The OM-1: A Real Powerhouse

In 1972 Olympus released the OM-1. It earned high praise as the smallest and lightest SLR camera of its time and included numerous innovations in its build and design. Fifty years later the OM-1 is back. The name may be the same, but after that the differences are innumerable. It still bears the Olympus name, but the new OM-1 is also branded with the OM SYSTEM logo. It is the first camera released by OM Digital Solutions.

I had the opportunity to shoot with the OM SYSTEM OM-1 prior to its release date. In using the camera there have been some real “wow” moments. Keep in mind that this isn’t a formal review, but rather my impressions of how the OM-1 stacks up, especially when compared to previous models like the E-M1 Mark III and the E-M1X.

As for the buttons on the rear of the camera there is now a dedicated AF-ON button for those who use back-button focusing. All of the other buttons are in the same location as on the Mark III, but I did notice that they are slightly smaller. The joystick that I love on the E-M1 Mark III and the E-M1X is also on the new OM-1, but is also a bit smaller. Under normal usage these smaller buttons aren’t an issue at all, but when you spend about 5 months of the year wearing winter gloves like I do it can make the camera a bit more challenging to operate. That said, since I’ve never found photography gloves that can handle -30C I usually end up taking my thicker gloves off for a few seconds while I make setting changes. As such, the smaller buttons haven’t made a significant difference in my shooting situations.

In speaking with an OM System rep, I was informed that having redesigned buttons allowed for even greater weather sealing. I didn’t think that they could improve on their weather-sealed body, but they did! The OM-1 is rated at IP53. This is a higher rating than the IPX1 of the Mark III. It is considered even more dust-proof and splash-proof. I can definitely attest to how freeze-proof it is. I’ve had it out for hours in extremely cold conditions and it doesn’t skip a beat. It lasted longer than I did!

First Shots

Alright! The battery is charged, the memory cards are formatted. It’s time to start shooting. For my first test I decided to go to a small range light about 30 minutes from where I live. I was hoping for a colorful sunset, but instead I got clear skies. Well, so be it. I just wanted to see what this camera could do.

During this first outing I had absolutely no information on the inner workings of the camera, but being a former science teacher, I was happy to engage in some self-discovery. My first discovery was the new EVF. And it’s awesome! As much as possible I prefer to compose my images using the electronic viewfinder rather than relying on the LCD. The OM-1 is outfitted with a stunning new EVF – a 5.760K dot OLED. This is more than twice the resolution of the E-M1 Mark III and the E-M1X. It provides a noticeably cleaner and more realistic image while composing and reviewing your shots. The layout is also different than the E-M1 Mark III. The main settings are lined up underneath the image, rather than being superimposed on top of the scene you are shooting. The histogram is now in the top left of the viewfinder while the levels are centered in the image. As with previous models, the Info button allows you to cycle through 4 familiar viewing options; image only, main settings, settings + histogram, settings + levels.

The rear 3” LCD also provides greater resolution – 1.620K dots vs. 1.040K. The layout is slightly different than the EVF, but provides the same key information.

For my first shot I tried a hand-held focus bracketed image of the range light with the sun shining through some ice. My next discovery was the processing speed. The focus stacking process was fast. Much faster than previous models.

After my first set of images of the range light I decided to stick around and shoot well after sunset. I do a lot of low light photography so I was curious as to how those images would turn out. I usually review my images in the viewfinder rather the LCD and with a quick look I was impressed, but the real image quality test would have to wait until I got home.

The Inner Workings

When I uploaded my first set of images and had a closer look I was truly impressed with the image quality. The photos were incredibly sharp, with excellent color tonality. There was practically no noise, even in those photos shot during the blue hour at moderate ISOs. Then I looked at the size of the image and realized that it was 20 MP. This is a completely new sensor with some incredible processing power behind it. I had to remind myself that I’ve been regularly printing images for clients up to 36” x 48” and even larger at times, with my E-M1 Series cameras. I had no doubt that I could easily print these first few photos with stunning results.

A Facelift

One of features that I’ve always loved in Olympus cameras is the Super Control Panel. It allows you to quickly see and change most settings without having to dive into the menu. The new SCP has a cleaner, less cluttered look yet still allows access to most of the important settings.

Waiter, Could I Have Another Menu Please!

Speaking of facelifts, the OM-1 has a new menu system. Yay! The new menu is quite slick and far more intuitive. At first glance it may appear that the designers just switched from a vertical to a horizontal orientation of menu items and added a splash of color. But it definitely goes deeper than that. Many items have moved to areas of the menu that make far more sense. For example, Shooting Menu  2 is now dedicated solely to computational photography.

Navigating the menu has also changed. After pressing the Menu button, the front dial is used to move between menu headings while the rear dial is used to navigate from page to page within a heading. The arrow pad is used to move to individual menu items on a page and then, to activate that item, the OK button is pressed. Navigation is quite intuitive except for the fact that my muscle memory was getting in the way. In previous iterations the right arrow key was pressed to enter a menu item. Now it is just the OK button that is used to dive deeper, which makes perfect sense. It took a few days to get used to it, but I have to admit that it is far nicer layout.

Another nice feature in the OM-1 is that specific menu options can be directly accessed from various function buttons. For example, since I regularly use Focus Stacking I reprogrammed the AEL for that feature. Pressing that button will turn the feature on and off, but holding the button down for about 2 seconds gets you right into the Focus Stacking menu so you can quickly make changes. This is a great change.

Computational Photography

I recall when Live Composite was first introduced on the E-M1. I thought it was a gimmick and would have very little practical use. Boy, was I wrong. Olympus has been a pioneer of computational photography allowing us to see the world in ways that other cameras just can’t. Several improvements have been made to these features.

• Live ND – The Live ND feature has been extended to 6 stops (ND64) from the original 5 stops on the E-M1 Mark III.
• Live Composite – The Live Comp feature can now be used hand-held. I’m not about to try this for hour-long star trail shots, but capturing fireworks, lightning, or traffic trails should be quite possible without a tripod. More importantly for me is that the ISO range has been extended to 6400 compared to an upper limit of 1600 with previous models.
• Focus Stacking/Bracketing – No changes have been made to focus stacking or bracketing. The upper limit is still 15 and 999 shots respectively. Although not directly related to the feature, the fact that the AF points have 100% coverage will make this feature easier to use under many circumstances.
• High Resolution Shooting – Accessing the high res feature has been made a lot easier. When shooting stills the video record button has now been mapped to enable high res photography. As a landscape photographer I appreciate how quickly I can get in and out of this mode. Some additional controls have also been added. The hand-held high res shots can now be recorded at 25 or 50MP + RAW. Tripod high res shots remain at 80MP, but the option to shoot at 25 or 50MP is now available. One great addition is that a delay option has be added. In handheld shooting you can program a wait time of 1/8s, 1/4s, 1/2s or 1s. In tripod mode the delay can go all the up to 30s. As well, to quickly switch from hand-held to tripod mode press the record button and turn one of the control dials. The high res menu pops up and you can make quick changes to your settings. Regardless of the feature, the one improvement that applies to all of them is processing speed. For example, OM System states that the processing speed for high res shooting is 2x faster than the E-M1 Mark III, but based on my experience I’ve found it to be even faster than that.

Final Thoughts and Images

The OM-1 now takes its place as the flagship camera for the new company. My personal history with photography goes almost as far back as the original OM-1. In 1976, when I was just 12 years old, I purchased the OM-1n and have been shooting with Olympus ever since. At the time of this writing I’d been using the new OM-1 for about 3 weeks. It has truly rekindled my love for the craft. The camera does not make the photographer, but let’s face it, like with almost all creative pursuits, the better the tools, the better the results. And this camera has given me fantastic results. From the incredible image quality to the new EVF, from the lightning fast AF to the increased processing speed, the OM-1 has exceeded my expectations.