro lenses and one kit lens, so I would recommend that you stick with the former. I have not seen the EM1 Mark III yet, but from what I have read, the biggest advantages include 1) improved image stabilization (which was already good in the Mark II, particularly when combined with ILIS, such as in the 12-100mm Pro lens) and 2) the addition of neutral density included in the Mark III.

John from gpwmi Loc: Michigan

I switched from Canon to Olympus a couple of years ago. Started with the M10,III to have smaller, lighter gear for hiking and upgraded to the M1,II about a year ago. The M1,II has some of the upgrades from the M1X with the firmware 3.1 update. That would all be included in the M1,III along with handheld 50Mp Hi Res. and a few other things. I haven't found the HiRes mode on the Olympus too useful as it can't be used for wildlife or when there is any movement like fluttering leaves. The 20Mp small sensor is driven by pixel physics and ability to capture low-light. However, 20Mp is more than sufficient unless you want to make wall murals or do heavy cropping. Some will argue the menu system is too complex, but once you get used to it there's no problem and actually fun to use, and it provides fantastic flexibility. There are books to help the learning process. Otherwise it has all the buttons and dials found on all cameras. Olympus build quality is second to none. Excellent lenses and overall IQ. I started with box lenses, but now have upgraded to the 12-100mm,f4,Pro; 40-150mm,f2.8,Pro and a 2xTC. Really easy to carry around. In the end, it's smaller, lighter gear and a smaller investment, while still getting excellent IQ. The dof is greater which can be good or bad depending on what you want for a particular shot. The down side is low-light performance and limited cropping ability.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

The regular menu system is atrocious but the Super Control Panel is your friend. Surprisingly it is not turned on by default. Once you turn it on, life is good! It is a graphic display that is easy to use and all the camera controls are one simple button push away.

John from gpwmi Loc: Michigan

Micro 4/3's is half the size in area (two dimensions) thus it is ¼ the area of FF. Therefore, it would have the pixel density of an 80Mp FF.

bigd7200

Olympus USA has a "trade-in bonus" offer. You ask for a quote to sell a camera or lens you own(does not need to be Olympus) then you get a code that is worth $200, so the cost is $1600, not $1800 for the E-M1iii. You get the discount even if you do not accept the offer.

Also, there is an offer in GB for a free Capture One Pro 20 if the E-M1iii is preordered from an authorized dealer in GB. I hope that might be offered in the US also.

Judy795

At least 12 members of my local FL camera club have switched to Olympus M43 in the past 2 years. Reason? GAS? Definitely weight. Mostly but not always very good images.
One of the professionals here just sold off all her Canon gear to switch to Olympus.

fosis Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Take a look at my post from last fall called "Back from the Palouse." All those shots were taken with an EM-1 Mark II. I routinely make 20x24" enlargements for my camera club competitions. And after "going to school" on another Hog's post about exposing to the right (ETTR) and doing noise reduction in Lightroom, I've gone up to 5000 ISO with very good results. Olympus has got a wonderful system, and the EM-1 MkII has so many features like Pro Capture and 15 shots/sec. and very sharp Pro lenses that I'm sticking with it. I do wish Olympus would announce their 150-450mm f4.5 lens, because that will utilize their other features to produce a great sports photo capability. Other than that, give them serious consideration.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I have read and watched some reviews. I’m waiting for the next Panasonic Lumix Micro 4/3 (hopefully a GH6). It’s about time for one.

Olympus makes great gear. Their IBIS is the best in the world. Their lenses are excellent. Their JPEGs are great — better than Panasonic on some models, but not often as good as Fujifilm’s.

I hate Olympus menus, though, and their video features (especially audio) are lacking, which is why I prefer Lumix. I need about equal emphasis on stills and video.

MoT Loc: Barrington, IL

Last year I switched from Nikon to the Olympus system because the weight of the FF Nikon bodies and lenses became a problem for me due to some rather difficult back problems. I bought the Olympus E-M1 MkII with the 12-100 mm f4.0 PRO zoom, the 60 mm f2.8 macro and the 45 mm f1.8 by trading my older nikons to Adorama. I have not been disappointed as the OLY is a very capable camera that yields great results. I am intrigued with the new MkIII but can not really justify a new purchase at this time. The Olympus lenses are fantastic. The 12-100mm stays on my camera 90% of the time. The IBIS coupled with the lens IS lets me shoot in available light most of the time. And I have recently started experimenting with the high res, photo stacking and HDR capabilities that all take place in the camera with no editing needed as the results are fantastic. I highly recommend the OLY system, lighter and well built cameras and lenses.

drsdayton Loc: Dayton, Ohio

I have an OMD EM1 II...moved from Canon. Love it. Some nice enhancements in the III...but don't think I'm moving yet. Their pro lenses are really good across the board, but have been surprised at the level to which I have been impressed by the 300mm prime. Very sharp. Certainly easier to carry than full frame rigs.

If I were starting with this now I would buy the OMD EM1 III in a heartbeat. To upgrade I think they will have to entice me with an upgraded M4/3 sensor.