Olympus OM-D E-M10 II review: Viewfinder and screen
The E-M10 Mark II’s rear display is mounted on a hinge and pulls away from the body easily, and it can be angled up and down as the shooting conditions require. When angled up, images can be easily captured from ground level, although I found the viewfinder’s eyecup can get in the way of the display when the camera is also angled slightly.
Otherwise, the screen is detailed and presents scenes well. Its touch functionality is also useful when holding the camera at an angle, in that it can focus and expose for a subject where it might be difficult to do so through the shutter-release button. This happens promptly and I found it useful for capturing subjects occupying a small section of the display.
The LCD may have stayed the same as that on the E-M10, but the viewfinder on the E-M10 Mark II has received a substantial upgrade. Not only has Olympus switched the previous LCD panel for an OLED one, but its resolution has also jumped from 1.44 million dots to 2.36 million dots and its maximum magnification has also risen from 1.15x to 1.23x (equivalent to about 0.61x).
Scenes with a wide dynamic range tax any electronic viewfinder and this one is no exception, but Olympus has the answer with a new Simulated Optical Viewfinder function. This, the company claims, extends the EVF’s dynamic range to bring it closer in line with what you would see through an optical viewfinder. I found it useful to assign this feature to the Fn3 button on the top-plate so it could be quickly activated as and when required. It works well to regain the finder’s highlight, although I found shadow details could be seen just as clearly – if not more so – without this on.
