My New Mirrorless Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

 Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

Reading reviews upon reviews of different brands of Mirror-less camera, finding one that does not burn a hole in your pocket, must have similar features that are found on my Sony A350 DSLR, like having Super SteadyShot in-camera body image stabilization (offers from 2.5 to 3.5 stops of compensation). This feature is very important to me, it really helps me reduce blur image when handheld. Many bad photos that appear to be out of focus or blur are actually caused by camera shake. Sony seems to have upgraded their Super SteadyShot (Approx. 2.5 EV - 4.5 EV decrease in shutter speed). And SSS only available for their full fledged DSLR A Mount Series. But I do not want another bigger and heavier DSLR, my A350 is already very heavy liao and together with the SAL16-50mm f2.8, weighting like a ton.

Shortlisted a few of the Mirror-less, Sony A6300 and Sony A6000, but both models don't have the Super SteadyShot. A7II had sensor shift something like SSS, but it's a full frame and the cost!!! Fuji film X-T10 which my friend recommend me, had the retro looks, but no image stabilization.

I'm reviewing base on real world hands on, as a tools. There will be no charts or numbers, I find them pointless if you don't understand. To be honest, I don't.

Finally Olympus OM-D series caught my eyes.

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II launched in August 2015 is the only entry class Mirror-less Interchangeable Lens Camera with 5-axis image stabilization. Replacing Olympus OM-D E-M10, having most features of both E-M5 Mark II and E-M1. The E-M10 Mark II also uses the similar 16-megapixel image sensor and processing engine Truepic 7 as the E-M5 Mark II. And what's caught my eyes is the reminisce of my dad's Olympus OM-1 camera. He loves to take pictures of us, and always bring it with him whenever we went out to the beach and parks as it is quite nimble to use. And that camera was always imprint in my memories.

Do they looks alike?

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

 

Olympus OM-1

Let's talk about the E-M10 Mark II, design looks retro like the older model of OM 1 series, which is available in both all black and silver/black. E-M10 Mark 2 has many big dials on the top, reminds of the older days film cameras. The body is a mix of poly-carbonate and metal, with a metal internal frame covered by body of mixed materials. A leather-textured surface is layered onto the metal exterior for design full of sophistication. This classic style is the very same that Olympus has been using on interchangeable lens cameras since the beginning. Small enough to carry with you, and with a stylish design that you want to carry it around everywhere.

The OM-D words

Those big big dials

E-M10 Mark II's mark

The main features of the OM-D E-M10 Mark II: 5-axis image stabilisation, AF Targeting Pad, Large Electronic ViewFinder, Creative Photo Functions, Build-in WIFI

pitch (1), yaw (2), horizontal and vertical translation (3/4) and rotation (5) by moving its sensor.

Nightscapes: Roll

The E-M10 Mark II uses in-body image stabilization for compensating for camera roll that tends to occur when shooting nightscapes. (Roll cannot be compensated for on competitor interchangeable lens cameras with in-lens image stabilization)

Macro: Shift

Shift tends to occur during macro shooting. With the E-M10 Mark II, shift is reduced for beautiful macro photos. (Shift cannot be compensated for on a competitor interchangeable lens camera with general in-lens image stabilization)

Telephoto: Angular shake

Angular shake tends to occur during telephoto shooting. With the E-M10 Mark II, beautiful photos with virtually no angular shake are possible even during telephoto shooting.

Single-handed: Angular shake, roll

When shooting with a single hand, angular shake and roll occur more easily. However, angular shake and roll can drastically be reduced when shooting with the E-M10 Mark II.

AF Targeting Pad

The OM-D E-M10 Mark II is equipped with AF Targeting Pad, so you can simply touch the subject on the rear monitor to instantly snap a photo of the subject or you can trace your thumb along the rear monitor while looking through the viewfinder to quickly set a focus point, after the AF position is determined, press the shutter button halfway to focus. With a short shooting time lag and quick touch response, you can always capture the moment you're waiting for. Olympus AF system has been known to be super fast and accurate and this continues in the E-M10 Mark II.

The touch screen

 Large, Easy-to-see Electronic Viewfinder

 The E-M10 Mark II comes with a large, easy-to-see electronic viewfinder with 100% field of view. With this, you can shoot while confirming what the finished photo will look like. OLED electronic viewfinder provides high-resolution at 2.36 million dots. The 100% field of view display is larger than that of same-class interchangeable lens cameras. The optical viewfinder on most SLR cameras makes it difficult to see in dark situations, but the electronic viewfinder on the E-M10 Mark II gives you clear vision even in dark areas. Because the viewfinder optimizes brightness no matter what lens is attached, you can shoot night scenes exactly as you want. You can shoot while confirming the brightness, colour balance, and vividness in the viewfinder. This helpful function is not available in an optical viewfinder found on DSLRs.

Inside of the electronic view finder

Creative Photo Functions

The OM-D E-M10 Mark II is packed with functions for capturing creative photos. Capture the rich personality hidden in normal, everyday scenes. Art Filters expand your artistic expressions. Add creative Filters to both movies and still images. Art Effects give a further level of depth to the appeal of Art Filters. You can create more stand-out pictures that match your shooting intentions and enjoy easily capturing creative expressions that go beyond your imagination. Photo Story lets you capture multiple images of the same scene in a single photo to tell a story. Using touch operations on the rear monitor, you can change the composition, add accents to colors, and combine multiple photos to create a single work of art.

The Menu

This OM-D E-M10 Mark II is equipped with Live Bulb so you can create works of art by drawing light trails with a penlight, etc. You can confirm your progress on the rear monitor, making the process easier. For scenes that get too bright overall when using Live Bulb, you can use Live Composite, which merges images using just the newly bright areas for beautiful light trails. As with Live Bulb, you can confirm your progress on the LCD monitor.

WIFI

The OM-D E-M10 Mark II has built-in Wi-Fi for easy connection to a smartphone. With this feature you can quickly share images stored on the camera. You can also control the camera, add location information acquired on the smartphone to images, and apply Art Filters to recorded images.

With the 14-42mm kit lens

Final Thought

I'm definitely did not regret getting the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, it is lighter, smaller and can take sharp pictures of my kids and stuffs. Although it is small, but it fits nicely on my hand, handling it just feel like any other DSLR. The griping design of the camera body is truly ingenious, using your right thumb and the last 3 fingers to support the body, while your index finger is free to snap away on the shutter button. Using 1 hand to compose, focus and snap, it's so effortlessly. Maybe it's time for my Sony A350 DSLR to be retired in my dry cabinet for the time being. Don't get me wrong, the Sony A350 of it's age still can work wonders, still produces stunning pictures, just that it did not really fit into the new photographic world of weight, size and speed.


Next article I will do a review/test shots on the Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ pancake kit lens, so see you next week.