Buying used EM-5 II vs EM-1

averacpa wrote:

Just ordered the (LN condition) EM5 MkII...

Darn, I was away for the weekend else I would have seen this thread and warned you off the EM5ii.  I bought my Em5ii used and have had two major issues with it which many other folks have had as well.  First was a broken rear LCD screen; it just stopped working one day.  Second was a broken on/off switch.

Both are major issues, but you can still use the camera in a significantly handicapped sort of way.  With the broken LCD, you can at least still use the viewfinder, thought you'll want to go into the menus to disable LCD/EVF switching.  You'll know if your LCD is going to break if there isn't a "hard stop" on its rotation.  That is, if you can keep spinning the LCD screen the same direction more than 360 degrees.  Unless you religiously track which way you've rotated it and always reverse it when putting it away, you will eventually twist the ribbon connector inside until it breaks.  If the hard stop on your rotation is working, this shouldn't be a problem for you.

The broken on/off switch is a more common issue, but at least it breaks in the "on" position.  So you have to pull your battery out frequently to turn the camera off.  Which is unfortunate because it makes you miss shots, or if you leave the battery in all day you will need a ton of extra batteries.  Also, when you yank the battery your settings may not be as you left them, so you have to be careful to check things like auto ISO each time you put the battery back in.

Probably you won't have either of these issues, but at least now you're prepared for them just in case.  Look at my post history and you'll find the relevant threads.