Finally Got the EM1-II - Need Pointers

[TaoStory]

After years of drooling over the EM1-II, I finally ordered one the other night. Moving up from the EP-5, which my wife just informed me, belongs to her now.

It arrived today with the 12-40 pro and I've had a chance to take a few shots, none worth sharing here. The shutter is so quiet, I did not hear anything when I took my first couple of shots. What I thought was a button click was the shutter. I'm reviewing the JPEGs on my PC and they look pretty darn fine in terms of detail.

I'll have it on hand for a visit from my niece tomorrow. Considering the formidable menu structure and dizzying array of options, is there anything I should be paying attention to right out of the gate? I did just update the firmware for the body to 3.1. I'm excited to play with my new toy but I also have to go to work in the morning so I'll check tomorrow for any suggestions.

 

[pdk42]

Main things imho:

- Keep warm colour = off.

- Shoot raw.

- Enable over and under exposure indicators (blinkies) in viewfinder. Use with exp comp in A mode to push exposure to the right without blowing important highlights.

- Small focus point.

- Turn on rear screen touch pad (moves focus point with rear screen when using EVF).

- The e-shutter is superb. Very fast and with few downsides. Unless there's a good reason otherwise, use it. Good reasons include shooting in artificial light and where "jello" effects might be visible (fast moving objects like tennis balls etc).

- Spend some time getting acquainted with the AF system.. There's lots to learn.

- Consider back button focus.

- Invest some time in modes like Pro Capture, focus stacking etc.

- Buy a spare battery.

Paul

 

[wjiang]

To start off with, set it up like your E-P5, it should be vaguely familiar. Change settings like button assignments and explore the C-AF and sequential settings as you start exploring more.

 

[ac12]

Spend some time with both cameras side-by-side.
And walk through the menu of both cameras. That will tell you what in the menu has changed.
Take notes, so you can remember what to research.

Tip: 12-40/2.8. If the autofocus does not seem to work, check the focus ring. You probably bumped it back into the MANUAL focus position. I've done that so many times that I sometimes feel like disabling the focus clutch in the menu.

N-joy the new toy

 

[Glawsder]

I found this useful

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/m43/em1.2-sett.html

 

[Gy Rob]

Check you have the latest FW .
Rob.

 

[wjiang]

Check you have the latest FW .
Rob.

Did you read his post? He already did.

 

[Gy Rob]

Hopefully my day will get better I completely missed that .
Rob.

 

[djtaylor7]

I found the C1, C2, C3 confusing at first, being used to Mysets on the E-P5 and E-M5 Mkii. But you can use them either by switching the dial to the relevant C position; or saving and recalling them.

On thing I always do with a new camera is set the Copyright entries (Cog H), and then save the settings to the PC, so I don't have to do it again.

 

[Ross the fiddler]

I don't know how you you had your E-P5 set up, but I prefer Direct Function for the 4 way pad & I also swapped the dials & keypad operations over when in AF set mode (dials to shift AF target position & buttons to select AF Target pattern (up/down) & Face Detect etc (left/right).

 

[Nick779]

RTM, seriously RTM, a few times.

Set up the entire camera the way you want, THEN apply settings to set the C modes. Make sure to change the main camera settings back to what you want.

Consider how you want your FN lever to be used. I like to use it to switch into C-AF and a 5 point focus box.

There are a few setup guides out there, and theres one (Wrotniaks I believe) that tells which settings are retained by the C modes.

Consider what you want your C modes to be used for, I personally have mine as follows:

C1 - S Priority, L Silent 5 fps, S-AF, Auto ISO 200-3200
C2 - Manual, L Silent 5 fps, S-AF, Auto ISO 200-6400
C3 - Manual, ProCap L 18FPS, C-AF, Auto ISO 200-1600, Center Weighted, Focus limiter on REC button.

I initially liked the D pad direct controls, but switched that to the focus box move.

Buy a few Sandisk 64GB 170MBps UHS1 cards for ~$20 each. The really fast 300MBps ones are nice, but theyre also $109.

 

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

There is a lot of info here: http://www.ayton.id.au/wiki/doku.php?id=omd:start
Not just for the EM1 II, but for other OMD cameras.

 

[Growltiger]

Ignore all the (good) advice above and start by using the camera as it came from Olympus. The default settings are sensible. Then as you read the manual (make sure you read version 3 of the manual), look at the advice above and experiment with each suggestion. Some suggestions will suit you and some won't. Otherwise you will get completely overwhelmed.

 

[Nick779]

Ignore all the (good) advice above and start by using the camera as it came from Olympus. The default settings are sensible. Then as you read the manual (make sure you read version 3 of the manual), look at the advice above and experiment with each suggestion. Some suggestions will suit you and some won't. Otherise you will get completely overwhelmed.

I half agree with this.

I personally think you should go through the settings once, 1 by 1 and change it as you see fit, referencing the manual if you need to. Then start using the camera. Id wait on the C settings until you know what you want though.

 

[Keeth101]

Don't forget that Wrotniak (and possibly others), as good as it is, is well out of date and has not been updated to version 3.

I know it may not make that much difference but there have been a few changes since 1.1 which could affect your decisions.

 

[Sleepy Capybara]

True and the Wrotniak guide claims to simplify spiral of confusion that the Olympus menus are and then ends up confusing me even more. It does have some good bits of information here and there but overall I finally realized that navigating menus on your own is the best way to learn.

Don't forget that Wrotniak (and possibly others), as good as it is, is well out of date and has not been updated to version 3.

I know it may not make that much difference but there have been a few changes since 1.1 which could affect your decisions.

 

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

I have browsed the manual, and I have on all of my electronic devices. However, I have found that if I don't use it (or need it), most of the adjustments are forgotten. When I need to dig thru the menu and look for something I don't normally use, it hit the Info button so there is a description of the settings. Most of the time this feature just annoys me and is in the way.

 

[Ranger Rick]

For $11, you can get the video "Fast Start" at Creative Live

 

[runner girl]

The Creative Live suggestion is right on. I have had the EM10 and EM5 - both MKII so have a good understanding of the Oly menus. Still, I bought the “Fast Start” and found it was time and $$ we’ll spent. He breaks the info into shortish sessions that are pretty well organized. I fast forwarded through some of the photography basics, however.

 

[Mack]

You can also download the manual for the Olympus E-M1X as much of what's in it pertains to the E1 Mark II as well. The E-M1X manual is far more detailed than the E-M1 Mark II manual, imho. The Olympus E-M1 Mark II has 218 pages, and E-M1X has 683 pages (A 4 MB file verses a 28 MB file for E-M1X).

Short of that, the Darrell Young book, "Mastering the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II" is good too (but it's still on version 2), and the Olympus E-M1X PDF manual seems to be much like it.

I agree with the above comment on sitting down and trying out various things and practice shooting with them to see if you like them or not.