OM System OM-1 camera takes up to 120 photos per second in raw format
OM Digital Solutions presents its first camera. It concerns the OM-1, a microfour-thirds device with a shooting speed of up to 120 images per second. At 50 fps, exposure and autofocus per photo is also possible.
When shooting at the maximum speed of 120fps, the autofocus and exposure are fixed for the first frame. All recordings after that have the same settings. It is not known exactly how long the OM-1 can maintain the shooting speed of 120 fps. The high speeds of 120 and 50 fps are possible with the electronic shutter. When using the mechanical shutter, the shooting speed is up to 10 fps. According to the manufacturer, the shutter lasts 400,000 shots.
The camera also has a so-called Pro Capture mode. In it, the camera starts capturing images in the buffer when the shutter button is pressed halfway. As soon as the button is pressed, the images are saved. This means that the moments just before pressing the button are also recorded.
Inside the OM-1 is a 20.4-megapixel sensor of the microfourthirds format, which is a cmos sensor with a stacked design. This means that there is dram memory on the chip, which makes the high shooting speeds possible. The sensor is placed on a five-axis image stabilization mechanism in the housing.
Cross Quad Pixel AF
There are 1053 cross-type phase-detection autofocus points on the sensor. OM Digital Solutions calls it the Cross Quad Pixel AF system and says the camera features an AI-trained autofocus system to track F1 racing cars, motorcycles, planes, helicopters, trains, birds, and dogs and cats.
The camera films in 4K UHD and DCI resolutions of 3840×2160 and 4096×2160 pixels with up to 60fps. In full-HD this goes up to a maximum of 240 fps. The device records images with the H.264 or H.265 codecs and with an external recorder, 12-bit recordings with 4:4:4 color coding are possible.
The device is equipped with an electronic OLED viewfinder with 5.76 million pixels and a refresh rate of 120 fps. The flip-out 3″ display on the back is a 1.62 million-dot LCD. The camera housing is IP53 rated, sealing against dust and moisture. Photos are stored on two UHS SD cards. II type and the camera is equipped with WiFi and Bluetooth. The device is 135mm wide, 92mm high, 72mm deep and has a weight of 511 grams.
OM Digital Solutions calls the OM-1 the flagship of its OM system. The name is derived from the analog Olympus OM-1 introduced in 1972. The new device looks similar to the E-M1 Mark III, which was released under the Olympus name. Incidentally, the Olympus brand name is also on top of the new device. However, that company’s camera division was divested in 2020 and has since been part of Japan Industrial Partners.
The OM-1 will be available in mid-March. The separate body has a suggested retail price of 2199 euros. OM Digital Solutions is also releasing a kit with a 12-40mm f/2.8 lens, for a suggested retail price of €2799.