OM System Launches First Mirrorless

2022.02.15

Today OM System launched the first camera to continue the Olympus legacy under its new owners. After buying the Olympus camera division, a new company owned by JIP was created to hold the transferred assets. More than a year later, the first digital camera along with two lenses were launched bearing both the OM System and the Olympus name for a fluid transition.

The new OM System Olympus OM-1 evolves from the OM-D premium mirrorless series by Olympus. Externally the design was updated slightly yet the imaging pipeline has been totally updated to the next level while keeping much of what made the OM-D lineup so compelling. This Micro Four-Thirds Mirrorless Digital Camera offers:

• A completely new and unique 20 Megapixels Stacked Quad-Pixel BSI-CMOS Sensor. Each pixel comprises of four photosites under one primary color with microlenses that capture different phases of light.
• The TruePic X processor introduced inside the OM-1 has an extreme throughput to process images and video frames at 120 FPS from the new 20 MP sensor.
• An improved 5-axis image-stabilization mechanism that provides 7 stops of shake-reduction alone and up to 8 stops when paired with a stabilized lens.
• Super-Resolution mode that can capture 80 megapixels from a tripod or 50 MP hand-held.
• 1053 All-Cross-Type Phase-Detect Autofocus system with subject tracking capability at up to 50 FPS.
• A new ultra-high resolution 5.8 megapixels 0.5" EVF that offers an extra-large 0.83X magnification.
• The widest ISO sensitivity range of any Micro Four-Thirds camera to date with standard ISO 200-25600 range that expands to ISO 80-102400.
• Class-leading build with IP53 rating for its dustproof, splashproof and freezeproof body that handles -10C.

This incredible mirrorless also retains features found in the Olympus OM-D series, including many unique ones. Its outstanding features include:

• Live Bulb and Live Time: The unique exposure modes expand Bulb mode by showing an exposure evolving as it is captured. The preview gets refreshed periodically to provide feedback during long exposures.
• Live Composite: A blend of an Interval-Timer and Multiple-Exposure for creative creations.
• Focus Stacking and Focus Bracketing of up to 999 frames with 10 increment sizes to compose images with an incredibly deep depth-of-field.
• Hybrid shutter that spans a shutter-speed range from 1/32000s to 60s, plus longer BULB exposures.

The OM System OM-1 undoubtedly continues the Olympus legacy and looks to fully deserve its label. It may not be by Olympus, yet it is immediately and completely recognizable. There are little external differences between this new model and the latest OM-D E-M1 Mark III reviewed here. This highly compact mirrorless is very light for a model that packs such features. At just 511g, it is among the lightest weatherproof ILC. Together with truly small Micro Four-Thirds lenses gives the OM-1 a huge potential for travel photography.

Switching to a stacked sensor design makes the OM-1 substantially faster. Although the Mechanical-Shutter is capable of handing a fairly common 10 FPS maximum speed, the Electronic-Shutter reach an outstanding 120 FPS. Many speeds are available from 10 to 120 FPS, allowing to obtain more buffer-depth. Even at 120 FPS, this camera can grab 92 JPEG or RAW files per burst. This stretches to 169 JPEG or 139 RAW files at 10 FPS. The new TruPic X processor manages to keep up with exposure and focus computation at a whopping 50 FPS.

Having reach such fast speed, the jump to high-speed video is obvious. In Cinema 4K resolution, the OM-1 can record at 60 FPS, just as it can in Ultra-HD 4K. Dividing the resolution by 4 multiples the frame-rate by 4 too. This means the OM System OM-1 is capable of recording Full HD video at speedy 240 FPS.

OM System expects the OM-1 to ship just next month for $2200 USD or $2800 CAD. This price is certainly going to be the greatest deciding factor since it puts this digital camera in the same price-range as basic Full-Frame Digital Cameras. These have the advantage when it comes to pure low-light performance yet require bulky lenses. On the other hand, the new OM-1 offers so much more, including the significant advantage of its smaller Micro Four-Thirds platform.

• Digital Camera