Olympus E-M1 v. E-M1 Mark II; Worth The Upgrade?

Assateague Lighthouse from Chincoteague Island, Eastern Shore, Virginia (click to enlarge)
Original Olympus E-M1, Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 lens @ 100mm; 1/640th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

I've been asked, both here and through other means, if the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is worth the upgrade as compared to keeping the E-M1.  In the end, I can't answer that for any particular individual, but I think it is for me.  Let me show you some interesting information that may give you an idea as to a couple of the differences we typically feel are important.

The original E-M1 was introduced by Olympus in September 2013.  That was 3 1/2 years ago, which is an "eon" in digital camera terms today.  With the leaps and bounds in sensor technology, noise control, dynamic range improvements as well as algorithms for processing RAW images (as well as JPEGs), we would expect some very real gains in image quality.  Then...throw in the enhanced and upgraded features of the new cameras and almost any camera is worth the upgrade...if, and I think this is the important thing...those upgrades are relevant to you and your types of photography.  In other words, it is worth upgrading to a newer camera if the newer camera will provide a means to improve your photography.  Just buying a new camera in and of itself will not necessarily improve your photography unless it allows you to accomplish some photographic goal(s) your current camera cannot provide.  Will it unleash creativity in a new way that your current camera cannot?  Will it allow you to take your photography to the next level due to something the new camera itself now provides?  You get my meaning here.  Newer gear doesn't mean better images unless it allows you to do things, or go in different directions with your photography, the current gear won't.  An extreme example would be upgrading to a digital SLR form a point-and-shoot camera with a single focal length.

Just like photographers in the film days bought the latest and best film to extract the best quality negatives, we as digital photographers like to place the odds of making the best possible images on our side by upgrading our cameras on occasion.  Nothing wrong with that, if upgrading allows you to raise your photographic success and satisfaction or you are interested in the gear itself as a gear head.  Gear head is a term of affection here.

If you want to read about the differences in features of the E-M1 versus the E-M1 Mark II, there are plenty of places to find that information.  I won't go into it here.  However, a greater concern to me, because of the relative small size of the micro 4/3 sensor, is dynamic range v. ISO and digital noise v. ISO.  That is the topic of this post.

I looked to two sites to find some information about the technical differences between the two cameras.  The first is well known, DxO Mark.  Also, I found a site of which I was previously unaware.  The site's name is Photons to Photos. You can find it here.  I don't know much about the author, William J. Claff, but he has conducted a number of tests on a large number of cameras to measure various aspects of sensor performance.  Since the site is statistically based and has taken so much work to produce the data, it seems logical to me to make the assumption that his data are accurate as I have no way to validate it independently.  I would find it hard to believe that the body of work would be made up.  However, I just wanted you to know that.

Note:  I attempted to contact Mr. Claff to ask permission to use the graphs I built on his site using his data.  However, I have not been able to do so.  I decided to use the graphs as a teaching tool under the Fair Use doctrine of the Copyright laws.  I am not a lawyer but I have found it necessary to understand copyright law and there are exceptions for use of copyrighted material, one of which is for educational purposes, which is what my use is here on my blog.  If Mr. Claff contacts me and asks me to remove the graphs, I will gladly do so. Until then, I think the graphs below are good illustrations of the differences between the two cameras under discussion here.  Again, I give full credit and copyright ownership to Mr. William J. Claff from Photonstophotos.com.

Curiously, the two sites differed in their assessments as to dynamic range of the two cameras.  I don't have any idea why they differ other than different measuring methodologies.  I don't know which is more correct.  I'll just present both here and you can judge for yourself.

Here is a screenshot from the Photons to Photos site of a graph showing the differences in Dynamic Range versus ISO setting for both cameras.

©William J. Claff, Photonstophotos.com; Used here under the Fair Use Doctrine for educational
purposed only (click to enlarge)

In the graph above, you will notice a difference in dynamic range between the two cameras.  You will also notice that the dynamic range decreases as ISO increases.  In this case, with the exception of the lowest ISOs, it is pretty linear.  Remember that.  The higher the ISO you use, the less dynamic range you will have in your images.

These are approximations based upon looking at the graph.  At base ISO and ISOs below base for both cameras the dynamic range stays the same.  For the E-M1, the best dynamic range you will realize is about 9 stops.  For the Mark II, you will get just under 10 stops, or almost one more stop of dynamic range.

At ISO 400, you will lose about 2/3 stop dynamic range with the E-M1 and about 1/2 stop with the Mark II.  At ISO 800, the E-M1 will record about 7 1/2 stops of dynamic range and the Mark II about 8 1/2.  There is about a 1 stop difference in dynamic range all the way to ISO 1600.  Above ISO 1600, the E-M1 loses a bit more dynamic range than does the Mark II so the difference becomes about 1 1/3 stops between the two cameras.

Without getting exact, it appears from Mr. Claff's tests, that the newer camera will give you at least one stop more dynamic range at a minimum at any ISO with a bit more difference at higher ISOs.  That is significant in my estimation and can result in better images.

Here is a graph from DxO Mark's site showing the same comparison of dynamic range to ISO.  Note the difference in results from the above graph.

In the DxO graph, the maximum dynamic range for the older E-M1 is 12.84 stops while the maximum
dynamic range for the Mark II is 12.7 stops.  From a personal point of view, this is not what my
experience showed.  Additionally, the Older camera seems to have better dynamic range at all ISOs.
(click to enlarge)

Let's now look at the graph below and examine digital noise versus ISO.

©William J. Claff, Photonstophotos.com; Used here under the Fair Use Doctrine for educational

purposed only (click to enlarge)

Again, at base ISO and below, the noise level is similar.  However, as you move to ISO 250, the noise actually drops on the Mark II while it slightly climbs on the older E-M1.  From ISO 250-400, the E-M1 Mark II has about 2/3 stop noise advantage over the older E-M1.  From ISO 400 through 1600 the noise is pretty comparable, with the Mark II having just a small advantage.  Above ISO 1600 the Mark II regains a 2/3 stop noise advantage.  The interesting thing about the noise profile of the E-M1 Mark II is the two dips the noise level takes at ISO 250 and then again at ISO 2000 whereas the E-M1's noise profile is pretty much linear through all ISOs from 200 through 25,600.

In this DxO Mark graph, the noise versus ISO is better for the newer camera.  The advantage
seems to be about 1/2 stop (click to enlarge)

The end game with the Photons to Photos site as well as for DxO Mark for noise is that you will see a bit less noise in the newer camera.  The Photons to Photos site shows that if you are using ISO 250-400 or ISO 2000 to 25,600, you will see the largest differences.  Is there enough difference to visually see in an image.  I suspect there is a slight difference, but with sophisticated editing tools, I also suspect that the noise could be equalized during editing.

Here is another set of educational and illustrative images from DxO Mark.  The two analysis, directly below, show that the newer, Mark II, camera generates better image quality than the older camera using the same lens.  The Mark II resolves more detail (it should since it uses a 20mp sensor versus a 16mp sensor).  The older camera scores an overall 20 while the Mark II achieves an overall score of 25, a 25% increase.  Also, the older camera scores a sharpness value equaling a 9mp camera and the newer one a sharpness score of a 12mp camera, a 33% increase.

E-M1 Mark II with the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens (click to enlarge)

Original E-M1 with the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens (click to enlarge)

As a general comment from my personal experience with these two cameras is that I believe there is more dynamic range than the stated 10 stops from the Photons to Photos site.  I believe the DxO site is closer to what I've experienced, but I wanted to present to you all the information I found.  Additionally, it has been my subjective experience that the newer, Mark II, camera has better dynamic range than the older camera.  I don't have any objective measurements at this time, but I may conduct my own tests in the future.

With this information, whether or not an upgrade to the newer E-M1 Mark II is worth to you is still going to be a personal decision.  The numbers in the graphs and illustrations above show some differences.  If those differences are meaningless to you, then your answer is easy.

However, the greater differences between the two cameras are seen in the improvements and additional features on the newer camera.  The speed of focus, the superb tracking focus, the ability to to capture 14 images while half pressing the shutter so you don't miss the critical moment of action, 60 frames per second without focusing between each shot and 18 with continuous focus, the ability to have an 80mp RAW or 50mp JPEG high resolution image when necessary, swing-out LCD, and all of the other improvements may be more important than technical specifications.

In the end, you have to decide.  Is the new camera worth the money, time and effort or not?  In either case, I hope you enjoy whichever camera you have chosen and wish you good light and great imaging.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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