I have been a faithful Nikon user for many years now and still love my trusty Nikon D850, but it is heavy and I am getting older, aren't we all. And to be honest, carrying extra weight is not my idea of fun. I will admit too that last year I traded my trusted 500mm f/4 lens for a much lighter 500mm f/5.6 pf lens and this has enabled me to get images I never could have gotten because the other lens was too heavy to carry far afield. Furthermore, like all camera manufacturers, Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras are no longer being upgraded. Newer mirrorless cameras are getting all the new bells and whistles.and to begin with they are lighter and have faster capture rates.
So, after a recent conversation with the owner of the Traverse City Camera Shop I decided to try the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and most specifically I wanted to try the Procapture feature. This allows capture up to 60 frames per second with the UHS ii SD Card. These cards actually have two copper strips as connectors as opposed to only one in the UHS SD cards. This means thay care write data much faster. I have heard and seen examples of the Procapture feature, but wanted to try for myself.
Now having been a Nikon user all these years, navigating the controls and menu screens is much different and would take some practice to reach the same ease I feel with the Nikon system. I did have some experience with the Olympus menus as I have an Olympus TG camera which I have used underwater. Eventually, I did get the camera set up as I wanted. I might add too that I do not own a UHS ii SD card so I was not able to achieve the top frame rate. But even without a UHS ii Sd card my first trial of Procapture was impressive. Keeping the shutter button depressed while photographing fast-moving chickadees meant that I got ALL of the action. Even the quick motions of the chickadees as they took the sunflower seed.
While static poses of wildlife can be very beautiful, I could just imagine being able to capture action shots that truly shows the majestic flight of a bird or butterfly.
I will say that I did not do a complete evaluation of the camera, that has already been done and I am sure there is a YouTube video out that speaks to the overall performance.
This camera has been on the market for several years now, and newer versions I am sure have lots of improved features. I am seriously considering going to a lighter and newer mirrorless system. I would however like to try the Nikon mirrorless cameras as learning the new menu would take some serious time. However, I really do like the Olympus Procapture feature for wildlife work and this is enough to give serious consideration to an Olympus system.
