Today was the first time I really had a chance to go out and take some photos and video with the Olympus E-M1 Mark II. It’s too soon for me to do a review, but not too soon to post some photos and sample videos.
All of the photos posted here are straight out of the camera. I shot these in aperture priority mode with auto white balance and in the natural picture profile. The lens that was used was the 25mm f/1.2.
My initial thoughts are that the images are very nice right out of the camera, very clean, with good contrast, sharpness, and good low light performance. I’m sure that processing the raw files would give better image quality, but for casual snaps, these are quite lovely!
These first four photos were taken in poor lighting condition in our upstairs hallway.
Heading down to Puyallup for a Ramen Lunch.
It was pouring rain outside — no problem for the weather sealing of the camera and lens. A perfect Seattle camera.
Not quite a selfie. I was holding the camera, but our 5 year old took this photo of me:
Of course I needed to take a cat picture. Notice the Loxia 50mm FE lens packaged up and ready for sale?
Next, let’s look at some videos shot with the camera.
The first one is a couple of video clips just testing out the footage from the E-M1 Mark II. My commentary was recorded using a Zoom H2N.
This last video was my run and gun camera setup with an OM-D E-M1 Mark II and an Olympus 7–14mm f/2.8 lens. Who needs a gimbal?
Audio was captured using a Rode VideoMicro with a dead kitten (dead cat) on the microphone to help reduce wind noise. Shot in Cinema 4k in Olympus’s flat picture mode. Color corrected in Final Cut Pro X. The lighting was much darker than what is seen in the video. I cranked the ISO quite a bit to compensate for the sun going down. Also, it was shot at f/2.8 and continuos autofocus. I’m sure if I would have been able to stop down, the out of focus areas would have been minimized. It was getting dark fast though, and in reality it was much darker than the video portrays. The image stabilization was mechanical only (IS mode 2).
So far, I’m quite please with the E-M1 Mark II. Comments or question, please post your thoughts below.
How do you feel about the size of this combo? I love m43 but it looks like everything keeps getting bigger and more expensive. I use the 12-40mm pro a lot. Was considering the 25mm 1.2 until I noticed you can get a used RX1R for less than $1000. Different focal length but can always crop!
Size wise – yeah it’s a bit bulky. I actually ended up selling the camera for a Leica M262, but have since purchased a Panasonic G85 for video. I use that with the Panasonic / Leica 12mm f/1.4 and it’s wonderful. Great stills too. Also, way better 4K than the E-M1 Mark II. Here are some photos with it: https://www.instagram.com/p/BYbDiQFALA4
I also got a great deal on a new Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 for about $150 new (it was on sale). Is it as good as the Olympus – nope. However, it’s a good lens and you can’t beat the price.