I wrote a post recently about the longevity of my M43 gear.
Guess what happened right after?
Both EM10.2’s have decided that their screens only work on some angles if at all, which is problematic for menu access, the oldest EM1.2, which has taken 1mil+ files, is tired, but occasionally gives me a full day without problems, although the top deck seems to be the issue (shutter button won’t fire sometimes and one of the function buttons engages without need), the newer one is relegated to second sport camera and even it is sometimes “twitchy”.
The oldest G9 that I dropped last year has real issues with video (sensor goes crazy and locks up after shooting some), but seems fine with stills.
None of them are unusable and will be used, but they all come with “stuff”.
This leaves me with the G9.2, S5 and S5.2 for video mostly (and the full frames are not serviced with a full range of lenses for stills work), the pair of EM1x’s in good condition, reserved for sport, the second relatively new G9.1 which is a backup for stills and video.
The EM1.2’s have been great and can be credited with me going pro and staying there. The newer one is still a sport work horse, saving one of the EM1x’s from unnecessary work and seems to work particularly well with the 40-150 f2.8 as well as having the preferred strap lug config of grip base and camera (which hangs sideways).
I do find the handling of these older cameras lacking without the thumb nubbin, especially as all the new ones have one, but they work well as applied.
The G9.1’s have always been a favoured second cam/video option with better handling than the EM1.2’s, better video codecs and a different look, but not for sport or action with Oly lenses (do-able, but not fun). Lately I have been aware of the G9.2 and S5’s not getting enough use as video hybrids and two of the three are better stills cams than the G9.1’s.
I have pushed it at times recently, like a recent school ball with 2 hours of arrivals, three more of formals and socials, with an EM1.2 that had some issues (the newer one above that kept engaging the WB and ISO control, sometimes quite confusingly), the other even sicker one with a wide angle and the dropped G9 that is less than fully trusted. I could have used my reserve cams, but chose to go with depth of familiar bodies, not re-configure my sports cams.
All worked out well enough, but I cannot say there were not issues and I did not miss a shot, but sometimes only got one choice of several.
Next time or the time after?*
I feel thinly covered at the moment, which may sound ridiculous as many photographers get by on a single body (something I feel is professionally irresponsible and dangerous). I like to have depth in the many areas I cover, not just be “ok” with no backups or push the wrong tool into a space. Without the luxury (?) of a single super camera, I depend on specialists.
To put this into perspective, three EM1x cameras cost less than a single second hand Z9. All three of my Panasonic video specialists (over two formats) cost me the same as a singe A9.2. I have a lot of cameras, but the overall investment is a constant trickle, not a massive hit all at once.
To me, the responsibility of a professional is to be “bullet proof” to adversity, so turning up with a a single expensive body or a handful of iffy cameras, with the likelihood of needing them all, is not depth, it is desperation.
Depth of decent is best. No camera can survive being dropped off a cliff, out of a boat, being run over, so a single body is perilous as well as inconvenient.
The camera that comes to the surface every time except for video is the EM1x.
Reasons are many.
Image quality. The “X” is what I consider the first of the latest generation of M43 cameras. The dual, 4 core, TruePic 8 processors, out of date only a short time later with the release of the EM1.3 do a good job of running the camera and learning how you shoot. Early AI at work.
Cropping is easy and powerful. 20mp is plenty if technique processing and glass are up to it.
They provide good banding control (better than any other camera I have-the newer S5’s even being relatively poor), good enough high ISO performance for anything I do, at least a stop better than the EM1.2’s, probably about a stop behind the very latest M43 cams, but with the latest processing, this gap is nearly irrelevant (the old EM1.2’s are actually fine).
Time after time, they get me what I see. ISO 6400 is clean and sharp.This is a notoriously poor location, something I have gone from loathing to looking forward to thanks to cameras like these and C1 processing.
Sharpness and colour are in the mix against the best M43 and APS-C cams, something that is an improvement over earlier cams and enough for real world use**.
Lenses, the true M43 advantage, empower the camera (or any M43 system) to great heights. Hand held 600mm f4, tiny 150 f1.8, maybe a super sharp little 18mm f1.7 or 20-50 f1.7? All affordable and class leading (M43 focal lengths are half the above).
I got used to shooting with a small, but super hand held sharp 600mm, then cropping into the equivalent of 2000mm with little issue (ball stitch/name level). The sports journalists often commented on the brightness, warmth and clarity of my images, especially my inside sports shots, a combination of the EM1x, the M43 lens advantage and processing. I used to joke it must have been my older, cheaper camera with the smaller sensor and “other brand’ processing - which they did not get.
AF is plenty and by that I mean it is better than me. The battle is getting the subject in the frame-the human bit, the camera will do the rest. The various custom AF shapes are ideal (single three stack with five columns across the frame is a favourite).
I snipe with this camera, taking single, silent shots, near instantly and still get surprised when it gets me shots I reacted to instinctively, but too late.
Mixed and low light levels, with silent shooting…..no problem.
Handling. This is the area the EM1x gets a lot of negative press for and it makes no sense.
Why is it so large with such a small sensor?
Because sensor size has never been the determining factor of camera design, it is only an enabler of some design choices.
It is big, like any other professional camera out there, but smaller than some and it could even be argued that the smaller sensor leaves more room for other things, like liquid cooling, stabilisers, dual processors.
Handling large lenses and bringing medium-large hands to the party needs a decent sized camera, regardless of the sensor size. These cameras are designed for working humans, not to a concept or to make a weight stressed traveller happy.
You could make it smaller, but then it becomes a different class of camera and you would have to ask why? The other EM1 cameras, like all other semi-pro bodies have a grip option, this one just has it included and seamlessly integrated.
All the other cameras live on the regular camera space, less specialised, less special.
Why are the Nikon D6 and Z9, or Canon 1D and R3 cameras large? Not because of their large sensors, but because of their pro-design needs. If mount size mattered, the Z9 should be even bigger than the rest.
Secondly the button layout is smart and clean.
No duplication or clutter common with grip-added cameras.
The control panel is perfectly placed for either orientation, the already cluttered Mk2 needs another control panel, but the EM1x has a centrally placed one so it gets another nubbin. Sometimes when a grip is added, the controls are less responsive than the camera’s own. Not so when they are built in. Notice the button density at the Mk2’s base and lack of options on the grip. it even allows room for the screen to be shifted enough to make the eye piece larger.
When the grip is an add-on, it wastes space where the join is, space is lost. Cramped buttons that are not identically placed to the main body and the dial layout is rarely perfect for vertical/horizontal mirroring. Sometimes the grip even feels different.
There is not even a top screen, just a clean and simple layout. You can run around with it and the settings have not magically changed on you.
Discreet dials, textured and well spaced buttons, nothing redundant, no clutter. Not even an auto or “art” option. Oh, another little thing. The eye cup is hard, something you are reminded of after a couple of hours of shooting, but unlike the Mk2’s they do not fall off. Industrial grade.
I love how it feels. It fits my hand perfectly (average male), gets cooing sounds from friends of all hand sizes when shared and feels like it was carved out of solid (if light weight) metal.
They are fast, no delays for any functions. The camera is never in the way.
The Pana’s are slow to fire up, the EM1.2’s occasionally “squishy” in operation, the lesser cam’s menus are annoyingly simplistic and different.
AF for example is usually a stack of three boxes, vertically aligned in either orientation, with five rows to pick from. With only a gentle flick of the nubbin, I can go from central to right/left third and another for hard right/left.
The doors are designed for longevity with soft release latches, not tension flick-slide doors that get stiff and twitchy.
The view finder, which also gets some criticism is fine for me. Not sure what the problem is there and it is clearly better than the EM1.2 that works fine.
Some Z9 users I sat next to at the footy recently were complaining of banding from some background screens. I had no issues in that scenario.
They are reasonably light, lighter feeling than they look, unlike the Pen F that feels heavier than it looks, but the lenses make the real difference, not the camera.
They are actually light enough that I can tell if there is one, two or no batteries inside just by picking one up.
The pair of f2.8 zooms each on an EM1x cover the whole game. Some screen refresh weirdness in the background, but no other fall-out. These are the TV lights, but still very clean quality even when compared to the other photographers full frame cams.
The LCD is better than the G9.1’s, which are better than the EM1.2’s, which are also fine.
Video stabe and AF is excellent and it can be upgraded to a better than good video cam with a Ninja-V (12-bit RAW), but I have other options.
I like the files. They process easily from a neutral base. I had a moment recently during processing, where the Sigma 30mm and EM1x fooled me into thinking I had shot a job with my full frame. The images had that delicate, almost fragile clarity.
It has the first generation of workable hand held high res, focus stacking, tracking AF and other state of the art features. Enough, more than enough.
It USB charges.
I am still using lesser and older cameras happily, so these, as “old” as they are, are still an upgrade of no small measure.
Full frame look, from a M43 camera and Sigma lens.
Nothing I have is as physically tough, not even my drill!
The EM1.2’s have had some lifting rubber, the doors feel brittle after thousands of openings, some parts of the body are shiny, some stiff, some worn, some sticky even. The “X’s” are built for more, up to pro Nikon or Canon grade, which were the competition when it was released***.
The dual battery slider is much faster to change than the dual locations on the EM1.2 with grip (you need to take the grip off for battery 2) and the battery life is better. I have shot 1000 images in a day with 1 batt and had power left, probably 3000+ would be possible with two (and you get two).
It does have an annoying habit of flashing that one battery is exhausted, fixed by popping it out, but a small constant red “dot” would be enough.
The very last element that makes the EM1x so compelling for me at the moment is the price. New they ranged from $4-2K, mine being close to the bottom end.
They are however about $1000-1300au second hand, even in near mint condition. A second hand EM1.3 is usually dearer, the OM-1 dearer again, even EM5.3’s are similarly priced. The size and perceived special purpose nature of the camera is against it in the market place, but that suits me just fine.
I have toyed with the idea of getting some other cameras fixed or serviced, but a near new second hand camera is only a little more. Getting an EM10.2’s screen fixed for example was quoted at $350. I can buy one for that and I have two screens to fix (3 screens = 1 EM1x).
It also comes with two batts and chargers and the otherwise optional “grip” is included, so about $600 of free accessories, making the body only about $4-500 in real terms. Try picking up an EM1.3 for that or even a Mk2 then add the extras.
The reality is, 95-98% of the images I have taken in M43 and over 99% overall, including most of what you see on these pages were not taken with the “X’s”. They are a reserved luxury, a “full noise” option when other cams can’t do it better, or at all.
I only use two for premium sport events.
I really need to get over that and bring my best cameras to the front.
The Mk2’s, G9’s and old EM5’s have done the lions share of my work for over ten years, but the EM1x’s are the gold standard. Worried about using my last line of reserved cameras, I then picked up three Panasonics in the last 18 months, so maybe a time for change!
I actually found it hard to find non-sport images taken with them, as I used a Mk2 or G9 for most week day jobs.
I want to use each camera until it falls over, but sometimes this has been fraught to say the least.
My current “A” team has always been a G9 for hybrid/video and an EM1 for stills and I have often used others, because I have them and they still work.
My new “A” team should now be the S5.2/G9.2 and EM1x.
A 300mm (150 f2.8) from the other end of the court.
Other options?
The G9’s have similarly good handling in a smaller package (still big for M43 format), but lack the AF chops of the “X”. Even the new G9.2 is no better. You can still buy G9 mk1’s for $1200 or so new, but I won’t, because video is covered and their sport shooting falls short. They are well made, but one drop shortened the life of my first, so they are no EM1x.
The Pen F can match the base image quality, but not the high ISO, banding control or AF performance.
Even the S5’s fall behind in all areas except ISO performance and video. The ISO is nearly irrelevant when other factors are taken into account, the video thing is known, it’s why I buy Pana’s.
The “left-overs” will be used as suits for personal projects, studio or non critical work.
*
So, to summarise, I bought another EM1X from Japan. About $1200au with import duties, from a 99.9% professional seller (eBay Japan 2023 seller of the year), in mint physical condition, boxed with under 13k shutter fires (from 400k rated), with all accessories.
I cannot in all good consciousness see a better buy right now. Spending up to three times as much for new seems like very poor economics, unwarranted really. Spending the same on a lesser camera is also illogical.
I am struggling with the size of full frame lenses at the moment, but the EM1x body still fits in my most used bags (Domke F2, F7, F802), thanks to the smaller M43 lenses.
I will now have a daily/event EM1x as my stills and action cam, two more as sports bodies and some other cams as video specialists and for slower work, along with some backups for personal or low stress jobs.
Better performance will allow the use of zooms over primes, the better handling and AF will save me shots. More money spent on a newer camera would not net me much more, maybe less in some ways, would break the consistency of my work horse units and be a waste really. I don’t have 2k+ to spend, but a little over 1k is reasonable.
My working shutter life has extended my roughly half a million and by my reckoning it cost about $200 a working year.
The other cams will probably soldier on forever now, but I feel like I have lifted my base game.
The G9II is being used more as a daily video camera, the other near new G9 as the hybrid still/video second cam, the EM1x as the primary stills cam for AF performance.
Another perspective.
https://smallsensorphotography.com/e-m1x-4-year-review
*The stand-out on the night was the Godox 860, that shot over 1000 images that night and still had all its bars at the end of the night.
**M43 sensors seemed to go through three stages. The early ones, pre-phase detect AF were amazing in their day. The format then went through a mixed mid-life crisis period where full frame went ahead again, then they “grew up” about the EM1x/G9 and after, where only the mathematical differences between formats mattered.
***The EM1x was designed to push the case for M43 as a professional format in the Tokyo Olympics that did not happen. Fate caught Olympus out as it did everyone, the delay dealing a death blow to their plans.