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Re: [OM] The E-M5 has arrived

Subject: Re: [OM] The E-M5 has arrived
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:33:11 -0800
On 1/20/2013 7:22 AM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
> ...
> What I said:
>
> Things that bug me a bit -
> I'd like to shrink the giant screen in favor of another couple buttons.

Mixed feelings here. I wouldn't mind another Fn button or two, and the screen 
does make those that are there less than 
ideally accessible. But I like the big screen. If the top plate bulged back 
further there, it seems it could accommodate 
four buttons, with greater accessibility.

Do you know that the right and down arrows on the four-way controller are also 
programmable? When "Direct Function" is 
set for the arrows, left is always AF location, up is always to temporarily 
reset the buttons for adjusting exposure 
settings, which ones depending on Mode setting.

Right and Down arrows may be set to allow direct access to any two of Exposure 
compensation, Flash setting, Drive/Self 
Timer, ISO or WB. I wish they could be set to all Fn actions - that would be a 
nice firmware fix.

> Can't view flashies and histogram at the same time

Oh well. I'm not sure I would want both at once. The CHDK add-on firmware for 
Canons allows one to set so many things 
going on on the screen at once that it's hard to see and think about what I'm 
trying to capture. I'm happy with just one 
or the other at a time.

> Top of shooting histgram is truncated

Really? I never noticed. Don't see that at the moment, but I'm indoors, where 
it is dim. Nope, just went outside, and 
don't see that. Are you saying it shows a different histogram than is seen 
after the shot?

BUT - I never noticed before the little green, superimposed histogram for just 
the AF target area, sort of a spot 
histogram. Cool

> Separate colors RGB histograms (plural) only available in review mode.

Again, I just can't integrate and productively use that much info display while 
shooting.

> Olympus owner's manuals, eg; page 30, 31 show high data content
> viewfinder and monitor displays that I have been totally unable to
> reproduce on my own camera.

I just wrote about this. I'm thinking the Oly manual is not unique in this way 
of showing all the possible display icons 
as a reference device, so one can quickly find out what that funny icon means. 
I'm too lazy/busy just now to check now, 
but I think it's a common convention.

> Luke warm -
> The 800x600 EVF display is not bad but even I (vs Eagle-eye Moose) can
> see some pixellation.

I'm just a terrible person to ask about viewfinders. Just as I seem to be happy 
using any DSLR viewfinder ... Yes, if I 
look for them, I can see the pixels, but I simply don't notice when I'm using 
the camera to take pictures. I was 
temporarily bothered by the inability to see bright, Fall reds and oranges as 
they would show up in an optical reflex 
viewfinder. But since I found they showed up fine in the images, I don't much 
notice/care.

> ...
> Things I love
> Both highlight and shadow flashies

Yes, I like that. Lately, I have shooting set to histogram and review set to 
flashies. If I'm concerned, I can chimp. I 
tend to use EV comp pretty heavily, so, on average, I'm more likely to under 
than over expose.

> Live preview of exposure and compensation

Didn't seem a big deal to me, maybe because I was already used to it on the 60D 
LCD and my compact cameras. If I go back 
to the 5D for something, or next time I get a wild hair and shoot some film in 
OMs, it will drive me crazy. :-)

> Freely moveable focus point over most (but not all) of the screen

Hate it! To be more precise, I almost never want to use it, but it's 
permanently settable on a couple of menus/buttons, 
so easy for me to mis-set in the 'heat of battle'. Just a couple of days ago, I 
found it off to one side. I'd prefer to 
be able to turn it off in a menu.

> Full time vertical/horizontal leveling bars

I like the idea, and heaven knows I don't always hold it level on my own. but 
in practice, I don't much like/use it, 
because it blanks out the AF mode, ISO and WB info. I do have it in the INFO 
button rotation, but tend to forget it, 
then take a moment to realize what's happened when it does show up.

Have you seen the leveling line on an iPhone camera? The lower, center bar of 
the grid display moves like the horizon 
indicator on a plane, and lines up perfectly with the rest of the grid line 
when level. That could be on without 
blanking out other info display. Completely useful, while very unintrusive.

> Multiple grid displays

Huh? There are others? :-)

> Body with 14-150 about like carrying an OM-1 with 135/3.5

A mighty fine, light, compact, capable combo.

O. M. D. Moose

-- 
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
-- 
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