E-M1 Mark II Lockup (not UHS II)

We shot a series of images with the E-M1 II and 40-150 f2.8 at the weekend, and when finished turned the camera off and put the camera away.

A hour later when the camera was taken back out it was locked up (power switch not responding) and very hot. Removing and replacing the battery cured the lockup and it appeared that almost all the remaining battery life had been consumed (about 75%) while packed.

The camera had a Sandisk 32GB 95MB/s in Slot 1 and a Sandisk 32GB/s 45MB/s in Slot 2, so this is not the known UHS-II issue. Both cards work fine in other cameras and were cleanly formatted in the Olympus before use. Both camera and lens are running the latest firmware (1.1 and 1.2 respectively)

Has anyone seen something similar? Any suggestions as to the cause/workaround?

I had a lockup this weekend.

E-M1 II & 300 F/4, latest firmware, 32GB Sandisk 300Mbps UHS II card.

While trying to playback the camera went dark as though it powered off. I had to pull both batteries to get it to boot back up.

PurpleFringe wrote:

I had a lockup this weekend.

E-M1 II & 300 F/4, latest firmware, 32GB Sandisk 300Mbps UHS II card.

While trying to playback the camera went dark as though it powered off. I had to pull both batteries to get it to boot back up.

This one is almost certainly the card.  I had a similar problem with the 64MB Sandisk 300MB/s.  Lockup, corrupted file, strange flashing when trying payback, and requiring battery removal from both camera and grip.  That was the in the middle of December.  I switched to a 64GB Toshiba 260MB/s card and have not had a lockup since.

TransientEye wrote:

We shot a series of images with the E-M1 II and 40-150 f2.8 at the weekend, and when finished turned the camera off and put the camera away.

A hour later when the camera was taken back out it was locked up (power switch not responding) and very hot. Removing and replacing the battery cured the lockup and it appeared that almost all the remaining battery life had been consumed (about 75%) while packed.

The camera had a Sandisk 32GB 95MB/s in Slot 1 and a Sandisk 32GB/s 45MB/s in Slot 2, so this is not the known UHS-II issue. Both cards work fine in other cameras and were cleanly formatted in the Olympus before use. Both camera and lens are running the latest firmware (1.1 and 1.2 respectively)

Has anyone seen something similar? Any suggestions as to the cause/workaround?

I don't have an EM1-II but I wonder if you simply have a faulty battery.  Perhaps shorted internally?  The lock up may simply be too little charge left in the almost discharged battery.

Just conjecture of course, but I would keep a close eye on the camera and remaining battery in case there is a fire possibility.  I'm not sure I would use the suspect battery again, rather I'd try for a replacement and then dispose of it.

This sounds like something kept the camera turned on and trying to record, or a problem with a battery.  Is it possible the camera was Locked Up when you put it in the case and you didn't notice?  If a card causes it to lockup, it will stay on until the battery is removed (probably trying to write to the card).

I had a  Sandisk 95MB/s card that would lockup my E-M1.1 and require battery removal.  I haven't used that card in my E-M1.2, so I don't know if it would cause it to lockup.  That card worked with no problem in my E-M10.  Other Sandisk 95MB/s cards work without problems in my E-M1.1 and in the second slot in the E-M1.2.

TransientEye wrote:

Thanks for the replies. I have a pair of new 64GB UHS-I Sandisk cards arriving, along with a second battery. I am going to avoid UHS-II cards until they are better proven.

If it is the card, hopefully Olympus will address the lockup with a firmware update. The camera should never lock up indefinitely when notionally switched off - even if given a dodgy card. Even if the heat does not damage the camera, unexpectedly finding the battery flat as a result is a problem.

After switching to the Toshiba 260 MB/s card, I have taken well over 30,000 images and not had any further lockups.  I tried using my 95MB/s Sandisks in slot !, but they were too slow when shooting at 8+fps.  With the Toshiba, I can shoot at 8fps and not worry about the frame rate slowing down.