Olympus OM-d E-M1 II

With a 60fps full-resolution burst mode, plus a new autofocus system and sensor, Olympus’s new CSC promises a great deal

- Rod Lawton

Olympus has played two aces with the E-M1 II. Its 60fps burst mode is a spectacular leap forward in high-speed shooting, and even though you have to step down to 18fps to get focus tracking with moving subjects, that’s still a poke in the eye for heavier, more expensive – and slower – pro-level DSLRs such as the Canon EOs-1d X II and the nikon d5.

This camera’s other party trick is its new all-phase-detection auto focus system – designed to prove that mirror less cameras can match DSLRs for tracking moving subjects. The AF system uses 121 on-sensor phase detection AF points arranged in a rectangular array that covers a much larger area of the frame (80% of the frame width, 75% of the frame height) than regular DSLRs systems.

But let’s get back to that continuous shooting capability. The bald fact is the E-M1 II can shoot full-resolution, uncropped 20-megapixel images at 60 frames per second, and it can keep this up for 48 frames (raw or JPEG) – long enough to be much more likely of capturing a key frame than a regular DSLRs. and if you’re not sure that your reactions will be quick enough, there’s a Pro Capture mode that starts buffering frames as soon as you half-press the shutter release, so that when you press it the rest of the way you capture not just frames from that point on, but the preceding 14 frames too.

All this happens using the OM-d M1 Mark II’s silent shutter mode. It has to lock focus and exposure at the first frame, but it’s designed to be used where the point at which the action will occur can be framed up in advance.