Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III

Click here for the specs on the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III.

Olympus has just announced a very exciting upgrade to the OM-D E-M1 Mark II.  Allow me to introduce you to the latest pro camera in the flagship group the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III.  Read on to learn about some cool new features and let you know my thoughts about this camera.

FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a review.  You know that I don’t make reviews.  I am an Olympus Visionary photographer, which means I am sponsored by Olympus.  But I assure you that all words, thoughts and opinions in this video are mine.  I’ve not been asked to write this article or make the video and I am not being paid to do so.

What’s New and Exciting in the OM-D E-M1 Mark III

I want to remind you that a year ago, I introduced the Olympus E-M1X in this video.  In that video and several of my TOGCHATS I talked about the track record that Olympus has with being the first to bring new technologies to the market.  Image Stabilization with a floating sensor, Face and Eye Detection, Live composite, Live ND, Intelligent Subject Detection Auto Focus, Hand Held Hi-Res Shot Mode, Built in Wifi tethering and the list goes on.  I also predicted that many of the new technologies that were introduced would make their way into smaller Olympus camera bodies in short time.  Here we are a year later and quite a few features from the E-M1X now exist in both the E-M5 Mark III and the new E-M1 Mark III which boasts an impressive amount of features derived from the E-M1X

This new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III makes use of the same 20mp sensor that is found in the E-M1X.  Now I know that those of you that are pixel peepers may be disappointed by that – but honestly, I am not.  I have images from my Olympus cameras that have been printed on a billboard at 48 feet wide.

I’ve had giant prints displayed at trade shows 8 feet wide.  I love the feel of the 20mp Olympus sensor and the simple science is that at 20 megapixels that sensor is recording detail that your human perception system is not able to appreciate. So if you are thinking that bigger is better. . . well, not necessarily.  With bigger cameras comes more cost – more weight – more file size and storage needs – bigger processor and ram requirements for your computers – more processing and retouching time due to the unnecessary detail – and that list goes on.

The size, weight and form factor of the new OM-D E-M1 Mark III is almost identical to its predecessor, the OM-D E-M1 Mark II.  While there are a few cosmetic changes like moving the menu button to the top left of the camera – which is a change that I love, the two big changes to the exterior of the camera are both upgrades.

First is the addition of the “B” on the mode dial.  This allows you direct access to Bulb – Livetime and Live Composite from the top of the camera – instead of having to navigate the shutter speed all the way down to a time exposure by scrolling through all of the various shutter speeds.  Btw – Live Composite Images can now be recorded for up to 6 hours instead of the previous 3.  This is a huge bonus for night sky shooters.

The addition of the Multi-Selector toggle which allows you to access your Autofocus Target Modes as well as giving you the ability to choose a focus target point.  This toggle is controlled with your thumb and is much easier to manipulate on the fly than the arrow pad that the E-M1 Mark II and many other brands use. Both of these features first debuted on the E-M1X.

Camera features also include a TruePic IX processor which is new to Olympus cameras and also a key ingredient in the E-M1 Mark III’s ability to perform some of the more advanced features of the E-M1X using only one processor.

The OM-D E-M1 Mark III uses a 5-Axis in-body image stabilization system (IBIS) using the new gyro sensor that was developed for the E-M1X   and provides unrivaled image stabilization.

When we talk about image quality, in addition to the improvements from the TruePic IX processor, the new Mark III also features a 50MP Hand Held Hi Res mode.  The camera composes the hi-res image by shooting 16 shots and using 320mp of pixel information – and it does it fast enough that you can shoot portraits – without a tripod.  The processing that occurs with this technique also creates a noise reduction effect that is equal to approximately 2 stops of ISO sensitivity.

Thanks to the incredible image stabilization, the OM-D E-M1 Mark III is capable of handheld shooting of four seconds with Olympus IS lenses like the 12-100mm zoom and the 300mm telephoto.  You can check out sites like Flickr and you will see handheld exposures much longer than 4 seconds with the EM-1X, so given the smaller size and lighter weight – I would expect the same if not more from the Mark III.

Another feature first released in the E-M1X, Live ND is now available in the Mark III as well.  Live ND allows you to get that slow shutter effect that landscape photographers love for moving water – without using neutral density filters.  The camera can create up to 5 steps of neutral density compensation in camera by taking a series of exposures and compositing them into one file.

In the near future I’ll have a video for you to demonstrate how you can create portrait shots like this one – using the Live ND feature!  So with a little creativity – it’s not just for landscape photographers.

The new TruePic IX processor has also allowed for the creation of a new face and eye autofocus algorithm which further improves autofocus speed and tracking performance.

And one of the coolest new features in the OM-D E-M1 Mark III  – Handheld starscape shooting with accurate autofocus.  Full disclosure. Until this past December – I had never photographed stars at night.  I had the amazing experience of spending an evening in the desert with my fellow Olympus Visionaries using this camera for the first time.  Several of the Visionaries like Peter Baumgarten, Alex McClure and Frank Smith are masters at photographing the night sky – so I asked a lot of questions in preparation for the evening.

I also knew from previous reading that one of the hardest aspects of shooting the night sky is getting the focus accurate.  Until now – autofocus simply doesn’t work on stars in the sky.  Just setting your lens to infinity on manual focus rarely works either.  As I talked to Alex, Peter and Frank, I learned that different people have different techniques for getting sharp images of the stars – but even the best of them will spend an evening outdoors shooting, only to come home with no sharp images.

While I am not going to win any awards for this shot, I am proud to say that this is one of my first ever night sky shots and it is tack sharp using the Starry AF focusing feature on the E-M1 Mark III.  For photographers who shoot the night sky this feature is a game changer.  It simply works and it does it with incredible accuracy and speed.

Starry AF has two modes… Speed Priority which is the default and Accuracy Priority which is intended for use with a tripod and telephoto lenses.

The new OM-D E-M1 Mark III also uses the same coating on the supersonic wave filter that covers the sensor that was developed for the E-M1X.  This sensor vibration technology vibrates the sensor over 30,000 times per second which allows you to change lenses even in dusty environments and keep on shooting without fear of dust on your sensor.

Also developed for the E-M1X, the shutter unit is rated for an incredible 400,000 actuations.  Like the E-M1X, the Mark III can be charged via USB-C cable from a portable battery.  If you tether… when you are not actively shooting and you turn your camera off while the tether is still connected to your computer – the camera will charge via the USB-C cable connected to the computer.

Like the E-M1X, the Mark III also has the ability to create custom autofocus targets to best suit your style of shooting or your subject matter.

Also like the E-M1X, the new E-M1 Mark III has the ability to tether via wifi with no additional devices or cables needed and when used in conjunction with the Olympus OI Share app you can now update firmware via the app without having to connect the camera to a computer and you can use the app to backup – save and share your menu and custom settings.

My thoughts about the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III

This camera is now my primary camera.  Look, I love the E-M1X and still feel the same about it today as I did when I released my video introducing it last year.  That said, the new E-M1 Mark III includes all of these incredible feature upgrades with the same ergonomics and lightweight design as the E-M1 Mark II.  Remember the E-M1 Mark II, that’s the camera that convinced me to leave Nikon after 42 years and switch to Olympus – a move that I do not regret one bit.

I consider the OM-D E-M1 Mark III to be a professional camera with unrivaled ergonomics and portability.  And let’s face it, you can’t find another camera with the amount of features that are built into these Olympus cameras. Some of these features like Live Composite and Live ND are proprietary Olympus features.  No other brand has them.  The creative possibilities that we have because of these features is unrivaled in the industry.

Be sure to follow my Instagram and Flickr so that you can see images shot with the E-M1 Mark III as I post them.

Now go pick up that camera and shoot something because your BEST shot – it’s your NEXT shot.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III SPECIFICATIONS