Olympus E-M5 Mark II announced

[swifty]

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9437515928/olympus-announces-om-d-e-m5-ii-with-40mp-high-resolution-mode


And the preview:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/5451301082/olympus-om-d-e-m5-ii-first-impressions-review-posted

[Arg]

The first impressions review is very positive. [emoji4]

[swifty]

As a mark I owner, I have to say I'm very pleased with the refinements as they seem to have addressed every one of my annoyances.
I'll have to look into it in more detail but right off the bat I see:
- Nice large AF-On (Fn 1) button instead of two tiny ones.
- deeper right hand grip. Doesn't look like much but even the E-M10 one improved on the original E-M5 and this looks a bit better still.
- still an external flash but it tilts and swivels!!! And it looks like the stupid port covers are gone.


Other nice things:
- kept the same battery.
- sensor shift mode, not so much for the extra resolution but all the colour info at each pixel. But it looks like the application is limited though.
- the Fn button where the DOF preview button normally sits. I hope it is very customizable.
- they improved the IBIS. It was already very good to begin with.
- better EVF is always welcomed.

Dislike: on/off button on left side. No more 1 handed operation from camera off to shoot.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh.. 2 more good things:

- wifi. This was always gonna happen
- 1/8000 shutter speed.

[Arg]

The fact it has electronic shutter mode, does that mean it does 'silent shooting'?

[swifty]

I think so. Your GX7 has a 'silent' mode using its electronic shutter too right?

[davsv1]

New EM5II has electronic shutter 1/16000th sec and silent mode I believe

[swifty]

I got to play with an E-M5 II, albeit briefly at a preview event last night.
Here are some initial impressions:

Camera has a good heft to it, an improvement by feel compared to Mark I.
The right grip is similar to the E-M10, perhaps a touch deeper. The depth of this curvature makes it less slippery to hold but I suspect for larger hands, this will still be inadequate.
The new grips were not on show today but was told by the moderator it is similar to the old one in that it is two piece (horizontal and vertical) and just having the horizontal grip still impedes access to the battery compartment.
There's a new L-grip too but was told it impedes the LCD since the hinge has been moved to the left.
I get the feeling these accessories are more an afterthought and not as refined as the camera.

The new tilt-swivel flash was also not shown but the mods have had a chance to use it. There's an additional pin to draw power from the camera. A point of discussion was what the consequences would be in the event a short occurred if the weather sealing fails because of the additional power draw from the hotshoe.

I was fooled by the photos and the Fn1 button (AF-ON position) is not particularly large. But at least it is a single button in that position so no chance of mistaking it for another. This is not a big deal unless you're an AF-ON user where you would use that button very frequently.
I still think the switch around this button would be a good place for the ON/OFF switch, instead of the camera left side.

The programmable DOF preview button at the front of the camera wasn't as useful as I though it would be. I feel its to do with the combination of a shallower grip compared to E-M1 or DSLRs and the positioning of that button that taking a finger off to reach for the it reduces the grip on camera too much, particularly with a heavier lens mounted. So if I were to buy an E-M5 II I probably wouldn't assign an often used function to it. Bummer!!

The new IBIS is crazy good. You just have to try it.

The EVF, is supposedly the better E-M1 unit but I didn't think it was that much of a leap over mark I. It's not up to the same level as the X-T1's IMO.

[davsv1]

A link posted on dpr to a german site with a hi res pano with sensor shift, great detail but obvious issue with movement in some parts. http://neunzehn72.de/wp-content/panos/prag/

[davsv1]

A video review by a cinematographer John Brawley https://johnbrawley.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/olympus-comes-in-from-the-filmmaking-wilderness/ self confessed Olympus fan but an interesting opinion and comments

[bconolly]

A link posted on dpr to a german site with a hi res pano with sensor shift, great detail but obvious issue with movement in some parts. http://neunzehn72.de/wp-content/panos/prag/

Wow - there's some detail in that shot for sure! Amazing stuff!

Thanks for posting the link!