OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1X
Angela Nicholson reports back after shooting with a pre-production sample of Olympus’s most pro-centric camera
We test the pro-centric camera
Olympus has made a bold move with the OM-D E-M1X. The company’s whole Micro Four Thirds system is built around the promise of smaller, lighter cameras and lenses, yet the OM-D E-M1X is a whopper. Even without the integrated vertical grip it would be larger than the OM-D E-M1 II, and with it, it dwarfs its fellow flagship camera.
So why the big change? Well, Olympus recognises that long telephoto lenses are better balanced on a bigger camera with a heftier grip, and a vertical grip helps to maintain balance whichever orientation you’re shooting in. Some photographers also find small cameras awkward and fiddly to use. In addition, the vertical grip houses a cartridge that holds two batteries, together enabling up to 2,580 images to be shot on a single charge.
So there are some valid reasons for creating a larger camera. And let’s not forget that there are significant size and weight savings made with Micro Four Thirds optics in comparison with full-frame lenses. Olympus’s M. Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f4.0 IS PRO, for instance, is effectively a 600mm lens and at 1,270g, it’s exactly a third of the weight of the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 600mm f4E FL ED VR (3,810g). That’s a big difference when you’re lugging your kit around. But a lens that weighs over 1kg still feels better balanced on a larger, doublegripped camera than a small one.
Size isn’t the only difference between the OM-D E-M1X and the E-M1 II, as the new camera also has two TruePic VIII processing engines instead of just one. That enables some nice performance enhancements like better start-up time, faster responses and no blackout in the viewfinder when Pro Capture mode is active.
Olympus has also reworked the E-M1X’s autofocus (AF) system, and although it has the same number of phase-detection AF points as the E-M1 II (121), it’s much more sensitive and effective in low light. Olympus claims it’s sensitive down to -6EV, and after shooting in a very dim indoor go-karting track, I have no reason to question that. The camera does a great job of getting fast-moving subjects sharp in next to no light!
Olympus has also introduced a new AF Tracking option that allows you to specify the type of subject you want to track. The pre-production sample had settings for motorsports, aeroplanes and trains, but given that Olympus is aiming the camera at wildlife and sports photographers it seems a safe bet that animals and people will be on the list in the not-too-distant future.
With Motorsports selected, the E-M1X managed to locate and track a go-kart occasionally, but it fared better in the very gloomy conditions when a single AF point or group of points was used.
Olympus has also been working on its image stabilisation system and the E-M1X has a new gyro sensor, which helps boost the claimed shutter speed compensation to 7.5EV. That’s phenomenal and the early signs are good, with sharp images being possible with exposures longer than three seconds when shooting with an effective focal length of 28mm.
In another enhancement over the OM-D E-M1 II, the E-M1X’s Focus Bracketing can use up to 15 images and, helpfully, the crop that’s applied is indicated in the viewfinder. The Hi Res Shot mode also has an 80MP Tripod setting and a 50MP Handheld setting.
As the E-M1X has the same 20.4MP sensor as is in the E-M1 II, the new camera doesn’t make a leap in image quality, but its lowsensitivity (ISO) JPEG images look great. The finest details start to look a bit smudged at 100% on screen by ISO 1000, but they look good at normal viewing sizes.
“It does a great job of getting fast-moving
subjects sharp in next to no light”