Photography News | Issue 39 | absolutephoto.com
Camera test 54
OlympusOM-D E-M1 Mark II Blink and you’ll miss Olympus’s latest flagship CSC. The speedy OM-D E-M1 Mark II can capture the most fleetingly decisive moment thanks to its 60fps burst mode with its electronic shutter or 15fps with mechanical shutter
Specs
Price £1849.99 body only or £2399.99 for M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm 1/2.8 Pro kit Sensor 20.4 megapixels, 4/3in Live MOS, with TruePic VIII and Supersonic Wave Filter sensor cleaner Sensor format Micro Four Thirds, 17.4x13mm ISORange 200-25,600 in 1/3 or 1 EV ISO steps, low ISO 64 Shutter range Manual shutter 60secs-1/8000sec; electronic (silent) shutter 60secs Pro capture H 60fps approx up to 48 frames, Pro Capture L 18 fps, anti-shock sequential shooting 8.5fps, sequential shooting H 15fps up to 84 frames, L 10fps Metering system Digital ESP metering (324 zones multi pattern), spot metering, centre weighted metering, spot with highlight control, spot with shadow control. Range EV-2 to 20 EV (17mm f/2.8, ISO 100) Exposuremodes PASM (and Art Filter) Exposure compensation +/-5 EV in 1.0, 0.5 and 0.3EV steps. In HDR and video, only +/-3EV. Bracketing available Monitor 3in Vari-angle LCD touch panel 1037K dots, EVF with 2.36M dots Focusing TTL phase difference detection system, contrast detection system. Manual AF, preset MF, single AF, continuous AF, AF tracking and single AF and MF Focus points 121 points cross-type phase detect and 121 point contrast detect AF. Options of all sensors active, group target (9 areas or 5 areas), single point Video 4096x2160 (C4K)/24p/IPB 3840x2160 (4K)/30p, 25p, 24p/IPB Connectivity Wi-Fi, HDMI micro (type D), USB 3 (type C), microphone and earphone jacks Storage media Dual SD slots. Slot 1 UHS I, II, Slot 2UHS-1. SD, SDHC, SDXC Dimensions (wxhxd) 134.1x90.9x68.9mm (without protrusions) Weight 574g (body, battery and card) 74g Contact olympus.co.uk to 1/32,000sec Drivemodes
Words by Jemma Dodd
The flagship Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II was first announced back in September at Photokina and it took the photo world by storm with its claims of extremely high- speed shooting. Boasting 18fps Raws in continuous autofocus and a whopping 60fps, again with Raws, in single autofocus, this portable yet durable camera sounds like an action and wildlife photographer’s dream. These high shooting speeds are possible using the camera’s electronic shutter. With the mechanical shutter, the top rate is 15fps or 10fps in L mode Its robust construction follows that of other Olympus OM-Dmodels making it splash-proof, freeze-proof and dust-proof for assured all- weather shooting. At £1849 for the body only, we expected great things, but that price makes it the most expensive Micro Four Thirds camera available. In terms of resolution it features a new 20.4-megapixel Live MOS sensor and offers a 50-megapixel High Res mode for static scenes. For video there’s 4K recording, a first for the OM-D range. And in another first for Olympus this
camera has two SD card slots, one with UHS-II compatibility. Boasting a new, high-speed, cross-type, on-chip phase-detection autofocus system with 121 focus points and a fast shutter response, the OM-D E-M1 Mark II is poised to capture the action. It also has a Silent Shutter mode allowing all electronic sounds to be turned off. In addition to this it features Focus Bracketing, Stacking, Live Composite and Live Bulb modes. OneofthisOlympus’skeyfeatures is its in-body image stabilisation. It boasts a newly enhanced, on-sensor 5-axis image stabilisation which claims to compensate up to 6.5EV when used with the new 12-100mm f/4 lens at 100mm. This lens has a two-axis IS system built-in. When it comes to size, Olympus has done a great job in packing pro features into a compact body. Even when attaching the 12-100mm f/4 lens to it, the camera was still comfortable to use in terms of bulk and weight. In terms of design, the OM-D E-M1 Mark II features a three-inch tiltable touchscreen monitor and also has an electronic viewfinder.
It boasts a newly enhanced, on-sensor 5-axis image stabilisation, which claims to compensate up to 6.5EV
In most of the shooting scenarios that I put the camera through I used the electronic viewfinder, as I prefer being able to see a preview and adjust some settings if I have the opportunity. When it came to shooting at low angles, I found the monitor particularly useful. It’s also got three customisable options on the top dial, which you can program to your preferred settings for quick set-ups. The menu is extensive so takes lots of navigating and time spent setting up is worthwhile. The screen’s touch functionality is also a great help, while a control menu option gives very quick access to many key features. The Mark II claims nearly a 40% greater battery life than its predecessor with remaining charge
displayed as a percentage, and to test this I spent three to four hours shooting with the camera in total. This involved 4K video, numerous shots in the Pro Capture mode at 60fps, and also shooting sequences at 18fps. In addition, I was reviewing images regularly and taking other stills. By the time I had finished shooting the battery still had around 45% charge left. I was impressed with the battery life as I would have expected it to drop a lot more. Olympus states that the battery life will last up to 440 images, I actually took 1,235 images, in Raws and JPEGs and recorded just over two minutes of video footage. Most of these pictures were taken at a day event hosted by Olympus with opportunities designed to test the camera’s key selling points.
Above Splash proof and dust proof the OM-D E-M1 Mark II continued to operate fine during after some heavy showers.
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