Comparing the Olympus OM-D E-M1X with the Canon 5D Mark IV and the Canon Eor R for image quality and soft backgrounds in bird photography.
— MY GEAR —
This is an affiliate link and this channel will receive a small commission (at no charge to you, thanks for the support) if you link to Amazon to purchase any of these products.
Cameras& Lenses
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Canon EOS R
Control Ring Adapter for EOS R
Drop-In Filter Mount Adapter EF-EOS R
Canon 7D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM zoom lens
Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM Lens
Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens
Canon EF 1.4X III Telephoto Extender
Canon EF 2.0X III Telephoto Extender
Flash
Vello TTL-Off Camera Flash Cord for Canon EOS
Wimberley F-9 Head II Flash Bracket
Wimberley M-6 Extension Post Flash Bracket Module
Better Beamer Flash Extender FX-3 for Canon 5580 EX, 580 EX II, 600EX-RT
Honl Photo Professional Color Effects Gel Filter Kit (CTO Warming)
Honl Rollup Filter Case
HonlPhoto Speed Strap for Shoe Mount Flashes
— VIDEO EQUIPMENT I USE —
iPhone Video Gear
Rode VideoMic Me-L Microphone
Manfrotto TwistGrip Tripod Adapter Clamp
Manfrotto PIXIMini Table Top Tripod
Moment 60mm Len 7 Gear
GoPro Hero 7 Black
Rode VideoMicro Compact On –Camera Microphone
GoPro Pro 3.5mm Mic Adapter for Hero 7
Mini Ball Head Hot Shoe Adapter 360-degree Rotation
PULUZ Aluminum Case for GoPro Hero 7
CAMVATE Camera Cheese Baseplate with ¼ and 3/8 inch Thread Holes
FOTYRIG Hot Shoe Mount Adapter Shore Mount Flash Adapter
Canon EOS R Gear
Canon ef-s 10-18mm f/44.5-5.6 IS STM Lens
Sennheiser ew 112 G3 Wireless Mic (replaces my version ew 100 G3)
Canon 5D Mark IV Gear
Rode VideoMic Pro Plus
Rode VideoMic Pro
Dead Cat for the Rode Mic
Filters
Singh-Ray 77mm Vari-ND Filter
Hoya 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter
— MOST POPULAR VIDEOS —
TIPS FOR CREATING SHARP PHOTOS [2018]
5 COMMN MISTAKES IN BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
5 BEST CANON TIPS FOR BIRD PHOTOGRAPHERS [2018]
AF AREA SELECTIONS WHY THEY’RE IMPORTANT [2018]
BIG LENS TECHNIQUE FOR SHARPER PHOTOS [2018]
— MUSIC —
Epidemic Sound
— MY SOCIAL MEDIA —
WEB —
TWITTER —
Something odd in the second bird pics… What is it with all the background banding in the Canon pic.?
Cheap lenses, low mega pixel sensors, high ISO, low light or improper settings do that… Is this a RAW or JPEG image.??
Tim.
I Wonder how much of the blue Olympus vs the yellow Canon wasn't related to White Balance.
Were you using Auto White Balance for both cameras?
What were the Color Temperature differences?
I really liked the little Movie in the End,absolutely beautyful!
Interesting about the color. Would never have expected that result. Where were you? The Quail is cool. Is it a Gimbrel, like in Bosque?
Until a few months ago I owned a Nikon D500 system and an Olympus EM1 mark II sytem, which I used in tandem for wildlife photography. I owned a Nikkor 300mm f4 PF ED VR + TC14EIII, a Nikkor 200 – 500mm f5.6 and a Sigma 180mm f2.8 OS macro. I also owned an Olympus 300mm f4 + 1.4TC, Olympus 12 -40mm f2.8, Olympus 40 – 150mm f2.8 and Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro. In all honesty, most of the time I could not tell which image was shot on which camera. Only at extreme range did the APS-C sensor show it's superiority. In my hands, the EM1.2 was actually a better wildlife camera: and I preferred it to my D500, brilliant though it was. I now use a Sony A9/A7III full frame system and when I view images taken on all three format s there is little to choose between them. Provided the exposure is correct and the system is used within it's limits, the EM1.2, and EM1X will produce stunning images.
lovely
You clearly deserve more viewers
Ah, Olympus just an MFT system. Not comparable with a real camera system.
Shouldve included some 1 to 1 crop examples to see which was sharpest.
I always felt that Nikon had the best color science starting with the D810, D5 and D850?
The effective depth-of-field for M43 cameras is double that of a full-frame sensor. The Olympus E-M1X with a 300mm f/4 with 1.4x TC has an effective reach of 840mm but also has an effective depth-of-field of f/11. I am very curious at how the Olympus 150-400mm f/4.5 lens will perform once it is released in 2020. That lens will bring the effective depth-of-field to something closer to a FF 600mm lens with a 1.4x TC. That might sway me over to using an M43 system for serious bird photography as long as autofocus performance is good enough. I will be very interested in your final report on the E-M1X for bird photography. Thanks!
Tim, you do give up a little background blur with the Olympus. However look at the crap you had to use to get the 600 to work, and you handheld the Olympus 600. I carry my M1x and the 600 hooked together in the top of my Mindshift rotation. If I had the Canon 600 it would have been a suitcase. I just switched from Canon to Olympus, was the smartest camera move I've ever made.
Thanks for the comparison.Although it's not directly about the image quality, I see that you were handholding the Olympus and using a window mount for the Canon. I find that you could handhold and get the same image quality to be an advantage for the Olympus.
The details are not quite sharp ….. bokeh is ok. For wild life, I feel it is good to have a good amounts of sharp details of the subject.
Thanks for this. You don’t mention your settings, but micro 4 third sensors and full frame sensors have different depth of fields. For the Olympus system to get a softer background larger apertures are needed. If your images are at the same aperture that could account for some of the difference.
Love your videos.
Thanks for this video Tim. What is really striking is the small size of the micro four thirds Olympus vs your Canon gear! Looking forward to your next comparison.