Hello. Jose from Puerto Rico. Amazing.. I just subscribed to your channel. You said something that struck a chord: Don't let the negative talk influence your purchasing decisions. After hearing all the negative reviews concerning the Olympus cameras; I went out and bought a Olympus OMD EM-1 Mark II second hand and I love it. I still own an Olympus OM4-T I purchased way back in 1986. I have to send it for repairs. The point is that I don't have a problem with the menu system. You just have to go out and shoot and experiment with it. That's the only way to learn the camera. I'm looking forward to reading the content of the booklets you mentioned. Thanks so much for such a great video.
Hola Jose! Thank you for the subscription. Also, welcome to the E-M1 mark ii AND OM-4Ti owner's club (There cannot be too many of us still!). I love both cameras and often just pick up the OM-4 and other OM cameras to enjoy the feel of the mechanism. The E-M1 series is just as enjoyable to use. All best wishes for your journey with the M1.2
Agree 100% I've taught loads of students with many different brands of camera. They all have their own quirks and the menus are all pretty much the same level of complexity
Personally i have NEVER understood how people are always saying that the Olympus menus are confusing and not easy to use. When I hear that, it translates in my mind as "oh, just another person that doesnt want to be bothered to actually learn their camera"...... The Olympus menu system is not at all bad, and they are easy to use. Thank you for making the video.
Thank you for your input on this channel and for taking the time to comment. I share your view on folk who comment as you say - however, if it is a rival brand camera owner that can be overlooked. What is really puzzling is when "reviewers" with many thousands of subscribers blink at the camera they have just picked up and mutter "Where is the ISO button? Oh I hate Olympus camera menus!" while they poke every available button they can find instead of using the super control panel or the OK button. It is then so obvious they have not read the manual. The first step, I think, in doing any review, of any product, would be to go through the manual and use the item for a few weeks. However it seems in the rush to be "first" many "review" videos get made within an hour of getting a review item. Odd.
A wonderful articulation on this topic. I have both Canon and Olympus equipment. I've shot exclusively with my Olympus gear now for about 3 years. I can say without doubt the Olympus system is the one that has provided me the most enjoyment. It is great to shoot with, provides everything I need to produce my images and is always they one I reach for when I go out. Loved your "knives" analogy. The internet community seems to be stuck on the gear mantra and has lost focus on the final product, the image. Any camera made in the last several years is capable of producing wonderful images in the right hands. In the wrong hands, the gear simply doesn't matter. Thanks for a sensible commentary on the topic.
Thank you for engaging and your generous comments. As for the "knives" analogy, I was present to hear the great man himself say that at a Photokina event many, many years ago. It has always stuck in my mind and spurred me on to do the best I can with the tools at hand. It has saved me buckets of money and cured me of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) many times!
I concur entirely . I found the menus on EM10 ii really easy to live with . Sure, I have lots of options , which is why I like it over the later upgrades . I also require a flip screen and touch focus , both of which are now a lot more common on other cameras , but they weren’t before. Size is also a factor and so I could go on. As for pixels, well, 16 is more than enough for me. In short, this little gem works for me. Yes, I have used Nikon and Canon, along with others , my Olympus is the most enjoyable of all the great cameras I have used and it’s menus are not an issue. Thanks for sharing your insights here.
Excellent video!, I have been Olympus since 2005 with the E500,and now the EM1X x 2. A really cool thing now is My Menu, where I store my most used options. ANY modern camera these days takes weeks if not months to get used to the menus, time has to be spent to really appreciate any new complicated machine. I too have enjoyed your EM1X settings pdf.thank you , and Cheers!
I want to thank you for the guides. I have the EM1 & EM1 Mark II. I'm always looking to get more out of my cameras and appreciate your detailed guides. It's very much appreciated.
Thank you so much for the guides, Mark. Although I'm a little familiar with the menus of my EM1 III and EM5 III, there's always something new to learn. I can never say I'm a master of them or what they can do. Mahalo!
Glad to help! Remember, of course, as explained in my short video on the Super Control Panel, you control the camera for most purposes from the SCP and should seldom ever need to do deep menu dives once the camera is set up the way you need it to be. Most controls are easy to find on the SCP and that is what I use for most shot to shot changes.
Excellent video Mark, I like the quotes from Mitani (sp?) about the knives analogy, thanks 👍🏻. The booklets are great too. I have no issues with Olympus Menus myself. One small point... you might want to pick the brains of some of your type layout / graphic design colleagues... Using ‘underlining’ in heading and sub-headings isn’t really done 😱. Just read any professionally made book or magazine and it’s just not there 😄. Cheers, Keith
Hi Keith. Thank you for engaging. As mentioned, these are working documents from our studio so will readily admit my failings as a graphic designer - the graphic design side was not front of mind. A colleague got a copy of one of the guides and suggested I give these guides a wider readership. Nevertheless, thanks for the tip. Will try and apply it in future.
At last someone who can speak with authority. I have read review after review complaining about the awful Olympus menus. As an ex Nikon shooter I could never understand how they were bad. Nikon are not as good in my view. In fact I think the menus are good and your advice will make them even easier to use. Have downloaded your guides which at first glance look great. Agree with everything you have said. Really good stuff all round.
Thank you for the E-M1 Mk II guide -- very useful with detailed explanations and your reasoning behind your settings! One question: I bought my E-M1 Mk II new (the 12-40 kit) in December from Olympus EU Shop and it came with firmware 3.0. I have not upgraded because there might be this issue with the video stabilization. I am not much of a video shooter and I don't have or intend to buy the 100-400. Are the few other improvements from firmware 3.0 reason to upgrade? PS: I am Olympus shooter since the late 70's -- OM-1n and OM-4 in good working order, E-1 (same) and also E-M10 and E-M10 Mk II. Love them all. And the OM-D system's programmability is unparallelled once you've got your head around it. As you say -- just R.T.F.M. (and your guides)! / Greetings from Sweden
HEJ. Välkommen till kanalen Olympus resenär! (and that is as far as my friend in Gothengerg was able to help me! ;-) Glad to hear there is another person with OM bodies and E1, E3 etc on the shelves at home...still use them all regularly just for the feel and the memories they evoke. As to the M1.2 and firmware, in FW 3.1 they tweaked the speed and stability of the EVF after you power up the camera (Worth it) In 3.2 they added the ability to control the EVF/rear display auto switch so that it behaves according to your wishes when you have the screen flipped out. Often, as I am sure you have found when doing low level/high level work with the panel to the side, the movement of your hands near the EVF sensor can make the display shut off. In this firmware you can control it to ignore the EVF sensor with the panel flipped away from the body This is definitely a worthwhile update in my view. As for the rest, the improvement to the stabiliser in 3.3 was good enough to notice for all uses. In 3.4 it is great for stills but I am still not convinced by the video performance in our usage so have stayed on 3.3 purely for that reason. If you are mainly a stills shooter (or do not walk with the camera while recording on uneven ground/use locked-off tripods or gimballs for video) then I think you will be happy to go all the way to to 3.4.
@@southernshutterbug1436 So you have a friend in Gothenburg - that’s where I was born and lived until just a few years ago. Thank you for your comprehensive answer! I think I will upgrade directly to 3.4 via Olympus Workspace. If needed, I should be able to downgrade to 3.3 using the flash technique described in your December post (although it seems unlikely I will). Let me add that I have been in the Pro Audio business for many years as distributor for high end audio interfaces (Lynx Studio Technology since 1998). When it comes to updates, especially firmware upgrades, I have always advised customers to think carefully before doing anything. Is it really needed? Here the golden rule applies - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In this case, however, an upgrade really seems justified.
@@johannesleyman2628 Pleased you found value in the guide and in my reply. My friend in your old hometown gave me the grand tour when I visited in the late 90s. The Operaen (Think that is how it is spelled?), Hasselblad works and some fine dining. One of my favourite photos taken on my OM4Ti is of the harbour with the red and white harbour master building and a sailing ship moored at the quay. A beautiful town and very historic with regard to photography. If there is anything else I can do to assist with your enjoyment of you M1.2 do not hesitate to ask.
I have recently picked up a 2nd hand EM5 mark ii am hoping I will be able to convert your EM5 mark iii guide to better understand the mark ii system. But already with watching this video and associating the letter to the camera function, so simple but would never in a million years have thought of it myself with out it being pointed out :)
Well thank you for all this information! I rarely go into the menus once my settings are chosen but i wasn't aware of some of its logics before watching your video. Quite useful. Having used Sony, Panasonic and Canon menus, I don't think one is more intuitive than the other, it all boils down to a question of habits in my opinion...
Thank you for engaging. Indeed, as I mentioned in the video - get to know it, understand its logic and all menus have their own ease and flow. Luckily on the OM-D series we have the SCP that can be used to do 98% of the shot to shot changes and settings we need. It is so good, I see other brands are copying it with "i" and "q" button option driven menu changes now.
Hi Andre. As mentioned, these guides came about as we needed to have documents on hand for staff using the equipment in our studio/on assignment. As we do not use M10 models, I never had the need to do one on the range.. Much of the logic should be similar however and I will try and do one on the M10 as soon as I have a chance between assignments.
Thank you for watching and engaging. As explained in the booklets, I am an English speaker and found these to be useful memory tips: "H" is where the images are "held" (i.e. on the cards) so H is the card settings,. The "J" is where you set battery ("J" for juice...the English colloquial way of saying 'energy') options. Information (i.e. display/EVF) is under the "I" menu. All modern cameras are highly complex and none of them are easy to pick up and use without - in my view - time spent with the manual and going through things step by step. But then I admit I am old codger who reckons a manual is a useful bit of kit for any new appliance, tool, camera or vehicle. I never try and use any new bit of equipment without first going through the manual and following the suggested procedures. I have found strange things that - seemingly - are not logical (or well hidden) on all camera menu systems. Most have, in my experience, things scattered around in a hap-hazard manner with sub controls hidden (and never hinted at) beneath others. Try find bracketing quickly on a Canon camera - if you do not know it is hidden within the exposure compensation menu option and only appears after you twirl the front dial, you will spend a lot of time being frustrated. But then a Canon pro user will not think twice about finding that. We will never - in my opinion - get an ideal and the menus from one brand to another will probably never get anywhere near uniformity. I think what we have as the fundamentals for each brand will remain for a long time as, as I said in the video, once you are used to it you expect continuity (as a working professional) and just changing the menu structure is not something any brand will embark on lightly for this very reason. A good coffee (or your preferred beverage) a few free hours, the manual and pushing buttons and figuring things out on the new camera is how I always welcome any new camera I get - even if it is a new OM-D.
