Olympus has announced the OM-D E-M1 Mark III, price tag from £1,599, its new flagship camera which promises unrivalled stabilisation.
Olympus’s latest OM-D model offers what the company is calling ‘the world’s best image stabilisation system’. The E-M1 Mark III’s revamped 5-axis image stabilisation claims to deliver 7.5 shutter speed steps of compensation. This would enable users to handhold the camera in low-light conditions where previously a tripod was necessary.
Sensor
Inside the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III is a 20.4-megapixel Live MOS sensor, which is paired with the company’s new TruePic IX image processing engine.
For photographers seeking higher-resolution images, Olympus has included a 50MP Handheld High Res Shot mode and an 80MP Tripod High Res Shot option. In these modes the camera uses pixel shift technology to capture several frames and merge them together.
Live ND mode, which was introduced on the E-M1X, is back and users now have the option of selecting the effect level from ND2 all the way up to ND32. This effectively lets photographers capture slow shutter speed effects without the need for an optical filter.
Olympus’s Pro Capture mode for freezing action is included, as are its popular Live Composite, Focus Bracketing and Focus Stacking modes.
Autofocus
The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III boasts a 121-point (all cross-type) on-chip phase detection AF sensor that offers 75% vertical coverage and 80% horizontal coverage of the screen.
AF/AE tracking is possible at up to 18fps high-speed shooting, while maintaining the full 20.4-megapixel resolution.
There’s also a brand new Starry Sky AF mode for astrophotography. This aims to eliminate the need to focus manually at night. There are two modes in Starry Sky AF: Speed Priority prioritises focusing speed, while Accuracy Priority employs a finer focus scan for locking on to specific stars with telephoto lenses.
Also on board is Olympus’s Face Priority / Eye Priority AF, which Olympus says is improved to detect smaller faces and eyes thanks to the new TruePic IX engine.
Video
The OM-D E-M1 Mark III is capable of shooting Cinema 4K video at 25/30p, as well as Full HD at up to 120fps. Olympus has include the OM-Log400 mode it introduced in the E-M1X for colour grading post-capture.
There’s also a View Assist function that previews the footage in Full HD standard BT.709 equivalent to make it easier to assess what is being captured in OM-Log400 mode.
What’s more, Olympus has included video-specific stabilisation that uses electronic stabilisation combined with in-body 5-axis stabilisation.
Videographers will also appreciate a mic port for external microphones, an HDMI port and the option to now set ISO automatically when filming (this wasn’t available in the OM-D E-M1 Mark II.
Body Design
The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III body is constructed of magnesium alloy. The camera is also fully weather-sealed and is dust-, splash- and freeze-proof.
Other design features include USB charging, meaning you can charge the camera via an external power bank. Olympus says that the E-M1 Mark III battery can also be fully charged in just two hours.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III Price & Release Date
The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III price tag is £1,599 for the body only. The E-M1 Mark III price rises to £2,199.99 for a kit that includes the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40 F2.8 PRO lens. An OM-D E-M1 Mark III kit with the with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100 F4.0 IS PRO lens is priced at £2,499.99.
Olympus says the camera will be available from late February.