Things still missing in M1MarkII firmware3.0 and M1X

duncanmcl wrote:

I am also using cameras like Panasonic GH4, GH5s and I am comparing them with M1 Mark II and M1X. The new firmware has lots of improvements, but there are still missing things that I want. These are some of the missing things and problems that I saw in Olympus M1 Mark II firmware3.0 and also M1X

1) Maximum Auto ISO is limited to 6400. Panasonic cameras go to 25600. I know that ISO over 6400 is extended ISO, but it eliminates the post-processing to brighten the photo afterwards.

If you are shooting above 6400 on m43 you would be far better off editing in post.

2) When IS is disabled due to accidentally pushing the IS button on the lens, it is difficult to notice on the screen of M1 Mark II and M1X. The camera doesn't show any notification on the screen when IS is disabled. Panasonic cameras show a big red IS disabled warning so it is easy to notice and fix.

If you are unable to notice that IS is not active without notifications cluttering up your screen then there is something seriously wrong,

3) It is not possible to use the camera for a long time in a hot environment. The camera is closing itself. In the same hot environment a Panasonic GH4 camera continued working without any problems. Therefore I threw M1 Mark II back to my bag and did the photo session with Panasonic GH4.

Never experienced this, so I certainly don’t find it a problem.

4) Olympus share app is slow to access the photos in the camera. Scrolling is very slow in the app.

No problem with this. Maybe you have a poor phone?

5) Although there is some improvement with this firmware, continuous AF under very low light is still worse than a good SLR. M1 Mark II could not acquire focus in very low light situations where an SLR acquired focus.

which SLR? The mkii is better in low light AF thsn either my D800 or D3s were... and thanks to the EVF I can actually see what I am focussing on,

6) I could not find a way to enter the main menu when the shutter is in the bulb mode.

I tend to just press the menu button twice. Works perfectly for me,

7) The live view looks soft on the screen, which makes it difficult to find out if the focus is correct or not. The screen of Panasonic cameras is sharper, so it is easier to identify sharp and blurry areas on the screen.

Checking sharpness on any screen by just looking at it is daft. That is what the focus assist aids are for.

8) The mode dial has a slow response. It takes time to set the new mode after turning the dial.

I don’t find this at all. Less than 0.5 secs

9) In the index display mode (thumbnails) of the photo playback menu, there is no slider menu. It takes a long time move to a photo if there are thousands of photos between the requested photo and the currently displayed photo. Panasonic cameras have a touch slider menu in the playback menu, so it is easy to skip thousand of photos with a single touch to the slider.

You can scroll quickly using the touchscreen just like using a smartphone.

10) Panasonic cameras show a "focus mode lever" for MF Assist on screen. However, M1 Mark II and M1X don't show a lever on the screen. When working in darkness at night with Panasonic cameras it is possible to follow the MF distance by looking at the lever on the screen while changing the MF distance. In Olympus cameras, it is necessary to look at the markings on the lens that is very difficult to see when working in a dark environment.

Not sure what you mean here? Don’t you use liveviee boost with focus peaking?

11) On page 46, the manual of M1 Mark II says "When you are using Sequential Low or Pro Capture Low, live view is displayed. When you are using Sequential High or Pro Capture High, the image shot immediately before is displayed". I would like to have an option to display "the image shot immediately before" when also using Sequential Low or Pro Capture Low. It is very useful for Flash photography, because the photo taken with flash is very different from what you see on live view, so it allows you to see the effect of flash in real time during a long sequential shot with flash. Panasonic GH4 has this functionality as it shows the "the image shot immediately before" in the sequential low mode.

Just turn image review on

Not firmware related but there are also some hardware related problems that I would like be fixed in the successor models:
1) The tripod hole under the camera is not at the center of the base. It is too close to the edge. Therefore, the camera is not so stable unless the tripod plate is big enough to cover the bottom of camera grip.

completely bemused by this.

2) The screen quality like color display, black level is worse than Panasonic cameras. Even old Panasonic models like GH4 have better screen.

OK. Not the most contrasty screen, but refresh rate and response time is good.

That is a very long list of features which I have no desire to be incorporated into my EM1 mkii and of issues which have never been a problem during several years of shooting with it.

I am particularly bemused by your tripod hole comment given that stability will generally depend upon which lens is mounted on the camera and that anyone who is serious about tripod work will be using a reasonably sized tripod plate anyway.

I guess that, as others have suggested, if you prefer the specific features of a Panasonic camera then you were rather misguided to purchase an Olympus.