Good stuff and I agree with you. Especially the 75mm F1.8 is an amazing lens.

Nice video. Greta points. I love the tiny oly primes. I will say that the 12-40 pro is actually sharper than the primes in my testing. That thing is a beast for IQ. 12-40 or 12-100 on the camera and the 17 or 45 1.8 in my pocket would be my minimal kit.

These advantages are unfortunately not the first ones many new enthusiasts think of. Portability, affordability and the relative performance for the price, i.e. bang for buck, is fantastic within the Olympus system. I am more likely to grab my EM10 M3 than my Nikon Z6, unless I'm going out for night photography in Tokyo, where I live. And I was able to snatch the 17mm, 25mm and 45mm primes for around $200-250 each, used in great condition and they are by far the best things I could spend my money on for my photography at this point.

The Olympus 25mm 1.8 is the go-to for shooting the non stop activities of little kids in their natural home environment.. They're in your lap, then on the floor, then across the room.. Up, down & sideways! With the 'fast' 1.8, there's no flash to deal with.. And the ability to go with a shallow focus, the typical toy covered 'arena' (front room, kitchen, bedroom, etc) becomes a background of soft non distracting colors and shapes! And yes, the 45 1.8 is great for those semi candid portraits.. (Used on both my M5MII & M1MII)

The 75mm f/1.8 really needs a pro refresh. Just adding a manual focus clutch and weather sealing without changing the optics would be a game winner for sure. It is my goto lens when I have the space to work with and the reason I no longer have any Nikon gear.

I really hope Olympus introduces some longer telephoto primes one of these days. There's a big gaping hole in their lineup between the 75mm and the 300mm. What I would love to see is a 100mm f/1.4 that is compatible with teleconverters. If Olympus wants to attract professional wildlife photographers, a 250mm f/2 (which they made for their OM system) would allow Olympus to compete with the much larger 500mm full frame prime lenses in low light while being considerably smaller. A smaller and more affordable 250mm f/2.8 would also be a nice addition.

The 45mm f1.8 is amazing and one of my favorite lenses. I also really like the Panasonic 20mm f1.7; the Olympus 17mm f1.8 is very nice also but more expensive. The huge size and weight advantage of Olympus and other Micro 4/3 gear outweighs the slight advantage in image quality of full-frame.

I found your site by a tip from Peter Forsgård and I am amazed that an American youtuberer can be both informative and nice in a low key way at the same time! I didn´t think that was possible! I´ll most certainly will come back to your site!

I agree portability is great with m43. I carry all my m43 gear in one normal camera bag, or I can scale down to a lens or two and go on the fly. However, low light in a gymnasium is still an issue. Separation is still an issue. Noise is still an issue. I just don’t understand how you make this system work. I would love to get rid of my ff gear, but claiming this system works in low light just isn’t true.

Great thoughts Joe, and I agree with you about those f1.8 lenses. I have the 45mm, and I am angling to pick up the 17mm. What I will add is that I just sold my EM10ii and bought a used Panasonic GM5 as my small "every day" camera body (to compliment my EM1ii for more "serious" pursuits). Now, the GM5 is not perfect, and there are things Panasonic does with the menu system, lack of full customization, and button layout that I think Oly does WAY better, but the super small size of that GM5 is a real game changer for me. That size body pairs so well with these small Oly f1.8 primes, it's as if they were designed for each other! I wish Oly would consider to make something like the GM5 - super compact, but with an EVF and just the right amount of control dials and buttons and that Oly sensibility that Panasonic bodies lack.

Agree with everything you say here Joseph, plus you cannot ignore some of Panasonic lenses. The Panasonic-Leica 15mm f1.7 is one of my all time favourite lenses.

Great stuff ... and if you want Pro lensens but Cheap and good build KamLang 28mm /1.4 and 50mm/1.1 II are also excelent options ..only one minus ...they are manual focus .

Agreed. I haven't shot with the 75mm yet but I adore all of my Oly (and Panasonic) lenses. Even the inexpensive zooms (45-200) render wonderful images.

Considering the big switch. A little frustrated that Olympus did not upgrade the EVF, LCD, and sensor.

I agree! I own both categories of lenses: PRO zooms as well as the f/1.8 resp. f/2.0 primes: 12, 17, 25, 45 and 75mm. As well as the outstanding 45mm f/1.2 PRO. For landscape photography the 12-100mm f/4.0 PRO is my workhorse lens, paired with the 7-14mm f/2.8. . But for discrete street photography I prefer the 17mm/1.8 lens, or the 25/1.8. For portraits one of the two 45mm.

My first SLR was a E410 that I still have it and probably always will. I went heavy into Nikon and Have messed with Sony. I intend to try Canon soon. As much as I loved the Olympus, I just don't see it being able to hold ground against the superpowers in the long run. With mirrorless tech out there now, size and weight aren't a concern anymore. With the vehicle comparison below, Jeep is cool to see somebody else drive but Honda and Toyota will get my money because they are a better investment.

Great video Joseph. I agree with your summation of the competitive advantages, however want to add a couple of others. First out of the box is the superb image stabilisation and how it works with a combination of peaking and magnification, which enables the use of adapted lenses so easily (I have quite a few and use them on the OM-D E-M1 and Pen EP5). Second and this is important to bear in mind, the picture quality to file size equation. Pictures are sharp, the colours and contrast (overall rendering) is exceptional and the file size is acceptable, meaning you can store heaps, manipulate files in post easily and on older equipment without needing to upgrade your tech infrastructure. Viewing files in 1080 on a screen or on an iPad and transferring to and manipulating on devices via wifi is a breeze. Simply put, you get incredible photographic competence and far more features for your dollar with Olympus. However, I believe that the best investment a new photographer could make is to pair the new OM-D EM5 with either the new 12-45mm f4 Pro or the 12-40mm f2.8 Pro (which I have). This is a bit more money, but gives a water resistant pairing which you can use in foul weather.......this is my most used lens by far, covers about 80% of photo opportunities and is equally sharp as the premium primes. The 75mm f1.8 however is a gem but doesn’t get into my bag as often as I would like. Keep up the great videos. Regards. Tony from Australia.

I agree that m4/3 true advantage lies in its reduced size and weight, and I feel like the bullseye was with the M-5 lineup. With pro lenses (especially the zooms) the weight advantage decreases somewhat but that M-5 size is absolutely brilliant. But now everyone is so bedazzled by FF that Oly have poured their resources into trying to compete with these via their M-1 and X lines and seem to have dropped the M-5 line on its head; it was ideally suited to compete with all those APS-C cameras, but the new E-M5 III seems to be no more than an E-M10 IV. I am really disappointed that the body is now plastic and tripod screw sockets are tearing out the camera bottom plates, both with small tripod plates and other carrying straps - see the maxed-out forum posts on DPReview. I can't even use live ND on the new cam, so I'd be forced to carry HUGE and expensive filters and filter carriers for the 7-14. Bye-bye advantages. If anything they should have dropped the M-10 line (let expensive phones and their fancy image processing continue to close this narrowing gap) and continue to close the APS-C gap by properly equipping the M-5 line. Did anyone really need a few grams shaved off the E-M5 II?

The 12-40 pro is indispensable, especially for family photos. Its $4-500 used, tack sharp, great colors, good low light performance. The 45 f1.8 is great for portraits and super compact. A super zoom is also a must. I don't any of the three lenses you recommend. The sigma 1.4 primes for m4/3 look really interesting.

Yep, more camera systems should focus on compact primes. I've got a tiny camera bag that fits the slrmagic 8mm, oly 17, panasonic 25, pana 42.5, extension tubes, and my gx85. I wish there were more options like that on other systems. Especially L-mount and Fuji X. If fuji allowed the sigma contemporary primes, they'd be set. As for L-mount, I like the idea of cameras like the FP, but there aren't small lenses for them.

Did you mention minimum focus distance? I'm amazed how many of their lenses have better minimum focus distances in compared to most camera systems. The latest 12-45mm gives many compelling reasons to buy it and that one of them. Then the 12-100mm & 12-40mm is pretty impressive too.

Nice video. For a more compact (but also more limiting) two prime-lens kit, the 17mm f/1.8 and 45mm f/1.8 is also a great combination for a wide range of general uses.

Joseph is right. Lenses are a huge advantage for Olympus and M4/3. No other system offers so many lens options at so many price and quality points. But this is a system advantage, and not an Olympus specific advantage. In my own view, the biggest things Olympus has going for it are: > IBIS - The best implementation in the industry. Works like a charm. > Jpeg colors - only Canon comes close to the appeal of Olympus color science. > Innovative features - like world's best dustbuster, pixel mapping, HHHR, Live Composite, etc

When I saw the notification in my mail box I thought OH NO not another em1 mk3 review, I was so glad it was something different 😀 I love the small primes, have you noticed a bump in quality from the 16mp to the 20mp sensor in the em5 mk3?

Thanks for your tips in your very informative video. I have the Pen-F and use much the m. zuiko 12-40mm 2.8 pro lens. This combo seems quiet heavy but I can handle it pretty well. I like my 17mm 1.8 lens also very much, because of the quality, the small size, it's fast and an excellent compromise: it's not a too wide angle and not so close to the subject. My third lens is the small 45mm 1.8 prime lens. So fast, sharp, light and tiny. The 75mm 1.8 is on my list. I hope to buy a used one some day.

I couldn't agree more with everything you said. Subscribed!

Olympus is so inovative then everybody else copies them Im old school so i went for the panisonic 12mm and 42.5mm f/1.2 Bigger yes brighter faster seem worth the wieght to get the fastest and best focus possible on micro four thirds

Joe; we haven't seen any new videos from you in a while? Missing your thoughts on the OMD Solutions company.

I couldn't agree more on how great the prime lens are this camera system. And how the lighter the weight of these lenses makes them ideal for a long day of shouting.

Joe, relatively new to your channel and I can already say I appreciate your knowledge and appreciation for photography. I realize this is an older clip, but now given OMD has released the 20mm 1.4, did that replace your 17/1.2 or 25/1.2 for general or professional use?

So what I'm hearing is I should be getting a 25mm for my next lens? This goes with something Chris Marquardt said on TWiT some time ago, about shooting with a 50mm (25 MFT==50 FF).

I love my small primes and also use the 12-100 for portraits. I can get the close shot with nice bokeh and quickly zoom back to get a shot with more context. On another front, I would love to see you do a video about the 300 mm lens. What uses do you see for it other than birding. Love your videos.

8:06 My 12-40mm F/2.8 pro is better (corner to corner sharpeness, contrast, colour, bokeh) at 17mm F/2.8 to F/22 than my 17mm F/1.8 at the same f/stops roughly the same as my 45mm f/1.8 (40 vs 45 of course at f/2.8 on) but the 75mm f/1.8 is however is a brilliant lens - far and away the best lens ever for M43 (for image quality, sharpness, colour, contrast, bokeh) just eats up my 40-150mm F/4 Pro at 75mm at every F/stop from F/4 onwards. Also the achilles heel of M43 (I don't see DOF as a disadvantage necessarily) has always been high ISO performance - for anyone looking for a solution download a free trial of the new DXO Prure Raw 2 software - trust me you will be blown away by what this software can do to render crisp and clean images from high ISO RAW files.

Hi can you tell me the difference between EZ and ED lenses please? thanks

For a zoom lense, would you recommend getting the kit 12-45 f4 or upgrade to the 12-40 f2.8. It's kind of an expensive upgrade, in your mind do you think it's worth it?

Dear Joseph, congratulation to your channel and the highly valuable content you provide to the Olympus community and photography in general. I so glad I discoverd you quite early when you started and I like your unagitated calm way of talking and explaining your points. Also I like your tidy desk and background, it puts the focus on what you say and present. Really glad I subscribed to you. We also shared some conversation in the Olympus OM-D education group because I also do all our semi-professonal nature and wildlife documentary shooting with the whole range of Olympus Pro lenses and our trusty E-M1mk. II and I am still impressed with the stunning results we get every time. I would really highly appreciate if you do me the favour of visiting my channel one day too. Whishing you all the best and always keen to see more great content from you. Best regards, Markus

As I always say: Cameras are like Cars... a Jeep Wrangler may do all kind of stuff but its no the more confortable or suitable for every situation in every day transportation.

Just invested in the em5 Mark II and some lenses. But what do you guys think about the future of Olympus?

Subscribed. You're a smart guy.

12-200 and be there!

Thank you for all these great videos. I have couple questions and I would be very happy if you talk about these in future videos. First, for 25mm lens, generally Panasonic version is available for much cheaper price. most of the time 150$ brand new. does Olympus version provide any advantage for double the price on an Olympus camera? Second, can you talk a little bit about 17mm f1.8 since it is generally the cheapest wide angle prime lens available. 300& compared to 700$ for 12mm f2. would Panasonic 14mm f2.5 be a good alternative for 200$? what do you suggest for an affordable wide angle prime for Olympus system?

Do you prefer the 25mm over the 17mm? Also, will the 75mm f1.8 be available with weather sealing anytime soon? I use to see photographers with 870200mm f2.8 (FF eq.) lens for street photography. Would you recommend the 75mm for that?

Hard to find Olympus cameras here in Saigon. I like the looks of some of their offerings, but haven't been able to try any.

My Nikon d500 with the 300mm f/4 PF lens weighs 3.8 lbs. I think the Olympus cameras with a similar 300M mf4 weigh more. And I believe they're not getting a true f/4 out of it. I do like Olympus features though like the pro capture. Anyway, best of luck to you in 20 2020!

Joe: What are the things with the red collars on your camera? Also: When is your E-M1 Mark III review due out?

i have 17 f1,8 & 45 f1,8 premium prime, and I still prefer to use my 12-40 f2,8 pro. sharpness, clarity, contrast its just unbeatable. I'm wondering about a 25mm PRO but even the 45 PRO attracts me a lot, for family & kids. Any suggestion?

I come back to your videos regularly and enjoy your content. I use EM1 Mk1's with ten various Olympus lenses. I could not agree more about portability! I am wondering if you have ever used FourThirds Lenses on MFT bodies. There seem to be a few really good choices out there... like the 50mm f2 macro...

What lenses would you recommend for primarily travel photography to go with the EM 1 Mark II. I'm switching from Sony A7RII due to bulk and weight of the kit. I have to fly for travel 95% of the time.

This is why I'm debating if I should get the Pro 40-150mm. I love the Olympus line for portability and the reaction I get from people when I share what I just captured with my small setup. I got 17, 25, 45 & 60 primes and not as concern having the 12-40mm. When doing street photography I use the 17mm and 45mm or the 40-150mm kit lens. I love rocking the 40-150mm range and for it a kit lens, the image quality has been decent. Both lenses fit in my jacket pockets or cargo pants. If I wanted an f/2.8 telephoto lens that is still fairly small, Panasonic 35-100 would be great to have. If Olympus made a telephoto lens near the same 40-150mm with the same idea that they had with the new 12-45mm, I would probably buy it in a heartbeat. Ok fine, it will be an f/4 but it will be a stop faster on the long end, much less purple fringing, chromatic aberration and sun flare than the kit lens but not as big as the current pro model. The Olympus road map looks promising.

Olympus has great lens options for the non-billionaire adventurer who wants to travel or hike and photograph the world. Lenses that break the bank, and the bank are a no go.

Of course, if they had a competitive advantage, any one at all, they wouldn’t have such a minuscule marketshare, in which they themselves estimate as just 360,000 camera sales this year, down from 500,000 plus last year. Great advantage.

The 75 is really a special lens. It’s my indoor sports lens. But when my wife and I are on vacation I’ve used it at concerts to get some really nice images. I will never sell this lens.

How do you feel about the 40-150 2.8 PRO?

Probably need a 75mm f1.2. But thats gonna cost an arma and leg!!!

Greetings, mr. Ellis. I see your son and I are siblings. Hello to him from me :).

Damn expensive camera lenses a lot of us will not be buying.

How do people praise the portability of a system and then carry a bag full of primes? A 24-120 f/4 on full frame replaces a whole array of MFT primes from the 12mm f/1.8 to a 60mm f/1.8. That's lighter, cheaper and a lot more convenient. Plus one gets the option for really fast glass. An f/1.8 on MFT is not; it's f/3.5 full frame equivalent, that's barely consumer grade.

The iPhone 11 Pro changed everything for me. It gives me 90% of the IQ of my Olympus gear without the hassle of carrying a camera all the time. With the iPhone I suddenly have 3 different focal lengths with incredible quality that fits in my pocket. I love Olympus but I sold all that m43 gear and my phone is now my secondary system, my every day carry camera.

fuji is better- cheaper , lenses are better , bigger sensor , and same size camera maybe even smaller).