Olympus releases OM-D E-M1X system camera in February for 2999 euros
Olympus announces that the OM-D E-M1X system camera will be for sale from the end of February for a suggested retail price of 2999 euros. This new flagship excels in speed, among other things, with which the device is mainly aimed at sports and nature photographers.
Like the other Olympus cameras, the OM-D E-M1X is a mirrorless system camera with a microfour-thirds sensor. Just like the OM-D E-M1 Mark II, the chip has a resolution of 20.4 megapixels, allowing shooting at 18 fps in raw format, including autofocus retention. Without autofocus, that speed increases to 60fps, also in full resolution and in RAW. There is support for two uhs-II sd memory cards.
Olympus has equipped the new camera with a 3″ LCD that can be fully rotated and flipped forward for easy vlogs or selfies. The device also has a joystick to choose from 121 cross-sensitive phase-detection autofocus points on the camera. the sensor, which comes on top of a traditional contrast detection system.The LCD is touch sensitive and can be used to choose a focus point.
In terms of design, it is also striking that the camera has a built-in battery grip, which can accommodate two BLH-1 batteries. This would allow users to capture up to 2,580 images, provided a battery-saving mode is used. The two batteries can be charged in about an hour via a USB charging function, says Olympus. A cartridge system is used, which makes it easy to remove the batteries from the camera, even when the device is mounted on a tripod.
The electronic viewfinder has a resolution of 2.36 million pixels and a magnification of 0.83x. With this, the EVF of the new Olympus camera corresponds to the EVF of the Panasonic G9 system camera in terms of magnification, but the G9 does have a higher resolution. The E-M1X is sealed against dust and splash water, and can withstand temperatures of -10 degrees Celsius.
Olympus states that the stabilization in this camera, according to CIPA measurements, is good for a gain of 7.5 stops, measured on the basis of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4.0 lens at 100mm, or 200mm effective. Without this lens, 7 stops of gain should be possible. To make this possible, the E-M1X includes a new gyro sensor, according to the manufacturer.
The device has a movie function with a maximum resolution of 4096×2160 pixels at a frame rate of 30 fps and a bit rate of 102 Mbit/s. If the dci 4k format is used, a maximum of 24fps is possible with a bit rate of 237Mbit/s. Full HD video can be recorded at up to 120fps. A 4k movie function at sixty frames per second is not supported. Olympus speaks of a five-axis image stabilization in the video specifications and the company has added a Log function.
Compared to the E-M1 Mark II, the new flagship has two quad-core TruePic VIII image processors, which according to Olympus, among other things, the start time and recovery time from sleep mode are shorter. According to the manufacturer, this doubling of the processing power also makes some new features possible, such as the built-in nd filter, a renewed multi-shot mode and a new autofocus system.
The autofocus system, which Olypus has trained with machine learning, can recognize subjects and track them automatically. The system is trained to recognize three types of objects that the user can set the camera to: motorsports, trains, and airplanes and helicopters. With such a function, this system is leading and not the normal autofocus. The camera is probably not capable of learning on its own; presumably Olympus will add more types of objects over time via firmware updates that the autofocus system can specifically target.
The traditional multi-shot mode using a tripod generates eighty megapixel photos, but there is now also a mode that does not require a tripod and takes sixteen images. These are then merged into a raw file with a resolution of fifty megapixels. As with the Pentax K-1II, in this mode the camera notices how much the sensor has moved, after which it is compensated for this movement in the final, merged photo.
Furthermore, the E-M1X contains a GPS sensor, a temperature sensor, a manometer and a compass. This makes it possible to add detailed information to the photos. Olympus does not mention a star-tracking function, which is theoretically possible with these sensors, in combination with the advanced sensor stabilization on paper. The camera weighs 997 grams and will be available at the end of February for 2999 euros.
Olympus is also announcing a new high-end lens. The M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 includes built-in stabilization and a built-in teleconverter with 1.25x magnification. This makes a focal length of 1000mm possible in 35mm equivalent. The manufacturer also comes with a separate, new teleconverter with a magnification of 2x. This teleconverter can be attached to the yet-to-be-released 150-400mm telephoto zoom or to Olympus’ existing 40-150mm f/2.8 lens. Prices of the new lens or teleconverter have not yet been announced. The teleconverter will go on sale in the summer of 2019, the new telephoto zoom sometime in 2020.