Making Movies

OM DIGITAL SOLUTIONS HAS THE little matter of Panasonic’s Lumix GH-series cameras to contend with when it comes to attracting videomakers to the OM-1. Both the GH5 II and GH6 are more logical choices for anybody with higher-end video requirements and who like the various advantages of the M43 sensor size. That said, the OM-1 is still a lot more capable than either the E-M1X or the E-M1 III and has enough to be competitive, although the GH6 is obviously in a different league altogether in terms of its appeal to video professionals.

The new sensor and faster processor enable the OM-1 to keep up in terms of faster frame rates, so both 4K DCI and 4K UHD can be recorded internally at 50 or 60fps and FHD is available up to 200/240p for slow-motion clips. And you can have 10-bit 4:2:0 colour with the H.265 HEVC compression codec delivers bit rates of up to 152Mbps. With the standard MPEG-4 AVC H.264 codec and 8-bit 4:2:0 colour, the bit rates extend up to 202Mbps. The LongGOP interframe compression regime is applied to 4K recording, but there’s the option of ALL-I intraframe compression with Full HD at 24, 25 or 30fps to boost the maximum bit rate up to 202Mbps. The OM-Log400 and Flat profiles are now joined by HLG (HDR) for 10-bit colour and an enhanced dynamic range (using H.265). Usefully, View Assist is available for the OM-Log and Flat profiles so you can get an idea what the final footage will look like. There’s no limit on clip durations.

The external recording options are topped by a 12-bit 4:4:4 colour ProRes RAW output in 4K DCI or 4K UHD up to 60fps, which is supported by the Atmos Ninja V and V+ devices (via a firmware upgrade). The OM-1 sticks with a micro HDMI Type D connector, unlike the GH5 II and GH6 with both using the full-size Type A.

There’s the option of recording highquality sound with 24-bit quantisation and sampling at 96kHz. There’s both a stereo audio input (with switchable plug-in power) and a stereo audio output for connecting headphones. Both are the standard 3.5mm stereo minijack connections. Sound levels can be adjusted manually and there’s a built-in attenuator for shooting in very noisy locations. A wind-cut filter can be set to Low, Standard or High. It’s also possible to adjust the audio levels sent to the headphones. Additional electronic stabilisation is available when shooting video and enables remarkably smooth handheld shooting, but it results in a small crop of 1.18x because the image is shifted electronically on the sensor.

Subject tracking is available when shooting video (although only in the C-AF + TR mode) or, alternatively, eye/ face detection for humans. Tracking sensitivity is adjustable to one of three settings. The rest of the OM-1’s video functionality includes a handy white balance lock (which can be switched on and off during recording), time-coding, two zebra patterns with adjustable thresholds, flicker reduction, the PASM exposure modes, the Picture Modes, most of the Art Filter effects, lens vignetting correction, the grid guides, the real-time histogram display and the focus peaking display. Touchscreen controls are available for AF point selection, pull focusing, exposure adjustments (apertures, shutter speeds and compensation), audio recording levels, headphone levels and power zooming.

In terms of the basics, the OM-1 really isn’t all that far away from the GH5 II, but it lacks most of the latter’s more pro-level features, such as anamorphic recording, a waveform monitor and vector scope, knee control, luminance level adjustment, colour bars and a 1.0KHz test tone. However, for anybody who wants to shoot professional-looking videos as an adjunct to their photography, the OM-1 has everything they’ll need.