“Developed to exceed D-SLR cameras,” says Olympus confidently of his OM-D E-M1, one of the best-equipped mirrorless Micro Four Thirds cameras on the market, but also one of the more expensive with a current one Sale price for 1,500 euro.
Housing
In the ColorFoto lab test, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 was able to achieve a smooth 5 points lead in the overall evaluation against Canon's semiprofessional SLR camera EOS 7D for 1200 euros: although the latter with larger APS-C sensor and 18 instead 16 megapixels, the E-M1 without low-pass filters did not show them the higher resolution in the laboratory but also the better dynamics and the weaker noise
SLR versus OLED viewfinder
So far so good. But how does it look in practice, in the photo day? With the ease of operation, the electronic instead of the optical viewfinder, the accuracy of the autofocus, the smaller lithium-ion battery? Read here about a field test where the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and Canon EOS 7D have always faced with special challenges and sometimes even had to reach their limits.
Battery Charging and Charging Time
The Olympus OM-D E-M1 is a compact, lightweight, yet robust magnesium case that has been designed with the SLR-like molded and anti-slip grip Stable in the hand than the classic, also made of magnesium, 910 g heavy SLR housing of the Canon EOS 7D. Both cameras have seals at sensitive locations to protect against splashing and dust.
Operation
However, while the kit lens is 3,5-6,3 / 12-50 mm, the EF-S 3,5-5,6 / 18-135 mm, sold together with the Canon, is not weatherproof Very smooth focus ring generally less well processed. The E-M1 also collects positive points with its effective 5-axis image stabilizer, the lock on the mode dial and the integrated WLAN module. All this does not have the EOS 7D, but in contrast to the Olympus a flashlight, which can be used as the master to wirelessly trigger additional system flashes.
Since the Olympus OM-D E-M1 does not have to flip a mirror, it works in comparison by several decibels quieter than the Canon EOS 7D in viewfinder operation. With Live View mode, however, the Canon is hardly louder, in the somewhat misleading "noise" mode, even a little more discreet than the E-M1. Both cameras can not trigger soundlessly.
As top models in their class, the test candidates offer large, above-average good viewers that cover 100% of the image field. However, at first sight, fundamental differences are visible: in the Canon SLR's roof edge prism viewfinder, you can see a clear, bright, well-recognizable image, but in the electronic counterpart of the mirrorless Olympus, on the other hand, a high-resolution live view (Focus peaking), which greatly facilitates manual focusing, including the most important recording parameters and, if necessary, the fast access menu.
The 3-inch monitors from EOS 7D and E-M1 can convince at the same time at favorable lighting conditions. However, in the sunlight and viewed from the side, the display of the Canon display loses some of its quality. It is also fixed that the OM-D is adjustable.
The compact Olympus OM-D E-M1 has only a comparatively small, weak lithium-ion battery, which should reach 9.3 Wh or 1220 mAh for 330 shots. The Canon EOS 7D holds the full battery with 13 Wh and 1800 mAh significantly longer, according to Canon for up to 800 pictures. In order to fill the empty battery again with the supplied charger, it took just over 2 (E-M1) and 2.5 hours (EOS 7D) in the test.
The original replacement battery costs about 60 Euro for the E-M1, about 75 Euro for the EOS 7D, and considerably less for third-party products. Rumors say that especially Canon repeatedly with block commands of the camera firmware tried to boycott the use of batteries of other manufacturers. As a rule, high-quality external batteries still work, at least as long as the camera firmware is not updated.
In this field experiment the JPEG files of the Canon EOS 7D came to 4.0 to 5.2 MB, the Olympus E-M1 to 3.4 to 7.1 MB. The raw data ranged from 20.2 to 22 MB (EOS 7D) and 13.5 to 15.3 MB (E-M1).
Because of the compact housing of the E-M1, Olympus has to keep the space: the controls are quite crowded, and there is no upper info display like the EOS 7D. For this purpose, a touch screen serves as a further operating level, with which the photographer can, among other things, position the AF field quickly and accurately, and can make some important input by touching the corresponding icons on the setting monitor Code>
Alternatively, this also works very comfortably via thumb and index finger wheel. It is possible to argue about the structure of the Olympus menu - some of them are able to cope with their characteristics after a certain period of familiarization, the others less.
Conclusion
The menu of the EOS 7D is structured according to the Canon style logically and clearly in eleven submenus, each consisting of exactly one page with a maximum of seven entries. In addition, the EOS 7D with its many direct access capabilities and the comparatively better handbook compared to the Olympus.
From the ColorFoto lab test, the mirrorless Olympus OM-D E-M1 with a 5 point lead over Canon's reflex camera EOS 7D - thanks to better picture quality and faster autofocus. In the Praxistest, a more ambivalent result emerges: Again, the Olympus with its hybrid autofocus, which worked with us in standard as well as difficult light and motif situations much more accurately than the phase autofocus of the Canon EOS 7D.
On the other hand, the latter is opposed by a multiple duration of the battery. The Olympus OM-D E-M1 offers a wide range of possibilities with its separately configurable light and shadow correction as well as HDR automatic. In mixed light situations, the WB automatic of both cameras encounters limits, and when the screen shades, similarly pronounced diffraction losses occur. For portraits where parts of the face are shadowed, the Olympus lacks a fill-flash, and in the program-mover it tends to exposure settings that lead to comparatively dark images.
In addition, she amplifies the contrasts so massive that the recordings seem crisp, but a little unnatural. The images and videos of the Canon EOS 7D, on the other hand, are softer and more harmonious. Nevertheless, the Olympus E-M1 also won the Praxistest in the field trial because of the safe AF.
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