JerR Loc: Pittsburgh

Hello,
I am new to Ugly Hedgehog and a new owner of the Olympus OMD5. While I am still getting use to my new camera I would like to hear from some of you who own and are using this camera. Some of the ins and outs and what you especially like and don't like. I am a senior who loves talking pictures of people, landscape and wildlife. Since I look at this as my "last" camera I own the following lens: The kit 12-50 and 40-150 along with the Zuiko 45mm 1.8 and Lumix 20mm 1.8 I guess I would be called an amateur/intermediate. I have read the manual and find it a bit confusing at times. Are you aware of a forum for users of this camera. Thanks for your help.

Frapha Loc: Tulsa, Oklahoma

First, welcome to The Hog. There are several Oly users (both regular 4/3 and micro-4/3) here and I'm sure some will chime in. Hope you enjoy the new camera. Here are some links to a few forums that are directly focused on 4/3 or micro-4/3 camera systems. Enjoy ….
http://forum.fourthirdsphoto.com/forum.php
http://fourthirds-user.com/forum/index.php
http://photocamel.com/forum/four-thirds-micro-four-thirds-forum/
http://www.mu-43.com/forum.php?s=cb0c5cfc8282e14087e40b9e4211e09d
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/1041?utm_campaign=internal-link&utm_source=mainmenu&utm_medium=text&ref=mainmenu
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/

JerR Loc: Pittsburgh

Thanks Frank. I will check therm out.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

You have a great little camera! I have the same camera and exactly the same lenses you have, plus the 75-300 which is wonderful for the wildlife shots. The manual is dreadful. David Busch has published a very nice book that I got through Amazon and it helped me a lot with setting mine up and figuring out all those crazy menus. The DPR website (link in prior post) also has a lot of information, including a good set-up guide for this camera, and a thriving m43 community of mixed Olympus and Panasonic users. It is mostly gear-related so there is not a big emphasis on posting photos there.

If you get frustrated with that focus point being too big, download the latest firmware update, which will give you a smaller one (I like the smaller one better).

I do not miss my old DSLR at all, and enjoy having a camera small enough to easily take anywhere, all day if necessary, without getting tired of hauling it around. There are a few things you have to get used to in making the switch, but the adjustments were well worthwhile to me.

Here's some more links that have EM5 info.
http://thumati.com/chronicle/?category=Guide
http://robknightphotography.com/back-button-focus-on-the-olympus-om-d-e-m5/
http://www.biofos.com/mft/omd_em5_tst.html

There are a few Olympus m43 users on this forum, and we will be glad to offer any help we can as you get used to our new toy.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

You will really like this camera once you get used to it and learn all that it can do. I just got the OMD E-M10 and it it is taking me a little time to get familiar with the controls and menus.
There are a lot of videos on youtube that can help you out with the M5.
Good luck with your camera and am looking forward to seeing some images you get with it.

will

mechengvic Loc: SoCalo

Hi JerR,
I too am the proud owner of the Olympus OMD EM-5, and believe it or not, this camera has changed my life! I have re-discovered the joy of photography! It is such an incredible piece of equipment that I love it more now than when I first bought it.
Olympus does have the infamy of having a complex set of controls and subsequently, instructions. But upon understanding them you will discover that the camera is totally customizable and that almost every button can be set to the function you would like best in that spot. Yes, the buttons are small, but I've gotten used to them, as have most others who own it. The EM-5 offers multiple setups for shooting jpegs but I always shoot in RAW which greatly simplifies operation.

I highly recommend the battery grip, HLD-6, or an after-market equivalent.

What makes this camera amazing:

-Almost instant focus with native lenses. The 12-50 will focus in a fraction of a second and you can set it to continual focus which will make the lens work like the lens in a video camera.

-Adapters. You can use almost any lens ever made for an interchangeable lens, film or digital camera with the proper adapter. More and more options are available all the time.

-Electronic View Finder. Having a monitor as a viewfinder gives you an option not possible with optical viewfinders, 1 to 14 x magnification. This allows you to get a close up look of subjects for better manual focusing and to check the accuracy of your automatic focusing. In jpeg mode it acts as a digital zoom.

-Image Sensor. Pixel for pixel this sensor, made by Sony, is one of the best quality sensors on the market, period. Many tests and professionals will attest to this fact. Others may tell you different but the images don't lie.

-5 Axis Image Stabilization. This has to be the EM-5's most amazing feature! It works wonderfully. With native lenses, it adjusts automatically for focal length, with other lenses, you can set the focal length manually, from 8mm to 1000mm. I can get sharp, in focus images in as slow as a half second! Plus, you can set the image stabilization to engage when you push the shutter half way down while focusing, which allows you to see a "stabilized" subject, especially when zoomed.

http://fourthirds-user.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=75
http://m43blog.com/tag/olympus-omd-em5/
http://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=25130

These are a few points of interest. There is also a book:
"David Busch's Olympus OM-D E-M5 Guide to Digital Photography"
I hope you find as much joy in this little jewel as I have.

Amazing Detail

(Download)

Half Second Shot Handheld

(Download)

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

I also own the E-M5. Here are the link that I used to study the camera.

OMD E-M5
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9115179666/user-guide-getting-the-most-out-of-the-olympus-e-m5


http://thumati.com/chronicle/2013/4/7/setting-up-olympus-omd-em5

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/41411509

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/50694584

http://www.ayton.id.au/wiki/doku.php?id=photo:olympusem5_settings

http://www.ayton.id.au/wiki/doku.php?id=photo:olympusem5_settings

http://gakuran.com/eng/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/man_em5_e.pdf

Begin with the first link. Not listed here is how to set up the camera for focus peeking. You can find it on youtube.


Also I recommend the grip which is on sale from Olympus $100 off list price.

Also buy the Olympus extended warranty which gives you an additional 2 years. It also gives you a free cleaning and check-up. You need to buy this during the 1st year of ownership. Having had my camera replaced, I'd recommend the warranty for $100.

Enjoy the camera.

Pine1 Loc: Midland & Lakeway

Welcome to UHH. As you can already see, you will gets lots of good help and advise. This is a great site. Have fun.

hb3 Loc: Texas

Encourage you to acquire: David Busch's Olympus OM-D E-M5 Guide to Digital Photography. It was a great help to me; truly assisted in speeding my learning curve...I have the same lenses you mention as well as the Oly 70-300mm which is on my EM5 60-70% of the time as I shoot wild life almost daily....

http://www.amazon.com/Buschs-Olympus-Digital-Photography-Guides/dp/1285429966/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395063190&sr=8-1&keywords=OMD+em5+book

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

I found errors in his book and he left out important information such as doing a CWB. He spends time on photography topics that didn't specifically apply to the camera and certainly doesn't go into real depth. The links I provided will give more info than David Busch. As soon as a camera comes out he rushes to market with a book.

hb3 Loc: Texas

Yes there are a few....but I remain convinced that the book helped very much, in the beginning; and made my time at some of the links mentioned above more enlightening....

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Agree. The book was worth it. No one who writes a guide is going to make every choice the same as you do, and there are always little nits where they don't explain something properly. A healthy mix of internet articles, the manual, and the Busch guide should get a new owner off to a good start.

One other piece of advice: as you set up your camera, keep a notebook of what you did and where you did it. This menu system is deep and convoluted, and it is easier to backtrack to change something you don't like if you know what you did. Some menu choices limit or open up other menu choices, and some choices are not easy to figure out by looking back at them. Do yourself a favor and have a dedicated OMD notebook for your own reference.

mossgate Loc: Phoenix, AZ

You will be learning new things about your camera for months to come. I have the E-M1 and was totally overwhelmed by the menu settings because the PDF manual wasn't all that well organized. Don't know how much is similar or different between the two models but the manual on the biofos.com website saved me from either returning the camera or flinging it out the window in frustration. People on this website were great support.

Once you understand the menu options and have your settings saved, using the camera becomes quite a pleasure.

Kuzano

Frapha lists all good links in his post.

I would add one that is primarily a gallery of shots ONLY from 4/3 and micro 4/3 cameras. You can even find folders that are specific to models such as your EM-5 OM-D camera.

It is:

http://www.myfourthirds.com/

Again minimal forum, TONS of wonderful images.

Here is a link to just one of the omd em5 folders:

http://www.myfourthirds.com/folder.php?id=2815

Kuzano

Acronyms are wonderful for people who know them. I first said, "what in heaven is a CWB". (I only have about 50 years of photo experience.)

Hmmm, could it be Custom White Balance?

I used to work for a finance company and we used to use furniture as loan collateral.

It always loved the look on someone's face when they opened the door and I told them..."Hey, I'm here to pick up your STICKS for nonpayment!" :thumbup: