E5 vs Em1

Started 5 months ago | Discussions thread
Regular MemberPosts: 400Gear list
Re: E5 vs Em1- question about AF and 4/3 lenses
In reply to K Mcgregor, 5 months ago

K Mcgregor wrote:

Regarding the EM1's focusing being as good as, or better than the E5, is that actually the case with 4/3 lenses, or only with its own micro 4/3 lenses? My understanding was that you needed to be using the micro 4/3 lenses to really reap the benefits of the modern, better AF?

I really feel like the EM1 and the E5 are very different types of camera, despite the EM1 technically being the E5's successor. They're going to handle very differently and feel very different to use. The E5 is a huge DSLR, heavy, and with a large optical viewfinder. That weight is probably a large part of why people often don't want to go back to the E5 once they have an EM1. I imagine many who end up getting the EM1 end up incrementally replacing their 4/3 gear with micro 4/3 stuff.

For me (E520 user), the reason I don't want an EM1, other than the price, is the fact it's not really built primarily FOR 4/3 lenses, and, importantly, because it has an EVF. I know some people like them, but it was really the E1's optical viewfinder that made me fall in love with photography. EVFs don't give me that same feeling of there being little barrier between the camera and the reality I'm trying to capture.

I'd have to agree here.

I've used both optical and electronic view finders extensively. Everything from high end video VF, TLRs, SLRs, Rangefinder, digital optical and digital electronic. They're all different. There is a difference between mirror up, mirror down and shutter open (live view), shutter close, shutter open. There's a slight lag with some electronic viewfinders that can be disconcerting with certain situations (even with Rec View set to 0) that one just doesn't get with a mirror. Of course something like a Twin Lens Reflex or rangefinder eliminates lag completely.

Having gone from Optical to Electronic and then back to optical, and using Electronic exclusively for quite a number of years, going back to optical was a pure joy.

Electronic, implemented through a viewfinder or screen ("live view") is amazing in what it offers for "dialing" in an exposure. Using an e-pl1 or e-pl5 in manual mode (with or without the VF2) is like having a visual light meter for me. I use one of them as a light meter for film shoots and sometimes even with the e-1 and e-30. It's a lot of fun. But the EVF is not a replacement for an optical viewfinder. Electronic and Optical are just different experiences. I've shot both side by side.

If the work is demanding, it is going to require the necessary tools. In some cases the requirements can be electronic, in other cases optical. For personal work, it's a matter of personal preference and that only comes from using the tools in a range of conditions. One size fits all only fits an average.

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