Em1x Review for Astrophotography and Other Things
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2024
- This is such a full featured camera that I could not help but spend the majority of this videos time talking about many of its features unrelated to astrophotography.
If you are curious to know how sensitive the Em1x is to light compared to some other Olympus cameras I would encourage you to watch this video I did. • Noise Battle of the EM...
Another great video I want to reference is this one by a good friend Rob Treck. In it he will explain exactly how to get a battery pack to work with the Em1 Mk3 which will also work with the Em 1x. • Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark...
If you are wondering what ISO is best for astrophotography, well that depends. I did a video on just this topic here. • What ISO for Astrophot... - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Came for the astro review - stayed for the generell aspects AFTER the astro review. Great video, entertaining, history covering regarding sizes and beauty, everything... this video hit me by surprise way more than many many other review. Compliments, great episode. Also your humor, screen presence and voice is really pleasant. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you your words are very kind and encouraging!
Such an awesome and in-depth review! Thank you for doing this!
Alpaco how are doing today? You didn't sound the best in your last video.
@@real1997 I’m feeling a bit better! Thank you!
Love your channel, always enjoy your presentations. Personally I think the M1X is one of the most beautiful cameras ever made.
Excellent Tutorial Video! Amazing Photography! Thank You For Sharing It With Us!
You are welcome.
this is the only review of the EM1x that praises the EVF (every other review that i've watched pretty much trashes it with its low resolution). i am about to take delivery of an EM1x that i bought at a very low price and my only reluctance to buy one is the EVF...this review somewhat gives me confidence that the EVF is not that bad.
Great review and overview - on the subject of battery with USB I wanted to add that in addition to the Rob Trek recommendations you mentioned I have been using Ravpower PD Pioneer for both charging and running my EM1 Miii and it works great.
Thank you for sharing. Hope this helps others find battery packs that work.
Really enjoying your channel!
Thank you!
Man! Great memory lane video also. I saw the same with the Pro models and that's why I got the E-520. Got lots of good images from that camera. Huge gap of when the E-3 came out. Once the E-3 and E-5 came out, the timing of the E-M1 was in step with the release date.
When I was looking for a mirrorless replacement, I was actually looking at Fujifilm but then circle back to Olympus. I tested the 14-54mm on my E-M5 III and found it will keep up with 5fps with C-AF. I was kind of surprised.
Agree Starry Sky Auto Focus would be nice in the M1X, being their Flagship Camera it should have it.
01/18/2022 thank you for sharing this information
The theme of the Olympus E-M1X external power supply is very interesting. You can attach a photo of the Olympus AC-5 AC Adapter power supply with power output parameters. Thank you.
I shoot the EM1X for wildlife. Hoping to try some Astro this winter for the first time. My widest lens is the 12-40 F2.8 and hoping that is good. I also have the 40-150mm 2.8 and 300mm F4. So kind of excited to see what they can do as well.
If you can get to a dark sky its very rewarding.
I have an old e-5 that I still love to shoot with. In fact, the 300mm f2.8 lens for it I think is better glass than the 300mm f4 that is currently available.
I would love to get that lens some day. It's such a gem. They were hand made one at a time by Olympus top techs. You will have to give Orion a try with that lens. The Seven sisters would be a great target too.
Now, that’s a nice review and great to see that someone also had the same Olympus Cameras. Still also have my E1 in the original set with the Grip and the 14-54. Now I use the EM1X which is attached 85% of the time to 150-400. The Ergonomics of the X are by far the best, especially if you use Backbutton AF. THE Viewfinder itself is very nice, but with the great optics you see that the EVF with its 2.39MPs is not enough. I know the refresh rate argument, but from optics and resolution it should have been 3.69MP from there start. Is it not good looking….. not sure. On the AF well, I think it suffers from not having enough AF points - 121 isn’t a lot. Sadly the X seems history as with the very short teaserish of the new “WOW” camera you can see that they will merge the X into the new OM-1 , i.e. and X with about a grip. Just hope to the get the Sony IMX 472 BSI Stacked Sensor in that one.
Thanks Tim. You should check out a video Rob Track and I did talking about sensors and we did go over the 472 in detail. Sony has made some changes to it since that video but mostly it is still relevant. It has phase detect at every pixel. That would make bird detect work flawlessly as they would no long need to switch to contact af.
How does the em1x compare to em1 mk3 in terms of overall speed of the menus, AF, agility and stickiness of the AF. And the dynamic range, and skin tones do they differ?
That is a great video, many thanks for this review. I just have one naive question. Forgive me, I am not an export of astrophotography, but wouldn’t be better to use a FF to collect more light?
The amount of light collected is based on the diameter of the aperture. Not the sensor. The whole FF thing is marketing BS. Astrophotography community is probably the only part of the community that knows better. We only choose larger sensors when we want a wider field of view.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel ok understood. I suppose that this is Also the reason why it is possible to find astro cameras with 4/3 or one inch sensor. Many thanks for your reply
@@matteocambi517 Yes and a lot of telescopes do not support sensors larger than APSC anyway.
Great video, and those are some fantastic pics. My E-M1mkII spends a lot of time in front of PA waterfalls. For astrophotography I mostly only do timelapses and widefield. I might need to give the 300mm Pro a try on an equatorial mount and see what it can do.
I had been thinking about getting a mkIII or a 1x for some time, the mkIi is a tank and seems like it will never die even though I am not particularly easy on gear when I go out hiking. :)
What waterfalls do u like to frequent? I am in PA central. Not many close by here.
Having built in GPS alone is nearly worth it for me. Using the Olympus track app and updating the tags through it is kind of a hassle.
I live in Pittsburgh, so the only good collection around me are an hour away in Ohiopyle. But I try to get to NEPA as much as I can as there seems like an endless number of waterfalls there.
Last year at Black Forest Star Party I spent about an hour talking to a guy that has done a ice season hike at Ricketts Glen, definitely on my bucket list to try that. Though it is amazing in the summer and fall.
Jim Cheney of Uncovering PA has a great book on PA waterfalls, definitely a good guide to finding some of the more off-the-beaten-path ones.
@@mikem9246 Thanks! if I can I will check it out.
A well-structured and articulated video.
Re:unboxing. When I got my new-to-me, barely used E-M1x, I was at first disappointed with the weight of the box...until I took the manual out. Then the weight was much more reasonable. I have not weighed it yet, but I bet the E-M1x manual weighs as much as the camera does.
And yeah the viewfinder is amazing. Extremely comfortable in portrait orientation - like it's not even there - and I can use the EVF display style that puts information on a black bar under the electronically projected image without feeling like the view is cramped. Feels like the size of the E-M1ii EVF with the style that overlays information on the projected image.
Thank you. I really hope they make an OM1x.
so weird almost all the reviews I watch make a point to complain about the resolution of the viewfinder... guess I'll find out for myself in a few days and compare it to the Lumix G9
Why did you need 4 minutes for each picture ? is it the exposure time for each picture ? or the interval between 2 ?
Thank you for your video, very interesting as always.
4 min is how long each exposure was. I typically only leave a 5sec gap between exposures. The long exposure time choice was because read noise is lower relative to the signal with longer exposures. Thermal noise increases too but with its ability to run at lower temperatures it handles it better than other cameras even ones with the same sensor.
Thank you Ben for this video. I am now sold on the m1x. I mainly shoot animals and some videos. I have really big hands… had the m10 next to my m1ii for a few months and sold it on.
I love how the mft system offers a great variety of bodies, from really poketable (GM1) to stylish (PEN-F) to pro level, all with the same lens mount.
I subbed, saw you on the MFT livestream...
Greetings from Switzerland, I'll be looking through your channel for some beginner tips on astro.
you have a really interesting point with the amount of volume a camera takes, far more meaningful than just size alone. The easiest way to find out would be to sumberge each of the cameras and see how much the water level rises ?
The submersion in water would be expensive for those non weather sealed cameras. Glad you loved the video I will be doing some beginner tutorials soon. I did some a while ago but need to revise them. They were awful videos anyway.
By the way they have these new optical 3D scanners now that could allow you to figure out volume exactly.
How do you control the Oly for 4 minute shutter? Do you use an intervalometer? What type? I've found no way to control over 60s from a computer app.
My G9 has a 0.83x EVF which can be too large to see from side to side, I have to reduce the area for comfortable viewing, which the G9 can do. The important thing you immediately notice just how clear the 3.6Mp maximum resolution makes it. My GH4 and E-M5ii, PEN-F, G7, E-PL7/VF4 have 2.36Mp, the increase from the G9 is significant and better for framing and focussing. You'll notice half of them are Olympus.
Olympus invariably have an optional wide eyecup. Except the PEN-F which is like the E-1, what were they thinking?
The G9 bird detect punches through foliage if you hit the AF-Far. It only has CD but with DFD. CD has to be spot on to lock, if it cannot find contrast it will not lock; PD can and will lock slightly off focus (ask Sony). The workaround is to use a small focus area to force it to focus on a bird, the detect will work outside the box.
I do wildlife, which is often out in the landscape so that too, at the same time. And then when it gets dark, nighttime.The read noise has gone way down at a trade off with dynamic range; you should find ISO 12800 is the new ISO 6400. No longer be afraid of ISO 6400 (or more) unless, perhaps, you're doing portraits.
I have this video on how to do it with Olympus Capture. th-cam.com/video/wX4cbdFwJlE/w-d-xo.html
The rest of the time I use an intervalometer that is external.
Excellent video I don’t use bird af anymore gone back to the 5x5 grid and single point af I have had better success. Hopefully they will improve the bird af in the next firmware update.
I hope so too! There may yet be way to tweak the software yet but I do believe that a new sensor with more phase detect pixels will be the magic ticket.
nice vid！have you ever tried the high res mode on astrophotography?
I think that's slightly impossible with the current software given 1) we really need long exposures for AP 2) how much precision we need in the hobby 3) how fast stuff in the sky actually moves. Maybe it's possible for the moon, but that's it. Even widefield Milky Way is probably impossible for high res mode given you'd need 10sec exposures at least with an f1.8 lens.
You can use high res mode if you have a skytracker. However, editing these files in photoshop is a waste of time. For astro it's best to stack photos in photoshop or other software.When it comes to high res it's best to use olympus software.You will get the best results, but this software has some limitations. I recommend high res mode for moon photogtaphy. If you have a 300mm f4 you can even use handheld high res mode. Sync is incredibly effective.
@@kamilrakowski23 Yes I do have a star tracker, just wondering if anyone has tried to use multiple in-camera stacked high res images as single "Raw" files in a stacking program like DSS. Cuz looking at the mechanics behind the high-res mode it seems to compensate some of the fake colors due to pixels (sorry cannot remember the technical term) and the noise patterns. I haven't got a Olympus to try out myself...but if that does have some benefits it will definitely something worth investing in (I think)
@@kamilrakowski23 I mean after all it looks like a dithering that gives you higher resolution
@@sunflower7207 If you have a stable tripod and a good tracker then absolutely high res mode is worth using. I tried handheld high res mode myself (with camera on skytracker)for milky way photos and the results were great. Someone from oly facebook group (olympus astrophotography) took some pictures of andromeda in high res mode and these photos were impressive. However, it's worth trying something else. Live nd !! In this mode, camera also takes a series of photos and stacks them.I use this mode very often in landscape photography. You will get 20MPx photo, sharper and much cleaner (2 stops dr more and 2 stops less noise) I don't know why nobody is talking about liveND.This is a great feature. No editing problems, files are 2-3 times smaller, works faster,no artifacts.
Really great stuff. I love both my X's and have no intention of switching to the new OM-1. A) because i can't afford it, and B) I love the field sensors as I am in the hot desert a lot, and having those sensors is important for me. Also the durability is paramount. I purchased a solar filter and am enjoying shooting the sun with the X. I have also done some newbie astro stuff with the X and they came out pretty good. On a side note, I just purchased a new Verizon cell phone, and it came with a free power bank. I just plugged it into the X and lo and behold, it is charging the batt's all be it very slowly. Cheers!
Its hard for me to not pick up my X anymore. I to love it. I hope they make an OM1x
does this camera ever overheat in hot weather or does it have a fan?
@@velvetvideo Does not have a fan, and I have used it a lot in 100F desert hiking with NO heating ever.
In regards to the viewfinder, when someone only hears a lower end resolution spec, bias comes into play and it's hard to see what's good about it.
Very true. It's not about megapixels but quality of pixels.
Thanks for the review, I’m an Olympia users, original EM1 MKI which I still using for Astrophotography, I also use the EM1 MKIII, but one thing frustrates me is that any software for Astro photography do not have support for these cameras.
I am with you there. I have found some work arounds with the ASI Air Plus. Have you seen that video? I know I have been trying to advocate for support everywhere that I can. As my channel grows perhaps more will take notice.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel looking for video now, I did not see you found workaround, Thanks.
@@AntonioPena1 Its this one. th-cam.com/video/4Cyexn86PEo/w-d-xo.html
Supposedly, INDI uses the gphoto2, which does support liveview E-M1 cameras. So anything using the linux stack like Astroberry and Kstars ought to be able to to fully control the camera. I haven't tried it out myself yet, but intend to eventually.
@@mikem9246 this is great information, will check. Thanks
Great review, Ben! Was that a ghost @22:00 ?
🤣
That door does that all the time so I am so used to it I do not flinch anymore. Glad you liked it Rob. I am sure you will want to examine my copy in detail next time we can get together.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel So you've accepted the work shed is haunted.
Regarding viewfinder... My M1x should arrive by friday. You sold one to me with your review... :D
I have been told by Olympus visionary that EM5 MkIII and M1X have same viewfinder. Well he was obviously wrong - M1x has larger viewfinder. But also ... for some reason Olympus decided to use OLED in M5 Mk III. And I am quite curious about the difference, because standard LCD viewfinder in my older M10 is lower res, and quite dim, OLED is certainly better and made me really wonder how would M1x and M5 Mk III compare in this regard.
OLED should provide more vivid colors and better contrast, but on the other hand, it should have much shorter life expectancy compared to other LCD technologies.
Rob Trek and I talked about this OLED once. The reason they did not use it in the EM1X was because its refresh rate was not fast enough and when shooting faster action targets which of course the EM1x is perfect for that is where the OLED could not keep up so they stuck with the LCD type.
nice movie .... please write .... does it have sleep mode ?? do you have to turn it off every time ???
Yes it does. You can turn it off and control how long it is. For aatro i typically turn it off
Can you maybe provide link for the power adaptor? Thx mate
When it comes to powering the camera by usb c, there are tons of power banks with PD 9v 3A or 12v 2A. I use one myself and use it to power the camera, lens heater and skytracker. 40-50€, so it's pretty cheap in my opinion. The power adapter is necessary for the m1mii grip. For the m1x usb power bank works great and is cheaper.
Here is one if found on Ebay. Its a little cheap looking but this will help you search for the specs. www.ebay.com/itm/382315304186?hash=item5903c494fa:g:8GsAAOSw63FaJ8VO
I found one that was 25$ at it seamed to be much better quality.
I really love your in-depth reviews and the amount of technical information you provide for your audience. But sorry: the viewfinder (I own the E-M1X as well) is - by far - the worst EVF I own. Yes - it is big but: the dynamic range of the viewfinder is way worse than the one in the DC-G9 - and so is the low resolution. The shadows and highlights are clipping very fast. In the result I can't see enough detail to judge the scene in high contrast-situations. The G9-EVF ist way better and the Sony A7rIV provides maybe the best viewfinder out there (ok not fair to compare ff to mft). Besides from that the E-M1X is an awesome workhorse I still love to work with on a regular basis.
Actually sensor size does not affect the Electronic viewfinders in any way. A 1in sensor can have a viewfinder that is larger than medium format. I know what you mean though about the Dynamic range of the LDC inside. It is rather old. 10 years old as its the same one that came in the original Em1 Mk1. And the fact that the optics the EM1x viewfinder are much better it allows you to better see the issues it has. Still its the largest and most comfortable one I have used. Cannot wait for the next one. Perhaps they can get an OLED that is fast enough in the Em1.
When it comes to powering the camera by usb c, there are tons of power banks with PD 9v 3A or 12v 2A. I use one myself and use it to power the camera, lens heater and skytracker. 40-50€, so it's pretty cheap in my opinion.
Glad you have had success with that.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel The key is that the power bank or power supply must support 3A at the requested voltages. Then the E-M1X works fine, a lot of power banks don't support quite 3A.
@@peterherth7379 Excellent point
E-M1X is a fantastic camera in every way. Haptics are perfect, one example are the control wheels on front side and back side are much better to operate in comparison to O-M1!
Yes its my favorite for work in the dark. The OM1 is good and more sensitive but some buttons are hard to find. Hoping for an OM1x
@@TheNarrowbandChannel yes, I’m hoping for an O-M1X too. But still, hope dies at last 😁
Seems to me that bird-detect in all other cameras are tripped up by busy foregrounds and backgrounds, as even the Canon R5/R6 (arguably the best implementation) are prone. Probably has more to do with the machine learning data in the cameras than inability to use PDAF with bird detect on.
Not having a Canon to test I did not know that. thanks for the info. I hope they make the tech and AI better.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel The Canon R3 fixes this by allowing you to customize an AF area size and position then have bird eye-detect work only in that area. That way the AF doesn't wander off elsewhere in the frame. But $6000.
@@robbyvillabona I wish I had know that for the video :)
The Olympus batteries are made by - Panasonic. Don't worry, they do make the best lithium batteries.
One thing you immediately notice different between Olympus and Panasonic MFT is Olympus get hot and Panasonic don't. Panasonic went into their thing for shooting movies where they need the sensor kept cool, so they build the frames as one big heat sink. Olympus shooting movie for any length of time and the picture tinges magenta, this is in the manual (hidden in small print). They're not big on the heat sink thing, they're geared up for shooting stills.
I shoot with both flavours. I like both. They have different quirks and attributes.
The Lumix G7 (2015) has Starlight-AF, so does the GH4 undocumented*, and the G9, and everything in between. Starlight-AF comes on automatically in low light, it does not have to be selected, you can use focus peaking on stars. Olympus Starry Sky is E-M1iii &up.
* The GH4 surprised me by doing a very accurate AF and lock on Jupiter, I was going to focus manually but there it was.
The GH4 simply does not get hot in use, it's one big chunk of metal. It stays cooler than the G7 and G9.
The G9 will power (and charge) on its special USB port, it will however charge from the low current outlet of a laptop rather than needing a 2A or 5A battery pack; Panasonic can do it. The E-M5ii uses the olde Olympus special plug and socket for AD/DC supply, it does lock in securely.
Great info Jeff. Do you have any exif temperature readings from your Pana cameras? I would be curious to know how they fluctuate. I did a video on noise between the Em1 Mk3 and Em1x where I showed temperatures changing and how I could read them using ASTAP.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel Olympus may have a "Sensor Temperature" in the exif but PhotoME reports it in gibberish code, OlympusWS doesn't report it at all. Panny don't seem to have a "Temperature" anywhere in the exif.
What exif reader do you use?
When I get concerned about the temperature I use an IR Thermometer.
The E-M5ii would tinge magenta whenever I used it for long video (and the back would get hot), over 15 minutes. Whereas the GH4 and G7 I have used all evening, 4 to 5 hours continuously at bands on stage, no problems whatsoever. I could not use the E-M5ii as the B-cam.
Aside - I've more or less stopped videoing the bands for the past 3 years but since I used the PEN-F hand-held at one gig before Xmas may have been asked to do it again, a 'feeler'. The PEN-F coped but was only used for a couple of numbers ~5 minutes not half hour at a stretch. The PEN-F and the E-M5ii are very similar inside, and they are not movie cameras.
To do the job now I would probably use the GH4 on tripod with 4-track for hifi sound, and the G9 roving hand-held with a longer lens, it's that steady. Whilst they can shoot C4K nobody really has anything to watch that and FHD is more than sufficient.
@@jeffslade1892 This is funny cause I used to use a RF thermometer too. But it was not very consistent. So I use ASTAP to do it. Just load the images then analyze them. It reads it quite well. Look up my ASTAP tutorials.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel I simply point a cheap pocket infra-red thermometer at the back of the sensor. If I point it at other thermometers it tallies within 0.5°, my crude calibration - it's accurate enough. It's not a covid special. I could be silly and stick a thermocouple on it but it's not worth the effort.
I have just downloaded ASTAP, it's very new to me so down and dirty the E-M5ii analysed as 16° and 18° but it was a cold night and we've had filthy weather for months. I've no idea when I'll get a clear sky to play with.
I was surprised it read an ORF raw file, and a Panny RW2 raw file too - nice. The Panny file produced no temperature, blank field, in ASTAP
@@TheNarrowbandChannel talking of cold lithium cells. Some years ago the army was having problems with some kit so we stuck it in an environmental chamber at minus 40°C and started it up. The batteries exploded like a grenade, fire smoke and shrapnel. Destroyed the equipment. We told them to use the conventional batteries when below freezing.
its 2024..has this camera gotten anymore notable firmware updates?
Sadly no there have been none.
I wish I'd have spare money to efford one of those xD
When their next camera comes out I ma sure the used market will suddenly have a lot and at very good prices too.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel True! I love Olympus (well now OM System) products, but I don't need to buy most stuff when it's new.
@@MyRetroJourney The price has dropped dramatically. I saw where it was 1399.00.
funny.. mine works with any batterypack thats listed as PD..
Are you talking about usb charging? Forgive me it's been a while since I made this video.