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Class Introduction

Lesson 1 from: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II Fast Start

John Greengo

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Lesson Info

1. Class Introduction

The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is a top Olympus camera -- but it also has one of the more confusing menu systems. In this short lesson, learn what to expect from the class.
Next Lesson: Camera Overview

Lesson Info

Class Introduction

Got a big class for us today, actually I, just a minute ago, I came up with a name for this class, a little motto. This is the taming of the best. (class laughter) 'Cause anyone who knows about this camera knows that when you get into the menu system and the features, there are a lot to choose from. And prove us right, this is my 48th class, I've done classes on the professional Nikons and Canons and so forth, and it's hard to quantify, but this camera, and this class, was one of the biggest challenges I've had to date. 'Cause it's got so much stuff. Part of the class is a PDF that comes with it, and what I'd like to do in the past, is I'm a very visual person, as I imagine most photographers are. And the menu system is just this complex maze. I'm gonna show you that maze later in the class. I have a very, very cool slide that shows you the menu system in a visual layout. But I like to have the entire menu system on one page, and my computer won't let me put that much stuff on one page...

. Now that's probably because I don't know how to use my computer real well, but it gets to be really small font. So this is the first camera, of 48 cameras, that I've had to separate out and put on two pages, everything in the menu system. So on one page, is the basic menu, and then digging in a little bit, then we have the custom menu, and as you can see in the custom menu, there are a lot of items on here. So in this class, what we're going to be doing is I'm going to be going through all the features and functions of the camera so if you own this camera, if you're gonna use this camera, if you're thinking about buying this camera, you will know what it does, how to do it, and how to set it up. Now I have gotten very poor reviews from a couple of people in my classes, because they thought they were reviews of the camera. And reviews of the camera are very different than instructions. I don't care how this camera compares to anything else out on the market. That's not what we're doing today. We're learning how this camera works. Inevitably, something else will come up about, talking a little bit about how this performs in general, but I don't care about the image quality versus X camera and sensor, or how this compares with the other Olympus cameras in many cases. This is all about learning how to use this camera. And I know a lot of you, especially those of you who own it and have had it for a couple of months, you know how to work half or three quarters of it. I don't know what you know. So we're gonna start at the beginning, and we're gonna go through everything that this camera has to offer. Alright, so let's get started on the class. Alright, so we're on to the keynote, so the E-M1 Mark II Fast Start, everything in that, in those letters, means something, and we'll talk about that during this class. So here's kind of the plan for the day. I want to go through a little class overview, just introduce the camera to people who are maybe new to Olympus. We are gonna talk very briefly about a few photo basics, just to make sure everybody's talking on the same plane, you might say. A great majority of the class is in the camera control section. This is where we go through all the buttons and dials on the outside of the camera. We're just gonna take a tour, starting on the top, and working our way around. Every control on the camera. And then we get into the menu functions, and that is, of course, the other big section of the class, and that is where we're gonna go through every item in the menu system. We're not gonna spend a lot of time on it, but I'll give you some recommendations on where to set it at, for different types of reasons, and then we'll finish the class off with some suggestions and ideas on camera operation, of how I would set the camera up for different types of scenario. So if you're very familiar with photography, or you've been with Olympus for a while, feel free to jump ahead to the camera control section. But if you want to watch the other stuff, it's not a bad review at all. So let's get started. First up, the camera comes with a reasonably large instruction manual. It's gonna take you a few hours to get through. It's not the clearest thing in the world. Now if you've read every page in the instruction manual, and you're like, "John, I still don't "understand the camera," I would consider you normal. I was actually, last night, just brushing up for the class today, and there was a feature that I wasn't 100% clear on. So I went to the instruction manual, and it made it more confusing for me. It took me a while, I finally figured it out, so I'll have some good answers for you today. And so it is a good source of extra information, and specifications. It's also good for compatibility. If you're dealing with some of the older Olympus lenses, or you're adapting flashes and other equipment on there, it will give you additional information. I'm not trying to replicate everything in the instruction manual in this class. I'm trying to provide useful information for actual users of the camera. The next thing is, if you are new to photography, you might be saying, "Hey John, what about composition and lighting? "Isn't that important just like everything else "in the camera?" And it absolutely is. We just don't have time to address it in this class. And so if you're looking for a photography class, there is a bunch of them here at CreativeLive. I have a couple of good ones. If you want a nice, short, simple one, I've got a three-hour basic class, or if you want to get a more in-depth understanding of photography, my Fundamentals of Photography has about 27 hours of information in there. And so you can take a look at those for more generic photography. In today's class, we are focusing straight in on the Olympus camera.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Olympus EM1II Recommended Settings

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

This is exactly what I was looking for - I really feel like I'm not able to control my camera, rather than the camera controlling me! :) I really learned a great deal - some of it was a great review, some of it was crucial information that will (hopefully) make me a better photographer. Thanks for a great class, John!!

Spyro Zarifopoulos
 

Great and very informative class.... John has done a fabulous job explaining all the simple and intricate details of the very sophisticated EM1 II. Thank you !!!

John Epperson
 

This is a great course on learning about the OM-D E-M1 Mark II. I have watched it many times to get to were I know it by memory the best I can. I like to go over it as much as possible because there is a lot to learn. I do wish that John would do an updated version since now it is up to Firmware 3.1. It is like a whole new camera with the new settings.

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