Olympus E-M1 II Flash

Coverage, Exposure and Range
A somewhat weak flash with narrow and uneven coverage. Above average exposure compensation required.

Coverage. Flash coverage with the Olympus FL-LM3 bundled flash is narrow and uneven at wide angle (12mm), leaving very dark corners in our flash coverage test image, though keep in mind 24mm-equivalent is wider than most kit lenses. (This shot taken with the E-M5 II, since the E-M1 II is currently not available with a "kit" lens.) We no longer test at full telephoto is coverage is invariably better, making wide angle the worst case.

Exposure. Indoors under incandescent background lighting, the Olympus E-M1 II strongly underexposed our standard flash shot with its bundled flash without exposure compensation, requiring +1.7 EV of flash compensation to produce a bright image at ISO 200 and f/4. (An average of +0.7 EV is normally needed for this shot.) The camera selected a 1/60s shutter speed which is typical, and color balance is quite cool with Auto white balance.

Manufacturer Specified Flash Test. The Olympus FL-LM3 bundled flash has a Guide Number (GN) of approximately 9 meters at ISO 100. That works out to about 7.5 feet at f/5.6 and ISO 200. In the shot above using manual flash mode at full power (full Auto isn't supported on the E-M1 II with the FL-LM3, only Fill-in and Manual modes), the FL-LM3 produced a bright exposure at the calculated distance, aperture and ISO, indicating the flash GN rating is credible.