Olympus OM-D E-M1X Announced

The Latest M43 Camera from Olympus is a Beast for Sure! Check out the Specs!

In a world of ever-decreasing-in-size cameras, the new Olympus OM-D E-M1X is a bold move in my opinion. Especially in the M43 (Micro Four Thirds) market at a time when people are craving full frame mirrorless cameras. The integrated battery grip emphasises that this is a feature-packed camera for professionals so can it live up to that pressure and take on its competitors?

Whilst even with the battery grip this camera is still pretty small, it is the host of other features that makes it a serious contender in the M43 market. There are some really special, creative and exciting features that I have outlined below.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X Quick Specs

Is this killing the skills we all acquired in the past for great action photography? Naa...who cares! : )

Hand-Held High Res shot mode

The Olympus OM-D E-M1X will automatically compile multiple images to create a single, 50MP photo. How cool is that!

EVF

The viewfinder on the E-M1X is a high speed, 2.36 million dot resolution with 120fps refresh rate and 0.83x magnification. It also has an impressive lag time of just 0.005 seconds.

Rear Screen

The rear screen is a multi-angled, touch, 3.0" 1.037m-dot LCD which I think all camera of this type should come with these days. I have always loved that feature on the Panny GH series.

Video

You can shoot 4K video up to 30fps or 237mbps in DCI 4K at 24fps in OM-LOG. Not bad but this shows the OM-D E-M1X is predominantly a stills photographers' camera. The compression is IPB in 8-bit 4:2:0 which is pretty good but not the best.

It's certainly no match for many other cameras in this market including my Panasonic GH5 10-bit, 4:2:2, 400mbps internal recording. However, the OM-D E-M1X can up that slightly to 8-bit 4:2:2 when recording externally. Still not great but suitable for most shooters I imagine.

Video buttons and bits

I am always happy to see headphone and microphone sockets on camera that shoot video. These should almost be standard for all cameras for recording and monitoring audio. The Olympus OM-D E-M1X has both of these plus a Micro-HDMI port.

You also get a USB Type-C port supporting up to 100W of power delivery. This charges both batteries quickly so it is an extremely handy feature.

OM-LOG is also a great feature giving your videos a wider dynamic range for editing.

Time lapses can be created internally in UHD 4K with up to a 5fps shooting rate.

Image Stabilisation

Apparently the image stabilisation on the E-M1X is rated as one of the best currently on the market. You can capture sharp, hand-held images lasting up to a second or more which is incredible! The system is rated for up to 7 stops or 7.5 stops when using IS lenses such as the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f4 IS PRO.

Olympus tell us in their gumph and you can shoot up to 4 second, hand held exposures with this set up which is insane!

Live ND

A neutral density filter is a must for any serious video shooter. It decreases the light entering the camera allowing for slower shutter speeds. This helps to give buttery smooth motion rather than jittery footage that a fast shutter speed would give.

By taking multiple exposures and blending them together, you get:

That is superb if it works well and will save a fortune on expensive filters (my favourite is the Breakthrough ND filter range).

Thoughts

The only downside I can see with the Olympus OM-D E-M1X is due to the M43 sensor. I have yet to see a Micro Four Thirds sensor that produces full-frame standard, low light photography and video.

Overall, and low light capabilities aside, this is an incredible camera that will appeal to both amateur and professional photographers. If I was in the market for a new stills camera I would certainly be taking a close look at this.

For more information, go to: Olympus or you can pre-order at B and H Photo Video.