Is there a reason not to buy OM-D E-M5 II?

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the E-M5 II's age, it still holds up pretty well. Can't comment underwater photography or the 14-150mm as I've no experience with either.

As far as a travel camera being able to fit the E-M5 II, a couple of primes and a recorder mic in my jacket or a small bag is one of the biggest reasons I like the E-M5 II. I find its a decent compromise between the other OM-Ds as far as size and features goes. For its size I can't think of another camera that can match its feature set.

If you really want the camera it is a decent deal. If not better to pass on it. The 14-150 II is just fair. I have one. Typical superzoom, good at the lower FLs and very mediocre at 150.

If wanting a more up to date camera, there is only one other m43 camera with the newer 20MP sensor that can be had around that price and that is the GX9. Really a totally different type of camera.

If I were looking for a 16MP camera and superzoom I would go for the G85 and Panny 14-140 II. I do not have either, but the lens is universally regarded as better than the 14-150. The G85 to me is a more user friendly camera (better grip for one), but that is more personal.

Also you can buy the G85 with the 12-60 which to me is just as appealing as the superzooms due to the wider FL and being smaller/lighter.

I have no idea if any of these other options can be used in underwater housings, so my comments are more for all around photography.

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Jonathan

When the MKIII is announced it may come down another $100-$200

EM-5 is more robust, weather sealed, has HiRes mode for landscapes, EVF and LCD just as good. Better grip option if you want one. Its deeper than the grip on the EM-10 MKII. No grip available for EM-10 MKIII. No significant difference in sensor or image processor.

Camera shows you when highlights are clipped. Go to ISO "LOW" then under expose by .3 EV or .7 EV in bright light to expose highlights properly without adding too much noise to darker areas.

rxk said:

Hey there...

Contemplating buying the E-M5 II with the 14-150mm II. Right now, it's retailing for $1k for the combo. Two things lead me to considering this:

1. I would like a smaller high quality rig for travel (I have a 5D3 and rx100 I currently)
2. I sometimes do underwater photography and Meikon has a very cheap housing available for E-M5 II and the right port for the included lens

I am not enthused, however, about the age of the camera (but I am pretty happy about consequent price discount) and its features.

I am not leaving Canon as I have pretty much all I need there for serious photography, so this will not be my primary camera for things like serious landscape, travel, and wildlife photography.

Would appreciate any input, particularly from those of you who might have used this combo for either travel or underwater photography.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

- You want something tiny

- You want something bigger, with a strong grip

- You want more than 16MP

- you prefer a tilty screen over a fully swivel screen

- You want 4K/really advanced video features

- you want the longest battery life (for a mirrorless camera)

- You want the biggest EVF around

- you want reliable C-AF continuous/tracking AF

- you want the best performance with old, 43, DSLR lenses

- You want really fast continuous shooting (over 10fps)

bluevellet said:

rxk said:

Hey there...

Contemplating buying the E-M5 II with the 14-150mm II. Right now, it's retailing for $1k for the combo. Two things lead me to considering this:

1. I would like a smaller high quality rig for travel (I have a 5D3 and rx100 I currently)
2. I sometimes do underwater photography and Meikon has a very cheap housing available for E-M5 II and the right port for the included lens

I am not enthused, however, about the age of the camera (but I am pretty happy about consequent price discount) and its features.

I am not leaving Canon as I have pretty much all I need there for serious photography, so this will not be my primary camera for things like serious landscape, travel, and wildlife photography.

Would appreciate any input, particularly from those of you who might have used this combo for either travel or underwater photography.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

- You want something tiny

- You want something bigger, with a strong grip

- You want more than 16MP

- you prefer a tilty screen over a fully swivel screen

- You want 4K/really advanced video features

- you want the longest battery life (for a mirrorless camera)

- You want the biggest EVF around

- you want reliable C-AF continuous/tracking AF

- you want the best performance with old, 43, DSLR lenses

- You want really fast continuous shooting (over 10fps)

Click to expand...

And yet, with all the m43 models currently available from two different manufacturers, there is only a single camera that even begins to meet those listed requirements: the recently released GX9.

On one point you make I agree. The 14-150 sometimes surprises me with an image I can believe was made by the 40-150PRO which costs ~ 3X more MSRP, but the 14-150 being f/4-f5.6, needs a lot of light at the long end to do this. In low light the ISO bumps up too much, loses detail and adds noise if the shutter speed can't be slow enough for the composition.

I never have focus problems with it in any light so I think comments to the contrary are speculation. This forum suffers a lot from it. If you are using flash it doesn't matter. Make sure you are reading experiences people are sharing and not theories because we get a lot of both and the theories are usually overly negative and inaccurate. If somebody tells you they took thousands of photos with it and this is their experience, you can believe it. Anything else can be somebody who uses a different system and wants to convince the world M43 is a bad one. Fake news may have been invented here.

If used to a FF camera with an F3.5-F5.6 lens the kit might disappoint in light challenged situations. But the AF is fast and if you use flash it shouldn't be a problem.

PDAF systems like Canon are used differently for action shots. You tend to let the camera CAF or tracking do it for you. CDAF systems can work for action when you get used to them because they focus fast and accurately. I have tens of thousands of action shots to prove it. I attached a few of them. Not saying CDAF is better or as good. I'm saying when you learn its limitations and how to make it work - it will.

I have no problem shooting race cars on road race tracks in SAF with a CDAF PEN or EM-5, and selling the prints and digital images, either by panning or high shutter speed static looking images. Even the CDAF system works because the AF system is fast with the 14-150.

Theories aside, an EM-5 and the 14-150 is a very capable travel system that can be used for a wide range of photography use cases. Evidence = Some of these are PDAF/CDAF EM1, some are PEN PL-7 (rangefinder style) which is similar to EM-5 MKII, some of them were taken with 14-150. Highlights are not clipped in bright light, action photos - focus is good in SAF and CAF.

I paid $300 for a used EM-1 with an 11K shutter count. Still might not fit your budget, but EM-5 might do what you want.

Underwater subjects aren't always fast moving. CDAF might work well and 14-150 might work well underwater with flash.

Its no small or light weight camera.

OMDs are featherweight, and tiny compared to all but entry level DSLRs and the lenses are compact and light weight unless you buy f/1.2 primes.

Canon 7D, and Nikon 7200 = even crop sensor DSLRs, are gigantic and very heavy compared with any OMD, even EM-1 MKII which is larger than EM-5 because of the grip. It still weighs about a pound. DSLR lenses, aperture to aperture, are twice as big and heavy.

There's the guy to ask. ?he actually has one. The 14-42 lens is pretty good and very light and compact.

You need the tooth fairy

rxk said:

Hey there...

Contemplating buying the E-M5 II with the 14-150mm II. Right now, it's retailing for $1k for the combo. Two things lead me to considering this:

1. I would like a smaller high quality rig for travel (I have a 5D3 and rx100 I currently)
2. I sometimes do underwater photography and Meikon has a very cheap housing available for E-M5 II and the right port for the included lens

I am not enthused, however, about the age of the camera (but I am pretty happy about consequent price discount) and its features.

I am not leaving Canon as I have pretty much all I need there for serious photography, so this will not be my primary camera for things like serious landscape, travel, and wildlife photography.

Would appreciate any input, particularly from those of you who might have used this combo for either travel or underwater photography.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I know several people with the Em5 mkII, all of them very happy with it. It produces beautiful images. If you don't need PDAF it's a great buy.

MShot said:

You need the tooth fairy

Click to expand...

I didn't imply such a m43 camera existed, but the OP did ask for a reason, any reason, so I was just thinking of whatever feature on individual m43 cameras that you can not find on the EM5II. Maybe one missing feature would strike a cord with him?

If one wants 4K, for example, this limits you to... 3 cameras with Olympus? But more to choose from with Panny cams.


The bigger EVF's are not to be found with Olympus and are restricted to the flagship Panasonic cams like the G9 and GH5.

Just trying to help out in any case since it was a vague question.

rxk said:

Hey there...

Contemplating buying the E-M5 II with the 14-150mm II. Right now, it's retailing for $1k for the combo.

Click to expand...

For that price, there's not many reasons not to buy it. There are not many other alternatives for weather resistant kits at that price. Panasonic G85 with its 12-60 zoom is probably the only one.

rxk said:

Two things lead me to considering this:

1. I would like a smaller high quality rig for travel (I have a 5D3 and rx100 I currently)
2. I sometimes do underwater photography and Meikon has a very cheap housing available for E-M5 II and the right port for the included lens

I am not enthused, however, about the age of the camera

Click to expand...

The age is irrelevant as long as it does what you want it to do.

rxk said:

(but I am pretty happy about consequent price discount)

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And there's that.

rxk said:

and its features.

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Apart from missing 4K video and not being an action shooting camera, there's not much in terms of missing features. It's got more of them than many cameras released this year.

rxk said:

I am not leaving Canon as I have pretty much all I need there for serious photography, so this will not be my primary camera for things like serious landscape, travel, and wildlife photography.

Click to expand...

I would imagine it to be perfect for travel photography, though. And if you're willing to pair it with a small tripod and fiddle with High Res mode, it can produce results surpassing your Canon.

Here's an example of High Res shot from my E-M1 Mark II. E-M5 II would have more trouble with the moving water, probably resulting in some artifacts there. Olympus did improve the high res mode since E-M5 II. But in terms of resolution, noise levels and DR it should be quite similar.





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My photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astrotripper2000/