So hard to do this review, too much to cover and in the end, I just went with what I used the EM1 II for, destination weddings and portraits, and some travel documentaries. Love this camera! I really do.
Shaka what do you mean by fix? If you mean the firmware update will introduce enhanced eye af like EM1 iii then the answer is no. But the Caf if better especially for movie
Love how Olympus is constantly updating their camera's capabilities with firmware upgrades. The fact that the EM1 MKII now has the same AF Algorithm as the EM1X is simply awesome.
As an Olympus fan boy, I am still anxiously awaiting the EM5 Mark III. I am hoping it keeps all the features I love with the video options of its brethren. Long term reviews are some of my favorite reviews. We are all in love in the beginning. Its when the honeymoons over that we see what we really should have in the beginning.
Thanx for great video. I have just purchased this camera and the 12-40mm lens and finding it very versatile. What I noticed was your camera strap, which is exactly what I am looking for. The camera strap I am using is too big to comfortably fit in my bag. Can you please tell me the brand you have? Thanks. I was amazed at the way you were using it in heavy rain!! I've just been to Karijini (Pilbara region of Western Australia) a very sandy blowy region and the Olympus didn't have any dust problem, but my Nikon D750 sensor was very badly affected. Looking forward to following your videos.
I just lost my em-5, but now I have a reason to upgrade! Thanks for the great videos, now I have to decide on which Olympus I want. Your review on the Pen-f has me leaning in that direction, but I often shoot in the rain. Decisions.
Definitly your best video and you know why ? Because there is no fillers and you show Tons of samples. Sometimes youtubers only care about rambling and showing their face.
It's not only the camera; it's the lenses. Olympus (and Panasonic) delivered awesome lenses which can be used professionally, and then some more. Capable cameras available, like the EM-1 Mk2, Lumix G9, etc. are just icing on cake.
Absolutely! Well said and in the end, it's the photographer and how they can massage their tools to maximise the results. The best camera is the one that you use daily and always next to you!
Yes! And the kit fits a Billingham bag perfectly! I finally tired of holding a Pen-f with 12-40mm pro, and purchased a minty Em1Mk2. OMG! A lens/body heavenly combo! Sweet but complex! THanks for the advice & opinions!😊
Impostertot thanks :) we didn’t expect the rain as the forecast never said it would be wet but I guessed it turned out great and at least we managed to demonstrate the weather proofness of the camera :) I think there aren’t many videos around like this hahahah
Cheers!! Olympus rules ahhaha well, I use other cameras too but I do genuinely like their cameras and lenses and hence I want to show you guys that the EM1 II is a professional camera!
This camera changed my life too. The dual is crazy specially with the 300mm pro lens and with the mc-14. With this setup I can shoot at 840mm equivalent without a tripod and easily at 1/2s if I want to (even at 1sec the success rate is high).This mean no tripod at all and a setup half the weight of my previous sony or canon system. I do most of my shots with olympus pro lenses like the 300mm the 40-150mm f2.8 7-14mm f2.8 and some panaleica primes. Also olympus like pentax knows how to make weather sealing. It is a lot of fun to use and the results are incredible.
thanks sylvain!! Yes, indeed, we share the same feeling. Olympus is great and as you can see, we take it to all kinds of weather and after that much use in just over a year, it's still great!
Well, we are more connected to Olympus than Panasonic. We did review a couple of Panasonic lenses, ones that we actually owned. But at this moment in time, we are focusing on Olympus since we can practically get any lenses and cameras we want for review directly from them. Running a RUclips channel is more difficult than you may think simply because of cost and time. Unfortunately, we have dig into our pockets to pay a lot of stuff like music, our production hours which taken away from our normal jobs and family time :) Hence your support is important and hopefully, we will grow into a bigger channel and then, we will have more 'voice' to demand more gears for review. Hence you see more Olympus stuff. We are also have affiliations with Lomography and Zeiss so I can get some more stuff from them but since we started, we didn't find those videos are particularly popular or giving us more tractions in building the channel traffic and Olympus stuff do :) That's the reason.
I come from a Canon 5Dmk2 and now I have a em-1 mk2. I watched dozens of videos, yours too of course, before buying it and I'd say I'm 90% happy with it. I like its size, weight, build quality, customization capabilities and it fits my hands perfectly. I know it can't have ISO performance of full-frame cameras, but it's ok because exposing to the right helps to mitigate the problem, and purple flares are really bad. What I can't decide whether it's my fault or camera's is auto-focus. I agree with what you say, focus is fast, maybe too fast, and it struggles with faces and eyes. I dare say that 6 pictures out of 10 are quite soft or very soft or definitely out of focus. I'm thinking of switching again, this time to Sony because I tried their latest models and the eye-AF system is phenomenal. What do you think? Really like your channel, keep up the good work! Greetings from Italy.
thanks Antonio, in fact, I am more pleased with the files of the EM1 II than Canon, I also used 5D II and 5D III before I switched to Leica and finally settled with Olympus. I don't shoot above ISO 3200 and 6400 as an emergency and at those ISO, 5D III and IV may be slightly better in noise but like you said, expose to the right will be fine. The purple flare is a characteristic in MFT sensor and nothing you can do about it and I've grown to like it for the 'added' effect, but it suits my 'romantic' clients. My suggestion is to switch off face detect (unless you are pretty close to your subject) and use the 'smaller' AF point to fine tune the point of interest and you will get a much higher hit rate. I am hitting almost 100% since the firmware version 2 and with the smaller AF, it's much better in nailing that critical focus. Thanks again for your support mate and glad you enjoy our video!
Agree with you review. I went from Nikon D70 ==> Nikon D200 ==> Ricoh GRD, GRD2, GRD4 ==> Leica M8, M9, M240 Safari ==> Olympus EM1 MK2. Was originally skeptical due to the sensor size, but so far I have to say, I'm happy with this camera in it's photo quality, build quality, both camera and lenses, and most importantly portability. The Pro lenses are solidly built with very good glass, and where else can you find a telephoto lens (40-150mm, equivalent to 80-300mm on 35mm, or the 300mm F4, equivalent to 600mm on the 35mm) that is so small that you can carry around without a huge backpack. And the image stabilization is so good that you don't need to carry around a tripod. I can handheld most of the shots even in dimmer lighting conditions.
I think Nikon still make some good cameras, but unless I need full frame, I'd pick something small to carry around. Mirror-less cameras are so good now and M4/3 sensor qualities have came a long way and is much better than what they were 10 years ago. I prefer portability over picture quality because the best camera is always the one you have on you :-)
Well said but I believe picture quality isn't much to separate between various sensors these days unless looking at ultra high ISO but between base to 1600, it's hard to tell now.
hh83917 yup, I feel the same. I actually used both systems for a while. Then I just realised that my Nikon was often than not being left at home... I kept hoping they would bring out a full frame camera, something like the M43 system, but I gave up waiting and I thought it would be better to sell and have the money.
Great Review. I’ve used and EM5 Mk1 and 2 EM1 cameras for a few years now. I like to use 2 bodies and last year bought an EM1 Mk2 and used it with an EM1. I have just bought another EM1 Mk2 so I have 2 identical bodies which I prefer so I have identical handling. Will I sell the EM1s, well maybe not. They are still great cameras and I’ve spent a lot on lenses so I’ll probably keep them and use them when I go on holiday or where they might be subjected to harsh conditions. I love the Olympus system and although I’ve thought of going to full frame I just can’t see any great advantage when weighed against the Plusses of the Olympus system. Olympus have now sold off their camera division so who knows what will happen in the future. I now have 5 bodies so I’ll be able to continue using the lenses I have and if things go OK with Olympus I’ll probably expand my system further.
Hi, I use the Olympus em10 mark iii mainly for video. Can you tell me what is better about the em1 mark ii? It has been very hard to find any information about the difference between the cameras. Is the video quality better? How about the auto-focus? Thanks.
In terms of video, apart from the slow-mo option on the EM10 III, EM-1 Mark II will triumph over EM10 III in every respect, the bit rate is higher, its 4K is cleaner, IBIS is 1 stop better, AF is significantly better as it has both PDAF and CDAF hybrid, the former is much better and more accurate in tracking subject moving in and away from the camera. Battery life is also much better and less chance of overheating under a bright sunny day when shooting 4K. Also, it has a mic input for better audio if you use that feature. Lastly, it does have a cine-profile that shoots at a more cinematic 24fps and upto around 200mbs.
True but I've found the audio to be satisfactory on the mark 10. I was just looking at a camera comparison website and they tested the iso performance of the em-1 mark ii and it is quite good, significantly better than my camera and other cameras, for example, 40% better iso performance than the Panasonic GH4 (my friend uses one of those and he complains about the low light performance). The Olympus OMD EM 1 Mark II is really a powerhouse camera. I think all of the combined advantages add up to quite a lot and I plan to eventually buy it. I'd also like to get the 12-100 f4 and perhaps the 7-14 f2.8 pro lenses. Right now I have the 12 f 2.0, 17 f 1.8 and the 45 f 1.8 Olympus lenses. I've been very happy with the camera and the lenses so I want to keep investing in Olympus.
OK, so this was a pretty perfect video, thanks! I've been pretty happy with the original E-M1, to be honest very happy, but I've been hearing good things about all the little improvements the MK II brings, so finally decided to switch. I was curious about what to look forward to, so watched this. Pretty cool you did it at Greenwich! I was there almost a year ago. It was a really inspiring place! Thanks for putting this together...
Very useful review. I think Olympus have totally undersold the video capabilities. Yes, it would benefit with a log profile but the stabilisation and 4k works really well. So come on Olympus just take the next step!
I made the switch from Olympus Em1-M2 to Sony A7r3. The only reason I switched was because of low light capability, nothing to do with normal light shooting or picture quality.
It baffles me everytime I read or hear that "I don't shoot m43 because I need low light capability" Listen, I'll give you that high ISO is not Olympus' strong front, but it is a very capable system to shoot on any lighting condition, in fact, all systems are, even analog. To make a good picture you need light. And I guarantee you that, it doesn't matter how "clean" your Sony's highest ISO is, it will never look as good as a well balanced image shot with flash. I use... still to this day a Canon 40D in some events. I use my Olympus E-3 for crying out loud which has probably the worst high ISO of all my cameras. But put any camera on manual at ISO 400, 1/15 of a second at f4-f2.8 (that's the normal ambient on most venues) put a flash on your camera with some type of bounce card, set it to TTL... and voilá! You get a well exposed low light image with great contrast and color, faces well lit and ambient light in the background... with little to no noise and what's best is, everybody looks sharp because of the flash freezing your subject. Sure, you can say, what if you don't have a flash and you need to take the shot. I'd say, it's great you have the "option" to use your tool in that way, but I'd also say, what kind of photographer doesn't come prepared for a job? You're in a Church with a Grinch for a priest, who won't let you use flash? Not a problem, you can use a fast glass which m43 has (0.095/1.2/1.4/1.8) and shoot handheld at ISO 800-1600 which is clean enough for some kickass images. As photographers you gotta work around anything that may be thrown at you. And always... always bring backup of your equipment when you are working on an event. Accidents happen ALL THE TIME.
Really enjoyed this video, I love how in-depth you go. I wish I could afford this camera and some of the pro lenses.. oh well, my trusty EM10 mk1 will have to do for now!
Thanks Marcus! Much appreciated your comment and glad you liked the review! Gears are gears and they are tool. There’s nothing to do with your images and your creativity! They help but it’s you who can make the difference.
Nice to see a long-term review. Most of the reviews out there are just “right out of the box review.” Question. How would you compare the build quality and weather-resistance to the Fujifilm xt1-3 or xpro1-2? You got style too. The yellow watch is a good pop to your neutral-colored clothes.
i own the em1 mk ii and the fujifilm xh1. and i would say the build quality of the em1 mkii is robust and the weather resistance on it is alot better than the fujifilm
Great video. I think some people do not understand that with the GH5 and G9 and M1 Mark II there is no best camera. The GH5 is a fantastic video camera and good photography camera with ok image stabilization . The G9 is a good mix of video and photography camera that Panasonic themselves have said it was designed more for photographers who film whereas the GH5 is more for videographers who photograph. The M1 Mark II is a fantastic action photography camera with amazing image stabilization that has some good video features but Olympus just does not seem to want to compete with Panasonic for video. Saying that any one of these cameras is in some absolute manner "better" that the others would be wrong. If they were sitting on the counter at the exact same price you would really have to know what you plan to do with them to make a choice. And that choice would be different for different people. One more thing. If the Canon 6D Mark II had all the features the Olympus M1 Mark II has it would be on the cover of Time magazine for machine of the year. But because of the smaller sensor it does not get much love.
Thanks mate for your comment and you know what, it’s ok and I appreciate speaking the truth (not trolls, which we get a lot too!). Time has change and I know Olympus is working on something pretty cool. Having said that, you are not wrong that when Panasonic and Olympus both join the M43 alliance and they both had different agenda. Panasonic, being an electronic company with no pedigree in ‘photography’ and yet they had produced some pretty cool camcorders before, it makes sense for them to push towards the consumer point and shoot and when M43 came out, they wanted to focus on the video side as that’s what their brand were mostly associated with. Then they started teaming up with other photography-focus camera brands like Leica, they are edging more and more towards photographer and I think the launch G9 really changed everything, for Panasonic that is. They are now in the M43 platform long enough to assess how many of their customers are hybrid shooters and hence it’s logically to now launch a series of products that are more tailor towards photographers. Olympus on the other hand, has always been an optic company and has been producing still cameras for decades. They are not that much ‘younger’ than the likes of Canon, Nikon and Minolta (now Sony). So their focus has always been photography. But then again, now there are more and more people using M43 to make films and it makes ‘business sense’ for them to stir up the market a little too so I wouldn’t be surprised to see something major coming pretty soon for them to ‘counter’ Panasonic’s move on the G9 or even matching GH5 too in terms of video features. IBIS works well with smaller sensors actually as you can see that Sony’s A series with IBIS is nowhere near as effective as Olympus or Panasonic. And with the latest firmware on EM1 II, the IBIS in video mode is just gets a whole lot of boosts and now very ‘gimbal’ like in many situations and makes it perfect for run and gun. As you said, it’s also another level better than Panasonic too. I love gimbals but sometimes, you really don’t want to lug all those equipment out. Anyway, a long reply from me and you have a good weekend mate!
I missed the bit about IQ, more pixels in the same sized sensor creates more noise? Altho I do love my Olympus EM5mk2 and my EM1 can't really see any improvement in image quality to justify upgrading. As a travel system can't be beat, as a portrait camera not the best option, really need full frame something, although I have still managed some great portrait images, but you do need to edit to the max in LR
Noise, not necessarily and it really depends on current technologies. In general, yes only because smaller micro lenses reduces the amount of light being absorb/gather by the underlying pixel sensors. I don't believe, as a professional, that various 'format' changes the way we shoot portrait. If you are thinking about bokeh, medium format is better than full frame, just because many photographers today have never experience larger formats and comes to the conclusion about full frame being the best format. However smaller sensor has multiple advantages that larger format can't do. Each has its strengths and weaknesses and I will never say which one is better, only which one is more suitable for a specific task. Megapixels differences? That only affects how large a print you are doing, on screen, even with your 5K screen, you don't need anything more than 12MP. I've been shooting for over 10 years, print 10x14 albums and canvases, the highest pixel camera I used was 24MP. Unless you are a commercial and product photographer, you don't need that high. Pixel peeper may disagree all they want, I make money from photography and none of my clients never ever complaints. They appreciate my visions and my styles.
Thank you for a great review. I've not long bought one and am loving it so far. I'm still finding my way round all the settings, but I thought I'd heard there were a couple of things you could tweak with the peaking to increase/decrease the tolerance which may help tighten the dof shown?
Bassbarbie thanks for watching our review video and glad you liked it. We have tried various settings since it came out. It’s more critical for video than photos as I can ‘magnify’ to double check. No matter what settings we used and the results were more a hit and miss affair. It’s definitely not quite the way we want to see it on screen
Man i am seriously amazed by this olympus ... please guide me whether i have to go with em5 mark ii or em1 mark ii for professional weeding photography ?
EM1 II for weddings, hands down. I did use the EM5 II for wedding as a second camera but after using the EM1 II, there's no comparison in terms of AF speed and over responsiveness. Really, EM1 II is a beast.
Hi Jimmy, thank you for this great review! Could you please do another video and explain your settings? What do you have on C2, C2... Do you use back button focus? What function button settings do you think are most helpful? This would be great! Kind Regards Alex
I will put this on the list for future videos, just short answer, I don't use back button focus though, but I do customise a lot of things on my EM1 :)
very helpful, as are all of your vids. thank you for the effort and the sharing. in video mode, what is the highest iso you would push an OMD-EM1mk2? 800iso? 1600iso? thanks in advance. thumbs up.
You are welcome mate. I can push to 1600 of course for videos but any higher may need noise reduction. Shoot in C4K in higher ISO helps to reduce the digital artefacts.
@@Red35Photography thank you for the reply and sharing. what do you think of the actual video image quality? 8bit/422 should look good. does it? nice colors? using either the flat or log400, does the footage grade well? would you use the video from a OM-D EM1mk2 for paid corporate video work?
Well, out of all three, I used 25mm the most, then 17mm and last is 45mm. I love them all and can't say which is my favourite but guess you can say 25mm because I used it the most.
Thanks mate! Much appreciated and glad you enjoyed our rather long review (perhaps not long enough as we didn't cover all the features that this beasts has to offer :)
Thanks Dan for your comment. It helps in terms of accuracy and also the new ‘smaller’ AF point helps to pin point the area of focus but it didn’t stop the over-shooting the focus point and still resulting missed focus. But as said, it doesn’t always happen but definitely something to improve.
Thank you for yourawesome video! I wanna buy that camera after watched your video. And, what is the first music?? It was really matched with your video :)
Cheers, Michael! Well, this was a limited edition strap that was a bonus when I pre-ordered the EM5 II back in 2015. I don't think they do that anymore but you can check Olympus website to see if they still stock them :)
i also love my em10 i came from canon... and the smaller and stylish body is really gorgeous compared to large and ugly dslr. can bring it anywhere with ease.
Just the guy who may answer my question, please. Actually I have 2 questions will get the first one out of the way first. I am a committed Olympus owner and my main genre is travel and couldn't be happier with the diminutive size and weight of all! My photos come out awesome and I can print A3 no problem. I have discovered off camera flash and that adds that extra element but not always practicable. I understand the limitations of the M4/3 sensor and I am an expert in post processing. But I am doing more portrait work with the girls I meet and I think my portraits are OK, but you know I do need to process to the max in Lightroom and that does tend to blur the details a little. I have discovered the EM1 mk 2 in the shop and will address that with my second question. (I know FF Sony is crazy great, especially with the new continuous eye detect, but cannot justify the expense in changing over). Olympus has eye detect but only works when the face fills the frame, otherwise when face is further back just reverts to face detect. Ok so I think this is actually quite sensible because the 1.8 Olympus 25 or 45 prime still has a little bit of depth of field so a face focus is still going to be quite sharp. However with the Olympus 45mm 1.2 I did try it out in the shop a second time and loved it, so much better detail and rendering than the 1.8. I did ask Olympus apparently the eye detect is the same in the new EM1 mk2. So based on what I said above will my face image still be in focus (in view of less depth of field) or should I revert to single point and re-compose . That said the face detect is too nice to give up especially when composing off center subject position. Thanks in advance for your comment! Cheers Niel
Thanks Neil for watching. I don't see how it will blur the details unless the exposures have been pushed, in other words, if you got the setting correct, since using off camera, depending on effects you want to achieve, it shouldn't be a problem, to a certain extend. If you want to push the shadows up to 'match' the lit subject, that may present a problem since you may have intentionally suppressed the ambient exposure to make your subject 'pop', but in post, you wanted to even out a little. In that case, since the shadows weren't registered in the first place, pushing details like that will get noise and, well, blurred details. Off camera is fun but require delicate operations to get it right. Also, make sure you shoot at base ISO as possible to maximise the results. EM1 II and the latest Speedlites from Olympus, 600R and 900R both support HSS which allows you to use higher shutter speeds and wider apertures. Face detect mode, I mentioned that at present time, even the EM1 II can't match the Sony's eye detections unless the subject fills the frame, as you said. If move further away, the system will register the face and in most cases, it will be pretty accurate. But as with any modern MTF lenses, despite EM1 II's hybrid AF system, it will default using CDAF first and when the subject is back lit or if the face it in the shadow, sometimes the AF will miss slightly, especially when shooting with 1.2 lenses because it will hunt for the highest contrast areas, in this case, the subject's hair lines, that will mean that your subject's face may be slightly off. For situation like this, I will use the new smaller AF point and force the system to find the area I am pointing at. I hope this helps.
Many thanks for your reply! i have no trouble with off camera flash. I use the Cactus system only because Olympus did not have HSS at the time, so that in itself is good information, so I can with the EM1 mk2, go HSS with say the 900R and no need for a separate trigger? I love the detail you get from HSS. Heres a pic of my grand daughter, taken at sunset, shutter 1/800, I love this shot! www.flickr.com/photos/aniell_esposito/40463859214/in/dateposted-public/ That said heres another shot taken at night soft bedroom lighting ISO 1600, shutter speed 40! www.flickr.com/photos/aniell_esposito/41620300965/in/dateposted-public/ I think you did answer my question. 1.2 narrower depth of field so chances are the camera will focus anywhere on the face except eyes. Little bit of a worry buying the 45 1.2 especially since it does cost so much. Olympus needs to crack that Sony eye detect, it would be a game changer for them.
I think every manufacture needs to get that eye focus and Sony has advanced so much in that department over the past two years. But having said that, in mirrorless world, I actually think Olympus' EM1 II AF is on the top tier, despite what others say. I used it for tracking subjects for photos and even in video mode with couple with pro lenses, they are definitely very reliable and good, unlike Fuji and Panasonic which I also tried before. Nice images by the way.
One more thing, Cactus, which I also use, uses radio trigger while the Olympus is still an optical trigger, which is a bugger sometimes, in close range, you can use the 'given' small flash as a trigger on the EM1 and the 900R (which needs in a line of sight) to fire remotely with HSS. In bright daylight, you may need another more power 'gun' to trigger the slave, but in that situation, you will need to use the 'infrared' converter that comes with the speed light to make it more reliable in that situation. But it works, and the good thing is that it has TTL and you can fine tuned the exposures on the camera pretty quickly.
Use DXO-Photolab 2 Elites PRIME noise reduction to upgrade the cameras Noise performance, you will be surprised. Peaking accuracy increases when you magnify the image - it is just how it works.
Hmmm only Pana and lower Olympus line has Contrast detect focus, others like Fujifilm and Sony do have Phase detection for last few years.This is something what holding me back to upgrade my Olympus camera, price and slow AF, something what is improved on my Fujifilm body's and they cost less than some Olympus offers.
Thanks mate for the comment though, I do, and I mean it, like Fuji's colour science. they are lovely especially I used to shoot a lot of Fuji negatives back in the film days. However, I can also make my digital files that looks like them nowadays without too much problems. I also like the handling of Fuji but, and this is true, that I still prefer the M43 size. Fuji XT-2 and XH-1 are ok, bodywise but when you pair them with larger pro zooms, they are not much smaller than full frame bodies, still heavy and bulky. M43 on the other hand, much smaller. I am not worry about DoF at all and when use with 1.2 pro lenses, I get everything I need for the images I take :)
Red35 Photography I use both m4/3 and Fujifilm xpro-1 and pro-2 ,with prime lenses both systems fit well and also have reasonable size, especially Xpro''s combined with Leica, Voigtlander and Zeiss glass.On another side I also love Olympus color rendering and size of the lenses.I agree on pro line f1.2 is making system bigger...some of the lenses are bigger than Fujinon 56mm f1.2 which is quite compact comparing with 85mm from Canon or Nikon.
Great review! I have one more feature i would love. As Olympus is focusing on the portability of the system, why the hell didn't they make USB charging possible, like Panasonic did with the G9? As I do a lot of landscape and hiking/adventure photography, it woud be great to be able to charge the batteries with with a powerbank(like a mobile phone). And why they didn't make both card slots UH2, is just strange. As an Olympus fan, I really enjoy your videos. Keep it up!
Rudi Sørstrønen well, Olympus is already starting to incorporating USB charging and the EM1 II was conceived and probably started prototyping a year before it was announced. Hence some features never made it, however much they want to include the feature. G9 however, was issues over a year later. I agree though and USB charging will be great, especially for long time lapses. Also, don’t forget that EM1 II’s super fast charger! I love it and it can charge a fully depleted battery in 2 hours! That’s insane!
Jason F Is that bought from China? And how long does it take to charge? Do you have a link? Many questions there, but it sounds like a good idea, so I'm curious.
The battery pack is 7V (important for driving faster motor response and all-around nicer cameras) but USB is universally 5V. USB-C is the latest that can deliver higher voltages. Just have to wait for camera companies to integrate it.
Loved your review again! I’ve had this camera for 1 1/2 years and am still learning new things about it that are improving my photography. First camera in ages that I don’t think I’ll outgrow for a while. Which Billingham did you use in this video?
Oh yes, I, too, keep learning new things! I haven’t mentioned a lot do it’s features and if I Do, it will be a 6-hour long video and I am not sure anyone will watch it afterwards hahah
Triple070007 thanks mate for watching. We film everything with EM1 Mark II in this channel unless stated and this video is iPhone for hyperlapse and the rest are all EM1 Mark II
thanks Ross for watching mate! Low light is pretty decent in my mind. No difference in terms of dynamic range or even details compare to full frame Canon 5D Mark II or may be even III. But can't match the later Mark IV or 6D II in higher ISO around 3200 onwards. But I shoot with ultra fast 1.2 lenses and I rare need to step up to that sort of ISO unless it's almost complete darkness. For my type of work, the EM1 II stacks up well and it hasn't disappointed me at all and most importantly, I am still getting pay to do my jobs :)
Hi Richard, I found that to be very good, check our this vlog, I was using 17mm 1.2 Pro with my EM1 II on AF with Face tracking ON. ruclips.net/video/rnfnOtm2QHk/видео.html
sir, can i give you some suggestion ? please insert the exif data and lenses you were using of your photo , and camera that you use for shooting each video. And the last are review oldest camera or comparison or review cheap lens , so we can afford to buy, not dreaming of expensive lens anymore. thanks! Regards from Taiwan.
Thanks Lindt for the suggestions and we are listening to everyone. A few had asked about exif data before but as Tracey and I are both full time professional and it'll create more work for each video production that we simply don't have much time for. We usually use around 20-40 images per video as samples and go through all images in Photoshop can be time consuming so for the time being, we have no time or plans to include data on my photos. However, we do say what gear we used to shoot each video at the end of each episode :) Also, we will review cheaper lenses soon and don't forget, we are a private channel with no sponsorships so it can get a little tricky to satisfy everyone :) But your support will definitely help us in the long run! Thanks again and greetings from London, Jimmy
I just subscribed to your channel just by watching this video great work 😊 I also love my olympus cameras em1ii, em5ii and my panasonic gx80 which is also a fantastic camera and for the price it is unbeliavble what you get 4k ibis and no AA filter.
Thanks mate! Much appreciated for your support mate! I do think the MTF platform has matured nicely and now both Olympus and Panasonic are producing awesome lenses and cameras, we are so spoiled with choices.
Small sensor, large sensor, can have same low-light performance. Size is irrelevant. World's best low-lights sensors are small size sensors for industrial and military use, they blow even best FF sensors, which are 10x bigger, to dust. So, for example, if the same tech from the D850's sensor is used in the next m4/3 camera sensor, it can have **exactly the same** low-light performance as the Nikon D850. I think industry is moving toward that.
Indeed, but unfortunately Tony and Chelsea, despite having a great channel, totally misunderstand digital technology and spread huge misconceptions on how the sensor size matters for low-light.... What we call a sensor is just a bunch of micro-sensors called 'pixels' (photophores actually) aligned on a certain surface size. What matters is how good at catching light is each of them individually. A bigger sensor with the same pixels only means a bigger image size, and nothing else really. No matter if the sensor is 1cm2 or one square meter, it does not affect the low-light performance which is determined at the pixel level. It's like saying that the more buckets you put in your garden, the higher is the rain water level. Doesn't matter if you fill a field with buckets or if you only have two, the amount of water in each of them is the same after the rain. All you get is a larger sample of the same thing. The only way sensor size itself might influence low-light performance independently of the pixels' performance is that the camera software has more pixels to work with if it needs to interpolate when creating the final image. But since all sensors have more than enough resolution nowadays, it's a moot point.
Thanks Timz, frankly I am not too sure if you are looking for a quantitative measure but from my experience, using LCD actually last longer than the EVF for some reasons. But I actually turned off my LCD and only use my EVF for everything apart from filming. Both last a quote a while and I can easily take around 800-1000 shots before it gives me low battery warning.
Nice review. Very comprehensive. Just want to ask with regards to the inconsistent focus peaking that you mentioned. Does the em1 mark ii displays the same focus peaking inconsistency even if you use olympus' pro lenses? The one with clutch manual focus mechanism? Thanks
Thanks Edwin for watching mate. The peaking inconsistency is regardless to lenses, any lenses will exhibit the same. The peaking will show/highlight as ‘in focus’ but in truth, it isn’t. But this is occasional and sometimes, it works. I guess it’s how the computer analysis the scene for contrasts and some tweaks are needed to perfect it.
@@Red35Photography the focus to magnify is it 100% accurate? Sorry to bothr you with so many questions. I previously owned an em5 mark I. I also noticed inconsistency as far as focus peaking is concerned when I use it with the voigtlander lens. Btw, I'm considering of having the em1 markii. Thanks
Hello there, you seem quite knowledgable about micro 4/3. Could you please share an opinion with me? I'm mostly interested in architecture, urbanism and design. In that regard what lens would you advice? I'm mostly using the Pana 12mm f/1.4 and it does a good job I think, what would you use in that purpose? Also I'm interested in night-sky pictures, living not to far from a space observatory. Micro 4/3 being small sensors they are at disadvantage but can the live composite mode make up for that? Also do you have an opinion on the most recent Vogtlander's f/0.9 lenses for that purpose?
Hi Matthieu, thank you for appreciating my knowledge. I have been using M4/3 since 2012 and has been a professional photographer for over 10 years. Your Pana 12mm 1.4 is definitely one of the best lenses out there for what you want to do. In terms of night sky, I don't think you are losing much actually when compare to larger sensor as you want to shoot at lower ISO and utilise that 1.4 in your lens. Live Composite will dramatically reduce your error in exposure as you can see it build up on the back screen so you can stop when you think it's right. From my own experience, ISO 100-800 you will gain not much more compare to larger sensor so you are fine. Voigtlander 0.95? The answer is no. Not for what you want to do, as it's very soft and has lots of coma and fringing when using at 0.95. You need to stop down to 2.0 to get anything decent and by then, it's slower than your 1.4. However, rumour that Olympus is bringing a 12mm 1.2 and you may want to have look at that when it comes out!
Thanks for watching mate. XT-3 is a great camera but we do a lot of location shoots and run and gun things and the lack of IBIS is the killer for us. We are now so spoiled with EM1's 5.5 stop IBIS which practically removes the need of having any type of support (unless filming myself). I know the new AF is great but the EM1 is not bad either, don't forget though, the EM1 has been around since the end of 2016 and the XT-3 is 2018. I am actually eagerly awaiting the next gen from Olympus. More still, I prefer M43 for the size and all the pro lenses from Olympus are great too, especially for maually focus on videos.
You watched until the end!! Hurray!!! hahaha... well, mostly when I am awake and sometimes, I need numerous takes for the beginning when I was half asleep.
@@Red35Photography I thought so! I really like the Colors of Olympus and noticed that it's pretty close to the colors of an Arri Alexa. Much better than Panasonic and Sony
By the way, when describing the focal length of a lens, the correct term is "millimetre" not "millimetres". When used as an adjective preceding the noun, it's used in its singular form. Example: hundred metre dash; ten car pileup; ten gallon hat; 10 piece set, eight millimetre lens, etc.
Apology for my gramma, I am a Cantonese native and English is my second language and despite speaking it for many years, I still make mistakes. Thanks and I learn more :)
LOL< yes, but both came out after EM1 II and as expected. I was a little shock that EM1 didn't have dual UHS-II slots but their slot 1 is pretty darn fast though on test.
Red35 Photography yup that's true, but sometimes think why Olympus didn't max their technology like Panasonic did on their flagship camera g9 and gh5, and I'm Panasonic user but I love your review of Olympus em1 mk2 and Olympus pen F. I like the concept and style of Olympus than Panasonic but i like the menu system of Panasonic and easy to use even if you are new to photography. I know Olympus has the technology like the best IBIS, best retro style or old style camera i like it only the menu system of it and the their approach to the other customer to their camera like what I said the dual sd card slot uhs 2 and 4k video and stabilization of lens and body and I know they can overcome Panasonic someday in all of features and technology if their getting serious to match with them.
I know but this is always a tit for tad for camera manufacturers. Next generation of Olympus will have features that make Panasonic guys jealous and then vice versa hahah, this is technologies and I kind of hate it. Just pick one that you enjoy shooting the most and that's the important factor. It's easy to keep looking at spec and drooling over other cameras, very easy but now that I am a seasoned pro and all I care is my current camera can do the job nicely and the EM1 II is definitely more than capable in my humble opinion. I do also like some specific and exclusive features on EM1 that no body else has like Live Composite and Pro Capture, they are serious fun and make capturing some difficult night scenes a breeze, for someone like me who documents a lot and photograph portraits day in and day out, sometimes these little features breaks the mould and allow me to explore other 'photography'. Anyway, nice talking with you and always nice to have someone to bounce some nice words. Ultimately, I like the MTF platform and thanks for both Panasonic and Olympus, we have a huge selection of lenses and bodies to play with.
Man, I really wish I didn't trade my EM1 MarkII for the Panasonic G9.. the G9 does everything better (for what I need) but the EM1 just felt so much better in the hands.. Anyway, great review!
Cheers Leander! Considering how quickly technologies improve these days, G9 is a year younger than EM1 II, it will be better but from what I use and tried, there's no 'real world' differences between the two. G9 has slightly better highlight but it's ok, if you under expose the highlight from EM1 by 1/3 stop and you can get almost identical results. I love using the EM1, yes, as you said, it handles well and I love the customisation and all those cool features like Live Composite and Live Bulb.
Red35 Photography True, the differences are very minor, but they are there. For me that‘s the 4K at 60p, slightly better colors regarding skin tones and an overall better high res mode (which I use a lot). But that‘s maybe 3% difference. Oh and I would really wish the EM1 would have a joystick! But well, as you said, the handling of a camera is so important, really underestimated that part. And therefore I‘m thinking of switching back to the Olympus. Have a great weekend!
I have read that the viewfinder blackout is more pleasant during continuous burst with the M1 Mark II than with the G9, but I have not seen a video of it. I have the M1 original that I use a lot at real shutter 9 fps continuous autofocus and it is hard to pan with it because it is showing the picture in the viewfinder that was previously taken and it is hard to keep the autofocus point on the moving subject. I think I also read that the M1 Mark II image stabilization is better than on any Panasonic. It is frustrating that if we could merge the great parts of both the G9 and the M1 Mark II together we would have the perfect sports and video camera for photographers.
timzanation Normally there‘s an option to turn of the image preview after you‘ve taken it, should be on the M1 as well. And definitly the IBIS of the EM1 beats the one on the G9
Hi Tapasya, well, depends one how you use the camera and it's eventual usage. I think in terms of outright speed, operation and AF, EM1 II still trumps over G9. Mind you that G9 is a year younger than Olympus so they would have matched if not exceeding the capability of EM1 II due to technology advancement. If Olympus releases a EM1 III now, it will be better, simple. This is the 'downside' of digital cameras these days. They are advancing all the time. But I've been using the Olympus on a daily basis and I've also shot with G9 which I think the differences are marginal in real life use, no matter how other reviewers say. One thing that the G9 is better is in its video department since it has more video functions but in terms of AF, EM1 II's CAF is still a lot better than ANY Panasonic camera in both stills and video from my own experience. We have no problem using the EM1 for both stills and videos so I don't see G9 being better or worst, just an alternative. I am speaking from a real life usage.
Nice video - I just traded in my EM5 mkii for this and so far quite impressed. I have the 12-40mm 2.8 and am shooting a friends wedding in a few weeks and was wondering which other lens you might recommend to compliment this? Cheers...
The 75mm 1.8 will get you some candid portraits, even in low light; very sharp and utterly amazing. The voigtlander 17.5mm f/0.95 is a beast for low-light, although I get few keepers with this wide lens. I find something like a panasonic 42.5 f/1.2 a well rounded prime, but it's expensive; good for portraits or candid interactions. For some fun, I might use the Olympus f/8 fisheye, which captures some interesting shots when provided daylight. -- just my two cents.
Thanks for the advice I was thinking along the lines of a 25mm or 45mm for portraits but that 75mm looks nice and reviews ok just a bit long at 150mm equivalent?
Thanks I would like to try one of the 1.2 to check the bokeh as it’s a bit weak on the 12-40 unless you get close in and fairly wide but not always attractive for facial portraits? The 25 or 45mm might suit better? Cheers enjoy the channel 👍
tkarlmann thanks for watching mate. I prefer the rendering from Oly but the PanaLeica 25mm is pretty sweet to as it does has ‘some’ Leica look when shoot wide open. But Oly is way better corrected optically and sharper between 1.2-1.8 and wel, as a pro, I will having 1.2 is worth more than money terms.
At least someone has put some use for their camera targeted for wildlife and sports that needs a high speed sequences with longer bursts. Too often seeing people to talk how they have had E-M1 II since first month of release and they are clicking like less than 8000 frames with it. At 8:55 you say that PDAF is more accurate than CDAF, what is not so really. The PDAF is as well contrast based focusing system (it focuses to contrast phase) and it is faster to acquire the direction of focusing (move focus to closer or to further) but it is not more accurate but it is actually very inaccurate system. The CDAF in other hand is far more accurate as it really focuses to contrast and goes just little over to see when it goes out of focus and then rolls back to nail it. The problem compared to PDAF with CDAF is that with heavily out of focus image the AF system needs to hunt the focus by going one direction and then notice it is wrong and then switch direction. But CDAF allows to far faster focusing (moving the focal plane closer or further) than PDAF systems can. So PDAF is faster to know what direction to focus, but CDAF is faster and more accurate. And Olympus made first hybrid On-Sensor-PDAF AF system in E-M1 in the industry and it used PDAF to give the direction but CDAF to get the focus. The Olympus has small problem in the AF box as it can focus outside of the box, not just inside. And in some mode it actually preferred the contrast just outside the box instead contrast inside, so you can get misfocus by that way. As well you should avoid using shutter release priority over S-AF confirmation as the camera will release shutter as soon you go to full press, regardless has it achieved focus or not. At 10:40 about battery lifetime. That is one of the challenges as the mirrorless battery is time based and not frame based. So one battery gives you X hours to shoot (typical 3-5 hours) but you can take as many frames you can in that time like 10 000 or 15 000 (timelapse, high sequence speeds etc). With DSLR the battery is frame based, so you can take that 750-1200 frames but you are free to keep camera turned On for days. So in pure frame count, mirrorless wins easily DSLR in same shooting but in time based manner (sitting in a hide and observing wildlife through 300/600mm lens) mirrorless loses. So event photography is counted in hours how many batteries one needs, not in frames. So if job takes 2-3 hours, one battery is enough, if it takes 9 hours, then 3 batteries. And that is constant shooting. At 12:15 the UHS II speed is actually that GH5 has fastest 92 MiB/s while E-M1 II push 169 MiB/s www.cameramemoryspeed.com/panasonic-gh5/fastest-sd-cards/ www.cameramemoryspeed.com/olympus-e-m1-ii/sd-card-speed-comparison-test/ But compare that to example Nikon D5 XQD card 293 MiB/s speed, it is little over twice faster than Olympus, but only with two cards. Olympus is faster than like Canon 1D X or Sony A9 and A7r II etc. So it really only loses to NIkon D5/D500 and that with the XQD cards, as even D500 with UHS-II card is only 10 MiB/s faster with one Lexard card. That is impressive thing. At 12:50, it is high climb walking 6 min, but for disabled wheelchair accessible route it is 18 min route. :-D
Wow, thanks for your detailed comment! Re AF, I typically meant that PDAF is much better in tracking moving subjects than CDAF, which GH5 has proven it, just can't cope with it in video while we have used continuous AF in EM1 II with much better success by comparison. Sony is winning in the mirrorless market in terms of continuous AF and their eye AF is just unbelievable. With battery life, thanks for putting it in that perspective. It's like driving an electric car actually, the range depends on how much stuff you put 'on' and temperature...etc. Traditional DSLR don't use EVF, and the only bits of juice they need were to power the metering, shutter, lens operation (aperture, IS ...etc.) while mirrorless is like a computer, they have a screen to power (two, the back and EVF, though not simultaneously), IBIS which eats battery but very useful. Anyway, I write too much, thanks again mate!
Wow, thanks for your detailed comment! Re AF, I typically meant that PDAF is much better in tracking moving subjects than CDAF, which GH5 has proven it, just can't cope with it in video while we have used continuous AF in EM1 II with much better success by comparison. Sony is winning in the mirrorless market in terms of continuous AF and their eye AF is just unbelievable. With battery life, thanks for putting it in that perspective. It's like driving an electric car actually, the range depends on how much stuff you put 'on' and temperature...etc. Traditional DSLR don't use EVF, and the only bits of juice they need were to power the metering, shutter, lens operation (aperture, IS ...etc.) while mirrorless is like a computer, they have a screen to power (two, the back and EVF, though not simultaneously), IBIS which eats battery but very useful. Anyway, I write too much, thanks again mate!
the full frame lenses are not that pricy compared to the Pro line in Olympus though!using a D750 and buying either this camera or the littlebrother 10mkiii this fall for video only!
I like the XT-2 and its colours and handling. But, it's their pro zooms that put me off as they are still relatively big and as much as I like the 56mm 1.2, even though it's smaller than full frame 85mm 1.2, it's still larger than M43 45mm 1.2 (umm.. they are not directly comparable in terms of DoF but in terms of what they do, I prefer the size of M43 lenses) Some smaller primes that I use for street are just tiny, there aren't any comparison. For me, at my age, I prefer smaller size and lighter weight and I never complaint about image quality from panaLeica or Olympus lenses. Fuji are nice, may be when I retired and I don't need to rush around all day taking photos, and I can take my time to do some crafts.... perhaps. But I wouldn't mind a X100T though :)
@@Red35Photography The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f/1.2 PRO is 410g and 70mmx85mm, the Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R is 405g and 73mmx70mm. Overall weight of the Olympus lens with EM5 Mk II is 985g and the Fuji lens with the Fuji XT2 is 912g. I therefore pronounce the Olympus m43 version is heavier and bigger than the Fuji. See camerasize.com/compact/#692.683,679.456,ha,t
The release of the EM5 mark III will be Xmas time at Red35 Photography. Brand new camera to sink their teeth into... First impressions review. Then main review video. Followed by the Long Term review. And finally the retrospective review around the time the EM1 mark III is released. :p
sebastiaanvanwater Loved my EM-5 original. Love my Pen F. Waiting to add the new EM-5 mk 3 when it comes out. Assuming it has 4K and still has external Mics and headphone inputs. I am sure it will.
Actually your statement about majority of mirrorless cameras having contrast AF is misleading. Panasonic is the ONLY company who still relies on contrast AF. Sony has Phase detect AF all over the display from long time ago. Fuji has Phase Detect Af points. And obviously Olympus.
Well you are looking at some obvious brands but Leica’s expensive autofocus cameras, SL, Q, TL and CL are all CDAF only. The now dysfunct’d Samsung, Nikon 1, Ricoh GX-R were all CDAF. PDAF has gained popularity in recent years due to advanced sensor designs and manufacturing processes. Also the market desperately needs a push to address the sloppiness in AF compare to traditional DSLRs in order to compete. Sony and Fuji didn’t always have PDAF, their earlier efforts were all CDAF because at the time, that’s all they could do.
Thanks John, just fixed it. My amazon links is working and I also include my Olympus link which is new, you can get 15% discount from their online store, works in UK and EU (I think) :) Thanks again!
Are EVFs lazy? Sure. But that's the point of technological advancements, right? They make it easier to do things. I'm sure people who only shot on 35mm thought digital was lazy.
Thanks Daniel, well, try to say it to some purists. Literally seconds after your comment, I received one comment on my Leica M10 basically saying that I was lazy using the back screen for focusing. The truth is, there’s no right or wrong, it’s more like a personal preference. I don’t agree or disagree people’s comments and yes, I am all up for the technology advancements and that’s how we move forward right? At the same time, I appreciate the purists’ thoughts on preserving the character of the original inventions like OVF vs EVF or Rangefinder. It’s a little overwhelming but I used them all and at my age with not-so-good eyesight, EVF and the accuracy on new AF systems dramatically help me achieving shots that I may have missed.
Olympus needs to get serious about video even on their lower end cameras. Maybe even especially their lower end cameras. People at that end need more reasons to buy a camera since their smart phone is doing everything so good nowadays. Love my Pen F but I sure wish it had a built in Mic and 4K. I paid a bundle for it so why not. Even my damn iPhone has 4K and headphone and external mic input. Olympus love you but the world is changing and it is time to catch up.
Thanks Terry! Well, trust me that Olympus is catching up but I do agree that they need to do it quickly too as the pressure is on, even Fuji is up their game in video, though with limited success so far and their biggest push is the XH-1. But having said that, we have filmed everything with EM1 II and we are not disappointed at all and we also liked the EM10 III
So hard to do this review, too much to cover and in the end, I just went with what I used the EM1 II for, destination weddings and portraits, and some travel documentaries. Love this camera! I really do.
Did the Firmware 3.0 fix the face/eye detect AF?
Shaka what do you mean by fix? If you mean the firmware update will introduce enhanced eye af like EM1 iii then the answer is no. But the Caf if better especially for movie
Love how Olympus is constantly updating their camera's capabilities with firmware upgrades. The fact that the EM1 MKII now has the same AF Algorithm as the EM1X is simply awesome.
As an Olympus fan boy, I am still anxiously awaiting the EM5 Mark III. I am hoping it keeps all the features I love with the video options of its brethren. Long term reviews are some of my favorite reviews. We are all in love in the beginning. Its when the honeymoons over that we see what we really should have in the beginning.
tonkatoytruck thank you and you are right! People always get excited for anything new! Thanks for watching and have an awesome day!
Thanx for great video. I have just purchased this camera and the 12-40mm lens and finding it very versatile. What I noticed was your camera strap, which is exactly what I am looking for. The camera strap I am using is too big to comfortably fit in my bag. Can you please tell me the brand you have? Thanks. I was amazed at the way you were using it in heavy rain!! I've just been to Karijini (Pilbara region of Western Australia) a very sandy blowy region and the Olympus didn't have any dust problem, but my Nikon D750 sensor was very badly affected. Looking forward to following your videos.
I just lost my em-5, but now I have a reason to upgrade! Thanks for the great videos, now I have to decide on which Olympus I want. Your review on the Pen-f has me leaning in that direction, but I often shoot in the rain. Decisions.
Definitly your best video and you know why ? Because there is no fillers and you show Tons of samples. Sometimes youtubers only care about rambling and showing their face.
Thank you for your support!
It's not only the camera; it's the lenses. Olympus (and Panasonic) delivered awesome lenses which can be used professionally, and then some more. Capable cameras available, like the EM-1 Mk2, Lumix G9, etc. are just icing on cake.
Absolutely! Well said and in the end, it's the photographer and how they can massage their tools to maximise the results. The best camera is the one that you use daily and always next to you!
Yes! And the kit fits a Billingham bag perfectly! I finally tired of holding a Pen-f with 12-40mm pro, and purchased a minty Em1Mk2. OMG! A lens/body heavenly combo! Sweet but complex! THanks for the advice & opinions!😊
You obviously put a lot of effort doing those reviews and I enjoy them, well done!
Oh cheers mate! much appreciated your support!
Thanks for standing in the rain for this review. You are a real trooper. Great points about the camera and how it has changed your photo life.
Impostertot thanks :) we didn’t expect the rain as the forecast never said it would be wet but I guessed it turned out great and at least we managed to demonstrate the weather proofness of the camera :) I think there aren’t many videos around like this hahahah
As an Olympus user, I really do enjoy all your videos. Keep it up man!
Cheers!! Olympus rules ahhaha well, I use other cameras too but I do genuinely like their cameras and lenses and hence I want to show you guys that the EM1 II is a professional camera!
This camera changed my life too. The dual is crazy specially with the 300mm pro lens and with the mc-14. With this setup I can shoot at 840mm equivalent without a tripod and easily at 1/2s if I want to (even at 1sec the success rate is high).This mean no tripod at all and a setup half the weight of my previous sony or canon system. I do most of my shots with olympus pro lenses like the 300mm the 40-150mm f2.8 7-14mm f2.8 and some panaleica primes. Also olympus like pentax knows how to make weather sealing. It is a lot of fun to use and the results are incredible.
thanks sylvain!! Yes, indeed, we share the same feeling. Olympus is great and as you can see, we take it to all kinds of weather and after that much use in just over a year, it's still great!
My new favourite M43 channel, thanks for making it!
DREAM清醒夢LUCID appreciate the love, thank you for watching!
Are you ever going to review any other micro four thirds lenses and cameras or are you strictly an Olympus man?
Well, we are more connected to Olympus than Panasonic. We did review a couple of Panasonic lenses, ones that we actually owned. But at this moment in time, we are focusing on Olympus since we can practically get any lenses and cameras we want for review directly from them. Running a RUclips channel is more difficult than you may think simply because of cost and time. Unfortunately, we have dig into our pockets to pay a lot of stuff like music, our production hours which taken away from our normal jobs and family time :) Hence your support is important and hopefully, we will grow into a bigger channel and then, we will have more 'voice' to demand more gears for review. Hence you see more Olympus stuff. We are also have affiliations with Lomography and Zeiss so I can get some more stuff from them but since we started, we didn't find those videos are particularly popular or giving us more tractions in building the channel traffic and Olympus stuff do :) That's the reason.
I come from a Canon 5Dmk2 and now I have a em-1 mk2. I watched dozens of videos, yours too of course, before buying it and I'd say I'm 90% happy with it. I like its size, weight, build quality, customization capabilities and it fits my hands perfectly. I know it can't have ISO performance of full-frame cameras, but it's ok because exposing to the right helps to mitigate the problem, and purple flares are really bad. What I can't decide whether it's my fault or camera's is auto-focus. I agree with what you say, focus is fast, maybe too fast, and it struggles with faces and eyes. I dare say that 6 pictures out of 10 are quite soft or very soft or definitely out of focus. I'm thinking of switching again, this time to Sony because I tried their latest models and the eye-AF system is phenomenal. What do you think?
Really like your channel, keep up the good work! Greetings from Italy.
thanks Antonio, in fact, I am more pleased with the files of the EM1 II than Canon, I also used 5D II and 5D III before I switched to Leica and finally settled with Olympus. I don't shoot above ISO 3200 and 6400 as an emergency and at those ISO, 5D III and IV may be slightly better in noise but like you said, expose to the right will be fine. The purple flare is a characteristic in MFT sensor and nothing you can do about it and I've grown to like it for the 'added' effect, but it suits my 'romantic' clients. My suggestion is to switch off face detect (unless you are pretty close to your subject) and use the 'smaller' AF point to fine tune the point of interest and you will get a much higher hit rate. I am hitting almost 100% since the firmware version 2 and with the smaller AF, it's much better in nailing that critical focus. Thanks again for your support mate and glad you enjoy our video!
Highly appreciated! 1 year experience - now THAT's a review.
Thanks Olaf! Happy New Year!
Agree with you review. I went from Nikon D70 ==> Nikon D200 ==> Ricoh GRD, GRD2, GRD4 ==> Leica M8, M9, M240 Safari ==> Olympus EM1 MK2. Was originally skeptical due to the sensor size, but so far I have to say, I'm happy with this camera in it's photo quality, build quality, both camera and lenses, and most importantly portability. The Pro lenses are solidly built with very good glass, and where else can you find a telephoto lens (40-150mm, equivalent to 80-300mm on 35mm, or the 300mm F4, equivalent to 600mm on the 35mm) that is so small that you can carry around without a huge backpack. And the image stabilization is so good that you don't need to carry around a tripod. I can handheld most of the shots even in dimmer lighting conditions.
Spot on! That's exactly how I feel!
hh83917 I also abandoned Nikon... it’s a shame they couldn’t keep up, they used to make great cameras.
I think Nikon still make some good cameras, but unless I need full frame, I'd pick something small to carry around. Mirror-less cameras are so good now and M4/3 sensor qualities have came a long way and is much better than what they were 10 years ago. I prefer portability over picture quality because the best camera is always the one you have on you :-)
Well said but I believe picture quality isn't much to separate between various sensors these days unless looking at ultra high ISO but between base to 1600, it's hard to tell now.
hh83917 yup, I feel the same. I actually used both systems for a while. Then I just realised that my Nikon was often than not being left at home... I kept hoping they would bring out a full frame camera, something like the M43 system, but I gave up waiting and I thought it would be better to sell and have the money.
Great Review. I’ve used and EM5 Mk1 and 2 EM1 cameras for a few years now. I like to use 2 bodies and last year bought an EM1 Mk2 and used it with an EM1. I have just bought another EM1 Mk2 so I have 2 identical bodies which I prefer so I have identical handling. Will I sell the EM1s, well maybe not. They are still great cameras and I’ve spent a lot on lenses so I’ll probably keep them and use them when I go on holiday or where they might be subjected to harsh conditions. I love the Olympus system and although I’ve thought of going to full frame I just can’t see any great advantage when weighed against the Plusses of the Olympus system. Olympus have now sold off their camera division so who knows what will happen in the future. I now have 5 bodies so I’ll be able to continue using the lenses I have and if things go OK with Olympus I’ll probably expand my system further.
Hi, I use the Olympus em10 mark iii mainly for video. Can you tell me what is better about the em1 mark ii? It has been very hard to find any information about the difference between the cameras. Is the video quality better? How about the auto-focus? Thanks.
In terms of video, apart from the slow-mo option on the EM10 III, EM-1 Mark II will triumph over EM10 III in every respect, the bit rate is higher, its 4K is cleaner, IBIS is 1 stop better, AF is significantly better as it has both PDAF and CDAF hybrid, the former is much better and more accurate in tracking subject moving in and away from the camera. Battery life is also much better and less chance of overheating under a bright sunny day when shooting 4K. Also, it has a mic input for better audio if you use that feature. Lastly, it does have a cine-profile that shoots at a more cinematic 24fps and upto around 200mbs.
Great thanks!
True but I've found the audio to be satisfactory on the mark 10. I was just looking at a camera comparison website and they tested the iso performance of the em-1 mark ii and it is quite good, significantly better than my camera and other cameras, for example, 40% better iso performance than the Panasonic GH4 (my friend uses one of those and he complains about the low light performance). The Olympus OMD EM 1 Mark II is really a powerhouse camera. I think all of the combined advantages add up to quite a lot and I plan to eventually buy it. I'd also like to get the 12-100 f4 and perhaps the 7-14 f2.8 pro lenses. Right now I have the 12 f 2.0, 17 f 1.8 and the 45 f 1.8 Olympus lenses. I've been very happy with the camera and the lenses so I want to keep investing in Olympus.
I have the 12-40 on an M5 Mark II and it is a nice setup.
here you go @Cheap Charlie. Here's a comparison cameradecision.com/compare/Olympus-OM-D-E-M10-Mark-III-vs-Olympus-OM-D-E-M1-Mark-II
Nice one. I moved from Nikon about 6 months ago and won't go back. I agree with all your comments, especially re ISO. Cheers.
Cheers Andy! I am glad you enjoyed our review and glad you are enjoying using the MTF system. Have a nice day mate!
I never shoot video. I would love to see a review that goes over the still photography capabilities only.
It's crazy to see that olympus adress ALL your cons with the 3.1 firmware! You should tell them to bring new features in the Pen-f too.
The weather sealing of this Mark 2 seems terrific.
OK, so this was a pretty perfect video, thanks! I've been pretty happy with the original E-M1, to be honest very happy, but I've been hearing good things about all the little improvements the MK II brings, so finally decided to switch. I was curious about what to look forward to, so watched this. Pretty cool you did it at Greenwich! I was there almost a year ago. It was a really inspiring place! Thanks for putting this together...
excellent informative video thank you . . . I currently have the OMD EM1 [mk 1 ] and am about to buy the mk 2 with the 40 - 150 f2.8 lens
Thanks for watching mate and enjoy your new camera!!
Useful details.
Basic EXIF info on sample photos would be sweet.
Very useful review. I think Olympus have totally undersold the video capabilities. Yes, it would benefit with a log profile but the stabilisation and 4k works really well. So come on Olympus just take the next step!
I made the switch from Olympus Em1-M2 to Sony A7r3. The only reason I switched was because of low light capability, nothing to do with normal light shooting or picture quality.
It baffles me everytime I read or hear that "I don't shoot m43 because I need low light capability" Listen, I'll give you that high ISO is not Olympus' strong front, but it is a very capable system to shoot on any lighting condition, in fact, all systems are, even analog. To make a good picture you need light. And I guarantee you that, it doesn't matter how "clean" your Sony's highest ISO is, it will never look as good as a well balanced image shot with flash.
I use... still to this day a Canon 40D in some events. I use my Olympus E-3 for crying out loud which has probably the worst high ISO of all my cameras. But put any camera on manual at ISO 400, 1/15 of a second at f4-f2.8 (that's the normal ambient on most venues) put a flash on your camera with some type of bounce card, set it to TTL... and voilá! You get a well exposed low light image with great contrast and color, faces well lit and ambient light in the background... with little to no noise and what's best is, everybody looks sharp because of the flash freezing your subject. Sure, you can say, what if you don't have a flash and you need to take the shot. I'd say, it's great you have the "option" to use your tool in that way, but I'd also say, what kind of photographer doesn't come prepared for a job?
You're in a Church with a Grinch for a priest, who won't let you use flash? Not a problem, you can use a fast glass which m43 has (0.095/1.2/1.4/1.8) and shoot handheld at ISO 800-1600 which is clean enough for some kickass images.
As photographers you gotta work around anything that may be thrown at you. And always... always bring backup of your equipment when you are working on an event. Accidents happen ALL THE TIME.
Really enjoyed this video, I love how in-depth you go. I wish I could afford this camera and some of the pro lenses.. oh well, my trusty EM10 mk1 will have to do for now!
Thanks Marcus! Much appreciated your comment and glad you liked the review! Gears are gears and they are tool. There’s nothing to do with your images and your creativity! They help but it’s you who can make the difference.
Nice to see a long-term review. Most of the reviews out there are just “right out of the box review.”
Question. How would you compare the build quality and weather-resistance to the Fujifilm xt1-3 or xpro1-2?
You got style too. The yellow watch is a good pop to your neutral-colored clothes.
i own the em1 mk ii and the fujifilm xh1. and i would say the build quality of the em1 mkii is robust and the weather resistance on it is alot better than the fujifilm
Always informative and entertaining. Keep up the great work! I just got mine 2 days ago. So excited!!
Thanks Ben for your comment! Congrats on getting your new cam and enjoy it! I’ve enjoyed mine since day one and what a cracking little camera it is.
Great video. I think some people do not understand that with the GH5 and G9 and M1 Mark II there is no best camera. The GH5 is a fantastic video camera and good photography camera with ok image stabilization . The G9 is a good mix of video and photography camera that Panasonic themselves have said it was designed more for photographers who film whereas the GH5 is more for videographers who photograph. The M1 Mark II is a fantastic action photography camera with amazing image stabilization that has some good video features but Olympus just does not seem to want to compete with Panasonic for video. Saying that any one of these cameras is in some absolute manner "better" that the others would be wrong. If they were sitting on the counter at the exact same price you would really have to know what you plan to do with them to make a choice. And that choice would be different for different people. One more thing. If the Canon 6D Mark II had all the features the Olympus M1 Mark II has it would be on the cover of Time magazine for machine of the year. But because of the smaller sensor it does not get much love.
Thank you for letting me get that out. I have been thinking that for a while. But never really typed it out.
Thanks mate for your comment and you know what, it’s ok and I appreciate speaking the truth (not trolls, which we get a lot too!). Time has change and I know Olympus is working on something pretty cool. Having said that, you are not wrong that when Panasonic and Olympus both join the M43 alliance and they both had different agenda. Panasonic, being an electronic company with no pedigree in ‘photography’ and yet they had produced some pretty cool camcorders before, it makes sense for them to push towards the consumer point and shoot and when M43 came out, they wanted to focus on the video side as that’s what their brand were mostly associated with. Then they started teaming up with other photography-focus camera brands like Leica, they are edging more and more towards photographer and I think the launch G9 really changed everything, for Panasonic that is. They are now in the M43 platform long enough to assess how many of their customers are hybrid shooters and hence it’s logically to now launch a series of products that are more tailor towards photographers. Olympus on the other hand, has always been an optic company and has been producing still cameras for decades. They are not that much ‘younger’ than the likes of Canon, Nikon and Minolta (now Sony). So their focus has always been photography. But then again, now there are more and more people using M43 to make films and it makes ‘business sense’ for them to stir up the market a little too so I wouldn’t be surprised to see something major coming pretty soon for them to ‘counter’ Panasonic’s move on the G9 or even matching GH5 too in terms of video features. IBIS works well with smaller sensors actually as you can see that Sony’s A series with IBIS is nowhere near as effective as Olympus or Panasonic. And with the latest firmware on EM1 II, the IBIS in video mode is just gets a whole lot of boosts and now very ‘gimbal’ like in many situations and makes it perfect for run and gun. As you said, it’s also another level better than Panasonic too. I love gimbals but sometimes, you really don’t want to lug all those equipment out. Anyway, a long reply from me and you have a good weekend mate!
Excellent. Thank you.
I missed the bit about IQ, more pixels in the same sized sensor creates more noise? Altho I do love my Olympus EM5mk2 and my EM1 can't really see any improvement in image quality to justify upgrading. As a travel system can't be beat, as a portrait camera not the best option, really need full frame something, although I have still managed some great portrait images, but you do need to edit to the max in LR
Noise, not necessarily and it really depends on current technologies. In general, yes only because smaller micro lenses reduces the amount of light being absorb/gather by the underlying pixel sensors. I don't believe, as a professional, that various 'format' changes the way we shoot portrait. If you are thinking about bokeh, medium format is better than full frame, just because many photographers today have never experience larger formats and comes to the conclusion about full frame being the best format. However smaller sensor has multiple advantages that larger format can't do. Each has its strengths and weaknesses and I will never say which one is better, only which one is more suitable for a specific task. Megapixels differences? That only affects how large a print you are doing, on screen, even with your 5K screen, you don't need anything more than 12MP. I've been shooting for over 10 years, print 10x14 albums and canvases, the highest pixel camera I used was 24MP. Unless you are a commercial and product photographer, you don't need that high. Pixel peeper may disagree all they want, I make money from photography and none of my clients never ever complaints. They appreciate my visions and my styles.
DXO actually notes a significant improvement in image quality, notably noise performance, over the mark 1
Thank you for a great review. I've not long bought one and am loving it so far. I'm still finding my way round all the settings, but I thought I'd heard there were a couple of things you could tweak with the peaking to increase/decrease the tolerance which may help tighten the dof shown?
Bassbarbie thanks for watching our review video and glad you liked it. We have tried various settings since it came out. It’s more critical for video than photos as I can ‘magnify’ to double check. No matter what settings we used and the results were more a hit and miss affair. It’s definitely not quite the way we want to see it on screen
Man i am seriously amazed by this olympus ... please guide me whether i have to go with em5 mark ii or em1 mark ii for professional weeding photography ?
EM1 II for weddings, hands down. I did use the EM5 II for wedding as a second camera but after using the EM1 II, there's no comparison in terms of AF speed and over responsiveness. Really, EM1 II is a beast.
@@Red35Photography thank you soo much for the reply man :)
Hi Jimmy,
thank you for this great review! Could you please do another video and explain your settings? What do you have on C2, C2... Do you use back button focus? What function button settings do you think are most helpful? This would be great!
Kind Regards
Alex
I will put this on the list for future videos, just short answer, I don't use back button focus though, but I do customise a lot of things on my EM1 :)
Red35 Photography, looking forward to it!
Have a nice weekend!
very helpful, as are all of your vids. thank you for the effort and the sharing. in video mode, what is the highest iso you would push an OMD-EM1mk2? 800iso? 1600iso? thanks in advance. thumbs up.
You are welcome mate. I can push to 1600 of course for videos but any higher may need noise reduction. Shoot in C4K in higher ISO helps to reduce the digital artefacts.
@@Red35Photography thank you for the reply and sharing. what do you think of the actual video image quality? 8bit/422 should look good. does it? nice colors? using either the flat or log400, does the footage grade well? would you use the video from a OM-D EM1mk2 for paid corporate video work?
I hadnt considered how funny that hat over the raincoat was until now XD
What settings do you use for some of the midday bright light photos in this video?
So between the 17 Pro, 25mm Pro or 45mm Pro which is your favorite Jimmy?
Well, out of all three, I used 25mm the most, then 17mm and last is 45mm. I love them all and can't say which is my favourite but guess you can say 25mm because I used it the most.
Very pleasant, complete and relevant review, thanks !
Thanks Renaud!!! :)
great review, best I've seen on this camera. just posted it to numerous places
Chagrin Valley-Web thanks so much, appreciate your support!
Loved the review first class as always and as mentioned in other replies Olympus may add your suggested improvements, keep em comming
Roger Quenault thanks for watching!
Great review - and your photos are awesome!
Thanks Chris, much appreciated mate! It means a lot! Have a great day.
As always very good. As an EM-1 II owner I agree totally!
Thanks mate! Much appreciated and glad you enjoyed our rather long review (perhaps not long enough as we didn't cover all the features that this beasts has to offer :)
How has the May 2018 Firmware Update addressed your concerns, especially about AF? Great review! Thanks!
Thanks Dan for your comment. It helps in terms of accuracy and also the new ‘smaller’ AF point helps to pin point the area of focus but it didn’t stop the over-shooting the focus point and still resulting missed focus. But as said, it doesn’t always happen but definitely something to improve.
Love your photo,they are amazing!
Thanks John! Much appreciated your support!! Jimmy
Thank you for yourawesome video!
I wanna buy that camera after watched your video.
And, what is the first music?? It was really matched with your video :)
Thank you for watching! The first track after the titles is called 'Faster Car' by Loving Caliber :) t
Cool camera strap where did you get it from?
Cheers, Michael! Well, this was a limited edition strap that was a bonus when I pre-ordered the EM5 II back in 2015. I don't think they do that anymore but you can check Olympus website to see if they still stock them :)
and I'm still happy with my em10 ... and I come from Nikon!
i also love my em10 i came from canon... and the smaller and stylish body is really gorgeous compared to large and ugly dslr. can bring it anywhere with ease.
What camera strap is that on your EM1?
That's the Olympus leather strap, you can only get it via a bag combo in Europe.
Red35 Photography thanks
So perfect camera for UK and Germany.. Not much for Spain :-P.
The EM1MII is just a great photographic tool..
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks Nicolas! I love Spain! So much sun there :)
Just the guy who may answer my question, please. Actually I have 2 questions will get the first one out of the way first. I am a committed Olympus owner and my main genre is travel and couldn't be happier with the diminutive size and weight of all! My photos come out awesome and I can print A3 no problem. I have discovered off camera flash and that adds that extra element but not always practicable. I understand the limitations of the M4/3 sensor and I am an expert in post processing. But I am doing more portrait work with the girls I meet and I think my portraits are OK, but you know I do need to process to the max in Lightroom and that does tend to blur the details a little. I have discovered the EM1 mk 2 in the shop and will address that with my second question. (I know FF Sony is crazy great, especially with the new continuous eye detect, but cannot justify the expense in changing over). Olympus has eye detect but only works when the face fills the frame, otherwise when face is further back just reverts to face detect. Ok so I think this is actually quite sensible because the 1.8 Olympus 25 or 45 prime still has a little bit of depth of field so a face focus is still going to be quite sharp. However with the Olympus 45mm 1.2 I did try it out in the shop a second time and loved it, so much better detail and rendering than the 1.8. I did ask Olympus apparently the eye detect is the same in the new EM1 mk2. So based on what I said above will my face image still be in focus (in view of less depth of field) or should I revert to single point and re-compose
. That said the face detect is too nice to give up especially when composing off center subject position. Thanks in advance for your comment! Cheers Niel
Thanks Neil for watching. I don't see how it will blur the details unless the exposures have been pushed, in other words, if you got the setting correct, since using off camera, depending on effects you want to achieve, it shouldn't be a problem, to a certain extend. If you want to push the shadows up to 'match' the lit subject, that may present a problem since you may have intentionally suppressed the ambient exposure to make your subject 'pop', but in post, you wanted to even out a little. In that case, since the shadows weren't registered in the first place, pushing details like that will get noise and, well, blurred details. Off camera is fun but require delicate operations to get it right. Also, make sure you shoot at base ISO as possible to maximise the results. EM1 II and the latest Speedlites from Olympus, 600R and 900R both support HSS which allows you to use higher shutter speeds and wider apertures. Face detect mode, I mentioned that at present time, even the EM1 II can't match the Sony's eye detections unless the subject fills the frame, as you said. If move further away, the system will register the face and in most cases, it will be pretty accurate. But as with any modern MTF lenses, despite EM1 II's hybrid AF system, it will default using CDAF first and when the subject is back lit or if the face it in the shadow, sometimes the AF will miss slightly, especially when shooting with 1.2 lenses because it will hunt for the highest contrast areas, in this case, the subject's hair lines, that will mean that your subject's face may be slightly off. For situation like this, I will use the new smaller AF point and force the system to find the area I am pointing at. I hope this helps.
Many thanks for your reply! i have no trouble with off camera flash. I use the Cactus system only because Olympus did not have HSS at the time, so that in itself is good information, so I can with the EM1 mk2, go HSS with say the 900R and no need for a separate trigger? I love the detail you get from HSS. Heres a pic of my grand daughter, taken at sunset, shutter 1/800, I love this shot!
www.flickr.com/photos/aniell_esposito/40463859214/in/dateposted-public/
That said heres another shot taken at night soft bedroom lighting ISO 1600, shutter speed 40!
www.flickr.com/photos/aniell_esposito/41620300965/in/dateposted-public/
I think you did answer my question. 1.2 narrower depth of field so chances are the camera will focus anywhere on the face except eyes. Little bit of a worry buying the 45 1.2 especially since it does cost so much. Olympus needs to crack that Sony eye detect, it would be a game changer for them.
I mean 1/40
I think every manufacture needs to get that eye focus and Sony has advanced so much in that department over the past two years. But having said that, in mirrorless world, I actually think Olympus' EM1 II AF is on the top tier, despite what others say. I used it for tracking subjects for photos and even in video mode with couple with pro lenses, they are definitely very reliable and good, unlike Fuji and Panasonic which I also tried before.
Nice images by the way.
One more thing, Cactus, which I also use, uses radio trigger while the Olympus is still an optical trigger, which is a bugger sometimes, in close range, you can use the 'given' small flash as a trigger on the EM1 and the 900R (which needs in a line of sight) to fire remotely with HSS. In bright daylight, you may need another more power 'gun' to trigger the slave, but in that situation, you will need to use the 'infrared' converter that comes with the speed light to make it more reliable in that situation. But it works, and the good thing is that it has TTL and you can fine tuned the exposures on the camera pretty quickly.
Use DXO-Photolab 2 Elites PRIME noise reduction to upgrade the cameras Noise performance, you will be surprised. Peaking accuracy increases when you magnify the image - it is just how it works.
yes you're right about DXO. Lightroom is not the best software for m43 IMO. Noise is not a problem anymore with DXO on my PEN-F.
Hmmm only Pana and lower Olympus line has Contrast detect focus, others like Fujifilm and Sony do have Phase detection for last few years.This is something what holding me back to upgrade my Olympus camera, price and slow AF, something what is improved on my Fujifilm body's and they cost less than some Olympus offers.
Thanks mate for the comment though, I do, and I mean it, like Fuji's colour science. they are lovely especially I used to shoot a lot of Fuji negatives back in the film days. However, I can also make my digital files that looks like them nowadays without too much problems. I also like the handling of Fuji but, and this is true, that I still prefer the M43 size. Fuji XT-2 and XH-1 are ok, bodywise but when you pair them with larger pro zooms, they are not much smaller than full frame bodies, still heavy and bulky. M43 on the other hand, much smaller. I am not worry about DoF at all and when use with 1.2 pro lenses, I get everything I need for the images I take :)
Red35 Photography I use both m4/3 and Fujifilm xpro-1 and pro-2 ,with prime lenses both systems fit well and also have reasonable size, especially Xpro''s combined with Leica, Voigtlander and Zeiss glass.On another side I also love Olympus color rendering and size of the lenses.I agree on pro line f1.2 is making system bigger...some of the lenses are bigger than Fujinon 56mm f1.2 which is quite compact comparing with 85mm from Canon or Nikon.
Top !!! Thanks for this amazing video .
Great review always watch your video, I agreed with you with the focus peaking.
Thanks Mate for your support! Yes I do hope he peaking can get better in the future either in the next model or firmware fix on current cameras.
Great review! I have one more feature i would love. As Olympus is focusing on the portability of the system, why the hell didn't they make USB charging possible, like Panasonic did with the G9? As I do a lot of landscape and hiking/adventure photography, it woud be great to be able to charge the batteries with with a powerbank(like a mobile phone). And why they didn't make both card slots UH2, is just strange.
As an Olympus fan, I really enjoy your videos. Keep it up!
Rudi Sørstrønen well, Olympus is already starting to incorporating USB charging and the EM1 II was conceived and probably started prototyping a year before it was announced. Hence some features never made it, however much they want to include the feature. G9 however, was issues over a year later. I agree though and USB charging will be great, especially for long time lapses. Also, don’t forget that EM1 II’s super fast charger! I love it and it can charge a fully depleted battery in 2 hours! That’s insane!
I use a USB battery charger and 10,200 mAh USB power bank. Not as convenient, but it does allow remote charging.
Jason F Is that bought from China? And how long does it take to charge? Do you have a link? Many questions there, but it sounds like a good idea, so I'm curious.
The battery pack is 7V (important for driving faster motor response and all-around nicer cameras) but USB is universally 5V. USB-C is the latest that can deliver higher voltages. Just have to wait for camera companies to integrate it.
Loved your review again! I’ve had this camera for 1 1/2 years and am still learning new things about it that are improving my photography. First camera in ages that I don’t think I’ll outgrow for a while. Which Billingham did you use in this video?
Oh yes, I, too, keep learning new things! I haven’t mentioned a lot do it’s features and if I Do, it will be a 6-hour long video and I am not sure anyone will watch it afterwards hahah
I was also wondering which bag ... at the top it lists a few different models
Cheralynn, I forgot to reply about the bag, it's the Hadley ONE
It's the Billingham Hadley ONE
Red35 Photography thank you!
What camera did you use for the video footage in this review? Of you talking etc. (Not the iPhone parts, but all the rest)
Triple070007 thanks mate for watching. We film everything with EM1 Mark II in this channel unless stated and this video is iPhone for hyperlapse and the rest are all EM1 Mark II
Thanks for such an honest balanced review 👍👍👍 do you have an opinion on low light situations with it? thanks
thanks Ross for watching mate! Low light is pretty decent in my mind. No difference in terms of dynamic range or even details compare to full frame Canon 5D Mark II or may be even III. But can't match the later Mark IV or 6D II in higher ISO around 3200 onwards. But I shoot with ultra fast 1.2 lenses and I rare need to step up to that sort of ISO unless it's almost complete darkness. For my type of work, the EM1 II stacks up well and it hasn't disappointed me at all and most importantly, I am still getting pay to do my jobs :)
Red35 Photography thanks, Really appreciate your help.....I’m going to get one 👍👍👍
You are welcome mate! Enjoy the new camera!
this was so cool ; now waiting for your next video
Cheers mate! Much appreciated your comment and support! Stay tuned :)
Hows the Autofocus/continuous AF for VIDEO ? especially for run and gun shooting and Vlogging?
Hi Richard, I found that to be very good, check our this vlog, I was using 17mm 1.2 Pro with my EM1 II on AF with Face tracking ON. ruclips.net/video/rnfnOtm2QHk/видео.html
sir, can i give you some suggestion ? please insert the exif data and lenses you were using of your photo , and camera that you use for shooting each video. And the last are review oldest camera or comparison or review cheap lens , so we can afford to buy, not dreaming of expensive lens anymore. thanks! Regards from Taiwan.
Thanks Lindt for the suggestions and we are listening to everyone. A few had asked about exif data before but as Tracey and I are both full time professional and it'll create more work for each video production that we simply don't have much time for. We usually use around 20-40 images per video as samples and go through all images in Photoshop can be time consuming so for the time being, we have no time or plans to include data on my photos. However, we do say what gear we used to shoot each video at the end of each episode :) Also, we will review cheaper lenses soon and don't forget, we are a private channel with no sponsorships so it can get a little tricky to satisfy everyone :) But your support will definitely help us in the long run! Thanks again and greetings from London, Jimmy
I just subscribed to your channel just by watching this video great work 😊 I also love my olympus cameras em1ii, em5ii and my panasonic gx80 which is also a fantastic camera and for the price it is unbeliavble what you get 4k ibis and no AA filter.
Thanks mate! Much appreciated for your support mate! I do think the MTF platform has matured nicely and now both Olympus and Panasonic are producing awesome lenses and cameras, we are so spoiled with choices.
Hey, great videos!
Should I wait for the "OMD1 III"?? or just get the Mark II? :D
Diogo Borges you should to buy Em1II, because Em1III will arrives later.
@@AngelikuS_ Good, that's what I did :) . Thanks for replying!! :D
Small sensor, large sensor, can have same low-light performance. Size is irrelevant. World's best low-lights sensors are small size sensors for industrial and military use, they blow even best FF sensors, which are 10x bigger, to dust. So, for example, if the same tech from the D850's sensor is used in the next m4/3 camera sensor, it can have **exactly the same** low-light performance as the Nikon D850. I think industry is moving toward that.
Indeed, but unfortunately Tony and Chelsea, despite having a great channel, totally misunderstand digital technology and spread huge misconceptions on how the sensor size matters for low-light.... What we call a sensor is just a bunch of micro-sensors called 'pixels' (photophores actually) aligned on a certain surface size. What matters is how good at catching light is each of them individually. A bigger sensor with the same pixels only means a bigger image size, and nothing else really.
No matter if the sensor is 1cm2 or one square meter, it does not affect the low-light performance which is determined at the pixel level. It's like saying that the more buckets you put in your garden, the higher is the rain water level. Doesn't matter if you fill a field with buckets or if you only have two, the amount of water in each of them is the same after the rain. All you get is a larger sample of the same thing.
The only way sensor size itself might influence low-light performance independently of the pixels' performance is that the camera software has more pixels to work with if it needs to interpolate when creating the final image. But since all sensors have more than enough resolution nowadays, it's a moot point.
Hi... Just out of curiosity. how much battery can we save by using EVF compare to LCD..? I am using E-M5 Mk II actually. Just for sake of comparison.
Thanks Timz, frankly I am not too sure if you are looking for a quantitative measure but from my experience, using LCD actually last longer than the EVF for some reasons. But I actually turned off my LCD and only use my EVF for everything apart from filming. Both last a quote a while and I can easily take around 800-1000 shots before it gives me low battery warning.
Nice review. Very comprehensive. Just want to ask with regards to the inconsistent focus peaking that you mentioned. Does the em1 mark ii displays the same focus peaking inconsistency even if you use olympus' pro lenses? The one with clutch manual focus mechanism? Thanks
Thanks Edwin for watching mate. The peaking inconsistency is regardless to lenses, any lenses will exhibit the same. The peaking will show/highlight as ‘in focus’ but in truth, it isn’t. But this is occasional and sometimes, it works. I guess it’s how the computer analysis the scene for contrasts and some tweaks are needed to perfect it.
I would still do a punch in focus magnify to double check.
@@Red35Photography the focus to magnify is it 100% accurate? Sorry to bothr you with so many questions. I previously owned an em5 mark I. I also noticed inconsistency as far as focus peaking is concerned when I use it with the voigtlander lens. Btw, I'm considering of having the em1 markii. Thanks
Edwin Canlapan Yes magnify is totally accurate because you are seeing the actual area you are interested in.
@@Red35Photography ok thanks for the info
Thank you. Great review dude.
Cheers mate!! Much appreciated!
Olympus cameras really are tanks. Dropped my em5 concrete and fell in the ocean. Still worked perfectly. My D500 died on 1st fall.
Indeed they are, thanks for watching and have a nice weekend!
I'm considering moving from my GX80 (called GX85 in the USA) for this one because of live composite mode.
I love live composite feature, one that I will do a video on later :)
Hello there, you seem quite knowledgable about micro 4/3. Could you please share an opinion with me? I'm mostly interested in architecture, urbanism and design. In that regard what lens would you advice? I'm mostly using the Pana 12mm f/1.4 and it does a good job I think, what would you use in that purpose? Also I'm interested in night-sky pictures, living not to far from a space observatory. Micro 4/3 being small sensors they are at disadvantage but can the live composite mode make up for that? Also do you have an opinion on the most recent Vogtlander's f/0.9 lenses for that purpose?
Hi Matthieu, thank you for appreciating my knowledge. I have been using M4/3 since 2012 and has been a professional photographer for over 10 years. Your Pana 12mm 1.4 is definitely one of the best lenses out there for what you want to do. In terms of night sky, I don't think you are losing much actually when compare to larger sensor as you want to shoot at lower ISO and utilise that 1.4 in your lens. Live Composite will dramatically reduce your error in exposure as you can see it build up on the back screen so you can stop when you think it's right. From my own experience, ISO 100-800 you will gain not much more compare to larger sensor so you are fine. Voigtlander 0.95? The answer is no. Not for what you want to do, as it's very soft and has lots of coma and fringing when using at 0.95. You need to stop down to 2.0 to get anything decent and by then, it's slower than your 1.4. However, rumour that Olympus is bringing a 12mm 1.2 and you may want to have look at that when it comes out!
Thanks for the answer man
This camera or the xt3?
Thanks for watching mate. XT-3 is a great camera but we do a lot of location shoots and run and gun things and the lack of IBIS is the killer for us. We are now so spoiled with EM1's 5.5 stop IBIS which practically removes the need of having any type of support (unless filming myself). I know the new AF is great but the EM1 is not bad either, don't forget though, the EM1 has been around since the end of 2016 and the XT-3 is 2018. I am actually eagerly awaiting the next gen from Olympus. More still, I prefer M43 for the size and all the pro lenses from Olympus are great too, especially for maually focus on videos.
Great review! You shot all of the video on iPhone?
Thanks for watching, Mike :) . Everything was shot on the Olympus EM1 Mk II unless written otherwise on the footage shown. t
Ahhh ok there was a text overlay indicating the iPhone - Was not sure how much you used it here.
Gosh, I always thought you did these in one take.
You watched until the end!! Hurray!!! hahaha... well, mostly when I am awake and sometimes, I need numerous takes for the beginning when I was half asleep.
Does it have a clean hdmi output ?
It has 4:2:2 out when connected to external but still at 8-bit
Great review! The Olympus EM1 M2 is almost @ my price point these days lol
LOL, Thanks Cody, they are having some deals on at the moment!
Was this video shot on the EM1 ii?
AVICIIZ we filmed everything with the EM-1 II
@@Red35Photography I thought so! I really like the Colors of Olympus and noticed that it's pretty close to the colors of an Arri Alexa. Much better than Panasonic and Sony
You can give it to me when you get the new Mark III..ty red ..oh i need one wanna switch from fuji to Oly...
LOL, hopefully it will be a give away soon! Well, that will have to be a competition!
Why not use touch focus
Excellent background music
Cheers, Anthony!
Cool jacket! Levis type II?
PAULO CONTRERAS yes :) it’s the Levi’s Vintage Clothing re-release of this worn out Type 2. I am just a denim geek
The af is awesome
Wow. You got balls blogging in a restaurant like that. I couldn't.
Well done. LOL
By the way, when describing the focal length of a lens, the correct term is "millimetre" not "millimetres". When used as an adjective preceding the noun, it's used in its singular form.
Example: hundred metre dash; ten car pileup; ten gallon hat; 10 piece set, eight millimetre lens, etc.
Apology for my gramma, I am a Cantonese native and English is my second language and despite speaking it for many years, I still make mistakes. Thanks and I learn more :)
All good. Love watching your videos. I'm an Olympus user for about 5 years. Glad to see someone showing how a pro does it.
Panasonic camera have dual card slot both use uhs 2 write speed 😁 Panasonic gh5 and Panasonic g9
LOL< yes, but both came out after EM1 II and as expected. I was a little shock that EM1 didn't have dual UHS-II slots but their slot 1 is pretty darn fast though on test.
Red35 Photography yup that's true, but sometimes think why Olympus didn't max their technology like Panasonic did on their flagship camera g9 and gh5, and I'm Panasonic user but I love your review of Olympus em1 mk2 and Olympus pen F. I like the concept and style of Olympus than Panasonic but i like the menu system of Panasonic and easy to use even if you are new to photography. I know Olympus has the technology like the best IBIS, best retro style or old style camera i like it only the menu system of it and the their approach to the other customer to their camera like what I said the dual sd card slot uhs 2 and 4k video and stabilization of lens and body and I know they can overcome Panasonic someday in all of features and technology if their getting serious to match with them.
I know but this is always a tit for tad for camera manufacturers. Next generation of Olympus will have features that make Panasonic guys jealous and then vice versa hahah, this is technologies and I kind of hate it. Just pick one that you enjoy shooting the most and that's the important factor. It's easy to keep looking at spec and drooling over other cameras, very easy but now that I am a seasoned pro and all I care is my current camera can do the job nicely and the EM1 II is definitely more than capable in my humble opinion. I do also like some specific and exclusive features on EM1 that no body else has like Live Composite and Pro Capture, they are serious fun and make capturing some difficult night scenes a breeze, for someone like me who documents a lot and photograph portraits day in and day out, sometimes these little features breaks the mould and allow me to explore other 'photography'. Anyway, nice talking with you and always nice to have someone to bounce some nice words. Ultimately, I like the MTF platform and thanks for both Panasonic and Olympus, we have a huge selection of lenses and bodies to play with.
Man, I really wish I didn't trade my EM1 MarkII for the Panasonic G9.. the G9 does everything better (for what I need) but the EM1 just felt so much better in the hands..
Anyway, great review!
Cheers Leander! Considering how quickly technologies improve these days, G9 is a year younger than EM1 II, it will be better but from what I use and tried, there's no 'real world' differences between the two. G9 has slightly better highlight but it's ok, if you under expose the highlight from EM1 by 1/3 stop and you can get almost identical results. I love using the EM1, yes, as you said, it handles well and I love the customisation and all those cool features like Live Composite and Live Bulb.
Red35 Photography True, the differences are very minor, but they are there. For me that‘s the 4K at 60p, slightly better colors regarding skin tones and an overall better high res mode (which I use a lot). But that‘s maybe 3% difference. Oh and I would really wish the EM1 would have a joystick!
But well, as you said, the handling of a camera is so important, really underestimated that part. And therefore I‘m thinking of switching back to the Olympus.
Have a great weekend!
Don't we all like that 60p :) Joystick can be very useful too and I miss it from my old Canon. You too have a great weekend mate!
I have read that the viewfinder blackout is more pleasant during continuous burst with the M1 Mark II than with the G9, but I have not seen a video of it. I have the M1 original that I use a lot at real shutter 9 fps continuous autofocus and it is hard to pan with it because it is showing the picture in the viewfinder that was previously taken and it is hard to keep the autofocus point on the moving subject. I think I also read that the M1 Mark II image stabilization is better than on any Panasonic. It is frustrating that if we could merge the great parts of both the G9 and the M1 Mark II together we would have the perfect sports and video camera for photographers.
timzanation Normally there‘s an option to turn of the image preview after you‘ve taken it, should be on the M1 as well.
And definitly the IBIS of the EM1 beats the one on the G9
How does it hold up to the new Panasonic Lumix G9. I think the G9 has advantages over the Olympus from everything I have read
Hi Tapasya, well, depends one how you use the camera and it's eventual usage. I think in terms of outright speed, operation and AF, EM1 II still trumps over G9. Mind you that G9 is a year younger than Olympus so they would have matched if not exceeding the capability of EM1 II due to technology advancement. If Olympus releases a EM1 III now, it will be better, simple. This is the 'downside' of digital cameras these days. They are advancing all the time. But I've been using the Olympus on a daily basis and I've also shot with G9 which I think the differences are marginal in real life use, no matter how other reviewers say. One thing that the G9 is better is in its video department since it has more video functions but in terms of AF, EM1 II's CAF is still a lot better than ANY Panasonic camera in both stills and video from my own experience. We have no problem using the EM1 for both stills and videos so I don't see G9 being better or worst, just an alternative. I am speaking from a real life usage.
Nice video - I just traded in my EM5 mkii for this and so far quite impressed. I have the 12-40mm 2.8 and am shooting a friends wedding in a few weeks and was wondering which other lens you might recommend to compliment this? Cheers...
For wedding, I would suggest getting a 25mm prime, either the 1.8 or the pro 1.2, both are fantastic and great for low light, and BOKEH!
The 75mm 1.8 will get you some candid portraits, even in low light; very sharp and utterly amazing. The voigtlander 17.5mm f/0.95 is a beast for low-light, although I get few keepers with this wide lens. I find something like a panasonic 42.5 f/1.2 a well rounded prime, but it's expensive; good for portraits or candid interactions. For some fun, I might use the Olympus f/8 fisheye, which captures some interesting shots when provided daylight. -- just my two cents.
Thanks for the advice I was thinking along the lines of a 25mm or 45mm for portraits but that 75mm looks nice and reviews ok just a bit long at 150mm equivalent?
Thanks I would like to try one of the 1.2 to check the bokeh as it’s a bit weak on the 12-40 unless you get close in and fairly wide but not always attractive for facial portraits? The 25 or 45mm might suit better? Cheers enjoy the channel 👍
Which 25mm lens do you prefer -- the Leica or the Olympus? How is the Oly at f1.2?
I'm awaiting your review as a Wedding camera.
tkarlmann thanks for watching mate. I prefer the rendering from Oly but the PanaLeica 25mm is pretty sweet to as it does has ‘some’ Leica look when shoot wide open. But Oly is way better corrected optically and sharper between 1.2-1.8 and wel, as a pro, I will having 1.2 is worth more than money terms.
At least someone has put some use for their camera targeted for wildlife and sports that needs a high speed sequences with longer bursts.
Too often seeing people to talk how they have had E-M1 II since first month of release and they are clicking like less than 8000 frames with it.
At 8:55 you say that PDAF is more accurate than CDAF, what is not so really. The PDAF is as well contrast based focusing system (it focuses to contrast phase) and it is faster to acquire the direction of focusing (move focus to closer or to further) but it is not more accurate but it is actually very inaccurate system. The CDAF in other hand is far more accurate as it really focuses to contrast and goes just little over to see when it goes out of focus and then rolls back to nail it. The problem compared to PDAF with CDAF is that with heavily out of focus image the AF system needs to hunt the focus by going one direction and then notice it is wrong and then switch direction. But CDAF allows to far faster focusing (moving the focal plane closer or further) than PDAF systems can. So PDAF is faster to know what direction to focus, but CDAF is faster and more accurate. And Olympus made first hybrid On-Sensor-PDAF AF system in E-M1 in the industry and it used PDAF to give the direction but CDAF to get the focus. The Olympus has small problem in the AF box as it can focus outside of the box, not just inside. And in some mode it actually preferred the contrast just outside the box instead contrast inside, so you can get misfocus by that way. As well you should avoid using shutter release priority over S-AF confirmation as the camera will release shutter as soon you go to full press, regardless has it achieved focus or not.
At 10:40 about battery lifetime. That is one of the challenges as the mirrorless battery is time based and not frame based. So one battery gives you X hours to shoot (typical 3-5 hours) but you can take as many frames you can in that time like 10 000 or 15 000 (timelapse, high sequence speeds etc). With DSLR the battery is frame based, so you can take that 750-1200 frames but you are free to keep camera turned On for days. So in pure frame count, mirrorless wins easily DSLR in same shooting but in time based manner (sitting in a hide and observing wildlife through 300/600mm lens) mirrorless loses. So event photography is counted in hours how many batteries one needs, not in frames. So if job takes 2-3 hours, one battery is enough, if it takes 9 hours, then 3 batteries. And that is constant shooting.
At 12:15 the UHS II speed is actually that GH5 has fastest 92 MiB/s while E-M1 II push 169 MiB/s
www.cameramemoryspeed.com/panasonic-gh5/fastest-sd-cards/
www.cameramemoryspeed.com/olympus-e-m1-ii/sd-card-speed-comparison-test/
But compare that to example Nikon D5 XQD card 293 MiB/s speed, it is little over twice faster than Olympus, but only with two cards.
Olympus is faster than like Canon 1D X or Sony A9 and A7r II etc. So it really only loses to NIkon D5/D500 and that with the XQD cards, as even D500 with UHS-II card is only 10 MiB/s faster with one Lexard card. That is impressive thing.
At 12:50, it is high climb walking 6 min, but for disabled wheelchair accessible route it is 18 min route. :-D
Wow, thanks for your detailed comment! Re AF, I typically meant that PDAF is much better in tracking moving subjects than CDAF, which GH5 has proven it, just can't cope with it in video while we have used continuous AF in EM1 II with much better success by comparison. Sony is winning in the mirrorless market in terms of continuous AF and their eye AF is just unbelievable. With battery life, thanks for putting it in that perspective. It's like driving an electric car actually, the range depends on how much stuff you put 'on' and temperature...etc. Traditional DSLR don't use EVF, and the only bits of juice they need were to power the metering, shutter, lens operation (aperture, IS ...etc.) while mirrorless is like a computer, they have a screen to power (two, the back and EVF, though not simultaneously), IBIS which eats battery but very useful. Anyway, I write too much, thanks again mate!
Wow, thanks for your detailed comment! Re AF, I typically meant that PDAF is much better in tracking moving subjects than CDAF, which GH5 has proven it, just can't cope with it in video while we have used continuous AF in EM1 II with much better success by comparison. Sony is winning in the mirrorless market in terms of continuous AF and their eye AF is just unbelievable. With battery life, thanks for putting it in that perspective. It's like driving an electric car actually, the range depends on how much stuff you put 'on' and temperature...etc. Traditional DSLR don't use EVF, and the only bits of juice they need were to power the metering, shutter, lens operation (aperture, IS ...etc.) while mirrorless is like a computer, they have a screen to power (two, the back and EVF, though not simultaneously), IBIS which eats battery but very useful. Anyway, I write too much, thanks again mate!
The more I watch these reviews the more I feel full frame technology isn't really an advantage in photography.
the full frame lenses are not that pricy compared to the Pro line in Olympus though!using a D750 and buying either this camera or the littlebrother 10mkiii this fall for video only!
OMG that's my 10 years usage
😂 yeah well, not many people shoot as much as I do, but then this is my workhorse camera
why not XT-2 ?
I like the XT-2 and its colours and handling. But, it's their pro zooms that put me off as they are still relatively big and as much as I like the 56mm 1.2, even though it's smaller than full frame 85mm 1.2, it's still larger than M43 45mm 1.2 (umm.. they are not directly comparable in terms of DoF but in terms of what they do, I prefer the size of M43 lenses) Some smaller primes that I use for street are just tiny, there aren't any comparison. For me, at my age, I prefer smaller size and lighter weight and I never complaint about image quality from panaLeica or Olympus lenses. Fuji are nice, may be when I retired and I don't need to rush around all day taking photos, and I can take my time to do some crafts.... perhaps. But I wouldn't mind a X100T though :)
Jay Choi
How about no ibis, compared to Olympus's best in business?
@@Red35Photography The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f/1.2 PRO is 410g and 70mmx85mm, the Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R is 405g and 73mmx70mm. Overall weight of the Olympus lens with EM5 Mk II is 985g and the Fuji lens with the Fuji XT2 is 912g. I therefore pronounce the Olympus m43 version is heavier and bigger than the Fuji. See camerasize.com/compact/#692.683,679.456,ha,t
The release of the EM5 mark III will be Xmas time at Red35 Photography.
Brand new camera to sink their teeth into... First impressions review. Then main review video. Followed by the Long Term review. And finally the retrospective review around the time the EM1 mark III is released. :p
sebastiaanvanwater Loved my EM-5 original. Love my Pen F. Waiting to add the new EM-5 mk 3 when it comes out. Assuming it has 4K and still has external Mics and headphone inputs. I am sure it will.
That's a thought :) We are ramping up with our recent Olympus camera body reviews as you can tell :) We are gearing up!
Oh yes, you bet and I think you may be right about that, we shall see!
Actually your statement about majority of mirrorless cameras having contrast AF is misleading. Panasonic is the ONLY company who still relies on contrast AF. Sony has Phase detect AF all over the display from long time ago. Fuji has Phase Detect Af points. And obviously Olympus.
Well you are looking at some obvious brands but Leica’s expensive autofocus cameras, SL, Q, TL and CL are all CDAF only. The now dysfunct’d Samsung, Nikon 1, Ricoh GX-R were all CDAF. PDAF has gained popularity in recent years due to advanced sensor designs and manufacturing processes. Also the market desperately needs a push to address the sloppiness in AF compare to traditional DSLRs in order to compete. Sony and Fuji didn’t always have PDAF, their earlier efforts were all CDAF because at the time, that’s all they could do.
Nikon 1 series have hybrid AF, not CDAF only.
Dmitry Brodsky e
Love your work
Thanks Geoffrey mate! Much appreciated your support and have a very good day!
Your tiny. links aren't working ... Just saying as it means I can't use you affiliate stuff - great review though.
Thanks John, just fixed it. My amazon links is working and I also include my Olympus link which is new, you can get 15% discount from their online store, works in UK and EU (I think) :) Thanks again!
Nice i am fromm indonesia
Are EVFs lazy? Sure. But that's the point of technological advancements, right? They make it easier to do things. I'm sure people who only shot on 35mm thought digital was lazy.
Thanks Daniel, well, try to say it to some purists. Literally seconds after your comment, I received one comment on my Leica M10 basically saying that I was lazy using the back screen for focusing. The truth is, there’s no right or wrong, it’s more like a personal preference. I don’t agree or disagree people’s comments and yes, I am all up for the technology advancements and that’s how we move forward right? At the same time, I appreciate the purists’ thoughts on preserving the character of the original inventions like OVF vs EVF or Rangefinder. It’s a little overwhelming but I used them all and at my age with not-so-good eyesight, EVF and the accuracy on new AF systems dramatically help me achieving shots that I may have missed.
Ｏlympus wins for photos, Panasonic for videos. I have one of each.. haha
Lucky you!
Olympus needs to get serious about video even on their lower end cameras. Maybe even especially their lower end cameras. People at that end need more reasons to buy a camera since their smart phone is doing everything so good nowadays. Love my Pen F but I sure wish it had a built in Mic and 4K. I paid a bundle for it so why not. Even my damn iPhone has 4K and headphone and external mic input. Olympus love you but the world is changing and it is time to catch up.
Thanks Terry! Well, trust me that Olympus is catching up but I do agree that they need to do it quickly too as the pressure is on, even Fuji is up their game in video, though with limited success so far and their biggest push is the XH-1. But having said that, we have filmed everything with EM1 II and we are not disappointed at all and we also liked the EM10 III