Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II Summary

Olympus E-M1 Mark II

The new Olympus OM-D flagship is built around a 20 megapixels Four-Thirds CMOS sensor with built-in 121-Point Phase-Detect AF system mounted on a state-of-the-art 5-axis stabilization system.

What takes the E-M1 Mark II beyond any other Micro Four-Thirds mirrorless is its all-around speed. Topping its specification is an ultra-fast 60 FPS continuous drive which can run at 18 FPS while focusing continuously or at 15 FPS in mechanical mode. The new hybrid autofocus system is incredibly fast and keeps up with action unlike any mirrorless.

Image quality from this mirrorless is very good. It produces images with low image noise until ISO 3200 and reasonable dynamic-range, contrast and color. Automatic White-Balance is not entirely reliable yet the metering system is. Exposures are bright with very little clipping of major areas. There is a huge number of options to fine-tune color, contrast, gradation, white-balance and exposure as needed. Among Micro Four-Thirds cameras, the OM-D E-M1 Mark II certainly shows some of the best image-quality.

Usability of the E-M1 Mark II is fairly good. There are plenty of physical controls, including dual control-dials and 8 customizable buttons to allow quick access to core features. While ergonomics are good in this durable, weatherproof and freezeproof camera, the interface is highly modal which requires more attention than usual. The only significant usability issues of the E-M1 Mark II have to do with the EVF. The preview is rarely accurate and it dims down too much in low-light. There is unfortunately no way to fix this which definitely hinders low-light photography.

This mirrorless digital camera offers a truly complete feature-set for professional photographers. It adds a number of bonus features such as multiple types of bracketing, focus-stacking, an interval timer and multiple exposures. Olympus greatly broadened video features on the Mark II, making it their first 4K Ultra-HD capable mirrorless. It includes full manual controls over exposure and many options for sound when shooting video.

The high-resolution sensor of the E-M1 Mark II delivers quality that rivals DSLRs. It shows very low image noise until ISO 1600 and remains usable up to ISO 12800 for mid-size prints and 25600 for small ones. It also shows some impressive dynamic-range and latitude for situations of varying contrast. The multi-segment metering system is reasonably good and only clips highlights a little more than ideal.

The true ace of the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is its speed. Its extremely fast drive mode and hybrid autofocus system is unique in its class and makes it the most suitable Micro Four-Thirds camera for action photography. For those who truly needs such speed and be able to shoot moving-subjects completely siliently, this can justify the high price of this mirrorless.