I still keep seeing problems popping up on social media ,possibly from new adopters but also from seasoned olympus users ..enough to still make me hesitant re.ordering one .. yes plenty of users with no problems out there but when I see posts like can I send my camera back only had it a few days it makes me cautious .even more so when I can’t fault my current mkiii
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OM-1 S-AF intermittently hitting target
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I maybe guilty of putting dirty linen in public. I went to the FB under OM-1 Users and posted that which I have posted here.
To get around the problem, I have resorted to focus bracketing but instead of the narrowest setting of 1, I am now at 3 and a total of 5 shots per press. That's is not the way it should work but that is the only way I feel secure that I have nailed the shot.
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Dave in Wales - or maybe not arriving at all. Reports of this problem seem very sporadic and I guess most OM1 users are wildlife types who use CAF so never notice it.
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I like to use S-AF, as it focus's on what I want. I do also use C-AF when there is no obstructions in the way to the subject. Can't say I have had any "problems" with S-AF, it does sometimes miss, but I put that down to obstructions or just maybe there is not enough detail to pick out the subject. In both cases, I have MF to tweak the focus anyway. I can't find a systematic flaw in S-AF..........
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I noticed something while testing that erratic AF. It's not as fast as the EM1mk3 in acquiring AF lock.(even if it's wrong) especially on older non Oly lenses.
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I’ve got this intermittent problem of missed focus with a new OM1 when shooting S-AF and single point. Latest firmware is installed.
At the moment it only seems to occur when subject detection is employed.
I will monitor closely and try to come up with some definite conclusions.
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Many don’t believe me, but I’m of the view that there is something odd with SAF on the OM1. I’ve been using Olympus m43 cameras since 2012, nearly always in SAF and I’ve NEVER had focus reliability problems - and I’ve lost count of the number of bodies I’ve used (ok - so EPL5, EM5, EP5, EM1.1, EM1.2, EM1.3, EM10.1, EM10.2, EM5.2, EM5.3, Pen-F).
But within an hour or two of using the OM1 I was noticing shots that were completely blurred. The camera had confirmed focus but it was out by a mile. I even got into the situation where I had to do a power cycle to get it focusing properly again.
Now maybe it’s the way I was using the camera, but I wasn’t doing anything different to what I’d done with all those previous Olympus cameras (and for that matter with cameras from other brands).
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There may have been some odd cameras with a 'hardware' issue, but on the whole & since FW updates (where any fixes for S-AF are not specifically mentioned) it functions fine, but for some, in low light & low contrasting detail, C-AF can perform better. A certain RW was pointing at white paper & having a melt down because it wouldn't focus. With a few different people now investigating further there may come a few more clues as to what might be happening or rather how some users are using it. The sensor is different to all previous cameras, so there are some differences in how it performs. Understanding it goes a long way to being able to use it as it is. If FW can actually be updated to change its behaviour for the better for those expecting improvement, then all the better.
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Some stuff on Facebook today about it, some saying SAF is dead and CAF is the way forward as the camera works better to allow for "operator movement" , it was a long post.
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This was posted sometime back. After his explanation, I have switched to CA-F and never looked back. The hit rates are better.
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Back last year I tried really hard to provoke my OM-1’s SAF to misbehave according to what Paul was clearly demonstrating in his video, but as I recall it only falsely confirmed focus once or twice in several hundred replicates (which also happened when I repeated the experiment with the E-M1iii). It also never ‘got stuck’ in that state, as also demonstrated by Paul.
I can’t see how anyone can not believe you, Paul! Your videos were pretty definitive.
However it remains moot as to whether this varies among copies of the camera, or is down to some minor detail differences in the way people have tested.
I must say I almost always use CAF whatever I’m photographing, and I only use the single focus point option when I’m trying to focus on (say) an animal that’s partially hidden by grass or branches. I haven’t noticed any focus issues beyond what one might expect with any camera (and I still use the E-M1iii and 5iii a lot too, with no obvious differences), and I’ve just returned from 5 days doing urban and street photography in Lisbon when I did use SAF a bit more often than usual because I was doing quite a few street ‘landscapes’.
I’d be fascinated to know whether the issues reported by some people who do use SAF especially with single point focus are resolved by using a very small custom focus cluster instead. The OM-1 individual focus points are tiny, and maybe it’s a bit much to expect enough contrast and edge detail to lie reliably under just one of them?Regards,
Mark
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http://www.microcontrast.com
Too much Oly gear.
Panasonic 8-18 & 15.
Assorted legacy lenses, plus a Fuji X70 & a Sony A7Cii.
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I see Robin Wong now has an OM-1 and is not happy with the S-AF focus performance.
He says he’s tried a larger focus point group and still had issues. He’s usually pretty enthusiastic about the OMDS cameras - it feels like something is going on to set him off making this video. I mostly use C-AF so haven’t experienced problems with this outside of some early tests.
Bill
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I just see that he's having a big negative gripe.
I was going to add a comment & realised I already did with his replies.
Here is my feeling & the new reply comment to Robin that I deleted just now.
@Robin Wong "Again, the above examples of S-AF are ridiculous. You didn't go out & get new subjects but still regurgitation the same old ones. Come on! You are spreading incorrect advice here. You call yourself a professional, but you are not displaying that at all here. Those examples have next to no detail in them, but the times you do actually hit on some detail it focus locks. Go out & focus on some sensible subjects & don't use Single AF Target unless needing it for situations where it is necessary to pinpoint AF, but the subject must have some detail in it in that Single AF Target area. Do use the Small (9 group) AF Target or larger, depending on the subject. This is NOT the same as previous models because of its stacked sensor with quad photosites per pixel (go look up all the technical detail on it to understand it).
I have to ask, did the donor of the camera expect you just pull this camera apart, because I wonder what they think of your video presentation?"Last edited by Ross the fiddler; 14 March 2023, 11:03 AM.
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Yes he's having a downer on OM at the moment. But the fact remains that the OM1 is doing SAF differently to all previous Olympus cameras and in some circumstances it's giving focus confirmation when it is out of focus. That's a cardinal sin in my opinion.
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I had a long exchange with OMDS on this issue and had a final answer last year but forgot to post it here. really sorry.
Summary below
The OM-1 can specify a narrower range than the previous model with a single target, but in dark places or subjects with low contrast, the single target S-AF lacks contrast and cannot be focused. A so-called false focus phenomenon is likely to occur, in which it is determined that the subject is out of focus, or an in-focus display is performed when it is determined that the subject is out of focus. This is the characteristic of OM-1's S-AF.
Currently, depending on the shooting environment, I would like you to either increase the target or use C-AF.
At this time, we cannot promise how much S-AF will improve, but we will do our best to meet your expectations through updates.
It was a reply.
Looking forward to future firmware updates...
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Thanks TakaPyon. So what changed in the OM-1? Is what ThomasEisl says the small AF target in the OM-1 uses only Contrast AF?
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My general use for the OM-1 is birdies in trees. So I use the S-AF. There are mis-focus's, but I put it down to surrounding twigs. The problem as @TakaPyon's OMD reply seems to be in low light. Generally, I am happy with the focus system.
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This video appears to verify that the OM-1's S-AF is less focused than the E-M5Mark III in low light and low contrast subjects.
The OM-1 seems to have strengths and weaknesses depending on the light level in the environment.
Personally, I get better results with the OM-1 in most situations, so I use it as my main camera, but I would still not give up the E-M1 Mark II as a sub camera.
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Originally posted by TakaPyon View PostThis video appears to verify that the OM-1's S-AF is less focused than the E-M5Mark III in low light and low contrast subjects.
The OM-1 seems to have strengths and weaknesses depending on the light level in the environment.
Personally, I get better results with the OM-1 in most situations, so I use it as my main camera, but I would still not give up the E-M1 Mark II as a sub camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt-5UFcIIOcRoss "I fiddle with violins (when I'm not fiddling with a camera)". My Flickr
OM-1, E-M1 Mk II plus 100-400mm f5-6.3 IS, 7-14, 12-40 & 40-150 f2.8 Pro lenses, MC14 & 20.
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That's not what I observed Ross. As a reminder, here's the video I posted when I was testing it. I also wrote the following after some more controlled testing:
OK, so some more testing this morning. I'm using the 12-100 indoors, focusing on some brickwork in shadow at the back of the fireplace. There's plenty of texture there. I can change the light levels by opening and closing the curtains.
1) In very dark conditions - SAF
- The EVF display brightens significantly and becomes a bit grainy
- The IBIS goes into overdrive and sounds like Concorde starting up
- Focus is slow with a lot of driving back/forth on the lens
- Sometimes it fails to focus, but always tells me. No false hits.
2) In very dark conditions - CAF
- The EVF remains at the same brightness
- The IBIS remains quiet
- Focus is faster, there is much less driving of the lens back & forth
- Focus is more reliable (more hits)
- Sometimes it fails to focus, but always tells me. No false hits.
3) In bright conditions - SAF and CAF
- No issues. Fast and accurate. I couldn't get a focus fail. All good. No false hits
4) In slightly dim conditions - SAF
- The EVF remains at the same brightness.
- The IBIS remains quiet
- Focus is slow with a lot of driving back/forth on the lens
- Sometimes it fails to focus and tells me.
- Sometimes it fails to focus, but it shows focus confirmation - false hits.
5) In slightly dim conditions - CAF
- The EVF remains at the same brightness
- The IBIS remains quiet
- Focus is fast with no driving of the lens back and forth
- Focus is reliable (no misses). No false hits
I couldn't today get it into the mode where it needed to be turned on/off.
So my conclusion so far is that SAF has two modes - one for good light and one for bad light. These both seem to work, but it looks like in the intermediary lighting state, it has the potential to go wrong.
The summary for me is that the OM1 does SAF differently to all previous Olympus cameras and for some people it means it's less reliable and less functional. I'm sure it can be worked around, but the big problem for me is that AF needs to be reliable. If there's doubt that it could have missed focus it takes the real shine out of a camera. Nothing worse that coming home with the shot of the century to find the AF has missed.
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I don't know what was happening with your camera & may just have had hardware issues, because most other users did not have any issues like that. I don't know the state of the camera given to Robin, but he was not pointing at detailed objects & in his case I don't think was experiencing your issue (unless someone else had that camera & gave it to him). Most of OM-1 users now don't have issues, so long as they are pointing at subjects with obvious detail & those having issues more often than not expect too much from a tiny CD-AF point on a subject with next to no detail.
Last edited by Ross the fiddler; 15 March 2023, 08:10 PM.
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Interesting discussion, have to say I agree with Robin and if his rather ott video actually gets OMDS to improve things then great. Why didn't they just include the same small spot size as the mk2 and 3 as an option as well if it would have improved the af response?
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