Olympus E-PM1

SplinterX · Oct 6, 2012

What do you think? Is it a good low budget camera for starters? Is there better options?

14-42mm lens

12MP Live MOS sensor
120 Hz 'Fast AF' focus system
Clip-on flash (included)
Built-in autofocus illuminator light
460,000 dot LCD screen (16:9 aspect ratio)
Dual-core TruePic VI processor
1080i60 movies in AVCHD format
In-body (sensor-shift) image stabilization system

Alcove Audio · Oct 6, 2012

And what are your plans for audio?

SplinterX · Oct 6, 2012

Alcove Audio said:
And what are your plans for audio?

The projects i have in mind for now don´t really require a big investment in audio. Actually, although not great, i´ve found the audio built in the camera to be pretty decent for indoor use(no wind, etc). When placed not too far away from the subject, you can actually capture good audio. Nothing professional, of course, but i´m just looking to make some simple shorts. Something to start training. I don´t want to invest too much on equipment right now.

8salacious9 · Oct 10, 2012

strange i was just looking at this camera for my mum, let me say one thing, the lenses for this camera, are extremely expensive, probably insanely so... unless of course you only intend to use the one lens that comes with it, you would be better off with a camcorder, if however you intend to use this camera for mainly pictures as well then by all means its a great camera with video recording as an optional but not main/ feature...

jessops.com are selling it for £229 i think with the kit lens.. so its not bad if you want to practice, although some forums have said movie recording is crap, but look on youtube and judge for yourself

SplinterX · Oct 10, 2012

8salacious9 said:
strange i was just looking at this camera for my mum, let me say one thing, the lenses for this camera, are extremely expensive, probably insanely so... unless of course you only intend to use the one lens that comes with it, you would be better off with a camcorder, if however you intend to use this camera for mainly pictures as well then by all means its a great camera with video recording as an optional but not main/ feature...

jessops.com are selling it for £229 i think with the kit lens.. so its not bad if you want to practice, although some forums have said movie recording is crap, but look on youtube and judge for yourself

Actually i bought the Lumix GF3. It´s a similar camera and has great video resolution. Shoots 1080i

dlevanchuk · Oct 10, 2012

Any cheap camera is good for starters. Even a cellphone camera

SplinterX · Oct 11, 2012

dlevanchuk said:
Any cheap camera is good for starters. Even a cellphone camera

Yeah, but i wanted to get something a little better than that. I´m happy with the GF3, for now. It´s a cool camera.

Artificial · Oct 11, 2012

SplinterX said:
The projects i have in mind for now don´t really require a big investment in audio. Actually, although not great, i´ve found the audio built in the camera to be pretty decent for indoor use(no wind, etc). When placed not too far away from the subject, you can actually capture good audio.

I'm gonna call complete BS on the mic being good. Please put up a clip of something recorded with it. Your idea of good is really most likely mediocre at best. If it some how does decent, then I'll retract this statement.

SplinterX · Oct 12, 2012

Artificial said:
I'm gonna call complete BS on the mic being good. Please put up a clip of something recorded with it. Your idea of good is really most likely mediocre at best. If it some how does decent, then I'll retract this statement.

Actually, although not great, i´ve found the audio built in the camera to be pretty decent for indoor use(no wind, etc). When placed not too far away from the subject, you can actually capture good audio.

=

It´s not great, it´s not on a professional level, but you can hear the subject in a decent way, with no major background noise, if you´re in doors. Plus, a lot of things can be edited through software.

Basically, what i mean is that most of the people won´t be watching my videos thinking "wow, what a shitty audio". A professional might pay more attention to it, but a regular viewer won´t have any problem with the sound, most of the time.

It´s not professional, but it is decent for what i want, and what i want is being heard clearly, and that i can achieve with this camera, believe it or not.

And go to youtube and you will find tons of videos simply being filmed with very simple compact cameras that let you hear the subject with no major problems.

gibbo · Oct 12, 2012

SplinterX said:
=

It´s not great, it´s not on a professional level, but you can hear the subject in a decent way, with no major background noise, if you´re in doors. Plus, a lot of things can be edited through software.

Basically, what i mean is that most of the people won´t be watching my videos thinking "wow, what a shitty audio". A professional might pay more attention to it, but a regular viewer won´t have any problem with the sound, most of the time.

It´s not professional, but it is decent for what i want, and what i want is being heard clearly, and that i can achieve with this camera, believe it or not.

And go to youtube and you will find tons of videos simply being filmed with very simple compact cameras that let you hear the subject with no major problems.

they may not watch it and think, "wow that was shitty audio", but subconsciously they will know something is wrong. Not sure if that particular camera has manual audio levels or even a mic input. You should at least get a Rode videomic pro, and a Zoom h1n, at least. If you can afford it, get better stuff.

That said, if you are going to use the onboard mic on the camera, mask your cuts with atmos or let the take record for a few seconds to overlap the cut, or else the noise floor/background hiss will have a cut in it and that will make it sound even more horrible that it does.

SplinterX · Oct 12, 2012

they may not watch it and think, "wow that was shitty audio", but subconsciously they will know something is wrong. Not sure if that particular camera has manual audio levels or even a mic input. You should at least get a Rode videomic pro, and a Zoom h1n, at least. If you can afford it, get better stuff.

It has manual audio levels. The sound is decent indoors. I have no problem hearing myself and there is little or no background noise. Of course, the better stuff is always the better stuff. But not everyone can get the better stuff, so you gotta learn to work with what you got. The audio is enough for what i want. For the type of video i want to make. It´s not the best option, but it is an option that i don´t think that is as shitty as everybody here talks.

8salacious9 · Oct 12, 2012

SplinterX said:
It has manual audio levels. The sound is decent indoors. I have no problem hearing myself and there is little or no background noise. Of course, the better stuff is always the better stuff. But not everyone can get the better stuff, so you gotta learn to work with what you got. The audio is enough for what i want. For the type of video i want to make. It´s not the best option, but it is an option that i don´t think that is as shitty as everybody here talks.

the audio will be shit FACT

unless your going to record something that you dont really want people watching with enjoyment..

not trolling you, just stating facts.. if you cant afford one then just say, no ones looking down on you, but dont defend the fact that it will be crap

SplinterX · Oct 12, 2012

8salacious9 said:
the audio will be shit FACT

unless your going to record something that you dont really want people watching with enjoyment..

not trolling you, just stating facts.. if you cant afford one then just say, no ones looking down on you, but dont defend the fact that it will be crap

I already said i couldn´t get the better stuff. You should pay more attention.

And maybe it will be shit by your definition of shit. To me it´s not shit, under the circumstances i wanna use it. If you have a problem accepting the FACT that, under certainly circumstances some cameras produce a decent audio for cetainly type of videos, then you´re gonna have to learn how to deal with it it because my opinion is staying the same.

hazuinf · Oct 12, 2012

What was the point of this thread? You've asked people's opinions, they've given them, you've become annoyed and started arguing. What were hoping for?

SplinterX · Oct 12, 2012

hazuinf said:
What was the point of this thread? You've asked people's opinions, they've given them, you've become annoyed and started arguing. What were hoping for?

I asked for opinions on LOW BUDGET cameras for starters. I didn´t ask for opinions on audio. And i didn´t ask for someone to basically say that i´m not telling the truth when i say, considering the budget and the circumstances, the camera fits my needs and produces a decent sound. But, of course, people are free to say what they want, and i´m free to answer them the way i want. So what don´t you understand?

SplinterX · Oct 12, 2012

hazuinf said:
What was the point of this thread? You've asked people's opinions, they've given them, you've become annoyed and started arguing. What were hoping for?

Oh, and btw, i didn´t start arguing with anybody. Somebody actually started arguing with me, calling BS to what i said. You really should pay more attention.

gibbo · Oct 13, 2012

SplinterX said:
It has manual audio levels. The sound is decent indoors. I have no problem hearing myself and there is little or no background noise. Of course, the better stuff is always the better stuff. But not everyone can get the better stuff, so you gotta learn to work with what you got. The audio is enough for what i want. For the type of video i want to make. It´s not the best option, but it is an option that i don´t think that is as shitty as everybody here talks.

Is it possible for you to upload a clip recorded the way you want to record it? I'm interested in hearing the onboard audio now.

SplinterX said:
I asked for opinions on LOW BUDGET cameras for starters. I didn´t ask for opinions on audio. And i didn´t ask for someone to basically say that i´m not telling the truth when i say, considering the budget and the circumstances, the camera fits my needs and produces a decent sound. But, of course, people are free to say what they want, and i´m free to answer them the way i want. So what don´t you understand?

Basically any camera will do the job, even an iphone (properly stabalised of course). I've decent stuff shot on iphones before. What about cheap little point and shoot compact cameras? some of the video of them is great, even cheapish little camcorders will do the trick (they used some of these to shoot some shots of Crank 2: High Voltage), theirs were $1,000 I believe, but that was a few years ago now and I recall seeing a very capable canon camcorder for around $500 about a year ago, probably a lot cheaper now, especially 2nd hand.

What is your budget anyway? If you can afford it, my suggestion would be to get a Canon DSLR (t2i, t3i or 60D) with a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 (around $300) lens for general all purpose stuff, and a Canon 50mm f1.8 II (around $100) for low light situations. For a stabaliser, I really really like this Cowboystudio support ($26): http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-...0112740&sr=8-1&keywords=cowboy+studio+support it gives a nice hand held but not amateur shake look. Also, a cheap monopod ($15) and magnafying viewfinder/loupe ($15) from ebay, IMO a monopod is a must have, I love them, they're so... inconspicuous. Also the Loupe/viewfinder really does come in handy, especially when trying to focuse manually wide open in daytime light, or even at night for that matter.

Other things to get:

ND filters for daytime shooting
CPL - circular polarizing filter for outdoor daytime shooting. (the one I have is a citiwide CPL cheapo from ebay which cost $5 and I'm very happy with it)
Tripod if you wish
Battery grip
extra batteries
SD card reader
fold up reflector

all depends on what you wanna be doing.

How about your lighting?