To strengthen what was said in that excellent review, I am starting to consider the E-M1X as seriously underrated. It isn’t that it has better performance and IQ than the E-M1 Mkii, because those are only noticeably better in certain applications, but the same in most. Instead, it‘s the body itself, the better IBIS, and the HHHR. Together, the freedom and flexibility the X has over the Mkii (which already exhibits both in spades) is mind blowing. Secondly, it’s greater durability, weather sealing and dual battery slots inspire a great deal of reliability and stamina. I now understand why the X was billed as a professional version of the Mkii. They are only little details, but they add up to a more confident and dependable package.
Even for travel photography, which common sense told me would be better with the Mkii for its smaller size, I am starting to appreciate the X more, as I am finding I can get shots that would require a tripod with the Mkii. I stretch the image stabilization of the Mkii to its limit on a regular basis, but the X‘s one extra stop takes it to another level that is greater than it sounds. I like to shoot with my tripod, but sometimes that is too slow or impractical, and there is no question that the X is the lighter package. The next thing I noticed was how much smoother the handling and controls are with the body. It has such fantastically designed ergonomics, and switching from portrait to landscape orientation is so much less awkward. It took me a while to start using the portrait orientated controls, but once I did, the way everything was exactly the same was a revelation.
None of those things necessarily mean I am getting a better shot than with a Mkii and a tripod, but in some cases they do mean I’m getting a shot at an angle and/or a speed that I otherwise could not, and the user experience is on a constant basis more enjoyable and (as the reviewer said) expand my creative options. I just came out of the very dark cathedral in Seville, Spain. At ISO 200-400, I was shooting either High Res or 5-frame, 1-stop interval exposure bracketed images whilst holding the camera as high over my head as I could stretch to avoid all the people walking around. From the rear LCD zoomed all the way in, the images look tack sharp. I can do some pretty long hand-held exposures with the Mkii’s IBIS, but not that.
I haven’t even started using the X as a wildlife camera yet, which was why I originally bought it. I have taken my Mkii to some very extreme conditions, and it performed reasonably well. I am absolutely confident that the X will hold up even better. I still want AI tracking and the 150-400mm Pro before I consider this a complete wildlife rig, but hopefully we will be getting both in 2020.
