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A review of the Olympus EM1mk2, and comparison to the Panasonic Lumix G9

These are just rough notes at present; the full review is in progress.

Why there’s still value in doing a comparison

  • Both cameras have had recent firmware updates that added features and dramatically improved their performance in various ways – particularly continuous AF.
  • Although the mk2 has been superseded by the mk3, the latter is much more expensive than the G9, while the former is now around the same price, so it seems fair to compare them even though the mk2 is older.
  • Everyone has a different perspective. Mine is that I love the G9 in many ways, but it’s not without problems – particularly continuous AF. I’m also unbiased; unlike many reviewers, I don’t work for either Olympus or Panasonic, nor have ever received any payment or free stuff from either of them. I bought the EM1mk2 out of a genuine desire to see whether it would suit my needs better than the G9, or even alongside it.

First impressions of the EM1mk2

  • Build quality very good
  • Grip similar size to G80 but better. Not as good as G9, would still like a battery grip. There are cheap third-party battery grips for Panasonic, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for the Olympus.
  • Button placement and general ergonomics not as good as G9. I miss the rear wheel and joystick, and the one-handed control.
  • Histogram better. It shows red for clipping highlights, blue for lost shadows, and green for the spot metering range.
  • Screen better. Overlaid text looks great. Less cluttered with information, can see more of the image.
  • EVF less distorted but overall less good, especially with glasses – can’t see to corners. Overlaid text looks very blocky, and for some reason is scaled up compared to the screen. Harder to be sure of focus.
  • I prefer the G9’s “artificial horizon” type level gauge rather than the EM1’s separate tilt and pitch gauges.

Stuff I like about the EM1mk2

  • Selfie Assist mode. As soon as you flip the screen around, this appears as an option on the screen. If you use the on-screen shutter button, after a 1s delay it focuses before taking the shot. If you use the self-timer option (also on screen), after 1s delay, takes three shots half a second apart, refocusing before each. I’ve always found selfies awkward with the G9, although I could use touch AF and touch shutter to make it easier, but I like that the Olympus just offers these sensible options automatically.
  • Shows focal length on screen. Always wished Pana did this, although it’s fairly low down on my wishlist, it’s potentially useful information if you want to switch from a zoom to a prime.
  • AF Limiter (3 definable focal distance ranges). Potentially very useful for things like BIF, though a bit hasslesome to set up. Would be great if you could just manually focus to the near and far limits while pressing a button, and then have that limit set… and be able to quickly switch it on and off with a button too. Menu diving and having to guess distances makes this much less useful than it could be.
  • Preset MF. No more hunting for infinity in the dark? And for other distances, can be set from the focus type on-screen selector by focusing the lens, so no need to guess the distance here. But… Not clear how to return to the preset value, except by changing to a different focus type and back. Or how to lock the focus at the preset value, which is probably more useful.
  • Bulb/Time Focusing option. Focusing can be disabled while in Bulb/Time/LiveComp – great! [The G9 has Focus Ring Lock option]
  • Focus Ring direction of turn can be changed.
  • USB C – so much better than USB 3.

Stuff I don’t like about the EM1mk2

  • No Auto-ISO in Manual Video mode. Means you can’t fix aperture and shutter speed in changing light conditions.
  • Position of left strap anchor bashes against my hand when slung over right shoulder. Position of right strap anchor can get in the way of some controls.
  • AF struggled with stars – needs more testing.
  • Takes longer to wake up from sleep. After a while it goes into deep sleep and can’t be woken without switching off and on.

Stuff of note

  • IS is automatically disabled when shooting Bulb, Live Time or Live Composite – makes sense because you will be on a tripod, and having IS enabled for long periods would tend to run the battery down. Panasonics don’t do this, you have to remember to switch it off yourself – but the flipside is you can still use IS with Bulb in non-tripod situations if you want to.
  • From my initial tests, the best picture styles for video that will be used straight out of camera (best skin tones and general tone) are Muted or iEnhance with colour and contrast turned down. Overall though the Oly’s video has quite an “overprocessed” look compared to Natural on the G9, and I think if I use it I will end up having to use the flat profile and grade in post.

EM1mk2 Advantages

  • PDAF! Continuous AF actually tracks the subject, and there’s no pulsing when using it in video.
  • C4K (24p only) at very high bitrate ?Quality
  • Timelapse interval time is counted from the end of each exposure (including NR darkframe) instead of the start, so you don’t have to change the setup if you change your exposure time, unlike Panny.
  • Live Time and Live Composite – some limitations but incredibly useful!
  • In-camera focus stacking with stills, not video like Panasonic’s 6K/4K Photo mode. Though actually more limited in range than Pana. (Both cameras can do focus bracketing in a less limited way.)
  • In video mode, shows estimated remaining battery life in minutes of record time.
  • SCP crams a lot of info and control into one screen
  • Shows the PDAF focus point used for burst shots taken in AFC in playback (actually for any shot where the AF button is being held when the shot is taken, including AFS) – only shown on the “all info” screen though.
  • Faster burst modes especially with AFC
  • More configuration options, especially for disabling things you don’t use
  • No Godox HSS bug – though there is a noticeable shutter delay, especially when using OCF.
  • Dials are nicer. Reminiscent of the G80. I’ve never much liked the G9’s front dial.
  • Blinkies for shadows as well as highlights. Optional whether they are shown on review.

G9 advantages

  • 4K60 (Oly maxes out at 30)
  • 1080p high-speed / VFR upto 180fps (albeit no AF)
  • 10-bit and HLG
  • 5 C modes instead of 3
  • AF better in low light / starlight ?
  • PIP focus assist as well as full-screen. Zooms upto 20x in full-screen. Oly is full-screen only, and upto 14x – in 3x steps, which is arguably more useful than the 1x and 0.1x steps on the G9.
  • Peaking on the standard view – including in AFS since fw2.0. Oly only has it on the zoomed focus assist, or if you manually activate it (but it switches off after a short while).
  • Panasonic lenses are noticeably faster to AFS thanks to DFD.
  • Panasonic lenses with lens IS can use Dual IS.
  • Zebras
  • Mic jack placement is out of the way of the screen.
  • 6K/4K Photo Modes
  • My Menu and Q.Menu configurable
  • Generally better designed for touchscreen control/navigation and the touchscreen seems more responsive. Oly doesn’t use touchscreen for menu navigation, only LiveSCP/LiveControl and AF point movement.
  • All shooting controls including power switch are on the right hand. Brilliant for one-handed shooting, and in normal shooting you never have to move your left hand from the lens to the body, unlike with the Olympus.
  • More options for timelapse movie, including choice of frame rates – Oly is very limited, 5fps only for 4K.

Comparisons

  • ISO performance (and compare real EV/ISO rather than just labelled)
  • Shadow recovery and Highlight headroom
  • IS for Stills
    • IBIS vs IBIS on Olympus lens or unstabilised Pana lens
    • IBIS or Lens IS only vs Dual IS on Pana lens
  • IS for Video
  • AF for Stills
    • AFS
    • AFC in burst modes
  • AFC for Video
  • Video quality (4K and 1080p)