Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Digital Camera with 14-42mm II R Lens

https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Mirrorless-Digital-Camera-14-42mm/dp/B01CIXJSOK/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=damian03-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=c237222f68cd6946cf769ebf02a5b67a&creativeASIN=B01CIXJSOK

• Moreno TagliapietraTop Contributor: Photography

  5.0 out of 5 starsAnother great Olympus OM-D camera

  December 15, 2015

  Color: Black|Style: Body Only

  Hello fellow photographers, in the last 50 years I have photographed a bunch of different subjects in all kind of light conditions with all kind of gear. Today, I sell my large format art prints as a part-part-time pro. My formal education and career are in military electronics. All together, I am quite picky about equipment and my main interest is always about what it can do for me (in exchange for my hard-earned money). For years, I have been photographing with Pentax K cameras (K5 presently) and their pro lenses. Last year, I bought a couple of EM10's to shoot snow and ice in very cold weather with the most portable, high quality gear I could find. The cameras fit nicely in my Parka pockets with minuscule, slower but good quality Panasonic zoom lenses on them. Last Winter we did get that kind of weather in Lower NYS and I fell in love with the EM10's to the point of adding an EM5II (mostly because I wanted a weatherized body) and, more recently, upgrading one of the EM10's to an EM10II (EVF and stabilization being the main reasons).
  
  The entire lineup of current OM-D cameras is a masterpiece combination of high IQ, advanced features, compactness, affordability, and lens selection and quality. The only point I would make about the EM10II body is that people with truly large hands could find it difficult to handle it (it fits beautifully in my medium size male hands). Olympus has found the way to further improve the ergonomics of the EM10 re-positioning some controls and beefing up the two dials. The 16Mp sensor is tried and true. If you doubt that 16Mp are enough, consider that you can make high quality prints up to 24x36" at low ISO and up to 13x19" up to ISO3200. The camera has a larger, top of the line OLED EVF which allows you to do most of your shooting without taking your eye off it. It can adapt to the camera exposure and show you how your picture will look like. I like to expose with the displayed histogram but I know of pros who just work with how the scene looks in the EVF. Whenever you need it, the LCD is clear and sharp and, since I regularly shoot above my head and low on the ground, its tilting comes particularly handy. It is touch screen and the Super Control Panel works like a charm. Single AF is very fast. Continuous AF works much better if you shoot at low sequence speed (L = 4fps). Image stabilization is now the state-of-the-art Olympus 5 axes system. There is plenty of direct external controls between dials, buttons and the 4-way controller, much closer to the ones offered by a pro DSLR than an intro ILC. It pays to figure out what functions are paramount to your photography and set the direct controls up accordingly.
  
  The EM10II feature set merits a discussion all by itself. You can put the camera in AUTO and shoot it like an RPG to kill a mosquito. If you get the camera because you are serious about your photography, you are going to set it up the way you want it to work. This means that, with its awesome array of (useful) features, you will have to read the (online) manual from cover to cover, take notes relevant to your photography and carry them in your bag when you go out shooting, and probably spend time on the web searching for additional useful hints on the camera's behavior and capabilities (yes, it's hard to believe in its price range but it explains why so many pro reviewers are madly in love with it). It is the EM10II ability to save four custom sets of favorite settings that is going to keep you afloat in this sea of features. You experiment with the camera and when you are happy with the settings, immediately save the custom set (you can easily recall it if anything "mysterious" happens to the behavior of the camera). If you are not a pro, very probably the camera can do much more that you can. Exploring its features would give you the opportunity to get inspired, experiment and improve your technique. Among all the goodies, focus stacking, Live Time and Live Comp would certainly blow your mind (photographing Xmas lights comes to mind at this time of the year). Video has been further improved but it's not my cup of tea.
  
  Wrapping things up, this is another outstanding OM-D camera packing an almost pro-level feature set in a lovely body for a very convenient price, supported by a great selection of high quality lenses. The robust choice of body upgrades would let you grow within this remarkable system. In my opinion, it's worth spending the currently additional $100 to get the OM10II instead of the OM10. I am attaching a pic of the my EM10II and Pentax K5 with equivalent pro lenses to give you an idea of the compactness of the Olympus. The K5 has a record small size APS-C body.
  
  12/17/15 - Hi, I am adding some pics to support the review. The 1st is the EM10II with the Oly 9-18mm (18-36mm eq) f/4-5.6 on the left, the Pana 35-100mm (70-200mm eq) f/4-5.6 on the camera and the Pana 12-32mm (24-64mm eq) f/3.5-5.6) on the right. While not being pro lenses, they are all quite good. They are so small that you can hold any 2 of them in your hand when changing lenses. Given that the OM-D bodies are so small, I prefer to work with 2 bodies with a short and a medium zoom on them permanently (no danger of dropping them or getting dirt inside the camera while changing lenses) giving me a zoom range covering 99% of my photography. The 2nd pic is a run-of-the-mill cool sunset in my town and the 3rd one is a closeup of a piece of jewelry knit by my wife (Oly 60mm macro lens). A final comment: many reputable on-line reviewers are truly enthusiastic about this camera. My experience in using it is one of the very best I had in 50 years working with all kinds of equipment, often much more expensive. At this point in my photographic life I want gear that works with me to translate my vision into compelling, high quality prints. The EM10II is right there, immensely satisfying in its competence and ergonomics.
  
  12/30/15 - Happy new year! Yesterday, I picked up my wife after work in Manhattan and fought our way to the main Xmas exhibits in midtown. I had the Oly 9-18mm lens on the EM10II with the minuscule Pana 12-32mm and 35-100mm lenses in my small and excellent sling bag. Working free-hand with the camera and the 18-36mm lens often over my head with the tilted LCD (f/5.6, ISO 1600, +- 1 stop bracketing) was a real joy. I typically convert the EM10II Raw files with the DNG converter and process in Photoshop CS6 but at this high ISO I prefer to start with the superior noise reduction and distortion compensation of DxO OpticsPro. The ISO1600 files come out smooth as silk and let me print some very respectable size enlargements. See pics 5, 6 and 7 (Times Sq., Rockefeller Ctr and New Rochelle Harbor)

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  Jeff

  5.0 out of 5 starsFirst impressions from a DSLR user

  January 21, 2016

  Color: Silver|Style: Body w/ 14-42mm EZ Lens

  There are plenty of detailed reviews out there that will give you a technical rundown on this camera's capabilities. This isn't one of them.
  
  I shoot Nikon DSLRs professionally and, until now, for personal use, too, but am tired of lugging them around in a bag that hurts my shoulder, or even the Spider holster (recommended) on my belt. I wanted a small, portable camera that delivered good image quality. So far, I'd say this little Olympus delivers.
  
  I added the 14-42mm EZ lens in order to create as compact a package as possible. (BTW, this is a great little lens and will probably suffice for most casual use. But the emphasis is on "little." For a guy who's used to the usual holding method of cradling a DSLR and working the zoom with my thumb and fingers, this feels really cramped, as the zoom ring is less than a half-inch wide.)
  
  One thing I was concerned about with the micro 4/3 system is the low-light/high-ISO performance as compared to full-frame (or even crop sensor) cameras. Again, so far, I am impressed. Olympus seems to do a great job with its jpeg processing, and files even up to ISO 2000 are quite usable. (I haven't even tried shooting RAW yet.)
  
  Another great feature of the EM-10 is the in-body stabilization. Just experimenting in my darkened living room, I captured a sharp image, handheld with a one-second (not a typo - one full second) exposure. I'm sure it was a bit lucky, but the best I can usually do with my expensive Nikon VR lenses is about 1/10 sec.
  
  As other reviewers here and elsewhere have mentioned, the Olympus menus are kind of confusing, but if you take the time to learn them (use your manual), there are a ton of customization options that will help you adapt the camera to your shooting style.
  
  Last, but not least, I am falling in love with the electronic viewfinder. The ability to see exactly what your final exposure will look like *before* you press the shutter button is a revelation. (Yes, DSLRs can do this through live-view, but most such implementations are clunky and handicap the camera's autofocus performance.)
  
  So now that I've decided this little camera is a keeper, I'm starting to look at higher quality Olympus and Panasonic lenses. The good news there is that the M 4/3 lenses are MUCH less expensive than their DSLR counterparts.

• 5.0 out of 5 starsLots to learn, but the Olympus Mark II is so worth it!

  ByNancy Graveron February 20, 2018

  Color: Black|Style: Body Only|Verified Purchase

  I bought this camera to expand my abilities over my E410, which is 10 years old. I was not disappointed. The color is extremely accurate, focus, easier and automatically available on the LED screen. Lots to learn yet, but loving my experiences in spite of winter weather and frequent storms. As it turns out, each camera has its benefits for artistic endeavors.