Olympus E-M1 II mini-review - a sign of things to come with the Panasonic GH5?

[liork]

Hip Hop video clip 4K, shot hand held:

 

[jonpais]

13 hours ago, Davey said:

An irreverent review:

 

Another manufacturer that's been off my radar because of lack of 4K. I like the style of the review, but it's a bit insubstantial, isn't it? Especially when we're talking about selling our bodies to buy one.  But I like the chunky dials. It looks as though the camera settings in the EVF are nice and large. In my very first Fuji, the X-T2, reading the information in the viewfinder is a bit like going to the optometrist and being asked to read the very first row of letters...

[Andrew Reid]

Not blown away by anything out of the camera so far and since my own hands on with it I've been shooting with the Panasonic G85 and realised it is by far the better deal.

The stabilisation doesn't seem much better on the E-M1 II compared to that camera for video.

The price - is it worth double just to shave 0.2x off the crop factor in 4K?

The ergonomics - I feel the Panasonic menus and controls are less convoluted somehow.

E-M1 II doesn't seem to have an advantage for ISO 3200, 6400... unchanged since old E-M1

Don't remember being blown away by the EVF compared to the G85 at half the price either.

Main difference is the higher bitrate codec and less rolling shutter.... but neither are a particular problem on the G85 either.

Both are very good cameras for video but right now I am leaning towards saving $1000.

Not least because the GH5 is around the corner which gives the E-M1 II a useful shelf life of about 2-3 months for your $2000.

[sgreszcz]

5 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Not blown away by anything out of the camera so far and since my own hands on with it I've been shooting with the Panasonic G85 and realised it is by far the better deal.

The stabilisation doesn't seem much better on the E-M1 II compared to that camera for video.

Not least because the GH5 is around the corner which gives the E-M1 II a useful shelf life of about 2-3 months for your $2000.

Furthermore the phase-detect C-AF doesn't seem to work that well in video mode which theoretically would be one advantage over the Panasonic DFD implementation.

[fuzzynormal]

11 hours ago, liork said:

Hip Hop video clip 4K, shot hand held:

Nice.  Shot with good well considered light.  Would look fine with just about any camera to be honest...

Which, honestly, is why I'm considering using Oly cameras from here on out.  They're "good enough" for video and my deciding factor ends up being more about the ergonomics of the gear when all else across brands is close to equal at this price point.

I just like using Olympus cameras.  Can't say I have a hard time with any other brand.  I like them all, really, it's just that Olympus feels "right" to me.

That said, it's not going to stop me from using a full frame camera with a 50mm on it for my interviews.  That's just a look I can't get from M43, so I gotta have an extra camera just for those set-ups.

[Vesku]

14 minutes ago, sgreszcz said:

Furthermore the phase-detect C-AF doesn't seem to work that well in video mode which theoretically would be one advantage over the Panasonic DFD implementation.

Panasonic DFD is not working in video.

[mike_tee_vee]

3 hours ago, sgreszcz said:

Furthermore the phase-detect C-AF doesn't seem to work that well in video mode which theoretically would be one advantage over the Panasonic DFD implementation.

The only feature I'm interested in is C-AF.  If it can focus in video more reliably than my Sonys, then I'll likely pick one up.  Otherwise, I'll get an 80D for run and gun AF.

[Andrew Reid]

If the E-M1 II was going to offer something new aside to bringing 4K to an Olympus camera for the first time it has to do the following -

- Dual Pixel AF standard performance in video mode (Nope)

- Better than Panasonic G85 for low light, dynamic range and stabilisation (Nope)

- LOG (Nope... it has a faux-flat profile that isn't even very flat)

- Better slow-mo than GH4 (nope... none in fact)

And Sync IS only works with just TWO Olympus lenses!! Not Panasonic ones. Dual IS on the G85 works with almost all of Panasonic's OIS lenses and they have far more than just TWO!!

The Panasonic GH5 will STOMP all over this camera in a few short months and everyone that buys it for video will have major buyer's remorse.

It's by no means not a great camera but for $2000 it has to be different. It isn't.

[Cary Knoop]

I think it is undermining to have two incompatible stabilization options for the MFT system.

For MFT to survive Olympus and Panasonic should compete but also work together to make products that are compatible beyond mere mount compatibility. 

I believe this will strengthen the platform.

 

 

 

 

[Don Kotlos]

Looking at all the samples, I can say that I am spoiled by the video quality of the A7rii. 

As Olympus states here:

"It is a stills camera with movie capabilities and not the other way around" . They say a firmware update could bring LOG IF there is demand. 

Well, IF you don't need what the E-M1ii offers in stills , then you are better off waiting for the GH5 to be at least properly announced, cause $2K is just too much for better stabilization. 

[Kisaha]

Fact is that BNC 2016 is: 1) Olympus 34.5%  2) Sony 24.8% 3) Canon (! With the EOS M2 mainly!) 13.6%

So, the fact that is the first (second actually) try on video is a big thing for them, and the market.

GH5 is going to be big, but after the X-T2, a6500, M5 and M1-ii releases, Pana is a bit late in the game.

That gives Sony time to have a really good APS camera in the summer(September?) because they must be working on a new body for some time now (both APS and full frame).

We don't even know GH5's release date, and I seriously doubt that it will be cheaper than the Olympus, here in Europe.

Everyone's buying time to Sony, to dominate the market in a couple of years.

[Andrew Reid]

GH5 doesn't need to be cheaper than Olympus though does it?!

Because it will almost sure-fire be better in every way for video.

[Kisaha]

I didn't put it right; it will be more expensive I meant! Also, they lost the Christmas market for sure (ofcourse they don't compete with Xmas presents and cheap cameras, but it could a nice jump start)..

..and then it depends of the other possibilities when itneill be finally out..

e.g a LS300 in B&H was 2850 with 250$ rebate (2600$!), and is a real run n gun camera. Blackmagic should have an upgrade soon.

I would rather had a great cheap Varicam awaiting, than a new mirrorless, something to compete with the C100markII, something better than the JVC, and cheaper than the FS5.

Does anyone have any European price for the Olympus? They don't have one in my country yet, but if I can guess from other releases, it will be more than 2000€.

[Cinegain]

5 hours ago, Kisaha said:

[..]

Does anyone have any European price for the Olympus? They don't have one in my country yet, but if I can guess from other releases, it will be more than 2000€.

1999, actually. They started to slowly appear 'In stock' since saturday.  https://geizhals.eu/olympus-om-d-e-m1-mark-ii-schwarz-gehaeuse-v207060be000-a1510914.html

[jonpais]

Both Cinema 5D and News Shooter are praising the Olympus to the skies (pun intended), but I just don't see anything special about it for video purposes. In fact, Johnnie Behiri's video looks seriously over-sharpened, video-y with no gradation of color, in the subject's skin, for example. The video was shot on an overcast day, which should be flattering to the subject, but instead it looks rather awful. I've seen better work from Johnnie with non-interchangeable lens cameras with 1" sensors. Anyhow, I much prefer the images coming out of the aging GH4 to this camera. Soon, everyone will get over IBIS and start evaluating cameras for their image quality again. It is rather amusing to read the comments about  the upcoming GH5, though, "if it doesn't have this or that, I'm not buying it" and so on. Also, I admire companies like Sigma and Fuji, who obstinately refuse to lay off their workers and move their factories abroad. How, for example, can Olympus ask $2,000 when even Fuji's flagship camera sells for $1,600? Especially when Olympus is manufacturing the EM1 II here in Vietnam, where labor costs are even lower than in China?

[fuzzynormal]

14 minutes ago, jonpais said:

Both Cinema 5D and News Shooter are praising the Olympus to the skies (pun intended), but I just don't see anything special about it for video purposes. In fact, Johnnie Behiri's video looks seriously over-sharpened, video-y with no gradation of color, in the subject's skin, for example. The video was shot on an overcast day, which should be flattering to the subject, but instead it looks rather awful. I've seen better work from Johnnie with non-interchangeable lens cameras with 1" sensors. Anyhow, I much prefer the images coming out of the aging GH4 to this camera. Soon, everyone will get over IBIS and start evaluating cameras for their image quality again. It is rather amusing to read the comments about  the upcoming GH5, though, "if it doesn't have this or that, I'm not buying it" and so on. Also, I admire companies like Sigma and Fuji, who obstinately refuse to lay off their workers and move their factories abroad. How, for example, can Olympus ask $2,000 when even Fuji's flagship camera sells for $1,600? Especially when Olympus is manufacturing the EM1 II here in Vietnam, where labor costs are even lower than in China?

Fair enough, but all these sorts of cameras need a little tweaking out of the box and in post to get to a better place. 

Olympus is no different. They require a little more work, actually. But once it's dialed in, it's dialed in. 

[ntblowz]

E-m10 have rolling of 10ms, beating even the FS7

[jonpais]

1 hour ago, fuzzynormal said:

Fair enough, but all these sorts of cameras need a little tweaking out of the box and in post to get to a better place. 

Olympus is no different. They require a little more work, actually. But once it's dialed in, it's dialed in. 

I know you use Olympus, so let me ask you: in what way is this a better investment than say, the GX80/85, which costs $1,300 less? Or, removing iBIS out of the equation altogether, the $600.00 USD Lumix G7?

Also, how can Johnnie Behiri claim the Olympus is usable up to ISO 6400? Although what is acceptable is a purely subjective matter, I still find that assertion absurd for a u43 sensor in the year 2016.

It's finally dawning on me that if there is a link to the product being reviewed, the review absolutely cannot be 100% objective.

[DevonChris]

I have seen no comparisons between the IQ of the GX8 and the EM-1 II but I bet there isn't much difference in the sensors.

You can get a used GX8 for around £550 in the UK now.

[jonpais]

is there a single 'pro' in Johnnie's list that screams innovation? It reads exactly as if Johnnie just read Olympus's literature and typed it out on his laptop, removing any superlatives and replacing them with the word 'good'. I think all of us here should take these pretty much for granted in this the year of our lord 2016, particularly in a camera costing 2,000 clams. 

Olympus OM-D E M1 Mark II pros (in no particular order):

World camera with a variety of resolutions and frame rates up to 60fps.

Nice clean video quality with a data rate of up to 237 Mbps in DCI 4K 24p, (In the above video, the average data rate is 86 Mbit/s  (measured with inspector).

Outstanding built-in 5-axis Image Stabilization system. When combined with an Olympus IS lens, the level of stabilisation gets even higher.

Clean HDMI output.

Rolling shutter is well controlled. In our lab test it scored 10ms(!), performing better than the Blackmagic Ursa Mini, Sony FS7 (14ms) and Sony a7SII (25ms).

Camera body features mic and headphone jacks.

Controlling audio levels while recording is possible.

Good touch screen autofocus (although autofocus performance in continues mode is not consistent).

Proper manual focus assist, namely peaking and focus magnifying while turning the focus ring.

Timecode.

Flipped LCD screen.

“Picture mode” settings are adjustable. Unwanted profiles can be ticked off from the menu all together.

Good built-in audio quality.

Good low-light quality up to ISO 3200. ISO 6400 is usable, but please take into account that the overall noise levels in dark areas is more noticeable.

Histogram settings – possible.