Olympus’ OM-D line-up was one of the first to offer affordable mirrorless cameras with advanced controls, something that could stand toe-to-toe with the Canons and Nikons of the imaging world. Then it introduced the E-M10 — a tiny, mirrorless, Micro Four Thirds camera that offered a ton of power for relatively cheap and was targeted at the more casual photographer. Now, the company is following up with the successor to its entry-level model, the E-M10 Mark II, and it seems like it has another winner on its hands.
For starters, the Olympus E-M10 Mark II features a subtly updated design that keeps the same vintage style, a new 2,360K dots OLED EVF with new touch capabilities on the swiveling 3-inch screen, a 16 Megapixel 4/3 MOS sensor and enhanced stabilization. The image-stabilization system is the big draw here. While the old E-M10 has a basic but acceptable 3-axis stabilization system, the new E-M10 II comes with the 5-axis system found in the more expensive E-M5 II and E-M1. Olympus says its shutter speed advantage has gone up from 3.5 stops to 4, but although that doesn’t sound much on its own, the extra axes of movement cope with a wider range of subjects and shooting conditions, including video.
The electronic viewfinder has also been updated, with the original camera’s 1,440K-dot display replaced by a much sharper 2,360K-dot screen.
The viewfinder is what has always set the E-M10 apart from its low-end rivals, most of which rely solely on the rear screen for composing images and don’t offer a viewfinder at all. Olympus says the continuous focusing performance has been improved, and the continuous shooting speed has been increased from 8 frames per second to 8.5fps. Olympus has added multiple frame rates to the movie mode and there’s now a 4K time lapse mode. There’s even a new ‘focus bracketing’ option which can take a series of shots at slightly different focus settings – fans of macro photography could use this to create ‘focus stacked’ images with massive depth of field.
The only drawback in what is otherwise a stellar package is that the E-M10 Mark II isn’t terribly powerful when it comes to video, as we have seen with many photography-first mirrorless cameras. It’s capable of taking 1080p video at 30 or 24 frames per second, but there’s no 4K capability, and you can’t shoot in slow motion at full HD resolution.
The Olympus E-M10 Mark II will go on sale in September and cost $649.99 for just the body and $799.99 with a 14-42mm EZ lens. The Mark II body is $50 less than the E-M10 was when it launched last year; though, it now can be found for $499.99 on Amazon. Olympus says the original E-M10 will continue to be sold until supply runs out. At that point, the camera will likely be discontinued.
