Olympus OM-D E-M1 Firmware Version 4.0 - Issues
I wrote earlier this week about the release of firmware version 4.0 for the diminutive Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the perks and additional features it's going to bring to our cameras. For that full list of additional features check out my post right here.
This version was announced back in September and not released until November 26th, so Olympus had us all waiting for this one. I would expect, having worked in software testing and IT for well over 10 years now, that the firmware was in development for a much longer period than many of us would have been aware of and of course during it's development it would have been tested thoroughly over and over to ensure it's stability. However it's not uncommon, even for the likes of Apple (as we all know!) that a new release has a couple of bugs here and there and we find ourselves downloading version 4.0.1 or 4.1.0 or some iteration of the update only a week later. After all it's only when it's in the hands of thousands of device users that you can really have every single little fine detail tested as we all use our cameras so differently!
Well, I've downloaded the firmware to my E-M1 and I must say so far; no issues! Now, despite the title of this post possibly alluding to there being some issues with the software - there don't appear to be any at this point. That's not to say however that I haven't come across a few little snags with the download / upgrade process myself and in the various Olympus Facebook groups. So, I thought I'd collate some of them here for you to have a look at so that if you haven't upgraded yet and have left others to test the water for you, here's what you may need to know.
Hiccups with the update
Whilst the update wasn't hard to install, I did have to do a little extra digging to get started because when I plugged my E-M1 in to my iMac I wasn't seeing version 4.0 as an available update within the Olympus Camera Updater Platform. Odd! Reading through some of the Facebook groups I saw quite a few people saying the same and adding that they were on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 as well as, like myself using a Mac running El Capitan. So, the good news is (hear me out here) is that the issue with the updater not seeing the new firmware wasn't specific to one operating system.
My initial thought was to check out the Camera Updater site to see if there were any issues or to see if there was a new version of the updater itself - which there was!
So, my first step was to download the latest version of the Olympus Camera Updater. This was actually included however as part of the Olympus Image Viewer update. So I had to install that first. (Here's the link to that download: http://support.olympus-imaging.com/ov3download/index/). You need to have the serial number from the bottom of your E-M1 handy to do this.
I followed the simple install instructions. It gave me The revised version of the Camera Updater and I was set! I plugged in my E-M1 and I was away.
When you connect your E-M1 to your computer you are given a few options - the camera wants to know what you intend to do. I selected the highlighted option:
All Options Reset
So I went through the motions and updated my E-M1 to firmware version 4.0. It was impressively smooth and very fast to complete. However, everything had reset! I should have paid more attention and made a note of some of my settings, but after navigating through each and every setting in the menu's it was only about 5 minutes before I had everything just how I like it again: rear dial for the aperture, front dial for the shutter speed, Fn.1 for white balance, Fn.2 for the ISO and the 'lever' disabled. I make use of the directional buttons to adjust my focus point. I of course had to go through other settings as well, such as disabling the face autofocus detection, putting the EVF back to Mono etc. But it didn't take long at all.
Things to be aware of
One of the things I was really conscious of, having ran into this issue with my original OM-D E-M5 was that the USB cable supplied with the camera is the one you're going to need for the update. Although the port on the side of the camera is referred to as a Mini USB port (and it looks just like one too!) it's actually a slightly different version of the port that requires the Olympus-own USB cable. If you haven't got one for your E-M1 you're looking for the 'Olympus CB-USB8'. I daren't link to one on Amazon or eBay because i tend to be a little suspicious of their claims to be compatible with the E-M1. I prefer, as always, to buy the genuine accessories.
Silent Shooting - Shutter Speed Limitations
I remember reading somewhere, but now I can't remember, that the silent shutter mode is limited to a minimum shutter speed of 1/8th. I didn't think much of this, but my brain obviously had it's pen and notepad to hand and locked that information away for later use. So when fellow Olympus photographer Graham Jones got in touch to ask me if I knew why the E-M1 wasn't going any lower than 1/8th - I knew the answer. Just to be clear you can still shoot long exposures and what not using the regular mechanical shutter mode. It's just when you're using the electronic shutter in silent mode that the shutter speed won't go any lower than 1/8th. The advantage though is of course that the electronic shutter can go all the way to 1/16,000th of a second!
Focus Stacking - Compatible Lenses
I've seen a lot of people saying they can't get access to the Focus Stacking feature that was made available in this new release. This is basically (although, incredibly clever and massively useful) where your E-M1 will now take up to 100 photographs of an image at various focus points and your amazing E-M1 will stack them together and create one single image for you. This takes a lot of the heavy lifting away. I can't wait to use this feature; I'm going to go back and re-shoot my Macro Dandelions!
Anyway, the point of me mentioning this is that the focus stacking feature is only compatible with the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro, the 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO and the 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO. If you haven't got one of these three lenses then you're going to miss out I'm afraid.
I will write a post of my own on the Focus Stacking feature, but in my opinion, for now at least, the best write-up and review with some of the best example photographs to illustrate how this works is by Kazuo Unno over on the Olympus.com site. If it's a feature you're interested in you really should take a look.
Summary
Not that I'm any sort of authority on the matter at all, but as far as I can tell and from what I can see others saying online - it looks like Firmware Version 4.00 for your Olympus OM-D E-M1 is pretty stable. I'm keeping an eye on the usual places online because of course I want to be sure that my own camera continues to perform as perfectly as it has since the day It arrived. If I come across anything though I'll be sure to update you. The best way to keep up to date with information is to Subscribe to the blog - it'd be great to be able to share new content with you regularly. Join over 200 other subscribers today!
I can't wait to get back out on the streets of London again, this time shooting in silent mode. I know that it'll give me a lot more confidence to point my camera at people a little more directly, just like I can when I shoot my sleeping commuters series!
So if you're waiting for everyone else to test this release - consider it a thumbs up from me!
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Firmware Version 4.0
Back in September 2015 Olympus announced that they would be working on a new firmware release for the simply stellar Olympus OM-D E-M1. At the time of writing the E-M1 is considered Olympus' 'flagship' camera in the Micro Four Thirds range, despite both a couple of mark 2 bodies being released more recently (the E-M5ii and the E-M10ii) and both packing features that the E-M1 just doesn't have (yet). That is at least until the end of November 2015 and the release of Firmware version 4.0 for the E-M1!
[If you already know what this superb firmware release will bring to your E-M1 - scroll on for the link to the firmware download and instructions on how to update your camera body]
What does Firmware 4.0 Include?
The E-M1 was released back in September 2013 and has since had a few semi-major and minor releases that have added some neat features to it. Most notably for me at least was firmware version 3.0 that took the already best-in-class focussing performance and made it even better. If there was ever any doubt that the E-M1 was the best auto-focussing mirrorless camera available (and still is!) then firmware version 3.0 firmly cleared things up and removed that doubt! If you're reading this right now and haven't already upgraded to 3.0 - do it now!
But you could argue, after looking at the features that firmware version 4.0 is set to bring that it will be the biggest yet. It's set to include:
- Focus Stacking
- Focus Bracketing
- Advanced Focus Peaking
- Silent Mode
- Improved Anti-shock Mode
- Advanced Olympus Capture
- S-OVF (Simulated OVF)
- 4K Time Lapse Movie
- Live Composite on OI.Share
- MF Clutch Disable
- Menu Cursor Position Memory
- Various video features mentioned at the bottom of this post...
As a stills wedding photographer by trade some of the movie-related functions will be largely lost on me and so I've instead opted to include them as something of a footnote in this post rather than looking at those here. (Sorry videographers - it's just not my thing!)
I typically don't get overly excited about firmware updates and I can't recall ever having blogged about one before, but I must say from that list that the silent shooting mode, the 4K Time Lapse Movie Mode and the focus stacking and focus bracketing are huge for me! I find it very exciting. They're what I would call practical, usable features. Things that many E-M1 owners are actually going to make use of on a regular basis.
When I'm photographing a wedding in a church - Silent Shooting is something that will come in real handy - and this isn't like DSLR 'Silent' shooting mode where it's just a bit quieter - silent means silent! Check out the noise - or rather lack of - that the E-M5ii makes in silent shooting mode! (I've skipped the video 20 seconds in)
One very interesting thing about the silent shooting mode is that it's being delivered through an electronic shutter. Eliminating the physical shutter mechanism will of course mean that there won't be anything to make that 'click' noise when shooting. As a byproduct - the physical restraints limiting the maximum shutter speed to 1/8000 are gone too. So, in silent mode you'll now be able to shoot at 1/16000.
Pretty impressive eh! Try that on for size DSLR shooters! (yes, that was a dig!)
I would say that this is a breath of fresh air to the OM-D E-M1. However, even at the age of 2 (which is apparently a long time in camera years) the E-M1, even without the features that Firmware version 4.0 brings, is still an amazing camera that I would hold up against anything on offer from Fuji, Panasonic and to an extent even Sony, when it comes to the ability of the body. Never-the-less, the fact that firmware version 4.0 is free to all us E-M1 owners and isn't simply an incrimental, bug-fixing update, but rather a feature-rich overhaul of the camera is something you simply can't say no to.
Requirements for the update
You're going to need your Olympus CB-USB8 Cable (USB Cable). This is the one that came with your camera. Despite how the port on the side of the E-M1 looks - it's not in fact a generic mini USB port..
Where to download
To be able to download the latest firmware to your E-M1 you'll need to have the latest version of the Olympus Camera Updater Software. You can download that right here (55Mb). From there it's all done through the updater direct to the camera. Install the software, connect the Olympus USB Cable and then follow the instructions on screen. Olympus have prepared instructions.
How to update
There really isn't any sense in me re-inventing the wheel here, so your best bet is to take a look at these simple steps over at the Olympus support site: http://bit.ly/olympus-camera-updater-instructions
Other additional features of Firmware version 4.0 for Videographers:
Those other video features I mentioned are as follows. As you'll see from this list, firmware version 4.0 doesn't focus purely on still image making at all and in fact adds some (again) very practical features to the E-M1 that will make it a much more viable camera for videographers. Although, those serious about video are still surely more likely to go for one of the cameras from the other company that make Micro Four Thirds cameras - such as the Panasonic GH4
- Movie image stabilisation with 5-axis optical IS and digital IS
- 24p (23.98p)/25p Frame Rate
- Movie Info Display
- Movie Rec Start with Release Cable (RM-UC1)
- Time Code Setting
- M-IS1 and M-IS2 supported
- Slate Tone
- Synchronised PCM Audio Rec with Movie Rec
- M.Zuiko Premium + 14-42mm EZ movie aperture support
Keep up to date for a post-install review of Firmware version 4.0 and for confirmation of when it has been released
To stay up to date with the release of firmware version 4.0 and to be among the first to know if the release is stable and good for installation on your E-M1 subscribe today!
Update - 26th November 2015
The Firmware has now been released and is available for installation. Looking around the various Olympus groups on Facebook there don't appear to be any issues or blips with the release and so far all is good.
For my post-install review check out my post 'Olympus OM-D E-M1 Firmware Version 4.0 Installed'