Olympus OM-D E-M10 mk II or III?

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snaggletooth

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I am looking to buy a small compact ILC for travel and I'm pretty much set on the Olympus mentioned in the title.

What is the consensus on the mk II v the mk III? As I'm not that interested in 4K video I'm thinking the mk ii might just do it. I have read that the menus in the mk II are hideous though.

Looking to buy used and MPB are selling mk II for around £200 and £100 more for the mk III.

Pancake lens any good? Perhaps a fast prime for evening?

Cheers
 
If 4k is not required then I would choose the MKII. There are other upgrades to the mark three, more focus points, upgrded truepic processor and I believe they've simplified the menus. I think there are other functions that have been simplified too. I wouldn't call the Olympus menus hideous but they are complex.

Useful video here which summarises the differences

View: https://youtu.be/pQLFca-NUi4
 
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had a mk2 awesome little camera..go for it
 
I have the OM-D E-M10 Mkii - upgraded from the Mki
Pictures I've taken with it here...
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmatvC5W

The menus aren't hideous - I barely use them since I set up the camera and I don't find them any trickier than any other camera I've used.
Mostly you use the Super Control Panel which puts all the common stuff (for me) up front and easy to access from the screen.

There were a couple of things removed from the Mkiii which would put some people off.
From memory and a brief Google
They removed some wireless flash options.
They also did something to the HDR and Exposure bracketing which meant it disappeared from A/S/P modes
"Exposure bracketing is now accessible only as one of the Advanced Photo modes."
Finally they removed My Sets for custom set up
"In their quest for a user-friendly interface, Olympus also ditched the user-customized configurations, MySets, included in Mk.I and Mk.II. (While they did not have their own slots on the Mode Dial, they could be assigned to some.) Obviously, the concept is beyund intellectual capacity of the buyer Olympus wants to reach with this camera."
Read the full details here
https://www.wrotniak.net/photo/m43/em10.3.html

If my Mkii disappeared tomorrow I'd buy another one over the Mkiii. I have no interest in video let alone 4K.
IIRC someone over at e-group had theirs stolen and immediately sold the Mkiii the insurance gave them because of the bracketing issue - can't find the thread to back up my vague memory mind!

Get the mark 2 you won't be sorry.
 
Much food for thought here.

I was pretty much set on buying the mkII from MPB at ~£200 for the body and another £100 for the pancake lens, both excellent condition, six months warranty.

Then noticed that the mkIII can be had from HDEW for £369 with three years warranty or E Infinity for £349 with a one year warranty.

Seem almost too good to pass up with the additional warranties?

I've used e infinity in the past for a Nikon lens and service was great, but not sure if those warranties would be worth the paper they're written on given the grey market factor here.
 
snaggletooth said:
Much food for thought here.

I was pretty much set on buying the mkII from MPB at ~£200 for the body and another £100 for the pancake lens, both excellent condition, six months warranty.

Then noticed that the mkIII can be had from HDEW for £369 with three years warranty or E Infinity for £349 with a one year warranty.

Seem almost too good to pass up with the additional warranties?

I've used e infinity in the past for a Nikon lens and service was great, but not sure if those warranties would be worth the paper they're written on given the grey market factor here.
Click to expand...
I'm not a grey market man myself, but quite a few on here are and warranties as far as I can see are honoured, you just have to understand its with the store, not the manufacturer.
 
I had both at the same time until I sold my mkii last week.

I'll run through the positive for the mkiii :

Better autofocusing, especially in low light.
Slightly better dynamic range.
Nicer EVF.
Better grip.
Nicer menu system (But still not that great)
There's a dedicated button for the quick menu, which I found easier to access.
The 4K video is actually really nice, no crop either.

Pros for the mk11:

Cheaper
You can actually use the electric shutter in normal modes (On the mkiii you have to use some art filter setting to use it)
Easier access to bracketing
Easier to access the 5x punch in focus in manual focus mode (Unless i'm being stupid, I can't find it on the mkiii?)
If it matters to you, it has a more tanky feel. You can feel there's some metal in the construction. The mkiii uses a lot more plastic.

For me I enjoyed using the mkiii slightly more due to the deeper grip. So that's why I kept it.

Hope that helps, Chris.
 
snaggletooth said:
Much food for thought here.

I was pretty much set on buying the mkII from MPB at ~£200 for the body and another £100 for the pancake lens, both excellent condition, six months warranty.

Then noticed that the mkIII can be had from HDEW for £369 with three years warranty or E Infinity for £349 with a one year warranty.

Seem almost too good to pass up with the additional warranties?

I've used e infinity in the past for a Nikon lens and service was great, but not sure if those warranties would be worth the paper they're written on given the grey market factor here.
Click to expand...

That's a very good price - I paid £275 for a used body from Camera Jungle a couple of years ago.
If you're going for the bundle then I'd consider the kit with the 40-150 lens too.
That lens is very impressive for an extra £80 and the kit will still be super portable still as it's very compact and light. You'll pay the same for the lens used.

Micehorns said:
I had both at the same time until I sold my mkii last week.
Click to expand...

That's really interesting first hand experience :)

Micehorns said:
Cheaper
You can actually use the electric shutter in normal modes (On the mkiii you have to use some art filter setting to use it)
Easier access to bracketing
Click to expand...
I use the silent electronic shutter a lot so I'd have been disappointed if it were less available.
Having HDR and Bracket modes assigned to the Fn buttons is useful to me (except when I trigger them accidentally).

I upgraded from the Mki to the Mkii because of better stabilisation and a better EVF (IIRC) - it was a big leap for me, when the Mkiii came out I didn't see enough to justify the jump.
 
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Thanks to everyone who chipped in with advice.

I've taken a punt on the mkII and the EZ lens. The brief was a small camera for travel, mainly family trips, so this should fit the bill. Just a shade over £300 like new.

I suspect there will be a 17 or 25 1.8 getting picked up soon too.

Hopefully the wife will be able to use it too, she always gets frustrated when she picks up the DSLR to take a pic of me and the kids.
 
Arrived today so only had the chance to mess about a wee bit and set it up more to how I think I'll want to use it.

First time seeing through an EVF. Better than I thought it would be but it really is like looking at a live video feed on a wee TV.

I'm sure it'll be perfect for travel, small but not so small that it's a PITA to use.
 
snaggletooth said:
Thanks to everyone who chipped in with advice.

I've taken a punt on the mkII and the EZ lens. The brief was a small camera for travel, mainly family trips, so this should fit the bill. Just a shade over £300 like new.

I suspect there will be a 17 or 25 1.8 getting picked up soon too.

Hopefully the wife will be able to use it too, she always gets frustrated when she picks up the DSLR to take a pic of me and the kids.
Click to expand...

Nice choice. If you like the little fast primes, check out the 45mm 1.8 too. Super little lens and very reasonable £'s.
 
snaggletooth said:
I suspect there will be a 17 or 25 1.8 getting picked up soon too.
Click to expand...

The Olympus 17mm f1.8 is my go to evening and indoor lens - and makes a silly small package if I don't want to lug the 12-40PRO.
My 17mm album
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm2xFXw1

If you're considering the Olympus 25mm f1.8 then I'd suggest you also look at the Panasonic 25mm F1.7 it's a lot cheaper, barely any bigger and very good.
My 25mm album
https://flic.kr/s/aHskZ9LToW

I also have the Olympus 45mm f1.8 - it's a good lens but a length I very rarely use.
23 worth sharing on Flickr in 5 years!
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm1c7E1p
 
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