E-M1 Mark II Bird and Wildlife Settings – Part I

Introducing Blueprint, a new project of mine to find the very best of Olympus as much as possible.
And by that I mean secret menus, alternative parts, affordable flash systems, best settings, etc…
A bit similar to my “largest lists film simulations” but in this case specifically for Olympus cameras and the micro 4/3 format.
Find it above in “Menu” -> “Blueprint” or in one of its subpages

Settings project for the E-M1 Mark II, firmware version 3.5

For those who can no longer update their camera via OM Workspace on Windows or Mac, you can also do this via SD card in the camera itself, click here to go to the article.

Why this camera if I also have the E-M1 Mark III & the E-M5 Mark III ?
Well, the E-M1 Mark II is still today a great camera for bird and wildlife photography and cheap to buy second hand. So it is a good camera if you want to do this type of photography and are also new to the micro 4/3 system.
The E-M1 Mark II also has the option to save 3 custom settings, something that the E-M5 Mark III does not have (one on dial, three via menu).
Later I will do the same project for the E-M1 Mark III and E-M5 Mark III.

What follows is based on the recommended and personal settings of many professional photographers such as Espen Helland, Martin Belan, Tim Boyer, Mathieu Gasquet, Petr Bambousek, Simon d’Entremont and many others.
After watching tons of videos and reading endless settings files, I applied that knowledge to my own cameras and lenses like the Olympus 300mm f4 Pro, Panasonic Leica DG 100-400mm and the Olympus 40-150 f2.8 Pro + MC 14 & MC 20.
After extensive testing, I combined the most efficient settings in this tutorial and .SET file.

Settings are sometimes very personal, what one likes to have ON is OFF for the other, so, feel free to adjust any if necessary.

In this part we will start with the basic settings, which is the largest part.
In Part II you will find some more specific settings as well as a FREE .SET file that you can upload to your camera via OM Workspace.

Anything not listed below, leave at default setting.

Shooting Menu 1

To start with Shooting menu 1 we must first go to the Custom menu, and set the following first:
G1 -> set jpg record modes -> change all four to L -> SF

Then in Shooting menu 1:
2 -> Select Picture Mode -> 3 Natural
3 -> Select Image Quality -> LSF + RAW
4 -> Image Aspect -> 4/3
5 -> Digital Tele Converter -> Off
6 -> Setting for sequential, self timer and interval -> Single Frame Diamond

Shooting Menu 2

Go straight to Anti-Shock & Silent Shooting:
5 -> Anti-Shock/Silent -> Anti-Shock -> Set 0 sec
5 -> Anti-Shock/Silent -> Silent -> Set 0 sec
6 -> High Res Shot -> High Res Shot -> Set 0 sec
All other items (1,2,3,4,7) -> Off

Video Menu

1 -> Mode Settings -> Mode -> P
2 -> Specification Settings -> Mov 4K 30p
2 -> Specification Settings -> Noise Filter -> Low
2 -> Specification Settings -> Picture Mode -> Off
3 -> AF/IS Settings -> AF Mode -> C-AF
3 -> AF/IS Settings -> Image Stabilizer -> M-IS2
4 -> Button/Dial/Lever -> Shutter Function -> REC
5 -> Display Settings -> Control Settings -> check Live SCP

Playback Menu

Unchanged

Custom Menu

Set Back Button Focus :
A1 -> AEL/AFL -> S-AF -> Mode 3
A1 -> AEL/AFL -> C-AF -> Mode 4
A1 -> AEL/AFL -> MF -> Mode 3
AEL/AFL button on the back of camera is now focus button
Set Button Function :
B -> Button Function -> L-FN -> Set to AEL/AFL
B -> Button Function -> Fn1 -> Set to Multi Function
B -> Button Function -> Fn2 -> Set to Multi Function
Afterwards, press Fn button -> hold -> and change function with command wheel to desired setting

Set 1/2 Lever Switch to Video :
B -> Fn Lever Settings -> Fn Lever Function -> Mode 3
Set Card Slot Settings :
H1 -> Card Slot Settings -> Save Settings -> Dual Independent Up
H1 -> Card Slot Settings -> Video Save Slot -> 2
Set Copyright Settings :
H1 -> Copyright Settings -> Copyright Info -> On
H1 -> Copyright Settings -> Artist Name -> Set your info
H1 -> Copyright Settings -> Copyright Name -> Set your info
Set Release/Image Stabilizer :
C2 -> Image Stabilizer -> S-IS AUTO
Set Auto ISO :
E1 -> Exp/ISO/BULB -> ISO-Auto Set -> Upper Limit/Default -> set High Limit to 3200 – Default to 200
E1 -> Exp/ISO/BULB -> ISO-Auto Set -> Lowest S/S Setting -> Auto
E1 -> ISO Auto -> All
E1 -> Noise Filter -> Off
E1 -> Noise Reduction. -> Off

Setup Menu

5 -> Rec View -> Off

Super Control Panel

Set SD card 1 to RAW
Set SD card 2 to LSF

Summary of the settings made:
Natural Picture Mode, best and finest Jpg plus RAW, auto ISO, anti-shock shutter.
The best basic Video settings, with easier and faster switching between photo and video and shutter button as recording button. Back button focus, and high speed card slot settings.

More explanation in part two, special settings for bird photography/wildlife
a downloadable .SET file for the E-M1 MKII camera completely FREE !
These will also follow for the E-M1 MKIII and E-M5 MKIII.

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La Gallerie

The photo gallery of Open Source Photography, Olympus micro 4/3 system, Vintage Lens Photograpy, Film Simulation, PictureFX, HDR – Photographer : Marc R.