Mastering the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II (The Mastering Camera Guide Series)

I purchased my OM-D E-M1 Mark II in November, 2017. Being new to mirrorless, being my first Olympus and discovering how complicated the EM-1 MII is I checked to see if Darrell Young had written an instruction book for it. I was familiar with his books having purchased several of his Nikon Camera books in the past 15 years before I sold all Nikon gear and switched entirely to the OM-D E-M1 Mark II. His books have always been the most thorough and easiest to understand of any I’ve found. At that time he had not completed the Em1 Mark II book.While waiting for Darrell’s book I looked for other sources. I found many. Some good to very good but incomplete or unclear in their instructions. Some were not so good or just plain wrong in the information they gave. Using the better ones and by my own trial and error I gradually learned more about using this camera. I got to the point where I could set it up and take decent photos but sometimes got lost in the menu system and had to do a complete reset of the camera to where it was when it came out of the factory. A couple of times I even confused the camera enough to cause it to freeze up. Actually, not a freeze-up. I just didn’t know how to get from where I was to where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. (Reset again!)Even with all my looking I came up with questions I could not find answers for. First thing I did after finally receiving Darrell’s book was look for those answers and I found them. Darrell’s book is 600 pages. It has to be that long to be complete. The camera is a computer and Like a computer system there is usually more than one way to do what you are wanting to do. Remember that just because the camera will do it and the book tells you how it doesn’t necessarily mean you will want to be able to do it on your camera. You will eventually get to where you have the camera set up the way you want it. Darrell’s book makes that much easier.I also recommend the Kindle version of this book. It can be saved to your cell phone and when in the field if a question comes up you can find an answer. The Kindle version of the book can also be saved to your desktop computer using the Kindle app. I would suggest you also read the review by Mr. Conrad J. Obregon.I’ve found that low ratings of books about this camera often come from those who don’t have the experience needed to operate a camera as complicated as this one.

The Mark II has one good feature and one mixed feature. The very good feature is the high speed shutter, faster on the trigger than any other camera I've used, which makes it great to capture fleeting moments in portraiture.The second feature, which is both good and bad, is the vast number of settings and options, resulting in the unprecedented complexity of the interface, and also resulting in the need for a book like this. Olympus, like most Japanese camera makers but more so, piles on feature after feature, without giving sufficient thought to the big picture or ease of use. As a result the camera is packed with things - such as in camera video editing - that I will never use and I suspect no one in the world will ever use. Nevertheless, they are there to clutter and confuse the settings and menus. Ease of use? No, the opposite. Practical? No, most photographers will use Photoshop to replace 80% of the in-camera tricks.In this book Darell Young has struggled mightily to cover all the options comprehensively but it is a daunting task. Any small camera that requires a 625 page book to explain its use was not designed very well. Also, locking a book into print means it will quickly be obsolete. The book covers firmware 1.3 but the Mark II is already on firmware 2.0 at the time I received this new book, so already some of the details about settings are incorrect on the day I received this large heavy volume.This is a criticism of Olympus really, not Darrell Young but it is relevant in considering his book. In case Olympus reads this review, here is a suggestion. The options and settings and so forth should be available to activated or deactivated in chunks. For example if I am not a video photographer, you should make a way to hide all that and simplify the still photo items. And so forth. Why offer five ways to do the same thing when choosing one would be so much simpler? The OMD EM1 Mark II (even the name is too complicated) is very capable but too hard to learn and to use. Darrell Young has made a brave effort to cover it all but even the book is already out of date. Camera makers like Olympus need to get a grip, and simplify.And while you are at it, how about coming up into the 21st century? Although the Mark II is a brilliant jewel of Japanese hardware, the bigger picture is that the whole Asian camera industry is in decline. Sales are down each year. The point and shoot is dead, killed by the iphone. Indeed they have not learned anything from the iPhone; if they had, this Olympus would be open source and PROGRAMMABLE by third party apps. It's internet connectivity would be effortless instead of a clunky afterthought. But they plod on their path, only to add yet more gizmos, bells and whistles. Get ready for the 1000 page Second Edition of this book, and then get ready for Nikon, Canon and Olympus to go out of business..

I am a first-time Olympus owner, and have a Pen-F rather than an E-M1 Mark II. My hopes were that the book would focus on camera firmware menus, that the menus of both cameras would be similar, and that because of the book’s recent release (June 8, 2018) it would reasonably reflect the current firmware. These hopes were realized and I am very happy I purchased the book.Before acquiring the Pen-F, I had heard that Olympus firmware menus could be a bit challenging, and instruction manuals (whatever the manufacturer) can be somewhat cryptic. Here, both proved true. I cannot really fault the Pen-F instruction manual – it’s 188 pages and covers the camera and menus reasonably adequately. But although it led me through the menus, it often left me wondering how the selections would impact actual shooting and photographs. At 618 pages (including the Table of Contents and Control Location Reference at the front of the book), Mr. Young’s book bridges this gap. In doing so, it includes many color figures and settings recommendations. I can honestly say it has been of material assistance, providing me sufficient grounding in the menus to take the next step – out to the field for practice, practice, practice . . .

Recently bought the EM1 mark 2. Found this book to be very useful with learning all the functions of the camera.

En intuitiv, pedagogisk och komplett instruktion, allt blir lättare och mer förståeligt.Gillar förslag på inställningar och dolda funktioner. Bra som referens, bra upplägg efter funktioner.Rekommenderar boken,

I hvnt read it,but when I see a wet, curled edge, it felt like an old used book.

The Olympus OM1 Mk 2 is a complicated beast to learn, with massive potential for a photographer when you get your head around the button, lever and menu system. "Meeting the Olympus ..." is a great book for getting to understand the menus.

Explained all the functions of the camera in a clear manner. Will be using for a reference for as long as I use this camera. Instead of stumbling along learning this camera, I now feel like an expert user.

A very well written book on the Olympus camera, easy to follow in setting up the camera, and well explained.