Camera Reviews / Olympus Cameras / Olympus OM-D i Review

16.10 Megapixels	Micro Four Thirds	4/3 size sensor

Olympus E-M5 Mark II Review

by Mike Tomkins, Dave Etchells, Dave Pardue and William Brawley
Preview posted 02/05/2015

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Special update: Wondering when the E-M5 Mark III will finally arrive? So are we!
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Updates:
02/05/2015: Exploring the E-M5 Mark II's "High Resolution" mode, Part I
02/26/2015: Field Test Blog Part I: Olympus' enthusiast mirrorless shoots the sights in beautiful Bermuda
02/26/2015: Technical info
02/26/2015: Exploring the E-M5 Mark II's "High Resolution" mode, Part II
03/17/2015: Field Test Blog Part II: It's time for golden hour videos and nighttime shooting
06/24/2015: Image Quality analysis and Conclusion
08/01/2015: Seafaring action with an Olympus underwater housing!

In early 2012, Olympus took its Micro Four Thirds lineup into new territory with the E-M5, which reinvented the company's OM film camera brand as an enthusiast and pro-friendly mirrorless camera for the digital age. The followup E-M1 took over the reins as Olympus' pro-friendly flagship some 18 months later, with the E-M5 remaining in the lineup as the enthusiast's go-to choice, offering plenty of creative possibilities and room to grow as a photographer, but with a very affordable pricetag.

Now, three years after the debut of the E-M5, the E-M5 Mark II arrives, taking the OM-D series back to the forefront with advancements including an uprated, record-making five-stop image stabilization system and a versatile tilt/swivel LCD -- the latter a particularly impressive feat in a dust and splash-proof body. Not that the stabilization system isn't spectacular too. Olympus claims shutter speeds as long as 1/4-second are now hand-holdable.

The E-M5 Mark II is based around the more powerful image processor used in the E-M1, and the manufacturer-claimed 10 frames per second burst rate of the new model is indeed a little up from that of the original camera's 9 fps spec, albeit not quite as fast as that of the E-M1 with continuous autofocus active (5.0 vs 6.5 fps). (Likely, that difference is due to the lack of on-chip phase detection AF pixels in the E-M5 Mark II, something that the E-M1 does feature. The E-M5 does offer more than twice as many AF areas as its predecessor, though, with an 81-area array.)

Curious to see how the E-M5 Mark II performed in the lab? Check out our full performance test results here.

The already-generous array of controls found on the original E-M5 have been supplemented with several new ones. The existing controls, too, have been reworked for better handling, and the electronic viewfinder has gotten a big boost in resolution and magnification to match that of the E-M1.

Video shooters in particular will be thrilled with some of the changes made in the E-M5 Mark II. Although the image stabilization system doesn't offer the full five-stop corrective range for video, it's nonetheless impressively steady, and comes coupled with refined exposure and contrast-detection autofocus algorithms tuned specifically for video capture. The result: smoother focus adjustments with barely any perceptible hunting around the point of focus, and a quick reaction to sudden changes in ambient light levels.

The E-M5 Mark II also provides the ability to choose inter or intra-frame compression with up to 77Mbps bit-rates, and to shoot at up to 60 progressive-scan frames per second. And if you want even more control, uncompressed HDMI output is also possible, as is support for timecode. Also new are built-in microphone and headphone jacks -- the latter not in the camera itself, but in the optional HLD-8G accessory grip. No doubt about it: the E-M5 Mark II looks to offer a big step forward over both the E-M5 and E-M1 in the video department.

Video Image Stabilization Comparison Olympus E-M5 Mark II IBIS vs Panasonic GH4 + 12-35mm lens OIS

Video fans don't get all the love, though! Still photographers, too, have a nice surprise in store. While the sensor resolution of 16 megapixels is unchanged, the E-M5 Mark II can now shoot in a clever resolution-enhancing mode which produces 40-megapixel (39.9MP) JPEGs or 64-megapixel (63.7MP) raw files! How does it do this? Simply put, it takes eight shots in quick succession, with the sensor position adjusted just half a pixel's distance between each shot. All eight frames are then combined into a single image with greatly increased resolution, the catch being that this trick won't work with moving subjects and a tripod is recommended. A free plug-in for Photoshop CS4 or newer will let you open the 64-megapixel raw files.

For more info on the E-M5 Mark II's high resolution mode including sample images, see our detailed writeup.

And there are plenty more feature tweaks throughout, including some more -- such as built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking connectivity, a 1/8,000 second high-speed mechanical shutter (up to 1/16,000s in Silent Mode with a fully-electronic shutter), tethered shooting support and focus peaking -- inherited from the E-M1. Others, like a new high-gain live view mode intended for shooting stars, are brand new for this camera. Yet despite all the improvements, the E-M5 Mark II costs quite a bit less than did its predecessor at launch just three years ago.

Let's take a closer look around the E-M5 Mark II body, and see what's new!

Olympus E-M5 Mark II Walkaround

Seen from the front, the E-M5 Mark II looks quite a bit like its predecessor, but there's actually quite a few differences beyond that first glance. For one thing, the top of the hand grip now has a curve towards the lens mount to give your fingers some extra purchase. (By contrast, the E-M5 grip ran vertically for the full height of the camera.)

The AF assist lamp and lens mount release button have also been joined by a couple of new features. Below and just right of the lens mount (as seen from the rear) is a new programmable button that defaults to depth-of-field preview, while just inside of the AF assist lamp is a flash sync terminal, a new addition inherited from the E-M1.

Of course, you could also see the redesigned top-deck controls from in front of the camera, but looking at the top of the E-M5 Mark II makes the changes more obvious.

Perhaps most significantly, the Mode dial now has a central locking button, and sits above the relocated power switch. Jump across the electronic viewfinder hump, and you'll find two additional buttons, both of which can also serve as configurable function buttons. By default, the Function 3 button changes display, something previously achieved with a button on the right side of the viewfinder hump. The new Function 4 button, meanwhile, accesses high dynamic range mode.

To make way for these additions, the rear dial has been moved closer to the right of the camera body, making it a bit easier to reach in the process.

Moving to the rear of the camera, the most obvious change is the E-M5 Mark II's new side-mounted, tilt/swivel display articulation mechanism. The original E-M5 had a simpler tilting mechanism that we find much less versatile. By contrast, the E-M5 Mark II's display will cover a much greater range of shooting angles -- including selfies -- and can also be closed with the display facing inwards for an extra modicum of protection against minor knocks and scrapes.

The Function1 button, visible just right of the electronic viewfinder, is now surrounded by a switch that allows it to serve multiple functions, just as in the E-M1. And with the Power switch now relocated to the top deck, its location at bottom right is taken over by the rehomed Playback button. Curiously, the speaker grille previously found on the left side of the body now sits inside the thumbgrip, a location that makes it fairly easily-covered when shooting, though this may come in handy for quickly muffling the sound without having to mute the camera.

One last change of note is actually a feature omission: The E-M5 Mark II no longer sports the proprietary Accessory Port that was found beneath the flash hot shoe on the earlier E-M5 and E-M1, meaning that these accessories can no longer be used with the E-M5 Mark II. (But then, with Wi-Fi wireless networking, a high-res viewfinder and an external microphone jack all built in, there's little need for these accessories on the E-M5 Mark II.) You can't see it in any of our current product shots, but there's an extra contact in the E-M5 Mark II's hot shoe to power the new bundled FL-LM3 flash.

Moving to the right side of the camera body, the E-M5 Mark II looks much like its predecessor. The most obvious differences are the slightly reprofiled handgrip, and the absence of the display button on the side of the viewfinder hump. The right strap lug has also moved a little further forward on the camera for better balance with a lens attached.

The left side, too, is little-changed. As noted previously, the speaker grille that used to sit near the base of the connectivity compartment door has now been relocated to the rear panel. And if you open that compartment door, you'll find one new connector, with the added microphone jack sitting alongside the existing high-definition HDMI and combined USB / standard-definition composite video outputs.

Finally, we come to the base of the camera. Again, things are much as they were in the original E-M5, with the most notable change in the E-M5 Mark II being a rehoming of the tripod mount to the optical center of the lens, where previously it sat just right of center. In the process, it has also moved a bit further forward, sitting very close to the front of the camera. Behind and slightly to one side is the rubber plug that covers the accessory grip connector, and as in the earlier camera, the E-M5 Mark II also has a locking battery compartment cover.

 

In the Box

The Olympus E-M5 Mark II U.S. retail package contains the following items:

• OM-D E-M5 Mark II body
• Rechargeable Li-ion battery BLN-1
• Battery charger BCN-1
• Flash FL-LM3
• USB cable
• Shoulder strap
• Olympus Viewer 3 CD-ROM
• Instruction manual
• Limited 1-Year Warranty

 

Recommended Accessories

• Large capacity SDHC/SDXC memory card. 32GB should be a minimum, and we highly recommend a fast UHS-II card.
• Spare battery BLN-1 for extended shooting sessions
• M.Zuiko lenses, especially the M.Zuiko Pro 12-40mm f/2.8
• Remote cable release RM-UC1
• Medium camera bag
• Micro HDMI cable