Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II non-technical camera review. Olympus OM-D E-M1 II Key Features

First acquaintance, review, preliminary test

"The redesigned OM-D E-M5 Mark II turns this award-winning camera into a powerful tool for creative reportage photography and video."

"With a unique stabilization system and a rugged, compact body, even the most demanding videographers can easily shoot outdoor footage right hand-held, eliminating the need for additional heavy equipment and worrying about noise, blur and low light."

"... not to mention the 40-megapixel composite function."

“Even in low light conditions and a telephoto lens that enhances the effect of vibration, the 5-axis stabilization system ensures that any shot is sharp. This is true for both stills and video: both provide better image quality than heavy and clunky DSLRs. ”

Some articles in our section begin with the manufacturer's words. This is not a hidden or open advertisement. This is a reason to meet the camera "by clothes", as the manufacturer presents it. And then, as you get to know the heroine of the test or preliminary test, gradually make sure how true or not too true the first impression was. Consider that this is how we open the box.

Then - we open the description of the camera on the page with characteristics. Moreover, we find on this page a comparative table of three models of the OM-D series - the predecessor of the E-M5, the E-M5 Mark II itself and the flagship of the E-M1 series.

	Olympus OM-D E-M5	Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II	Olympus OM-D E-M1
Date of announcement	8 February 2012	5 February 2015	September 10, 2013
Frame	Magnesium alloy
Protection	Water / dust	Water / dust / frost (up to -10 ° С)
Matrix	16 megapixel Four Thirds Live MOC	16 megapixels * Four thirds Live MOC	16 megapixel Four Thirds Live MOC
Sensitivity	ISO 100 ** - 25 600
Autofocus	Contrast, 35 zones	Contrast, 81 zones, with tracking capability	Phase and contrast 37 zones
Exposure metering	Multi-segment, 324 zones
Stabilizer	Optical, 5-axis, ≈ 4.5 EV steps	Optical, 5-axis, ≈ 5 EV steps	Optical, 5-axis, ≈ 4.5 EV steps
Screen	3.0 inches OLED 921,000 points folding, touch	3.0 inches TFT 1,040,000 points tilt-swivel, touch	3.0 inches TFT 1,040,000 points folding, touch
Viewfinder	1,040,000 points	2,360,000 points
Burst speed	up to 9 fps	up to 10 fps
Video	1920 × 1080 30p fps	1920 × 1080 60p fps
CPU	TruePic VI	TruePic VII
Gate	60 - 1/4000 s	60 - 1/8000 s
Memory cards	SD / SDHC / SDX
Wi-Fi	Eye-Fi compatible	built-in module
Gps	No
Dimensions, weight	121 x 90 x 42 mm 425 g ***	124 x 85 x 38 mm 496 g ***	130 x 94 x 63 mm 497 g ***
Price, case	T-7857683	≈ RUB 62,999	T-10498016

* With the possibility of composite shooting (in this mode, the matrix during exposure
makes 8 micro-movements, as a result of which it allows to get
pictures with a resolution of 40 megapixels, 7296 × 5472 letters).

** ISO 100 in low sensitivity mode, in normal mode - ISO 200.

*** With battery and memory card.

As you can see, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II has more common features with the flagship E-M1 than with its predecessor. In particular, this applies to the price. Although the question about the price is not entirely simple: at the presentation it was noted that the price of the E-M5 and E-M5 Mark II in euros is the same, the E-M5 Mark II should replace the old model painlessly for buyers. However, in Russia, the E-M5 will cost 30 thousand less - while the old stocks, tied to the pre-crisis euro exchange rate, are being sold. E-M5 Mark II shipments will already be tied to the new exchange rate, so we will have a very different price for the old and new cameras.

Design, management, whales, accessories

If the camera was in the hands for only a couple of hours, it is better not to make final conclusions, the first impressions are not always correct. But while there are only them, the first, there is nothing more to share. So let's try to figure out how successful the design of the E-M5 Mark II was, with minimal data. Let's just tell you what is now known about the camera.

	If we compare the "carcasses" of the E-M5 and the E-M5 Mark II, it is easy to see that an aperture repeater has appeared to the left of the lens (at the bottom), and to the left (at the top) - a sync connector for the flash system. In addition, frost resistance was added, but outwardly it does not manifest itself in any way. I would very much like the built-in flash to show up, but it is not there. This is where Olympus falls into the sin of "cool cameras don't need a built-in flash." We have already analyzed this sin using the Nikon D750 and Canon 6D examples. Not in favor of the latter.
	The camera is available not only in black, but also in silver - a tribute to another version of the classic. At least two whales with different lenses will be on sale in Russia: M.Zuiko ED 12-50mm 1: 3.5-6.3 (the estimated price of the kit is 69,999 rubles). M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm 1: 4.0-5.6 II (estimated price of the kit is 79,999 rubles).
	A flip-up tilt screen for Olympus cameras is a rarity. To be honest, I don’t remember a model equipped with a folding swivel, but this is not so important. And it is important that the manufacturer positions the E-M5 Mark II as a cool camcorder. And, accordingly, the screen of a photo-video camera should have a maximum of the degrees of freedom.
	On the top of the rear panel, we see another function button framed by the mode switch. Otherwise, the design of the panel is also minimalistic, like that of a simple "five", E-M5. At the top it had the Play and Fn buttons, and at the bottom - the camera on / off lever.
	The top view is pleasantly surprising: the number of control wheels is two, the number of function buttons is four. This is great, although the question arises - how quickly can you master such a number of Fn-buttons? After all, they change different parameters when scrolling the main and additional wheels. In short, the E-M5 Mark II's control scheme is advanced. The OM-D E-M5 also had two control wheels, but only one function button.
	But the mode dial is almost identical to the OM-D E-M5. Basis: i-Auto, PASM, video, ART (effects), SCN (scene programs). The only new mode is PHOTO STORY (collage creation).
	And of course the E-M5 Mark II is compatible with Olympus OM-D accessories: battery pack HLD-8; underwater case PT-EP13 (diving depth up to 45 m); removable handle ECG-2; compact electronic flash FL-600R; collimator sight EE-1, etc.

• While its predecessor, the E-M5, was positioned in the middle of the OM-D line, the E-M5 Mark II comes close to the flagship E-M1 in terms of features and price.
• In some respects, the E-M5 Mark II even surpasses the flagship - it is equipped with a more movable screen, a more perfect stabilizer, and has less weight. But in what it definitely loses to the E-M1 - in ergonomics, in the convenience of the case. However, here it is very difficult to compete with the E-M1, its body is fantastically comfortable. This is not only my opinion, the same is held by a dozen of my fellow photographers who own the E-M1 or have tested this camera. As far as the ergonomics of the E-M5 Mark II are concerned, they are just good, wonderful, like many other cameras. This can be said after the first acquaintance. After a week or two weeks of testing, opinion may change.

Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mark II and competitors
	Fujifilm X-E2	Fujifilm X-T1	Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3	Sony Alpha 7
Matrix	16 megapixels APS-C CMOS BSI	16 megapixels APS-C CMOS BSI	16 megapixels Four thirds Live MOS	16 megapixels Four thirds Live MOS	24 megapixels Full frame CMOS
Sensitivity	200 - 6400 up to 25 600 *	200 - 6400 up to 51 200 *	200 - 25 600	125 - 3200 up to 25 600 *	50 - 25 600
Display	3 ″ TFT 1 040 000 fix.	3 ″ TFT 1 040 000 folding	3 ″ TFT 1 040 000	3 ″ OLED 614 000 folding, swivel, touch	3 ″ TFT 921 000 folding
Viewfinder	OLED 2 360 000	OLED 2 360 000	TFT 2 360 000	OLED 1 744 000	OLED 1 359 000
Stabilizer	No	No	optic 5-axis	No	No
Burst shooting	7 fps	8 fps	10 fps	20 fps	5 fps
Video	1920 × 1080 60p	1920 × 1080 60p	1920 × 1080 60p	1920 × 1080 60p	1920 × 1080 60p
Dimensions, weight	129 × 75 × 37 350 g	129 × 75 × 37 440 g	129 × 90 × 47 496 g	124 × 85 × 38 550 g	133 × 93 × 82 470 g
Estimated price	T-10548231	T-10687078	Reference point. RUB 62,999	T-8459250	T-10542303

* - in extended mode.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II presentation

As already mentioned, my acquaintance with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II is still nodding - although at the presentation I managed to thoroughly “touch” the camera, the acquaintance lasted only a couple of hours. This is not enough time for a stable rational opinion to develop. All this time you think about one thing - how to make test shots not in the laboratory, but in an unfamiliar room? So I'm not going to talk about the features of the camera, but representatives of Olympus. Perhaps, in the course of the story, I can add something sane. First, about the market and target audience. By the way, the presentation slides can be enlarged (clicked) if desired.

	reference: ILC (Interchangeable-Lens Cameras) is a common set of DSLRs (DCLR) and mirrorless or "system cameras" (CSC). According to Olympus, the ILC market is showing the following trend: In the general set of ILS, the share of DSLRs is gradually decreasing. In 2009, 10.5 million ILCs were on sale in the world and almost all of them were DSLRs. In the first quarter of 2014, of the estimated 15.4 million ILCs, mirrorless cameras accounted for 4.2 million. This is approximately 27%. Further, according to forecasts, the number of sold DSLRs will decline, and the number of sold mirrorless cameras will remain at about 4.15 million. That is, the share of mirrorless cameras will continue to grow. Wait and see!
	The share of Olympus mirrorless cameras has grown from 10% to 15% (approximately) over the past two years. I will not comment on these numbers as: I have no reason not to trust the Olumpus data. But at the same time, I remember very well that at press conferences and presentations, manufacturers always demonstrate their considerable successes. The key word here is always. If two competing companies hold press conferences in adjacent halls, each of them will prove that it is doing much better than the competitor. To figure out the angle at which information is refracted, you have to be a very good market expert (this is not about me). But in any case, the data of each manufacturer is interesting - at least they give part of the overall picture.
	Olympus does not offer “for everyone” cameras. Each model has its own target audience. As for mirrorless cameras, which Olympus prefer to call "system cameras" (CSC - Compact System Cameras), here the division goes into two groups. The PEN series cameras are considered “feminine” and the OM-D cameras are considered “masculine”.
	On the other hand, the OM-D E-M5 Mark II is a representative of the "middle class". In the sense that the flagship E-M1 is aimed at pros or super-enthusiastic hobbyists, the E-M10 is successful people passionate about photography. And the E-M5 and E-M5 Mark II are for enthusiast photographers. This is the "middle class".
	On the third hand, photo enthusiasts, in a refined form, these are: Both women and men! From 30 years old! Active. Those who like to photograph, for example, nature. They are inspired by wonderful views and strive to create wonderful photographs. At the same time, they think more about the photography itself, and not about the use of photographic equipment. When filming a video, these people are not entirely confident in their skill. P. S. The translation is not entirely accurate. If you are not satisfied with the quality of the translation, read in English.

Now we understand under what sauce the OM-D E-M5 Mark II appears on the market, and we can move on to the features of the camera itself. At the same time, we would like to voice the following point: in this article, our comments are laconic and not particularly critical. You can adhere to the position "in a theoretical dispute, I will defeat everyone" and as a result get a multi-page battle, like those that sometimes unfold on our forum. But we adhere to a much simpler position - we develop sane tests, test cameras, post materials, assessments. This is our main argument. And to catch representatives of a particular company in insufficiently objective coverage of facts is stupid. Of course, they adhere to the strategy of "telling only the truth, nothing but the truth, but not the whole truth." It would be fun to hear from Olympus arguing for the position of Nikon DSLRs. Or Canon.

	OM-D E-M5 Mark II (like the E-M1, like the E-M5) is equipped with a 5-axis stabilizer - which "dampens" the movement of the matrix in three Cartesian dimensions and, in addition, stabilizes the rotational movement of the matrix when the optical axis moves up and down, clockwise and back. The manufacturer claims that the OM-D E-M5 Mark II is even more advanced than its predecessor cameras, making it the most efficient optical image stabilizer in the world. I don't think Olympus is disingenuous here. When we , our test showed an efficiency of 4.5 steps (the manufacturer promised consumers 4 to 5 steps; our test consistently gives results that differ from the results of the CIPA test by no more than 1/3 EV).
	It is difficult to say how the “improved 5-axis E-M5 Mark II” is different from the “5-axis E-M1 or E-M5”. Perhaps the improved stabilizer is a third or a quarter stop more effective. It is not easy to measure such a small gain, but it will be interesting to "drive" the E-M5 Mark II according to our method. And in any case, the Olympus 5-axis gimbal is the most effective of all that came to our laboratory. We usually see 3-stage instances.
	The second feature of the E-M5 Mark II is frost resistance. This is a guaranteed ability to operate at minus 10 Celsius. As far as I remember, the year before last, colleagues in Murmansk tested the OM-D EM-1 at temperatures much lower, below minus 20 - for sure. Together with its compact size and light weight, protection from moisture and dust, frost resistance forms the concept of "Fully protected compact system". Why this is important - Olympus representatives will clarify in the interview at the end of the article.
	The third feature or "very high quality video in your hands" is provided by the following logical chain: Today many videographers have mastered SLR cameras for video shooting. But it is unreasonable to use DSLRs here - they are too heavy and cumbersome. Against their background, the OM-D cameras seem small and light. Not only they seem - they are. A unique stabilizer and dust-moisture-frost-proofness makes them simply irreplaceable. The videographer can shoot in any conditions. And his shoulders, arms and legs (from fatigue) will not fall off. 4K is currently too heavy a format (1 hour of video - from 100 to 400 GB). Today, Full HD 60p resolution with a margin is enough not only for amateur, but also for professional video (for shooting wedding ceremonies, for example).
	The fourth feature is the ability to see crystal clear images in any situation. An improved viewfinder provides this capability (the Mark II has twice as many dots as the E-M5). An improved screen provides this capability. In the Mark II, the number of screen dots has almost doubled, and at the same time it has become not only folding, but also swiveling.
	And finally, the fifth feature of the E-M5 Mark II is the ability to create 40-megapixel images using a 16-megapixel sensor. Of course, this is not a simple interpolation, but rather tricky movements of the matrix during exposure. And the most amazing thing is that it works! And it works very well. Details are in the test section of this article.
	For now, suffice it to say the following: the increase in resolution is achieved due to 8 micro-movements of the matrix during exposure. In this case, the camera should be stationary, preferably on a good tripod. Otherwise, even with the slightest lubrication, the effect of micro-displacement of the matrix will disappear. The mechanisms of stabilization and deliberate movement of the matrix closely interact. Perhaps we can say that this is one mechanism operating in different modes.

Small test - noises

Of course, one of the first questions that arise is how well the camera copes with noise. The manufacturer's statements, no matter how they sound - rosy or restrained - require verification. In one of the Runet materials, I read this statement: "... even the E-M5 Mark II matrix remained the same as that of the E-M5." Maybe so, but from a short acquaintance with the new camera, I got the impression that it makes less noise than the E-M1 and E-M10 (cameras that I studied well). So, perhaps, the matrix of the E-M5 Mark II is still new, and only the resolution remains old. It is also possible that the noise reduction has become more perfect. However, judge for yourself: the table below shows the frames taken with ISO 800 - 3200 - 6400 in the upper row and ISO 10,000 - 16,000 - 25,600 in the lower one.

Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mark II noise test
Clicking on each fragment will open a window where it will be presented in 6 versions: Top row - with sensitivity 800 - 3200 - 6400 In the bottom row - with a sensitivity of 10,000 - 16,000 - 25,600

Since there is nothing to "develop" the RAW frames of the E-M5 Mark II yet (there is no program or plug-in available yet), we have shown only the "clippings" from JPG. But the general conclusion can be drawn from JPG - the noise level even at ISO 25,600 is quite decent. On some textures it is hardly noticeable, on some it is more noticeable, but, I repeat, the noise picture that the E-M5 Mark II gives is quite decent. Honestly, I really want to compare laboratory shots of the E-M5 Mark II, Sony Alpha 7 and some DSLR. The laboratory differs from "nature" in that the shots are made in the same conditions, the differences are seen very well.

And one more small remark. Some shots taken at ISO 800 are a little blurry - for example, the second test shot (red cloth with embroidery) was taken at a shutter speed of 1 / 5th of a second. This, even with a 5-axis stabilizer, is not enough to avoid a little lubrication. So some ISO 800 frames should have been discarded, but we kept them so that all test blocks contained the same ISO set. If your ISO 800 shot gives you a bad feeling, feel free to ignore it - this is the handiwork of the photographer, not the fault of the E-M5 Mark II. But, believe me, it is not so easy to make test frames at a presentation.

Small test - 40M Hi Res Shot mode

In Olympus' presentation, the 40M Hi Res Shot mode was announced to the honorable last place. According to the rule of the last but not least, or so that a slight tension of the audience reaches the desired condition.

Photographer and journalist Yevgeny Uvarov, Olympus' Photo Attaché, has demonstrated how good the 40M is. He added that: “The shots taken in this mode are great. That is, you can increase them up to 600-700 percent and get ready-made billboards for a small skyscraper. And he added that they "stretch" so well because "the pixels have no edge effects." For those who are fond of enlargement, this may say something, but it seemed to me like some kind of mixture of physics and lyrics. I may be wrong. In any case, Uvarov gave the 40M regime an enthusiastic assessment. I have known Uvarov for a very long time, and I know that he will not dissemble; in the worst case, he will not tell the whole truth. And after his enthusiastic assessment, it was interesting to see the merits of the 40M mode for yourself. Conclusions - a little later, first look at the results of self-belief:

Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mark II 40M Hi Res Shot mode
Clicking on each fragment will open a window showing: on the left - a regular shot of the E-M5 Mark II (16 megapixels); on the right is the same high-resolution image (40 megapixels). Find 10 differences.

I think that after viewing this table, neither my recommendations nor Evgeny Uvarov's recommendations are needed, the pictures speak for themselves. Of course, they are all untouched in the test results download section - only in the JPG version.

It will also be very interesting here to compare the shots of the E-M5 Mark II and, say, the 36MP Nikon D810. I think this will happen pretty soon. And by the time of testing, I would like to wait for the release of a program or plug-in that will allow developing RAW from the E-M5 Mark II.

Olympus - interviews

At the presentation of Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, in addition to representatives of the Moscow branch of the company, Florian Hasselmann, Olympus project manager, spoke. And although during the presentation and after it, during testing, there were a lot of conversations, mainly about technology, we also had the opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with Mr. Hasselmann and Pavel Gurov, Director of the Photo and Audio Department of Olympus Moscow ". Not only about technology.

I sketched questions for the interview, starting from other interests: I was curious to know how the company builds the production of high-quality equipment. Moreover, for a considerable period of time, an entire era, since 1919.

Japanese manufacturers think a little differently from European and American ones. I once realized this when reading articles by Vladimir Tsvetov, and later, when I had a chance to visit Japanese factories. In the actions of Japanese engineers and managers, there is always a philosophy that Europeans, I think, are not given to fully understand (just as the Japanese are not given to understand us). But at least you can try, you can make some kind of projection of their world. And although Florian Hasselmann and Pavel Gurov are not Japanese, they (simply due to their duty) had to somehow “saturate” with the Japanese vision of things.

Florian's and Paul's answers complemented each other, and therefore, in order not to complicate the material, I have brought them together. In this interview, iXBT asks questions and Olympus answers.

iXBT: This is partly a compliment, partly - objective information. Olympus is a company that can be called a leader in the search for a new image of photography equipment. We mean exceptionally successful design and technical solutions, ergonomics. Your cameras are unusual. The development of such products requires not just non-standard solutions, but a whole system of views and philosophy. Question: if Olympus has a philosophy or belief system? If so, can you briefly outline it?

Olympus: Thank you for this question, because it is always pleasant when they try to understand why and why the company produces this or that product. And we are, indeed, a company that has its own philosophy, which for many years, since the creation of our first cameras, has been trying to go its own way.

Olympus never copied anyone, we never thought, “Oh! Someone makes a camera like this, let's do something similar. If it works in the market, let's do it the same way, improve it a little, and it will work too. "

This is not our way. Our products - Stylus, PEN, OM-D - are, of their kind, absolutely unique creatures, in which we have invested all our capabilities, the developments of the R&D department, the knowledge that the company's professionals have, and, of course, a piece of our soul.

If we talk about which philosophy we choose as the basis for our actions, we can recall how two years ago, at the presentation of OM-D EM-1, we showed quite interesting photo: a man stood knee-deep in water by the river, he sent a small boat with a candle to sail. And the whole river was filled with such boats ...

It was a ceremony for the victims of the 2011 earthquake in Japan. The shooting conditions there were quite difficult - emotionally, physically (the photographer had to stand knee-deep in water), according to the shooting conditions (very low light). This photo perfectly illustrates the philosophy of our company - to create products, cameras that will allow you to take photos in any conditions. This can be perceived from very different angles. If we create 5-axis stabilization, it should help the photographer get the most out of the shooting conditions. Then we start to think: “OK! And if the camera is also compact, then there will be no restrictions in terms of movement. " And then: "Then we will need a compact and high-aperture optics."

At the end of this chain, it turns out that the camera should have no restrictions at all, either in time, or in the place of shooting, or in anything else. This is the philosophy of our company, which our specialists pick up and implement in specific products.

iXBT: The Four Thirds System was announced in 2002. And then Olympus's arguments regarding the sensor size were as follows: in the near future, the noise problem can be solved (more or less); then it will become apparent that the size of the Four Thirds System sensor is optimal for digital photography. Question: many years have passed since then, but the problem of noise remains acute enough? And in the near future, most likely, there will be no breakthrough. Do you still think the Four Thirds sensor size is optimal for photography?

Olympus: This question sometimes disappears, sometimes it reappears, but we are still in the position that we have chosen the correct format.

Let's clarify what gives us reason to think so. Firstly, the problem of noise is not as acute as some photographers and some media are trying to portray. For small sensors, yes, this is an acute problem. But for the large ones, in particular, for the Four Thirds, it is no longer acute. We have practically ceased to be "annoyed" with questions about noise. At least when the OM-D series appeared, in 2012. It was in this year that we introduced our latest developments to the OM-D and PEN cameras, and the problem of noise became insignificant. These cameras can compete directly with most DSLRs. And the fact that the upper segment of DSLRs provides a higher quality is also insignificant - it is only a few percent of the entire market.

Farther. Our main weapon in the fight against noise is not only the quality of the matrix and noise suppression. It's also very powerful image stabilization. We understand that not in all cases the stabilizer saves the day, but it (especially if the photographer is used to using it) can significantly expand the possibilities of shooting in low light.

And finally, we always start from the needs of our clients, give what people need, and do not pursue some abstract goals. And if our cameras are bought, if they receive numerous awards, this is the best confirmation of our innocence. From the presentation of the E-M5 in 2012 to the present day, the OM-D family has won over 75 different nominations, and we have been honored not only for design and technology, but also for image quality. Since 2012, more and more people have personally tested and appreciated all the benefits of premium products, including the level of noise reduction. All this is done in the daily practice of novice photographers, amateurs, enthusiasts and professionals. Therefore, we are not too surprised that the Micro Four Thirds standard has become one of the recognized leaders. Yes, it took years for the consumer to appreciate the Four Thirds and its sequel, the Micro Four Thirds. But today it is a fact with which one can not argue.

iXBT: It is difficult to guess for a long time. But still, let's try to dream up. Question: what do you think, in ten years: (a) mirrorless cameras will completely replace DSLRs. (b) They will be squeezed out a lot. (c) The balance of power will remain about the same as today.

Olympus: We do not consider this issue in terms of repression or non-repression. We view or rather evaluate it from a different perspective.

In itself, the creation of cameras without a mirror tunnel was a very serious, one might say, mega-breakthrough innovation. And from the very beginning, its prospects were visible, although at the beginning, it must be admitted, there was a certain technological difference between classic SLR cameras and cameras, which began to be called mirrorless. But it was shrinking pretty quickly. It was almost obvious to us. And now we are well aware that our OM-D and PEN cameras are already competing on an absolutely equal footing, technologically not inferior to a large group of SLR cameras.

We think that subsequent technological innovations will lead to the fact that the gap between this or that group of cameras will cease to exist (if we do not go into the details of the segments). And this, of course, will lead to the fact that the consumer will absolutely equally weigh whether he wants to buy a camera with a mirror or without a mirror?

Perhaps the more important point here will be the human attachment to the optical viewfinder. But, on the other hand, electronic viewfinders have been around for more than one year and have been improving for more than one year. A whole generation of amateur photographers has grown up who are not psychologically attached to optical viewfinders. And in the end, the question of choice will become not technological, but psychological - which is more pleasant to work with. Therefore, we initially did not assume that one technology would kill another. And the question here is not in 10 years (or not in 10 years), not in who will replace whom or not, but in the fact that at some point the choice different types cameras will leave the technical plane.

iXBT: Returning to the first question, does corporate philosophy include or does not include aggressiveness?

Olympus: Well, if we are aggressive, then only in the sense that we supply a large amount of innovation to the market. From a marketing point of view, this can be considered aggression, since not every company is capable of such a volume. But the very task of aggressive behavior in the market is not included in our philosophy and simply is not posed. Although outside observers may come to a different point of view, since the trend of increasing the share of system cameras is very, very rapid. For example, in Russia, in the past 2014, system cameras were the only market segment that grew steadily every month, all 12 months.

iXBT: What do you think the image of a mirrorless camera will be in five years? What parameters will increase, what will change first?

Olympus: On this moment we keep the focus on image stabilization and compactness, light weight. And not only the cameras themselves, but the entire system as a whole. Stabilization, compactness, light weight add up to give consumers more freedom, great quality, and the ability to take photos anytime, anywhere.

Mobility, freedom, always, everywhere - these are our main principles, and if we adhere to them, we take into account not only the existing needs of consumers, but also the future ones. But if you are interested in a specific answer, most likely, in the coming years, stabilization and compactness will be decisive for system cameras.

iXBT: Low-end compact cameras are now gradually being replaced by smartphones and smartphone cameras. Question: what prevents to equip all compact cameras with larger sensors (at least half the size of Four Thirds), to make them more perfect? Is it a question of the price of the matrix, or is it not just a matter of price?

Olympus: Yes, there are cameras on the market with non-removable optics and relatively large matrices, not even just there - there are a lot of such cameras. We naturally follow this part of the market. And for ourselves, we note that we can create something similar, based on the totality of technological solutions that the company has. But we also look at the size of this market share and what dynamics it has.

This part of the market can be said to be small and static. Although it does not fall, it does not grow, unlike system cameras. This is a niche product. And there is no point in entering this niche just for the sake of getting out. We must understand what value it will bring end consumer... And besides, we remember our rule: "We never copy anyone."

Let's say we create the same camera, call it "X", put our excellent Zuiko optics and a larger sensor there. And in the end we will get the same thing that is already on the market, maybe a little cheaper, maybe a little better. But in general, this will be a repetition of what is already there, and we will be engaged in banal copying. This is not our way.

We have another example: when the Stylus 1 was created, we were able to offer consumers the best camera, unique of its kind, by the combination of characteristics. And now its position is very strong, but the size of the sensor does not play a leading role in its set of characteristics. And the market feels it great. So, answering your question, we can say that the size of the sensor and its price, from our point of view, do not play a big role. Although some manufacturers "put" exactly on the size of the sensor and as a result got niche products that are not very interesting for the market.

iXBT: Some manufacturers' cameras are equipped with so-called “Creative Auto Modes”. In which, instead of the term "Aperture", the understandable term "Background blur" is used, instead of "Exposure" - "Freeze or blur the frame." Question: What do you think - why are manufacturers so slowly developing this direction? Indeed, in theory, this will allow to rebuild the interface of cameras, to make it understandable for everyone.

Olympus: As for the simplified names of the functions, we have already used and are using this functionality in our cameras, it is called the Live Guide. We introduced it when the PEN E-PL1 came out in the spring of 2010. This functionality is very convenient, since its capabilities are complemented by a touch screen. Just touch the screen to bring up a special menu. And it looks like the journalists immediately began to say that all this is intended for beginners and housewives. And it is precisely there that the terminology is used not classical conservative, but understandable and accessible.

The user can use the concepts of "Blurred background" or "Frozen frame" or when adjusting the color temperature, he can choose the color of the frame "Warmer - Colder". Even more has been done there - not only the functions are called in simple human language, but the function setting itself has been changed. With a slider on the touch screen, you can very flexibly select different levels of adjustment "blur the background" or "don't blur the background".

But as we said, we do not have cameras "for everyone", each model is designed for its target audience. If we position the OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera for advanced photographers, we understand that they will not adopt another language, they are used to "classic", and not the choice of "take clear pictures" or "blurry pictures".

Another thing is when we talk about cameras designed for beginners, for example, our PEN PL7 is considered a “female” camera. The Live Guide functionality is preserved there, it is developed there. Moreover, we were the first to propose such an approach in 2010. And now, of course, we keep the development of these functions in focus and monitor their relevance. And if it grows, we will certainly be able to propose further development of these functions.

iXBT: Thank you for your time and interesting answers.

Olympus: Thanks for the interesting questions.

Outcomes

Of course, the "presentation" share of content in this article is large. But why not? Why not expand the manufacturer's view of the camera? Why not limit yourself to short comments and test shots? By the way, they are very "speaking", their word in this article is almost the main thing.

It will take some time, and the OM-D E-M5 Mark II will be in our laboratory. And then we, most likely, will only be able to clarify the information of this article. Of course, it will be very interesting to compare the test shots of the E-M5 Mark II with the shots of other cool cameras. It will be very interesting to test our method of assessing the speed and accuracy of autofocus on the E-M5 Mark II. But it is unlikely that we will be able to face anything that will completely change the idea of ​​the camera, which has developed today.

And today the impression is very strong. Olympus is not exaggerating when talking about its innovations. And, naturally, he praises his products.

Perhaps, so far, the only complaint that can be made against the OM-D E-M5 Mark II is the considerable price of the camera. But here, alas, not only the manufacturer is to blame, but also the ruble exchange rate.

02.09.2017 15829 Tests and reviews 0

Olympus offers photographers stylish, comfortable and functional cameras with the OM-D E-M10 range. But the company was not going to dwell on two models, having presented the Olympus OM-D E-M10 III.

Typically, Mark cameras are pretty much the same as previous models in the lineup, with only minor upgrades. The new Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III is very similar to its predecessor, but despite inheriting many features and characteristics, the feature set has been redesigned. Let's see a comparison table of the main specifications.

Olympus OM-D camera
Matrix	16 megapixels Live MOS	16 megapixels Live MOS	16 megapixels Live MOS
CPU	TruePic VIII
Image stabilization	5-axis (4 EV)	5-axis (4 EV)	5-axis (5 EV)
Electronic shutter	Yes	Yes
Minimum shutter speed	1/4000 s	1/4000 s (1/16000 with electronic shutter)	1/8000 s (1/16000 with electronic shutter)
ISO range	200-25600 (with extension 100-25600)	200-25600 (with extension 100-25600)	200-25600 (with extension 100-25600)
Monitor	1.04 Mts 3 ″ LCD Inclined Sensory	1.04 Mts 3 ″ LCD Inclined Sensory	1.04 Mts 3 ″ LCD Rotating Sensory
Built in electronic viewfinder	2.36 Mpts OLED 0.62x	2.36 Mpts OLED 0.62x	2.36 Mpts OLED 0.74x
Focusing	121 points	81 points
Burst shooting	8.6 fps	8.5 fps	10 fps
Built-in flash	There is	There is
Maximum video quality	4K 3840 x 2160 @ 30p	Full HD 1920 × [email protected]	Full HD 1920 × [email protected]
Time laps	Yes	Yes
Microphone jack	No	No
Focus bracketing	Yes	Yes	No
Protected execution	No	No
Overall dimensions, mm
Weight, g	410	390

The difference between the OM-D E-M10 Mark III and the E-M10 Mark II is not immediately noticeable. The cameras are similar in shape and size, the controls are located in the same places and outwardly have not undergone radical changes. Nevertheless, there are still differences, the main of which is that the interface and control system have been significantly redesigned; you won't even notice it outside. The redesigned grip protrusion on the front panel has become curved and protrudes slightly from the body. Seemingly small things - however, taking the camera in hand, you find that the grip has become more comfortable.

Among compact cameras, the OM-D E-M10 III stands out for its rich set of control elements. Despite the diminutive size, the camera body has room for two control dials, as well as for many buttons. Large discs not only look good, but are much easier to manage than before. And I would not say that there were some problems before - this is an example when you can always do better.

Compared to the E-M10 II, the command dials and buttons in the Mark III have been slightly redesigned. They have become larger, and the designations are clearer. The corrugation on all discs has become a little narrower, but this difference is not fundamental. Two control dials have lost their black inserts. The joystick has become lighter and more intuitive for quick adjustment of key parameters without diving into the on-screen menu.

The red dot button starts (and stops) video recording. The Fn2 button - as it was on the E-M10 II, has remained programmable, only earlier by default it turned on the control of highlights and shadows, and now it is a digital tele-converter. Apparently, the developers quite reasonably thought that for a photographer who bought a camera with a whale lens, the ability to "zoom in" the scene to be filmed (in fact, to double the scale) would be a higher priority. In playback mode, the Fn2 button enables or disables the protection of images from deletion. There is another programmable button, Fn1, located in the rear panel lip. By default, it turns on metering and autofocus lock.

The switch on the left side of the top panel is more beautiful than the E-M10 II, but its functions remain the same. Rotate 90 degrees - the camera turns on. Pressing firmly a little further, towards the "UP" inscription - and the built-in flash rises in working position... You need to lower it manually by pressing from above.

The button, which is located next to the lever, has changed - both externally and in essence. It used to be a programmable Fn3, now it's a "quick button" or "quick menu button". The reaction of the camera to pressing it depends on which mode is currently on. Again, more on that a little further. In the far left corner you'll see a new Shortcut button that allows users to jump directly to the related settings screen, regardless of which capture mode it is in. For example, in AUTO, Scene (SCN), Advanced Photo (AP), and Art Filter (ART) modes, pressing the Quick Menu button opens a graphic display showing the various scenes that can be selected on the touchscreen.

The layout of the controls on the rear of the E-M10 Mark III is exactly the same as that of the E-M10 II. However, the four navigation keys, which were previously unnamed, are now labeled according to their function: ISO (up), AF area select (left), Flash mode (right) and Shutter mode (down).

The interface on the Mark III has an "updated" structure and design, similar to the top model OM-D E-M1. Of course, with a noticeably fewer pages and paragraphs, which is due to both the objectively more modest functionality of the amateur camera compared to the professional flagship, and the conscious desire of the developers to simplify the work with the camera. The in-camera menu is divided into six sections - Shooting menu 1 and 2, Video menu (for the first time in cameras of a younger line, video recording has been placed in a separate section - and this is not surprising, given the increased capabilities of the camera in this area and the appearance of 4K mode), View menu, User menu and Setup Menu. The custom menu is indicated by a gear icon. It has eleven pages, indicated by letters (sometimes with extension numbers). The design is strict, the color coding of the pages adopted in all previous Olympus cameras (except for the E-M1 Mark II) has been removed.

The screen is the same: three inches, a resolution of 1,037,000 pixels, folding, but it cannot be completely flipped for taking selfies. A classic solution for Olympus, a similar screen is installed on all older models of the company. The display is very bright, has vivid colors, touch-sensitive, with its help you can control most of the parameters and functions, both during shooting and in viewing. By touching the screen, you can tell the camera the focus area, or even release the shutter at the same time. When the “Touchpad AF” mode is enabled (via the menu), you can, while looking through the eyepiece of the viewfinder, move your finger across the display to move the focus point, and this will be displayed in the viewfinder.

In Live View mode, the screen displays shooting parameters, a grid, a histogram, a virtual horizon (in the form of two scales reflecting not only the horizontal, but also the vertical deflection of the camera); the only problem is that not all of this can be combined - for example, it is impossible to see the histogram and the horizon on the screen at the same time.

The electronic viewfinder of the E-M10 Mark III is very high quality, its resolution is 2.36 million dots, like the E-M10 II, like the older OM-D models (although the magnification is slightly lower than theirs (0.62x vs. 0.74x on the E-M1 Mark II and E-M5 Mark II) The picture in the E-M10 III's viewfinder is perceived to be quite large.

The autofocus system of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 III has changed. The 81 locations in the Mark II were expanded to 121 locations. These points can be selected by touching the screen. A point-based shutter release is also available, as is done in some smartphone cameras. The OM-D E-M10 III can shoot at 8.6fps, up to 22 RAW frames per burst or 36 JPEGs. The speed drops to 3.8fps if you need continuous autofocus.

Focus bracketing function is available. It allows you to get up to 999 frames with a picture that differs in focus. The focusing step is adjusted as the initial position - then the camera itself will take the required number of shots with a given step, making them a single series (up to 10 frames per high speed, then pauses, the clipboard is small). A very useful function for macro photography, when it is difficult to determine the focus point, autofocus does not cope, or you are shooting with a manual focus lens. Also, all the obtained frames can be glued together in the editor and get a picture with a large depth of field, even at an open aperture.

The shutter system has not changed. The companion to the necessary mechanical one with a range of shutter speeds of 30-1 / 4000 is an electronic one with the ability to shoot with shutter speeds up to 1/16000. In addition to the ability to shoot at an open aperture in sunny weather, it provides a silent shooting mode. But the E-M10 Mark III is not only about ultra-short exposures: the camera traditionally has a 5-axis stabilizer, as on the E-M5 and E-M1.

As always, the art filters stand out, and Olympus is hard to beat in performance. To the list of 14 filters that were on the first version, a new product was added - Bleach Bypass in two versions. There is no deep customization of Art filters, they are always mostly used "as is". However, you can almost always make relatively small, cosmetic, changes - enable "color filters" in monochrome modes. or give a color tint to a monochrome image. You can use additional effects - forward and backward vignetting, add a frame, blur the edges, and so on.

Of course, there are a variety of additional settings: with the E-M10 Mark III, you can automatically glue multiple exposure shots, shoot time lapse, a unique live composite function, which is ideal for shooting starry skies, star tracks, lightning and freezelight, intra-camera stitching HDR. There are various color schemes (including the proprietary i-Enhance color system), numerous types of bracketing (white balance bracketing has been added). There is also a system in place that allows you to manually adjust the gradation of highlights and shadows using a simple diagram.

The camera has a built-in Wi-Fi module that allows you to quickly transfer the captured images and use your smartphone / tablet as a remote control. The connection of a smartphone / tablet is carried out by reading a QR code - without a username and password. But an even more nimble system, with NFC, still bypasses Olympus cameras.

The biggest upgrade in the E-M10 Mark III over its predecessor is the addition of 4K video at up to 30p, with up to 102Mbps streaming. HD video is also available. There is Slow Motion video at 120 frames per second. In this case, through the menu, you can set the frame rate (50/25/24) and the compression ratio (SF / F / N). But the camera still lacks a microphone input and a headphone output, which automatically deprives it of professional use. But for amateur video, its capabilities, especially when combined with an amazing stabilizer, will be enough for your head.

The sensor remained unchanged - it is Live MOS of Micro Four Thirds standard (physical size - 17.3 x 13 mm, crop factor - 2) with a resolution of 16 megapixels. A small drawback of the sensor can be called the high lower threshold of photosensitivity, characteristic of Micro Four Thirds - ISO 200 with the possibility of artificial expansion to ISO 100. When working at high ISO, the sensor is also not among the leaders - the working range can be called the range up to ISO 1600, the noise is already higher become intrusive, it is necessary to crush them. But due to the stabilizer, the need to shoot at high ISO is greatly reduced. But the processor is a new generation TruPic VIII, which ensures the work of improvements in the camera.

Equipping the camera we note a built-in flash with a guide number of 5.8, Mini USB and HDMI ports and a slot for SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards. Only 330 shots can be taken on a single charge.

Summary

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 III is a cosmetic upgrade to one of the most balanced mirrorless cameras on the market. The Mark III comes across as a powerful enough photography tool with rich functionality and a user-friendly interface. A great camera for the amateur photographer.

Two years. Exactly so much time spent in the closet my "one" Canon. The reason is in a small angular black box with the Olympus inscription. Having taken the OM-D E-M1 system camera for a test, I could not part with it.

In two years, the compact camera has changed my attitude and approach to photography. I threw unnecessary accessories out of my backpack, practically stopped using a tripod and flash. I began to spend less time on camera settings and shooting itself - it turned out to be much easier and faster to shoot with an "olyk" than with a "DSLR". First of all, the camera is more compact and lightweight, this also applies to glass. The device has many settings that can be changed very easily. And most importantly, in the viewfinder I see the very picture that will be on the computer screen - taking into account color and exposure compensation.

My backpack has lost a lot of weight, which hastened my movement across locations. The simplification of the shooting process also influenced the result - the percentage of high-quality, interesting pictures increased. The E-M1 became an excellent working camera for me, with which I shot hundreds of stories for my blog and a dozen stories for GEO magazine. And in the scorching heat in the African Gambia, and in the piercing cold of the Pamir Highlands, and in the incessant rain in foggy Albion, the camera worked like a clock.

In December of this year, I was among the first to receive a new product from Olympus for testing - the E-M1 Mark II. To be honest, I didn't expect the new camera to be that much better than the old one. After three months of testing, I thought, thought ... and posted on Avito my entire set of Canon equipment - all the carcasses, all the glasses, all the accessories. In this review, I will try to show you what prompted me to take this step.

In the test of any gadget, there should be a starting point, as well as specific tasks and operating conditions. The starting point in this review will be the first "one". The main question that I will try to answer in my review is - should you buy a new model? To do this, we will analyze different subjects and types of shooting.

Appearance and design

But first, a visual comparison. The cameras look very similar, but up close it becomes obvious that the Mark II is slightly larger, especially in the grip of the body. Case size 134 x 91 x 67 mm.
As a result, the camera became better in the hand, especially without the use of the batblock (the first one also had a "grip" with it). The weight of the camera (without the batblock and lens) has increased by 77 grams, and is now 574g. As before, the frost-resistant camera body is waterproof and dustproof.

The additional battery pack has become significantly larger, due to the increased capacity of the battery by one and a half times.

The fastening of the strap has also changed - the right fastener has moved from the side edge to the top panel, which reduced the load on the attachment point and improved the weight distribution of the camera on the belt when using heavy long-focus optics.

Another "geometric" solution is a new positioning of the tripod socket, directly below the optical axis of the camera. In theory, this should slightly reduce distortion when shooting panoramas with a tripod.

The arrangement of the control elements has not changed - once you get used to the first "unit", you can use the second one right away. Traditionally for professional Olympus models, the camera offers the widest range of customization options. So, through a very capacious menu, you can reassign function keys and control dials to easily change the settings for ISO, white balance, shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, and so on.

The two-position switch on the back of the case has changed its direction, but it still allows you to choose between two sets of custom settings.

Behind the sealed rubber plugs on the side panel are all the necessary connectors, including HDMI and an external microphone. Instead of a USB 2.0 connector, there is now USB 3.0 - the data transfer speed has increased to 5GB / s. V new camera a headphone jack appeared.

Two slots for memory cards are hidden behind the door on the right side. The bottom is UHS-I standard, and the top is high-speed UHS-II. Unlike the previous model, memory cards are now correctly labeled to the photographer. Running a little ahead, I will say that the cards can be flexibly managed - for example, record photos on one card, and videos on another, as well as record simultaneously on two cards, keeping a backup copy of important shooting "on the fly".

The touchscreen is now free, swivel, rather than hinged to the rear of the camera (on the E-M1, it could only be tilted up and down).

Perhaps this is the only change that cannot be clearly attributed to a plus. On the one hand, this is very convenient for shooting from below or from above, or even from around a corner, but from a professional reporting point of view, the screen turned to the side is a potential weak point, because the camera often hits various obstacles, or even falls to the ground (sometimes , together with a photographer). However, when shooting in hostile environments, the screen can be rotated to face the camera, reducing the risk of damage.

Specifications

Inside the case, there are even more differences. For example, the Mark II uses a completely new 20 MP sensor instead of the 16 MP in the first generation model. Phase and contrast AF sensors are integrated into the matrix, grouped into 121 cross-shaped zones, which cover almost the entire frame area. The physical size of the matrix has practically not changed and is 17.3x13.0 mm. That is, the area of ​​the Mark II sensor is about four times smaller than that of a full-frame DSLR (ie, "crop factor" = 2.0)

The new sensor is able to transmit information twice as fast as before. Its processing is handled by the eight-core TruePic VIII processor (versus the four-core TruePic VII in the first "one"). As a result, the speed of the camera has increased dramatically, this is noticeable even when flipping through photos, which can now be viewed like a movie. As before, the camera turns on in a split second and is immediately ready to shoot.

The camera menu has also undergone changes - it has become simpler and richer, due to getting rid of the blue background and the appearance of new sections in it. You can customize literally everything here. This has both an advantage and a disadvantage - without reading the manual in the wilds of the menu, it is easy to get lost without finding the required parameter.

The new mechanical shutter allows shooting in S-AF mode at 15 frames per second (instead of 11 frames for the E-M1), and when using the electronic shutter - up to 60 frames per second, with tracking autofocus and tracking - 18 frames per second. These parameters at the moment are record-breaking not only for this class of photographic equipment. For example, the professional camera Canon EOS 1DX Mark II produces only 14 frames per second in tracking mode, Nikon D5 - 10 frames per second. At the same time, Olympus emphasizes that the new processor and sensor do not have the Rolling Shutter effect.

Detailing images

Pictures from the new camera have not only a higher resolution (5184x3888 instead of 4608x3456), but also improved detail.

Below I give examples of processed photos, below them - 100% cropped from RAW without any correction and sharping.

ISO 64, f = 7 mm, f / 2.8, 1/800 sec

ISO 320, f = 57 mm, f / 2.8, 1/500 sec

ISO 640, f = 7 mm, f / 2.8, 1/800 sec

ISO 200, f = 40 mm, f / 3.2, 1/3200 sec

ISO 200, f = 10 mm, f / 3.5, 1/4000 sec

ISO 64, f = 40 mm, f / 4, 1/400 sec

ISO 400, f = 150 mm, f / 2.8, 1/1250 sec

ISO 500, f = 7 mm, f / 2.8, 1/60 sec

Dynamic range

The Mark II sensor demonstrates a wider dynamic range, which allows you to use HDR mode much less often when shooting (in it, as before, the camera itself takes several shots, and then merges them into RAW or JPG).

ISO 200, f = 11 mm, f / 6.7, 1/750 sec

An example of backlit shooting:

ISO 250, f = 7 mm, f / 16, 1/200 sec

If earlier, when shooting such a frame, overexposures were possible, and I would use HDR, now everything is much better, the stretching margin has increased both in the light parts of the frame and in the shadows.

Lest you think that all this is the result of long stretching, here is an in-camera JPG for you as an example:

ISO 3200, f = 7 mm, f / 2.8, 1/3200 sec

However, when you are shooting a scene with objects of different brightness, then using the HDR mode is still appropriate. The picture glued together by a computer looks somewhat "cartoonish".

Low-light handheld shooting

As I said, detail has increased in all modes, but this is especially noticeable when shooting in low light conditions. If earlier significant noise in RAW files was noticeable already at ISO 2500, now the working range has grown to about ISO 6400. Frames shot at ISO up to 2500 can not be twisted at all due to noise in Lightroom, when resizing for web publishing, the noise is absolutely invisible ...

ISO 2500, f = 14 mm, f / 5.6, 1/250 sec

ISO 2500, f = 40 mm, f / 2.8, 1/60 sec

ISO 2500, f = 7 mm, f / 3.5, 1/60 sec

ISO 5000, f = 7 mm, f / 2.8, 1/30 sec

ISO 6400, f = 7 mm, f / 2.8, 1/60 sec

ISO 10000, f = 7 mm, f / 3.2, 1/13 sec

ISO 12800, f = 40 mm, f / 2.8, 1/60 sec

ISO 12800, f = 7 mm, f / 2.8, 1/125 sec

If you shoot in JPG, then there is no need to worry at all, the in-camera "noise reduction" does its job just fine, ennobling even the pictures taken at ISO 12800 and the maximum for the camera 25600. Such a high value can only be guessed by slightly "floating »Flowers. In this GIF you can see the difference between RAW and in-camera JPG.

Summarizing the detail of the images, I note that although the quality and resolution have increased compared to the first model, the picture does not reach the level of the best full-frame cameras - you cannot argue against the laws of physics, because the sensor is four times smaller here.

However, Olympus offers a solution to this problem for static photography, the Super-HD mode. By shifting the sensor from frame to frame, the camera stitches an image from eight frames in super-high resolution (25 or 50 MP in JPG and 80 MP in RAW).

Face and eye recognition system

The E-M1 Mark II Hybrid AF is capable of face and eye detection to automatically focus on people (and not just people).

ISO 1600, f = 150 mm, f / 2.8, 1/160 sec

When this mode is activated, the focus points selected by the camera are automatically highlighted in the viewfinder. But the main thing in new system autofocus is not that, but that it has been radically improved.

First of all, the problem of focusing on poorly lit objects, familiar from the E-M1, was gone. Now you can even focus on a black cat in a black room, if there is one. Even if it is not there, the camera will find something to "catch on".

Tracking autofocus

But the main thing for me is that the autofocus in the Mark II has learned to perfectly track moving objects, and to keep them in tracking mode, regardless of whether they move along or across the optical axis of the camera. How did you manage to achieve this?

An important difference between the E-M1 Mark II's phase-detection autofocus system and DSLRs is the continuous autofocus during continuous shooting. During shooting, information is taken from the sensor, after which the computer analyzes the image itself and makes adjustments to the focus settings - and all this in a split second. DSLRs do not know how to do this - autofocus is not available there both at the time of shooting and at the moment when the mirror is still raised.

Autofocus has a sensitivity setting via the menu. Increasing the C-AF Lock value to +2 is necessary for capturing fast and chaotically moving small objects such as animals. A value of +1 is optimal for shooting fast moving vehicles. Decreasing the sensitivity to minus is suitable for shooting with wiring of large objects (the same cars) moving perpendicular to the optical axis of the camera.

After testing the tracking autofocus of the E-M1 Mark II in burst mode, I can state that it now works just as well as on professional DSLRs. The first "one" was seriously inferior to them.

If earlier I most often did postings with manual focus, now even at a shutter speed of 1 / 10th of a second the camera excellently drives a car that drives at a speed of about 40 kilometers per hour over a broken field. The percentage of rejects during postings has decreased radically - there are practically no unsharp frames in the series.

ISO 64, f = 40 mm, f / 10, 1/10 sec

ISO 64, f = 106 mm, f / 3.5, 1/80 sec

The tracking work helps a lot when you are filming a car moving diagonally towards you and you need to convey its movement. The shutter speed should be long enough to show the wheels spinning, but short enough to keep the front of the car in focus.

ISO 200, f = 150 mm, f / 5, 1/250 sec

ISO 200, f = 150 mm, f / 6.3, 1/200 sec

The E-M1, again, had problems with this, the focus often escaped from the desired point. Now this problem no longer exists. It doesn't matter if objects are moving towards you, away from you, from right to left or from left to right. They will be sharp. Point.

ProCapture Mode

The E-M1 Mark II features a new burst mode, ProCapture. In it, the camera starts constantly shooting to the buffer when you half-press the button, and when you press it fully, it saves 14 frames taken up to that moment, and everything that you recorded after. The length of the series can be infinite, or limited through the menu (up to 99 frames). The camera writes the first 48 frames in RAW + JPG to its own buffer, after which it transfers them to the memory card, therefore, in order to make longer series with maximum speed, it makes sense to use a fast memory card like Sandisk Extreme Pro. Combined with super-sharp autofocus, this allows you to capture challenging scenes such as a bird taking off and being chased by a hunting dog.

ISO 1600, f = 97 mm, f / 3.2, 1/8000 sec

Handheld long exposure photography

An updated five-axis optical image stabilization system further enhances the photographer's capabilities. Due to the soft but fast movement of the sensor by the magnetic field, the Olympus stabilization system is considered by many experts to be the best in the world among consumer cameras. This is reflected not only in effective video stabilization, but also in the fact that when shooting still images, you can play up to six and a half stops of exposure when shooting handheld.

How does it work in practice? This means you can shoot handheld with a shutter speed of 1/8 ...

ISO 64, f = 7 mm, f / 9, 1/8 sec

Or for 0.8 sec ...

ISO 64, f = 7 mm, f / 2.8, 0.8 sec

Or even a shutter speed of 1.3 seconds or longer and still get sharp, detailed footage.

ISO 64, f = 7 mm, f / 3.5, 1.3 sec

Additional functions

What else can I tell you about the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II? Above, I have listed not all the features of this camera.

So, in addition to the HDR mode, the camera has a focus bracketing mode with an automatic stitching function. After taking eight frames, the camera itself will collect one of them with an extended depth of field.

In Live Composition mode, the camera "draws" the first frame taken only with bright objects. You can shoot the trajectories of stars and any other illuminated objects.

In addition, the E-M1 Mark II has an automatic mode for capturing time-lapses, and then stitching the captured images into a movie right inside the camera.

Just like in the E-M1, right in the camera you can edit a RAW or JPG file, correct perspective distortions (their camera can “heal” even when shooting), apply art filters, make JPGs from RAW and transfer all files to your smartphone via free Olympus Image Share app.

It is also important that the camera shoots video of the Cinemative 4K standard (4096 × 2160) with a bit rate of up to 237 Mb / s, and the "normal" FullHD shooting has a bit rate of up to 202 Mb / s, which allows the Mark II to be used in professional purposes not only as a camera - especially considering the unrivaled stabilization system. I plan to test the video capabilities separately.

Additional test shots

In this section, I bring to your attention some test shots taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II during testing.

ISO 250, f = 40 mm, f / 3.2, 1/5000 sec

ISO 2500, f = 7 mm, f / 5.6, 1/400 sec

ISO 64, f = 110 mm, f / 4, 1/100 sec

ISO 2500, f = 35 mm, f / 5.6, 1/400 sec

ISO 400, f = 115 mm, f / 4, 1/1000 sec

ISO 2500, f = 14 mm, f / 2.8, 1/800 sec

ISO 250, f = 7 mm, f / 5.6, 1/400 sec

ISO 400, f = 100 mm, f / 2.8, 1/320 sec

ISO 64, f = 7 mm, f / 3.2, 300 sec(Live Comp)

ISO 300, f = 21 mm, f / 3.5, 1/320 sec

ISO 400, f = 150 mm, f / 4.5, 1/3200 sec

ISO 200, f = 20 mm, f / 9, 1/1250 sec

ISO 640, f = 7 mm, f / 2.8, 1/160 sec

ISO 200, f = 7 mm, f / 4.5, 1/500 sec

Outcome

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II - despite the catchy name, is, in my opinion, the most striking representative of all mirrorless cameras designed for reportage use. With its superior OIS and advanced autofocus, Olympus' new product is capable of taking on DSLR cameras in their field. Despite the fact that in terms of detail and picture noise, noticeable at 100% crop, the camera is inferior to "top" full-frame DSLRs, in terms of burst speed and ease of use, Olympus is far ahead. Considering the cost of the body at 140 thousand rubles - three times cheaper than a professional DSLR - we can state that with the release of the new camera, not only advanced amateurs who shoot complex subjects, but also professional reporters will stand under the banner of Olympus.

I also suggest taking a look at my reports shot entirely on the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II:

FIRST MEETING THE NEW OLYMPUS FLAG

Let us immediately voice one point: this article is not a complete test the new flagship of Olympus, although at the presentation, a preliminary announcement for the press, I managed to make a couple of hundred frames, and feel what this "baby" is capable of.

The camera was officially announced on September 10, and the first glimpses appeared on the RuNet immediately. Rather, not publications (in my understanding), but slightly altered official materials and microanalysis to boot. But whatever it was, the price of the Olympus OM-D E-M1 was finally announced. And the readers responded vividly to this in about the following tone: "Yes, I'd rather buy myself a pair of DSLRs for this money and" Ryks "(that is, Sony RX100)".

With all due respect to the opinion of readers and writers, the logic “I'd rather buy three Ford Focus for myself than a Mercedes E 200 Coupe” is not entirely true and not suitable for everyone. Yes, the price of Olympus OM-D E-M1 is surprising at first - it is about 60,000 rubles for a carcass and about 90,000 for a kit with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro lens.

Expensive? For now, let's not talk about the camera, just compare the prices of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro lenses and, say, the Canon EF-S 17-55 f / 2.8 IS USM. Keep in mind that Zuiko is much lighter and more compact, and steeper in wide angle - after recalculating the crop factor, it turns out that the Olympus lens gives a focal length range of 24-80 mm, and Canon - 27-88 mm (when mounted on a half-frame DSLR, of course ). Good technology is expensive.

Specifications

The main
Matrix	CMOS, Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm).
Permission	16.3 million effective pixels, maximum resolution 4608 × 3456.
Image stabilizer	Optical, five-axis, with matrix movement.
Photosensitivity	ISO 100-25 600
Lens	interchangeable optics
Shooting modes	Program, Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Freehand, Time, i-Auto, Scene Programs, Art Filters, Photo Story ".
Exposure control	Multi-segment TTL metering in 324 zones. Modes: ESP, spot, center-weighted, light zone, shadow.
File format	JPEG (EXIF ver 2.2), RAW (ORF format, 12 bit), RAW + JPEG, MPO (3D).
Video	Full HD 30 fps video recording in MOV (MPEG-4AVC / H.264), AVI (Motion JPEG) formats with stereo sound, with the ability to take pictures while recording.
Memory	SD, SDHC, SDXC memory cards.
Screen	LCD 3 inches, 1,037,000 dots, swivel.
Connectors	Micro-HDMI, combined USB and video (NTSC, PAL), microphone jack - mini-jack 3.5 mm, accessory port, synchronization with external light.
Burst shooting	Up to 10 frames / sec up to 50 frames RAW in a burst (until the memory card is full when shooting in the JPEG format).
Power supply	Li-ion battery (approx. 330 shots, 50% with Live View).
Dimensions, weight	130.4 x 93.5 x 63.1 mm; 497 g (including weight of battery and memory card).
Additional
Flash	Removable, hot shoe mounts, guide number 10 (ISO 200).
Exposure range	1/8000 - 60 sec.
Viewfinder	Electronic, 2,360,000 pixels, 100% field of view, Maksim. increase - 1.48.
Gps	No
Wireless connections	Bluetooth, WiFi.
Protection	Frost resistance - up to -10 ° С, moisture-proof, dust-proof.
Autofocus illuminator	Yes.
Bracketing	By exposure, by sensitivity, by white balance.
Image format	4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 / 6:6 / 3:4

Four thirds

And before talking about the camera, he will come to plunge into history a little, make a small excursion. Maybe more than an excursion, in Runet I did not find any intelligible information on the Four Thirds System, if anyone shares a link, I will be grateful. And what I came across differs either in an extremely narrow view (interpreted as a standard for mounting lenses for digital SLR cameras, created by Olympus and Kodak), or repeats the official materials of Olympus and Panasonic, without cleaning out the fillings of an obviously advertising nature from them.

In fact, the Four Thirds System is much more than a standard 3-blade mount lens mount with 9 signal contacts. This is largely a successful attempt to create a common standard for building truly digital cameras that is open to all manufacturers. Why "truly digital"? Olympus' logic in 2002 was as follows:

• Existing digital SLRs are not truly digital. These are “redesigned film” cameras, which entail many of the “sins” of the development of film photography. A full-frame 35 mm sensor is not optimal for digital cameras - matrices of this size are too expensive, too large optics have to be installed on DSLRs.
• By making another sensor, a smaller one, as standard, you can get rid of many of the complexities that arise when designing optics and cameras. You can achieve best characteristics at smaller sizes.
• And, finally, stop continuing the undeclared war of standards, when each manufacturer ties the user to themselves with proprietary lenses and flashes. Let the standard be the same, and the optics and some accessories be interchangeable. Then the lens park will increase significantly, the user will not have to puzzle over what to do with the optics if he suddenly decided to change the brand of the camera.

The workspace of Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras is half the size
than the Four Thirds DSLRs. This allows, with others
equal (sensor size, first of all) do
more compact and lighter cameras.

The logic is definitely strong. But, as the experts immediately noticed after the announcement of the Four Thirds System at exhibitions in 2002 (in Europe it was Cebit and Photokina), Canon and Nikon will not follow you. They will disagree with Olympus' leading role in creating a unified standard. And, besides, they may have their own thoughts about optimal size sensor.

Of course, Canon and Nikon didn't go. And Pentax and Minolta too. But the standard was fully or partially supported by Fujifilm, Kodak, Leica, Panasonic, Sanyo, Sigma, Tamron. Yet this alliance has not created a single really popular, very widespread camera. Of course, successful models appeared: if you do not go into the depths of the centuries and into very expensive equipment for the pros, you can call the Olympus E-420, E-620, but they did not conquer the market and did not even shake it (as the "pseudo-mirror" Olympus E-10 and the first DSLRs for a wide range of amateur photographers Canon 300D, Canon 10D, Nikon D70). Panasonic, after two not-so-successful launches of the Lumix DMC-L1 in 2006 and the Lumix DMC-L10 in 2007, stopped experimenting with SLR cameras.

But leading manufacturers don't just give up. And in September 2008, Panasonic bounced back with the Lumix DMC-G1, the first MILC (mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera) Micro Four Thirds camera. Perhaps the era of "mirrorless" begins with it, since its predecessors Epson R-D1 (2004) and Leica M8 (2006) were, rather, fashion models and did not conquer the wide market. And with the Lumix DMC-G1, Olympus and Panasonic's child of the Micro Four Thirds standard enters the arena, aiming at a shorter camera workspace (no mirror). At the same time, the parameters of the sensor remain the same as in the “large” Four Thirds System - a matrix with a working part of 17.3 × 13 mm (diagonal 21.6 mm), aspect ratio - 4: 3, crop factor - 2.0.

Advantages and disadvantages

After the release of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, while other manufacturers were pondering the feasibility of entering the mirrorless market, time passed. This is not to say that time only worked for the creators of the Micro Four Thirds system. After all, pioneers, on the one hand, capture the frontiers, and on the other, allow competitors to soberly assess what mistakes were made in a hurry (not everything can be foreseen in laboratories), and enter the market with their own systems and strategies.

Even the first Olympus mirrorless camera, the PEN E-P1 model, came out almost a year later, in June 2009. And then it became clear to amateur photographers that mirrorless cameras are serious and for a long time. Manufacturers realized this much earlier. Samsung followed Olympus - model NX10, January 2010. Then, in May 2010, Sony released the NEX-5 model. The next swallow is the Pentax Q, June 2011. Nikon is keeping pace with October 2011 with the Nikon 1 J1. Then in March 2012 - Fujifilm X-Pro1. And only the last to enter the market was "heavyweight" Canon, in June 2012 with the Canon EOS M.

We can hardly consider the pros and cons of all mirrorless systems in one article. Let's focus on models from the Micro Four Thirds clan, especially since the problems and achievements of all manufacturers are similar. The pluses, of course, include:

Now, after a short preparation, we can soberly judge what the Olympus OM-D E-M1 model, announced quite recently, on September 10 this year, is. Let's start with the official positioning: “The model is more compact than its main competitors and is an ideal camera for shooting on the go, as opposed to bulky DSLRs. Combines Micro Four Thirds portability with superior image quality DSLR cameras» ... As far as this is true, we will understand in the course of the article. In the meantime, let's fix the obvious details:

	The creators of the OM-D E-M1 had to work hard on the design. The goal was for a mirrorless camera to resemble a DSLR. But at the same time, she created her own image - a full-fledged replacement for a SLR camera. Not really visible in this photo, but the E-M1 doesn't have a built-in flash. A small flash, similar to the built-in one, can be mounted in a hot shoe.
	The OM-D E-M1 really resembles a DSLR not only in appearance, but also in feel. With a significant reduction in size (compared to a DSLR), it was possible to retain relatively large controls. They are, of course, smaller than most DSLRs, but do not cause discomfort. You quickly get used to them. During the presentation, the camera had only 10 minutes to test, during which time you can adapt to the controls. But to make the test more or less reasonable, I had to take an additional 10 minutes several times.
	It does not fit a little in my head that a small camera can be supplemented with a battery grip - like a large DSLR. But, apparently, this will take some getting used to. Even with a neutral position, you involuntarily admit that the OM-D E-M1 creates new standards.
	The OM-D E-M1 screen is traditional for advanced compacts and Olympus mirrorless cameras - flip. It can be lifted up, can be lowered down. This, of course, is not a swing-out swivel, as in some cameras (and almost all camcorders), but even such a screen provides considerable opportunities for choosing a non-standard angle.

Technologies

Claims that the Olympus OM-D E-M1 claims to be “no worse than a DSLR, even better” were not unfounded. This became possible thanks to a whole bunch of new technologies. The very first of these is design and ergonomics.

It would seem that, speaking of technology, it is not entirely logical to talk about size and ergonomics, but think for yourself, how much research does it take to develop a new camera body and achieve a convenient arrangement of controls? This is most likely less than when developing low-noise matrices or "next generation processors", but still a lot of work. And, nicely, it has produced results - the camera does give the impression of being "very serious", even though it is much smaller than the average DSLR. At the same time, the controls are convenient even for a large hand - according to Evgeny Uvarov (my hand is medium, not too large).

The creators of Olympus OM-D E-M1 have spent a lot of effort to make the camera produce
the impression "like a DSLR, but much more compact than a DSLR".
Anyone familiar with modern manufacturing who has
with a superficial knowledge of ergonomics, it will be appreciated.

By the way, Olympus has been actively developing new approaches to camera control in recent years. I recently tested the premium compact Olympus XZ-2 (article will appear in our section in two weeks). So, I had to study this compact for several days, it contains non-standard functions that are not immediately (intuitively) revealed, I have to look into the manual (which does not happen often, usually with most of the tested cameras everything is clear anyway).

Dual autofocus. Phase detectors provide speed
focusing. If necessary, the OM-D E-M1 can connect
contrast focusing to them - for accuracy.

The next strong step is "dual" autofocus, a combination of the capabilities of the matrix and phase-detection AF sensors. Phase sensors are built into the field of the photosensitive matrix, and the camera selects the fastest autofocus mode by the nature of the image. Only Phase AF is used when Four Thirds lenses are attached. When attaching Micro Four Thirds lenses, the camera selects either contrast method or a combination of phase and contrast.

Of course, this is not the first "swallow". Canon already has phase sensors on the matrix. Fujifilm Hybrid Focus technology has been around for a couple of years now. All new technologies try to make the most efficient use of the capabilities of the phase and contrast methods, not only for speed, but also for focusing accuracy. Olympus Dual AF, when the two methods are used together, first triggers the fast phase phase, and then, using the contrast, "tightens up" the accuracy.

Phase-detection autofocus sensors built into the matrix appeared
not only from Olympus. Canon and Fujifilm also produce
similar CMOS sensors. I wonder how much they are
more expensive than conventional matrices?

The approach seems very sound, how much better or worse than that it's hard to say what competitors are offering. I’m not sure that it can be verified in principle: while user reviews “I managed to take a picture of a fly in flight” are accumulating, technologies will have time to move to the next level. The fact remains that the leading manufacturers come to the same basic solutions a little earlier or a little later. And the nuances - they depend on the "school", on many years of experience, which is considerable for each manufacturer. Most likely they are about level. If someone manages to make a revolutionary leap, the market will definitely notice it. But so far the balance of power in the market remains relatively stable, because apart from purely technical solutions there are also marketing ones. And the preferences of amateur photographers also do not change every second.

But back to technology. The next thing the Olympus OM-D E-M1 can be proud of is the electronic viewfinder. This is a really strong development, but to feel its full power, you need to spend more than one day with the camera.

In addition to the impressive size, high resolution(over 2 million dots) and fast pixels (29ms response time), the OM-D E-M1's viewfinder has unique features - it allows you to see the HDR image before the frame is taken... And in general, it gives us the opportunity to "play" with key parameters frame before pressing the shutter button. We can, looking through the viewfinder, without using the display, change the aspect ratio, zoom in, adjust the color and light and shade.

I don’t remember any of the photographers talking about electronic viewfinders approvingly. Until the number of dots exceeded a million, and the picture flickered shamelessly, everyone spat in general and did not look into this "window" without disgust. But now it seems that electronic viewfinders are becoming more powerful tools than the "eyes" of DSLRs. V digital photography this is as it should be - after all, in theory, a photographer can get much more information from electronics than from optics. But the theory until recently was faced with the imperfection of electronic viewfinders. It looks like the Olympus OM-D E-M1 will be a breakthrough camera capable of validating the capabilities of electronic eyes.

At first, new opportunities are rejection, we are not used to "edit" photography in the process of shooting. During a dense "reportage" this is generally impossible, there is only enough time to capture the frame at the very least. And the photo itself is pulled out of the frame later, during RAW processing: composition, exposure, colors ... But if we have time, if we are engaged in calm landscape photography? Why not take a photo while shooting rather than post-processing? When shooting landscape shots, we feel the atmosphere of the photo directly, much brighter than then when we pull out RAW.

I think this is also a matter of time and habit. New opportunities Olympus OM-D E-M1 for color correction during shooting (Color Creator technology) appeared due to numerous requests from Japanese photographers - this is how they explained the appearance of the technology at the presentation. I fully admit that some Japanese photographers work in on-line mode - when a frame from the camera immediately enters the pages of websites and newspaper strips in the author's processing. And we are interested that this is not only possible, but also requires a minimum of time (for this, the OM-D E-M1 can be connected with a smartphone wirelessly). It's just that I personally have among hundreds of friends of photographers, including those who work, for example, for the Associated Press and from time to time receive Pulitzer Prizes (Alexander Zemlyanichenko), while there are no acquaintances who process the photos during the shooting. But, I fully admit that if new opportunities appear and are established, de facto standards, photographers who value every second of their time, will seize on such opportunities.

What are 5 axes in three-dimensional space - you will not immediately understand.
In addition to the usual 3D, two more axes (more precisely, two dimensions) give a rotation
matrix clockwise or counterclockwise, as well as its tilt back and forth.
The total is 5D - like in "fancy" cinemas.

Olympus' next step is 5-axis optical image stabilization. That is, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 sensor can compensate for camera tremor along three axes of three-dimensional space, as well as compensate for rotational movements along the "hour hand - counterclockwise" axis and along the "forward-backward" tilt axis. The result of this 5D approach is the 4-stop increase in EV that the stabilizer can give the photographer. Usually this figure does not exceed 3 steps. And if Olympus really took the lead here, we will be happy to confirm this after testing the camera, we now have a good methodology.

Finally, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 has a magnesium body, enhanced moisture resistance, dust resistance and frost resistance. "The OM-D E-M1 is the best camera for superior performance down to -10 ° C."... All this is remarkable, although while in the official materials there is no data on how frost resistance is measured, everything is confirmed only by the phrase: “According to the results Olympus tests". Usually cameras keep low temperatures well, but batteries do not, they drain quickly. So for a start it would be interesting to know how much smaller camera will be able to take pictures at minus ten than at plus ten Celsius. In general, there are many questions, but since the camera is completely new, it is not so easy to get answers. Some points, I think, have not been studied even by the manufacturer.

Outcomes

I think I was able to prove that the Olympus OM-D E-M1 is an extraordinary camera. Perhaps it will become "iconic" and secure a special place for itself in the history of photography. There are all the prerequisites for this, and history - it will deal with everything and everyone. So far, the only drawback that we managed to reveal during a brief acquaintance and rather lengthy analysis is the price of the camera and optics. The price translates the Olympus OM-D E-M1 into the category of cameras for enthusiasts and professionals.

There are always enthusiasts. True, there won't be many of them. But people are ready to stand in huge queues to be the first to buy some "fifth iPhone." Or pay not too reasonable money for the right to run a computer game on a "special release" of a video card. They write about it, they argue about it. As for amateur photographers, they are in the shadow of the public interest, but they are.

As for the pros, let me finish with a series of small stories. To the question "What advice do you have for a novice photographer?" one of the meters of fashion shooting (Marcio Madeira) replied: “You have to take on twenty kilograms of photographic equipment and run around with them for twenty years. Then everything will work out by itself. " From time to time I watch Moscow photographer Igor Kostromin play with two cameras, each weighing four kilograms (with lenses, flashes and battery packs) during corporate filming. One camera with a telephoto lens, the other with a wide angle. Four kilograms is a small weight, if you "play" them for about ten minutes. But try to hold out in tight shooting for several hours! Try going on a photo trip with a 20-kilogram backpack, as Evgeny Uvarov does. True, all of the listed photographers are large, weighing hundreds of kilograms or more. And when you see a "reed", a beginning girl-photographer, bending under a backpack that weighs a little more than a "reed" - this is not for the faint of heart, I cried.

All this means that if, over time, mirrorless cameras replace DSLRs and the photographer's backpack becomes twice as light, many people will thank Olympus. And it will be for what. Forgive me that my position in the course of writing this article lined up "for the manufacturer" and not "against". But this is a position, not just words.

Gallery

I tried to confirm these not just words with pictures. There are a lot of them, more than usual, but I think everyone is interested to see how a new camera of this class shoots. Therefore, the samples are taken together with the field Adobe photoshop, so you can evaluate the quality of the exposure (using the histogram) and see which fragment of the 4608 x 3456 frame is taken as an illustration (using the navigator).

The same photographs are presented intact - not cropped, and, of course, without any correction. The only processing some of them went through was the conversion from RAW to JPG. Here we used not a proprietary Olympus converter, but the recently released version of the Adobe CameraRAW plug-in with Olympus OM-D E-M1 support. This converter works quite well, and the reason that we did not use the proprietary one included in the Olympus Viewer 3 is simple - the proprietary converter removes EXIF ​​data from the image. Strange, but true. Therefore, to avoid distrust of readers, the samples were processed by Adobe.

General note on snapshots. The camera is very fast and works no worse than a Canon 7D or Nikon D300 class DSLR (I won't lie with cooler cameras, I don't have much communication experience). All the advantages of the Olympus OM-D E-M1 during a short test, of course, could not be assessed, and obvious punctures were not noticed. Is that sometimes "smears" autofocus. But he sometimes "smears" with DSLRs.

As for shooting at high sensitivity, the only regret is that I did not check how the camera shoots at ISO above 16000 (I thought it would not be able to cope with it). But, you see, a camera that produces photos at ISO 16,000, and not "porn" is a decent camera.

With a wide aperture (F1.8 - F5.6), the camera does an excellent job of blurring artistic backgrounds. So the manufacturer managed to overcome all the visible disadvantages of mirrorless cameras. And you will be able to evaluate the quality of the pictures yourself: color rendition, noise, "plasticity" of the image (you should know what it is measured in, but there is such a characteristic). So it goes.

Gallery, part 1
Gallery, part 2

In the second part of the review, we will talk about the camera's stuffing - the photo sensor, shutter, focusing and stabilizer, evaluate the noise and look at the picture and video quality.

Photosensor

All cameras in the OM-D line use essentially the same 16 megapixel micro 4/3 photosensor (with minor variations in the type of phase sensors in the E-M1).
This is often the subject of criticism against Olympus. Like, how many cameras can be made on the same matrix. On the other hand, 3.5 years is not such a long period of time, if you recall Canon, then they often use the same sensor process technology (and equally on crop and FF) for 4-5 years. It should also not be forgotten that the electronic binding of the matrix is ​​being improved, which in some cases makes it possible to achieve an improvement in noise.

Today we will try to figure out if there is a visible difference in noise between the three latest Olympus cameras - the E-M10, E-M5 Mark II and E-M10 Mark II.
Our test scene is rather colorless (the main task now is to look at the noise and DD, but about the color rendition it is already known that Olympus has it excellent, and the new camera has no differences in this regard).

Lighting - fluorescent lamp with CRI> 90, warmed up within an hour after switching on.
Lens - OM Zuiko 50 1.2, f / 4.0. Manual focus.
The Colorchecker target is out of focus on purpose to make it easier to assess the noise.
Shooting mode - "M", ISO and shutter speed were set manually - 200 (1/13), 400 (1/25), 800 (1/50), 1600 (1/100), 3200 (1/200), 6400 ( 1/400), 12800 (1/800), 25600 (1/1600).
Shutter mode - mechanical, anti-shock enabled, release delay 12 sec.
Before each shot was taken, the camera was turned off and on again in order to completely eliminate the "accumulation" of thermal noise.

Conversion - RPP, profiles are disabled completely, white balance is manually set 1 time for 2 gray bars of the colorchecker. Contrast curve - L *.
Exposure compensation, sharp and noise reduction were not applied.

Let's look at the crop from all three cameras at the main ISO values.

What interesting points do you find here?

First, the exposure of shots with the E-M10 is slightly (about 1 / 5th stop) higher than that of the E-M10-II and E-M5-II.
Shooting error? Is the lamp warming up? No. The correct answer is that the sensitivity of the sensor in the E-M10 is actually about a quarter stop higher.
If you ask the chief techno-driver for matrices - DxO - then their graphs this difference show unequivocally:

Minute ulcer:
For me, only one thing remains a mystery - why call “ISO 200” the real sensitivity of ISO 100. It seems to me that there is no particular benefit to marketing from this, only confusion. After all, the shutter speeds will still correspond to the real sensitivity. Again, zhpegs are very different from raves if they are opened with the correct converter. In general, it seems to me that absolutely all camera manufacturers should just switch to real and not rated ISO. There, the difference is everywhere within 1 stop, but the noise assessment is inadequate in comparisons. And there are many other difficulties. Yet again, why confuse the studio if it turns out that ISO 200 is actually not 200, but 100, and the sync speed allows you to shoot at wider apertures ...

What is the bottom line?
Everything is roughly equal in three cameras. In this test, I would call the old ten the most noisy, although the differences are insignificant. And she loses a little in DD, too.
The color noise of the E-M10 Mark II is slightly lower at high ISOs. Barely noticeable. However, such differences occur even in different batches of the same camera model, so we can conditionally assume that the photosensor in the new top ten is virtually identical to the sensor in the E-M5 Mark II.

The “point of no return”, at which important details of the image begin to be lost, I will conditionally mark as ISO 6400, above which I would not advise to go up. In this regard, sample number 4 is very indicative, where you can see how the corrugation on the lens ring disappears with increasing ISO. At 3200, the invoice is still there, at 6400 it stops being read. But this is in rather deep shadows. In the middle and in the highlights, the picture is even more or less suitable at ISO 6400, although at 12800 solid sand appears in the highlights.

Let's digress from synthetic tests and 100% crop and still look at real pictures taken at different ISOs. The frames are minimally processed (conversion to RPP to taste, resize), noise reduction was not applied.

ISO 200:

115 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 200, larger on click

ISO 500:

90 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 500, larger on click

ISO 640:

150 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 640, larger on click

ISO 800:

25 mm, f / 1.8, ISO 800, larger on click

ISO 2500:

40 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 2500, larger on click

ISO 3200:

25 mm, f / 1.8, ISO 3200, larger on click

Even in very difficult light conditions (dark + colored lamps), Olympus draws excellently. Here, for example, is a photo from the Moskvarium. Who was - he knows that it is quite dark there, the lighting for the camera is difficult. Moreover, what is interesting, in such a situation, even a chamber burner behaves adequately. White balance is automatic. The color is absolutely adequate to the real lighting in this aquarium exposition (visitors will confirm).

8 mm, f / 1.8, ISO 3200, larger on click

And in equal measure, if you wish, you can compensate for the colored light with 1 movement of your hand, allowing RPP to independently guess the white balance - and see the real color of this comrade:

8 mm, f / 1.8, ISO 3200, converting to RPP, on click - larger

At the same time, the noise will certainly increase (too large imbalance of the channels), but try to shoot in such conditions with any other camera - you will see approximately the same. However, the noises are uniform, not annoying and more like a film grain, and what pleases me for many years with Olympus is that the files (with their low weight and 12-bit resolution) remain very flexible in processing. Acid does not climb, color splashes do not climb, and the coefficients of individual channels can be twisted in different directions by more than a step.

In terms of detail in normal shooting conditions, 16 megapixels is - in my personal opinion - a very good figure. Firstly, this resolution is enough for meter prints, not to mention viewing on any retina-5K. Secondly, small file size, processing speed. A reasonable diffraction value, which allows you to easily clamp the aperture to f7.1, which in depth of field is equivalent to full-frame f14 (at the same shutter speed - that's a definite plus of doublecrop!)
That is, absolutely sufficient resolution for amateur cameras. You can also recall mine two years ago, the results of which (and still more than 300 participants) seem to hint either that 16 mgpc is really optimal for people, or that I have only two croppers gathered here :)

Take a look at these landscapes, look at the detail, look at the color. See how the camera handles high contrast scenes. And yes, all this was shot hand-held, some shots were shot on a telephoto camera, at an open aperture. Sharp or noise reduction were not used during processing. Convert to RPP, resize to FS, copyright overlay, save as zpeg.

12 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 200, larger on click

75 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 250, larger on click

73 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 200, larger on click

40 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 200, larger on click

79 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 200, larger on click

85 mm, f / 2.8, ISO 250, larger on click

25 mm, f / 1.8, ISO 200, larger on click

27 mm, f / 5.6, ISO 200, larger on click

Recently, rhetorical discussions about the "progress" of sensors from other manufacturers and its "absence" from Olympus have become popular. Unfortunately, I do not have a new 20-megapixel Panasonic on hand now to compare it with Olympus. Because the samples I've seen are noisy. This is understandable - as long as there is no fundamentally new technical process, there is no point in increasing megapixels, and there is no way to reduce noise (with this cell size).

I also have one more interesting test in stock, in which I solved shoot the same scene with the OM-D E-M10 Mark II and Canon 5D Mark III:) But I will throw this test in a separate post, later.

Gate

The main difference of the new camera is that it supports electronic (and completely silent) shutter mode and provides shutter speeds up to 1/16000 sec. Mechanically, both cameras provide a minimum shutter speed of 1/4000.

Continuous shooting (8.5 fps instead of 8 fps) and sync speed with external studio flashes (1/250 instead of 1/200) have been slightly improved.

I am often asked questions about - a phenomenon in which the camera experiences a shake when the shutter is opened, and this shake degrades the sharpness of the frame, especially with telephoto lenses.
I carefully checked this question on the new top ten, and I can say that the OM-D E-M10 Mark II does not suffer shutter shock if the "Antishock 0" option is enabled. That is, at focal lengths from 50 mm and higher and at shutter speeds even up to 1/15 sec, the shutter shock is not observed. Yes, of course no one can insure you against shaking hands. But it is precisely with the TECHNICAL phenomenon of shutter shock that I have not encountered for a very long time (the last time I saw it on an E-M1 with an early firmware). Of course, the anti-shock option and the corresponding shutter mode must be enabled.
Also, do not forget to turn on stabilization during continuous shooting in the settings.

Autofocus

Olympus announces improvements in tracking autofocus with the release of each new camera and firmware, but today I see a fundamental difference in this regard mainly only on the E-M1 - due to phase sensors. In other cameras with contrast autofocus, C-AF modes and C-AF with tracking is still hard to beat with DSLRs.
At the same time, single focusing remains very fast and tenacious, and its accuracy significantly exceeds the AF accuracy in SLR cameras - since in the first case, focusing occurs on the actual image on the matrix, and not on separate sensors, which requires adjustment (moreover, as cameras and lenses). I wrote about how different autofocus systems work in.
In general, in real conditions, I did not notice any problems with single focusing. As well as noticeable differences from other cameras in the line.

Stabilization and video capabilities

On the one hand, a step and a half difference is not too much. And many tests have shown that the difference in video smoothness between 3- and 5-axis stabilization is not too great.
On the other hand, if there is a difference, it should be said about it.

I ran the test by connecting the cameras with a single mount.
The stabilization mode on the E-M10 was M-IS ON, and on the E-M10 Mark II it was M-IS1. An explanation should be made here - on the old ten in the M-IS ON mode, the software stabilization is forcibly turned on, therefore, on the new camera, I set a similar M-IS1 mode.

As you can see, there is almost no difference in stabilization, although it is noticeable that when shaking the camera back and forth and when walking (plot with a lamp) mark 2 keeps the picture a little better.
Perhaps there will be some improvements in the upcoming firmwares.

In addition, the video detail on the new camera is an order of magnitude better, and the rolling shutter is less noticeable (although there and there it is negligible). The dynamic range is also more adequate (the Picture Style settings were used the same).

Speaking of video quality.
The new camera has increased the bitrate of the video stream (with Super Fine quality it is more than 50 megabits), improved codecs (H.264, AVC).
A full set of frame rates has appeared, including the classic cinematic 24 fps and the very useful 60 fps (which can then be slowed down 2.5 times to get 24 fps). By the way, the slow-motion or accelerated video mode can also be enabled directly in the camera menu as a speed multiplier, and not as fps.
The ALL-I compression option has appeared, in which all frames of the video stream are key. In this case, the bitrate reaches 77 megabits (this mode works only for frame rates 24-25-30). This setting of the codec is more "friendly" for video editors and gives a noticeably better picture on static scenes.
I checked the video recording, and it works fine on all my 10th grade flash drives, so there is no need to change the existing cards.

For the review, I edited a small video that shows the capabilities of the camera (albeit without much semantic load):

And yes, I tried 120 fps. As I already said, it is rather nominal (low resolution, no sound), but an amateur (who does not yet have an iPhone with 120 fps 720p) will be interested in experimenting. I think that on TV at home, these videos will look quite acceptable. But nothing more. After all, the video resolution is only 640x480 (VGA). The frame rate in the file is 30 fps (the video is already slowed down 4 times at an actual recording speed of 120 fps).

Don't laugh :) A little time will pass - and Olspus will release a camera with a very advanced video. There will be 4K and 120 fps in FullHD, and whatever you want. But this takes time, but for now let's look at these 120 fps as a kind of "training" :) Not forgetting that in FullHD mode the camera produces a pretty decent picture.

Conclusions:

The image quality, stabilization and video on the E-M10 Mark II do not fundamentally differ from the E-M5 Mark II (except for the 40 megapixel mode).
If we compare it with the previous model (E-M10), then there is a little less noise, and the video has improved noticeably (a full set of frame rates and a good bit rate appeared).

Now we need to figure out how focus bracketing works. There will also be a pair of test holivar "E-M10 Mark II vs Canon 5D Mark III".

 

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