The Mark II is the second version of Olympus’ flagship Micro Four Thirds camera, the E-M1, which was released in 2013. And while the company is still using this small and somewhat outmatched sensor format — a full frame sensor captures almost four times as much information as a typical Micro Four Thirds sensor — Olympus’ cameras have come a long way in the three years since the first E-M1 was released.
For one thing, in that time Olympus found a way to squeeze an extra 4,000,000 pixels into its Micro Four Thirds sensors, bumping the resolution from 16 to 20 megapixels. The new E-M1 also has 40 more autofocus points than its predecessor, a better battery, and a new generation of image processor. It even shoots 4K video.
Olympus has pushed the Micro Four Thirds format to insane limits with this camera
Olympus has also refined its hardware design chops since the last E-M1, with this year’s Pen-F serving as the shining example — the classic-looking digital camera is one of the prettiest cameras released by a company not named Fujifilm in years.
The E-M1 Mark II benefits greatly from this refined approach to hardware. It’s all-metal and weather-sealed, and it is a joy to hold in your hands. It feels solid as a rock for such a small camera, but it also isn’t overly heavy.