Olympus Weather Sealing is Hard to Believe
Behind the Scenes of Olympus Weather Sealing
Olympus weather sealing is hard to believe, as you can see below in a video and blog post by Dave Etchells of Imaging Resource. The more I use the Olympus E-M1X, the more impressed I am with the Olympus commitment to hardcore professional use.
I’m writing this in Indonesia, having just finished our last of three tours in eastern Asia. For these trips, Northern India, Japan, and Indonesia, I brought three camera systems with me, Lumix, Sony, and Olympus. Sounds crazy, and it was. I’ll never do it again. But I wanted to test the Olympus E-M1X and the Sony A9 against my Lumix system, a camera system I’ve depended on pretty much full-time since about 2015.
The Results Are Surprising
It was a great test and I’m excited to write it all up for those who may be on the fence as I’ve been in regards to which camera system to commit to. Like all of us, I’ll have a lot of time to sit at my computer and write for the next few weeks. Stay tuned for what I found with over six weeks on the road with Sony, Olympus, and Lumix.
MartinBOn Jul. 3rd, 2020
According to Oly the subject tracking mode birds is in the works for the E-M1X. There are more things to come – in winter time. It would be good start for JIP. But we have to wait till Q1 2021 if their promises will come true.
https://www.dpreview.com/news/1650119109/olympus-to-ship-150-400mm-f4-5-this-winter-adds-8-25mm-f4-pro-to-lens-roadmap
Daniel J. CoxOn Jul. 5th, 2020
We can all hope. Time will tells whether this is just more fake news. I have to say I’m skeptical based on Olympus’ past promises to not give up on their photographic division.
Rick PophamOn Jun. 29th, 2020
Hi Dan,
With the latest news from Olympus, it looks like your decision may have been made FOR you. I’ll continue to shoot with my Olympus gear, and hope that Panasonic stays in the game, but it looks like the improvements to AF (and R&D in general) we hoped for aren’t going to happen. I’m renting an E-M1X for a week to see if I might want to get one. And I guess I’ll upgrade my bodies to the latest (last) version so I can continue to use these great lenses.
Other than that I’m glad I didn’t sell off my Nikon gear! I guess I’ll be looking at the Nikon mirrorless offerings now. I’ve always loved the Nikon ergonomics and don’t see myself switching to Sony.
I hope you and yours are safe and healthy.
Rick
Daniel J. CoxOn Jun. 29th, 2020
Hey Rick,
Well, you are certainly right about my decision being made for me. However, having shot with Sony now for several months, I may be reevaluating the other options as well. I just can’t understand why Sony ergonomics are so difficult. I find it hard to believe they have so much amazing technology in their cameras, especially the AF, and yet they can’t just look at Nikon or Canon and copy them on ergonomics. Olympus was not perfect on ergonomics either but it was light years ahead of the Sony A9. To say I’m a little confused right now would be an understatement. Not sure where I’ll be going from here. I might even bite the bullet and buy a second EM-1X before they’re gone and give the industry time to shake out. If Lumix would just fix their AF I would stay with Panasonic. But with only one major player now in the MFT world, that doesn’t bode well either.
Whitney DunnOn May. 8th, 2020
Dan, I’m curious to read your thoughts on the three systems having used them for that six week trip.
Cheers,
Whitney
Daniel J. CoxOn May. 8th, 2020
I’m still on the fence Whitney. I had hoped to have a few more weeks to really test both systems. I have a few more shoots planned for over the summer and into the fall. I have my doubts I’ll make my mind up before then. Sorry for not being more helpful but this pandemic took a bite out of my field time.
Joe DotsonOn Mar. 19th, 2020
Foreshadow….Now I have to go buy Oly stuff! Carol will not be happy.
Hope you all travel safe back home! Stay healthy.
Daniel J. CoxOn Mar. 19th, 2020
Don’t jump yet Joe. Still, some testing to come but Olympus’ commitment to weather sealing and spectacular lenses have impressed me.
Dennis LindenOn Mar. 18th, 2020
My first wet T-Shirt event was in 2012 with the EM5 and the 12-50 … I was in Vancouver, walking about when the clouds rolled in and the heavens poured out. I was soaked to the bone, but to my pleasant surprise, a rub down on entry to the apartment and everything worked for years to follow… I’m really tempted to upgrade my EM1 mk2 to the 3. Maybe the 7-14 first.
Jim RestleOn Mar. 18th, 2020
That was an interesting video about weather sealing. Looking forward to your views on the testing you did.
Hank SloanOn Mar. 17th, 2020
Glad you made it home and really looking forward to this review/ comparison.