Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II is a mirrorless camera with interchangeable Micro-4/3 lenses. The model is the youngest in the Olympus OM-D line and replaces the OM-D E-M10. Five-axis image stabilization (effective up to four exposure levels), TruePic VII processor, built-in flash and EVI resolution 2.36 pixels, rotatable touch monitor, Full HD video shooting 1080@60/50/30/25/24p, time-lapse shooting mode in 4K resolution, as well as a completely new mode – focus bracketing.

The full official name of the model is: Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, but for brevity I will also call the camera OM-D E-M10 Mark II, or OM-D E-M10 II, or even just E-M10 II.

• All metal body; Compact, durable and lightweight design.
• Matrix LIVE MOS resolution 16 MP 4/3 format (17.3x13.0 mm).
• Improved five-axis sensor-shift optical stabilization system (working for both photo and video shooting), with automatic recognition of the optimal mode taking into account panning (S-IS Auto).
• Dual-core TruePic VII processor.
• Touch monitor with a diagonal of 3″, resolution 1.04 pixels, 3:2 format, rotatable along one axis.
• The ability to operate the display in “Touchscreen AF” mode - you look into the viewfinder, and indicate the focus point on the display.
• Built-in high-resolution OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) 2,360,000 dots with eye sensor and 100% field of view.
• The ability to switch the EVI to the “Optical viewfinder simulation” mode (in this case, the entered exposure compensation and other settings are displayed immediately on the main monitor, but not in the EVI).
• Sensitivity range from ISO200 (with ISO100 expansion) to ISO25600.
• Fast shutter speeds from 1/4000 second (and from 1/16000 with electronic shutter).
• Continuous shooting up to 8.5 fps.
• Autofocus with 81 zones (9x9), with group selection, face and near-eye detection.
• Improved continuous autofocus mode C-AF compared to the E-M10.
• Picking function for manual focusing (outlining objects that are in focus).
• New focus bracketing function (Focus BKT), with adjustment of the number of frames and the amount of focus plane shift.
• Scene programs and artistic processing effects “Art Filters” (two new compared to the E-M10 - Vintage and Partial Color).
• On-the-fly correction of perspective distortion.
• Video recording in Full HD 1080@60/50/30/25/24p resolution, ALL-I format with a stream of 77 Mb/s (at 30/25p), IPB with a stream of 52 Mb/s. Options for fast and slow video recording.
• Record stereo sound when shooting video.
• Interval shooting with the ability to stitch time-lapse videos.
• Connector for connecting an external flash and other accessories.
• Built-in Wi-Fi for remote control and file transfer to external devices.
• Overall dimensions (according to the manufacturer, case without protruding parts): 119.5×83.1×46.7 mm.
• Weight: 390 g (with battery and memory card).

I consider one of the greatest strengths of Olympus mirrorless system cameras to be their excellent image stabilization system. The stabilizer in the OM-D E-M10 Mark II camera has been improved compared to the previous E-M10 model; instead of a “three-axis” stabilization system, it has become a “five-axis” one and provides compensation for up to four exposure levels . Moreover, the stabilizer works both when taking photographs and when recording video (in the second case, in combination with electronic image stabilization).

For ease of comparison, we combine in one table the most important characteristics of three Olympus OM-D cameras - the previous E-M10, the new E-M10 Mark II, and the older model E-M5 Mark II. The winning points highlighting one of the models are marked in green, relative disadvantages are marked in red.

What I find very interesting is the new Focus BKT feature that appeared in the E-M10 Mark II. Its essence is that when the shutter button is pressed, the camera takes not one picture, but several, sequentially shifting the focusing plane from frame to frame, as if “running” over the object being photographed in volume. In this case, you can adjust both the number of frames in the bracketing series and the amount of focus shift from frame to frame.

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II will be available mid-September 2015 in silver and black. The main configuration option will be a camera with an M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42/3.5-5.6 EZ lens (costing 47,999 rubles), and a camera option without a lens will also be available (costing 39,990 rubles).

Turning the mode dial is accompanied by the appearance on the screen of information about the mode change and its essence. With modes P (programmed automatic), A (aperture priority), S (shutter speed priority) and M (manual setting of exposure parameters) everything is clear, this is a classic. By the way, when you are in the P-A-S-M group modes, pressing the quick menu button displays the SCP control panel - the same one as in the previous illustration.

The “green” AUTO mode is intended for those who do not want to think about camera settings. In this mode, the camera itself recognizes what type of scene you are shooting and automatically sets the optimal parameters based on the shooting conditions.

In AUTO mode, the Quick Menu button (or touching the right edge of the camera's touch screen) turns on the Live Guide function. A column appears on the right with icons that allow you to change Saturation, Hue (enter color shift), Brightness (enter exposure compensation), Blur background (change aperture) and turn on Dynamic scene (adjust shutter speed).

The sixth, lowest point of the “Guide to Easy Changing Settings” is called – Shooting Tips. It's like a micro-tutorial on photography, giving quick tips on framing as well as photographing children, animals, flowers, flowers and products.

The intention to make life easier for a novice photographer with the help of a “Guide to easily changing settings” is worth applauding, although I’m not sure that the multi-colored squares are so visual and immediately understandable.

In fact, most photographers, even beginners, look down on the “green mode” a little. In fact, behind its apparent simplicity (turn it on, you don’t need to do anything else) hide complex algorithms and very broad changes in the behavior of the camera. For example, she can enter exposure compensation herself or enable HDR shooting. I walked around the city for quite a long time and filmed in AUTO mode, and sometimes it pleasantly surprised me.

For example, this shot was taken fully automatically.

At first glance, it may seem, if not overexposed, then still too light, in cloudy weather. However, in fact, the camera analyzed the scene, saw the photos of people, recognized faces and, after metering the faces, set the exposure parameters accordingly. Well, turning the camera is already mine :).

For comparison, here's what it looked like shooting under the same conditions (and in the same AUTO mode), but without faces in the foreground:

The SCN mode dial position is for Scenes. Access to them is organized completely differently from all other Olympus cameras. Obviously, the developers considered that going through a monotonous (and long, usually more than twenty items) list is too tedious (especially for those who like trouble-free communication with the camera - and this is precisely what the entire interface of the E-M10 Mark III is built with in mind).

When you rotate the mode dial to SCN (or if you press the Quick Menu button on the top panel while already in SCN mode), six headings are displayed on the screen - People, On the Move, Indoors, Night Scene, Landscape and Close-up – within which there are already grouped story programs.

You can navigate the on-screen menu using the navigation pad buttons, control dials, or simply touching the touch screen. Moreover, with the first touch you will activate the group title (it will be surrounded by a frame), and the second touch will open access to the stories of this group. It's similar to working with a mouse, where you can navigate through application shortcuts on the desktop with one click, and launch an application with a double click.

Let's open the first group, “People”.

There we will be offered five story programs - Portrait, e-Portrait (with embellishment) ...

…Landscape+Portrait…

…Night+Portrait…

...as you can see, each story program is accompanied by its own “wallpaper” (a full-screen picture), explanations about its essence, and sometimes recommendations (use a tripod, raise the built-in flash)…

...and finally, Children.

The “In Motion” group includes three story programs.

You're starting to respect the AUTO mode, aren't you? After all, there the camera itself determines both the conditions and the objects being photographed... in fact, it selects the subject program automatically.

This is the second time we have met the children's story program. Yes, this is a feature of the organization of the new menu - one story program can be included in several different groups. Plot Children are included in three groups: People, On the Move and Indoors.

The Portrait and e-Portrait scenes can also be accessed through different groups.

The plot of the shooting with the wiring is interesting. Apparently, what is hidden here is the ability to switch the stabilizer to the “attenuate only vertical vibrations” mode, which is no longer explicitly available.

Although the mode indication on the control panel still remains simply as “S-IS On”.

The “Indoor” group includes as many as six story programs. These are two portrait subjects that are already familiar to us and shooting children, and in addition, Candle Light...

...and the “Silent” story program. This is where we essentially turn on the electronic shutter (which is not among the shutter modes selected by pressing the Down navigation key). In the translation of the description of the plot of “Silent”, a curious mistake was made - in the words “with low quality of sound and light from the camera.” This means that the plot is useful “in conditions where the noise and light produced by the camera are undesirable.” That is, in addition to turning off the mechanical shutter, the flash, autofocus illumination and sound confirmation of its operation are turned off.

The HDR Backlight scene takes multiple frames and automatically combines them into one to enhance dynamic range. The same mode can turn on, sometimes unexpectedly, when the camera is in AUTO mode.

The “HDR Backlight” scene does not provide any settings, unlike the “Advanced HDR Photo Mode”. By the way, in all cases, the resulting frame can be saved not only in JPEG format, but also in RAW.

Five scene programs are placed in the “Night Shot” group.

Note that the built-in flash does not pop up on its own - the inscription “Flash POP UP” warns you about the need to raise it.

There are both modes where a tripod is needed, and handheld night photography (several shots are taken at a relatively high ISO value to shorten the shutter speed, and then these several shots are combined into one to reduce noise).

The Fireworks plot is “ordinary” tripod photography with a long shutter speed...

...and under “Shooting streaks of light” there is a more interesting Live Composite mode, in which the process of exposure at long shutter speeds is clearly visible on the camera display.

Launching the “light strips” (Live Composite mode) is as simplified as possible here, it is turned on with one click of a button - and this can be done both from SCN story programs and from the “advanced functions” of AP.

The four scenes of the “Landscape” group are Landscape, Sunset (with enhanced transmission of red and yellow shades), Beach and Snow (with preservation of bright white areas), as well as the already familiar HDR Backlight.

The last, sixth, group of story programs is called “Close-up”.

Two stories are dedicated to Macro photography.

Of course, macro photography appears here only in terms of camera settings, but not image scale; To get true high-magnification macro shots, you'll need specialized lenses.

The Documents scene is optimal for shooting contrasting monochrome texts.

Finally, the Expanded Focus scene program includes a focus bracketing feature. As with Light Streaks and HDR Highlights, launching from scene programs is as hassle-free as possible, a “one-button” experience, suitable for the most novice photographers.

We have reached a group of modes for which a separate AP position is allocated on the mode dial, which stands for Advanced Photo, or “Advanced Photo Modes,” or, as on the screen, “Advanced Shooting Mode.”

Let me remind you that the AR mode menu, which you see in the next screenshot, appears both when you turn the mode dial to the appropriate position (that is, when you just get into AR mode), and when you press the “quick menu button” (if you are already in you are in AR mode).

The Live Composite function (translated as “Live Collage” in this camera) is a truly advanced tool for night photography. The camera first records a still image, and then those objects in the frame that do not move and whose brightness does not change remain that way; Only lighter objects are added. While watching the display, you can wait until the desired image is formed, or draw it yourself - and stop shooting when the desired result is achieved.

Launching the Live Composite function from AP mode is as simple as possible, you press the button once, you don’t need to think about anything, the camera’s automation takes care of setting the exposure parameters.

At the same time, the ability to launch Live Composite (as well as Live Bulb and Live Time) with a large number of settings through the in-camera menu is also preserved.

More details about working with the Live Composite and Live Time modes can be found in my .

Live Time is a simpler mode than Live Composite. It allows you to watch on the screen how the image appears at a long shutter speed, and stop shooting when the desired result is achieved by pressing the shutter button.

Before starting Live Time mode, you can set a maximum shutter speed, after which the camera will automatically stop exposure, even if you forget to press the button.

In Multiple Exposure mode, you take two photos in succession, which are then automatically combined into one.

The result is saved in JPEG and/or RAW formats.

HDR mode is useful when there is very high lighting contrast in the scene. The camera takes three quick successive shots at different exposures, which are then automatically combined into one. Roughly speaking, the lightest areas are taken from an underexposed photograph, and the darkest from an overexposed image. The result is an image with high dynamic range.

There are two options – the more realistic HDR 1 (with a lower exposure bracket) and the more “spectacular” HDR 2.

Check out three examples of HDR in action. In all cases, the HDR 1 option was used.

If moving objects enter the frame (and this often happens), then the camera does not form several translucent “ghosts”, but successfully deals with the problem using only one of the takes, so that doubling and tripling are not observed in the final image.

Note that in all three cases, the dynamic range of the matrix was enough so that information in highlights and shadows was not lost, and in principle it was enough to shoot in RAW without using HDR. Well, since shooting in HDR results in a RAW frame, then... we can, if necessary, extract details from it, and it will be like a two-stage preservation of details!

The next mode in the AR group is “Silent”. We are already familiar with him, he met among the SCN story programs, in the “Indoors” group. The silent electronic shutter turns on, the sounds produced by the camera and the autofocus illuminator turn off.

In the “Panorama” mode, you take several frames in succession, while marks are displayed on the screen to make framing easier (you are shown the edge of the previous frame, which must be combined with the next one).

The E-M10 III does not have in-camera panorama stitching, just as other Olympus system cameras do not have it. You can complain about this, although I wouldn’t be particularly upset - image editors do an excellent job of this task, stitching together a panorama from individual frames quickly and efficiently.

An example of a panorama of four frames taken with an E-M10 III camera and stitched together in a couple of minutes in an external editor (click on the file with a resolution of 4564×1080 pixels):

The keystone correction function can be used to change the geometry of the photo while shooting. You can straighten converging verticals, or, on the contrary, add drama to your pictures.

General remarks

In terms of structural strength and assembly reliability Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II made me happy. These are, of course, not cameras from the early 2000s, made in Japan, but today they are quite reliable cameras. The lid of the memory card + battery compartment looks somewhat strange because... it is not spring-loaded, as is usually the case. Or the spring is too weak... It's inconvenient to pick it out.

On the back side there are control buttons (I write this as a diminutive because they are very small). “Menu” button, “Info” button, joystick to move around the screen.

These buttons are often needed because, for example, only through the menu can you enable functions such as HDR or bracketing. Through the menu, you can change the file format and LCD screen functions.

Using the joystick, you can move around the image when viewing (by the way, the view button is at the bottom and is quite small and not particularly convex), but the left button of the joystick is almost close to the LCD screen - this is inconvenient.
In short, when designing a miniature camera, you should probably think about the fact that it will not be used by mice, but by quite full-size people, who will be much more comfortable if the buttons are convex and can not only be seen, but also felt. This is a complaint not only (and not so much) to Olympus mirrorless cameras, but to all mirrorless cameras in general.

There is such a type of mirrorless camera users as people over 50 with not very good eyesight due to age (and what can I say, even young people today have problems with their eyesight due to the dominance of all sorts of gadgets and TV). They would be happy to use a mirrorless camera, which would allow them to get rid of the heavy and large (subjectively) burden of a DSLR, but how will they look for these micro inscriptions? Should I wear glasses every time?
I understand that this camera was designed by a 20-year-old guy who has poor vision.

Viewfinder

The electronic viewfinder is a separate topic for discussion. I am always against the electronic viewfinder because... it does not show a natural picture, but what electronics can convey today. And even in Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II EVI costs 2.36 million pixels (which is quite a lot!), but in terms of color reproduction it cannot be considered ideal, so I didn’t really like how it displayed the result of the polarizing filter.

pictured B+W ND-Vario

Considering that the camera has a stylized pentaprism bulge, why not make a JVI? For its connoisseurs... This, of course, is a dream..."The more electronics, the better!" modern marketing

Image quality

The quality (technical) of images depends on several factors:

Characteristics of the camera sensor/matrix (resolution, )
- lens (resolution, contrast, characteristics at different focal lengths in the case of a zoom lens)

Permission

I've always been skeptical about cameras with a large crop factor. For the simple reason that there is a limit to pixel reduction and it is achieved very easily, after which detail disappears and even the best lens cannot save it. And of course, the impossibility of having an ultra-wide-angle lens of normal quality.

IN Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II we have crop 2.0 and sensor size 17.3 x 13.0 mm. This is a quarter of the full 35mm frame and during my filming I found the resolution limit of this matrix.
Here we have a pixel density of 266 pixels/mm and this is a record among the cameras that I know. Canon 5Ds gives 242 pixels/mm, Canon 7D mark II gives 243 pixels/mm.

If Olympus made a full-frame camera that its resolution would be 9310 x 6384 pixels, which corresponds to 60 megapixels!

I relied on the pixel density when I was filming the desert and canyons, and in general my hopes were justified, but if you enlarge the frames, you can see that they are not “suitable” for 16 megapixels. The detail is good, but I increased it a little and its threshold is visible.

I don’t think that another lens instead of the kit 14-42mm will greatly improve the situation because... I already shot at F5.6-8 apertures, which leveled out the difference between top-end “glasses” that are optimized for open apertures and budget ones.

My conclusion: For an amateur photographer, this resolution may be quite enough, but for a professional landscape lover it is not enough. Next time I would like to have a camera like Canon 5Ds.

Dynamic range

Dynamic range Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II quite decent, contrary to expectations. It copes quite well with both underexposure and overexposure.

An example of underexposure and details pulled out of the shadows.

A photo with a full range of brightness from white to black, from the black fabric on the sleeves of the baby's jacket to the white sand on the right.

the picture is not processed

And if you add a little contrast and sharpness...

It copes very well with a scene with a large difference in brightness!

Now let's try to overexpose a little...

Very good result for a small sensor.

For example, a telephone iPhone 4S It can’t cope with such a difference in brightness at all. It's quite sad because Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II doesn't know how to glue panoramas!

If you haven’t read the previous article, with examples of pictures of the canyon, then I foresee cries that it’s a sin to compare a camera and a phone, but...
Programmers Apple they did a very good job on this particular point and at the moment I don’t see the point in trying to glue panoramas with mirrorless cameras with regular lenses.

Noises

Yes, there is enough noise. But they didn’t surprise me, because there is such a high pixel density on such a small sensor. But there are no such obvious noise cancelers as on Fuji.

Of course, whether the resulting photo is dark or normally exposed will greatly influence it. Please keep this in mind when using cameras. If the camera does not have strong noise at ISO 800 with a normally exposed photo, then with underexposure at ISO 800 and extended by at least one stop, the picture will be completely different. This applies to all cameras. It is important whether enough light hits the matrix. No light - no details due to strong noise.

Here is a photo taken at a slower shutter speed (so that there is no “shake”) and then stretched 1.8 stops in the RAW converter.

Color rendition

The color rendering of the matrix consists of several parameters:

Color depth (physical, not virtual)
- ADC quality
- white balance

Color depth
Color depth at Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II declared in 36 bits, i.e. 12 bits per channel. Not very much on the one hand, but in general, by eye, it should be indistinguishable from 48 bits, for example. What is important here is rather the structure of the matrix, how many photodiodes are responsible for the green-yellow spectrum, to which our eyes are most sensitive. The matrix here is typical, Bayer, with an emphasis on the yellow-green spectrum, so in theory there should be no problems with color rendering (at least if you don’t do “laboratory” tests).

ADC quality
The quality of the ADC with such a miniature sensor size can play a bad joke with any matrix because you have to do it both efficiently and not too expensively, which is much more difficult to implement on a miniature scale.
Those. In theory, such a high pixel density should provide amazing color uniformity, but it does not due to technological limitations.

White Balance
It would seem like a completely virtual parameter from the world of computers, not cameras, but how often do we manually set White Balance? I take a photo, put it on my iPhone, and am amazed by the beautiful blue sky (albeit noisy) and beige rocks. I immediately raise the camera Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, I take a photo and see that the rocks have become more yellow and the sky more cyan.
Where is the truth, brother?

filmed on iPhone 4S

We can argue until we're hoarse that this isn't a physical characteristic of the camera, but it's actually an important parameter. 99% of photographers shoot with an auto BB (mine). That’s why battles often arise: “Nikon is blue” and “Canon is red.” The real problem is the color profiles of these cameras and how they are interpreted by the RAW converter.

Things can get to the point where an amateur photographer will categorically not like a very high-quality camera simply because the colors it comes out with are somehow different from those of a neighbor (with a Canon, for example).

Lens

About the lens Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5-6 EZ I don't have much to say. Its resolution at closed apertures is normal and corresponds to the sensor. It catches quite a bit of glare at some zoom positions, but generally handles side light well. In this regard, there are no complaints about either the lens or the matrix (for example, unlike Fuji).

If you really want, you can “steam” any lens, and even more so a zoom lens. That’s why, under such favorable conditions, I found his weak point.

The zoom on this lens is electronic; it is enough to create a slight twisting force in a certain direction on the zoom ring and the lens will work. I prefer “manual” zoom lenses. In particular, also because this uses up the battery quite a lot (which, by the way, is also warned about in the camera manual). Accordingly, “manual zoom” here is also electric and does nothing to save you from wasting precious electricity.
Well, people... They knew that the battery capacity would be greatly lacking, but they also installed only an electric zoom, getting away with a line in the manual with a warning...

Battery operation

This is the camera's weakest point. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. I went on a trip with one battery because... I left very quickly, and the camera was not mine.
Today, when buying a mirrorless camera, do not forget to buy a suitcase of batteries for it. I’m exaggerating, but you definitely need to buy 3 batteries right away.
Otherwise, instead of fully filming interesting scenes, your trip will turn into a fight for current leakage.

I'll start by saying that I usually use a Canon 5D mark II SLR camera with a battery grip. It happens from time to time that I forget to charge it and I manage to shoot a photo shoot with the remaining charge. Remembering the 1D series camera I previously used, this does not surprise me at all and I consider it normal.
I've never forgotten to charge my mirrorless camera Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, but the sockets in the rented apartment were loose and the children touched the plug. As a result, upon arriving at the area, when I gasped at the beauty of the picture that opened to me and reached for the camera, the camera cheerfully flashed the message “Battery low” at me.
I had no words. We drove for an hour to this place in the heat to be left alone with the opening landscape, without a camera. Only a landscape photographer can understand me.

What have I done? I shot panoramas on iPhone 4S, as well as I could. After which I posted a photo in a group on Facebook and invited everyone there (I needed to raise money for a trip to this place). Those who wanted to shared the cost of the trip with me and everything turned out to be feasible.
It’s a paradox, but my phone saved me. That's why on my next trip I took with me not only Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, which I double-checked 10 times in terms of battery charge (There’s also a catch here, one missing piece on the battery icon means almost completely discharged. That is, there are only two states of the battery indicator: the camera is fully charged and the camera is completely discharged. Try to determine the current charge with using intuition or cosmic energy, if you are a real Jedi), but also a fully charged phone with a powerbank socket and a Canon IXUS point-and-shoot camera, which I usually use for underwater photography.

desert set

— GPS Garmin 60 CSx
- “kangaroo” because during the day it is very hot, and in the evening it can be very cold and windy
- light filters of all kinds, of which the most useful is a polarizer
— cleaning kit for photo optics from Carl Zeiss
— 80cm reflector from Falcon Eyes (for portraits)
— Canon IXUS digital point-and-shoot camera (just in case)
— a powerful flashlight (1800 lumens, everyone was very impressed in the evening, when it quickly got dark. We can say that it became the salvation of the whole group that time)
— manfrotto pixi tripod (a useful and lightweight thing, especially in the dark. Well, for selfies too :))
— KATA backpack (for all occasions. In this case, I put a desert stone there, wrapped in plastic. Otherwise it was very easy :))

Results

Based on the results, I can say that the camera Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II It turned out to be quite decent and I didn’t regret taking it with me. Yes, it could have been better taken with a DSLR camera, especially with the same one Canon 5Ds or something with a high pixel density and high overall resolution. It was possible to shoot better on a Sony A7 II, A7R, A7R II with a lens ZEISS Batis 25/2(and you will also need ZEISS Batis 85/1.8 for a portrait!).

But such solutions would be much more expensive and at that time I did not have them. Yes, and the goal was specific - to test the camera Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, kindly provided to me by Alexey Litvin, for which I thank him very much!
By the way, he's selling his Canon 1D mark IV, so whoever needs it, contact me, I’ll pass it on to him.

In terms of noise Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II It is relatively noisy, so it is advisable to use it in sunny weather. The stabilizer in the camera works well. Maybe on Sony A7 II better (according to my feelings), but it’s not bad here either!
Lens I would like Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II I didn’t take it. The “whale” zoom is more than enough and you are unlikely to see anything fundamentally new on the super-fix from Olympus. And here the most useful focal lengths are already closed: 25mm (landscape) and 85mm (portrait).

Something else to pay attention to is the flash. The built-in flash is very weak. I strongly recommend getting some kind of good off-camera flash, perhaps from Canon and run it using a radio synchronizer ( Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II allows you to do this). If you also get a folding softbox 60x60cm, then wonderful portraits from nature are “in your pocket.”

I was surprised by such a voluminous instruction manual for the camera - as much as 167 pages! I barely mastered it and only for the sake of the review (so as not to miss any important function). This is another strange thing about this camera... A camera for book lovers :)

OK it's all over Now. We are staying with you for the winter! :)
And we say hello to all the Dahab residents who will celebrate the New Year in Egypt!

a rare frame cut from a video shot on a phone - I’m taking pictures

P.S. Who can guess what fruit/vegetable is in the photo? :)

Bonus - source files from Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

Are there built-in “image enhancers” in the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

I took one of my photos taken at ISO 800 (I rarely shoot at such a high ISO) in the format RAW, opened it in Adobe Camera Raw and set all settings to zero. There is no contrast from the converter, no sharpening or noise reduction.

I opened the same RAW file in RAWDigger and saved Tiff. Opened it in Adobe Photoshop and attached it to the first open file. This is what happened.

August 25 was the date of the worldwide announcement of the fifth camera in the series of Olympus OM-D pseudo-mirror system cameras, namely the E-M10 Mark II model (it became the fourth in the current assortment). After the official presentation at the press center of MIA Rossiya Segodnya, which took place in the afternoon, after the official announcement of the new camera, the Russian representative office of Olympus provided invited journalists and bloggers with the opportunity to try out the new product in the Central Park of Culture and Leisure named after. Gorky.

Cameras and optics are waiting for their testers.

Test kit

For field express tests, your humble servant deftly grabbed one copy of the new camera in silver and black (however, of course, the external finish of the body has nothing to do with the quality of shooting) and a couple of lenses: an excellent wide-angle zoom M.Zuiko Digital ED 9-18 mm f/4-5.6 with an equivalent focal length of 18-36 mm and the simply excellent M.Zuiko Digital ED 75 mm f/1.8 (150 mm) telephoto. Just in case of emergency, the author also had in stock a universal Olympus superzoom 14-150 (28-300) mm of the first release.

Of the full battery charge, fellow journalists and bloggers used up very little, turning the camera in their hands for no more than ten minutes before it stuck to my hands. I inserted the high-speed memory card I had prudently taken with me into the camera, checked the settings - for the first test, I first of all needed full resolution and high quality JPEG - and we set off across the Crimean Bridge to the Central Park of Culture and Culture.

Appearance

To be honest, I didn’t really understand why the manufacturer made this particular decision - to call the new product “the second “ten”; The differences from the old (well, like old, only about a year old) model E-M10, as they say, are striking. This is not the case when the appearance of the next “brand” differs from the previous version only by a new or additional nameplate.

OM-D E-M10 Mark II with M.Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f/1.8 PRO fisheye.

It is immediately noticeable that the shooting mode dial has “moved” to the right (from the photographer’s point of view) side of the viewfinder housing and the built-in flash. The left platform is occupied by a rotary switch, which also serves as an activator for the built-in flash.

At the same time, all control dials have changed design. They don't just look stylish; The new notch on the metal discs is practical and convenient. Manipulations are quite possible when holding the camera, as they say, “with one right hand.” By the way, they reminded the author of the old Leika in a polar design with ribbed heads for rewinding film and setting shutter speeds that were enlarged for ease of working with gloves. I believe that gloves will not be an obstacle when shooting with this camera.

In the absence of an overhead handle, which radically improves the grip of the body, although it increases its small geometry, the relatively small size of the overlap under the fingers of the right hand Very effectively compensated for by the powerful ergonomic thumb rest. Add to this the high-quality coating of the body, and... - the camera simply does not slip out of your hand; This pleasant fact was noted by those gathered of both sexes, who had palms of very different sizes and fingers of different lengths.

I was pleased with the folding screen. When you move it to the “from the belly” position for shooting, which is very useful, for example, for unobtrusive street photography, it can be slightly moved away from the body. Just enough so that the viewfinder does not block the image on it when looking perpendicularly down.

In general, it cannot be said that the camera has noticeably changed its physical characteristics; in comparison with the original model, changes in size and weight are calculated in single millimeters and grams and do not play a significant role. In contrast to the changes in her very rich “inner world”.

Inner world

And inside, the new “ten” is noticeably different from the first version of the camera, although, of course, not in everything.

The main thing in the camera is the matrix and the “brains”. There is nothing to complain about here. The same 16-megapixel Live MOS CMOS sensor as used on other OM-D cameras, and the same TruePic VII graphics processor.

Roughly speaking, this suggests that with the new “ten” you can take photos of the same high quality as with other cameras in the OM-D family. This is an absolute advantage and strength of both the new model and, by the way, the entire family.

The resolution of the electronic viewfinder has noticeably increased; it now exceeds 2.3 million points. I understand perfectly well that there is no limit to perfection, but from a practical point of view, this resolution seems optimal. At the same time, the image in it is devoid of inertia.

A significant advantage of the E-M10 Mark II over the first model was the introduction of the most advanced five-axis image stabilization system to date. The first “ten” had it of the previous generation, three-axis. At the same time, according to representatives of the company, the five-axis stabilization system on the second “ten” has been further improved compared to its earlier versions, first implemented on the already discontinued E-M5 model, which relatively recently gave way to its “second brand” in production.

The first impression of her work is the most positive. The five-axis system works great and saves you in very difficult circumstances. The manufacturer's claims about four stages of shutter speed extension relative to the recommended limit are not without foundation. Of course, miracles don’t happen, and tremor can ruin the job, but the burst mode helps you get several shooting takes to choose the best option from them.

It was not possible to test another very interesting new camera ability while running. We are talking about time-lapse (interval) shooting with 4K resolution (also possible with lower Full HD and HD resolutions). So the capabilities of the new camera for creating time-lapse video will be the subject of a separate article.

In the meantime, you can watch a small video shot hand-held in maximum quality mode (Full HD, 50p) in the form in which YouTube turned it. Original (168 MB).

Other Features

An interesting new feature of the new “ten” is the use of the screen when viewing through the viewfinder to select a focusing point. This is one of those cases where it is easier to show than to explain. Nevertheless, I'll try. You look through the viewfinder in the usual way, holding the camera with both hands, press the shutter button with your index finger to activate autofocus and, if the automatic is caught on the wrong point in the frame that you need, move your thumb across the screen to move the focusing point to the place you need.

M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm f/1.8; 1/160 sec, f/2.8, 320 ISO. The clever built-in face recognition, of course, immediately grabbed the nearest face, and the camera instantly focused on it, but my finger told it through the screen that I was more interested in Evgeniy Uvarov :)

Moreover, I wrote the previous paragraph much longer than it took me to shift the focal point when shooting, honestly.

Another “feature” implemented in the camera is a focus bracketing (focus bracketing), which compensates for the lack of depth of field during close-up and close-up photography. The camera takes a series of photographs, shifting focus step by step, and then automatically stitches a composite image with optimal sharpness across the entire depth of the three-dimensional subject.

I will also note the silent shutter mode, which is actually the use of an electronic shutter. In this case, the shortest shutter speed is reduced to 1/16,000 s, while in normal mode with a mechanical shutter it is the usual 1/4000 s.

The new camera doesn't seem to have any problems with the battery. To play it safe, I immediately turned on the low-speed burst mode (about 4 fps) in order to provide myself with filming takes. Having shot about five thousand frames and a small video, constantly using either the screen or the viewfinder, periodically poking around in the playback mode and deleting obviously unsuccessful frames, by the end of our energetic test session I noticed that only one segment in the charge indicator had disappeared on the screen. And this, I must note, is for a completely new camera with an obviously untrained battery, albeit without the use of a built-in flash.

Conclusion

The new camera elegantly fills the gap between the first “ten”, clearly aimed at enthusiastic amateur photographers who decide to discover the rich world of system cameras, and the E-M5 Mark II camera, which the company itself certifies as a model for “creative enthusiasts”, and I would old fashioned called a semi-professional camera.

And it's not just that Olympus is going to offer consumers both models: the original E-M10 as an entry-level camera, and the E-M10 Mark II as a more advanced camera for enthusiasts.

I don’t think my first impression lets me down: the camera turned out to be successful and will undoubtedly be popular among the steadily growing number of consumers of non-DSLR system cameras.

Moreover, I believe, in the very near future: according to insider information, the first batch has already been delivered to Russia and is currently being distributed to authorized dealers in order to simultaneously go on sale at the agreed time in early September. Let me remind you that the price for the new camera body named by the Moscow representative office of the company will be 39,999 rubles.

PS: You can download test photos from the text and an additional gallery for independent review in one ZIP archive using this link (traffic 73 MB). A brief specification of the camera is given in our announcement, a detailed specification is on the manufacturer’s website.

Southern end of the Crimean Bridge. Fok. dist. 9mm, 1/800, f/7.1, 200 ISO.

A model of a previously existing parachute tower in the Central Park Museum. Fok. dist. 9mm, 1/60, f/4, 250 ISO.

View from the observation deck on the entrance arch to the musical fountain of the Central Park of Culture and Culture. 75mm, 1/1250, f/2.8, 200 ISO.

View from the observation deck on the entrance arch of the Central Park of Culture and Culture towards the KhSU and the Ostankino TV tower. 75mm, 1/2000, f/4, 200 ISO.

75mm telephoto in all its glory. 1/3200, f/2.5, 200 ISO.

Experience exchange. 75mm, 1/250, f/2, 200 ISO.

Embankment of the Moscow River in the Central Park of Culture and Culture. Fok. dist. 13mm, 1/400, f/6.3, 200 ISO.

Family photo session. 75mm, 1/1600, f/2.8, 200 ISO.

When illumination decreases, aperture ratio begins to play a crucial role. 75mm, 1/40, f/2.0, ISO 3200.

Panorama of the Garden Ring from the observation deck at the entrance arch of the Central Park; computer stitching of 6 horizontal frames. 18mm, f/5.6, 200 ISO.

Panorama of the Order of Lenin Central Park of Culture and Culture named after. Gorky from the observation deck on the entrance arch; computer stitching of 11 vertical frames. 22mm (14-150mm lens), f/6.3, 200 ISO.

INTRODUCTION:

Olympus Lately we haven't been pleased with new products very often. The huge scandal that the company experienced at the end of 2011 significantly crippled the financial capabilities of the Olympians, which immediately affected the development and launch of new products on the market. And by 2014, the line of cameras was reduced by almost half, limiting itself to the “required minimum.”

In fairness, it should be noted that such difficulties sometimes benefit us (primarily us, consumers). The development company begins to take a more careful and scrupulous approach to introducing new models to the market, since the launch of a not very successful one can have critical consequences. In addition, you need to try to “cover” the wider lines of competitors with a narrow line of products, and also to extend the life of each model as much as possible, making it technologically advanced.

The budget models were practically removed, leaving only a couple of amphibious digital compacts and a couple of superzooms. And you can’t call them particularly budget-friendly. The main emphasis is on cameras with standard interchangeable lenses Micro 4/3.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, COMPARISON WITH OTHER OM-D CAMERAS:

In fact, Olympus largely repeats the Fujifilm line of cameras (well, or Fujifilm repeats the Olympus line - whichever you prefer). Just as Fujifilm at one time presented a “simplified” one, which differed little from the flagship in functionality, but was significantly cheaper, so Olympus decided to fill the niche with a simplified “almost flagship”.

As is the case with Fujifilm, OM-D system cameras have had a fairly distinctive and recognizable appearance since their launch, stylized as a retro DSLR. As in the 70s of the 20th century, the main emphasis is on compactness, but at the same time functionality and ease of use commensurate with “large” cameras.

The body of the E-M10 mark II is made of metal with a rubberized coating on the front. The camera looks very beautiful and gives the impression of an expensive, high-quality product. It is perfectly assembled, everything fits perfectly, nothing creaks, does not play, and feels solid. The E-M10 mark II is really comfortable to hold in your hands, despite the rather small protrusion of the battery grip. Convenience is ensured by a small thumb ridge on the back of the camera. In fact, all manufacturers of mirrorless cameras have already realized that in such a simple and obvious way you can significantly improve the grip of the camera, and they are implementing it almost everywhere, which is good news.

There are two main disadvantages. Firstly, the case, unlike older OMs, is not protected from moisture. There are already plenty of weather-resistant lenses in the Olympus lineup, so additional protection would be a welcome addition. But on the other hand, due to this (including) the cost of the camera was significantly reduced. And secondly, as in the older model, all the buttons on the camera body are small and not convex enough. So, those with large hands (as well as people with not very good eyesight) will have to get used to the ergonomics.

There are fewer buttons on the “ten” than on the “five”, and there are only three programmable ones. In addition, there is no interesting 2-position switch, which is present on older models and allows you to change the logic of the control wheels. (more about this in the E-M5 mark II review). All three control wheels are located on the right side. The camera allows for very flexible control settings. In addition to the three function keys, you can reprogram the video recording activation button, as well as program both control wheels. There are more than twenty functions to choose from.

Considering that the camera is quite small, for ease of use, the wheels had to be spaced out in height and made corrugated. The mode selection wheel, in general, is significantly raised above the body. And I must say that it all looks great, is implemented with high quality, and is really convenient to use.

The camera uses a 3-inch display with a resolution of 1,037 megapixels - the same characteristics as in the entire OM-D line. The fact that it was made to rotate in one plane is apparently the merit of marketers. There was nothing stopping us from making the display rotatable in all planes, as in the E-M5 mark II, but there was a need to “diversify” the products, increasing the number of advantages between the older and younger models.

The display is touch-sensitive, with its help you can change the focus area and scroll the menuand scroll through photos while viewing. But multi-touch is not supported, so using the usual “smartphone” gesture to enlarge or reduce a photo while viewing will not work.

The electronic viewfinder has the same resolution as other cameras in the line - 2.36 megapixels, but a lower magnification (1.23x versus 1.48x, which is noticeable when in use). But finally it was implemented based on an OLED matrix. In the "five" the picture seemed very cold, which caused discomfort. Here there is no such effect - the image is contrasting, warm and pleasing to the eye.

In addition, the new product has an interesting EVI operating mode - Simulated optical viewfinder. In it, the viewfinder image does not represent the actual exposure, but rather attempts to simulate what we should theoretically see through an optical viewfinder (if there were one). In practice, this is nothing more than an interesting feature, the practical benefit of which tends to zero.

FLASH:

The camera has a built-in flash and a hot shoe. The flash is not powerful - the guide number is only 8.2 at ISO200 (in terms of ISO100, the guide number will be only 5.6). But a camera of this size could hardly accommodate more powerful lighting. The flash can operate in the following modes: auto, manual (with a power divider setting from 1/1.3 to 1/64), red-eye reduction, slow sync and slow sync with red-eye reduction, second sync curtain You can set compensation in the range -3...+3 EV in 1/3 stop increments. Sync speeds can be adjusted from 1/250 to 1/60 of a second, and you can also set a high-speed sync mode (Super FP) with a shutter speed of 1/4000 of a second.

Unfortunately, the design of the flash does not allow you to change its angle, so pointing it at the ceiling to obtain a softer light-shadow pattern will not work.

As can be seen from the table above, the differences between the cameras are minimal. The E-M10 mark II, in addition to a simplified body and viewfinder, has a lower continuous shooting speed, and the mechanical shutter is limited to a minimum operating speed of 1/4000 sec (for older models - 1/8000). In addition, there are minor differences in the implementation of software "improvers". But, on the other hand, the camera has functions that even older models cannot boast of. But, however, all these functions are completely software and it is possible that they may appear in other OM-D cameras with the release of new firmware.

First - mode AF Targeting Pad (Touchpad autofocus). If you activate this function, you can look through the electronic viewfinder and focus by dragging your finger across the display. The display itself, if you bring the camera to your face, is “extinguished” by the proximity sensor, only the touch panel works. This is very convenient as it allows you to change the focus point without using the navigation buttons.

Another interesting feature is Focus BKT (focus bracketing). The idea is that the camera can take a certain number of shots, automatically shifting the focus plane from frame to frame. Anyone who has been involved in subject and macro photography knows that obtaining a large depth of field is not an easy task, since even closing the aperture too much may not provide sufficient depth of field to get the entire object in sharp focus. Today, to solve such problems, it is most often used combined focus method - Focus Stacking. It allows you to increase the depth of field by combining several frames with different focusing. This is the highest quality, but at the same time very labor-intensive and time-consuming method. Firstly, you need to focus manually, sequentially changing the focusing plane and at the same time observing a certain step. At the same time, you need to take into account that as the subject moves away from the camera, and increases, so the focusing planes will expand. Secondly, keep in mind that when refocusing, many lenses change slightly, so the images will not be exactly identical. This can create additional “fuss” when combining images in a graphics editor. And thirdly, all photographs must be taken in such a way that when refocusing does not capture the “extra” zone of sharpness, since this also creates certain additional difficulties when combining frames.

After this, the resulting images can be combined in a photographic editor (Photoshop and any other of your choice).

Olympus has automated part of the labor-intensive process described above. But, of course, there were some nuances). Firstly, the images obtained using Focus BKT will still have to be combined in a graphics editor, since in-camera processing cannot do this. Secondly, the peculiarities of how bracketing works will have to be dealt with empirically. The camera has 2 settings that are responsible for its operation: the number of shots (from 1 to 999) and the focus shift, measured in certain conventional units (from 1 to 10). So, these parameters will have to be selected during the shooting process, by trial and error, since the camera itself cannot determine how many shots are needed to obtain a sharp image, and it will not be possible to immediately understand the logic of the focus shift, since it is not clear what the values ​​​​are tied to .

But, nevertheless, by spending some time selecting the necessary parameters, you can significantly save shooting time in the future. Moreover, the automatic photographing process itself is very fast.

All three cameras in the Olympus line most likely use the same 16 megapixel sensor (the manufacturer diligently hides information about the origin of the sensors and their modifications “behind seven locks”). In the flagship E-M1, phase sensors are additionally integrated into the sensor, which allow for more accurate tracking autofocus when shooting moving objects.

Today, a 16-megapixel sensor can, de facto, be considered the standard of the Micro 4/3 system. So far, there are only two cameras with a 20 megapixel sensor - this Olympus PEN-F And Panasonic DMC-GX8. The sensor size for Micro 4/3 systems is 17.3 x 13.0 mm, while the full frame dimensions are 36 x 24 mm. If you do the math, it turns out that the Micro 4/3 sensor area is 3.8 times smaller than the sensor area of ​​a full frame camera. This means that a full 35mm sensor with the same pixel density as the E-M10 mark 2 would have a resolution of 62 megapixels. And it’s no secret that an increase in the number of pixels (and, as a consequence, a decrease in their size and distance between them) significantly affects the “noise” of the resulting image. Today, only Canon has a 35mm camera with a record 50-megapixel sensor, in which the maximum ISO value has been significantly “tweaked” so as not to “scare” users with strong digital noise. Therefore, it seems to me that even 16 megapixels is the maximum reasonable limit for this matrix size, and 20 megapixels is already “a bit overkill”.

The camera has a very good dynamic range. It copes well with scenes in which there are strong changes in brightness. From a severely underexposed RAW file, with some simple manipulations in a graphics editor, you can get a pretty decent picture. Naturally, noise will appear, but only in the form of “grain” and not dirty colored spots. Below is an example photo: on the right is the original JPEG, on the left is an image from a RAW file with “stretched” shadows +80 in Adobe Camera RAW.

As for “noise,” Olympus engineers seem to have squeezed everything they could out of this sensor. The camera starts to make noise already at ISO1600, but allows you to get a pretty decent picture up to ISO3200. At ISO6400, a significant loss of detail is already visible, and in no case should you raise the sensitivity higher.

You can download the originals of photographs taken using different ISO values ​​(RAW+JPEG) for independent detailed study at this link.

Traditionally, the camera uses a contrast autofocus system. In the E-M10 mark II it is the same as in the E-M5 mark II - 81 focus sensors, almost completely covering the frame. Single focusing is very fast and tenacious. Its accuracy almost always exceeds the accuracy of phase detection autofocus of SLR cameras, since focusing is carried out by sensors located on the matrix, and not by separate sensors located on the mirror, which require very precise alignment.

Compared to me, I didn’t feel any difference, autofocus is very fast. But, when compared with, the difference in autofocus performance is very noticeable. With single focusing (especially in low light conditions), the Panasonic focuses faster and more accurately. And this despite the fact that formally the GM5 autofocus system is much simpler - 23 sensors versus 81. But when using tracking autofocus, the E-M10 mark II still behaves more correctly, gets lost less often and loses the subject. And yet, modern mirrorless cameras with contrast autofocus are not yet capable of fully capturing fast-moving objects. Here, cameras with phase detection (or hybrid) autofocus have a clear advantage.

The camera has a new 5-axis matrix image stabilization system, but a more simplified modification compared to the E-M5 mark II. Unfortunately, and most likely for this reason, the E-M10 mark II does not have the High Res Mode that the E-M5 mark II had. According to the specifications, the stabilizer can compensate up to 4 EV (in the E-M5 mark II - up to 5 EV). In practice, I managed to get more or less acceptable pictures even at a shutter speed of 1/2 second. And this is a very good result.

But as for video, the stabilizer of the older camera copes with vibrations much more accurately. So, if you plan to shoot video handheld, the E-M5 mark II is unbeatable.

CAMERA PROS:

• effective 5-axis image stabilization;
• excellent image quality (RAW and JPEG), wide dynamic range;
• fast and accurate autofocus (for single shooting);
• good image quality, up to ISO3200 inclusive;
• excellent contrast OLED viewfinder;
• high continuous shooting speed;
• interesting functional solutions, such as AF Targeting Pad And Focus BKT, which (yet) are not even found in more expensive cameras;
• very flexible customization of mechanical camera controls;
• built-in Wi-Fi and a functional mobile application for communicating with the camera;
• an optional battery pack is provided;
• price.

CAMERA DISADVANTAGES:

• no in-camera stitching of panoramas;
• lack of headphone output and microphone input;
• no 4K video recording;
• low autonomy;

CONCLUSIONS:

In the process of drawing conclusions about the Olympus E-M10 mark II, the feeling of Deja Vu did not leave me, the conclusions echoed the Fujifilm X-T10 review so much. Even the phrase “for a price that is actually $500 lower than the price of a flagship, you get a camera that has reduced functionality in certain areas” is more than applicable to this review, but with one significant “BUT.” There is a point that should be quite confusing for potential buyers when choosing.

The key difference between the E-M10 mark II and the E-M5 mark II (I deliberately do not mention the E-M1, since technologically it can hardly be called a flagship, I think in the very near future the manufacturer will update it to the E-M1 mark II) - this is the presence of a more effective image stabilizer in the latter. This factor brings with it significant bonuses when shooting video handheld and the presence of interesting High Res Mode.

The second key point is that the housing is not protected from moisture.

All other differences are software (or rather, marketing) that can be eliminated with the release of the next firmware.

The E-M10 mark II is an excellent high-tech camera in a stylish, beautiful, high-quality, ergonomic (you can add epithets here) body, which also produces an excellent picture. The camera is not afraid of scenes with a large difference in brightness; its RAW files “stretch” perfectly.

For the same money you can take a closer look at the same Fujifilm X-T10 or Panasonic Lumix G7 or Sony a6000. Fujifilm and Sony have a larger sensor size (and, as a result, less noise), but simpler functionality. On the Panasonic side, there are better video shooting capabilities.