Olympus E-M1 mkii, How good is it in 2022? An “in use” review

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[simonatterbury]

Bought one two weeks ago, Superb piece of kit. already shot 2 commercial jobs with it and have another one booked Tuesday.

[clintjohnson]

Hi Brian, , , , My acquiring a EM1 MK II was a step ahead and yet poignant experience. I was a devoted Panasonic user with GX-8s and a G9. I had found a couple of very nice Olympus Legacy 4/3 lenses (not Micro 4/3) that were had at good prices but found that the Panasonic focusing system was useless with them so I decided it was time to pick up an Olympus that had the hybrid AF system--and it works with the older lenses perfectly. I had been a huge fan of David Thorpe's YouTube channel and he was a key inspiration for me to add Olympus gear to the kit. About that time I had started watching your channel as well. I finally found a very nice used MKII that was almost mint, , so I set out on the 2 hour drive to pick it up. On the way home there was a spectacular play of light on a rocky canyon that I had to capture so I slipped an SD card into my new purchase and grabbed the scene. When I clambered back to my car and was putting everything away and getting myself buckled in, , your post announcing that David had passed away came through..just then... My Olympus MKII purchase has been a great experience and has helped me grow as a photographer, , and has a personal touch every time I pick it up..

[ConwayGritty]

2024 and the Em1 mkii is still the best MFT camera ever made. I have a Sony A7riii gathering dust because the Em1 mkii is simply a pleasure to use. Best ergonomics hands down, and the images are pristine. 10 out of 10 for me.

[PLATO]

Also bought a used one a couple of years ago. Quite simply the best camera I have ever owned and I own Canon 50d and 5diii.
Took it on my city trip to Berlin in May with the 12-40 pro and the 40-150 plastic fantastic. It’s all I needed. Fairly light, never misses focus and a battery that lasts all day.

[info-lhbu]

Brilliantly put together video! Very well done...

[crsantin]

Still using the original M1 and I love it for my needs. I have no need for anything else as long as it works and I got mine very cheap.

[ianparr]

Hi Brian, I bought a used E-M1 mk2 last year and I am very happy with it. The customisation functions do take some time to get around, but then I've struggled with similar issues with my Pansonic and Canon cameras on occasion, usually when in a hurry while setting up a shot, so no-one should let that put them off.

Using Pro-Capture, Interval Timer, Keystone comp and some of the art modes will result in C-AF being disabled. You mentioned using art modes so perhaps that's what's happened to you.

The video record button works just fine in A mode on my camera. The button is customisable in the main tool menu so maybe yours has been disabled in there.

I don't do video much, and mainly use a Panasonic when I do, but I did notice that you can customise the lever switch to go between stills and video mode. My old Canon 70D had a similar switch. Maybe that would be of use to you?

Hope you sort out your issues - it's worth persevering as the E-M1 mk2 is a great camera (in my totally unbiased view, of course).

[rolandwiktor]

Hallo Brian! Thank you for that recommendation! To follow you is also an English-lesson. Most parts I listen and repeat. For Germans it is not so easy to follow your speach…, I guess you come from South- England!? In my schooltimes I had an Englishteacher from Liverpool (Mrs. Thickbroom 😂), she was quite easier to understand! Nevertheless your postings are very usefull, I do like Mft-System so you do! Thanks! Rolo from Germany 👍

[richardturner]

That fl-lm3 flash is ace. It’s weather sealed too.

[gordon]

The EM5M3 also somewhat supersedes as well; or perhaps just a smaller version, with a few improvements but a few features less. Agree the Mk11 a great value and likely meets most peoples needs.

[stuartriley]

Yes, I agree with you Brian. I have the OMD-EM1mkII and simply love it. The functions are set to factory and I have the most changed features setup in "my Menu".
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[mistergiovanni]

Hi Brian, I have an existential question. I use an E-M5 with Olympus and Lumix lenses and was thinking between a E-M1 MK II or Lumix G9 that here in Japan used ones are available at a similar price I'm only interested in photography and I'm interested in high resolution mode. But here I see that the G9 has the advantage of mode 2 that manages to stop the movement, for example of leaves due to the wind or water or of people and things. I have seen that it works very well, however I am not sure if Olympus has something similar on E-M1 Mk II or later models.

[marklawson]

Great video Brian plenty of information just what I needed 👍🏻

[viktor]

its fantastic even in 2024 ! Get them while you still can !!

[malcolmwright]

I bought a second-hand Lumix 25mm f1.7 for use on my EM1 MK2, it's the first Lumix lens I've owned. Unfortunately it appeared to hunt for focus and suffer from focus wander when for example trying to pick out one green plant in a tray of green plants, it might have been a bad copy. So I sold it on and got a secondhand Olympus 25mm f1.8, it hits focus first time every time. I've never used a Panasonic camera so don't know if there's much of a difference with focus between Olympus and Panasonic.
I'm currently on holiday with my EM5 mk3 and 14-150mm lens, 17mm f1.8 and 9-18mm, taking lots of photographs.
When it comes to upgrading missing out on several makes the eventual upgrade all that more noticeably satisfying..

[t-money]

Picked up a pair for $560 each from the Olympus store, this year. At that price its good.

[sweeneyTodd-deby]

Fantastic video
Thinking of buying this has y first camera, but being a beginner I'm not sure.
Had to subscribe great channel

[garyk]

You can use the LCD as an AF touchpad to position the AF point, which may be better than using the 4-way pad. I save my PASM settings to custom mode C1 and can easily restore them if needed. I also save all settings, including the custom modes, to my PC using the OM Workspace app. I don't think the E-M1 Mk II allows saving settings to and restoring settings from the OM Share phone/tablet app like the Mark III does.

[Lordvader]

I do the same. I use my MII as my travel camera with the 12-200MM

[nigelcliff]

I'm shooting football with my EM1 Mk2 and 40-150 f2.8 and it still delivers even though it's "Old", why change when it does what you want it to do, my holiday camera is the even older EM10 mk2 and again it does the job I want it to