Normally, I don't do video but I'm planning to take the above on the ARC transatlantic yacht race in November and make a video record. Following a recent card glitch I now have set up so files record to both cards. I also need to get bigger cards for video so was planning to get 2 x 256GB. Although I have VHS - II card in slot 1 normally, is there any point in having more than a VHS-I card since will be limited to speed to second back up slot? I'm going to have to learn a bit about video quickly so I don't yet know whether I should record 4K or lower for Youtube - will the fastest VHS-I cards support 4K in the EM1-ii?
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Olympus EM1 Mk2 card slots
- Thread starter eddystone
- Start date
Jorgen Udvang
Subscriber Member
There are two flavours of 4K on the EM1 II, UHD 3840 x 2160 (24, 25 or 30 fps) with a bit rate of 102 Mbps and DCI 4096 x 2160 (24 fps) with a bit rate of 237 Mbps. Both are of good quality (as opposed to 1080p on that camera), but DCI is visibly better.
DCI will, due to its high frame rate, only work properly with UHS II cards in Slot 1. UHD will probably work well with UHS I cards in either slot. As a safety precaution I would still use Slot 1 for both qualities and Slot 2 as backup and/or for stills.
Although UHS II cards won't improve performance in Slot 2, I prefer to use only one type of cards for my cameras, so that they are interchangeable in case of card failures or lack of cards. You would have to check that the UHS II card actually works in Slot 2 though, but I see no reason why it shouldn't.
Another question is how far you'll get using DCI on a 256GB card. High bit rates eat cards at an incredible speed. I would recommend doing some tests to check the number of GB per minute of video. On an extended trip, I would probably go for UHD, both to save card space and to be able to use both card slots if necessary. Still I would stick with UHS II cards if financially possible, both to have the option of shooting DCI and for future use when upgrading the camera.
4K downsized to 1080 for YouTube (or any other publication) will look much better than footage originally shot at 1080, particularly with the EM1 II which offers somewhat mediocre 1080 quality out of the camera. This is provided you use a good video editing tool (Premiere Pro, DaVinci etc.) for the editing/downsizing. I use DaVinci, which is free from Blackmagic Design.
DCI will, due to its high frame rate, only work properly with UHS II cards in Slot 1. UHD will probably work well with UHS I cards in either slot. As a safety precaution I would still use Slot 1 for both qualities and Slot 2 as backup and/or for stills.
Although UHS II cards won't improve performance in Slot 2, I prefer to use only one type of cards for my cameras, so that they are interchangeable in case of card failures or lack of cards. You would have to check that the UHS II card actually works in Slot 2 though, but I see no reason why it shouldn't.
Another question is how far you'll get using DCI on a 256GB card. High bit rates eat cards at an incredible speed. I would recommend doing some tests to check the number of GB per minute of video. On an extended trip, I would probably go for UHD, both to save card space and to be able to use both card slots if necessary. Still I would stick with UHS II cards if financially possible, both to have the option of shooting DCI and for future use when upgrading the camera.
4K downsized to 1080 for YouTube (or any other publication) will look much better than footage originally shot at 1080, particularly with the EM1 II which offers somewhat mediocre 1080 quality out of the camera. This is provided you use a good video editing tool (Premiere Pro, DaVinci etc.) for the editing/downsizing. I use DaVinci, which is free from Blackmagic Design.
Thanks for information. The total length of video I can record may be determined by battery duration rather than card capacity. The race will take say 18-25 days and I would hope to do maybe 5-10 minutes a day or maybe 15 minutes every other day, which sounds like maybe 2-3hrs to be edited down. As the EMI II doesn't have USB charging and yachts only have 12V at sea I'll have to take enough batteries.(but not that many at £70 each!) I've no idea how many minutes of 4K video recording each battery will give.
I'll stick to my idea of recording to 2 identical cards as they'll be living in a very wet and salty environment
I'll stick to my idea of recording to 2 identical cards as they'll be living in a very wet and salty environment