Olympus E-M1X - Wildlife Photography Gear Review 

Do you shoot with The Olympus E-M1X or are you thinking of getting one? Please share your opinion and any questions you might have in the comments below.

At last some content with M43.Super excited for this!

Thank you, Danielle! Ever since Pangolin reviewed the Nikon Z7 and praised the EVF and IS, I've been waiting for a review of the Olympus system (which pioneered these technologies). A couple of mistakes in the video: The E-M1X now costs @2000, not $3000 (US prices). Secondly, for ProCapture, it's worth mentioning that while the ProCap-L mode (continuous C-AF) is 18fps, the ProCap-H mode with S-AF is a whopping 60fps! For photos of birds taking off, you can use ProCap-H because you only need to set the AF once (when the bird is perched). Perhaps for birds, 60fps is overkill, but it's very useful for insects such as dragonflies or beetles, who are a joy to shoot with the 300mm Pro.

Great unbiased review and well done. I have the E-M1X with 300mm like yourself and as you say the menu system is very comprehensive. One thing I do love though is you can configure 2 completely different settings by flicking the two way mode selector switch. So in position 1 I have the full AF bird detect and a quick flick to position 2 has a single point AF if the bird flies to a busy area of the frame. Used to shoot Nikon D500 and Sigma 150-600 but Olympus have a system where you can take out all day without getting fatigued. Thanks again 👍

Fantastic evaluation. Thorough, clear, concise and professionally presented. Absolutely, high quality product in terms of production. One of the best organized and informative product videos I have seen. Great examples, demonstrations and explainations. Having watched this video, I feel confident, the camera will be a sound purchase. Thank you

A fair and balanced review. As an E-M1X owner I love it, whether it is the right camera for you depends on what you want and need but for me it is pretty much perfect. Build quality is outstanding, it makes most other cameras feel ordinary. Handling is also outstanding, in both orientations. Although it's a big camera it feels great in the hand and balances really well with telephoto lenses.I find AF to be fast and reliable and i have never managed to flatten the battery in a day of shooting. The 20MP sensor is unimpressive in terms of counting pixels but colours are lovely and unless you crop aggressively 20MP is enough.

Fabulous review Danielle. I have been a Nikon shooter for 30 years and found my gear was getting bigger and heavier. Two years ago I made the switch to Olympus and am very happy that I did. I am awaiting delivery of the 150-400 which will complete my outfit. I will be covered from 16mm to 1000mm (full frame equivalent) all F4 and F4.5 and all hand holdable. I can’t wait to try it on a Pangolin trip when I am finally able to travel overseas again.

The new OM-1 + 150-400 f4.5 TC1.25 seems to be a WONDERFUL set for Wildlife, specially in Africa, Australia and South America!

This is a superb review. You covered it all. Thank you. I hope to be able to visit after Covid.

Great seeing different manufacture's cameras up for review. Gives the viewer more to chose from & when a reviewer who has used different brands recommends a particular piece of equipment , they know from what else might be out there.

Great review. People overlook all the advantages the m4/3 system offers. I have the D850 as well, but before that I shot the Nikon D3s (mostly sports/action). Loved it, but it was heavy and large. Enter the EM1X that I picked up a while back which feels like a miniaturized D3s! The irony is that I most shoot portraits now; even then, the m4/3 system is more than capable. I'm convinced 90% of the world only needs m4/3. The current rat race for more and more megapixels is pointless.

They are incredible cameras. FYI you can activate orange blinkies in the EVF for highlights and blue for shadows so you can get a perfect exposure!

I’m very happy with my e-M1 mark iii + Leica 100-400mm + Olympus PRO 40-150mm f2.8 + Olympus PRO 300mm f4 + TC1.4 and TC2.0. I can make long walk trips with climbing with a “comparatively” very small backpack in die Alpen and Andes, and also in the forests in Brazil! Perfect choice for me! For Landscape I bring also de Olympus 7-14mm f2.8 Pro and the small LUMIX 12-35mm f2.8. I have also Nikon Cameras and lenses (that I love) but I use it mostly in studio situations.

I bought a E-M1X about a year ago and the more I use the camera, the more I like it. I shot canon pro digital bodies for many years and a friend at a local camera shop back in Michigan talked me into Micro 4/3 because I can't carry that heavy gear around anymore at 67 years old. The e-m1x reminds me of the EOS-1D pro bodies I was using and the image quality is excellent, I don't expect to have full frame image quality, but the images I have got from this camera has amazed me and with the latest firmware updates, the new features are nice with bird tracking and better autofocus. I mainly shoot birds and wildlife here in Florida and with the 40-150 2.8 Pro lens and MC14 convertor, this is a great lens combo and has served me well, anyone looking to move into Micro 4/3 should seriously look at the e-m1x and now that the price has come down, this camera is a great deal, even in 2023. Thanks for the great and honest review.

A very well made review! It's awesome to see an experienced photographer talk about both good and bad things about a camera and a system even though you normally shoot with a different system and technically a better sensor.

Great review, thank you. My first visit to your RU-vid site so I'm looking forward to checking out your other videos.

An extremely objective and thorough review of this Olympus camera and well presented. I have bought this camera and combined with the new 150-400 pro lens it will take your images to a new level. In my humble opinion Olympus colours are the best.

I’ve used two of these since Feb 2019. Love the weight. Carrying the 40-150mm on one body and 300mm on other works well on safari. Btw, the 1.4x tc also works well on these combos.

Excellent! And nice to have the disclaimer about it not being a paid review.

Excellent presentation! Very professionally done with detailed information! 😊👍 Thank you! 💕

Great video very informative as usual, thnx!!

Wonderful review. Beautifully done.

Great review! I’ve been thinking about selling my Nikon gear for this very camera and now I’m even more convinced!

Thanks for a very informative video as usual .Some eye opener for me as a Nikon user .

Great review, thanx!!

Great review of a truly wonderful camera!!!! 👏

I have an E-M1 Mark ii and my next camera will be an E-M1X. For me the Pro Capture feature sets it apart from other brands. I shoot with 1DX Canon shooters and they're amazed at the shots I get with Pro Capture. You might have been amazed at the shots you could get, even using SAF in Pro Capture High. For small birds, it works a treat on flight after take off.

Excellent video yet again and showing up the camera strength and weakness.

Great wildlife vlog, thanks for sharing

Love the review

A very good and fair review, i have an earlier em-1 mk ii and may possibly get the om-1 but the build quality and ergonomics of the em 1 x as well as the massive price drop makes me consider that camera instead.

Nice review. Pangolin does a great job of Wildlife Tours, just wish I could afford to do it.

Excellent review. I love my EM1X

Fantastic review :-) And not to forget: Those 2 pro lenses are killers! Outstanding quality. I'm using them on 2 E-M1ii bodies and waiting now for my Masai Mara trip in August. But surely wanna return to Botswana and probably joining you there

Tony Northup left the chat

fantastic video on OMD EM1X.. i am ordering one!!..

Excellent Review !!

Great review!

You probably can't hear it anymore but so nice to have a woman photographer go on youtube. Great review, thanks. I think I'm sold on this camera, even with the 2 later releases. Subscribed.

I own both EM1X and Canon R5. They are both very good for wildlife photography.

I’ve been worried the M1X was a bit big and heavy for my bird and wildlife walks, but looks like I need to man up! My OMD1.2 needs a companion, so its looking like the M1X is where I should be going. They share the same batteries, so thats helpful too. I’ve got the 40-150f2.8 & the 300F4, so ready for the next step. Great video, thanks.

Hi Danielle from Sweden 🇸🇪! Thanks for a very good review and so unbiased. I have a Panasonic GH5, but I think this is one is on the wish list. Only had it in my hands once at a local dealer, it was actually smaller (in a positive way) than I expected. I think one of my keypoints with the M43 is that I can skip the tripod and the Bazooka lenses 😁 I believe that this camera has even better stabilization than my GH5. Would love to come and see you and your fantastic colleagues when things settle down.

Great video, finally a M43 review. Would love to see you do one on the Panasonic G9.

Great Review and fantastic Camera (and lens)! M43 is fantastic for wildlife!

Hi, since I photograph with EM1MKii and iii for several years now with the same lenses as you in the test, I can say that you summarized the positive and negative sides of this system perfectly. Pictures under good light conditions are superb. Under low light conditions post processing with e.g. Topaz Denoise helps a lot where Full Frames has its advantages. Sometimes the background is a little bit too „nervous“ for me with the 300 mm. Regarding blown highlights in the viewfinder: there is the opportunity to show blown highlights in red and dark parts in blue in the viewfinder. I use this permanently to adjust the exposure. Regarding frame rate: I think it is even 60 FPS in silent mode, at least at my Olympus cameras. Regarding the menu: you are right - you get used to quickly and you find new features every day :-) The quality of the image stabilisation is „crazy“. I like your comment on the ergonomics - I took the EM1MKii in my hand 4 years ago and knew - this is it. Thanks and go on with your excellent videos.

​I bought mine ready for Pangolin safari in June 2020...but that was delayed until June 2021(but I doubt that will happen either) so looking forward to seeing what Danielle's views are.

Ty ... Your videos are beautiful, just like you🌺

Awesome review 👍 thank you for sharing

Regarding viewfinder lag, the frame rate can be increased in the menu system. This really helps.

💖Awesome 💖

Dear Danielle. You naughty girl. Fancy being so taken in by Olympus over your Nikons!! Tut tut!! Just teasing you, haha. Sounds like you have found a very usable camera and highly suitable for your needs. Some lovely bird shots in your review. My Mum had an Olympus Trip many years ago and that used to produce super pics too, so there is no doubt it is a great camera brand. But for now I shall stick with my Nikon D7200. Great review. Take care and God Bless.

Love the M1x after switching over from the Nikon 850

Hi Danielle Carstens, wildlife & sport photographers: ATG and his father used to say to shoot with flash or monolight (better if you can move that light near to the subject by wireless radio in 444GHz, 2.4GHz and better with ATG 2.4GHz TTL). I went beyond that I used flash but I also had two E-M1X modified to become ATG E-M1X IR (Infrared) with ATG IR flash & IR monolight (2nd body to ATG E-M1X UV). In any cases, the benefits of using flash /or monolight (so you seasoned & expect sport/wildlife photographer are lost & think its silly = no way, it can stop action). Well, those two geniuses were correct & that one can lower the shutter speed and freeze action! My ATG Gold 60CT-4r & ATG Gold 60CT-4r IR (wireless radio camera shutter of beyond 50,000 meters!) It's better than the Pocket Wizard MultiMax II. This history of his father & ATG (classified/closed/condensed): 1. Yoshihisa Maitani, the Einstein Camera Designer 2. Olympus M-1 = Maitani is Number One 3. Olympus OM-1 = Olympus & Maitani also Number One 4. Vivitar 283, 285, 285HV = ATG 5. Rolleiflex 3003 = ATG 6. Contax AX & Canon AL & L series = ATG 7. Contax 645 = ATG 8. Metz 60CT series = ATG 9. Metz 60CT extender (very rare by ATG) X. ATG, Quantum QFlash, Godox, Jinbei, Bolt, Flashpoint, Neewer, Rollei = Guess Put on your thinking cap: Anyone knows what OM-D E-M1X really stand for? Please shine in & reply if I am correct or dispute that Maitani, ATG & I were/are wrong.

Danielle, if you are a fan of the "D5" style integrated grips, i bet you can't wait for Nikons new Z9 when it comes out, from what I have seen of "quick" preview photos of it, courtesy of Grays of Westminster channel, of course, this is what we will be getting, and at the large MP count, not sure if it will be the 47 of the z7 or the 24 of the z6?, but if the ergonomics of the MB-N11 with the Z6ii/Z7ii bodies hold for this one, should be a great offering!!

Thanks beauty girl it was nice demo i just bought this cam used from Ebay sound good cam no doubt. wish it has night starry features as emd mark iii that feature is so important for astro photography.

This is an excellent review of what is really a superb m43 camera for wildlife photographers, especially those traveling internationally. When I was with Pangolin on the Voyager, I was the guy always with 2 Olympus M1 II cameras, one with the 300mm and one with the 40-150mm lens. I often used the 1.4 tele-extenders on both lenses without any loss of image quality. I now have the M1X and the M1 III, and I am impatiently waiting on the delivery of the “game changer” Olympus 150-400 - 1.2x lens. Just a clarification on your descriptions of maximum shutter speeds on the M1X. The 10 FPS mechanical and 18 FPS electronic shutter are for continuous autofocus shot to shot. The camera will max out at 20 and 60 FPS with autofocus set only at the first shot in the burst. Another note is that the bird AI tracking is amazing in finding and focusing on birds perched behind twigs and other clutter. For birds in erratic flight, it requires developing new skills in moving the camera gently and pumping the back focus button to reacquire AI tracking when the bird dodges the the C-AF tracking limits.

good work!

The best way to use Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking is with a single AF point activated. Placing the single point in the approximate spot where you expect the bird's head to be will improve tracking. Another great way to use Bird AI is in combination with Pro Capture L. This is my preferred way to capture birds-in-flight. For perched birds taking flight I'd suggest using Pro Capture H set at 60 frames per second. The first frame will lock focus and exposure so you do need to be careful on the flight direction of the bird. I have my E=M1X set for 15 pre-shutter frames in Pro Capture H with a Frame Limiter setting of 15. This means when I fully depress the shutter the E-M1X will commit the 15 frames stored in temporary memory to the card, but will not add any more frames. I find this fantastic for small birds taking flight in terms of capturing incremental changes in body and wing positions. When shooting without Bird AI, continuous auto-focus works better than continuous auto-focus + tracking. Tom

What I like about the reviews that all of you at Pangolin do is the unbiased real world testing. The ND filters would be useful for water or sea scape shoots. Personally I can't justify the expense of changing systems sadly.

Hola: Eternamente agradecido,un placer. Gracias.

Cracking review, very informative. In the pro capture mode ares files saved as raw or Jpeg?

One of the best for micro4/3ps. I had bothof them Xand Mk3

Mmmm… good review. I had no idea about the pro capture mode, even though it’s a system I’m very familiar with in pro video cameras.

Would love to see this compared with the Nikon Z9 - apparently likely out by end May

Good One mam.. Beautiful Click too.. update from canon R3 is coming

I've been shooting with the lumix G-9 camera, it has most and more shooting features of this camera. This camera is on sell $1,700 US dollars as of 2022 till the end of February. I might pick one up at that price just for grins. If you haven't used the G-9 try it out. Use a battery grip and all firmware updates. Right now my gear is. Nikon D-800 Lumix G9 Lumix LX 100-mll. In the near future may add a D-850, if I live long enough. 70yr's young and carried a camera from the age of 14. Take care.

Danielle, one thing I noticed about the olympus, that you didn't mention was that it has a dual joystick lock switch, which would also be a boon for this model; no nudjing the other dial with your face/ cloathes, and the focus point moving on you unnoticed, esp. in the portrait orientation!! a bit like the shutter button lock switch on the Nikon battery grips.

Hi Danielle, A very informative video. Can you do a similar presentation for the Olympus OM DE M1 Mkiii camera. Thanking you.

Great review 😊 what is the focus speed of mirrorless compared to dslr like Nikon D750?

Great review. Strong alternative in the mft world: Lumix G9.

The OM system is great and have benefits like other systems. I wish that one of the Brands would do a serious ASP-C camera. Nikon doing a D500 in Z format. On the Nikon 400 f4.5 or 100-400. I looked at the OM system but to change brands is expensive and involve more than just a new camera with lenses, it involves batteries and in many instances workflow changes. Lr is not the best solution for OM files or Fuji files. But OM is a great system with many benefits.

Olympus cameras have always been well made. Its good to see Olympus hasn't gone out of business yet. Its probably too expensive for a MFT sensor camera...

I have a growing interest in this camera and the new 150-400 F4.5 I would like to try the pair out and see how it compares to my R5 and 600 F4. $9500 for the two I don't think I'll be buying it but I would like to see how it performs.

Nice to see m43 on your channel too. Unfortunately Olympus did not have time to refine this model and handed the task to JIP. It cries for updates in many aspects. But still very serious camera. Curious to know what you think of the two lenses. Will it be another video? Always a pleasure to watch your channel.

Well done! Considering advancements in m4/3, would you still recommend the E-M1X in 2024? I also have the Nikon D850. Have you kept your D850? I have an OM-1, but I like the idea of a backup camera and especially the GPS and other sensors. Thoughts?

ND is also used to smooth out water in scenes.

I haven’t been big on Oly as a wildlife camera mostly because of AF this sounds interesting I’ll check reviews on it I don’t know anyone who uses it. I shoot canon 7d2 very reliable. See the cost benefits

I got EM1X about a week ago. At the end of your experience, what are the best settings you recommend for bird tracking with EM1X in terms of settings and sensitivity (-2 or 0 or +?)

I have the EM1X and the EM1 miii and have been lucky enough to be one of the first to get the new 150-400 Pro lens. The combination is wonderful! Now all we need is to be allowed to return to Botswana on safari!!

This is a really interesting and impressive camera, but since moving from APS-C to full frame it's hard to believe the move back down to Micro 4/3 could be a good idea. I'd hate to see them die out though, and if they keep making great cameras like this then hopefully they won't!

Can you also photograph wildlife with the Olympus OMD EM1 MARK III, such as with the E-M1X and upload a video of it

Nice Video, but in ProCapture-Mode 60 FPS are possible (without AF).

Small sensors do gather more noise. Here Topaz Denoise AI works great!

Appreciate the review. You never went into detail about how effective the CA-F is, more important, its ability to keep up with a flying subject coming directly at you. Not interested in tracking. I've been nailing wildlife pics for years without tracking and just relying on CA-F. Panning isn't as difficult for most camera's AF systems compared to subjects coming right at the camera. But if the CA-F was able to "keep up" with moving subjects provided one kept the AF target on the subject coming at the camera, that would for many be enough to consider a swithch.

you can actually even do 60fps (without refocusing) even with pro-capture mode

Just about the ND filter mode, it does not work exactly like a typical filter....it does not reduce light, it joins a bunch of images to show the effects similar to an ND filter, like silky flowing water of a waterfall...

I can't afford a camera like that so I bought a Olympus TG5 , its small and great and Affordable.

this camera is now $700 usd. Is it worth it or is there better options for that price range, or is this camera a steal for that price

Do any of you girls and guys shot with, or have tried fujifilm for wildlife? Would be interesting to hear what you have to say about compared to the usual canikon monsters 😊

Hello, I'm just starting out with wildlife photography. My setup is exactly the same ... Olympus E-M1X with the 300mm f4. With the 5 axis stabilization it is possible to keep the shutter speed a little lower, right? In your opinion, what are approximate standard values? For birds in flight, for example, I usually start at 1/1600. What should I take to start with slower or sedentary animals? Sure, you can always adjust it if there is still room for improvement.

i really dislike that people keep wanting smaller and smaller cameras, i am a big person, i have enormous hands, my open hand covers an 11" diameter diner plate, this makes trying to hold onto a tiny camera so uncomfortable, because i have to pinch it like some kind of crab claw hold (if it doesnt have a nice deep grip, but often times the parts of my fingers that dont bend land on the place on the grip that need a bent finger) so it's just been a disaster trying to find a camera that fits me, i always get the battery grips just so my little finger doesnt hang off the bottom of the camera. i even have an old Olympus E-420 with a 3rd party battery grip , i dont think olympus made one for it, and when i cant find one, i 3D print them, they dont function like regular ones, but they just make the camera bigger.

@Danielle Thank you for such a thourough review of the Oly E-M1X and the 300 mm lens. Although I am an Olympus fan, and also more a fan of zoom lenses than fixed focal length, now I'm wondering whether to complete my wildlife kit with Sony 200-600 mm. Have you tried shooting with the latter one? Unfortunately Olympus have put too high price for the newest lens 150-400 mm f.4, Otherwise, I wouldnt have gotten it . Thanks!

May be you can try150-400 f4.5ps. You can carry power bank to charge you might love it more

64 GB, 300 mb cards are sufficient. If you do video, you would use a larger card.

As of today this body sells for $1,700 (1-17-22). My lumix G-9 is as good and does must and more.

Use 2 Batteries and have two for backup with you.

Ok - shouldn't have watched this lol! Have managed to convince myself this is either out of range of my wallet and/or overkill for my needs - but your review sums up its place in the wildlife photography niche really well. Now - I'm interested...

Come on Danielle! Don’t tell me that your heart is flinching and that you will soon leave all the Nikon shooters amongst us orphans ? ;-)

i feel i am listen to a lecture.

It may pick up all the birds but it defaults to the nearest one.