Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II Review

IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. I am an Olympus Malaysia employee.
2. This is a user experience based review, based on my personal opinion which can be subjective.
3. All images were shot in RAW and converted directly to JPEG (High Quality) via Olympus Viewer 3
4. General camera settings, Noise Filter = OFF, Contrast/Saturation/sharpness = 0, White Balance = Auto (with an option maintain warm color = OFF), Gradation = Normal
5. Minimal post-processing applied to the images, with slight brightness/contrast balance tweak. All images were almost as good as straight out of camera, with minimal cropping for better presentation.

Note: E-M1 Mark II Blog Extension (click) is now published, covering 50MP High Res Shot, Electronic Shutter improvements, Cinema 4K shooting and upgrades of camera features. 

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II (which was originally announced as "in development phase" in Photokina 2016) is the much anticipated successor for the 2013 flagship E-M1.

I have had the chance to shoot with the E-M1 Mark II extensively over 3 days in various real life conditions covering as many tests as I can. It is difficult to post all my findings and results in one single blog entry, so for this particular blog review I shall be focusing on the most important points of my review. There are just too many things to say about this E-M1 Mark II, and so many sample photographs I want to share here. I shall cover the other parts which are not mentioned here in my coming review extension.

The new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is an ambitious camera on specifications, surpassing the original E-M1 by quite a far margin in all aspects and also addressed it's many shortcomings.
The key specifications of Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II are highlighted as follows:

1) NEW AUTOFOCUS SYSTEM
The AF system has undergone a major improvement, especially when it comes to continuous AF. Olympus used 121 full cross phase-detect AF points alongside the contrast detect AF system for much better continuous subject tracking. The E-M1 Mark II is able to shoot all images in RAW at the sequential burst mode of 60 frames per second (single-AF, electronic shutter), 18 frames per second (Continuous-AF, electronic shutter), 15 frames per second (Single-AF, mechanical shutter) and 10 frames per second (continuous AF, mechanical shutter). The buffer limit has been increased to 77 RAW files before the camera slows down in operation. The image sensor readout rate AF processing speed in the camera is claimed to have been dramatically increased to eliminate jello/image stretching effect when shooting high speed in electronic shutter mode. The behavior of the Continuous AF can be further fine-tuned for tight and loose framing to suit different subject moving conditions. Furthermore, the new AF system includes the Pro Capture Mode that starts to capture images immediately as the shutter button is half-pressed and storing 14 full RAW images before the shutter button is fully pressed, minimizing the chance of missing the actual moments.

2) 5-AXIS IMAGE STABILIZATION IMPROVEMENTS
The built in camera 5-Axis Image Stabilization system is also improved, allowing 5.5 shutter speed steps of compensation with any lens attached on the E-M1 Mark II. If you use the new Olympus M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 PRO lens, you can get up to 6.5 steps of shutter speed compensation. This benefits both stills and movie recording.

3) NEW 20MP IMAGE SENSOR WITH NEW TRUEPIC 8 IMAGE PROCESSOR
A new 20MP Live MOS image sensor is used in the E-M1 Mark II, and Olympus claims this is not the same as the one used in the Olympus PEN-F body. The E-M1 Mark II's 20MP image sensor also has the phase detect AF points built onto it, and has much faster data readout rate to enable 4K video recording, thus it should not be the same as the one used in PEN-F. To accompany the new image sensor and 4K video recording capabilities, a new processing engine was introduced: the Truepic 8. According to the detailed specifications, the new Truepic 8 chip has double Quad Core system: 4 CPU cores and 4 image processing cores. 

4) OTHER IMPORTANT FEATURES/IMPROVEMENTS
- full weather-sealing (freezeproof down to -10 degrees Celcius, dustproof and splashproof)
- improved Electronic Viewfinder with super short 6ms delay and 120fps refresh rate
- larger battery capacity
- dual SD card slots
- improved video capabilities, now with 4K recording
- all other original Olympus specific features such as live bulb/time/composite, art filters, highlight & shadow control etc are also included in E-M1 Mark II

For full specifications please visit the official Olympus website here (click). 
Let's jump right into the review.

HOW MUCH IMPROVEMENT IN THE IMAGE STABILIZATION?

With the original Olympus OM-D E-M1, I could hand-hold and shoot confidently at half a second, or even stretching to a low 1 second slow shutter speed using a wide angle lens (7-14mm F2.8 PRO). Then came along the amazing M.Zuiko 300mm F4 IS PRO lens, I can handhold at 300mm at about 1/10sec shutter speed, which was quite an incredible feat. When Olympus E-M1 Mark II was announced, I did not expect any surprises at all, since we all have known, tried and proven the effectiveness of the Olympus 5-Axis Image Stabilization system.

Suddenly there was the M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 IS PRO lens, which also has the 5-Axis Sync IS (lens 2-Axis IS working in sync with the 5-Axis IS system in the body to better stabilize the camera) and should compensate to about 6.5 steps of shutter speed. The 12-100mm F4 PRO lens was designed to work optimally on the E-M1 Mark II, so I brought them out for some slow shutter speed torturing.

Prepare to be mind-blown. 

I am not kidding.

Here are the results.

12-100mm PRO, F/9, 5s, 12mm, ISO64

The image of the Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers looks normal right? 

Take a closer look at the shutter speed. 

It was 5 seconds shutter speed. HAND-HELD. 

No tripod was used for this shot. I initially started shooting at 1 second shutter speed, I got away with sharp results, so I kept pushing to 2 seconds, 3.2 seconds, and finally 5 seconds. Images started to show signs of blurring at 6 seconds. My limit was at 5 seconds, hand-held. If this 5-Axis Image Stabilization does not impress you, I seriously do not know what will!

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12-100mm PRO, F/11, 5s, 12mm, ISO64

12-100mm PRO, F/6.3, 5s, 12mm, ISO200

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Please bear in mind that every one has different tolerance and capabilities when it comes to hand-held slow shutter shooting. I personally have abstained myself from drinking coffee or any caffeinated substance for 3 days before doing this image stabilization test, and believe me I am a chronic coffee drinker and when I have had 5 cups of coffee a day I will not be able to show you these results. Likewise, I strongly believe those with better hand-holding steadiness than me will be able to get even better results, no doubt about that. 

I also must be honest that, if I were standing freely, without any support, bracing myself against anything, I can only shoot at about 1 to 2 seconds shutter speed. Anything longer than 2 seconds, my legs started to wobble! Hence for the 5 seconds shots shown in this blog, I was either sitting down on the pavement (twin towers) or braced/leaned myself on a wall or something. The hand-holding part was still 100% valid. 

Then it hit me, if I can actually shoot at 5 seconds long shutter speed, I can do light trail photography without using a tripod!

So I did. 

12-100mm PRO, F/11, 6s, 12mm, ISO200

I could never have imagined the possibilities of doing such long exposure, light trail shooting, purely just hand-held! I saw the results. I am still working on believing it. I am still working on understanding the sorcery behind this. 

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I also got curious about how the 5-Axis Sync IS would stabilize at 100mm telephoto-end at the 12-100mm F4 PRO lens, so I did some torture tests with 100mm framing as well. 

12-100mm PRO, F/5.6, 3.2s, 100mm, ISO200

12-100mm PRO, F/5.6, 3.2s, 100mm, ISO200

12-100mm PRO, F/7.1, 1/2s, 100mm, ISO200

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CONTINUOUS AUTOFOCUS PERFORMANCE

Before I dive into the Continuous AF tests, let me clarify a few important things. I am not a sports shooter and I rarely shoot moving subjects or action photography. The autofocus mode I use 90% of the time is Single-AF, and the remaining 10% is manual focus. I never had a need for Continuous AF in my photography scenarios, hence I will admit upfront that I may not be the best person to review the performance of the Continuous AF of the E-M1 Mark II. In addition to that, I have never had extensive use of high-end cameras with highly-praised AF capabilities such as Canon 1D-series, or Nikon D4/D5 series, and I have not even used the latest APS-C champions such as Sony A6300/6500, Canon 7D Mark II and Nikon D500. Without having prior experience in C-AF from all these important "benchmark" cameras, it is difficult for me to draw any conclusions. I strongly suggest that you seek other online reviewers who are better qualified to do more meaningful tests of the E-M1 Mark II's Continuous AF capabilities.

Nonetheless, since Olympus made such a huge deal about their AF improvements, I thought it would be too easy for me to just skip it, and I thought why not give it a try. I may not be an expert, but I believe I am also experienced enough in handling Olympus cameras to get some good results. I have tested the E-M1 Mark II in Continuous AF shooting within my own shooting capabilities, and if there are shortcomings in the results, it could probably be due to my own inexperience in such circumstances.

A few technical information about the C-AF and sequential shooting of E-M1 Mark II:
1) Rolling Shutter effect/Jello distortion due to high speed shooting is greatly minimized by having a 1/60s curtain shutter speed (the speed of scanning the entire frame) in electronic shutter mode. E-M1 had only 1/13s curtain speed.
2) There is a lens focus distance limiter built into the camera, which can be used if necessary
3) The Continuous AF behaviour can be fine-adjusted to best match the subject movement pattern (tight and loose AF lock)
4) The AF targetting area options now include the "cluster group" option, which is already available in other manufacturers' cameras

AF Cluster Area for C-AF tracking as well as many other AF adjustment options for different shooting conditions. 

C-AF TEST 1: THE FLYING MACAW

I went to the Bird Park and it was not a productive testing ground for me. It was probably not the best idea to start shooting birds as a test for C-AF, considering my inexperience. The camera can lock focus very quickly on the moving birds, that one I can pretty much guarantee, but as the birds flew randomly at such crazy speed, my brain and hands failed to move the lens to follow the birds flight paths! They often flew out of the frame and I lost the birds, and this was my explanation of not having enough skills to execute successful Continuous AF tests. It was frustrating knowing that the camera can perform considerably well, and the failure was due to my own lacking of knowing how to fully utilize the camera. This is one area which I must emphasize, getting a powerful camera can only get you so far, without the expertise to use it, the camera is just as useless as the photographer. Give me a Canon 1DX or Nikon D5 and I would probably miss any of the flying birds too.

Out of the many, many failed attempts of me following the birds, I did get one successful one, which was during the bird show. This one I could nail it, because, let's face it, that Macaw was quite a large bird, and I knew exactly where the bird was flying too (they had 3 rounds of same tricks). I managed to nail it on the second round!

C-AF, Silent Mode, Low Sequential 18 frames per second, total 48 photos.
12-100mm PRO lens used at 100mm telephoto end, F4, 1/5000sec, ISO800

The tracking was spot on for all frames except the last 3 frames.
Tips: Click on image to enlarge

C-AF TEST 2: MARC MARQUEZ (93) VS VALENTINO ROSSI (46) 

Coincidentally we had the Sepang Moto Grand Prix 2016 happening in Malaysia last weekend, and I was fortunate to grab a ticket at last minute, though the shooting position was not ideal. I have never been to any racing or motorsports events before, and I have never shot anything moving that fast before also. I have no idea about the mechanics of the race and I did not even know the important players of the game. I went to the Sepang Circuit knowing I shall shoot some crazy fast bikes in action and pray to the photography god I will be able to come home with just a handful of usable images.

My friend Robert who has been following the racing scene updated me on few important details as I was reviewing the images that I have shot. He was particularly excited when he saw the series I am displaying here, as I was tracking the number 93, Marc Marquez from Spain, with a trailing number 46, Valentino Rossi who is a legend in the motorsports world. I guess I was lucky, and that is one important factor, sometimes if luck is not on your side, no matter how much you have planned and how prepared you are, you just don't get the shots!

C-AF, Mechanical Shutter, Low Sequential 10 frames per second, total 55 photos.
300mm PRO lens, F4, 1/1600-1/2500sec, ISO200

Tracking success was about 90%. About 5 photos were noticeably out of focus, though C-AF of E-M1 Mark II did a good job at recovering focus fairly quickly.
Tips: Click on photos to enlarge

C-AF TEST 3: SKATEBOARD

This one was totally unplanned, I was walking out from a live band performance and I chanced upon
the Rakan Muda sports center, and during Sunday afternoon there were some youngsters practicing their skateboarding (unfortunately none of them were very good at it). This was a good test to show how effective the E-M1 Mark II tracks subjects moving toward the camera.

C-AF, Mechanical Shutter, Low Sequential 10 frames per second, total 50 photos.
12-100mm PRO lens, F4, 1/800-1/1250sec, ISO800



C-AF TEST 4: MAN WALKING TOWARD CAMERA

This final test I am showing here is probably the easiest for the camera to handle. It was a straightforward test of the camera's tracking of a man walking toward me. I think this is the most popularly encountered situation when C-AF is needed (outside of sports/action photography) in usual photography needs by most photographers in many situations.

C-AF, Mechanical Shutter, Low Sequential 10 frames per second, total 44 photos.
12-100mm PRO lens, F4, 1/200-500sec, ISO800

Tracking success was about 90%. About 5 photos were slightly out of focus.

PRO CAPTURE MODE

I think the introduction of Pro Capture Mode in the E-M1 Mark II is a brilliant idea, and trust me when I say this concept will be used by other manufacturers, especially cameras that can employ electronic shutter (I do not think it is physically possible wth DSLR cameras, with moving mirror mechanism). Pro Capture Mode allows full RAW images to be captured even before the shutter button is fully pressed. That means, as you half press the shutter button, the E-M1 Mark II is already starting to shoot images and record them in the buffer. As you fully press the shutter button to capture the decisive moment, you are also effectively capturing 14 frames before that shutter button was fully pressed. Ultimately, even if you have missed the moment due to slow reaction time responding to the scene, you can be assured that the Pro Capture Mode has already shot 14 images prior to that. Take note that Pro Capture Mode functions only in electronic shutter (silent mode).

There are two Pro Capture Modes:

1) Pro Capture Mode High 
shooting at 60 frames per second, single-AF only,

2) Pro Capture Mode Low 
shooting at 18 frames per second, Continuous-AF or Single AF

Take note that Pro Capture Mode can capture a limit of 25 frames in total only. This mode is useful to nail that one specific moment.

I think it is important for me to tell you that when Pro Capture mode is enabled, you will experience drop of frame rate in the EVF or the LCD monitor on your camera backscreen. This was due to the camera already actively capturing the images as you started to half-press the shutter button. The view on the EVF and Live View is still pretty much in real time, you do not have to worry about lag in judging the right moment to shoot but the not so smooth view may put some people off. Nonetheless, I still feel that the sheer advantage of Pro Capture Mode guaranteeing you shots even before you fully press the shutter button outweighs the slightly laggy view in EVF/LCD monitor.

PRO CAPTURE MODE HIGH TEST

I do not have fast reflexes when it comes to shooting fast objects, hence Pro Capture Mode did come in handy when dealing with the need for quick reaction. I rarely shoot birds hence it was difficult for me to predict when the bird was going to take flight. When the bird actually started to move, I pressed the shutter button and that was already too late and the bird caught in my frame was already mid-flight! However with the Pro Capture Mode, I managed to save 14 shots taken BEFORE I press the shutter button, hence I nailed the precise moment the bird was taking off. Quite a neat trick and surely shooting action will be much better now.


This image was the one that I shot when I press the shutter button fully. The 14 images before this were captured by the Pro Capture Mode High. Take note that the bird was already slightly out of focus, since at 60 frames per second, only Single-AF is used (first frame only in perfect focus). Image appeared slightly grainy becaused I used ISO6400 for these shots.




PRO CAPTURE MODE LOW TEST

I was invited by the awesome Bihzhu to catch her performance live, which happened at TPC, Bukit Kiara, at an after party for LGPA 2016. It was a golf tournament. Since I was there for the after party I did not bring along the 300mm F4 PRO lens, which was a HUGE HUGE mistake. When I arrived, little did I know the golf tournament was still going on! I could have had a solid 1 hour shooting time, but I only had 100mm longest telephoto end with me. I took this opportunity to test out the Pro Capture Mode Low. I could not shoot the first swing since that usually happened super, super far away from where the crowd is located. I could only shoot the Golf Players when they came in closer to the hole.

Now here is an interesting observation, since the hole was quite near where the spectators were standing, the photographers were NOT allowed to use their cameras (typically loud noisy DSLR) that could distract the players in concentration. There were guards on duty holding up the large signs reading (no camera no phone) when the player was about to take her shot. Thank goodness for silent shutter! And the Pro Capture Mode was using electronic shutter so I could just fire away without worries. This is one of the important reasons why Mirorrless Cameras are the future.

This was the first frame I shot when I fully pressed the shutter button. Nothing too dramatic as golf is not exactly a fast moving sports. I purposely shot this as the ball was already a little bit ahead to show much the Pro Capture Mode can recover the "missed moments". The ability to capture that few extra shots before the actual action is something I strongly believe sports shooters will seriously treasure




SINGLE AUTOFOCUS PERFORMANCE

I do not have any comments when it comes to Single-AF, as I do feel that the performance is similar to the E-M1 or PEN-F, and that is not a bad thing because to me the Single-AF from previous incarnations of Olympus camera is already excellent and I never had any complains in actual shooting practices. I have tested the single AF (well, I used single AF in my own shooting needs) extensively and it has never once failed me, even in extreme low light conditions.

I think having quick and accurate Single-AF is still the most important criteria, and after speaking to many photographers, the general conclusion is that Olympus does an excellent job in this area. Some other manufacturers have claimed to have superior AF or even dared to boldly say "world's fastest AF" but in practical shooting situations, what truly matters is whether the AF worked or not, it is as simple as that. There is just that confidence in using Olympus Single-AF that only those who have experienced it will understand.

In many instances, I have successfully just pointed the lens at the subject and immediately captured the image. I shall be showing a few of such instances in the following images.

12-100mm PRO, F4, 1/125s, 21mm, ISO1000

12-100mm PRO, F/4.5, 1/320s, 25mm, ISO200

12-100mm PRO, 1/400sec, F4, 28mm, ISO6400

GENERAL IMAGE QUALITY 

I am glad to find out that the image sensor used in the E-M1 Mark II is not the same as the one used in the PEN-F, and there is a new corresponding image processing engine, the Truepic 8 to accompany the new image sensor. At this point, it is difficult to gauge exactly how much the image quality has improved because there is no RAW compatibility with third party post-processing software at this moment, and Olympus Viewer 3 basically reproduces what the camera JPEG can do. Therefore, the image quality tests are solely based on JPEG quality only in this blog entry.

I did most of my tests with the M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 PRO lens, and I know many of you have been waiting for me to write about this lens. You will see plenty of samples taken with this lens here, but I shall do a proper, full blog review for that lens separately. I did enjoy using the 12-100mm PRO lens and I am impressed by the built in IS, lens sharpness and overall performance.

At lower ISO settings (below ISO1600), with good lighting conditions, the E-M1 Mark II produces images with excellent sharpness and beautiful true to life colors. The rendering of fine details is noticeably better than previous cameras, and I have a feeling that this was largely due to the improved image processing Truepic 8. The fine details are better shown, and the JPEG compression artifacts (that many suspected was due to the default over-sharpening of JPEG) was visibly reduced.

I did not notice any improvement in dynamic range (if there was, I would think it is negligible) but the highlights roll-off is much better handled in the E-M1 Mark II, with smoother transitions. The overall color profile is slightly different than what we have seen in Truepic 7 previously, perhaps the colors are a little less aggressive, not as "punchy" and high in contrast as previously, more neutral but still maintaining good balance and looking natural.

300mm PRO, F/5.6 1/50s, ISO200

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12-100mm PRO, F4, 1/250s, 100mm, ISO200

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12-100mm PRO, f/5.6, 1/500s, 50mm, ISO200

12-100mm PRO, F/8, 1/250s, 100mm, ISO200

12-100mm PRO, F/5.6, 1/160s, 13mm, ISO1600

12-100mm PRO, F/4, 1/125s, 100mm, ISO500

12-100mm PRO, f/4, 1/80s, 100mm, ISO200

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12-100mm PRO, f/4, 1/160s, 34mm, ISO320

12-100mm PRO, F/4, 1/200s, 12mm, ISO1600

12-100mm PRO, f/4, 1/250s, 100mm, ISO200

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12-100mm PRO, f/4, 1/250s, 35mm, ISO200

LOW LIGHT SHOOTING WITH HIGH ISO

One of the most popular questions about E-M1 Mark II is definitely the capabilities in low light shooting with high ISO use. The ISO range remains the same, from ISO200 (native) all the way up to ISO25,600, and Olympus did not indicate specifcally at which high ISO limit was the starting point of ISO expansion. My guess is either ISO3200 or 6400. I am sure many are curious how the new image sensor combined with the new Truepic 8 processing engine helped in managing high ISO noise and retaining details in the shots done by E-M1 Mark II.

An important point worth re-emphasizing is that we are comparing in JPEG images, though I did convert these images in Olympus Viewer 3 (which gives me the same JPEG as camera anyway). There is no third party solutions to convert the RAW files from E-M1 Mark II at this moment so please do not be unreasonable by asking me for RAW samples. Even I do not have the ability to judge how the RAW images perform under third party software. We shall leave that comment to a later stage, in the future.

I have done direct side by side comparisons shooting high ISO between the new E-M1 Mark II against the older E-M1. All exposure settings were carefully set to mitigate any inconsistencies. Focus was also done manually so there was no shifting between shots, the only variable in the comparison is the exact positioning of the camera (i put the camera on the table), but this should not be an issue since we are examining the high ISO noise pattern in this particular test.

HIGH ISO TEST - DEADPOOL COMPARISON (E-M1 VS E-M1 MARK II)

For the comparison series shown below, images on the left were from the E-M1 (2013) and the images on the right were from the new E-M1 Mark II. 

ISO1600

ISO3200

ISO6400

ISO12800

Looking at this simple side by side Lego Deadpool comparison series, it is obvious that in the JPEG output, E-M1 Mark II images shows significantly less noise, appearing less grainy and with better detail retention in comparison to the E-M1 (2013). I cannot tell you how much of this improvement is due to the new image sensor capabilities alone, or the work of the new Truepic 8 processing power. If you ask me to give a measurement of how much improvement based on my own observation, I'd say easily, the E-M1 Mark II has approximately near one stop high ISO advantage over the E-M1. This is a subjective measurement of course. 

Both E-M1 and E-M1 Mark II suppressed chroma (color) noise fairly well, leaving only luminance noise, which the E-M1 Mark II seemed to be able to produce cleaner looking image. The high ISO images from the original E-M1 (2013) did appear sharper overall, probably due to the Truepic 7 processing adding sharpness to maintain the "structured" look, but this also added to the "processed look and unwanted sharpening artifacts" that many also have complained, resulting in less natural look. The new E-M1 Mark II took a less aggressive approach when it comes to sharpening, and this was even more apparent in their high ISO images, yet maintaining useful level of details. 

Image on the left: E-M1 at ISO6400, and Image on the right: E-M1 Mark II at ISO6400. 

E-M1 Mark II has about one stop advantage when it comes to shooting in High ISO. 

The lego test was a controlled environment test, so as usual, I would toture the camera I was reviewing in real shooting conditions. I went to a live band show in Merdekarya, a location known to be extremely dim lit, with uneven lighting. I needed to use ISO6400 on average for the shots I have done there! Nadir, a local band I have been following was performing, so it was a night of having fun with the Olympus E-M1 Mark II, as well as enjoying awesome music. 

Here are more high ISO samples from the E-M1 Mark II. 

12-100mm PRO, f/6.3, 1/30s, 100mm, ISO1600

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12-100mm PRO, f/4, 1/100s, 100mm, ISO1000

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12-100mm PRO, f/8, 1/80s, 66mm, ISO3200

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75mm F1.8, f/1.8, 1/320s, ISO4000

12-100mm PRO, f/4, 1/80s, 17mm, ISO6400

45mm F1.8, f/1.8, 1/160s, 45mm, ISO6400

75mm F1.8, f/1.8, 1/80s, ISO3200

75mm f1.8, f/1.8, 1/200s, 75mm, ISO12800

75mm F1.8, 1/500sec, ISO6400

CAMERA HANDLING

Although the E-M1 Mark II's overall design is quite similar to the older E-M1, the E-M1 Mark II has several huge improvements in terms of ergonomics, design for comfortable hand-holding and also better placements of buttons and dials. 

The beefier hand gripping area (made deeper and larger than the E-M1) was the first one to stand out, a major welcome now, considering we are getting more larger sized lenses, eg the 40-150mm F2.8 PRO and 300mm F4 IS PRO. The larger hand gripping area also houses some important additional improvements and features, such as larger battery (with much longer capacity, we will get to that soon) and dual SD card slots that will surely benefit some serious shooters. In addition, the thumb rest area at the back of the camera has also changed, for better thumb hooking. 

I have always said previously that for Olympus the E-M1 (2013 version) has the best overall handling for Olympus cameras and would highly recommend it to any serious photographers especially those used to DSLR-like handling. 

Now, that crown goes to the new E-M1 Mark II. 

I was shooting ALL day, continuously almost non-stop, for hours and hours long, and I never felt any strain on my wrist or any pain or discomfort in any other body parts. I have shot with various lenses, 300mm F4 IS PRO, 75mm F1.8, 45mm F1.8, and about 90% of the time during this review as evidently seen in the amount of photographs taken, I used the 12-100mm F4 IS PRO lens. 

The grip was that good!

The camera did not feel that much larger than the E-M1 (2013), yet the ergonomics improved a lot. The buttons on the camera back are much larger now, and the "overly-sensitive" shutter button issue is now gone. The camera with especially the 12-100mm F4 PRO lens felt just right on hands, and I do not wish for any more improvements in this area. I think Olympus has hit the perfect spot in terms of performance to size/weight ratio and if you make the camera smaller, I won't be too happy with the compromises. 

Unfortunately we do not have a fully functional sample of the HLD-9 battery grip that goes with the E-M1 Mark II in Olympus Malaysia office yet, so I cannot comment on the add on battery grip, which I think will be useful for handling much larger lenses. 

ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER AND CAMERA LCD SCREEN

One of my few disappointments with the E-M1 Mark II, is the use of the exact same LCD touch panel as the older Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera! You cannot fully operate the menu from the touch screen, and it is still a single-touch operation. That means, you cannot do pinch to zoom (like what you can do on smartphones), which would have been really useful when previewing images. That feature is already available in most of other manufacturer's cameras with touch screen capabilities, I just wish this was implemented in Olympus' Flagship camera! Come on, how difficult is it to have a multi-touch capable LCD screen, and more icon-driven menu system for simpler touch screen operation? We live in a world of smart devices now, the camera has got to get smarter somehow.

The electronic viewfinder promises two things: much better response time at 6ms delay only, and 120fps refresh rate. Indeed the EVF was a joy to use, large enough for framing comfortably and I did not experience any eye strain shooting long hours with the E-M1 Mark II through the EVF. The black out time while shooting continuously (18 frames per second C-AF tests as shown earlier) was quite minimal and I could still effectively track my subjects visibly and clearly. My only complain, which is not a big problem and I needed some time to get used to, is the more saturated than normal EVF colors in comparison to the E-M1 (2013). The EVF on the E-M1 has more neutral, almost natural looking colors which was something I am proud to show people who are not using Olympus EVF (you should have seen how different he color profiles are at "other" manufacturers' EVF).

The hand gripping is beefier now, deeper and taller than E-M1. Also the thumb hook area has been improved as well. 

E-M1 Mark II's battery on the left vs E-M1's battery on the right

Now, the battery indicator shows actual percentage remaining!

BATTERY LIFE

As shown in the image comparison of two batteries above (E-M1 Mark II the black one, and E-M1 using the grey one), you can tell that the much chunkier E-M1 Mark II's battery means serious business! I am so glad, after so many constant complains I have given review after review on not getting sufficient battery life out of the Olympus OM-D and PEN cameras, FINALLY they made a new battery for the new E-M1 Mark II. This is huge.

One battery charge could last me an ENTIRE day, coming home with more than 1500 shots, yet I still have about 20% battery life left! On the day I was shooting the Sepang Moto GP 2016, I came home with about 3000 shots (I used sequential shooting most of the time) before the battery flattened. It is difficult to estimate how much improvement there is over the previous E-M1, but I can confidently say the new battery lasts at least TWICE as long on the E-M1 Mark II. With the exception of the Sepang Moto GP race shooting, I never needed to reach for a second/spare battery to get me through the day.

A tiny, but useful change is that the battery now has a percentage indicator! I am sure many Olympus OM-D and PEN shooters suffer this: you do not know how much battery power if left but judging by the mysterious 2/3 bars battery indicator you thought you could get maybe 150 or more shots, but about 5 minutes later the battery started blinking red and it shuts down the next 2 minutes. With the exact percentage indicator, now that won't be an issue anymore!

4K VIDEO RECORDING

After so many requests and customer feedback, FINALLY, there is 4K video recording in E-M1 Mark II.

DISCLAIMER: Now I shall politely excuse myself from commenting on the video capabilities of the E-M1 Mark II. I am not a video shooter, and I seriously have very little experience when it comes to video. I shall leave this part of the review to the actual pros.

Nevertheless I did have a 4K video, recorded at Ultra HD (3840 × 2160) and have that uploaded to Youtube. Please understand that Youtube does some funky compression for faster loading time so please do not judge the video quality. The E-M1 Mark II can record in full Cinema 4K, but I thought it was pointless to do so since I won't be able to showcase the capabilities through Youtube.

What you can judge from this video, was that the video was shot at an incredibly challenging lighting condition, fully hand-held. The 5-Axis Image Stabilization does a great job at steadying the video, even when I was walking around to frame some of the difficult to reach musicians hiding in far corners of the stage. Also, C-AF was used, but not entirely successful all the time, falling short at areas with very low contrast (the two ladies in front, who stood in the shadows), and the C-AF in the video will somehow go to areas with much stronger/bolder contrast. Other than that, I do think the C-AF is quite reliable if not encountering such complex situations. And I know all the video shooters that I know who know their game well, will shoot in manual focus only.

NADIR (FEATURING BIHZHU) - WHY DO WE CRY

Nadir performing their original song "Why Do We Cry" live at Merdekarya on 29 October 2016, with lead vocals by guest singer Bihzhu. 

Check out Nadir at their Youtube Channel (click) and Facebook Page (click). 

Check out Bihzhu at her Youtube Channel (click) and Official Website (click)

The first thing I immediately noticed when I was playing the video on my PC was the dramatic difference in audio recording! That was something I least expected, but such a great improvement nonetheless. Do bear in mind that I was shooting a live band performance, and I was standing quite near to the loudspeakers. Knowing this I intentionally dialed down the volume control (audio recording level) and the audio recorded came out superb! No distortion at all, and the bass and treble were beautifully rendered. The sound was so full of detail and the vocal was clearly recorded in the midst of all the loud, messy, clashing of other musical instruments.  I am not expecting audiophile quality, surely this cannot replace dedicated microphones or voice recorders, but in situations both are absent, you can rest assured the built in microphone can do a decent job on it's own. Since Olympus does manufacture high quality voice recorders, it was about time they finally incorporated their expertise of voice recording into their OM-D camera! 

The 5-Axis IS worked like a charm in video. I am not skillful enough for smooth maneuvering, but you can tell from my crudely recorded video that the IS worked effectively in steadying the video. The only part which suffered in the video was the focusing, but I believe experience and know-how are important too, both I seriously lack of. In the Youtube video, you may also see in the darker shadows, there are artifacts, and this is most likely due to heavy compression by Youtube. I do not see them in the original video. 

300mm PRO, f/11, 1/125s, SO64

300mm PRO, f/18, 1/200s, ISO200

12-100mm PRO, f/4, 1/1600s, 100mm, ISO320

 12-100mm PRO, F/4, 1/60s, 70mm, ISO800

12-100mm PRO, F/8, 1/20s, 41mm, ISO200

FULL RESOLUTION IMAGE SAMPLES 

I have uploaded 30 sample images as seen in this blog review to Google Photos for your pixel-peeping pleasures. You may view the full resolution image samples here (click). 

CONCLUSIONS

What I like about the E-M1 Mark II?

1) Incredible 5-Axis Image Stabilization, especially combined with the M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 IS PRO lens

2) Significantly improved Continuous AF hit-rate and accuracy, with useful features such as Pro Capture Mode that starts recording images as you half-press the shutter button to prevent missing important split second shots

3) Improved overall image quality and better JPEG output straight out of the camera

4) Phenomenal battery life, I used only one battery for a full day out shooting, giving me about 1500 shots in a single charge

5) Enhanced ergonomics and camera handling, with beefier hand-gripping area

6) Superb audio quality in video recording - I shall not comment much in video recording performance and leave this to the actual pros. 

What I wish was improved in the E-M1 Mark II?

1) The LCD Touch Screen still does not have multi touch capability. It is 2016, we need to be able to operate better from the touch screen!

2) Electronic Viewfinder showing more saturated colors, which appear unnatural. I guess I need some to time getting used to this

3) I seriously have run out of negative things to say about E-M1 Mark II. 

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II has exceeded every aspect of my own initial expectations of the camera. From my review testing sessions, I found that the E-M1 Mark II (in comparison to the older 2013 E-M1) has better image stabilization capabilities, improved continuous AF performance, more comfortable camera handling and most importantly new 20MP image sensor and Truepic 8 processing engine that deliver greater image quality. 

I was particularly surprised to be able to hand-hold the camera for long exposure photography up to 5 seconds long at 12mm wide angle (with the 12-100mm F4 IS PRO lens), which was an incredible feat that I never thought was possible without a tripod, or resting the camera on a surface. The 5-Axis Image Stabilization also greatly benefits video being recorded hand-held. Autofocus performance has also been drastically improved especially when it comes to Continuous AF shooting, getting high hit-rates in my tests. I cannot tell you how the Continuous AF compares with competition since I have had no prior experience using other cameras with high performing Continuous AF capabilities, I am sure there will be other more qualified reviewers covering this. I particularly liked the noticeable improvements in image quality, about one stop advantage when it comes to shooting high ISO compared to the older E-M1, as well as more refined, pleasing looking JPEG output with the new Truepic 8 engine. Shooting all day with the E-M1 Mark II, at times a few hours continuously was quite a fun experience, handling was comfortable and I never felt the need to put the camera away to rest. 

I acknowledge that there are some aspects and features of the E-M1 Mark II which I have not covered, eg 50MP high resolution mode, more detailed explanation on how the Continuous AF works, and all the other improvements. I shall cover these improvements in my coming review extension entry soon, and rest assured I will be shooting more sample images to share here as well. Also, I want to start talking about that beautiful M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 IS PRO lens! 

If you are looking for a high performing mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, I strongly believe Olympus OM-D E-M1 mark IIIIis quite a tough choice to beat at this moment!

Note: E-M1 Mark II Blog Extension (click) is now published, covering 50MP High Res Shot, Electronic Shutter improvements, Cinema 4K shooting and upgrades of camera features. 

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is available from B&H here. 
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