Olympus EM-1 II Scene modes missing!

[Bob_tracks]

I agree with the OP that there are sometimes that I'm in a situation (often when I'm on a travel tour and am rushed) that it's very convenient to quickly select the Scene and take the shot.

The Scene mode is for those cases where I'm in a "just recording for the trip" and not anything I would submit to a photo contest.

Indeed there are other times when I want to take the ultimate photo shoot and want total control over my camera. But once in a while it's nice to have simplicity and quickness. Why lose this option?

 

[OlyPent]

To be honest, the E-M1 II already has more PHD (point here dummy) modes on it than it should as the high-end/enthusiast model. That's what the E-M5 and E-M10 series models are for.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

I've had this camera for 3 days now and finally figured out I have no scene modes! Yes I read I have no panorama and I was sad, but I wasn't thinking clearly about what that meant. I occasionally use the darn things. One of my cameras has a lovely setting for taking pictures with flash of companions at a restaurant without blowing them out. The settings for that are not something I feel like setting up in a restaurant (bit longer shutter, reduced flash, I think), which is why it's a SCENE MODE! Ditto for a couple of modes my Sony has for night shots, some of them taking multiple photos and combining them.

No room on the mode dial? Then get rid of the ART! That we DO have no need for. Use your phone if you want to manipulate your photos in the camera... Or, DUH, let us choose between ART and Scene modes. I'd rather struggle with the old mysets than lose scene modes.

I guess this proves no camera is perfect. Or even anywhere near... Please tell me I'm wrong... I really am a disappointed. I wanted to get rid of my EM5. Now it's my restaurant camera and the Sony is my city night camera?

 

[JudyN]

Is suppose that with a good tutorial or existing experience one could roll one's own scene modes and save them in custom modes as needed.

This might not only allow a more precise "scene" mode being developed but would also advance the cause of the "think about" photographer.

Not all of them and not the ones I'm interested in. The ones I'm interested in do multiple shots and combine them in camera. One is panorama. Another relates to taking multiple shots in dark situations and combining them to reduce the overall noise. You cannot do that yourself. If they made the codes available to assign to a button, of course that would be fine. But I think the best option is to let us choose between ART and an option to get the scene modes. Of course one could switch back and forth, but I pesonally have no use for ART modes and can't imagine that panorama is not "professional" but ART modes are !

 

[ASINMT]

Multiple shots and merge in post processing. You'll be able to get better results too.

I'm not aware of any serious panorama shooters who merge the images in camera rather than in post processing... could be wrong though.

I think the em1 mk2 (and pro level cameras from other manufacturers) are just not targetted at people who want their cameras to take control of their settings.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

To be honest, the E-M1 II already has more PHD (point here dummy) modes on it than it should as the high-end/enthusiast model. That's what the E-M5 and E-M10 series models are for.

 

[JudyN]

I always thought that was what custom modes were all about. Enthusiasts are well enough experienced to figure out how to construct their own scene modes and if they know where they are going to be with their camera and could pre-emptively set a camera up with custom modes to suit the proposed occasion.

This makes me wonder just how many camera users actually use custom modes to advantage. Maybe it is not an Olympus thing?

No you don't understand what I'm complaining about MOST -- the ones you CANNOT construct yourself because they involve multiple shots combined in the camera. Panorama is the best example, but I've made good use of night type non-tripod shots with my Sony camera where you get much reduced noise in hand-held photos by allowing the camera to combine multiple shots in the camera.

I did find out that one of that kind of shots is crippled in the EM-1 II. In-camera HDR exists but it works only at ISO 200. I can set the ISO for the equivalent HDR setting in my Sony A77. So I guess this really isn't an Olympus thing and that is sad. My Sony A77 now has more respect from me. I've always seen this kind of thing as being one way that the mirrorless cameras really take a step away from the old-fashioned SLR cameras and their rigid ideas about what photography is and how it is performed.

Besides, even for the ones one can recreate, with the EM-1 II there are only three custom modes. Very easy to use everything up making a few scene modes and have nothing left for what I thought I would use them for...

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Is suppose that with a good tutorial or existing experience one could roll one's own scene modes and save them in custom modes as needed.

This might not only allow a more precise "scene" mode being developed but would also advance the cause of the "think about" photographer.

Not all of them and not the ones I'm interested in. The ones I'm interested in do multiple shots and combine them in camera. One is panorama. Another relates to taking multiple shots in dark situations and combining them to reduce the overall noise. You cannot do that yourself. If they made the codes available to assign to a button, of course that would be fine. But I think the best option is to let us choose between ART and an option to get the scene modes. Of course one could switch back and forth, but I pesonally have no use for ART modes and can't imagine that panorama is not "professional" but ART modes are !

 

[JudyN]

Fair comment Judy.

Just looking at my E-M1 - it has: Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Sport, Hand-Held Starlight, Night Scene, Night + Portrait, Children, High Key, Low Key, DIS Mode, Macro, Nature Macro, Candle, Sunset, Documents, Panorama, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Fisheye Effect, Wide-angle, Macro 3D Photo, Panning,.

Tried a couple for fun - said my lens was not supported

What lens? I don't have my EM5 with me so I can't test with my lenses. In the past I've used my Sony A77 for such features...

On the other hand Grainy Film and Partial colour etc, are Art Filters that could be applied in post.

How can anyone resist "grainy film", LOL!

 

[Tom Caldwell]

I always thought that was what custom modes were all about. Enthusiasts are well enough experienced to figure out how to construct their own scene modes and if they know where they are going to be with their camera and could pre-emptively set a camera up with custom modes to suit the proposed occasion.

This makes me wonder just how many camera users actually use custom modes to advantage. Maybe it is not an Olympus thing?

No you don't understand what I'm complaining about MOST -- the ones you CANNOT construct yourself because they involve multiple shots combined in the camera. Panorama is the best example, but I've made good use of night type non-tripod shots with my Sony camera where you get much reduced noise in hand-held photos by allowing the camera to combine multiple shots in the camera.

Sorry, I should have read the other thread first - working down the posts

I did find out that one of that kind of shots is crippled in the EM-1 II. In-camera HDR exists but it works only at ISO 200. I can set the ISO for the equivalent HDR setting in my Sony A77. So I guess this really isn't an Olympus thing and that is sad. My Sony A77 now has more respect from me. I've always seen this kind of thing as being one way that the mirrorless cameras really take a step away from the old-fashioned SLR cameras and their rigid ideas about what photography is and how it is performed.

Besides, even for the ones one can recreate, with the EM-1 II there are only three custom modes. Very easy to use everything up making a few scene modes and have nothing left for what I thought I would use them for...

You need the old Ricoh GXR. No scene modes but you were allowed to create our own (no Panorama either)

The camera remembered PASM settings plus three custom modes on the dial which could be given a personal name named by an internal word processor. (Better than than provided by any M4/3 system) the entire range of menu settings available and this meant many more than Olympus has ever produced could be accessed from each custom mode. The modes could provide a base start setting and could be updated/saved on the fly. But so that you could recall a previous base custom mode there were six further in-camera (labelled) custom modes that could be recalled back into the dial modes at will. Like other brands you could also simply save a "good setting" that you had found. But unlike other cameras you could visit this setting and change it to the nth degree through the regular menu system. To cap this off - for those so inclined - they could save a further six custom modes on SD card.

In practice it was quite simple to use - more simple than it sounds to describe it.

But I don't think it really covered exactly what you wish for - it was simply a roll-your-own set of custom modes par-excellence.

Oh and the carefully constructed custom modes and other camera settings could be transferred between camera bodies or modules simply by mechanically mounting them and switching them on and off. (30 seconds).

But of course even with this level of utility the quirky GXR was too strange for most and like all other cameras was also not perfect.

--
Judy

--
Tom Caldwell

 

[Dave Bennett]

Scene modes. On a pro body, stupid.

 

[JudyN]

Scene modes. On a pro body, stupid.

You are saying that complex in-camera combinations and calculations are not suitable for a pro body? Why is that (crippled) HDR function in there then? I'm so glad that some people know exactly what being a "pro" means... And who should and should not want a particular camera for particular features it has, even if they are not a "pro" compared to your high standards.

Do you approve of auto focus? Do you approve of built-in exposure meters? And why IS? Just use a tripod everywhere like all REAL "pro" photographers do.

PLUS, are you telling me those crap ART filters are suitable for a Pro body but in-camera panorama is not?

Do you own an EM-1 II? If so, why did you buy it? If not, why are you so sure what a camera I actually own should be allowed to do?

 

[vitoret_dr]

Me too, disappointed with the missing panorama mode.

I was using the E-M5 and the Olympus viewer software : it was fine.

So, if a firmware update cannot bring back the pano mode,

maybe an upgrade of Oly Viewer 3 could do it ???


"To nobody, except those who will take pleasure here" (Franz Schubert, 1797-1828)

 

[stella2]

So wish I had read this before buying.....! I live in Italy and to take handheld photos in dark buildings, churches etc the Night Scene was invaluable....and now it is gone.

Tripods are often not allowed and high iso is not great.....

Any ideas from anybody clever as to how to replicate Night Scene in the OMD EM1 mk ii?

So disappointed......

 

[BurnImage]

I always thought that was what custom modes were all about. Enthusiasts are well enough experienced to figure out how to construct their own scene modes and if they know where they are going to be with their camera and could pre-emptively set a camera up with custom modes to suit the proposed occasion.

This makes me wonder just how many camera users actually use custom modes to advantage. Maybe it is not an Olympus thing?

No you don't understand what I'm complaining about MOST -- the ones you CANNOT construct yourself because they involve multiple shots combined in the camera. Panorama is the best example, but I've made good use of night type non-tripod shots with my Sony camera where you get much reduced noise in hand-held photos by allowing the camera to combine multiple shots in the camera.

I did find out that one of that kind of shots is crippled in the EM-1 II. In-camera HDR exists but it works only at ISO 200. I can set the ISO for the equivalent HDR setting in my Sony A77. So I guess this really isn't an Olympus thing and that is sad. My Sony A77 now has more respect from me. I've always seen this kind of thing as being one way that the mirrorless cameras really take a step away from the old-fashioned SLR cameras and their rigid ideas about what photography is and how it is performed.

Besides, even for the ones one can recreate, with the EM-1 II there are only three custom modes. Very easy to use everything up making a few scene modes and have nothing left for what I thought I would use them for...

Judy, don’t completely dismiss the HDR mode, stick a fast prime on like your 20mm 1.7 and give it a go. Here’s a handheld HDR shot stood on a beach in 20mph winds whilst trying to stand steady. It's my first attempt at using this mode and I was amazed at the cameras ability to provide a pin sharp merged image, with the benefit of base ISO giving a noise free image. I can see a ton of uses for this mode night or day...

 

[stella2]

Yes, will try HDR. Thanks.

 

[MetilHed]

So wish I had read this before buying.....! I live in Italy and to take handheld photos in dark buildings, churches etc the Night Scene was invaluable....and now it is gone.

Tripods are often not allowed and high iso is not great.....

Any ideas from anybody clever as to how to replicate Night Scene in the OMD EM1 mk ii?

So disappointed......

If only there were a way to find out the camera's features and functions before buying it.

 

[therealcrgrove]

GREETINGS FROM THE FUTURE!!! (watch out for 2020, it's a loo-loo!!)

The COMPUTER that is IN the camera can be programed by the manufacturer to do things that can't be set in your normal camera settings... like adjusting the saturation for JUST the highlights in fireworks but NOT in the shadows. Yes, you can do this in post processing BUT NOT IN THE CAMERA without the manufacturer's SCENES settings.

And so, in several cameras that have SCENES settings you can more quickly and easily get great fireworks shots. Same for other images that have highlights that SHOULD have colour in them... the SUN within sunsets is another.

 

[Asherax]

GREETINGS FROM THE FUTURE!!! (watch out for 2020, it's a loo-loo!!)

The COMPUTER that is IN the camera can be programed by the manufacturer to do things that can't be set in your normal camera settings... like adjusting the saturation for JUST the highlights in fireworks but NOT in the shadows. Yes, you can do this in post processing BUT NOT IN THE CAMERA without the manufacturer's SCENES settings.

And so, in several cameras that have SCENES settings you can more quickly and easily get great fireworks shots. Same for other images that have highlights that SHOULD have colour in them... the SUN within sunsets is another.

LOL... 2025 is also turning into a doozy!
...

I love SCENES and ART filters, ok I may not use them all the time but they are really quick presets, that can be tailored to your real time use, especially if all you are doing is JPG posting on multimedia. The more options the better, and having some of these have been quite literally time critically important. I recall a handheld starlight I used when recalling the need for a high ISO hand held shot in the back of a church, taking a shot through a dimly lit window of a relic when viewing time was measured in seconds. Flash was impossible and the cramped situation meant I had one shot at it... scene mode, Handheld starlight, hey presto! NAILED IT!
...
In the end it's about having a palette from which to paint. Sure PASM is your bread and butter, but hey, why limit yourself or the creative possibility? use everything, make your own anamorphic filters, create your own lightboxes, heck use vintage glass! and if your camera has art filters and scene options and modes WOOHOO! that gives you yet more creative options not less! Surely that is to be celebrated not berated.
...
The more the merrier! I for one am grateful to have them with my E-M1.1, and even if I upgrade later, that cameras options will remain in my toolbox because of those tools, not in spite of them.



--
Photography is poetry made visible; it is the art of painting with light!

 

[v07a]

I've had this camera for 3 days now and finally figured out I have no scene modes! Yes I read I have no panorama and I was sad, but I wasn't thinking clearly about what that meant. I occasionally use the darn things. One of my cameras has a lovely setting for taking pictures with flash of companions at a restaurant without blowing them out. The settings for that are not something I feel like setting up in a restaurant (bit longer shutter, reduced flash, I think), which is why it's a SCENE MODE! Ditto for a couple of modes my Sony has for night shots, some of them taking multiple photos and combining them.

No room on the mode dial? Then get rid of the ART! That we DO have no need for. Use your phone if you want to manipulate your photos in the camera... Or, DUH, let us choose between ART and Scene modes. I'd rather struggle with the old mysets than lose scene modes.

I guess this proves no camera is perfect. Or even anywhere near... Please tell me I'm wrong... I really am a disappointed. I wanted to get rid of my EM5. Now it's my restaurant camera and the Sony is my city night camera?

--
Judy

I agree that it dont have scene modes like panorama etc. is sad (I liked that in panorama it was more like assisting with shoot with frame markings where to stop, now need to check where it will be overlap to make correct, litle harder and different, but nothing over compicated). And as standart all of series 1 dont have it. But again its full blown profesional camera. Its same as geting F1 and wondering that it dont have cruise mode and cupholders. The scene modes are like extra wheels on bicycle. Pen have it, E-M10 have it, OM-5 have it. But series 1 and now OM-3 dont have it (most probably OM-3 with auto mode would be lot more popular)

I would advise to watch some youtube video, shoot some test shoot and educate how to use flash in manual mode. Improve yourself... Because with all the auto modes in phones, point and shoot i feel like im just holding the camera and pushing the button.... That i dont chose how and what will be, im just holding the camera... The shot can make anyone who holds the camera in my place, there is no sould in thous pictures, its just routine... There is no intelectual excercise/experience to make the shoot good on first try or at least on 3rd try.