Olympus E-m1 mark II initial notes

[Michael Meissner]

I recently bought an E-m1 mark II to complement my existing E-m5 mark III. My store had them on sale with the $750 discount from Olympus. I was able to snag the last E-m1 mark II that they had, and it was a model that had been a demo at the sales counter.

Right now, I am house bound due to some medical conditions (and with Covid becoming worse again), so I haven't been out shooting. In fact, I've had to miss shooting at 3 renaissance faires (which were some of my favorite things to shoot). But hopefully some day I will be able to go out shooting.

I bought:

• Olympus E-m1 mark II
• Olympus HLD-9 battery grip
• Second BLH-1 battery
• Delkin UHS-II 128GB card
• Mack diamond 3 year warranty (diamond covers drops and spills).
• I sold Olympus 12mm f/2 and Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lenses to reduce the cost of the purchase.
• 2 KaStar BLH-1 compatible batteries as backup and USB charger.
• 2 new battery pouches.

I had a few motavations for buying the camera:

• I had previously shot with the E-m1 mark I, and I was finding the heavier lenses like the Olympus 12-200mm to not balance as well on the E-m5 mark III body, even with a 3rd party grip installed. The 12-200mm was in fact just at the tiipping point where I might not want to hand hold the camera for long periods of time.
• I do some video shooting of live events, and I was hoping to replace my G85 with the E-m1 mark II for the main video camera.
• In addition, the HLD-9 battery grip has a power port for external power. I hope to use other connections for powering the camera (A/C or larger batteries) without using a dummy battery.
• While I'm house bound, I wanted to play around with 4K and C4K recording to see if I want to use those in the future (probably not).

In doing the initial setup, I noticed the E-m1 mark II menu has many more options than either the E-m1 mark I predecessor had or the E-m5 mark II (that came out after the E-m1 mark II) has.

I bought the camera 'new' so that I could get the Mack 3 year diamond warranty on it (protect against drops and spills in addition to manufacturing problems). It is unfortunate that OM/JIP no longer sells an extended warranty for either new cameras or refurbished cameras bought through the USA Olympus outlet store. I've actually had to use the warranty a few times for the various cameras I've had (twice for E-m1 mark I, once for E-m5 mark I).

While I prefer the OLED viewfinder in the E-m5 mark III because I have to wear polarized sunglasses when I'm outdoors (due to migraines), in my limited tests, the E-m1 mark II's TFT LCD viewfinder doesn't have as much degradation with polarized sunglasses that earlier bodies had.

As I said, I bought a floor demo model. I find the shutter count (roughly 1,900) to not be that bad for a demo model.

For video recording I plan to use the modified firmware from toshische that eliminates the 30 minute video record limit. Fortunately, I had grabbed the firmware that he/she/they had produced when it was announced because the site no longer exists. I did briefly try the firmware on the E-m1 mark II and it seems to work.

I hope that the phase detect sensors will allow me to use C-AF focusing for video. On the G85, I gave up trying to use C-AF, and I only used S-AF and used the monitor screen to change the focus point.

In the last show that I recorded, I lost the first 13 minutes of the sound because the microphone wasn't attached properly. The E-m1 mark II has a built-in headphone jack which will allow me to do spot checking of the sound. Unfortunately, in dumbing down the E-m5 mark III, they eliminated the battery grip (HLD-8) and the headphone jack on the grip.

With long video record times and shooting all day at a renaissance faire, I can go through 3-5 batteries in a day. I normally hate using the battery grips, but in these cases, I've found it quite useful not to have to change the batteries as frequently. In addition, when the camera is mounted on a tripod or other support, it is easier to change the battery in the grip without having to take the camera off of the mount. The BLH-1 battery has more capacity than either the BLS-50 (E-m5 mark III, E-m10 mark II) or BLN-1 (E-m1 mark I, E-m5 mark I) batteries have.

Last night I took out the 2 batteries from the camera and HLD-9 and I was playing around with external power. I noticed that the HLD-9's power port was not a common 5.5mm x 3.5mm connection. But I have a collection of tips to provide different sizes, and one of the tips proved to be the right size.

I did some various video recordings (1080p at 60fps, 1080p at 30fps, 4K at 30fps, C4K at 24fps) and I was surprised that the power usage did not change all that much between the different recording formats (8.9 volts at 0.4-0.6 amps). I recall with my G85 that it was much more varied, and 4K recording definately used more power than 1080p. Perhaps it was the large buffer of the E-m1 mark II that hid the differences in small recording sessions or perhaps the UHS II card is more efficent than the UHS I cards I used before. I need to be more thorough and test each of the modes with a longer record time and a fixed recording with more movement. While I'm at it, I should measure the E-m5 mark III and remeasure the G85. It will be nice to see how big the various files are with the E-m1 mark II.

The BLH-1 batteries are thicker than the BLS-90 or BLN-1 batteries. They don't fit in the battery pouches that I have. Fortunately, Rogue Indicator Pouches (which is what I use) has reworked their pouches to work with 'DSLR' batteries, so I ordered 2.

When I got home, I charged both batteries. I was surprised that the BLC-H charger now blinks as part of its charge cycle. I just left the battery in the charger, and eventually it turned from blinking amber to solid green. Previous chargers would blink if the battery was bad, so I was wondering if I had 2 bad batteries.

I bought one UHS-II (Delkin 128GB) card to keep in slot 1 of the E-m1 mark II. Boy are those things expensive ($32-39 for SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-I/V30/U3 compared to $169 for Delkin UHS-II/V90/U3).

I like how the E-m1 mark II now says the battery usage is a percentage (i.e. 90%) in addition to just showing a bar graph. In addition, there is an option in the video record section for recording video, you can change the display to be time remaining instead of percentage. This will be quite useful when I'm shooting a lot to know how depleted the battery is.

 

[Michael Meissner]

I forgot to mention that the E-m1 mark II has directions on hooking up an external sound recorder (Olympus LS-100). I'll have to see if the cheaper recorder that I bought (Olympus LS-P4) can do the same job.

 

[doady]

I had a similar experience as you, I found the E-M5 III not well balanced with the 12-40mm F2.8 compared to E-M1 II with 12-100mm F4 when I tried them in the store, so I chose the latter combo. The potential of the E-M5 series is still unrealized due to the lack of compact weather-sealed lenses.

I haven't had problems with battery life shooting stills only (it's actually much better than the BLM-5 in my C-7070), but even if video is not my priority, part of the reason for getting a new camera was for shooting video eventually, and your post does remind me I should probably get a second battery soon.

I've noticed every store tries to sell us extended warranties, so lately I've become suspicious of them. The benefit might be more for the people selling them than for the people buying them. I used only one camera, the C-7070, for 15 years and there was no problem except for dead pixels and the LCD breaking apart which I had to glue it back together. Maybe not something we need to worry about.

 

[Michael Meissner]

I had a similar experience as you, I found the E-M5 III not well balanced with the 12-40mm F2.8 compared to E-M1 II with 12-100mm F4 when I tried them in the store, so I chose the latter combo. The potential of the E-M5 series is still unrealized due to the lack of compact weather-sealed lenses.

I haven't had problems with battery life shooting stills only (it's actually much better than the BLM-5 in my C-7070), but even if video is not my priority, part of the reason for getting a new camera was for shooting video eventually, and your post does remind me I should probably get a second battery soon.

I've noticed every store tries to sell us extended warranties, so lately I've become suspicious of them. The benefit might be more for the people selling them than for the people buying them. I used only one camera, the C-7070, for 15 years and there was no problem except for dead pixels and the LCD breaking apart which I had to glue it back together. Maybe not something we need to worry about.

My feeling is for pure electronic stuff not to go for the warranty. Also for stuff that is below a certain threshold (such as the E-m10 mark II and TG-5 that I bought refurbished) also don't buy the warranty. But for expensive things with moving parts, it may or may not be a win. Certainly any seller that sells you a warranty expects long term for it to be a win for them.

My wife and I used to joke that we put an old electronics seller out of business by buying an extended warranty on a VCR, and coming in to get it fixed 3-4 times before the warranty ran out. While the business (Lechemere) is gone, I suspect it was things like Amazon and big box stores like Walmart/Best Buy that drove it out of business.

But I have used the warranty several times in my 20 years of shooting digital cameras. Is it close to the break even point? I don't know. The old Olympus extended warranty tended to be $100 (or $200 for 'pro' cameras), and I think their fixed price for fixing things was $250/shot.

• On a vacation I noticed that I was having trouble with the E-m1 mark I shooting long telephoto (it would over expose). I didn't have problems with the G85, so I did the telephoto shots with that. When I got back, my salesperson and I came to the conclusion that it was sticking at high shutter speeds. When I was shooting long telephoto, the camera would boost the shutter speed to try and avoid issues with stabilization. I sent it in and it got fixed.
• Later in the year, I noticed the port for USB and the wired shutter release was not working. I sent it in and it got fixed. Fortunately it just months shy of the extended warranty expiring.
• I had bought a refurbished E-m5 mark I and when I went to Disney World the electronic viewfinder went dark. It was just at the cusp of the 90 day warranty ending for refurbished goods, but I had the extended warranty, and it was covered.
• My E-3 stopped focusing, and I sent it in. I used to joke that it failed on the day I was buying my first micro 4/3rds camera (Olympus E-P2) and the E-3 was jealous that it would soon be replaced. It turns out the E-3 was eventually replaced by the E-5, and that eventually was replaced by the E-m1 mark I. In fact, now that I think on it, the E-P2 got replaced by the E-PM2 while I was still using the E-3 as a second camera to the E-5.
• Several of the Olympus bodies fake leather grip came off, and when I sent in the camera for cleaning and inspection, Olympus re-glued the grip back on.
• While I'm not sure if Mack offers it, one of the features of the old Olympus extended warranty was you could send in the camera for a free cleaning once in the warranty period. For the cameras that I inteded to keep for a long time, I would usually do this cleaning about 2 months before the warranty ran out. Sometime later, Olympus started offering free cleanings at selected Olympus dealers. My brick & mortar store (Hunts in Melrose, MA) is one of the top Olympus dealers, and offered this cleaing every year. I took advantage of it several times. I don't know if the new owners (OM/JIP) plan to continue doing this.
• While I don't plan to be hard on my gear, I often am, including once failling to concrete, breaking my arm while shooting. I figured the diamond warranty might help if I have more gravity experiments.

 

[Michael Meissner]

One minor note that I found. I was setting up the E-m1 mark II video settings. I was in the movie menu (page 100), and I wanted to set the shutter button to start/stop movies.

I found the 'shutter function' sub-menu to be confusing when I was looking at the camera menu. I assumed if I set the shutter function to the icon representing the shutter that it would make the shutter button start/stop recording, and if I set it to the record icon it would use the record icon to start/stop movies.

However, it is the opposite case. If you set the menu to the shutter icon, the shutter is only used to start auto focus, and take still pictures during the shoot and you have to use whatever button is set for movie start/stop. If you set the menu to the record icon, then you use the shutter button to start/stop movies and you can't take still photos during the shoot.

This is just backwards to me.

The normal way I take videos is on a tripod using the wired shutter release (RM-CB2 or clone cable), so I need to use the shutter button.

 

[Wairoakid]

One minor note that I found. I was setting up the E-m1 mark II video settings. I was in the movie menu (page 100), and I wanted to set the shutter button to start/stop movies.

I found the 'shutter function' sub-menu to be confusing when I was looking at the camera menu. I assumed if I set the shutter function to the icon representing the shutter that it would make the shutter button start/stop recording, and if I set it to the record icon it would use the record icon to start/stop movies.

However, it is the opposite case. If you set the menu to the shutter icon, the shutter is only used to start auto focus, and take still pictures during the shoot and you have to use whatever button is set for movie start/stop. If you set the menu to the record icon, then you use the shutter button to start/stop movies and you can't take still photos during the shoot.

This is just backwards to me.

The normal way I take videos is on a tripod using the wired shutter release (RM-CB2 or clone cable), so I need to use the shutter button.

Hi Michael
I use a wired shutter release to start and stop my videos. Shutter is assigned to REC in movie mode as you mentioned. I have assigned REC button to S-AF as I like to get focus before I start the video.
There is no way to shoot a still during the recording if you have assigned the shutter to start/stop the recording and the video is recording. The video has to be stopped AND the dial moved to another place ie A,M,S,P etc
The E-m1 Mark 1 used to let you pause during shooting a video and take a picture but not if you had assigned the shutter to REC. Ironically my Panasonic video camera allows you to shoot still while still recording.

 

[Holoholo55]

I forgot to mention that the E-m1 mark II has directions on hooking up an external sound recorder (Olympus LS-100). I'll have to see if the cheaper recorder that I bought (Olympus LS-P4) can do the same job.

Pretty sure the LS-P4 is very compatible with the EM1 II as an external recorder/mike.

 

[Michael Meissner]

Pretty sure the LS-P4 is very compatible with the EM1 II as an external recorder/mike.

Yes it is, at least according to these videos. I just need to practice with it so that I know the steps now.

• Post from e-group.uk about the LS-P4 setup
• Video onLS-P4 from etchd photography

I was disappointed to learn that the LS-P4, unlike the LS-100 the LS-P4 does not have the ability to start/stop recording when the camera starts/stops.

 

[Michael Meissner]

Hi Michael
I use a wired shutter release to start and stop my videos. Shutter is assigned to REC in movie mode as you mentioned. I have assigned REC button to S-AF as I like to get focus before I start the video.

Yep. It was just the documentation in the menu on the camera seemed backwards.

There is no way to shoot a still during the recording if you have assigned the shutter to start/stop the recording and the video is recording. The video has to be stopped AND the dial moved to another place ie A,M,S,P etc
The E-m1 Mark 1 used to let you pause during shooting a video and take a picture but not if you had assigned the shutter to REC. Ironically my Panasonic video camera allows you to shoot still while still recording.

Yes. My simple solution is to use a separate stills camera while I have the video camera on the tripod. I often prefer to zoom more to capture just the performer for stills show.

 

[Wairoakid]

Yep. It was just the documentation in the menu on the camera seemed backwards.


Yes. My simple solution is to use a separate stills camera while I have the video camera on the tripod. I often prefer to zoom more to capture just the performer for stills show.

I sing in a choir and also use the camera to video us. Prior to getting the Atomic Flame I had to use a wireless remote from the stage to start and stop the videoing so as not to exceed the 29mins (was loathe to apply the time hack to my prime camera). Now I just set it going before we take the stage. I had to change the battery in a break previously but now I will be able to set it and leave it for the whole session. I use my Em-5 for still shots at the gigs.

 

[Michael Meissner]

I sing in a choir and also use the camera to video us. Prior to getting the Atomic Flame I had to use a wireless remote from the stage to start and stop the videoing so as not to exceed the 29mins (was loathe to apply the time hack to my prime camera). Now I just set it going before we take the stage. I had to change the battery in a break previously but now I will be able to set it and leave it for the whole session. I use my Em-5 for still shots at the gigs.

In my case, I'm recording external people, so I can monitor the camera. But for the stage show and wedding, I was using a second camera as the b-camera on a tripod across the room (using the phone interface and a wifi pan/tilt head). It can be hard to monitor 2 video cameras, and shoot stills as needed (often times the b-camera would lag in being changed, but I've never really needed to use the b-camera footage).

In the past, I used to be a videographer for a small renaissance faire. I would record each of the acts, and as I said, take stills with another camera. Note, that the faire had regular stills photographers, so I didn't need to take the stills, but I tend to prefer the stills to the video.

In general, each performer was limited to 30 minutes but some performers would run over their time by a few minutes. The final show was an hour long. I used the G85 for the faires in the last few years, with a battery grip (the G85 doesn't have the 30 minute limit), and I would change batteries when the grip battery was exhausted. Unfortunately the directors got burned out in 2018, and stopped doing the show. But perhaps they might start it back up again.

As a favor I recorded the wedding of my niece. The main ceremony went to 35 minutes, but again, the G85 was my record camera.

I've also recorded a friend's show that is 1 1/2 hours long. It is a lot easier to record the whole thing and break it into separate acts later when I upload it to youtube.

Now, with Covid things have shutdown, and for the last 4 months or so, I've been housebound due to other medical issues. But even though I have nobody calling to record long video shows, I've been chipping away at moving from the G85 to an Olympus camera (and fixing some of the problems with the G85).

I did buy the E-m1 mark II with an eye towards using the firmware hack. Fortunately, as each version was announced, I copied the firmware to my own system. As I reported in the thread, the person doing the recent modifications has not posted since March, and his server no longer is on the network. At least this way, if things go really wrong, I will have the E-m5 mark III to use. I do have the Olympus firmware files, and I have verified moving between the two on the E-m1 mark II.

I didn't realize until recently that if you have an external recorder, you can record unlimited shows with the E-m5 mark III or E-m1 mark II/III cameras. That gives me another option. I don't have an external recorder yet, but I've been toying with getting one of the cheap ones. One concern is making sure each part is connected and powered. In the ren-faire setting, that is a lot of things that can go wrong.

 

[Michael Meissner]

It appears that the power plug in the HLD-9 is 5.5mm x 2.5mm. You can get various sets of adapter tips from the more common 5.5mm x 2.1mm plugs to 5.5mm x 2.5mm at amazon and ebay (look for 5.5mm x 2.1mm adapter). In the adapters I've seen, it usually has a 'C' on the tip with a white band at the tip.

• 5.5mm x 2.1mm adapter power tips at amazon.com

For reference, the Panasonic cameras that I've seen use a 4.0mm x 1.7mm power tip, and usually have a yellow band at the tip with a 'G'.

 

[Michael Meissner]

Here are some observations about power draw.

I used a fixed 9.2 volts input, and I tried to capture the maximum amps (at 9.2 volts) that the camera used. I took out both batteries in the camera and HLD-9. I needed to use a 2.1mm x 5.5mm -> 2.5mm x 5.5mm power adapter tip to plug into the HLD-9.

In all of these cases, I used the rear display, and I used a Delkin UHS-II V90 card to hold the data.

I must admit, the 60fps numbers don't make any sense. In theory, 60fps should produce twice as much data as 30fps. Perhaps in recording from the TV (which I think is at 30fps), it was able to compress the second frame, since it would be the same as the first.

Operation​	Amps​	Watts​	Video megabytes/second​
Turn on	0.5 amps	2.1 watts
1080p, 30fps, all-intra	0.5 amps	2.1 watts	5.0M / second
1080p, 30fps, SF	0.5 amps	2.1 watts	6.1M / second
1080p, 30fps, F	0.5 amps	2.1 watts	3.5M / second
1080p, 30fps N	0.5 amps	2.1 watts	2.1M / second
1080p, 60fps, SF	0.6 amps	2.5 watts	3.5M / second
1080p, 60fps, F	0.6 amps	2.5 watts	2.1M / second
1080p, 60fps, N	0.6 amps	2.5 watts	4.2M / second
1080p, 24fps, SF	0.5 amps	2.1 watts	5.7M / second
1080p, 24fps, F	0.5 amps	2.1 watts	3.5M / second
4K, 30fps	0.7 amps	2.9 watts	12M / second
4K, 24fps	0.7 amps	2.9 watts	11M / second
C4K, 24fps	0.7 amps	2.9 watts	15M / second
LFS, 3fps, mechanical shutter	0.8 amps	3.7 watts
LFS, 3fps, anti-shock	0.8 amps	3.7 watts
LFS, 3fps, silent (electronic) shutter	0.7 amps	2.9 watts
HFS, 15fps, mechanical shutter	1 amp	4.2 watts
HFS, 15fps, silent (electronic) shutter	0.9 amps	3.8 watts
Flash with FL-LM3 flash	1 amp	4.2 watts

 

[Wairoakid]

Yes it is, at least according to these videos. I just need to practice with it so that I know the steps now.

• Post from e-group.uk about the LS-P4 setup
• Video onLS-P4 from etchd photography

I was disappointed to learn that the LS-P4, unlike the LS-100 the LS-P4 does not have the ability to start/stop recording when the camera starts/stops.

Here is another video on the LS-P4 that was in my Photography links.

 

[Wairoakid]

It appears that the power plug in the HLD-9 is 5.5mm x 2.5mm. You can get various sets of adapter tips from the more common 5.5mm x 2.1mm plugs to 5.5mm x 2.5mm at amazon and ebay (look for 5.5mm x 2.1mm adapter). In the adapters I've seen, it usually has a 'C' on the tip with a white band at the tip.

• 5.5mm x 2.1mm adapter power tips at amazon.com

For reference, the Panasonic cameras that I've seen use a 4.0mm x 1.7mm power tip, and usually have a yellow band at the tip with a 'G'.

Thanks Michael. Good link

 

[Michael Meissner]

Here is another video on the LS-P4 that was in my Photography links. Setting up the LS-P4 is next on my todo list.

Thanks.

 

[Michael Meissner]

(note, I edited this post to add high frame rate numbers).

I decided to test the power draw for various settings. I had to go to 2 digits of accuracy on the amps to show meaningful values. The numbers quoted are the peak settings:

Action	Display	Brightness	Amps	Volts
Live view	Rear display	0	0.48	9.2
Live view	Rear display	-7	0.47	9.2
Live view	Rear display	+7	0.52	9.2
Live view (high frame rate)	Rear display	0	0.52	9.2
Live view	Viewfinder	0	0.49	9.2
Live view	Viewfinder	-7	0.49	9.2
Live view	Viewfinder	+7	0.50	9.2
Live view (high frame rate)	Viewfinder	0	0.57	9.2
Review still picture	Rear display	0	0.29	9.2
Review still picture	Viewfinder	0	0.31	9.2
Review C4K video	Rear display	0	0.36	9.2
Review C4K video	Viewfinder	0	0.39	9.2

Take aways:

• Altering the brightness of either display marginally changes the power draw;
• Changing to high frame rate does increase the power draw for the viewfinder;
• Reviewing pictures draws less power than live view (duh);
• The EVF marginally uses more power than the rear display.

If you are curious how I did the test, I had an A/C to D/C converter that provides a fixed 9.2 volts (it claims 9 volts, but these adapters usually provide a little more power to overcome resistance in the wires that would lower the voltage).

I plugged that converter into a voltmeter and ammeter that I had bought. Here is the meter that I bought:

• Voltmeter & Ammeter on ebay.com

I plugged a 5.5mm x 2.1mm extender cable into the meter output. On the tip of the extender cable, I put a tip that makes it into a 5.5mm x 2.5mm power plug.

I plugged the 5.5mm x 2.5mm plug into the HLD-9 of the E-m1 mark II. I took out the batteries from the E-m1 mark II and HLD-9.

The meter can send bluetooth information to my Android phone using the e-test app. On Android in order to connect to the bluetooth device, I have to enable location services. On the phone display, I typically turn off the voltage and power (watt) display and just use the amps. Using the touch screen of the android phone, I can resize the graph that is shown, and line things up to get the maximum power draw.

In the future, I might switch to watts, since that is independent if the voltage changes. But the original post was measured in amps, so I used it here.

One thing that I discovered since I was doing it in my living room is that I had to turn off the adaptive display on the phone, and just force the brightness high so I could read the smaller numbers.

 

[Michael Meissner]

After being house bound for so long, I was able to go out to a small renaissance faire for a few hours, surviving the 2 hour trip to the faire and back. I brought both the E-m1 mark II for video and the E-m5 mark III for stills. I wasn't able to stay the whole day, but it was nice to be able to do this.

In terms of the E-m1 mark II, I used the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 lens for all recordings. I used the Olympus LS-P4 audio recorder mounted on the Olympus SM2 shockmount recorder. I plugged the headphone jack of the LS-P4 into the external microphone jack. I configured my E-m1 mark II to turn off the pre-amps on the sound (which means you can't control the sound levels from the camera, only the recorder). One of the settings was under a roof, and I began to wish I had a second 12-40mm to use for the E-m5 mark II taking stills (I used the 14-150mm mark II, which is slower).

I generally had the LS-P4 recording at the same time as the camera was going, though sometimes I forgot to turn off recording when I wasn't shooting video. Having a live recorder going can be dangerous since the LS-P4 is small.. I'll have to try and remember to turn it on/off better. The sound on the E-m1 mark II sounds great, so I won't need the backup recording on the LS-P4. I used the LS-P4 with the most telephoto microphone option that essentially makes it into a shotgun microphone.

I also had the so-called dead-cat wind cover for the LS-P4. That really needs an elastic cord or something to more securely attach it to the LS-P4. If I had had a real wind storm, that likely would have come off.

Edit: I discovered on the inside of the wind cover, two loops that I can loop a pipe cleaner through and attach it to the 1/4-20" extender (that you use to attach the LS-P4 to a cage or hot-shoe) on the back of the LS-P4. So the above paragraph is not a problem.

The way I record video shows as a paying patron, is I'm seated in the audience, and have the tripod right in front of me (trying to make sure I have good sight lines and not block people behind me). Unfortunately, this makes controlling the LS-P4 (to control sound levels and recording status) a bit of a problem since I can't see it while sitting down.

I recorded the video at 1080p at 60fps. I set up the E-m1 mark II to use continuous auto focusing and use all of the focus points and face recognition. If my math is right, I would be able to record 7.5 hours on a single 128GB card.

In the morning, I used the HLD-9 battery grip with two batteries, recording about an hour's worth of video in two hours I was recording shows. Generally, the E-m1 mark II was still powered on, even if I wasn't recording. I decided to downsize and I took the HLD-9 grip off the camera. The camera was indicating that the battery in the grip was about 1/2 depleted. So, I figure 2-3 hours is a reasonable estimate for continuous shooing on a single battery, and 4-6 hours with the HLD-9 and two batteries recording 1080p at 60fps.

One thing I did by accident is move the focus clutch ring on the 12-40mm to manual focus mode at the beginning of the show. Fortunately I noticed it, and I was able to stop/restart the video. Looking at the video in MF, it still looked reasonable, so I was lucky.

Recording about 1.5 hours of 1080p video at 60fps, mostly at the N compression level consumed about 11 gigabytes of storage space. The .WAV files from the LS-P4 consumed about 1 gigabyte of space for 1 hour and 45 minutes of recording.

This time I kept the rear monitor in the back of the camera. However, it looks like using an external microphone jack would interfere with some articulatiions of the rear screen. I had a similar issue with the G85, and I generally had to adjust the screen before attaching the microphone. I think somewhere I had right angle 3.5mm cords. I will have to try them out.

 

[Michael Meissner]

I used the unofficial modified firmware that removes the video record limits. I discovered that the camera only recognizes firmware in card slot #1 (the UHS-II slot) when installing the firmware.

As a convention, I think I will keep a DCOLYMP directory with the modified 3.4 firmware on my UHS-II card, and a DCOLYMP directory with the unmodified 3.5 firmware on my UHS-I card, so if desired, I can easily swap between the two firmwares. That being said, I don't really need to run v3.5 firmware since I don't own the 8-25 f/4 pro lens, and so far, I haven't done focus stacking.

In this case, it didn't matter, since the longest video I shot was 16 minutes. But that performer was a storyteller telling a single story in her 1/2 hour slot and possibly may have gone long. But as bad luck would have it, that also was the performance I noticed that I had the manual focus clutch ring on the MF position, and I had to start/stop the video to get back into auto focus mode.

In terms of the modified firmware, I had noted in the thread about the firmware that the latest person to provide the firmware (toshische) hadn't posted since March 2021. At the time I posted, the directories holding the modified firmware had disappeared. But they are now back.

• Modified firmware thread (E-m1 mark II v3.4)

 

[Michael Meissner]

I was curious as to the speed of upload on the E-m1 mark II and E-m5 mark III. I rarely use a separate SD card reader. Instead, I just tend to connect the camera to the computer to do the upload.

I did a very simple minded test. On my Linux system (which is an Intel I5 that I bought in 2013), I attached my E-m5 mark III to a USB 2.0 hub and my E-m1 mark II to a USB 3.0 hub. I also repeated the test with the E-m5 mark III mounted to the USB 3.0 hub. I used the Linux command 'hdparm -t' that measures buffered disk reads on each of the partitions. When I did the test, none of the camera partitions were mounted.

The configuration is:

• E-m5 mark III, Sandisk 128GB, Extreme, UHS-1, V30, U3, Read 150 MB/s, Write 30-60 MB/s
• E-m1 mark II: UHS-II slot: Delkin 128GB, UHS-II, V90, U3, Read 300 MB/s, Write 250 MB/s
• E-m1 mark II: UHS-I slot: Sandisk Extreme Pro, UHS-1, V30, U3, Read 170 MB/s, Write 90 MB/s

The results were:

• E-m5 mark III: 24.9 MB/s
• E-m1 mark II, UHS-I slot: 40.2 MB/s
• E-m1 mark II, UHS-II slot: 146.0 MB/s

I also tried swapping the two SD-XC cards to the E-m5 mark III:

• Delkin UHS-II card: 27.5 MB/s
• Sandisk UHS-I Extreme Pro card: 23.5 MB/s

The SSD (SanDisk SDSSDA12) that I have as the root file system on runs at 355.4 MB/s and the two spinning hard drives on the system (Toshiba DT01ACA3, Hitachi HUS72403) runs at 194.1 MB/s and 151.3 MB/s. Note, in the case of the system disks, I did not unmount the filesystem when doing the tests. Of course if I upgraded the disks and processor on the system, they might measure faster.