mat33

Can anyone with a E-M5ii comment on the audio quality if using an external mic? I'm not expecting that it will have great pre-amps but does it appear decent for in-cam recording and how easy is it to adjust levels on the fly? Thanks!

​Wow. For your own good, I'd strongly recommend you don't start searching and watching videos shot on the PixPro-S1.... :-)

​Thanks John!

Another E-M5ii example

4. Being able to access and set one touch WB from movie mode 5. Save different movie mode set-ups as my sets 6. Allow auto iso to be set when in manual mode 7. Allow Super Control Panel to be used in Movie Mode 8. Allow IS focal length to be accessed directly from a function button (much easier if using non-m4/3 zoom) Maybe we can ask John Brawley to pass a list on to his contacts at Olympus???

​I haven't tested but I would expect contrast -2 to be the same as shadows +2/highlights -2. I have just tended to play with the curves more than the standard settings. With the better codec it would be interesting to see how flat you can go. Also there was some talk with the GH4 that raising contrast and then lowering highlights (something like contrast +2, shadows 0, highlights -4) with subsequent correction in post worked well with nice highlight roll off and would interesting to see what that looked like on the E-M5ii.

If you want the absolute flattest image you can set contrast to -2 and then in the curves control set shadows +6/highlights -6, but this gets very flat and on the E-M1 skin tones get pretty funky. With my E-M1, I usually leave contrast at 0 and then adjust curve to shadows +2/highlights -2 which seems to hold onto skin tones well.

​Ok Inquisitive, it time to fess up. We know that you are the head of the global Olympus video fan boy club -the Olympinati, who is engaged in a global conspiracy to secretly convince the film making world that Olympus is the king of video with the same if not better resolution than the GH2/3/4 but with much superior stabilisation that they just can't live without. If you succeed, Panasonic and other companies will have no choice but to put IBIS into all their cameras and in the process they will throw away their highly detailed, moire-free images and will plunge the world into the next video dark age.......

Here is a music video shot entirely on the E-M5ii ​handheld and the BTS

Olympus's c-AF has never been great in video, so I wouldn't be too disappointed about that. However their implementation of s-AF + MF is very good IMO.

I think for stills the benefit of m4/3 are really lens quality/size/weight coupled with good enough image quality. I can see why many want full frame, and it may well end up that m4/3 becomes irrelevant but I like that I can carry my E-M1, 12-40, 40-150 and teleconverter in a small shoulder bag all day without any issues. This might not be important for some, and if you are after the best possible image quality or the full frame aesthetic you might look elsewhere, but it works for me.

Camcorders do have great stabilisation and can be a great choice for many people, but many choose a larger sensor ILC so they have changeable lenses and DOF control because as you know, this helps create a more 'cinematic' image. So if you don't want shallow depth of field then yes, I'd recommend a camcorder but many people usually want the option of having this, so a camcorder is off the table. I have both panasonic and olympus camera's and I'm sorry to say that IBIS is far far superior to panasonic lens stabilisation, but if you're happy with OIS and it suits your needs then thats great. For me, I usually find myself grabbing my E-M1 despite the limitations as I find the IBIS to be worth it. Anyway everyone can make their own decision as to whats most important to them, and for many a GH4/NX1 might be a better choice All I'm saying is that having good stabilisation in body on all my lenses (including my contax zeiss lenses) without extra rigging/equipment has value to me and I imagine to others as well, and although I don't know for sure how many this is, I suspect its not only a small percentage. And while, I'd prefer not to have to compromise on resolution, thats the world where in at the moment.

There are many components to what makes a good film, and I would argue that resolution is the least important of them all. Sure, when looking at frame grabs or if you're wanting to have print quality stills from your video then resolution is a major consideration, but for the majority of people using these cameras I think resolution makes a smaller difference to the quality of their end product, their film, than other factors. In the end, what we are all really trying to achieve with these large sensor cameras is to make a film that has more 'cinematic' qualities than a small sensor video camera. What I think makes a big difference for parents filming their kids, documenting their lives etc is how stable the image is and if they can add any stable camera motion to their shot. Furthermore, these type of users don't have time to set-up gimbals etc (my wife would, shall we say, not be impressed if I brought a gimbal to my sons birthday party) as even pro's find the hassle of using these of stabilising devices can be limiting depending on the style/nature of your work. This is where IBIS shines, while it isn't as stable as a gimbal for walking shots, you can add very nice dolly and even small-jib like movement by carefully shifting your body position without any rigging. I think as far as the audience goes they notice the production value of this stability and camera motion far more than resolution.

If the E-M5ii has improved from the E-M1 (which it seems to me that it has apart from a few negative reports that are possibly due to settings or maybe a bad batch???) then I will be a happy camper. Having 24/25/30/50/60p and audio meters/head phone jack is a great step up from the E-M1. While it may not match the Gh3/Gh4 or even Gh2 resolution wise, those camera don't have IBIS which I think is worth the trade-off (obviously would be great if no trade-off needed, here's hoping to firmware updates...). Its crazy how you can be out with just with a small shoulder bag, the 12-40 and 40-150 PRO and ND's, and be able to shoot tripod steady static shots and some shots with nice smooth camera movement all handheld with no fuss or set-up time. Anyway still waiting for mine to arrive, hope it gets to me before a wedding job coming it as it will be great for this.

I've heard this before, but do we actually know that IBIS creates sensor heating issues which affect video quality? I always thought sensor heating was more of any issue for long exposures, hence the additional cooling seen on many astrophotography cameras. For video, I thought most heat was created from the image processing/compression which occurred off sensor, and that line skipping etc was used to minimise the data needed to process (while also speeding sensor readout to minimise rolling shutter). Given that the E-M5ii is olympus's first camera where video is a main feature it would seem likely that any issues with video quality have more to do less experience with processing/compression etc than IBIS, look at how long it took Nikon to produce D750 quality 1080p.

I'm not sure whats going here, but I think everyone needs to wait a little bit before making a final conclusion on the video mode and writing the E-M5ii off. When the E-M1 came out Andrew wrote about how the video quality was surprisingly close to the GH3 (http://www.eoshd.com/2014/01/first-look-olympus-om-d-e-m1-vs-panasonic-gh3/). I think it ended up being close in some certain situations but not on wider, high detail shots. Now we seem have quite varying reports of the E-M5 ii video mode coming out, some saying thats is better than E-M1, some saying that its worse than E-M1, some saying they can cut with a A7s without problem, some saying its crap and similar to a 7D. Some of the videos I have seen look much better than the E-M1 especially the wider shots where the better codec is surely helping, and have nice dynamic range and colour. I think John Brawleys, Curiosity and the behind the scenes, and also Escape = Joy https://vimeo.com/118269960 look really nice and its hard to reconcile these with some of the other reports. I think its clear the resolution is not a big step up from the E-M5/E-M1 but its hard to rationalise why Olympus would have made it worse when they bumped the codec and decided to push the video features... Anyway, we all know it can take a little bit of time to familiarise ourselves to a new camera and that these cheaper prosumer cams often need some tweaking to get the best out of them video-wise, so I guess time will tell.

My problem is I love the creative freedom the 5-axis stabilisation provides that it's difficult to give that up. While I would have loved better image quality, I guess at least we have PAL frame rates.

I think we all know that these cheaper 'prosumer' cams often need a bit of time to learn the best settings etc to get the most out of them. I am sure the E-M5ii is not up to Gh3/Gh4 standards resolution wise but I don't think it's a complete write-off yet.

Colour is one of olympus's big strengths, nice skin tones and pleasing colour OOC without having to do a whole lot of mucking around in post.

I'd be interested in seeing if there is any difference between the two stabilisation modes -one uses electronic stabilisation in addition to the 5-axis, and might create more of a crop and artefacts? Also, while the resolution is disappointing how does it handle wider high-detail scenes like moving water/trees etc? The E-M1 while it looks fine on close-up shots got quite muddy with these type of wide shots.

@Hitfabryk I agree would be great. I am using my E-M1 in a similar way, I find its great for medium/close ups with pretty good detail but the codec gets a bit muddy with wide, high detail shots -so I use my GH3 or GoPro for those if possible. Despite its weaknesses its hard to give up the IBIS, with the E-M1 I can shoot 150mm (300mm in FF) handheld with no rig, and get very usable results.

I'm hoping they will update the E-M1 to the same codec and frame rates given both have Truepic VII.

Thanks! I mainly shot this on an Olympus E-M1 for the IBIS. Some of the wides are with a GH3 and GoPro. Lenses were olympus 12-40 and 40-150 pro.

This is a short film I recently made about Doubtful Sound, which is located in Fiordland, in the South West of New Zealand. It is one of the few places where the remote coast of Fiordland has road access, although its not generally accessible for private vehicles and requires an hour boat journey to access the road, which is unsealed over a mountain pass. It is a place of extremes, with a resident human population of 2, a sandfly population of at least 2 million, and an average annual rainfall of 8750mm (344 inches). Aside from the scenery, fishing is a major activity. I'd appreciate any feedback on the film. Thanks in advance. https://vimeo.com/117767791

While I think 4K is unlikely, I think it does make perfect business sense for olympus to produce a major update for the E-M1. The E-M1 hasn't been out for very long, and is only recently been seeing some street price reductions. As its olympus's pro camera, I can't imagine they want to be releasing a new model after 12 months -look at how long canon keeps it flagship models going for. If they do release a big update, it keeps the E-M1 competitive with new cameras, while allowing olympus to maximise profit from all the hardware R&D and manufacturing line set-up. Is 4K possible?, I don't see why its not possible just very unlikely. Would olympus have released it when they announced the E-M1 -well ideally yes, but they have limited time and resources so it would make sense for them to focus on the core photo features first and get the camera out as they needed to update their flagship asap and then start working on other features while they had the income stream. I think some people are getting mixed up with the E-M5 which sells for $300 used, which would make little sense for olympus to update and IMHO has worse video than the E-M1 as the E-M1 codec seems much more efficient and robust.