Just a few days ago, Olympus unveiled their new MFT camera, the Olympus E-M1 MK II. It is not only the Japanese company’s first foray into 4K video, it is also a technology milestone in terms of image stabilization and pro video features.
The Olympus OM-D E-M1 MK II
Please make sure to read Graham’s article for a good overview of this new camera. As a reminder, here are the specifications:
- New 20 Megapixel Live MOS Sensor
- 4K UHD Video up to 30fps (3840×2160) and Cinema 4K up to 24fps (4096×2160)
- 3.0 Articulating Touch Monitor
- 121 Point Dual Auto Focus
- Pre-Record Feature
- 5-Axis Image Stabilization
- Dual SD Card Slot (UHS II Compatible)
- Weatherproofing: dust, splash and freeze-proof
- Weight: 1.3 pounds.
One of the real achievements of this newly developed camera is the implemented image stabilization. As Janne Amunet puts it:
It really gives new possibilities in terms of moving the camera without having a huge production budget.
And that’s really it! The quality of stabilization that the Olympus E-M1 Mark II can achieve seems to be quite impressive, and can be even further improved when used alongside an Olympus lens with image stabilization. In a scenario like this, the result of both camera and lens add up to almost gimbal-like performance.
The other buzzword surrounding this camera is, of course, 4K. It’s a first for Olympus, but it’s good to see other manufacturers adopting more and more camera systems to choose from. The Olympus E-M1 MK II caters the micro four thirds system, just like the Panasonic GH4.
When shooting in (cinema) 4K, this camera is capable of a datarate of 237 MBits, which is a really impressive amount of data for such a small camera package.
Pricing and availability
Unfortunately there is no word on pricing yet, but the camera should still hit the market before 2017, probably looking at around December time.
Any info on what Codec that 237 Mbit 4K will be in?
Einar Davíðsson,
I’m not 100% sure about the cine 4K mode but here are the official specs:
MOV (MPEG‑4AVC/H.264)
AVI (Motion JPEG)
The high bitrate only applies to cine 4K, though:
4.096 x 2.160 (C4K) / 24p / IPB (ca. 237 Mbit/s)
3840 x 2160 (4K) / 30p, 25p, 24p / IPB (ca. 102 Mbit/s)
Thanks
Hey guys,
The high bitrate DCI 4K format codec is an IPB H.264 thing, like a7SII. 237mbit should be quite usable.
GH5 ;)
This may be the “GH45” I was hoping the G85 was going to be…
Id really like to see Panasonic match the IS this camera has.