Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Review

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Review – Design

In terms of the E-M5 Mark II’s core design characteristics, it’s very similar to the Mark I complete with similar retro design stylings in a relatively compact body.

What’s noteworthy about the camera’s design in comparison to its predecessor, however, is that it feels greatly improved in terms of general build quality. With the right lenses attached the Mark II is dustproof, freeze-proof and splash-proof, making it well equipped to face whatever shooting conditions you might throw at it.

The only disappointment with regards to the build quality is a relatively flimsy connector cover on the left side of the camera that, if broken, could potentially cause a failure in the weatherproofing.

Control set-up

A further modification to the design of the E-M5 Mark II in comparison to its predecessor is the addition of a few extra control buttons. These are particularly useful as the common consensus was that the Mark I was lacking in this area.

By default these two control buttons toggle the HDR shooting mode and depth of field preview. However, much like almost all of the other major control buttons on the Mark II they are modifiable and as such can be assigned to the user settings as required.

The general handling of the camera is also improved by the shift to the type of control set-up seen in Olympus’s flagship E-M1. This set-up involves a pair of large control dials which modify the main exposure settings, located close to the natural resting place of index finger and thumb for easy modification.

Owing to the relatively small size of the camera, the handgrip is on the minimalist side, it still offers a firm hold on the camera body. There is, as ever, the option to attach an add-on hand-grip should you need to gain a more solid hold over the camera.