Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera

There is a lot to love about this little camera. It is light weight, fast, and takes good pictures using anything from a variety of easy to use automatic modes to full manual. I bought this to get really into bird photography as a serious hobby, along with the Panasonic 100-400mm lens, and this does the job nicely. The only real cons here are that it can struggle with focus in lower light environments unless you get really premium lenses (the kit lens is garbage and so are the more affordable telephoto lenses for the system). When taking lower light pictures you also have to keep a strong eye on your ISO since the smaller nature of the sensor means a lot of noise. That is the tradeoff of having a super compact, super light weight camera that is ACTUALLY capable of ... MoreThere is a lot to love about this little camera. It is light weight, fast, and takes good pictures using anything from a variety of easy to use automatic modes to full manual. I bought this to get really into bird photography as a serious hobby, along with the Panasonic 100-400mm lens, and this does the job nicely. The only real cons here are that it can struggle with focus in lower light environments unless you get really premium lenses (the kit lens is garbage and so are the more affordable telephoto lenses for the system). When taking lower light pictures you also have to keep a strong eye on your ISO since the smaller nature of the sensor means a lot of noise. That is the tradeoff of having a super compact, super light weight camera that is ACTUALLY capable of decent long range photography, though, and it has done the job nicely. For reference I have taken nearly 150,000 pictures with this camera body. What would I change? Well, a few more megapixels in an updated sensor, waterproofing, etc - so basically I'd buy the EM5 or EM1, at my current level of experience. This served me very well for it's time.

Excellent Camera with tons of functions.

This camera is just awesome. I owe it only for few days. So far I'm very impressed with picture quality and all the features. I owe much bigger Canon 77D with twenty lenses as my primary. This is my daily camera. My Olympus will be carry every day and everywhere with me. So far I managed to gather few lenses for it, from kit 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 Olympus, 12-50mm F3.5-5.6 Olympus, 40-160mm F4-5.6 Olympus, 19mm F2.8 ART Sigma, 60mm F2.8 ART Sigma and 6.5mm F2.0 Opteka. I think his is a very good start for a gear plus Godox TT350O flash and couple of Bluetooth transmitters Godox XT2O. Gear wise, I feel confident. This Olympus camera is excellent. I was actually thinking about buying Olympus OM-D M10 Mark III, but lock of wireless flash and few options, plus the plastic ... MoreThis camera is just awesome. I owe it only for few days. So far I'm very impressed with picture quality and all the features. I owe much bigger Canon 77D with twenty lenses as my primary. This is my daily camera. My Olympus will be carry every day and everywhere with me. So far I managed to gather few lenses for it, from kit 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 Olympus, 12-50mm F3.5-5.6 Olympus, 40-160mm F4-5.6 Olympus, 19mm F2.8 ART Sigma, 60mm F2.8 ART Sigma and 6.5mm F2.0 Opteka. I think his is a very good start for a gear plus Godox TT350O flash and couple of Bluetooth transmitters Godox XT2O. Gear wise, I feel confident. This Olympus camera is excellent. I was actually thinking about buying Olympus OM-D M10 Mark III, but lock of wireless flash and few options, plus the plastic top, made me buy Mark II. I don't shoot a lot of video, so not having 4K Video does not compromise my purchase. I'm very happy with my Olympus Om-D E-M10 Mark II. Picture quality, all of its functions, which I still have to learn, makes this camera a very good buy not only for amateurs, but also as a backup for pros. SO far there was no picture I could not take with my Olympus. Image stabilization is amazing in this camera. ability to tweak almost every option and then edit pictures in the camera in a big plus. 16mp Sensor still is good for 8x10 blow ups, which is what I mostly need it. The other surprise to me was the kit 14-40mm II R Lens. It works much better than expected from a kit lens. Overall I'm very happy with my purchase. I don't any other option in this price range coming even close to what Olympus can offer. I was expecting a strip down version of older model of the camera. Instead I got very capable, latest model camera with top notch functions.

Fantastic feature set hampered by a difficult to use Interface

I'll not go into the value of the micro four thirds format in this review. There are plenty of places to look into it, and if you're looking at this camera, you probably understand why m4/3 is such a great platform.I upgraded from a quite old E-PL1 to this camera, so the capabilities of the OMD EM10 ii camera over my old one are astounding.There were three key areas that I was shooting for with this camera that make it a winner:1) Size - I wanted something small and light to go along with my small µ4/3 lenses. This camera is perfect and on the order of size of my EPL12) Top notch viewfinder - the viewfinder, it's clarity and capability are all it's made up to be in reviews you find about this camera all over the net. It's clear, big and incredibly useful. It ... MoreI'll not go into the value of the micro four thirds format in this review. There are plenty of places to look into it, and if you're looking at this camera, you probably understand why m4/3 is such a great platform.I upgraded from a quite old E-PL1 to this camera, so the capabilities of the OMD EM10 ii camera over my old one are astounding.There were three key areas that I was shooting for with this camera that make it a winner:1) Size - I wanted something small and light to go along with my small µ4/3 lenses. This camera is perfect and on the order of size of my EPL12) Top notch viewfinder - the viewfinder, it's clarity and capability are all it's made up to be in reviews you find about this camera all over the net. It's clear, big and incredibly useful. It detects when you move your face up to the camera and seamlessly switches back and forth between the touch screen and viewfinder. Before my EPL1, I had a sony camera that had a great viewfinder, and it was sorely missed when shooting and focusing, especially outside. This viewfinder is a dream, and I won't go back to a camera without one.3) Fast Autofocus with burst mode - the in-camera stabilization make it very fast to autofocus (although admittedly not quite as fast or smart as I'd like) and the 11 frame per second burst mode. I just returned from a trip cruise to Alaska and I was able to grab amazing shots of whales and other wildlife which would have been impossible with my EPL1To round out the positives, I really love the way this camera looks and feels. The retro design language and all metal enclosure really make the camera feel good. The thumb hook on the front of the camera added with the mark ii (not on the EM10 mark i) really fives the camera a stable feel in your hand.There are a few areas to look out for with this camera, but I believe the positives outweigh them:1) The touch pad autofocus (a feature I was really looking forward to) was not as responsive as I would have liked. Focus areas in general were hampered by this in regular shooting and really messed up other people who were trying to snap a photo for me when I was in the photo.2) The menus in general are very deep and wide, and it's not clear where things are even when you've found them before. This is a consistent complaint of Olympus Cameras that runs across their product lines, and it was true for my EPL1. It's more obvious with this camera, however, because this camera is incredibly feature rich. I have 3 presumably programmable function buttons which I haven't yet programmed (sadly) because I haven't taken the time to figure out how. It really should be easier to find the features, even if they're quite deep.3) Settings seem to reset unexpectedly with a lens change or after switching the camera off. If I was at Aperture priority set to 2.0 with manual focus targeting pad selected, that should be true so long as my lens is compatible. And then only incompatible settings should change. But it seems that settings got borked across a variety of usage situations that were unexpected and that was disappointing. I think this more my unfamiliarity with the cameras settings, but it really should be easier to get the camera into the state you want it to be in than it is.Despite the cameras few drawbacks, it's a solid performer. In the few weeks I've owned it, I've already taken thousands of photos with dozens of real winners. If you're looking for a fast focusing, flexible camera that won't break the bank, this is a great candidate, and if you're looking to just get your feet wet in the micro four thirds segment, this is a great way to do that.

Great second camera body!

My old Panasonic DMC FZ150 camera was getting long in the tooth (over seven years) last fall, so I purchased a Panasonic DMC FZ300. Unfortunately, that purchase had issues due to its small sensor--the images were too grainy and blotchy.Then I traded the Panasonic for this camera body and despite my being knocked over by a snowplow (which damaged the original kit lens) and my having to climb an extremely steep learning curve, I began to like this camera! Needless to say, I have yet to find any detailed manuals on this camera or Micro Four Thirds cameras at the local Barnes & Noble bookstore, but the PDF manual has compensated for that lack. If the OM-D cameras are really popular, one of the British or American publishers should do a book about these cameras.I was ... MoreMy old Panasonic DMC FZ150 camera was getting long in the tooth (over seven years) last fall, so I purchased a Panasonic DMC FZ300. Unfortunately, that purchase had issues due to its small sensor--the images were too grainy and blotchy.Then I traded the Panasonic for this camera body and despite my being knocked over by a snowplow (which damaged the original kit lens) and my having to climb an extremely steep learning curve, I began to like this camera! Needless to say, I have yet to find any detailed manuals on this camera or Micro Four Thirds cameras at the local Barnes & Noble bookstore, but the PDF manual has compensated for that lack. If the OM-D cameras are really popular, one of the British or American publishers should do a book about these cameras.I was finally able to get to a local park where I've shot scores of winter scenes and shot more textures and closeups around my house using a series of closeup filters. I had a grand time doing so. As I write this, this camera and its lenses are very promising.

Great, Compact OM-D

I was looking for a slightly lighter and more compact model to use as a second camera when not shooting in harsh conditions. I will be using this body frequently with my Olympus prime lenses. The grip is excellent with these light, compact lenses. I prefer E-M1 grips for the larger, heavier Olympus PRO lenses.As anticipated, the E-M10 MK II delivers image quality very similar to my E-M1. It also has a nearly indistinguishable feature set. The viewfinder is excellent, plus it has a good touch screen LCD with AF Targeting Pad functionality (almost like a joystick). The built-in flash is a bonus, and my FL-LM3 Flash seems to work well in the hot-shoe.The dials on this model have a lighter touch than my other OM-D bodies, but still have a positive click upon ... MoreI was looking for a slightly lighter and more compact model to use as a second camera when not shooting in harsh conditions. I will be using this body frequently with my Olympus prime lenses. The grip is excellent with these light, compact lenses. I prefer E-M1 grips for the larger, heavier Olympus PRO lenses.As anticipated, the E-M10 MK II delivers image quality very similar to my E-M1. It also has a nearly indistinguishable feature set. The viewfinder is excellent, plus it has a good touch screen LCD with AF Targeting Pad functionality (almost like a joystick). The built-in flash is a bonus, and my FL-LM3 Flash seems to work well in the hot-shoe.The dials on this model have a lighter touch than my other OM-D bodies, but still have a positive click upon rotation. There are just enough buttons (including arrow keys) to provide quick access to all the setting I change frequently. The ergonomics are good, and the body has a solid feel even though it is not all metal.The kit lens seems to have good resolution at most focal lengths, but seems to lack the contrast of the higher-grade lenses. Focusing consistency did not match the PRO lenses either. For ($) extra, I bought the lens because there may be times when I would like a 4oz. zoom lens on this light camera body.It is a very fun camera to shoot with. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to get started with an interchangeable lens system, or someone like myself who got it to complement my other Olympus gear. This kit provides a huge amount of functionality for a small amount of money.

I love this little camera

I purchased the em-10 mark 2 after I had my em-10 mark 1 converted for infrared shooting. I love it because it's small but full of features and produces sharp image and nice color. I particularly love the one finger adjusting the ev compensation and the results shown on the display at the same time. I can say it's "what you see is what you get" kind of light adjustment. Besides, the camera comes with very handy of HDR function, if the contrast of the scene is too high, then I would turn the HDR on, the camera will set to high speed continuous shooting. With one press on the shutter, the camera does the rest for a very pleasant result!I also own the Nikon D7200, but when I go out at night while on a trip, I always use the em-10 m2 for night shooting because of its ... MoreI purchased the em-10 mark 2 after I had my em-10 mark 1 converted for infrared shooting. I love it because it's small but full of features and produces sharp image and nice color. I particularly love the one finger adjusting the ev compensation and the results shown on the display at the same time. I can say it's "what you see is what you get" kind of light adjustment. Besides, the camera comes with very handy of HDR function, if the contrast of the scene is too high, then I would turn the HDR on, the camera will set to high speed continuous shooting. With one press on the shutter, the camera does the rest for a very pleasant result!I also own the Nikon D7200, but when I go out at night while on a trip, I always use the em-10 m2 for night shooting because of its light weight and easy to compose and easy to hold it still to get better result. Of course I also use it for daytime shooting too, especially when shooting high and low angles.This is an amazing little camera does everything the heavy DSLRs can do, it's fun to play with and carry around.I would highly recommend to anyone like to own a lightweight, affordable, and does amazing jobs camera.I forgot to mention this camera can make high speed slo-motion and 4K time-lapse movie too which I always long for.

Impressive little camera

I moved up to the Olympus when I was disappointed in the results I obtained from a 1" sensor camera (Nikon V2). But can't really vouch for the Image Quality from the Olympus just yet. It hasn't been tested in difficult lighting. I am impressed with the build quality of the E-M10II. Also like In-Body Image Stabilization - not so much for legacy glass (which I don't own), but for the fact that lenses can be designed for Image Quality, not Image Stabilization Just one less thing to worry about. I tried finding suggestions on the internet on menu setting, but didn't find much. I did find suggestions on the E-M5II and found them useful. Seems the two cameras function pretty much alike. Image quality should be identical also - the major difference being the ... MoreI moved up to the Olympus when I was disappointed in the results I obtained from a 1" sensor camera (Nikon V2). But can't really vouch for the Image Quality from the Olympus just yet. It hasn't been tested in difficult lighting. I am impressed with the build quality of the E-M10II. Also like In-Body Image Stabilization - not so much for legacy glass (which I don't own), but for the fact that lenses can be designed for Image Quality, not Image Stabilization Just one less thing to worry about. I tried finding suggestions on the internet on menu setting, but didn't find much. I did find suggestions on the E-M5II and found them useful. Seems the two cameras function pretty much alike. Image quality should be identical also - the major difference being the weather-sealing on the M5II. I have played with the focus stacking feature and find it pretty amazing. I was warned numerous times concerning the complexity of the menu system on this camera (and all Olympus cameras), but with the aid of the above video (on the M5II), feel pretty comfortable with my current setup. Still, the menus are long and many items are hard to understand. But really like the ability to swap functionality of the front and rear control dials, so they function just like my Canon (f-stop or shutter speed to the front dal - compensation to the rear dial). I know the lenses are mostly plastic, but according to DxO Mark, are much better optically than the Nikkor lenses for the V2. This is an initial step for me - just looking into the world of Micro Four Thirds. I really hope it works out - I can't lug around all that Canon equipment anymore.

New Father, Perfect Camera

I'm new to photography. I was looking for something compact without sacrificing too much picture quality. I researched for about a week. I was reading various reviews on numerous mirrorless type cameras. As a newly minted father, I needed something to capture my son's milestones without breaking the pamper bank.I pulled the trigger on this deal because of the price.I have to say, im overwhelmed with the quality pictures this thing takes.I'm able to connect to my smartphone to import pictures to share on various social media platforms almost instantly.The pictures I print out at home come out crisp and clear.I'm still learning the ins and outs of photography, but im very happy with my purchase.This lands on the top 3 functional purchases in my lifetime. ... MoreI'm new to photography. I was looking for something compact without sacrificing too much picture quality. I researched for about a week. I was reading various reviews on numerous mirrorless type cameras. As a newly minted father, I needed something to capture my son's milestones without breaking the pamper bank.I pulled the trigger on this deal because of the price.I have to say, im overwhelmed with the quality pictures this thing takes.I'm able to connect to my smartphone to import pictures to share on various social media platforms almost instantly.The pictures I print out at home come out crisp and clear.I'm still learning the ins and outs of photography, but im very happy with my purchase.This lands on the top 3 functional purchases in my lifetime. First being my home, second being my car, and third would be this camera.Buying this camera is like having an American Express card - you won't leave home without it!

So far, so good

I'm just learning how to use this camera, but so far the learning process is turning out well. I had trouble trying to figure out the controls at first; navigation through the menus in the back was a bit of a nightmare. Moreover, the only printed book which was worth anything was in the PDF manual from Olympus which I printed and put into a loose-leaf binder. (The only book about the OM-D E-M10 camera which I could find on Amazon was barely larger than a pamphlet and had very few graphics. The writers of manuals for Canon, Nikon, Sony and the other camera models should take note and write a manual for this camera.)That said, once I got over the initial learning curve, this camera became a joy to use. I have taken the camera on walks throughout my neighborhood and ... MoreI'm just learning how to use this camera, but so far the learning process is turning out well. I had trouble trying to figure out the controls at first; navigation through the menus in the back was a bit of a nightmare. Moreover, the only printed book which was worth anything was in the PDF manual from Olympus which I printed and put into a loose-leaf binder. (The only book about the OM-D E-M10 camera which I could find on Amazon was barely larger than a pamphlet and had very few graphics. The writers of manuals for Canon, Nikon, Sony and the other camera models should take note and write a manual for this camera.)That said, once I got over the initial learning curve, this camera became a joy to use. I have taken the camera on walks throughout my neighborhood and used it to photograph skies, woodlands (albeit at a too-high ISO rating of over 1200--my bad, not the camera) and around my house. I have used the kit lens, but I am looking forward to trying the 40-150mm lens, for which I have an assortment of filters such as close-up filters and a circular polarizer. I may also get a Cokin(R) brand step-down ring for the 37mm filter size which is on my kit lens.My decision appears to be more and more of a great one every time I use this camera. I enjoy the burst rate and hope to take photos of social dancers in my dance clubs in the near future, for example. I also look forward to taking this camera on vacation--it appears it will be more versatile than the Panasonic superzoom cameras which I have used on previous vacations.Once again, I think I did the right thing in buying this camera and I hope it'll be a part of my photographic life.

Tiny but powerful...

Coming from a Panasonic DMC-GH3 and GH4 (and excluding my bigger DSLRs), I was surprised at how small this thing is, and I have small hands. The E-M10 Mark II is tiny to the point of looking adorable!It's uncomfortable to handle, though, the buttons feel very cheap, and the shutter has to be half-pressed down harder than normal to focus.I was wondering why it wouldn't focus. My other cameras have way more sensitive shutter buttons. Those are the cons that stand out.The good things are that, at least in my case, the kit lens is sharp enough to be the sole lens if needed, and I'm comparing it to the way sharper Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 and Sigma Art DN 60mm f/2.8Seriously, it's a very fun kit lens to use, and weighs so little, you can't feel it. ... MoreComing from a Panasonic DMC-GH3 and GH4 (and excluding my bigger DSLRs), I was surprised at how small this thing is, and I have small hands. The E-M10 Mark II is tiny to the point of looking adorable!It's uncomfortable to handle, though, the buttons feel very cheap, and the shutter has to be half-pressed down harder than normal to focus.I was wondering why it wouldn't focus. My other cameras have way more sensitive shutter buttons. Those are the cons that stand out.The good things are that, at least in my case, the kit lens is sharp enough to be the sole lens if needed, and I'm comparing it to the way sharper Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 and Sigma Art DN 60mm f/2.8Seriously, it's a very fun kit lens to use, and weighs so little, you can't feel it. The OIS works good. I've yet to see any shake in my pictures.The JPEGs straight out of camera have surprisingly good color, white balance, and retain plenty of details even at ISO 1600.I like shooting in RAW for pixel-peeping purposes and editing flexibility if I want to tweak, but if you dislike the fuss of the process or simply don't want to bother, the E-M10 Mark II's JPEGs in my opinion are very good and useable as is.These are my favorite straight out of camera JPEGs so far. The colors are properly saturated while remaining natural. Seriously, they're very nice as is.Moving on, 15 years ago, I really didn't care about camera and lens sizes because DSLRs were simply how they were. I happily lugged my heavy camera and lens bag to social events, but in these actual times, things have changed a lot. Life is speedier and more mobile.Size matters more than ever now, so I'm embracing small mirrorless cameras and really appreciate their benefits. When you don't have a big system weighing you down, you can have more fun, and more fun equals better opportunities for pictures.This is a camera to take everywhere with you and have a blast without worrying about weight or size. Unlike DSLRs, it won't hold you down or become a burden. It really is a tiny camera.Also, if you haven't made the move or branched out, don't worry about the smaller sensor of MFT cameras. Really, they don't look worse than APS-C and FF cameras, which I also own.If you take good pictures with full frame or crop sensor cameras, nothing will change for you with MFT except that you'll have greater mobility. If you like to pixel-peep, it's just as enjoyable on MFT. Wanna know what camera I purchased prior to this Olympus? A Sony Alpha A7R II.Don't pay attention to the crazy people on the Internet and their tribalistic mentalities. You don't have to choose sides.Anyway, if you simply just want a small system that takes great pictures without having to worry about megapixels and FPS, I recommend you this kit.God bless!