How Many?

How many coats does one need*?  Certainly more than one.  A heavy coat for really cold weather, a lighter one for mild weather, and of course a rain coat.  Maybe more.

How many pairs of shoes do you need?  Obviously more than one pair.  Boots, dress shoes, casual shoes....

How many screwdrivers are necessary to own?  Many more than one.  Different jobs, different screwdrivers.  Slotted, Phillips head, large, small.

I could make a case for the necessity of owning more than one car or truck.

How many hats does a person need?  Well, if you are a hat person, it will require more than a single hat to adequately cover one's head for all sorts of weather.  But it is smart to wear a warm hat in the winter and a summer hat to keep the sun off your head, ears and face in the summer.  Skin cancer can be nasty.

How about wrenches?  How many wrenches does a mechanic need?  Multiple.  Different tools for different jobs.  Adjustable, open end, socket...

Let's make this relevant to photography.

How many lenses does a photographer need?  Some can argue that one lens will suffice for all situations, but I think we all know in our hearts a photographer needs more than one lens to cover all situations.  Different types of photography, different types of subjects, different lighting, different weather, different lenses.

How about cameras?  How many cameras does one need?  Keeping with the above flow of logic, more than one.  That is my sentiments exactly!  I do own more than one camera but only one current generation of digital cameras.  I have several old film cameras, and a few older digital cameras, but only my Fuji X-T2 is the current generation.  That won't do for me.  Needs versus wants?  Hmmm.  We won't go there.

So, to rectify this situation, I just picked up a little piece of gear which will allow me to enjoy discovering, using, playing, experimenting, admiring and exploiting the capabilities of a new and different camera.  Which one?  The new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II.  I know what you may be thinking, "But what about your Fuji gear?"  No worries Fuji fans.  I have no plans to give up my Fuji gear.  I love it too much.  But photography is my passion and hobby and buying something new to get to know as well as subject matter for this blog plus I wanted to give myself the opportunity to expand my photographic knowledge, so I bought one.  This is not an attempt to chase better image quality.  If it were, I would have purchased a medium format camera or possibly a Sony A7rII.

Think that will convince my wife that I needed another camera?  Probably not.  LOL

(click to enlarge)

I didn't need another camera but there are several things about this particular camera that intrigue me and I wanted to find out for myself how well these its features of this camera work.

Specifically, I am intrigued by the new "Pro Capture" feature.  The way I now understand how this works is that one presses and holds the shutter button down halfway and the camera starts placing full sized RAW (or JPEG) exposures into its buffer, then saves the last 14 (I think that number can be set for fewer as well) when you fully depress the shutter button thereby capturing any imminent movement of your subject as well as after the movement starts.  That seems like a great feature for those who are photographing fast moving subjects, birds, sports, etc.  I just conducted some tests with my Fuji X-T2 concerning EVF lag, shutter lag and human lag and it will be interesting to compare the two photographing similar subjects.


I have missed the ability to touch a particular spot on the LCD and have the camera immediately focus or focus and expose, on that particular spot.  I could do this with my original E-M1.

I certainly miss the in-body-image-stabilization (IBIS) capabilities and want to experiment as to how much better that feature has gotten.  In the past with my E-M5 and E-M1, I was able to handhold the camera as slow as about 1/4 to 1/2 sec.  I'm anxious to see how much better IBIS has gotten.

Let us not forget the 50mp high resolution mode.  That is very attractive to a landscape photographer.  Having the ability to carry a small camera with small lenses and capture such as high resolution image with such a small sensor.  Sony, of course, offers 42mp sensored cameras and Canon offers 50mp cameras, but both are full frame and the lenses are enormous compared to M4/3 lenses.  The down side, as I understand it, is that every element in your subject pretty much as to be stationary, but I've also read that the camera's computer can eliminate some minor movement in leaves, etc.

I'm very anxious to see how much the AF has improved.  The AF on the E-M1 was fast and sure for stationary subjects, but didn't do quite as well as I would have hoped with tracking moving subjects.  From what I've read, this new version does quiet well tracking moving subjects.

A couple of other features of which I have interest are the automatic focus stacking and focus bracketing.  Those features, built-in, can be very handy when practicing macro or closeup photography.

Finally, what is shooting at 60 FPS like?  I'll find out.  I'm also pleased to read that the battery is much bigger with much more capacity.

Luckily, I have a couple of M4/3 lenses on hand so I can go right out and make some images.  I'll report back on occasion as to how this little beast of a camera performs.

As for image quality, I don't think it will top my Fuji X-T2.  The image quality from that camera is excellent, in my view.  But as I said above, a mechanic needs more than one wrench and I need more than one camera with which to use, play and about which to write.

Here are a couple of quick images to show size comparison.  The two cameras are very close to the same size with similar lenses attached.  In this case the Olympus has a Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 lens attached while the Fuji has a 35mm f/2 lens attached.  Both give the approximate equivalent field of view of a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera.

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

I took the MKII out the other day to ensure that it works as it should as we should for any new camera.  A shakedown, so to speak.  While I was out trying it, out of shear curiosity at this point, I was specifically interested in how much improvement there was in the tracking focus.  So, I drove up to my favorite railroad spot to catch an Amtrak coming in at 79 mph (127 kph) to find out how well the MKII would track it and if it would focus and maintain that focus.  

Good news!  I made 60 images at 10fps with the camera set on continuous focus—tracking. All 60 images were in perfect, dead on focus!  This was with no practice and a first time use.  

The train approached me at about 20 degrees from straight on.  As it came closer, I zoomed out from 40mm to 12mm (I was using the 12-40mm f/2.8 Zuiko Pro lens) and panned from right to left to follow the train as it passed by me.  At its closest distance was about 30 ft. from me.  I kept panning until the locomotive had passed me.  The camera acquired focus immediately and maintained correct focus through the zooming and panning.  I was impressed.  I believe conducting the same test with my X-T2, there were a couple of images that were slightly out of focus.  In either case, we are really fortunate to have photographic tools that are so good.  Below is a sample image.

Amtrak approaching at 79 mph (127 kph); 50% crop of full frame (click to enlarge)
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, 12-40mm f/2.8 lens @ 40mm; 1/1000th sec. @ f/7.1; ISO 800

I plan to have fun with both cameras and, of course, I will write about my experiences to share what I learn with you.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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