Olympus OM-D E-M10 II review: Performance
I was particularly impressed with the 5-axis image-stabilisation system in the E-M5 Mark II, so it’s welcome to see a similar system incorporated into a much cheaper body. During my first few outings with the camera, the feed on the rear display was sometimes so still after focusing on the subject that it appeared as though I was looking at the captured image rather than the live view.
While not quite infallible, the camera’s default multi-metering pattern does well to balance most scenes
Its effectiveness was confirmed when images were carefully examined in Photoshop, with sharp results down to 1/5sec at a focal length of 42mm (84mm in 35mm terms), which represents a benefit of around 4EV stops – exactly as promised. It’s worth bearing in mind that exactly how sharp your images end up is subject to a host of factors, such as the lens you use, subject distance and your technique.
The default picture (colour) mode is ‘Natural’, and it does as it promises. Colours are close to how they are perceived in reality, which is great for everyday use, but perhaps less so when shooting landscapes or any nature scenes where you might want a little more vibrancy. Moving to the ‘Vivid’ option does just this, although it’s also possible to nudge saturation up a little upon playback without losing touch with reality.
The shallow depth of field in this image was created by pairing the OM-D E-M10 Mark II with the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko lens
Repeated exposures of the same subject show the camera’s auto white balance performance to be accurate and consistent, only tending to struggle a little in more monochromatic scenes, although I was impressed by its performance overall in mixed-lighting conditions.
The camera’s metering system performed admirably throughout various challenges, although occasionally, when faced with darker details, there did appear to be a tendency to overexpose the scene a little too easily, forcing highlight detail to be lost. As this was typically only around 1EV or so out of line, some of this can be successfully regained in post production.
Signs of noise can be witnessed as far down as ISO 200 in images captured in fair conditions, with a very slight texture in shadow areas from the camera’s noise-reduction system in JPEGs when set to the standard noise-reduction setting. The extent to which the camera reduces noise can be adjusted up and down if preferred, or turned off completely.
