camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Yesterday my 0phthalmologist, now retired and an avid photographer, sent me an article about "The last Camera" by Nasim Mansurove of Photography Life where a gentleman, a professional photographer, was speaking nasty words about Olympus and the reliability of its cameras. The gentleman was suggesting going somewhere else like Fuji, Sony for better cameras and he mentioned the Olympus EM-10 as a camera that fell apart after only four years of use. He also complained about the Olympus service.

I use Nikon gear but for the past five years I have also used Olympus cameras and lenses, some of them are made by Panasonic. I have not experienced in those past years any issues with my cameras and understand I am an amateur photographer so I do not use my cameras on a daily basis or subject them to abuse. I am saying the cameras have not failed to serve me.

If you are an Olympus user, no point and shoot user, and you have had a bad experience with Olympus please participate in this post, I would like to hear from you. I have several friends that are using Olympus cameras and I have not heard anything bad from them.

If this is not the right forum for such a discussion this thread should be moved or deleted.

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

I would not put too much weight on the "experience" of one user. For openers, you don't know how he treated that camera.
Maybe you haven't heard "anything bad" about Oly cameras, simply because they are good cameras.
Count me among the ones with good experiences.

I have only ever used Olympus digital cameras.
Starting about 20 years ago:
My first one was a D600L, 1.4 megapixels. Nice camera, easy to hold, "built-in" lens.
Next came the C-4000 Zoom, 4 megapixels. Nice little, pocket-sized camera.
Both these cameras use SmartMedia cards, that are no longer manufactured.
Then it was a big step up: Evolt 500, followed by E-5, followed by OM-D E-M1
The Evolt took xD card, also no longer manufactured. E-5 and OM-D E-M1 both use SD card.
Also got half a dozen or so of various lenses.

I have been happy with all six these cameras. Never had a problem that wasn't of my own doing.
(Mostly wrong settings for the circumstances).
Based on my experience with these six cameras I feel perfectly comfortable recommending Olympus to anyone. With the recommendation that one has to learn to use the camera, in first instance by reading the user's manual, then by "trying out" what it says in the manual. If your camera shop or local adult education offers photography classes, make use of them. Make lots of use of YouTube. Although I have found some major mis-information on there, most is really good.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

I own an Olympus E-PL5 camera and have used it with Olympus and Panasonic/Leica lenses. The camera has never given me a moment’s trouble and has performed as expected, despite my occasionally ham-handed efforts. I would strongly recommend Olympus cameras to anyone. /Ralph

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Morning star I share your opinions and I want to thank you for participating in the discussion. Ralph thank you for your comments and I do too recommend Olympus.
The gentleman I was referring to also criticized Olympus because they were opening a factory in Vietnam, according to him to cut production costs. Most cameras made by Olympus come from their factory in China and I have owned those cameras without issues. The OM-1 Mk II is made in Vietnam, it is in use by many professionals and we do not hear much about bad quality.
Nikon has been making cameras and lenses in China and Thailand, many of them with issues and the D600 comes to mind.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

No camera is perfect, but there are known issues with some Olympus cameras. Rear dial can skip on the em1, the on/off switch on the em5 mark2 is another problem. The evf at full magnification can get damage from sunlight on both the em5 mark2 and the original em1. I myself have/had these issues.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

No problems with my Olympus cameras - or my Panasonic, or my Kodak cameras that were made in Vietnam. All problems can be traced to the photographer, who was made in the USA.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

How can you even say that. The 3 issues I listed have nothing to do with handling

frjack Loc: Boston, MA

Have used Olympus exclusively for the past 11 or 12 years in both DSLR (E-510 then E-30 then E-5) and now the EM1 mark ii. No problems, even with the E-5 that was purchased used from KEH. The E-30 (also purchased used) needed some minor repairs. Turnaround time was 1 week. On-line support for a problem with a DSLR lens was excellent. Less than 24 hours between sending in request and receiving a reply. I do expect this is my "last camera." I might add that except for the OMD the other cameras were used quite hard in multiple countries including some with high heat and humidity. Were I to get another camera it would definitely be Olympus.

wildweasel

I have had my Olympus EM1 Mark ll for nearly 2 years and shoot it mostly with a Panasonic 100-400 lens and have had no issues with it, it is a great camera. There was an issue some folks were complaining about that the rubber coating at the grip was coming loose and they were having to send the camera back to have this repaired. I had this issue a couple of months ago, but a drop of glue and pressing it back in place solved the problem. I have grown to love this camera and use it 90% of the time over my D750 and Tamron 150-600 for birds and wildlife.

Jerrin1 Loc: Wolverhampton, England

Over the years I have owned an OM1, an OM2, 2 x EM1's and an EM1 mark II. I have also owned a number of Olympus lenses, including a 12 - 40mm f2.8, a 40 - 150mm f2.8, a 60mm macro, a 12 - 100mm f4 and 300mm f4 + 1.4TC. I also owned a PanaLeica 100 - 400mm. I can honestly say that my Oly cameras and lenses were beautifully made and worked perfectly. I have no complaints whatsoever. I found the EM1 mark II to be a particularly brilliant camera and favoured it over my Nikon D500. Though I swapped my Nikon D500 and Olympus EM1 mark II for a Sony A7III, I do not consider the Sony to a better camera than my EM1 mark II, it is just a better camera for me at this time. Had I lived in an area with open vistas, I would have just swapped my Nikon system for another EM1.2.

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

My first digital camera was an Olympus C2500L SLR with fixed zoom lens. It was excellent. After that I went back to Nikon but 2 years ago supplemented my D810 and bag of lenses with a E-M1 and 7 seven lenses for more “casual” imaging. My experience it that the bodies and lenses for Olympus are well built and durable. As good as my Nikon kit.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I sincerely want to thank you gentlemen for participating in this thread. I agree with you, I have NEVER had issues with any of my Olympus bodies or lenses.

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

I have had an Olympus E-620 camera for close to 20 years now. I bought it around 1998 or 99 through the Online Post Exchange. It cost me around a thousand dollars. The only savings was probably sales tax. I wasn't looking for an Olympus but this was the cheapest I was able to find. I had looked at a Canon at a local shop that I really liked and wanted to buy but it was around seventeen hundred dollars and I did not feel I could go for that much.

The Olympus served me fairly well until recently. I can no longer view my photos after taking them. The screen fades out after a few seconds. I took it to the local repairman and he said repairs would cost much more than the camera is worth now. It seems that Olympus refuses to sell parts and has a contract with a company in Connecticut or somewhere to do all repair work on their cameras. They are quite expensive. He suggested retiring the camera and buying a used one from KEH or somewhere. I don't think I would buy another new Olympus for this reason. I have a Canon and a Nikon that I use, both used from KEH. The Olympus merely sits on the shelf above my desk now. I was pleased with the pictures it took.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

I’ve had my e-M5 II for nearly 2 years and have only had joy from it. Couldn’t be happier. I also have 5 Oly lenses with super results from them. My favorite is the 14-150 II. I don’t miss my, formerly, beloved Nikon gear at all.

Satman Loc: Indy

OEM 5 here, had a card reader pin bent on Canon 7d,

Wife is a Pathoylogist 400 Olympus Scopes in the local Lab, all has cameras, that is big bucks, they have many labs, since they are one of the largest Labs in the world.

They chose Olympus, smart company, I hear.