While a lot of better mobile phones has decent enough cameras I still get a buzz to test out a proper interchangeable lens camera from a good manufacturer. Here is such an item from Olympus now at M5 iteration II.

Existing Olympus Micro Four Thirds owners should upgrade to the E-M5 Mark II, while new buyers should put it on the shortlist. It's that excellent.

High-quality stills and videos; Five-axis image stabilization; Superb high ISO handling; 40-megapixel photo mode; Highly customizable

Menu system and controls slightly clunky to use; Flash not built in; No 4K support

It may not be a large and bulky digital SLR, but the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II is a heavy hitting camera that's designed especially for those of you who desire advanced controls -- controls of the sort that can tailor almost every single aspect of your photographs before you even transfer them to a...

Crisp image quality; Advanced controls and highly customisable; High quality EVF

Left-hinged screen feels unintuitive on this camera

Basically, it plays piggy in the middle to the more expensive OM-D E-M1 and the cheaper E-M10 II, so you can pick one up for just over $1000.

It should be clear by now I'm very fond of the OMD EM5 Mark II. It improves on two bodies I already liked a lot, taking the best of both, improving some aspects and adding more besides.

Small weatherproof body with great controls; Fantastic built-in stabilization works with any lens; Big; detailed viewfinder and fully-articulated touch screen; Fast accurate focusing with great face and eye detection; Built-in Wifi with powerful mobile app.

Native image quality similar to previous models; 40MP mode requires specific conditions and lenses to shine; Continuous AF becomes less confident with fast subjects; Timelapse and miniature movies encoded at low frame rate; Slow wakeup when Quick Sleep is enabled

A follow-up to the first Micro Four Thirds OM-D series camera, the Olympus E-M5 II has a tough act to follow. Absolutely bursting at the seams with the latest technology -- including a unique high resolution mode that takes it far beyond what its sensor should be capable of -- this 16-megapixel...

Excellent handling in a compact, weather-sealed body; Crisp, roomy electronic viewfinder; Image quality that can take the fight to APS-C DSLRs; Unique high-res mode lets it bat far above its weight for static scenes; Extremely fast 10 fps burst shooting, Excellent video feature set, Great handling...

Control dials are easily bumped; Below-average battery life at default settings; Buffer depths for raw shooters are a bit limited; 16-megapixel sensor resolution feels dated; Weak bundled flash strobe, Front and rear control dials are too easily bumped, changing settings by mistake, Speaker is...

Olympus has issued an OM-D E-M5 II firmware update, and you can find out how to download and install it at this . At first glance the OM-D E-M5 II firmware update 1.1 looks relatively minor, with just three changes, but two of them are actually quite important.

High quality feel; Impressive 40MP/64MP images; Excellent 5-axis image stabilisation

High Res mode demands a tripod and a still subject; Some fiddly and complex controls; Smaller sensor than some rival CSCs

Thank the stars that Olympus has settled on a name and number, with the second-generation OM-D E-M5 deploying the "Mark II" badge of honour. That's earned confidence: rather than reaching into the numbers pool and being named an E-M27 or something, the E-M5 II builds on the strengths of the original...

Decent build quality and great retro style; 2x2 switch control; all-round improvements from first-generation E-M5; that 5-axis stabilisation system; High Res Shot for 40/64MP tripod-based shots

Too easy to knock front dial and press HDR button by accident; limited battery life as ever; low-light image quality limitations; no 4K video

? NEW: Olympus has issued an OM-D E-M5 II firmware update, and you can find out how to download and install it at this Olympus firmware web page . At first glance the OM-D E-M5 II firmware update 1.1 looks relatively minor, with just three changes, but two of them are actually quite important.

The Olympus E-M5 Mark II is a compact system camera with a Micro Four-Thirds sensor, and the sequel to 2012's OM-D E-M5 . We flat-out loved that camera. This update successfully adds to the winning design without spoiling what was so great about the original.

Great 5-axis OIS; Excellent handling and controls; Much-improved EVF

No 4K video; Lesser detail and high ISO performance than some