[Leica] Oly OM-D

[pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein)]

Phil:  I wish I could tell you, but I have not seen any bright sunlight 
since I got the OM-D. It's December, and I live in Seattle.  :-)

I was fine in the bit of filtered sunshine I encountered last weekend, 
except when the low-angle sun came at me from certain angles behind or 
from the side.  Then I had occasional trouble seeing the finder image.  
No worse than I had with my old G1.  I have this same trouble with 
Leicas and conventional DSLRs sometimes.  The problem is worse for 
glasses wearers because the light gets into the space between your eye 
and the glasses.

EVFs are more prone to this, but any camera can give such problems. The 
solution may be the proverbial Tilley hat, or other broad-brimmed 
headgear, and/or a third party eyecup.

So far I am generally delighted with the OM-D. It really is a quantum 
leap in image quality and dynamic range from earlier micro 4/3 cameras.  
The fast native m-4/3 primes are great. There is a bit more tendency 
towards purple fringes in very high-contrast edges at wide apertures 
with the Panny lenses on the Oly body--and so far, that is the *only* 
thing I'm not liking. It can be dealt with in PP, of course.  I find the 
OM-D easier than a conventional SLR to focus manually, especially when I 
kick in the in-viewfinder magnification with image stabilization. 
Nice!!  I've been playing around with adapters for LTM, M and OM lenses 
at home, and so far I like what I see.

If you go to my flickr page, you will see some of my initial work with 
the OM-D. I'm using the Panny 20/1.7, Oly 45/1.8, and the old 14-45 
Panny kit zoom from my old G1.  The EXIF will tell you which is which.  
Page 1 is all OM-D, Page 2 is Leica M8 except for the B&W self-portrait 
at the top left.
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563 at N04/>

The OM-D is probably not a camera for a Leica fundamentalist. But for 
me, a lifetime Leica user, it is a wonderful complement to my M8. Like 
the Leica M cameras, it is relatively small, light, goes most places 
easily and has great fast primes.  Unlike the M, it does a lot of things 
an SLR does, only better and without all the baggage. Live view is still 
"almost" live (a few milliseconds behind reality), but it is getting 
better with each generation. If sports or other fast action is your 
thing, it's not the best tool for the job. You have to anticipate the 
decisive moments a little earlier than with an M. But the 
quality-in-a-small package aspect makes up for that.  I ain't giving up 
my M8, but now I finally can have image quality in the same ballpark, 
with SLR versatility, without having to schlepp a big behemoth around.

The best advice I can give is to try one, either at a store or by paying 
a visit to an OM-D user.  One problem with the demise of the local 
camera store is that buying a camera over the Internet is sort of like 
buying clothes that way--sometimes they fit you and sometimes they don't.

Hope this helps!
--Peter


Phil Swango wrote:
 > Question for OM-D users:  How's the finder image?  DP Review had some 
minor
 > complaints about using it in bright daylight.  I haven't used any EVF 
cams
 > recently other than the X100.  .
 >
 > --
 > Phil Swango
 > 307 Aliso Dr SE
 > Albuquerque, NM 87108
 > 505-262-4085