So what is the E-M5 Mk II missing, and what could it improve?
Start-up time is one of those things that could grab from the latter, because while it only takes a few seconds for the new E-M5 to be ready for action, it’s still a little slower than we’d like, and we occasionally found the shutter and focusing wasn’t ready for us by the time we fired the shot.
With that in mind, we started to leave the camera on the entirety of when it was in use, letting the E-M5 II go to standby and bringing it back from that resting period when we needed it, which was far more effective and faster than when we revived it from full off.
The battery could also do with a hint of improvement, just to make it a touch more modern.
Now credit where credit is due, and that’s over in the battery department, with a good 400-500 shots taken on our camera before the battery gives out, which isn’t too shabby.
What we wished would be improved is the external charger.
Some cameras have done away with this altogether, switching to a microUSB charge terminal on the camera, meaning you don’t need to carry around an external charge brick, which you do here.
It’s not a huge issue, but it’s one that would have been nice to see an improvement on.
Conclusion
For a long time, this journalist has been a photographer, and like so many others out there, has tried to document the world putting eye to the viewfinder.
He’s gone through film and made his way to digital, and has carried around big hulking beasts that survive crowds and storms and more.
But most of those days are behind him, so carrying something large isn’t always the go anymore.
Indeed, sometimes it’s okay to say “I’m going to put down the big guns and settle with something smaller from here-on in”.
And that’s exactly what the Olympus E-M5 Mark II allows, except it does so without that much of a statement.
In fact, it does so by letting you keep the big guns, but shrinks them down to a size where your shoulders, your arms, and your back — crikey, your back — will appreciate you more in life.
The point of this is that while the E-M5 Mark II isn’t a big camera, it proves its existence by acting like a big camera, offering weather resistance, durability in design, and image quality that will make you consider whether your older digital SLR is still worth carrying around.
We’re almost sold. Really, truly.
Highly recommended.
