Olympus OM-D E-M10 II Review

September 22, 2015 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II is the latest model in Olympus's OM-D series of compact system cameras. The mid-range, all-metal E-M10 II has a 5-axis image stabilisation system, 16-megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor, Supersonic Wave Filter anti-dust technology, 4K time-lapse movie mode and the TruePic VII processing unit. The E-M10 II also features a built-in pop-up flash and an external flash hotshoe, electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2.36 million dots and 100% frame coverage, a tilting 3-inch LCD screen, an electronic shutter with a top shutter speed of 1/16,000 sec, an AF Targeting Pad function, focus peaking, an innovative Colour Creator, Live Composite Mode for previewing long exposures, a customisable self-timer, 8.5fps continuous shooting, Wi-Fi connectivity and in-camera HDR exposure blending. The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II retails for £549.99/€599.00/$649.00 body-only or £649.99/€799.00/$799.00 with the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 EZ electronic zoom lens.

Ease of Use

Despite ostensibly being the new entry-level model in the OM-D system, the E-M10 II feels robust and reassuringly solid thanks to its magnesium-alloy body. With dimensions of 119.5 x 83.1 x 46.7mm, it's virtually identical in size to the original E-M10 model, and weighs almost the same too at 342g body-only.

Unlike the more expensive OM-D cameras, the new E-M10 II isn't weather-sealed, a concession to its lower price-point. There's a rather modestly sized textured handgrip which is just sufficient enough to be able to still hold the camera nice and steady when shooting handheld, ably assisted by a much more pronounced thumb-grip on the rear.

Low light sensitivity stretches all the way up to a pro-like ISO 25600, partly down to the implementation of the noise reducing TruePic VII processor (which is also used by the flagship E-M1). Unsurprisingly the E-M10 II retains the Olympus unique selling point of on-board Art Filters, which are also worth singling out for praise. Interestingly these filters can be applied to Full HD video as well as stills. The E-M10 II is the latest O-MD camera to feature a proper built-in pop-up flash, which usefully supports wireless flash control.

Most image stabilization systems compensate for camera shake by correcting yaw and pitch. Olympus claim that camera shake is actually caused by five different kinds of motion, and their image stabilization mechanism additionally corrects for horizontal shift, vertical shift and rotary motion (rolling) for both still images and movies. The E-M5 Mark II now offers 4-stops of compensation complete with auto panning detection, with Olympus claiming that handheld shutter-speeds as low as 1/4 second are obtainable.

From the front the E-M10 II has a streamlined look, with just a round lens release button to the right of the lens mount and an AF assist lamp above interrupting the otherwise featureless faceplate.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

On top is a vacant flash hotshoe that sits directly above the lens, with a clever new Off / On / Flash Up switch and Function3 button on the left hand-side when viewed from the rear. The Off / On / Flash Up switch is much more convenient than the On-Off switch on the original E-M10, with a further push from the On position to Flash Up doing exactly what you'd expect - very neat.

On the right of the flash hotshoe is a prominently raised shooting mode dial with a surrounding ridged edge for easier purchase, with the options remaining the same as the E-M10's, being program, aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, video, scene modes, Art Filters, Photo Story and - the most obviously highlighted of all - iAuto mode.

There are 14 Art Filters in total, with Dramatic Tone and the self explanatory Gentle Sepia working the best for us, the former adding an intensely gritty look as if a photograph has been photo copied and vividly hand coloured. The Art Filter digital effects are applied at the time of capture which means write speeds are inevitably a couple of seconds longer than for regular images. When shooting using certain filters, such as Diorama or Dramatic Tone, the screen's refresh rate slows, providing a real time preview of how the eventual image may look.

Further to the right is the small-ish shutter release button, with the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II readying itself for action in a second or so. Squeeze down halfway on the shutter release and the E-M10 II very nearly instantaneously responds thanks to the FAST (Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology) system, the screen almost imperceptibly blurring before snapping back into focus, with the AF point flashing up in green with an accompanying bleep of confirmation. The E-M10 II certainly delivers in terms of focusing speed and perhaps more importantly accuracy too, with very few false positives.

The OM-D E-M10 II now has a fully electronic shutter, which in addition expanding the top shutter speed to 1/16,000 sec, also allows for completely silent shooting and a new anti-shock mode. This latter mode, which uses an electronic first-curtain shutter, helps to combat shutter shock, which can occur on the E-M10 II when using the mechanical shutter at speeds between 1/60-1/200th second. Using either the anti-shock mode or the fully electronic shutter will avoid this unwanted effect.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Tilting LCD Screen

Take the shot and when shooting RAW and SuperFine (top quality) JPEG in tandem there's a wait of an acceptable two seconds before the shot is fully committed to the memory card. Buffer memory is such however that you don't have to wait that long to squeeze off another shot if the opportunity presents itself (up to 22 Raw files). Action photographers will appreciate the fast burst rate of 8.5fps, although that's only achieved by locking the focus point at the first frame of the sequence - the EM-10 II can only perform at a more modest maximum speed of 4fps when continuously auto-focusing.

The number of selectable contrast AF points is 81 in a 9x9 grid. Low-light auto focus continues to be excellent – the system managed to focus down to -2EV (as long as there was something to focus on) even without the use of the focus assist lamp. This is seriously low light, about the same as a landscape lit only by moonlight and nothing else. It doesn't include the 37 on-sensor phase-detection auto focus points that the flagship E-M1 offers, though.

The shutter release is encircled by the first of two command dials. This one by default allows you to change the shutter speed or exposure compensation when using one of the more creative shooting modes, while the second that's positioned under your right thumb principally adjusts the aperture. It's a neat system that make using the manual mode in particular a lot simpler than on most rival cameras, although we did find the front command dial to be too easily moved at times, resulting in a few shots where the exposure compensation was inadvertently too high or low.

Alongside is the user attributable 'Fn2' function button, which adjusts the gradation curve by default. Completing the EM-10 II's top-plate is a red video record button. Press this to record, or stop recording, no matter which shooting mode is otherwise selected on the top dial.

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II can record Full HD movies at a variety of frame rates (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p). The E-M5 Mark II can use its excellent 5-axis sensor-shift image stabiliser when shooting movies, which translates into smooth hand-held footage, even when using longer telephoto lens. Manual exposure can be enabled for videos, although you do have to rotate the mode dial to the Movie position to take advantage of this. (You can start filming in practically any other shooting mode too, but in that case, videos will always be recorded with auto exposure.) Audio is recorded in stereo PCM and uncompressed HDMI output is also possible, as is support for timecode. Shooting modes include Aperture priority, Art Filter, Manual, Program and Shutter priority, while one-shot echo and multiecho effects can be added to movies. New to the E-M10 II is the ability to create 4K time lapse movies in-camera, although frustratingly playback is limited to just 5fps, and you can also capture high-speed VGA footage at 120fps.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Moving to the backplate of the E-M10 II, the built-in electronic viewfinder is activated by a small button to the right that's virtually hidden from view, which toggles between the rear LCD screen and the EVF, with a button for the dioptric adjustment on the left.

The upgraded EVF is now an impressively detailed 2.36 million dot unit with 100% field of view and 1.23x magnification. The E-M10 II actually has two independent image-processing cores, one for the recorded images and the other for Live View images, so the live and recorded image appears very quickly on both the EVF and the rear screen. The Live Bulb feature cleverly updates the image on the rear screen at pre-set intervals during bulb shooting, giving you a live preview of the exposure, while the Live Composite Mode allows you to see a preview of long-exposure shots as they're being captured. New to the E-M10 II is the Super OVF mode, which as the name suggests simulates an optical finder, offering an "unprocessed" view of the scene in front of you.

There's also a built-in eye sensor which optionally switches between the electronic viewfinder and EVF automatically, and the EVF helpfully displays key shooting information along the bottom of the viewfinder. Another boon to productivity is the ability to preview manual and creative adjustments live through the EVF without having to lower the camera to look at the rear screen. The EVF also benefits from the addition of Adaptive Brightness Control, which contributes to an improved viewing experience, and it also “gains up” in low light, making it arguably more usable than an optical finder.

The E-M10 II features capacitive touchscreen operation, although if you're not a fan you can for the most part get away without using it much at all, as there are a plethora of physical buttons which are either dedicated to specific functions or can be customized to suit. Indeed, the touch-sensitive interface hasn't led to a cleaner or more pared-down minimalist look.

The 3-inch 4:3 aspect ratio LCD screen has a resolution of 1.037million dots. Images look particularly vivid with plenty of contrast when viewed on the E-M10 II's screen and happily this carries over when photos are downloaded to your desktop. The rear screen can be tilted by a maximum of 80° upwards and 50° downwards, which helps when shooting from high and low angles, although we did miss being able to fully articulate the screen from left to right as well which always proves useful when shooting video.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Top of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Dragging a finger, and so the AF point, around the screen is a quick and easy way of following the subject, though inadvertently subsequently tapping it will cause the shutter to fire. This facility can be deactivated by prodding the relevant shutter button icon on the touch screen, but it's just as easy to accidentally turn it on again; even via an action as incongruous as the button of your shirt connecting with the screen as you're wearing the E-M10 II on a neck strap, or the thumb of your left hand straying as you handle the camera. New to the E-M10 II is the AF targeting pad feature, which allows you to move the focus point around the touchscreen using a finger whilst holding the camera up to your eye, which is very similar to Panasonic's Touchpad AF feature. There are no less than 800 AF points to choose from.

The Live Guide first seen on the Pen cameras has once again been implemented on the E-M10 II. This lets users try out picture adjustments with the aid of an onscreen slider bar to adjust the likes of depth of field and see the results in real time before pressing the shutter release button with accessibility extended beyond iAuto mode. The Live Guide options are presented as a colourful toolbar on the left hand side of the screen.

From the top we have the ability to change colour saturation, from 'clear & vivid' to 'flat & muted', next down is the ability to alter 'colour image', which translates as shifting the tone between warm and cool via slider bar, with the third option shifting brightness/exposure between a simple bright and dark. The fourth option down is probably the most interesting/effective in that it provides the ability to incrementally blur the background of your shot by again dragging an indicator on a slider - thus providing a similar shallow depth of field effect to that achievable with a DSLR and suitable aperture.

For its latest Live Guide option Olympus has retained the curiously named 'Express Motions'. There's the option to both blur any movement or stop it in its tracks, again achievable by dragging a slider indicator. The last option on this tool bar is an on-board shooting hints and tips manual, with the usual 'suspects' of photographing children and pets given the most prominence ('take a picture at their height level' being a summation of the level of advice imparted). We even get tips, as a bit of closet advertising, for attaching Olympus accessories, such as lens converters.

Embedded in the top of the rear thumb-grip is the customisable Function 1 button. Just below this are the self-explanatory Menu and Info buttons, the latter toggling through various LCD views. Underneath again is a option-less 4-way navigation controller with a central OK button - pressing this accesses the E-M10 II's quick menu system, a handy onscreen vertical list of icons that provide quick access to most of the camera's main settings. In conjunction with the camera's plethora of external controls and its customisable buttons, this makes the E-M10 II a pleasure to use. The final controls on the rear are the Delete and Playback buttons.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II in-hand

The Wi-fi implementation on the OM-D E-M10 II is actually quite good. You first need to download a free app for your smartphone (Android and iOS versions are both available), but after that, everything is pretty straightforward. You simply touch the Wi-Fi icon on your camera's display to set up a connection. The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II will provide you with an SSID and password, but you do not need to type in either of them – just launch the app on your phone and scan the QR code displayed by your camera with your phone. This is nearly as fast as using NFC (Near-Field Communication), a feature that the OM-D E-M10 II doesn't offer. Once the connection is established, you can download images from the camera to your smartphone, or use the latter to remotely control the E-M10 II. The level of control provided is quite good – you can choose from a variety of shooting modes, set aperture, sensitivity, shutter speed and white balance, choose a drive mode, and focus on practically any part of the frame, all remotely.

The Olympus E-M10 II has a time-lapse photography mode, which allows you to capture up to 999 frames at user-specified intervals. You can also tell the camera when to start the sequence, which comes in handy if you want to set up the camera well in advance. The E-M10 II will save each shot in the format of your choice – ORF or JPEG – and can optionally create a time-lapse video in-camera, which you can play back on the rear screen, or upload to a website like Vimeo or YouTube. While shooting raw and creating a video afterwards on your PC gives you more control over grading, sharpening etc., the in-camera option is nice to have when shooting JPEG or raw+JPEG, as it is obviously much faster.

Focus bracketing is a brand new feature on the E-M10 II, and one that the more expensive E-M5 II and E-M1 cameras don't currently offer. This lets you set the focus point and then automatically take up to 99 shots with focus adjustments around it, thereby greatly extending what is in focus. Unfortunately the E-M10 II doesn't combine the shots either in-camera or in the supplied Olympus software, so you'll need to use Photoshop or a specialized software program like Helicon Focus to combine all of the shots into one image.

The menu system is similar to that of the prfoessional OM-D E-M1. This is a complex, multi-level menu system that might not seem intuitive at first sight, especially to beginners, so reading the manual is a good idea before starting to explore it. The good news is that these menus are mainly there to allow you to set up the camera exactly the way you want it to be set up – once you're done with that, you'll seldom need to delve into the menus again, courtesy of the large number of external controls as well as the excellent Super Control Panel, which is basically an interactive status display inherited from older Olympus cameras.

Chunky lugs for attaching the supplied shoulder strap hang at either side of the camera, thankfully out of the way of fingers and controls. On the right hand flank, if viewing the camera from the back, we find a pair of covered ports for joint USB/AV output and mini HDMI output respectively. On the bottom of the E-M10 II is a screw thread for attaching a tripod in-line with the lens mount, with the lockable shared battery/memory card compartment alongside. The BLS-5 rechargeable lithium-ion battery supplied with the E-M10 II is good for around 320 shots. There is the option to use all varieties of SD media card, up to and including SDXC cards.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 16 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 6Mb.

During the review, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II produced images of excellent quality. In the Natural picture mode, colours are vibrant without being garish or over-saturated, while dynamic range is very good. From ISO 100 through to ISO 1600, noise is very well controlled, usually not becoming an issue until ISO 3200, which is an excellent result for a Micro Four Thirds camera. ISO 3200 and 6400 are still eminently usable, with only the two fastest settings of 12800 and 25600 really suffering. The improved image stabilisation system works excellently for both stills and video, even when hand-holding the camera at very slow shutter speeds. The Art Filters produce special effects that would otherwise require you to spend a lot of time in the digital darkroom.

Noise

There are 9 ISO settings available on the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II. The base sensitivity is ISO 200, but there is an expanded low sensitivity setting equivalent to ISO 100. These crops demonstrate the image quality at each setting.

JPEG RAW

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg
   

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

iso12800.jpg iso12800raw.jpg
   

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

iso25600.jpg iso25600raw.jpg

File Quality

The file quality settings available on the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II include Normal, Fine and Superfine for JPEGs, and you can also shoot in Olympus’s proprietary ORF raw file format. Do note that the Superfine setting must first be enabled from the menu in order to appear among the selectable quality options.

16M SuperFine (100% Crop) 16M Fine (100% Crop)
quality_superfine.jpg quality_fine.jpg
   
16M Normal (100% Crop) 16M RAW (100% Crop)
quality_normal.jpg quality_raw.jpg

Sharpening

The out-of-camera JPEGs are pretty sharp at the default setting but you can of course add some sharpening later in a program like Adobe Photoshop if needed. Here are two pairs of 100% crops – the right-hand images have had some post-capture sharpening applied.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

sharpen1.jpg sharpen1a.jpg
   
sharpen2.jpg sharpen2a.jpg

Flash

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II features a flash that has multiple modes including Forced On, Forced Off, Auto, Slow Sync, Rear-Curtain Sync and almost any of these combined with red-eye reduction. It can also serve as an AF assist light or as a controller for wirelessly slaved FL-36R or FL-50R units. In addition to the on-board unit, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II also has a hot-shoe for system flashes. The pictures below were taken of a white wall from a distance of 1.5m, with and without the built-in flash.

Flash Off - Wide Angle

Flash On - Wide Angle

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto

Flash On - Telephoto

ISO 64 ISO 64

And now for some portraits. The pop-up flash of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II did not really cause a red-eye effect, so the only noticeable difference between the Forced On and Forced On with Red-Eye Reduction settings is that the second causes the subject's pupils to contract.

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
flash_on.jpg flash_on1.jpg
   

Red-eye Reduction

Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

flash_redeye.jpg flash_redeye1.jpg

Night

The  Olympus OM-D E-M10 II offers exposure times as long as 60 second in a metered exposure or up to 30 minutes in bulb mode, which is excellent news for anyone seriously interested in night photography. Live Bulb mode allows you to view the progression of exposure during a bulb exposure in real-time and a live view histogram shows how the exposure is built-up across all points of the image. The following picture was taken at a shutter speed of 15 seconds, aperture of f/8 at ISO 200.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

night1.jpg night1a.jpg

Image Stabilisation

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II comes with a 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilisation (IS) system, which allows you to take sharp hand-held photos at slower shutter speeds than with cameras that lack this feature. The following 100% crops are taken from images taken with a 28 and 84mm equivalent focal length with and without IS. The image stabilisation system also works during video capture, producing steady hand-held footage most of the time.

Focal Length / Shutter Speed

Off (100% Crop)

On (100% Crop)

28mm / 1/10th Second antishake1.jpg antishake1a.jpg
     
84mm / 1/8th Second antishake2.jpg antishake2a.jpg

Art Filters

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II offers 14 so-called ‘art filters’, which allow you to quickly apply an artistic effect to a photo before taking it. Art filters are easily accessible via a dedicated setting on the shooting mode dial.

Pop Art

Soft Focus

art_filters_01.jpg art_filters_02.jpg
   

Pale&Light Color

Light Tone

art_filters_03.jpg art_filters_04.jpg
   

Grainy Film

Pin Hole

art_filters_05.jpg art_filters_06.jpg
   
Diorama Cross Process
art_filters_07.jpg art_filters_08.jpg
   
Gentle Sepia Dramatic Tone
art_filters_09.jpg art_filters_10.jpg
   
Key Line Watercolor
art_filters_11.jpg art_filters_12.jpg
   
Vintage Partial Color
art_filters_13.jpg art_filters_14.jpg

Picture Modes

Olympus' Picture Modes are essentially pre-set combinations of saturation, contrast and sharpness, except for the i-Enhance mode that aims to optimise each photo individually. You can tailor each Picture Mode to your needs. The following examples demonstrate the differences across the available Picture Modes.

i-Enhance

Vivid

picture_modes_01.jpg picture_modes_02.jpg
   

Natural

Muted

picture_modes_03.jpg picture_modes_04.jpg
   

Portrait

Monotone

picture_modes_05.jpg picture_modes_06.jpg

Multiple Exposure

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II has a Multiple Exposure feature allowing you to combine multiple exposures to create a composite image in-camera.

multiple_exposure.jpg

HDR

In High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode, the camera takes a number of photos in rapid succession, at different exposure settings, and combines them into a single high-dynamic-range image. There are two options, HDR1 and HDR2. In our experience, HDR1 usually yields a credible image but HDR2 tends to produce flat, unrealistic results.

Off

HDR1

hdr_01.jpg hdr_02.jpg
   

HDR2

 
hdr_03.jpg  

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II camera, which were all taken using the 16 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Olympus RAW (ORF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 20 second movie is 72.7Mb in size.

Product Images

Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II / Pop-up Flash Raised

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II / Image Displayed

 

Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II ? Main Menu

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II / OK Menu
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Top of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Bottom of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Memory Card Slot
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II is an evolutionary upgrade of 2014's E-M10 camera, principally adding an even better electronic viewfinder, 5-axis image stabilisation system, very useful fully electronic shutter, and AF targeting pad and focus stacking features, along with a better control layout. All of these improvements add up to make the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II one of the more compelling entry-level mirrorless cameras, although it faces stiff competition from the likes of the Fujifilm X-T10, Sony A6000 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7.

With the same sensor and processor as the E-M10 on-board, image quality is once again excellent for a cropped-sensor camera. From ISO 100 through to ISO 1600, noise is very well controlled, not becoming an issue until you hit ISO 3200. We never longed for a camera with a bigger sensor, and you'd have to step up to a 35mm full-frame camera to see an appreciable leap in image quality, and we also never longed for a camera with an optical viewfinder either. The new 5-axis image stabilisation system works very well indeed, even when hand-holding the camera at slow shutter speeds or shooting video without a tripod, although the lack of 2015's must-have feature, 4k video recording, may put some buyers off, especially as the E-M10 II's 4K time-lapse movie mode only records at a jerky 5 frames per second.

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II is a great addition to the OM-D mirrorless camera range, making an already fantastic camera even more versatile and easy to use. It may not have quite the same retro charm as the Fujifilm X-T10, the 4K recording capability of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7, or the speed of the Sony A6000, but the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II offers more than enough to stand on its own two feet as a brilliant interchangeable lens camera...

5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 5
Value for money 4.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.

Canon EOS M3

The Canon EOS M3 is a new compact system camera that offers 24 megapixel resolution, full 1080p high-definition videos, a faster auto-focusing system, and a touch-screen interface. Other key features of the EOS M3 include a tilting 3-inch LCD screen, ISO range of 100-12,800, wi-fi and NFC connectivity, and a built-in flash. Is Canon's new mirrorless model finally a real contender? Read our Canon EOS M3 review to find out...

Fujifilm X-T10

The Fujifilm X-T10 is a new mid-range compact system camera that inherits most of the key features of the flagship X-T1 model. Does the X-T10 cut too many corners to hit its aggressive £499 / $799 price-tag, or does it offer a compelling blend of features, performance and price? Read our in-depth Fujifilm X-T10 review to find out...

Nikon 1 V3

The Nikon 1 V3 is the latest flagship compact system camera from Nikon, boasting an amazingly fast 20fps burst shooting rate with continuous focusing (60fps without), a new tilting touchscreen LCD, built-in wi-fi, new 18.4-megapixel "CX" format sensor and a more compact design . Read our in-depth Nikon 1 V3 review to find out if this is the best Nikon compact system camera yet...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 is a new compact system camera designed to bring 4K shooting to the masses. With an affordable price-tag and a wealth of features, can the 4K Panasonic G7 succeed in an ever more crowded market-place? Read our in-depth Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 review, with sample photos, test shots, videos and more, to find out...

Samsung NX500

The Samsung NX500 is the World's most affordable compact system camera to feature 4K video recording. The Samsung NX500 also features a compact rangefinder-like design, 3-inch tilting AMOLED screen, built-in wi-fi, bluetooth and NFC connectivity, 9fps burst shooting, and an APS-C CMOS sensor with 28.2 megapixels. Read our in-depth Samsung NX500 review, complete with sample images and videos, to find out if it's a game-changer...

Sony A6000

The Sony A6000 is a new compact system camera that features the fastest auto-focusing system in the world. With a 24.3 megapixel APS HD CMOS sensor, 1080p HD movies, high-res 3 inch OLED screen, electronic viewfinder and built-in flash, the Sony NEX-6 also offers 11fps burst shooting, wi-fi and NFC connectivity, and downloadable PlayMemories Camera Apps. Read our full Sony A6000 review to find out if it's the best Sony NEX camera yet...

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II from around the web.

dpreview.com »

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 II is a Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera that takes the best features of its more expensive siblings and brings the price down to Earth. They include a time-tested 16MP CMOS sensor, 5-axis image stabilization, a top-notch viewfinder, and Wi-Fi.
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techradar.com »

The OM-D E-M10 II embodies what the Olympus OM-D series is all about; it's a high quality camera that feels great, offers an extensive feature set with bags of control and produces superb quality images yet doesn't take up much space in your bag.
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petapixel.com »

In 2008, both Olympus and Panasonic teamed up to create the Micro Four Thirds sensor standard for mirrorless cameras. Seven years later, I sit with the Olympus E-M10 Mark II in front of me. It’s a more affordable camera than its older siblings, the E-M5 and E-M1, and today we’ll be taking a look to see what the company’s ‘budget’ OM-D has to offer. There’s an OLED viewfinder, Wi-Fi control, 8.5fps burst shooting, and five-axis stabilization — we are expecting a smooth ride.
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ephotozine.com »

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II is the update to the OM-D E-M10 (Mark I), and sees the camera get a refreshed design, along with a number of other updates, including a larger 2.36million dot EVF, 5-axis image stabilisation, increased continuous shooting speed of 8.5fps, improved video and more.
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Specifications

Specifications

Type

  • Body material

    Metal

  • Lens mount

    Micro Four Thirds

Image Sensor

  • Type

    4/3'' Live MOS sensor

  • Effective pixels

    16.1 Megapixels

  • Filter array

    Primary colour filter (RGB)

  • Aspect ratio & area

    4:3 / 17.3 x 13.0mm

  • Full resolution

    17.2 Megapixels

Engine

  • Type

    TruePic VII

Filter

  • Dust reduction filter

    Supersonic Wave Filter

Viewfinder

  • Type

    Electronical Viewfinder

  • Pixel number

    2360K dots

  • Diopter adjustment

    -4.0 - +2.0 diopters / built-in type

  • Field of view

    Approx. 100%

  • Magnification

    Max. 1.23x with a 50mm lens set to infinity at -1 dioptre (depending on selected viewfinder style)

  • Eye point

    19.2mm at -1 dioptre from eyepiece lens

  • Style

    3 styles selectable

  • S-OVF

    Expands the Live View dynamic range

  •  

    *Available in the EVF when in P, A, S and M modes. Art filter, WB and exposure are not reflected in EVF.

  • Displayed information

    • Aperture value
    • Shutter speed
    • AF frame (super impose)
    • AF confirmation mark
    • AF lock
    • Auto bracket
    • Battery check
    • Exposure compensation indicator
    • Exposure compensation value indicator
    • Exposure level indicator
    • Exposure mode
    • Flash
    • FP flash
    • IS activating mode
    • Metering mode
    • Number of storable sequential pictures
    • White balance
    • Level Gauge
    • Highlight & Shadow
    • Live Pre-view function
    • Histogram
  • Brightness adjustment

    Adaptive Brightness Technology / Manual settings: +/- 7 levels

  • Correction of colour temperature

    +/- 7 levels

Live View

  • Displayed information

    • Aperture
    • Shutter speed
    • Auto bracket
    • AE lock
    • Focus mode
    • Shooting mode
    • Battery check
    • IS activating mode
    • Face / Eye detection mode
    • Record mode
    • ISO
    • Sequential shooting mode
    • White Balance
    • Metering mode
    • Exposure compensation value
    • AF frame display
    • AF confirmation mark
    • Shooting information
    • Spot metering area
    • Super FP
    • Flash status
    • Touch Panel Condition
    • Focal length
    • Flash mode
    • Histogram
    • Level Gauge
    • Highlight & Shadow
    • Focus peaking
    • Number of storable pictures
    • Custom
    • Face detection
    • Flash intensity
    • WiFi
  • 100% field of view

    Approx. 100%

  • Magnification levels

    5 / 7 / 10 / 14x

Image Stabiliser

  • Type

    Sensor shift

  • Modes

    Five-dimensional, vertical or horizontal activation, automatic

  •  

    Up to 4 EV steps (CIPA)

Focusing System

  • Method

    Contrast Detection AF system

  • Focus areas

    81 points / All target, Group target (9-areas), Single target (normal), Single target (small)

  •  

    800 points / Manual selection in Magnified View Mode

  • AF lock

    Yes; Locked by first position of shutter release button in single AF mode, AE/AF lock button (customised)

  • Modes

    • Manual focus
    • Single AF
    • Continuous AF
    • Single AF + MF
    • AF Tracking
  • AF illuminator

    Yes

  • Full time AF

    Yes

  • Manual focus

    Yes; With enlarged focusing area or focus peaking

  • AF targeting pad

    Yes (activate/deactivate with double tap on rear monitor)

  • Face Detection extension

    • Eye Detect AF: Off
    • Left side priority
    • Near side priority
    • Right side priority
  • Predictive AF

    Yes

  • AF tracking

    Yes; Available in continuous AF mode

Exposure System

  • Modes

    • Programme automatic
    • Aperture priority
    • Shutter priority
    • Manual
    • Bulb
    • Time
    • i-Auto
    • Scene Modes
    • Art Filter
    • Photo Story
    • Movie
    • HDR
    • My Mode
  • Exposure compensation

    +/- 5 EV (1, 1/2, 1/3 steps)

  •  

    Note: Movie shooting, monitor and EVF displays only up to ±3 EV .

  • Exposure bracketing

    2 / 3 / 5 frames (+/- 1/3, 2/3, 1 EV steps)

  •  

    7 frames (+/- 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 EV steps)

  • ISO bracketing

    3 frames (1/3, 1/2, 1 EV steps)

  • AE lock

    Yes

  • My Mode

    4 settings storable

  • Enhancement function

    Digital Shift

  •  

    Shadow Adjustment Technology

  • HDR bracketing

    3 / 5 frames (+/- 2 / 3 EV steps)

  •  

    7 frames (+/- 2 EV steps)

Scene Modes

  • Number of scene modes

    25

  • Modes

    • Portrait
    • e-Portrait
    • Landscape
    • Landscape with Portrait
    • Macro
    • Sports
    • Night Scene
    • Night Scene with portrait
    • Children
    • High key
    • Low key
    • Digital Image Stabilisation
    • Nature Macro
    • Candle
    • Sunset
    • Documents
    • Panorama
    • Fireworks
    • Beach and Snow
    • Fisheye converter
    • Macro converter
    • 3D
    • Wide converter
    • Hand-held Starlight
    • Panning

Multi-Exposure

  • Max. number of frames

    2 frames (shooting)

  •  

    3 frames (editing)

  • Auto gain control

    Yes

  • Frame assistance

    Live View

Light Metering

  • Method

    TTL open aperture light metering

  • Zones

    324 zones Multi-pattern Sensing System

  • Detection range

    -2 - 20 EV (17mm f2.8, ISO 100)

  • Modes

    • ESP light metering
    • Spot metering
    • Centre weighted metering
    • Highlight
    • Shadow

Art Filter

  • Modes

    • Pop Art
    • Soft Focus
    • Pale & Light Colour
    • Light Tone
    • Grainy Film
    • Pin Hole
    • Diorama
    • Cross Process
    • Dramatic Tone
    • Gentle Sepia
    • Key Line
    • Water colour
    • Partial Colour*
    • Vintage
  • Variation / Effect

    Available

Photo Story

  • Modes

    • Standard
    • Fun Frame
    • Speed
    • Zoom in / out
    • Layout

Sensitivity

  • Auto

    ISO LOW* - 25600 (customisable, default ISO LOW - 1600)

  • Manual

    ISO LOW - 25600 in 1/3 or 1 EV ISO steps

  •  

    *approx. 100

Shutter

  • Shutter type

    Computerised focal-plane shutter

  • Self timer

    2s / 12s / Custom

  • Modes

    • Single frame
    • Sequential shooting
    • Bracketing
    • Self timer

Shutter Speeds

  • Standard operation

  • Shutter speed range

    1/4000 - 60s (in 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV steps)

  • Bulb mode

    Up to 30 minutes (selectable longest time in the menu, default: 8 minutes)

  • Silent mode

  • Shutter type

    Electronic shutter

  • Shutter speed

    1/16000 - 60s

  • Start delay

    0, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15. 30s

  • Anti shock mode

  • Shutter type

    Electronic first curtain shutter

  • Shutter speed

    1/320* - 60s

  • Start delay

    0, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30s

  •  

    * For speeds over 1/320 sec., mechanical shutter will automatically be selected.

White Balance

  • Manual White balance (One-Touch)

    Yes

  • White balance bracketing

    3 frames / +/- 2, 4, 6 mired steps

  • One-touch white balance

    4 custom settings can be registered

  • Custom WB

    1 setting can be registered at Kelvin temperature (2000K - 14000K)

  • Preset values

    • Tungsten
    • Flourescent 1
    • Sunlight
    • Flash
    • Overcast
    • Shade
    • Underwater
  • Auto Flash adjustment

    Off / Auto WB / Flash

  • Keep warm colour

    On / Off

Sequence Shooting

  • Speed (H)

    Approx. 8.5fps

  • Speed (L)

    4fps

  • Max. number of frames

    22 frames (RAW)

  •  

    Up to card capacity (JPG / Large Normal mode)

  • Conditions

    Memory card: TOSHIBA SDHC UHS-II R260・W240 EXCERIA™ PRO

  •  

    Note: Depending on shooting conditions, the sequential shooting speed may reduce speed during shooting.

Image Processing

  • Colour space

    sRGB / AdobeRGB

  • Sharpness + Contrast

    5 levels

  • Contrast

    5 levels

  • Saturation

    5 levels

  • Black & White filter

    Yellow, Orange, Red, Green

  • Black & White toning

    Sepia, Blue, Purple or Green in Black & White mode

  • Picture mode

    i-Enhance, Vivid, Natural, Portrait, Muted, Monotone, Art Filter

  • Gradation

    4levels (auto, high key, normal, low key)

  • Engine

    TruePic VII

  • Art Filter bracketing

    Available

  • Tele converter effect

    2x

Internal Flash

  • Modes

    • AUTO
    • Manual
    • Manual (Full, 1/4, 1/16, 1/64)
    • Red-eye reduction
    • Slow synchronisation with red-eye reduction
    • Slow synchronisation
    • Slow synchronisation 2nd curtain
    • Fill-in
    • Off
    • TTL-Auto
    • FP Manual
    • FP TTL Auto
  • Type

    Built-in

  • Flash compensation

    +/- 3 EV / 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV steps

  • Guide number

    8.2 (ISO 200)

  • X-sync speed

    1/250s / 1/4000s (Super FP Mode)

External Flash Control

  • X-sync speed

    1/250s / 1/4000s (Super FP Mode)

  • Type

    TTL AUTO, AUTO, MANUAL, FP TTL AUTO, FP MANUAL

  • Modes

    • Auto
    • Red-eye reduction
    • Slow synchronisation
    • 2nd curtain and slow synchronisation
    • Fill-in for exclusive flash
    • Manual
  • Intensity

    +/- 3 EV (1/3, 1/2, 1 EV steps)

  •  

    Note: Some functions are only available if they are supported by the external flash.

Wireless Flash Control

  • Number of channels

    4 channels

  • Compatible external flash

    FL-36R, FL-50R, FL-300R, FL-600R

  • Control method

    Triggered and controlled by built-in flash light

  • Group setting

    4 groups

  •  

    Available when used together with cameras compatible with the Olympus wireless RC flash system.

Monitor

  • Monitor type

    Tiltable LCD - Touch Panel

  • Monitor size

    7.6cm / 3.0'' (3:2)

  • Resolution

    1037K dots

  • Brightness adjustment

    +/- 7 levels

  • Colour balance

    +/- 7 levels Vivid (default) / Natural

  • Touch Control fucntions

    • AF area enlargement
    • AF area selection
    • Art Filter
    • Enlargement
    • Enlargement playback
    • Frame forward/backward
    • Live Guide
    • Scene Modes
    • Shooting mode
    • Shutter release
    • Super Control Panel
    • Wifi connection

Level Gauge

  • Detection

    2-axis

  • Display

    Rear display and viewfinder

Recording Formats

  • RAW

    12bit

  • RAW & JPEG

    Yes; parallel recording

  • JPEG

    Yes

  • Aspect ratio

    4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 / 6:6 / 3:4

  • MPO (3D)

    Yes

Image Size

  • RAW

    4608 x 3456 compressed / 17MB / frame

  •  

    4608 x 3456 Fine (compression: 1/4) / 7.5MB / frame

  •  

    4608 x 3456 Normal (compression: 1/8) / 3.5MB / frame

  • Middle

    3200 x 2400 / 1.7MB / frame

  • Small

    1280 x 960 / 0.4MB / frame

Still Image Recording

  • EXIF

    2.2

  • PIM

    III

  • DPOF

    Yes

  • DCF

    Yes

Movie Recording System

  • Recording format

    MOV(MPEG-4AVC/H.264), AVI(Motion JPEG)

  • Image Stabilisation Mode

    Yes; Sensor shift (5-axis)

  • HD Movie quality

    Full HD 1920 x 1080 (16:9) / 30p, 25p, 24p (MOV)

  •  

    Full HD 1920 x 1080 (16:9) / 60p, 50p (MOV)

  •  

    HD 1280 x 720 (16:9) / 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p (MOV)

  •  

    HD 1280 x 720 (16:9) / 30p (AVI Motion JPEG®)*

  • Movie quality

    640 x 480 / 30fps (AVI Motion JPEG®)

  • Maximum Recording Time

    29min (MOV)

  •  

    14min (SD) / 7min (HD) (AVI Motion JPEG®)*

  • Exposure Modes

    • Aperture priority
    • Art Filter
    • Manual
    • Programme automatic
    • Shutter priority
  •  

    * Some Art Filters are excluded

  • Time code

    Rec run / Free run

  •  

    Drop frame / Non-drop frame

Movie Specialties

  • High-Speed Recording

    VGA / 120fps

  • Time lapse

    4k, 1080p, 720p (AVI Motion JPEG®)

Sound Recording System

  • Internal microphone

    Stereo

  • Recording format

    Stereo PCM/16bit, 48kHz, Wave Format Base

  • Image footage

    30s

  • Speaker

    Yes

  • Microphone functions

    • Wind Noise Reduction
    • Recording Volume
    • Microphone limiter

View Images

  • Modes

    • Index
    • Calendar
    • Zoom
    • Slide show
    • Movie
    • Single
  • Light box

    Yes

  • Histogram in playback mode

    Yes

  • Shooting information

    Off / On

  • Highlight/Shadow point warning

    Yes

Erase / Protect / Copy Function

  • Erase modes

    Single, All, Selected

  • Image protect mode

    Single frame, Selected frames, All Frames, Release protect (Single/All selected)

Menu

  • Menu languages in camera

    English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Czech, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Croatian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Greek, Slovak, Turkish, Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Serbian

Customisation Options

  • Fn Button

    Yes

  • My Mode

    4 settings storable (Can be set to mode dial.)

  • Factory reset

    Full / Basic

  • Programmable button

    Yes

Interface

  • Hot shoe

    Yes

  • Media

    SD Memory Card (SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I/II compatible

  • HDMI™

    Yes; Micro connector (Type D) *

  • USB 2.0 High Speed

    Yes

  • Combined V & USB output

    Yes; NTSC or PAL selectable

  • Wireless connectivity

    WiFi

  •  

    * "HDMI", the HDMI logo and "High-Definition Multimedia Interface" are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC.

Wi-Fi Functions

  • Easy Connection

    QR code setting

  • Wireless Shooting

    • Live View
    • Power off
    • Rec View
    • Self timer
    • Touch AF & Shutter
    • P/A/S/M exposure modes
    • Bulb mode
    • Live Composite
    • Zoom

Power Supply

  • Battery

    BLS-50 Lithium-Ion Battery (included)

  • Sleep mode

    1, 3, 5, 10 min. and off selectable.

  • Live View shooting

    Approx. 320images (50% with Live View) (using BLS-50 and TOSHIBA SD with IS ON, based on CIPA testing standards)

  •  

    Approx. 750images (50% with Live View) (when shot in Quick Sleep Mode, based on CIPA testing standards)

Environment

  • Temperature

    0 - 40°C Operating temperature / -20 - 60°C storage temperature

  • Humidity

    30 - 90% operation humidity / 10 - 90% storage humidity

Size

  • Dimensions (W x H x D)

    119.5 x 83.1 x 46.7mm (without protrusions)

  • Weight

    390g (including battery and memory card)

  •  

    342g (body only)

Exterior

  • Available Colours

    • Black
    • Silver
 
 

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