For the ‘prosumer’ camera buyer, the market is a bit confusing as of now. On one hand, we have DSLR giant Canon producing the EOS 100D, the smallest DSLR available in the market. It has a standard APS-C sensor and the image quality is, in no way, compromised because of a compact form factor.

At the same time, Olympus has come out with a new flagship model, the OM-D EM-1. While we could never get our head around the nomenclature system that this manufacturer follows, we do know why the new flagship is still a Micro Four Third based camera. With the EM-5, which we tested just over a year ago, we were assured that the performance and user experience is on par with any standard crop sensor DSLR.

The price tag of the new flagship, the OM-D EM-1, now runs in six figures, but also has a whole lot of features and improvements to boast about. And as always, we put the EM-1 through our test process to see if the EM-1 has improved upon the performance and is worthy of the price tag.

Design and build

The EM-1 still bears the retro look of the EM-5. But that’s where the resemblance to the latter stops. The body is slightly chunkier, has an ample stock grip, something that the EM-5 lacked. While some of the buttons may have been carried over, Olympus has thrown in as many control and function buttons in the space available. It’s like this – every function or control that you need for street-level and candid photography is available at your fingertips.

As far as the construction of the EM-1 is concerned, the robust magnesium build along with dust, splash and freeze proof features, thanks to a large array of gaskets, enable this Micro Four Third to have a large area of operability.

While we are totally okay with the performance of the 3-inch tiltable LCD touchscreen, which, with a 1,037K dot resolution is quite clear and bright for all shooting conditions, we expected a vari-angle screen for more flexible shooting positions. We were mighty impressed with the new 2,360K dot electronic viewfinder (with 100 per cent frame coverage); there is almost no lag (0.029 seconds is negligible). The colour reproduction and lighting simulation is spot-on with the EVF.

Features and performance

A quick overview of the specs explains why the OM-D EM-1 is a high-end camera. It packs a 4/3-inch, 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor. This sensor is anti-aliasing filter free which means that the camera is capable of shooting images with more detail, and that is augmented by a new TruePic VII image processor that extends the ISO range up to 25,600. This we found to be true, because with images shot at ISO 1600, there was ample amount of detail and the pictures carried only a marginal amount of noise. Photos that we shot on RAW format at ISO 3200 showed noticeable grain, but none that could not be cleaned up.

The EM-1 has a Dual Fast AF system, which uses both phase detection and contrast AF, bringing together the technologies used in both medium and small format cameras in one body. The result is a very responsive AF system that works splendidly with both single and continuous shooting. The 81-point contrast detection is extremely potent with tracking shots, and with a 10fps burst rate (6.5 with continuous AF) action shots are taken care of, with finesse. However, with dim lighting conditions and while trying to get some bokeh, we relied heavily on manual focus.

But we’ve come to think that the EM-1 shines in the dark. Along with high-ISO capabilities with efficient noise control, this new flagship from Olympus also uses a 5-axis image stabilisation. If you’ve got a track record of producing shaky images at anywhere below 1/50 seconds of shutter speed, the EM-1 will let you take 1/5 or even 1/4 second shots handheld. For seasoned users, shots with shutter speeds of even up to a full second, can be taken without a tripod. That, in our opinion, is mind-blowing.

Verdict

Except for the sensor, the Olympus OM-D EM-1 has everything that a consumer or prosumer level DSLR would ideally have. In fact some of the manual control options offered are on very few prosumer DSLRs, such as a dedicated HDR control button, and dedicated filter mode on the mode dial itself. And these filters are actually fun to play with, making the EM-1 a very versatile camera, and ideal for most types of photography.

Of course, Olympus doesn’t have a lens ecosystem as big as Canon or Nikon, but the performance and image quality of the EM-1 is better than any of Sony’s NEX series cameras, and marginally better than Fujifilm’s X-series as well. But with a lakh plus price tag, buyers might want to go for less expensive DSLRs and invest the rest in lenses. Only the most hardcore Micro Four Third enthusiasts seem to be the probable buyers.

Rs 1,05,000 onwards

Love – Brilliant overall image quality, remarkable image stabilisation, robust build

Hate – Pricey considering the consumer’s choice, AF is unreliable under dim lighting

sabyasachi.b@thehindu.co.in

comment COMMENT NOW