EM5 mk 2 v EM1 mk 2

[Ardy]

I have the EM5 2 in an Oly housing and I use the EM1 mk 2 for bird and general photography. I thought to myself that I would sell the EM5 with housing and flat port and buy the AOI housing and bring my camera ownership into one body.

I got a decent price on the AOI housing and almost pushed the button BUT then second thoughts pop into my mind. Will the EM1 be a significantly better camera for UW work, will the EM5 sell, if not I am just adding to my camera gear store which is already a whole cupboard full.

The question is - IS THE MOVE TO EM1 mk 2 worth the aggravation????

 

[WS007]

I have both EM5II and EM1II in Nauticam housing (the EM5II with housing is advertised now under classified)...

The upgrade from 16 Mpixel to 20 Mpixel is nice, but I do not consider this as essential. So is the longer battery life and the three presets (C1-C3), that are nice to have...

Whether an upgrade is worth, depends on your type of photography: For normal range and WA, there is little difference, but with EM5II the method to use is S-AF, while with EM1II C-AF&tracking works very good. When you like macro and use AF, the EM1II is definitely a worthy upgrade (also here C-AF&tracking works nice, compared to S-AF with EM5II). I have both Pana 45mm macro and Zuiko 60mm. The 45mm works o.k. on both camera bodies (better on EM1II), but with the 60mm AF becomes difficult with the EM5II, while with EM1II it is very good...

Wolfgang

 

[Ardy]

I have both EM5II and EM1II in Nauticam housing (the EM5II with housing is advertised now under classified)...

The upgrade from 16 Mpixel to 20 Mpixel is nice, but I do not consider this as essential. So is the longer battery life and the three presets (C1-C3), that are nice to have...

Whether an upgrade is worth, depends on your type of photography: For normal range and WA, there is little difference, but with EM5II the method to use is S-AF, while with EM1II C-AF&tracking works very good. When you like macro and use AF, the EM1II is definitely a worthy upgrade (also here C-AF&tracking works nice, compared to S-AF with EM5II). I have both Pana 45mm macro and Zuiko 60mm. The 45mm works o.k. on both camera bodies (better on EM1II), but with the 60mm AF becomes difficult with the EM5II, while with EM1II it is very good...

Wolfgang

Excellent post Wolfgang and exactly what I wanted to know. I do mostly macro stuff and the 60 is tricky but I never thought about C-Af as a solution with the EM1 mk2.
Thanks very much.

 

[WS007]

Hi Ardy,
You also may consider buying a newer version of the camera, like OM-1 or EM1III. I do not have these models, but I am sure they are at least as good, for sure, better than EM1-II. Buying a new housing for an old camera model may not be a good idea in the longterm timerange...

Wolfgang

 

[Ardy]

Hi Ardy,
You also may consider buying a newer version of the camera, like OM-1 or EM1III. I do not have these models, but I am sure they are at least as good, for sure, better than EM1-II. Buying a new housing for an old camera model may not be a good idea in the longterm timerange...

Wolfgang

Thanks Wolfgang, I'm 76 and don't have a long-term !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
would love an OM1 as I have been following Bill's thread about it. For my amateur level of photography I am not sure I am getting the best out of my EM5 mk 2 but as I own the EM1 mk 2 I am tempted to bring my camera stock down to one.

 

[Ardy]

Hi Ardy,
You also may consider buying a newer version of the camera, like OM-1 or EM1III. I do not have these models, but I am sure they are at least as good, for sure, better than EM1-II. Buying a new housing for an old camera model may not be a good idea in the longterm timerange...

Wolfgang

HI Wolfgang, Been messing around with this idea for a while. I am expecting my house to sell this week and will buy the AOI housing which holds the EM1mk2 and mk3. If the sale happens I could afford to buy an OM1 but I am not sure I have become competent enough in bird photography to warrant an upgrade to an OM 1.
What I will do is buy the housing, use my EM 1Mk2 and then pick up an EM1 mk 3 for bird photography and a backup to UW photography.
Will sell the EM5 mk 2, Oly housing with flat port.

 

[Furnari]

None of my business, but since it's the internet I'm going to chime in anyways I have both the M1mkIII (primarily for underwater in the AOI housing) and the OM1; the difference between the two for bird photography is significant, and worth the money. If you enjoy bird stuff topside, you'll love the OM1 and iI guarantee it will make you competent. Conversely, I don't believe the M1mkIII is a significant upgrade underwater compared to the mkII since the improvements were more incremental than the jump to the OM1. While I've never owned the mkII, I had the M5mkII for topside, and even the M1mkI I used underwater had better focusing performance so your mkII will be a big step up underwater, especially for macro.

 

[Ardy]

Thanks Furnari, very handy information particularly regarding the OM1 birding option. I do a fair bit of that and expect that to increase after I move house as the bird life here is average.

 

[Furnari]

Are you on the Mu-43 forum? I'd be interested in seeing your shots of Aussie birds.

 

[Ardy]

No I'm not do they have a good bird photo area?