8-25mm lens

[Dennis Russ]

I sold All my other Canon Gear the other day to The Camera Centre Cardiff. I then had to decide whether to buy a Em1 Mk3 or the 8-25mm lens. Seeing I got Two Mk2s I decided on the 8-25mm lens.
This F4 lens is nice n sharp. Glad I bought it now. Yesterday (Saturday) at the Photography Convention in Newport South Wales, I had a Great Long Talk with Geraint Radford and handled the OM1. He showed me how he does the stabilizing whilst doing his Extreme macro etc.along with a few other things. I did find the Joystick n buttons a bit fidley as they are a bit too small. Wearing gloves is a No No, unless they be Surgical gloves lol. Looks like I;ll have to save up to buy this OM1. Going to buy my Computer parts first to build a New PC.

[DekHog]

Why would you think about a Mk III when you have 2 X Mk2's? I don't own the lens, but it seems like a good un by all accounts...

[Dennis Russ]

DekHog--Have always wanted a Mk3 but could not afford one.Now I have had time to think things through, I decided the lens is/was the best one to buy. Maybe the 12-100mm as a walk around next. MAYBE! lol.

[raichea]

Going to buy my Computer parts first to build a New PC.

I replaced my PC last year. I used to regularly upgrade/build my own systems but the last one lasted me 10 years before I started to feel it was getting under-powered (it was pretty much top-of-the-line when I got it). Things had changed a lot in pretty much every area so it took quite a bit of research to understand what options were available. Having done that research, I found it impossible to beat the custom system builders on price to configure a high-end system by buying components so went with a custom build and have been very happy with the result. Not saying it can't be done, but I got the configuration flexibility I wanted from a system builder with more buying power than I've got.

[pdk42]

The EM1.3 does offer a few extra features over the EM1.2, but whether they're of real benefit to any specific photographer will depend enormously on what they shoot and how they shoot it. For sure there is no difference in the essentials - image quality, IBIS, AF, form factor etc. I like my 3, but if I had to live with a 2 I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. As to the OM1 - as many of you know I was one of the first group to receive one, but I returned it due to S-AF anomalies. But even if OMDS fix this issue, I'm no longer sure whether I'd upgrade. The IQ improvements aren't there (at least in raw at low to medium ISO values), and actually I much prefer the handling of the the EM1.2/3 - esp the dials and the two-way Fn lever. If I were a wildlife shooter I'm sure my decision would be different - but for what I do, the EM1.2/3 does pretty much all I need. If OMDS could squeeze some more DR out of the OM1's sensor by using the dual integration-time strategy offered by its quad pixel arrangement then I would probably change my mind. But with flat-lining IQ and no personal need for top-of-the-range CAF, I can't see me letting go of my EM1.3 for a while.

On the other hand, if I could swap my 8-18 for an 8-25 without losing too much, I'd snap one up tomorrow!

[Dennis Russ]

I have to be Honest pdk42, I'm loving this 8-25mm lens. Call into a photo shop if you can and ask if you can try one on your camera before deciding.

[TravelingChick]

I sold my 7-14 and bought this one. Never looked back.

[Dennis Russ]

Looks like I made the right decision in buying the 8-25mm then. TravelingChick, I know one or two others who sold their 7-14 lens as well.
raichea--I going to build it myself and included the 1660 super gc, but was wondering if I should go for a higher card,price is putting me off at moment though. I got a month or two to make me mind up.

[raichea]

I wasn't trying to dissuade you from a self-build, just make you aware of the custom-build option (I didn't know until I started looking). I went for a fairly high-end system again but downgraded the graphics from an nVidia RTX 3060 to an nVidia RTX 2060 as I'm not a hard-core gamer.

Although Paul says photo processing doesn't need much from a graphics card, many packages now make use of the GPU for some processing and it can make a big difference in performance. One package I had needed a minimun of 4GB of VRAM to be able to use the GPU. Olympus Workspace needs at least 2GB of VRAM on Windows (https://cs.olympus-imaging.jp/en/sup...w/index.cfm#06). I wanted to provide some future-proofing of my purchase by getting a decent enough graphics card as it's pretty clear that GPU usage is going to continue to grow.

[blu-by-u]

Since you are building the PC, Watch out for that graphic card requirement for the WorkSpace.

[pdk42]

Although Paul says photo processing doesn't need much from a graphics card, many packages now make use of the GPU for some processing and it can make a big difference in performance

Yes, that’s true, but they don’t need a powerful graphics card. A high end graphics card capable of squidzillions of teraflops is all about gaming. LR etc will work perfectly well with a very basic card. The best acceleration you can do with LR, short of the fastest CPU you can afford, is to give it lots of RAM.

[Dennis Russ]

raichea--I know you were Not trying to dissuade me. No Probs. I'm still using Photoshop Extended 5. Upgraded to 5.6. I'm using a Zotak GeForce 1050Ti that works great. Found out that for Photoshop Classis/Lightroom classic 2022, I can use the 1600/1600Ti/1600 Super. Of course I might take out my 1050Ti from this PC to use in New one. As it will work with the 2022. Then put back my old GeForce GTX650 in this PC that worked well.
I find that with buying a ready build they always leave out a High end PSU (I need a 750w or 800w) OR they only give you 8gb Ram or 16gb if you lucky. ALL the cash for them that we pay goes into the New 3060 high priced Graphics card.Or the 3080..You add extras or Update other components then price goes to £2000 or lots more. I can build for £1,207:74p or pay OCUK £200 to build it for me. Total £1,407:74 that way I get ALL that I want. The LATEST News for you--For first time ever I been Banned from Facebook for 9 days. Stopped me clicking 'Like' as well. Must be a WOKE Admin or someone who did not like my comment of "Needs a Whipping with a Kipper".. LOL Oh Happy Days.

[OM USer]

I like this idea for a bespoke PC.

[pdk42]

been Banned from Facebook for 9 days. Must be a WOKE Admin or someone who did not like my comment of "Needs a Whipping with a Kipper".

Context is everything. Care to elaborate? In my experience, “woke” people are just kind souls who are trying (sometimes mistakenly) to protect someone or some group they feel is being unfairly attacked. Until you’re in some minority group that gets the butt end of mainstream bias, it’s hard to appreciate how difficult it can be.

[raichea]

OverClockers was one of the custom builders I nearly went with. In the end, I used Punch Technology.

[Dennis Russ]

Hi blu-by-u---Alas I do not use Olympus Workspace. I kind of dislike it. I'm so used to PS & LR. No way will I pay £300 or more for a Graphic card. But you never know, I could go for a 3060 if I win the lottery.

[Dennis Russ]

pdk-42-& others-OK lets go through this again shall we. GPU is the Graphics Card. CPU is the Central Processing Unit like i7 12700K. So to QUOTE "Lightroom Classic cannot effectively utilize a high-end GPU (graphics card) at the moment, but we still recommend a mid-range GPU as many other related application like Photoshop do use the GPU more heavily.UnQuote.. For most users, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is a solid choice. But that card is a Rip Off price just like other cards...Next--Photoshop relies a lot more heavily on CPU than it does on GPU. While Adobe has been introducing more and more filters and tools that are GPU accelerated in recent updates of Photoshop the bulk of the processing power still comes from the CPU and that’s what I would recommend investing in. That is why I'm buying the i7-12700K..Because at the moment I am NOT using Photoshop Classic or Lightroom classic 2022 I don't need a High end Graphics card. My old GTX 650 worked well for 7 years using Photoshop 5 and a early Lightroom Classic. Now using the Zotac GTX 1050Ti that also works with ALL the TOPAZ programs. So the GTX 1600 or 1660 Super or Ti will work very well with PS/LS classic 2022. Mind You, with the Em1 Mk2 I have no need to go PS 2022 at moment as PS5/5.6 recognises the RAW files. I do NO gaming. I'm a Photographer, so are my friends of which two are using the 1660 Super. Horses for courses I guess.

SO-pdk-42 you be Correct on the (Yes, that’s true, but they don’t need a powerful graphics card. A high end graphics card capable of squidzillions of teraflops is all about gaming. LR etc will work perfectly well with a very basic card. The best acceleration you can do with LR, short of the fastest CPU you can afford, is to give it lots of RAM.) I HOPE I not come across as being a Pendantic person or being Sarcastic. Sorry if I sound like that. It's the way I write things....Thank You.

[MJ224]

Dennis, you have hit the nail on the head. Most software is designed to work on the "basics" with a few gizmo's alongside. But always a good bet is to buy the best you can afford...........bit like the camera really...:-)

[pdk42]

I mostly agree Dennis. A high end GPU is useful if you’re doing video processing, but for photo processing a much more modest GPU is all that’s needed. I know from experience that LR performance is most determined by CPU speed (and memory bandwidth, but the two generally go hand in hand), and to a secondary but important degree, RAM size. If you’re doing a lot of processing on large files (esp composite images like panoramas or very high res raw files), then RAM makes a difference.

All this is also assuming a decently fast storage device too (aka “hard disk”).

[Dennis Russ]

Hi MJ224 Long time no hear. hope all is well with you..So True in what you say..
pdk42 Yes I agree with you there. i7-12700K---a 1TB M2 PCIe hard drive--32GB Ram DDR4 as the 5 is expensive---4TB hdd 7200rpm (Toshiba) I Love Toshiba drives.-1660 6gb GPU-Lots more but I'll not put them all down in here. Motherboard--Not sure if I'll buy the MSI Pro Z690 or the MSI Mag B660 Tomahawk OR the Gigabyte..Probs will be the first one. Prices of some components are Scandalous.