How complicated is the Em-1 ii menu system?

[Jorginho]

By the book by David Thorpe, have it with you all the time. Not that I have it, butit seems to be pretty good.

In my view the problem is not the menusystem only, it is also the fact that very little can be done manually so you have just no other route at first. After u have configured some knobs lie Custommodes 1 to 3 then things get easier. But when you are accusotmed to them, you menudive less...so when you have to you are even less familiar with the menusystem...

The Oly is a bit like a car, but the pedals are not assigned to any function or not what you expect, the gearbox is now menucontrolled too, the wheel turns in reverse but can be set to turn like you used to (so turn to the left indeed can be set so it turns left but basically turningleft means right which according to some is easy to get used to) ansd the airconditioning is Always on, you can not set it to off for Always. everytime you start your car the airco goes on and THEN you can put it off. Something like that.

 

[AussiePhil]

can only be navigated using wheel spins and button clicks, despite the rear LCD being a Touchscreen. That in itself can be frustrating, especially when you are changing settings diagonally opposite in the menu layout.

The Menu is completely in monochrome, so no colour cues to help you remember what's where.

You need to work with it (a lot) and get to know it.

Peter

For the menus it is fast and easy just to use the four way cursor pad.

your right about its what you get to know, I've watched sporting pro togs chimping images on 1DXmkx cameras and those guys are fast and dealing with muscle memory.

i know I can hit the custom memory menu options really fast on my em1mk2 regardless of the starting point because I use them regularly

 

[Jorginho]

At least the SCP menu is now basically on whereas on the EPL5 it was hidden 6 steps down into one particular part of a 60 items menusystem...

 

[AussiePhil]

By the book by David Thorpe, have it with you all the time. Not that I have it, butit seems to be pretty good.

In my view the problem is not the menusystem only, it is also the fact that very little can be done manually so you have just no other route at first. After u have configured some knobs lie Custommodes 1 to 3 then things get easier. But when you are accusotmed to them, you menudive less...so when you have to you are even less familiar with the menusystem...

but your bias is clear .... a hell of a lot can be done via all the buttons etc out of the box any other claim is rubbish BUT you do need to spend some time setting things up to your preferences.

i wonder just how much bitching would occur if you couldn't customize just about everything

 

[third son]

I don't understand the whole "Olympus menus are complicated" comments. They really aren't that bad...

 

[Jorginho]

Give it a try. You will love it.

Some people do, but this is my second Oly cam after EPl5 in 2012. Love it? I hate it! I will never ever love it. Oly forces you to menudive due to the lack of any direct on board controls bar exposure, shutterspeed and aperature.

 

[Jorginho]

By the book by David Thorpe, have it with you all the time. Not that I have it, butit seems to be pretty good.

In my view the problem is not the menusystem only, it is also the fact that very little can be done manually so you have just no other route at first. After u have configured some knobs lie Custommodes 1 to 3 then things get easier. But when you are accusotmed to them, you menudive less...so when you have to you are even less familiar with the menusystem...

but your bias is clear .... a hell of a lot can be done via all the buttons etc out of the box any other claim is rubbish BUT you do need to spend some time setting things up to your preferences.

i wonder just how much bitching would occur if you couldn't customize just about everything

Well it is personal. But in the end I can shw a lot of people being very positive about the Panasonic menu's and negative about the Olympus meusystem. "People" as in ""reviewers".

 

[Messier Object]

can only be navigated using wheel spins and button clicks, despite the rear LCD being a Touchscreen. That in itself can be frustrating, especially when you are changing settings diagonally opposite in the menu layout.

The Menu is completely in monochrome, so no colour cues to help you remember what's where.

You need to work with it (a lot) and get to know it.

Peter

For the menus it is fast and easy just to use the four way cursor pad.

your right about its what you get to know, I've watched sporting pro togs chimping images on 1DXmkx cameras and those guys are fast and dealing with muscle memory.

i know I can hit the custom memory menu options really fast on my em1mk2 regardless of the starting point because I use them regularly

try changing your Filename and then saving it to all 3 C-modes. I did that yesterday and was cursing Olympus.

Peter

 

[Skeeterbytes]

I just spent a few years with a Nikon D7100 (bye, bye...). I've had my EM-1.2 for less than a week and I've just started to customize it. The menu systems is no worse than Nikon's and it's better than my LX-7. I will say that I'm not a big fan of the Olympus manual though.

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good book for the 1.2? I had a good one for my D7100 and would love to have the same type of companion to the manual.

Cheers,

-Jerry

 

[joeletx]

I am an Android phone user and I get lost using my wife's iPhone, it is simply what you are used to and it is that simple! I handled Canon 1D II many many years ago and I struggled just to set the focus point groups. Now for the Olympus menu, after many years owning several, it becomes second nature for me with the E-M1. I occasionally went back and read deep into a certain detail feature in the downloaded full detailed manual, but I have never finished reading the entire manual.

 

[Jorginho]

Dpreview on the EM10mkII:

"Like Olympus' other OM-D models the E-M10 II is very customizable, almost to the point of overkill. The menus are incredibly complicated, though straight out of the box the custom settings menu is hidden. That said, if you want to unleash the E-M10 II's full potential you'll have to venture into said menu.

Em5mkII: "Although I'm delighted to see the Super Control Panel finally used as the default interface, I can't escape the feeling that the already over-filled menus can no longer offer an accessible route to configuring the camera. I'm not sure the camera is much harder to pick up and use than any of its peers, but finding all it can do and tailoring it to your needs is a daunting task for anyone who hasn't owned Olympus cameras or spent countless hours studying the user manual."

"All of this is not helped by some rather odd menu behavior: everyone who's used the camera complains that options they thought they'd selected hadn't been applied."

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(Imaging Resource, EM-1.2): CONS Expensive; Menus still confusing;

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Robin Wong: "The new-comers to Olympus system may find the settings and menu system a huge challenge to go through."

An example of how many steps something can take from Robin Wong again: "2x2 Switch Disabled. As smart and convenient the 2x2 switch is, I do not like it after I have used the E-M1 and E-M5 Mark II extensively. ......The wrong adjustment of ISO, will require me to FIX this setting, and then set the switch back to the right setting, and finally I get to adjust the exposure compensation. See what happened there? One mistake and I needed 3 steps before I can take a photo. Thankfully the switch CAN be disabled."

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The phoblographer, E-M10 review: "However, Olympus’s menu system may confuse all but the most hardcore Olympus users."

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Tomsguide: "THE BAD: Features/dials/buttons can be overwhelming"

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Natural exposures (E-M1): "I had a very hard time forcing myself to even use this camera after coming to grips with how painfully difficult it was to set up.
It was a nightmare to configure and equally as bad trying to recall the unidentified button or lever that was customized."

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The Verge (Em1.2): The bad: Byzantine menu system.

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Thom Hogan: "The Olympus menu system can look like a cluttered mess to newcomers, though it allows a high degree of customization of how the body works. I happen to like customization and will tolerate complexity to get it, but not everyone has that same reaction."

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Adventure Alan (Em5mk2 review): "But….OMD menu system is infuriating and really spoils the ability to experiment with the camera."

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Pixelmania.nl ((Em1.2, translated from Dutch: Downsides are: we do not like the new swivle screen too much and prefer the tiltingscreen of the Em1, the menusystem is very complex and the price is rather steep.

(Originila text: De minpunten zijn beperkt: we zijn niet gecharmeerd van het draai- en kantelbare LCD-scherm (het uitklapbare scherm van de E-M1 bevalt ons beter), het menusysteem is erg complex én de prijs is aan de wel erg stevige kant!).

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I will stop here. But we can go on and on and on, from model to model. They all say moreless the same and it is not positive really, is it now.

So yes people can like this system etc. But it is not like some users are too stupid, many reviewers have the very same rather negeative or even extremely negative feeligs about this menusystem. I have never ever seen something similar in reviews of other cams.

 

[SrMi]

Olympus M1 MII menu system is not the simplest one . It is more complicated than Leica's, it is much simpler than Sony's. General consensus from reviewers seems to be that the menu system could and should be made simpler. The fact that M1 can do so much is not justification for the complexity, IMO (see Nikon). A simpler menu system is much harder to design. That said, I do not think that Olympus menu system is a big problem even if using it only occasionally.

 

[drj3]

Give it a try. You will love it.

Some people do, but this is my second Oly cam after EPl5 in 2012. Love it? I hate it! I will never ever love it. Oly forces you to menudive due to the lack of any direct on board controls bar exposure, shutterspeed and aperature.

With the SCP you can control:

ISO, WB, Picture Mode, Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation, Focus Mode, Gradation, Face Priority, AF area, Flash Mode, Flash Compensation, Stabilization mode, Shutter Type, Metering, Aspect Ratio, Color Space, High light/shadow, File type, Movie Stabilization, Save settings and jump to button function. I am not sure what else I would want as direct access.

Of course, if you also set up the three Custom Modes, simply switching the dial will immediately bring up your preferred setting for three different situations. Also many other functions can be assigned to buttons, making Menu diving not necessary for those. In my case, DTC for quick 2X multiply for focus check, AF area for control with dial, AF Limiter selection from three presets.

 

[third son]

Wow it must have taken you along time to assemble that list Maybe it is because of my scientific background that I find all the menus laid out nicely in a well organized structure. I have the top 3-4 things I use mapped to buttons and if I need Live Composite or Hi-Res, I menu dive.

Sorry, they just aren't that bad to me. I really don't care what others think about it. This was just my opinion...

--
-Paul

 

[Keith57]

Just a matter of opinion, not facts. Some hate them, some find them fine

 

[JerryGNYC]

Yes, it's complicated. So was my Nikon D7100's menu system. And the D500 even more so (though I only rented one for a week). For the D7100, I'd still have to reference the books after owning it over 2 years.

Though I will say, I'd love to see something like the "My Menu" system available on Olympus cameras. How about an "O* My Menu"? :-D

* choose either Oh or Olympus (there will be a menu selection for it...)

 

[Airmel]

Give it a try. You will love it.

Some people do, but this is my second Oly cam after EPl5 in 2012. Love it? I hate it! I will never ever love it.

Now that's being open minded.

Oly forces you to menudive due to the lack of any direct on board controls bar exposure, shutterspeed and aperature.

Oh please...

 

[tintifax]

funny question. Think about, how to answer it: only the term "complicated" is very relative: For somebody a smartphone is very complicated, for other people it is just a tool or a little computer, for your grandma it's another world and for your child it is a toy and somewhat not complicated ........ So ... every answer like "not complicated" or "very complicated" has absolutley no relation to your own understanding ......

On the other hand my first SLR was not very complicated: it was fully manual, I had to adjust shutter time and apparture and distance and that was it ...... Than I learned the Nikon-System from the fully manual FM2 to the FF DSLR, the D70 hat approx (felt) 1/10 of the menue-settings of the D 300 and the D 300 had (felt) 1/10 of the menue-settings of the D-600. Only the manual of the D 600 in only one language had approx. 340 pages ......

A high-end-camera like a Olympus EM 1 II offers 1 Million features and that's why the menue allows you to adjust this 1 Million features. If you see that the first time, it is overwhelming what this camera offers. So yes, it's a little bit more complicated than my first SLR with only 3 settings

If you see the Nikon-Menue for the first time because you start the first time in the digital world you need a lot of time to learn. If you start the first time with an Olympus-menue, you will need a lot of time ......... And if you think, the Nikon-Menue is easy because you've learned it within the last 15 years - with Oly everything is different (but vice versa too!), the things are named differently, they work differently (!!!) and everything is different.

Yes it is complicated. No it is not complicated when you read the manual. READ THE MANUAL FIRST! Yes, you will need a lot of time to be able to handle this machine!

If you want this machine than you know why and than you will put the affort to learn the machine ...... If you want an easy point and shot or you are used to use Full-Automatic-mode don't buy it!

You have the control-panel, that you reach with one button-push. There you can adjust 95 % of what you need if all things "in the background" (that means all things that you usually adjust only one time according to your wishes) are adjusted.

And the EM 1 II has so many buttons on the outside of the camera that you can adjust this buttons, that 99 % you ever need are in direct access without the need of the menue ....

Buy it - You will not regret it!

Great camera the Oly EM 1 II for someone who can handle it!

... and don't ask whether a Ferrari is easy to drive .....

--
with best regards from Vienna
Thomas T

 

[Astrotripper]

The menus themselves are actually quite simple. There are 6 main sections to it, the most complex one being custom menu which allows for all the customization. There's bunch of customization options there, split into different tabs/pages. There's nothing complicated about most of them, you select the option to change and you change it.

The problem to some I guess is the sheer amount of customizability. Actually, Mark II made finding the interesting options easier by introducing the tabs and showing the options directly. It is a seemingly very minor change, but I found it to make menu surfing a lot more manageable than on my older E-M10, which had less options to begin with.

I actually find Olympus menus easier to use that Panasonic ones. On my GM5, I just feel like all the options are randomly strewn about, with no structure or purpose. And it's not that I'm new to Panasonic. I felt exactly the same when I had LX5 long time ago.

I guess my main complaint would be that the menus are a bit too oldschool and the number of options outgrew the capacity of the menus to effectively manage them. But fixing that would involve a complete redesign and rethinking of the thing, which is not gonna happen.

As for the main "shooting" user interface, it's quite good overall. There are some things that could be improved, but there's nothing glaringly wrong or too complicated about it. But contrary to menu system, I prefer the Panasonic UI for shooting. Touchscreen implementation is much better on Panasonic, in every possible way. And it feels a bit more intuitive to use as well.

But all in all, the whole thing could use a modern redesign.

As it is, the complaints about menu system of Olympus cameras is essentially complaining about the vast customizability of their cameras. If you are given an ability to customize almost every aspect of the camera, of course there's gonna be some complexity to it.

Besides, you generally do not menu dive all the time. You setup you camera match your preferences and you're done.

 

[RSSrsvp]

David Thorpe has one for the menu system. Also, Gary Friedman has one in the works.

/Bill

Thanks very much, Bill! Will investigate.

-Jerry

Also check out YouTube for videos on the Olympus menus. Even it is a video on a slightly older model most of the basic settings they recommend will be the same.