Yeah, $2000 is a lot of money. That's why I've sold my bulky Nikon DF and all of my Nikon glass (I really did like the DF) in order to complete my Olympus kit by purchasing the EM1-II, a 12-100, and the 25 1.2 (for very low light requirements). I've played with the EM1-II and it blew me away. Most surprisingly was my ability to acquire focus in very dark conditions with the 25 1.2. While the DF was a low light KING I had to add a large autofocus illuminator to acquire focus in low light. And personally, I find output at ISO 3200 acceptable on my EM-1.

While I shoot a variety of subjects, I have a particular affinity for shooting wildlife, especially birds. I believe the E-M1-2 will provide the smallest, lightest, and most versatile kit combination for shooting Wildlife, PERIOD. Because I have a chronic back problem, this is very important to me. Combined with the new 12-100 F4, I can shoot with a single lens in wet coastal conditions without changing the lens at all during the day. Or, I can shoot with the 40-150 Pro and get even longer reach. If necessary I can choose the Pan/Leica 100-400 instead for reach up to 800mm. But what's even more impressive is that I can use ANY of these combinations handheld at their longest focal length and still get acceptable results. Using Olympus Pro lenses, I can also get macro like shots with the same telephoto zooms that I shoot on the long end. And with the same set of tools, I can get good results in low light if my subjects are stationary because of the IBIS advantages.

I've been enjoying DPREVIEW for years, but it's the EM1-II ruckus which has prompted a comment. What many seem to miss in their critical commentary is this. Olympus still provides the best combination of SIZE, WEIGHT, and FLEXIBILITY as a COMPLETE SYSTEM. This is still true with the EM1-II and the new Pro 12-100 F4, even though the lens is larger than it's predecessors. I considered a Nikon D500 purchase when it was originally introduced. I found the body to be BULKY and HEAVY and I was immediately turned off by it's sheer size. Nikon lenses tend to be BULKY as well, compared to their Micro Four Thirds competitors.

I Olympus should consider to include Capture One in basic version as Sony does with a not too expensive full version upgrade. The raw conversion is so good! Aperture was very good as well but Apple stopped supporting it, works more or less on 10.12.1 but occasionally crashes and show misbehaviour.

It's a camera I'd hate to buy, because so many features I wouldn't use in the majority of my shooting and don't want to pay a premium for them.

It's a camera I'd love to receive as a gift or win in a competition because it's packed with features I would find useful to explore in more challenging shooting scenarios.

A bit of a paradox.

Strange, but one of the more interesting features for me is the Pro Capture feature which is absent from this article.

This morning as I was looking through all the specs and the comments on line. Ultimately in time I will probably buy this camera unless something amazing surfaces that fits my style of photography. The most important tool in photography is the person behind the lens. Something I believe we would all agree upon. In between waiting for this camera to come down in price or purchasing a different brand, I will spend money on bettering my skills. I hope everyone has a very happy weekend and is thankful for what we have in life.

Frank

Could the guys who are trolling this camera please come up with something better than too expensive. It's getting old and very uninspiring. You guys can do better. Try harder.

DPR has cancelled EM1mk2's samples in its studio...

I think if you just wait a bit, Olympus will probably begin to have discounts.. I am sure they intentionally waited till after Black Friday and Cyber Monday to release it! Most of us have other cameras to keep us busy over the holidays.. In the end it will be customer reviews, professional reviews that will drive sales.. I am not saying it will come down 40 or 50%, but to see between $200 and $400 discounts by February is not uncommon for Olympus or retailers.
If the Sales are HIGH, and dealers cant keep it in stock, why reduce the price! But if sales are SLUGGISH and dealers begin to see overstocking of the camera,, well like any supply and demand product, the marketplace will drive the pricing.. Plus as we know, some folks will get it, not like it, or jump to a different brand, and then they will show up on eBay!! In the meantime my Olympus OM-D E-M5 II will keep a smile on my face for many months to come.. :-)

The big Why.
Current Oly users will understand.
I now own some of the best glass in the world with my array of SHG, and Pro lenses.
The EM1 MKII, with its much improved focusing system, will bring new life to these lenses, and hopefully the CAF will work well enough for me to stop looking at a 7D mkii. The burst speed will bring me more of those keepers that have that extra wow moment, especially with quick little subjects like birds. The value of what this new body brings to bear on my current lenses far exceeds its $2000 price tag.

It's not going to come cheap. I would (could) almost call it 'gouging the consumer on price'. Initial (best) pricing in Japan is going to be around ¥212,000. That easily equates to over $2,000 USD (body ONLY, btw). The brand new Sony α6500, also soon to be released in the same time frame (first week or so in December) will run about ¥140,000 JPY (roughly $1,310 USD) And technologically, the Sony has a larger APS-C and 24MP sensor to boot as well. Frankly, I really enjoy using my 'el cheapo' OM-D E-M10-II by comparison). What it comes down to, is it worth such a mark up in price to gain 4K (already have through my Panasonic G7 sidekick camera) and the other bells and whistles of the new Olympus OM-D E-M1-II? Like to have? You bet! Willing to pay? Hmmm.... I have Sony, Panasonic, Olympus equipment.

(Part 2) What's the cost? It's easy to calculate what you are paying for your resolution (prices taken today from one major UK supplier). The cheapest of the cameras is the old EM1 at £6.37 per lp/mm, then the Canon 7D mark II with £10.06 for the same, then the new EM1 at £12.36, and the Nikon D500 needing £14.59. If you are wondering about how the battleships fare, then they are almost identical, with the Canon 1Dx mark II costing you £68.41 an the Nikon needing £69.62.

The upshot for me is that my current (old) EM1 can produce fabulous images, even when cropped, as long as the light is good and I can overcome the limitations of the relatively poor C-AF (although with practice and some experimentation the latter can often achieve far better results than some "casual" users seems to think). If the new EM1 can fix some of those problems (and sensor noise is clearly currently impossible to negate totally at these sensor sizes) then it will be a fabulous tool, even at that price.

As a wildlife biologist and photographer I wish to point out an often overlooked strength of the 4/3 system, namely sensor resolution. To me, whether a 300mm lens is mounted on a FF or a 4/3 body is irrelevant: in the former case I will be cropping the distant animal after the shutter press, in the latter before the shutter press. More important is the resolution of the final, cropped image. In vertical resolution of line-pairs resolved per mm, the OMD-EM1 mark II currently shows a resolution of 149.57 lp/mm and the previous EM1 with 133.18. Inspecting the DP Review studio samples, this improvement is clearly visible. Potential competitors? Well, the Canon 7D mark II achieves 122.14 lp/mm, the Nikon D500 achieves 118.47 lp/mm, the Nikon D5 achieves 77.55 lp/mm, and the Canon 1Dx mark II achieves 76.00 lp/mm. When light is low, and sensor noise higher, obviously the equation becomes different but for me and others doing the same, resolution is often critical!

Very fair comment on the articulating screen - not everyone's cup of tea - I think I am more a slow stills photographer :) Very still.

It did occur to me that that a left handed user could better manage that touch screen folded out. Camera body in right hand and work the lcd touch screen with a finger from the left hand - the "crossover" grip illustrated looks awkward.

The E-M1Ⅱ, its sensor size and price matter, but the entire Olympus system matters more. In Olympus system, consumers need more performance than entry bodies had to choose E-M1 or waited for E-M1Ⅱ, instead buying E-M5Ⅱ or PEN-F. They are great cameras, but only shines with S-AF and their C-AF is mediocre, while older and cheaper α5100 or D5300 can track your pet or child much better than any Olympus camera except for E-M1 and E-M1Ⅱ. Even in μ4/3 system, most of current Panasonic cameras equipped with same DFD focusing system, but Olympus did just one thing, announcing extremely well-featured but extremely expensive E-M1Ⅱwith promising nothing about their midrange. I count on E-M5Ⅲ as well-featured and reasonably priced midrange body, but I bet 99% that the Oly will ruin the E-M5Ⅲ in same way they were not successful with E-M5Ⅱ and PEN-F.

Great comparison article. Buying one and new pro lenses as soon as I can

The advertisement for the new Olympus E-M1 mark II currently shows a Pre-Order Now price of $720.00. Hit the Shop now button and you are whisked to the Amazon page for the camera where the correct price of $1999.00 is listed. I believe that could qualify as "bait and switch"...or is it just plain old false advertising?

I have the original OM-D and the OM-D EM-10 Mark II and shoot mostly stills. The deal breaker on the new eM-1 for me is the articulated screen. I strongly prefer the "less versatile" snap down screen that stays behind the camera because I use it as a waist level finder like a Rolleiflex for casual street shooting because most people never saw waist level shooting I'm just an old guy who seems to be confused by his camera. The newer EM-10 Mark II is even better because it focuses and shoots from the touch screen. All that becomes problematical once the screen articulates out to the side. So no new EM-1 for me. But I'll keep my eye peeled for a new EM-10 and hope it retains the non articulated screen.
.

No matter how you slice or dice it, the sensor is too darn small! What else can you say... reminds me of that famous burger commercial "Where's the beef!!"

I guess to put it in the proper perspective, the E-M1 II is like the D5/1DX II of the Olympus/M4/3 world. Prohibitively priced, rather large and heavy compared to the rest of its class, but containing the maximum potential of the line at the time of release. All tech will eventually become cheaper and trickle down to the next cameras below it.

I've posted a few times about the cost of the new Mark ii, but after the dust settles, I'll probably wait six months or a year and buy it when the price comes down. Who knows what the future holds 🙂🙂🙂

Perhaps it might be helpful if those who wish to complain about the m4/3 sensor and the mirrorless design is restricted to those who have actually used it, rather than those who have merely looked at other peoples test results.

Seems like a rather amazing package of technology. Great reading, but I'll admit I would rarely if ever use some of the features, and my income doesn't depend on getting the shot. I hope companies continue to make cameras that offer a step down in the latest do everything for prices I can afford. Advancements in video are impressive, but I see few people really making home movies. U Tube clips mostly. Odd with TVs that are truly impressive how more people (younger mostly) are watching everything on a small portable screen device where even DVD resolution can look decent.

Olympus M1 mkII versus others:

M1 mkII $2000 - Fuji X-T2 $1600
M1 mkII $2000 - Fuji X-Pro2 $1550
M1 mkII $2000 - Sony A6500 $1400
M1 mkII $2000 - Sony A7 II $1500
M1 mkII $2000 - Pentax K-1 $1950
M1 mkII $2000 - Pentax K-3 II $850
M1 mkII $2000 - Nikon D500 $1800
M1 mkII $2000 - Nikon D750 $1800
M1 mkII $2000 - Canon D6 $1500

For me it's clear, no m4/3 cam is worth in 2017 this mad $2000 price. Period. I do not take all these arguments about M1 mkII size benefit (give me a brake it's bigger and heavier than all APS-C, and same as a few FF, and Olys Pro lenses are huge, heavy & pricely too), WR (others are WR), 4K (others have it), IBIS (others have it), build (other are also bulid great). Most important thing is: M1mk2 offer the tiniest sensor in big body - it's 25% size of FF and almost 2 time smaller then APS-C (you know how it impact on IQ). All I can say is this: I would never pay in 2017 for best m4/3 more then $1300 if I have such amazing offer from APS-C and FF today.

Preview to the review. Looking foward to it!

The new Oly would be my absolute camera of choice if I was only just upgrading from my 10-plus year old E-1; everything about it is delicious.

But I did the E-1 upgrade a couple of years ago, and totally love my OM-D E-M1. Not sure the Mk 2 version has enough for me - as a 99% stills, 1% video photographer - to want to upgrade. YET.

Brian

On the b&h site I read many user reviews for the 1st version talking about how the viewfinder is susceptible to color spots appearing (from sun damage thru VF?). I wonder if that's been addressed?

Cameras make me angry! ヽ(ಠ_ಠ)ノ

That Olympus 12-40 for $467.00 Amazon add is a SCAM!

The price whining is getting old. Buy it or don't. Easy as that.

Good comparison. I for one do not like the Fully Articulating Screen at all. Since I am not a performance or video shooter, or the snappier response, and IQ is only marginally better, I just purchased a new EM1 mark i with 12-40 f/2.8 lens, for only $1,299. Does all I need and saved lots of money better used for great glass :)

This sounds like a gold award recipient at DPR. The DPR staff already gave a pass to many potential/perceived weaknesses (IQ improvements, price, EVF/LCD upgrades) while lauding its obvious strenghts.

The only potential pitfall is AF performance. But considering how some other serious sites are already happy with this feature and how DPR tends to be rigorous with their tests, I get the feeling that the EM1II merely has to be competitive in this department rather than a D500-killer king-of-the-hill type of camera to secure that gold.

No doubt it's a great camera for many purposes. The question for me is whether the upgrades are enough of an improvement over (the other predecessor) EM5-II to justify the cost. It doesn't have significantly better IQ and there's still no native UWA Tilt-Shift lens that I need (and please don't respond about software corrections) ...which is leading me to transition to FF in the not-distant future.

There is no refuting the statistics and performance upgrades. That being said there is always a promi just around the corner, last time it was a free rebate for a battery grip. I am hoping they follow suit after the initial fulfillments of pre-sales. If not my EM1 will hold out for a few more months.

Realy impressed with all the new cameras this year... mid level semi pro is catching up to pro specs... Best thing is that older cameras are going to be a great buy in the used market...

When discussing the value of a camera to examine it from different angles.
1) how much is the camera worth to ME, given my skill level and my photography style. For example I am not a wildlife or sports photographer and so many of the most important features (fast firing rate and focusing) of version 2 do not matter much.
2) is the cost comparable to other alternatives with similar capabilities. There is a lot of argument here about which camera to compare EM-1 v2 to. My preference would be to compare it to other m43 cameras. Is the difference in capability worth the cost? My personal opinion is that it is not, but others may disagree.
3) are the costs of production comparable? No. DSLR has many more specialized, hard to make parts and the assembly is complex. Mirror less cameras have fewer parts, few moving parts and the assembly is relatively simple. Why do we pay so much for the mirror less cameras?

By all accounts this camera will let you shoot HAND HELD for 4 or 5 seconds and still get a sharp image. This is remarkable.

For some people, That is worth the price alone.

Stop whining about the price.