EM-1 Mark ii - Disappointing, problematic 4K video

I am primarily a still photographer, but I do take some videos and am very attracted to 4K video as it produces 8M frames that I can pull out for still work. I would say that I am a 90% still and 10% video photographer with expectations that video usage will increase, not decrease in the future

4K video was one of the main reasons I upgraded to the M-1ii from the M-5ii. I've been disappointed with the video performance of this camera, especially compared to the Panasonic FZ1000 (which crops in 4K) which I've been using for 4K video for the past two years. Here are some of the issues I've encountered with the EM-1 Mark II:

1. The Continuous Auto Focus, CAF, is unreliable - at a dance concert the CAF would loose focus and drift before regaining focus. While the lighting was difficult, there was no change in lighting and nothing particularly different with the dancing, when it just lost focus.

2. I film at 4K/30fps at a shutter preferred speed of 1/60th of a second, twice the frame rate, as is generally recommended, but the video plays a bit jerky, especially when zooming, even when slow zooming.

3. Filmed a school jazz band performance the other night. The stage was well light and I had no problems with CAF. However, the camera started a new video file when the filming hits 5 minutes 20 seconds. This happened twice, both videos split at exactly the 5:20 mark, which will require splicing them together in post. There was no indication in the view finder that this had happened, it seemed to be one continuous filming, but it wasn't! I just tested video and this time it filmed 5:40 with splitting into two files at 5:20!

4. I am using an external microphone which takes power from the audio in port (which needs to be turned on deep in the menus). Several times after turning the camera off between events in the evening to prolong the battery and let the camera cool down from filming, when I turn the EM-1ii on there was no power going to the microphone and the audio was dead! This was an intermediate problem but non-the-less disconcerting.

Of all the issues above, I find the video cutoff at 5' 20" the most disconcerting. Does any body have any suggestions as to what is causing this problem?

I was planning on selling my FZ1000 but will now need to keep it for 4K video. It is sad that the EM-1 Mark ii is not stronger in video and is, in fact, unreliable. It doesn't have to compete with the GH5 (or 4 or 3) but at least it should be reliable and do a better job at basic video capabilities which have been in cameras for a while now.

Jay Siegel said:

Of all the issues above, I find the video cutoff at 5' 20" the most disconcerting. Does any body have any suggestions as to what is causing this problem?

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That's not too unusual. I have other cameras that also automatically break a recording into multiple files. In other words, I don't think it's a problem with your camera or its settings.

Speaking for myself, it's never been a problem since I always edit and compile my clips into videos, anyway.

larsbc said:

Jay Siegel said:

Of all the issues above, I find the video cutoff at 5' 20" the most disconcerting. Does any body have any suggestions as to what is causing this problem?

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That's not too unusual. I have other cameras that also automatically break a recording into multiple files. In other words, I don't think it's a problem with your camera or its settings.

Speaking for myself, it's never been a problem since I always edit and compile my clips into videos, anyway.

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They could offer an in-camera splice if this can't be bypassed.

Jay Siegel said:

I am primarily a still photographer, but I do take some videos and am very attracted to 4K video as it produces 8M frames that I can pull out for still work. I would say that I am a 90% still and 10% video photographer with expectations that video usage will increase, not decrease in the future

4K video was one of the main reasons I upgraded to the M-1ii from the M-5ii. I've been disappointed with the video performance of this camera, especially compared to the Panasonic FZ1000 (which crops in 4K) which I've been using for 4K video for the past two years. Here are some of the issues I've encountered with the EM-1 Mark II:

1. The Continuous Auto Focus, CAF, is unreliable - at a dance concert the CAF would loose focus and drift before regaining focus. While the lighting was difficult, there was no change in lighting and nothing particularly different with the dancing, when it just lost focus.

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AF is generally unreliable. The best outhere is Canon by far, the second is Sony. Surprinsingly the EM5-II and the Fuji's are very unreliable and bad at this, despite the fact they have PDAF on the sensor. Latest Panasonics are becoming acceptable if you shoot at 60p (4K on GH5 or 1080p60 on others) but becomes gradually useless when you go to lower framerates.

I saw some Canon tests, which is by far the best for AF (doesn't have 4K though), and it still misses too often to use it for critical results that cannot be reshot, especially in less than ideal condition. So I wouldn't bother with video AF at all to be honest.

Jay Siegel said:

2. I film at 4K/30fps at a shutter preferred speed of 1/60th of a second, twice the frame rate, as is generally recommended, but the video plays a bit jerky, especially when zooming, even when slow zooming.

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That can only be your computer/player. These new codecs are more and more efficient, but also very demanding. The camera footage is fine.

Jay Siegel said:

3. Filmed a school jazz band performance the other night. The stage was well light and I had no problems with CAF. However, the camera started a new video file when the filming hits 5 minutes 20 seconds. This happened twice, both videos split at exactly the 5:20 mark, which will require splicing them together in post. There was no indication in the view finder that this had happened, it seemed to be one continuous filming, but it wasn't! I just tested video and this time it filmed 5:40 with splitting into two files at 5:20!

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All cameras do that with SDHC cards. With SDXC cards, the newer Panasonics doesn't split the files. I'm not sure about the EM5-II, but first see if you have a SDXC card or not. If you don't, no camera will be able to shoot more than 4GB in a file.

Jay Siegel said:

4. I am using an external microphone which takes power from the audio in port (which needs to be turned on deep in the menus). Several times after turning the camera off between events in the evening to prolong the battery and let the camera cool down from filming, when I turn the EM-1ii on there was no power going to the microphone and the audio was dead! This was an intermediate problem but non-the-less disconcerting.

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So if after you turn on the camera, the mic turns back on ? Doesn't sound very good, seems like a bug. You can also try with another mic, maybe there's some compatibility issue

Jay Siegel said:

Of all the issues above, I find the video cutoff at 5' 20" the most disconcerting. Does any body have any suggestions as to what is causing this problem?

I was planning on selling my FZ1000 but will now need to keep it for 4K video. It is sad that the EM-1 Mark ii is not stronger in video and is, in fact, unreliable. It doesn't have to compete with the GH5 (or 4 or 3) but at least it should be reliable and do a better job at basic video capabilities which have been in cameras for a while now.

--
Jay S.

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The E-M5II ( you mean the E-M1?) doesn't have phase focusing.

Usually camera split file for the 4GB file limit, not just Olympus.

Though some camera like GH5 will split the file if it reach 96GB file size

ntsan said:

Usually camera split file for the 4GB file limit, not just Olympus.

Though some camera like GH5 will split the file if it reach 96GB file size

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The two files that split at the 5' 20" mark were 2.7GB and 2.8GB, far smaller than the 4GB limit.

Thanks for the info about the SD cards. I checked and the card is an SDXC card U1 and 10. So, the file splitting doesn't seem to be a card issue.

Jay Siegel said:

. . .

3. Filmed a school jazz band performance the other night. The stage was well light and I had no problems with CAF. However, the camera started a new video file when the filming hits 5 minutes 20 seconds. This happened twice, both videos split at exactly the 5:20 mark, which will require splicing them together in post. There was no indication in the view finder that this had happened, it seemed to be one continuous filming, but it wasn't! I just tested video and this time it filmed 5:40 with splitting into two files at 5:20!

. . .

Of all the issues above, I find the video cutoff at 5' 20" the most disconcerting. Does any body have any suggestions as to what is causing this problem?

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Olympus.

http://jamesrome.net/drupal/olympus

I was assured by Olympus via an e-mail (that alas I cannot find) that it could take movies longer than 29 minutes by seamlessly opening a new file when the 4 GB limit is reached. If this mode exists for movies, I cannot find it. Every movie mode I try shows 29 minutes remaining at the start. I take symphony videos, and this makes the camera useless. The manual says:

• If the size of the movie file being recorded exceeds 4 GB, the file will be split automatically

The movie file is indeed split (at about 1.5 GB), but the recording still stops at 29 minutes. On my Panasonic Lumix GX-8, which does this properly, there is a count up timer for movies, not a count down timer. Movie length is limited by the size of your SD card. No reviewers seem to have commented upon this aspect of the camera. Videographers beware! Why did Olympus cripple their flagship camera?

NOTE: The new Panasonic Lumix GH-5 has no record limits. Come on Olympus, fix this!

Jay Siegel said:

I was planning on selling my FZ1000 but will now need to keep it for 4K video. It is sad that the EM-1 Mark ii is not stronger in video and is, in fact, unreliable. It doesn't have to compete with the GH5 (or 4 or 3) but at least it should be reliable and do a better job at basic video capabilities which have been in cameras for a while now.

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Sad, indeed.

Jay Siegel said:

ntsan said:

Usually camera split file for the 4GB file limit, not just Olympus.

Though some camera like GH5 will split the file if it reach 96GB file size

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The two files that split at the 5' 20" mark were 2.7GB and 2.8GB, far smaller than the 4GB limit.

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But the limit might have bene calculated based on a maximum theoretical bitrate, which is Cinema 4K mode for E-M1 Mark II. Or maybe not, who knows. My concern would be if there is continuity when putting those split videos together? If there is no skipped frames nor audio issues, you can live with it.

Splitting files is a file system limitation that all cameras perform. Granted, Olympus' implementation is rather poor, because it splits at specific time points calculated from max theoretical bitrate rather than splitting as needed, the way Panasonic does it, so you get a few unnecessary splits, but this is a pet peeve; joining video files in any editor is extremely easy.

There's a whole lot of issues with Olympus' video recording to be ironed out still, but the specific one that bugs you the most would hardly make the top10.

Jay Siegel said:

1. The Continuous Auto Focus, CAF, is unreliable

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Hardly a surprise. There are maybe two or three cameras on the market that have workable video AF.

Jay Siegel said:

- at a dance concert the CAF would loose focus and drift before regaining focus.

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What lens were you shooting it with that you needed AF, anyway? Or did you shoot it from the side or was there other reason that the stage did not fit into DoF? C-AF should be your absolute last resort and used only in situations where you just know you will not be able to make it with MF or S-AF. I default to S-AF, this way I retain an option to refocus and I'm in control of the focus and when it is adjusted.

Jay Siegel said:

2. I film at 4K/30fps at a shutter preferred speed of 1/60th of a second, twice the frame rate, as is generally recommended, but the video plays a bit jerky, especially when zooming, even when slow zooming.

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Which IS setting have you used? I've noticed that slow shutter is problematic with M-IS1 for anything other than static shots. So when using it, I usually bump the shutter to 1/100 or something close.

Jay Siegel said:

4. I am using an external microphone which takes power from the audio in port (which needs to be turned on deep in the menus). Several times after turning the camera off between events in the evening to prolong the battery and let the camera cool down from filming, when I turn the EM-1ii on there was no power going to the microphone and the audio was dead! This was an intermediate problem but non-the-less disconcerting.

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This one is weird. And worrying. I used Rode VideoMicro microphone extensively on a recent trip. Lots of powering up and down and I had no issues like that (well, I still have to go over all the material, but there was no audio issues with any of the clips I already checked). I shot a lot of video, but mostly short clips. What microphone are you using? Can you replace a cable with a different one? Any chance something got into the port to interfere with its operation?

I guess the best way to verify if this is a camera issue would be to have something that would only check if the power is running from the audio jack. But I have no idea how that could be accomplished.

Thanks for explaining the way Olympus determines the splitting of the files. It's frustrating since the actual bit rate is much smaller than the theoretical bit rate and thus the file sizes are around half the target of 4GB.

I realize that the issue is with my expectations that the EM-1 MarkII would do better, not perfectly, but I was still disappointed. Also, my disappointments are not the most critical video issues for Olympus to work on.

I was shooting with the 12-100 lens. I will try S-AF but need to check if that is available in 4K filming. With the jazz band performance, I should have used MF (using the focus clutch on this lens) and a higher f-stop. Will do the next time.

I used IS-2 setting to avoid digital stabilization. I also should use a higher shutter speed.

Interestingly, my microphone is also a Rode Videomicro. You can monitor the audio tracks in the upper left corner of the veiwfinder/LCD to see if the microphone is responding. Two times when I turned the camera back on there was no movement of the audo tracks indicating that no audio was being recorded. Unplugging and plugging back in solved this problem. I agree that this is weird and troubling.

The Rode Videomicro takes its power from the audio output (which needs to be turned on deep in the menus). Have you noticed any faster battery drain with this microphone?

Just to add some info. SDHC cards are usually formatted to FAT32, which has the 4G limit; SDXC cards use exFAT, which allows larger files. I don't see any reason for buying an SDHC card at this point. Some cameras, like my Sonys, require SDXC cards (minimum of 64g) for their best video codecs.

Another poster mentioned focusing problems with an E-M5II, but I haven't had any problems, stills or video. I now prefer my Sony RX cameras and my GH4, but have no complaints about the Olympus. I believe the time limit is the common 29:xx, same as my Sonys, but my GH3/4 cameras have no such limit (and use huge batteries), which is convenient for the unattended recording I sometimes do.

--
"Knowledge is good." Emil Faber

Jay Siegel said:

I am primarily a still photographer, but I do take some videos and am very attracted to 4K video as it produces 8M frames that I can pull out for still work. I would say that I am a 90% still and 10% video photographer with expectations that video usage will increase, not decrease in the future

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See, this is why I wouldn't pick the E-M1II if I was biased that way. I have an A6500 which I'm pressing into use for video and I'm considering my options beyond that, but pretty much every 4K footage I've seen from any E-M1II has been 'meh'.

It would be OK for me as a secondary / 'if I had nothing else', which is why it's still in contention as a main MFT for me right now to replace the GX8 - I'd be still photocentric in MFT.

Jay Siegel said:

4K video was one of the main reasons I upgraded to the M-1ii from the M-5ii.

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Again, the question of why comes into the question unless you're wedded to the retro visuals.

Jay Siegel said:

I've been disappointed with the video performance of this camera, especially compared to the Panasonic FZ1000 (which crops in 4K) which I've been using for 4K video for the past two years.

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The FZ1000 in daylight is basically the GH4 with a tele zoom. I'm often surprised by how good it is. In low light it falls off quite a bit, but the E-M1II shots in broad daylight have been consistently inferior from what I've seen.

Swap the E-M1II for a Panasonic. Or consider the A6500.

Jay Siegel said:

I was shooting with the 12-100 lens.

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Ok, so the same as my combo.

Jay Siegel said:

I will try S-AF but need to check if that is available in 4K filming.

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I'm pretty sure it is. At least I remember using it and fiddling with button assignments for it.

Jay Siegel said:

With the jazz band performance, I should have used MF (using the focus clutch on this lens) and a higher f-stop. Will do the next time.

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I found MF clutch rather useless for stills and because of it I didn't even try it in video. One advantage I can see is having to rotate it less to change focus. Might be very nice as I'm pretty sure the mic will pick up the sound of rotating the ring. Unfortunately it is not the smoothest focus ring in the world. At least on my lens.

Jay Siegel said:

I used IS-2 setting to avoid digital stabilization. I also should use a higher shutter speed.

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Hmm, in that case this is most likely not the issue I was experiencing.

It's a bit tricky choosing the right IS mode for the scene, BTW. They both behave quite differently and have their own quirks. I generally use IS-1 for panning, because it's much smoother and avoids warping/jello effects, but that also forces me to use higher shutter speed to avoid the "jittering". IS-2 I would use for static scenes where I want to use 180 degree shutter. But gotta be careful about stability anyway as with IS-2 you will get image warping due to sensor rotations. For slow panning IS-2 is quite useless. But for faster movements it might do better than IS-1, which can be too "sticky". I've not yet had enough experience to truly master it, it's a bit tricky.

Also, you mentioned zooming. I tried that few times and found that you really need a power zoom to make it smooth. Here's one of my attempts, is this the jerkiness you mentioned (no editing, just uploaded what I copied from the card)?

Jay Siegel said:

Interestingly, my microphone is also a Rode Videomicro. You can monitor the audio tracks in the upper left corner of the veiwfinder/LCD to see if the microphone is responding. Two times when I turned the camera back on there was no movement of the audo tracks indicating that no audio was being recorded. Unplugging and plugging back in solved this problem. I agree that this is weird and troubling.

The Rode Videomicro takes its power from the audio output (which needs to be turned on deep in the menus). Have you noticed any faster battery drain with this microphone?

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I didn't do any tests to measure that, so I can only rely on my gut feeling. Which is that recording 4K video with camera powered mic is a great way to drain the battery quickly On one occasion I counted how many shots I could take and it was just about 450 photos while I took about 15 minutes of video during that outing. So that is disproportionally low number of stills compared to recorded video. 450 shots is not much considering I had all the power saving options enabled and the fact that most of those shots were simply bracketed in burst mode. But I have no idea how much of an impact on this result the microphone had.

Honestly, people looking for high performance video should just BUY a REAL video camera, it's what they are made for.

Straight out of the cam. I wonder why C-AF is so important. May be it works well on FZ1000 but it sure does not on GH4. My Em1.2 seems to AF a bit better but with the venues you described why not use manual focus? Was there so much movement in and out of field of view that it was necessary?

GH4 btw is better with Vlog but straight out of the cam the Em1.2 uses full sensor readout whereas GH4 crops so that is a reason. Also Em1.2 has a better sensor adding to the better IQ.

OlyPent said:

Honestly, people looking for high performance video should just BUY a REAL video camera, it's what they are made for.

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Real video cameras cost thousands of dollars and are useless for taking photos. Good enough reason to choose a hybrid solution.