Hands On With The New Olympus OM-D E-M1

Earlier today Olympus announced its new OM-D E-M1 flagship camera. This new advanced mirrorless camera combines two existing lines of Olympus cameras – the DSLR (E range – more specifically the E5) and the mirrorless rage (more specifically the OM-D line – to which the new model belongs).

So what is new in the E-M1 in comparison to the E-M5 which was announced last year and received quite a bit of positive feedback from users? Here are some features (some new, some improved):

New 16MP Four Thirds format sensor without a low-pass filter (for sharper images)
On-sensor phase detection elements (for improved focus – especially with older 4/3 lenses which needs phase detection to operate well).
True Pic VII processor.
Lens correction function in the camera.
100-25,600 ISO range.
‘5-axis’ image stabilization with auto panning detection.
Shooting speed – up to 10fps (6.5 fps shooting with continuous AF).
Digital viewfinder – 1.04 million dot 3″ touchscreen display with 80° upwards tilt and 50° downwards tilt.
Electronic viewfinder: 2.36M-dot LCD, 0.74x magnification (equiv.), eye sensor
Wi-Fi for for remote shooting, image transfer etc.
60-1/8000 seconds shutter speed.
1/320 sec flash sync (and a flash X-sync socket).
Built-in microphone socket (no other Olympus camera had it so far).
Focus ‘peaking’ feature (not in video though).
2 mode advanced HDR.
Several control dials and dedicated bottoms (for extensive personal control).

Along with the E-M1 Olympus also announced a new high quality zoom lens – M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-40mm 1:2.8 – quite similar to the Panasonic 12-35mm but without image stabilization (Olympus bodies comes with built in IS after all).

Pricing for the Olympus OM-D E-M1 (body) will stand at $1400 (you can already pre-order it on B&H). The M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-40mm 1:2.8 will go for around a $1000 (also available for pre-order).

The video above shows Chris Niccolls from TheCameraStore as he takes the new OM-D E-M1 for a spin and test it out. If you want some more technical look – Gordon Laing from CameraLabs.com has his own look at the new camera which you can check out below:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4VM1MTzGfE[/youtube]

Some more images of the Olympus OM-D E-M1:

Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.