42 11 April 2020 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
ALL
PR
CES
ARE
APPROX
MATE
STREET
PR
CES
Olympus
OM-D E-M1
Mark III
Olympus’supdatedMicroFourThirdsflagshipis
packedfullofclevertechthathelpsyougetpictures
othercamerascan’t.AndyWestlakeinvestigates
I
t’sbeena littleoverthree
yearssinceOlympus
releaseditshigh-speed
OM-DE-M1MarkII, a
camerathatwelikeda lotdueto
itspaceyperformance,excellent
handling,andincrediblyeffective
in-bodyimagestabilisation(IBIS).
Lastyear,thefirmfollowedupwith
theE-M1X,a higher-endmodel
withanintegratedverticalgripfor
usewithlargelenses,andsome
reallyclevernewfeatures.It’san
impressivecamera,butdueto its
bulkand£2,200body-onlyprice,
inevitablyof nicheappeal.Nowthe
firmhasrevisitedthesmallerform
factorwiththeE-M1MarkIII.
Atfirstglance,thenewmodel
looksverymuchlikeits
predecessor,withessentiallythe
samecorespecificationsandbody
design.Externally,thebiggest
updateis theadditionof a joystick
forselectingtheAFarea.Butthemost important upgrade is inside,
because the E-M1 Mark III debuts
a brand new processor, the
TruePic IX. This allows the
inclusion of some of the best new
features from the E-M1X,
including LiveND that mimics the
effect of neutral density fi lters up
to 5 stops, and a hand-held
high-resolution multi-shot mode
that outputs 50MP images. But it
also boosts many other aspects of
the camera’s operation, making
the Mark III a more signifi cant
upgrade than it fi rst appears.
At £1,600 body-only, the Mark
III is distinctly aimed at serious
photographers. Compared to
other fast-shooting, weather-
sealed models with IBIS, it costs
£50 more than Fujifi lm’s
impressive-looking new X-T4, and
£200 more than the Sony Alpha- It’s about the same price as
the full-frame Nikon Z 6, and
Ataglance
£1,600 body only
● £2,200 with 12-40mm f/2.8;
£2,500 with 12-100mm f/4
● 20.4MP Four Thirds sensor
● 18fps shooting with C-AF
● 121-point phase detection AF
● 5-axis in-body stabilisation
● Extensive weather-sealingTestbench CAMERA TEST
For and against
Excellent control layout and
handling
Superb build quality with full
weather-proofing
Incredibly effective in-body
stabilisation
Super-fast autofocus and
shooting
Huge range of useful
photographic features
Relatively low resolution
viewfinder and screen
Huge and dense menu system
makes advanced options
difficult to find and use
Raw image quality lags behind
larger-sensor peers
Vertical grip lacks AF joystickDatafile
Sensor 20.4MP CMOS, 17.3 x 13mm
Output size 5184 x 3888
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds
Shutter speeds 60 – 1/8000 sec (mechanical),
60 – 1/32,000sec (electronic)
Sensitivity ISO 200-6400 (standard),
ISO 64-25,600 (extended)
Exposure modes PASM, B, Movie
Metering Pattern, centre-weighted, spot,
highlight spot, shadow spot
Exposure comp +/-5EV on 0.3EV steps
Continuous
shooting60fps with focus fixed;
18fps with AF-C
Screen 3in 1.04m-dot articulated LCD
Viewfinder 2.36m-dots, 0.74x magnification
AF points 121, all cross-type
Video 4K (4096 x 2160), 24p, 237Mbps
External mic 3.5mm stereo
Memory card 2x SD, SDHC, SDXC (one UHS-II)
Power BLH-1 Li-ion
Battery life 420
Dimensions 134.1x90.9x68.9 mm
Weight 580g