Olympus unmasks its rootin’, tootin’, 4K-shootin’ E-M1 Mark II
But even that grabby headline won't stop the music at the young guns' saloon
You’ve got about ten seconds.
Well, then this battle is already lost. Proper cameras aren’t for the likes of you, hot-stepping between a hundred different Chrome tabs and machine-gun posting peach bum emoji at your fellow idiots.
Photographers are a measured, classy audience. Indeed, they will have had this Mark II version of Olympus‘ revered E-M1 on their radar for months. But now it’s here, and now we know that it’s going to be £1849.99 body only, or £2399 with a 12-40 kit lens.
Let’s pretend I’m bothered. Talk at me.
Aw, sweet. The Mark II gets a new 20.4MP micro four-thirds sensor, a 121-point autofocus system and improved image stabilisation. It looks roughly the same, though the controls have been tweaked a bit, the LCD made all tilty, and it’s just as weatherproof as its predecessor. Battery life is up by 37 percent.
There’s now 4K videography – up from the M1’s 1080p – including a groovy wide ‘Cinema 4K’ mode that shoots 4096×2060 pixels at 24fps.
See, there it is. I’m drowning in meaningless numbers.
No-one’s born with photography skills, poppet. Look at it another way. You like games, right? Taking shots with a cameraphone is just grinding, gathering coins and boshing squidgies for the EXP.
An interchangeable lens camera like this is the end-of-level boss. You aren’t going to take it down first time. You’re going to have to practice, to learn it’s reactions and, most likely, spend all night in a chat room talking about the right ISO settings. But when you nail it, when you get that ‘ooh’ image, the feeling of triumph and entitlement will permanently sour all that internet-based instant gratification.
Fraser Macdonald
consulting editor 
