The Olympus E-M1 Mark II Can Shoot Up to 18fps… RAW… with AF Tracking

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The new flagship Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is a speed demon, plain and simple. With your autofocus locked, its electronic shutter can shoot 60fps. And even if you keep autofocus on and tracking, it can still pump out full-res RAW frames at a jaw-dropping 18fps.

Four years in the making, Olympus is determined to knock your socks off with the E-M1 Mark II. The camera, currently “in development” but announced today, will feature a 20.4MP Live MOS sensor powered by a high-speed QuadCore TruePic VIII Image Processor that Olympus claims is 3.5 times faster than its predecessor.

That, paired with a new 121-point all-cross-type on-chip phase detection and contrast detection AF system and the camera’s electronic shutter, means the E-M1 Mark II will be able to shoot 18fps full-res RAW frames per second with AF and AE tracking. It also powers what Olympus is calling “Pro Capture Mode,” which takes 14 full-res RAW shots between when you’ve started and finished pressing the shutter.

Here are a couple of quick, dramatic intro videos courtesy of our friends at Olympus:

Even using the mechanical shutter, the camera can still fire off 15fps with AF and AE locked, and 10fps with AF and AE tracking. That, in addition to 5-axis in-body stabilization, Digital Cinema Standard 4K video, a fully articulating 3-inch touchscreen LCD, 120fps 2.36M-dot EVF, 50MP ‘high-res shot mode,’ Dual UHS-II SD card slots, and a dust, splash, and freezeproof design.

Even the battery and shutter have gotten a boost. The newly-developed shutter is rated to 200K actuations, and the battery offers 37% more juice and a charger that works 50% faster.

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No specific word yet on when Olympus plans to officially release the E-M1 Mark II, but they did say it would arrive “later this year.” To find out more about this exciting new camera, head over to the Olympus website by clicking here.