'(FT5) Unbelievable: New Olympus OM video quality is better than on the GH2!' o_O

http://www.43rumors.com/unbelievable-new-olympus-om-video-quality-is-better-than-on-the-gh2/

More direct competition, means Panasonic engineers and managers have a higher bar to meet on new devices. That's why My fingers are crossed the GH-3 will be announced at Photokina. More time for advancements.

Same with sensor.... Olympus claims a "newly developed sensor" at least that's the rumour....

Lets see, it sure looks like a very nice photo camera ;)

This looks like Olympus Marketing at it's best.

Remember this claim is thrown without any context. We don’t know in which circumstances it is better (low light? jello effect? 1080p60? 720p120? AVCHD 2.0? fast focusing?)

It’s not that difficult to exceed the GH2 specification, the NEX-5N does it with 1080p60 but is trashed on low light and high ISO, the E-P3 should exceed it in low light (if full sensor binning is true like it was marketed) but is trashed in available video modes), the Sony SLT’s does it with PD focusing but it’s got even worse IQ than NEX-5N, and so on…

The real strength of the GH2 in video lies in the fact that it has no weak points plus 2 key factors:

• The way it bins pixels for video, giving unsurpassed (in APS-C) detail and low light IQ. Again I must say I don’t have an E-P3 but I don’t see any reports on how it’s video is excelling.

• the HACK. Let’s face it, no camera that stays within AVCHD recording specs, can ever aspire to beat a full Intra H.264 176Mbps stream (and I might even tell you that there is a major turn over coming on to the hacks’ patch sets, which promises the same quality at much less bitrate expense).

http://www.43rumors.com says no AVCHD but h264 in MOV. So they are not limited to AVCHD standard bit rates.

24p????

@kholi http://photorumors.com/ says 29 minutes recording. If it doesn't span, we gonna get 29 minutes of 1080p within 4 GB? That would be the typical 17MBit rate. What memory card will they use. Latest sd card generation?

1080 30p h264 17MBit = no thanks!

well lets see :-)

@mrbill : When I say weak points, I mean none of those you mentioned is a deal breaker for me. Now when you mention any of the competition there are lots of deal breakers.

• Canon : Size, IQ, no EVF, limited codec.

• Olympus: IQ, frame rates, modes, no EVF / tilt LCD, limited codec.

• Sony: IQ, no lens system, limited codec.

• Nikon: Oh, I'm sorry, shouldn't even be here.

Don't get me wrong, the OM-D is looking good so far, even for video. If they manage to get video IQ similar to GH2 and adding on-board rolling shutter compensation this will be a pretty good camera at stock conditions especially if the AF comes close to the hype (well almost every other realistic expectation I had for the camera did come close).

But, who are we fooling? I would say that half of the GH2 legionnaires fell for the GH2 IQ, the other half for "The Hack". I don't see that happening that easily on the OM-D. :(

So so disappointing. I was really getting excited about the potential for the video (was hoping for at least 1080/24p and 1080/60p, plus a dream of 720/120p).

Dpreview is reporting that the 720p is 60 FPS. However, they also report that the 1080 mode is 60 FPS. It is actually 1080i/60 so that is pretty worthless. This is a nice camera. However, it is not competition for the GH2 for video unfortunately.

I don't know why, but I hate this camera. :-(

I wonder why we always must go back to old camera designs to have a "real" photographers camera? The E-M5 will appeal to memory lane dudes.

For what it is, I like Pentax K-01. It will be a nice complement to my GH2. Waiting for the price to lower just a tad, and I will buy that.

That's so disappointing of Olympus since the inception of the PEN. All only have 30fps. Olympus could have sold more camera's simply by adding more frame rates. But Olympus is really focussed on Japanese market. At least Panasonic gives European users 25fps or 24fps for their camera's, and America and Japan 30fps. Hopefully Pentax K-01 will have full manual video control. I think the Pentax will be a great allrounder.

That is why it is so dazzling. They have everything to gain and nothing too loose. At least Nikon is making a big effort. I am not too convinced about the image quality of the latest Nikon D4 and D800 (At least compared to the gh2) but in terms of features they are top notch.

These guys could exploit a niche (ala gh2) but even higher because they don't have any video camera line to protect like Panasonic with the af-100. They are so clueless that it seems as if it cost them to put these things like higher bitrate, multiple frame-rate etc. I don't own any Olympus gear, but if this camera had true 1080p resolution without aliasing/moire (as gh2), 24/25/60 fps (even at avchd 2.0 bitrate), lower jello with higher readout sensor, flat cine-gama profile (or customizable picture profile like Canon and Nikon), 8 bit 422 or much better 10 bit clean hdmi output, I would be first in line to buy one. But for now, they look more like some stupid out of date brand, that does not even consider my attention.

... and I belief that their typical target group (I guess hobby/vacation photo shooter, male, age 40-70) is so big that the video pros and enthusiast crowed is rather pointless to them. Nothing for to risk a support nightmare because the cheapest sd card isn't cutting it for them in video mode.

to top the GH2, a camera would need all the GH2 merits (guess pixel binning makes it the winner) plus better dynamic range and color/gamma handling. Also the latest Nikons seem to fail with their down scale method and this will render all their well meant video ambitions useless ...

I don't think it could ever compete with the GH2 in video terms. However, as a photographers camera it could be a great one. I've got several very very nice weather sealed Olympus lenses (like the 50-200 f2.8-3.5) that don't AF very well on the GH2. No problem for video but it would be nice for stills (like wildlife and weddings) so I still use an Olympus DSLR. They are claiming that the OM-D, with the newly implemented AF, will work properly with their older 4/3 lenses. If this is really true it will be great for users of the older Olympus 4/3's camera. They are clearly aiming it at a very different market to the GH2. It's more of a 4/3 E-5 replacement. It still has the potential to be a great stills camera.

I think it will do fine as a photographers camera, if the RAW is good. I've compared the same sensor between Panasonic and Olympus a couple of times, and it amazes me that Olympus gets a sharper image and less noise at the same ISO. So if the noise is slightly less than G3, I think this weather sealed camera may well become a favorite because of the size and built. I think it will sell better than E-P3 and many other camera's. I don't like the looks, but many will.

E-5 went mirrorless. Thus E-m5.

http://olympusomd.com/en-GB/

@pomoville I'm gonna guess the answer is "no". Unless someone else wants to do it, there doesn't seem to be much worthy of a hack in the OM-D. No 24p, no 25p, no 60p, no build in mic in, no headphone out.

Well actually, it does have one redeeming value for video, the sensor IS has great potential with all lens'.

But my guess is that Vitaliy is busy with all his other projects. he'll probably kick my butt for putting words in his mouth though :(

an example of the in body stabalization:

It also shows off the Skew later in the video, definitely noticeable, I believe they are correcting for some of it with the IS as well.

What I'm curious about is, the live feed that the presenter is using. I wonder if it's HDMI, because it looks pretty "clean" (no HUD), when in recording mode... More information is needed!

The IBIS for video is just darn awesome, surely there must be some software IS on that too

Yes, the RAW at Focus Numerique look really good. I think it may be the best FourThirds RAW. Noise at high iso is really fine grain. I'm looking at iso 3200 RAW made indoors with only lamps as lighting and I think it looks way better than Panasonic. Not that I care too much about high iso. Still, I think this camera will sell well. Olympus has done good.