Om-1 Digital Solutions bird tracking. Does it work as well as the Sony A1? 

Pretty miraculous results for an initial firmware release. Then there's price: Olympus OM1 (£1999 new) vs Sony A1 (£6500 new) ... added to which the Sony lens prices are beyond the means of a lot of people.

Mike, from one old guy to another, just want to say I love your laid-back style. So refreshing in a world of super hype. Thanks for this nice review. I've seen the huge improvement you have of the OM-1 over the E-M1X. And I too have thought the OM-1 will just get better with a firmware tweak here and there. It's a great start for OM Digitial Solutions. I absolutely love the OM-1 for its size and weight and the phenomenal 150-400mm. So much so I bought three of bodies and got rid of the other Lumix bodies I had as well as all other Olympus bodies.

I pre-ordered my OM1 from Wex before the release date and I am still waiting. I sold some equipment first before ordering and now regret not pre-ordering straight away.

Fantastic work as always!

Very knowledgeable & detailed professional photographer........

This is the assessment I have been waiting for. Thanks Mike.

Very thorough and practical info as always.

I have been waiting fore this video for a longtime now! thanks a lot from Sweden

I was impressed by your testing well done 👍

Thank you so much for your videos and especially this much anticipated one! I had preordered and just received mine 3 days ago in the U.S.. I love your work and look forward to future videos on the OM1. Love the comparison. Thanks!

Another excellent, informative and interesting video. I look forward to next weeks instalment.

As always a great Video with actual photographer’s real world input…thank you.

Another great video, the improvement on the M1-X is massive really glad I got the OM1, been waiting for this comparison video and as always you give a straightforward honest assessment thank you

Great to see that you got the OM-1 and trying it out. I got mine back at the beginning of March and have really been enjoying it.

Great video: I've been waiting for this one. It certainly mirrors my experience with my OM1's. I'm really impressed with mine.

A very interesting and informative review, congratulations for the great job

Good review many thanks ! for sharing

Well presented and fair comments Mike ... thank you

I’ve been waiting for your autofocus evaluation of the OM1 and you did not disappoint. You even anticipated the in-focus rate per second argument in favour of the Olympus. 😊 Thanks Mike!

Thank you so much Mike. This is a brilliant analysis of the OM 1's AF testing on Birds in Flight.

A very useful and interesting way of testing cameras!!

I like your ISO testing. Kudos for that info!

No, I believe I'm the last person to get the OM-1, but it has shipped so next week it will begin its life on my 150-400mm. I'm excited.

Thanks for sharing.. it's good to know from a real shooter.. great content always.

Thanks for a great review. I really love your ISO test. I'm going to make it SOP.

Great video Mike. Should get thousands of views. First `real time` test of the autofocus.

Mike always good to see you ! I could not even order one everywhere is out of stock here in the states.... I been looking for weeks. Anyway, enjoy ....

Thanks Mike great study!

Thanks mike a very good test .Unbiased photographer .Now set mine to -2 ,should be testing later in the week hoping to catch a few Kingfisher shots. keep up the good work .Great job well done

Hi, like allot of people on here I have been waiting with great anticipation of your review/opinion and wasn't disappointed, great content as always. I'm still not sure weather to get the OM-1 or Sony A1 I think I will wait till your final judgment.

Thanks for the review Mike, I'm started saving for one.👍

I have to say that the OM-1 will definitely win because of Procapture mode!

Really helpful Mike. Many thx

Your videos are always worth watching and this one is no exception. It's such a shame OM Systems couldn't get you on OM1 earlier as this long awaited logical and professional.review could be key for those sitting on the fence (or at the polling station!). I have waited for this review to reassure myself that there are indeed odd images out of focus but, without doubt I have achieved my best pictures of birds in flight than any previous camera (EM1 ii ordered x). Thank you.

OM-1 Firmware update is expected this month May 2022. Very informative videos you offer us - Much appreciated!

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing

Fantastic review, dear Mike I just upgraded from the E-M1ii to the OM-1 A quantum step forward. I'm so happy that I just ordered the 150-400/4.5 Pro :-)

Thank you! As many here I have been waiting for your review. I got my om1 the 7 of march via om system norden preorder launch, but had to wait for the extra battery. As a novis in photograpy when it comes to practical use I'm realy amazed over the image quality and for the first time I have managed to take pictures of my little fast running dog that's sharp. A little more training and I will catch some birds too. I think it's hard to understand wath settings that works best and when to use which settings and why it's better in just that situation. But whit training and a lot of good youtubers to learn from like you I will learn and understand more. Love your videos and the beautiful pictures you take, they are amazing. Sometimes you are lucky to find new camera gear used at a good price. I have bought most of my olympus gear used even the 150-400 mm lens when it only had been on the market for a couple of mounths, maby even the only one sold on the used market until now in Sweden as I know of. I just had to have it you know. 😉 I wish more people checked out the used camera market, at least via camerastores. I check almost every day for used camera gear that I don't have and maybe need for my photography. (I'm not a shopoholic... 🤣). Looking forward for your future videos.

Great video, I'm looking forward to your next video.

Hi Mike it is great that you now have the OM camera that captured so many lovely images just like the A1 from what I see. My heart wants me to have both cameras with all the lens just like a professional photographer but my amateur pocket and married head has great difficulty focusing on that one. In your hands both cameras produce wonderful photographs wherever you are no matter how fast the subject or challenging the conditions. The coming weeks with nice light and the reach of 150 / 400mm lens with built in converters or the 300 f4, will be the stuff of my dreams I am sure. Thank you for the video as always I really enjoyed it.

Great work, Mike! I now have my Sony 600mm f4 ordered from Park Cameras. With the Sony A1, its great!

Very nice job Mike! This absolutely shows what a great camera the OM-1 is. I don't put it in the exact same level of Sony A1 and Nikon Z9 only because of their more than double resolution. But this camera for less than half the price of a Canon R3 is really amazing and I think is a better buy for wildlife any day.

i always like your very simple techniques on everything from camera comparison to perch preparing or you do for bird photography. Never sofisticated but balways effectife. Thank you so much for all you are doing for us bird photographers. I am as a Z9 user I would have very much liked to see a 3rd step of this election race. Thank you so much.

Thank you for a candid and impartial assessment. My first SLR was an OM 1n bought in the mid 70s. I brought a scale and weighed Nikon, Canon and others. Olympus was the lightest and compact. I bought one. 50 years later it is back! I hope you get the fulfillment with the OM 1 as you get with your Sony. If money and weight were not barriers I would have one too. I carried my OM 1n over hundreds of miles in the Sierras in California over 30 plus years. Today, I consider myself fortunate to walk a few miles from a parking lot with a OM 1 and the 150 to 400 f4.5.

very helpful, thank you, Sir!

Excellent that you got the camera and good that it is holding it’s own against the A1. I nearly went to Sony as I was disappointed with the Em1x performance. I was lucky that I was the 3rd person to order the om1 and been using since March very impressed so I will not be moving to Sony now.

Very interesting video. I am still waiting to get my preordered OM-1🙄 According to your first results I am pretty optimistic that this camera will perform much better than my G9 for bird photograpy 😃

I‘m new to Olympus. Got in there for macro only coming from Sony. But boy are some of the features amazing. So looking for longer lenses I found your channel. Very well done. Thanks - subscribed 😉.

Excellent video. I appreciate the way you showed every shot to show changes in focus. I don't actually need 50 sharp shots. I need about 5 shots that are varied (wings up, wings down, landing, etc.) that are sharp. I like your math that you increase the potential number of great shots by using 50fps. I had not been using 50 to avoid having so much computer work. However, I find it is easier to cull photos in camera with the OM-1 because the EVF is so much better (than my Em1-1), so I am going up to the 50 fps. Good approach to setting ISO too.

You aren’t the last. I’m happy you finally got one. Quite a few are waiting. Two months delay is not unusual.

Thx Mike, i fully agree with your BIF conclusion. Personally as an longtime Olympus shooter i can say this the Best bird camera i have ever had. It is a pitty that the X Form factor I prefer got lost. Stay safe

During my first week of ownership I managed to get some of the best bird in flight pictures that I have ever taken. The only downside is that I prefer the build quality of the 1X, especially the tactile nature of the front and rear wheels.

Thanks for the great video Mike. Your findings are the exact same as mine. The focus pulsing is something that happens regardless of settings, light, shutter speed, ISO or FPS. I have also found it to be more severe when using the MC-14 on the 300mm F4. On average I am seeing between 70%-80% critically sharp shots in a burst sequence. 70% tends to be in situations where the AF is is more challenged (angle of subject, subject distance to background, background type i.e. grass/trees vs sky). This focus pulsing is not something I saw with the a1, Z9 or R5. Fingers crossed OM Systems addresses the issue via firmware.

Excellent! Thank you very much.

Great job thank you

Interesting review and similar to my experience. However what I would say is that while the OM-1 is brilliant at detecting the bird it is less good at actually focussing on that point, particularly when the bird is smaller in the frame. In C-AF single spot on bird on ground 100% in focus with bird detect some are soft. Lets hope a firmware tweak improves this. Looking forward to your longer term review.

I love your concluding remarks, you really would make a great politician! On the other hand your explanations actually do make sense. I‘m sure many reviewers would focus on the number of unsharp images, which isn’t really fair. Canon is still improving on the AF of the R5 which was released almost 2 years ago. So with todays cameras there‘s still a lot that can be improved afterwards, providing the hardware is capable, and at no cost to the owner. My original OM1 is still in working order almost 50 years later, so there‘s still plenty of time🙄

Nice & beautiful video...

Very tempting Mike ! I will wait for the Firmware update, awesome tips and work ! No camera is perfect yet ! I may get a second A1! P.S.You get my vote in the General election 👍

I enjoyed this comparison made all the more remarkable, in my mind, by the fact that the Sony A1 costs roughly three times more than the OM. I look forward to your followup comparisons. Maybe comparing the weight of relatively comparable lenses.

Very good review and to the point, Mike. I would have the Sony though, because of 1. the ability to crop, 2. the much better performance at higher iso, 3. the higher AF success rate - this can make or break a photo and if it's a rare opportunity, it's most likely that the A1 will deliver.

Still waiting for mine, here in Canada!

Thanks for this test, finally someone who confirms my impressions, I tried the Om-1 with 300mm f4 in similar situations and I encountered the same problems. especially in situations where the bird flies in the direction coming towards the camera. With Sony A9ll these problems do not exist.

I think we may have met at Thursley a couple of weeks ago Mike. Really pleased at your findings, I'm looking forward to getting my OM-1. Whenever that is! So no you are not the last. LOL

I have the Om 1 but only had it for a couple of weeks, it is a fantastic upgrade from my Em1 Mk iii and that is still a great camera, to me costs a very relevant, the Sony in NZ $ 11000, the Om 1 $3500, I had looked at the Sony A7riii before purchasing the Olympus Cameras but after owning a Sony A6000 for two years and absolutely hating the menu on it, the Olympus was the way to go, soon got used to the menu and now with the OM 1 the menu system is perfect !! Cheers from NZ

Useful video clip. I have a friend with a Sony A1 using Sony 100-400mm older lens with a x1.4 TC doing wildlife photos including B in F with superb results. I have had an OM Systems OM-1 camera on a pre order since 3 March and my 150-400mm pro lens has been with OM Systems for repair for two months since it has developed a focusing fault and a communication with camera problem as well as having a loose bayonet fitting. Very frustrating as I have not had these for 3 overseas wildlife trips!! Luckily I have my two Olympus EM1 mark iii cameras and my 300mm f4 lens but had to buy the 100-400mm lens for the trips. However, I think I have missed out on a lot of potentially good shots due to the OM System problems. Another friend has just obtained a Sony a6500 camera and Tamron 150-500mm lens. Going to have a go with this when I get back from a trip I am doing next week.

Hi Mike, I thought I would just add an update to your excellent test video. OM Solutions have released updated software V1.2 and the tracking is much improved. One other thing regarding your ISO test. I love the way you test for noise - brilliant idea. I know you stated the top ISO was ISO 65,535. In actual fact it is ISO 102,400, but the exif reports it as 65,535? I kept double checking I hadn't made a mistake, then I found out that apparently all cameras mis-report ISO 102,400 as 65,535. Mind you I can not test that on other cameras myself! Best wishes and thank for the test.

Thanks Mike- confirms I ain't just me :-) but overall I am happy with the OM1 and hopefully things will improve.

Great analysis Mike. I've also noticed the drift in and out of focus of the OM-1 but overall the focus accuracy is is excellent. The solution I've used for focus drift is to take multiple short bursts rather than one long one, so that the focus resets. I have just taken around 6000 shots over a couple of days at the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Hampshire, and assessed the focus accuracy of all of them. This is a pretty challenging environment particularly with Peregrine Falcons coming in at full speed, and also Kites shooting vertically upwards chasing after scraps of chicken. In these circumstances, speed of acquisition is critical. I've not tested an A1 in this environment but I did test an A9 with the 200-600 here last year. The OM-1 achieved a hit rate of around double the A9's hit rate for these birds (80% vs 40%), a pretty remarkable performance, largely down to the speed of focus acquisition. Also I would note that for those who who are bothered about high ISO performance, if you use the Sony 200 to 600 at f6.3 you will be running at about 1.3 stops higher ISO than if you use the Olympus 300mm F4. The noise difference between the two cameras between 3200 and 6400 ISO is also 1.3 stops (or less - see DxO for EM1ii). So there is no high ISO advantage for the Sony in typical circumstances for birds in flight. I'd also point out that at 6400 ISO the noise on the Sony A9 was dreadful, and I would assume the A1 is similar. Like you Mike, I've been waiting to to test the OM-1 in detail, and then decide whether to spend 6.5k either on the A1 and the 200-600 or on the Oly 150-400 lens. Given my experience so far I'm staying with the Olympus. Even if it's only 90% of the the A1 in focus accuracy, it's got Pro Capture at 25, 50, or 120 fps which trumps the the missing 10% by a significant margin.

Very informative video that explains a lot of what I've been seeing with my camera. It was difficult to see some of the changes from in focus to oof on youtube but I've seen it happen for real so knew what you were describing. Mine has occasionaly just given up auto focussing until I've moved away and given it something else to focus on, then its back ok. A bit like your description of other mirrorless cameras at the start of a session. I was wondering if you could post a couple of your in focus shots in high quality so we could see how sharp they are. Only ask as often most of mine with the 300mm f4 do tend to look a bit soft even when I think they are actually sharply focussed. Just to see yours as a comparison. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos. Cheers Phill

No Mike you are not the last person to get one. I got mine yesterday (ordered in Feb) 23/04/22. My colleague who ordered his from the same place is still waiting

Brilliant video: informative, entertaining and amusing. The OM1 comes out very well, especially when you consider its price point compared to the Sony A1. I wonder if it would perform as well with a lower-end lens such as the 100-400.

I'm still waiting! Ordered from Park Cameras. Grrrr

Very good analysis Mike. I got one of the earliest OM-1s and have also used it with the 150/400. I also have the A1 and 200-600 and 600/F4. For several sequential weekends I went out with both systems for hand-held BIF (one slung on the shoulder and the other in hand- Daniel Cox's videos show, albeit awkward, it is doable). I gravitated towards the OM-1 rig more because its almost 1.5lb lighter than the A1+200/600 which makes it easier to hold for longer periods. The 150-400's center of mass is also closer to the body too. One feature you didn't mention in this video is ProCapture. Even on a tripod, there is no way the Sony A1 can attain a keeper rate of birds launching from a perch that the OM-1 can (or earlier Olympus E-M1v3, M1X). I never have understood why Sony (or any other mirrorless system) hasn't introduced ProCapture. Most of my ProCapture shots are at ISO3200 and between 1/4000-6400.

Mike, Thank you so much for all your videos. I enjoy them all. I am thinking about purchasing the OM1. I was wondering which lens do you use mostly. Thanks.

4:00 well played, sir, well played...

I have not had mine yet, and I ordered from the LCE. Very interesting to see your views, though.

very interesting Mike, I like the systematic approach and comparison with the A1, the varying angles and flight paths, interesting that despite the lighting changes the OM1 seemed to pick out the subject and lock on, okay not always exactly in focus but shooting at such a high frame rate , I guess the sensor is going to record some slightly OOF images . I was out earlier in the week with my A9ii and if I"m honest the sony was quite hit and miss in some lighting conditions and failed to acquire focus at the start of a burst and maybe the first 10-15 images were soft before it acquired focus, so my thoughts are the OM1 is competing well with a much more expensive system. Your starting ISO tolerance 6400 ISO maybe a bit challenging in some situations but again with NR software I would think this can be tweaked upwards.......all in all the best review I've seen to date and I'm now very optimistic , tbh, after 5 hours in the field with my Sony kit my arms and shoulders were a bit tired LOL, although I did also have my Olympus EM1iii and 300 f4 with me at the time as well - what is your opinion on the IQ at higher ISO Mike ?

Very informative as ever, thank you. Your comment on the CA-F sensitivity setting is interesting as I would have thought you needed +2 for best results in an uncluttered background for birds flying towards you. It was good to see how you go about testing a new camera like this - the ISO test as well as working in what I guess is a birds in flight test lab 🙂. Appetite whetted (again), I look forward to your future videos using this camera. (Loved the breakfast telly politician section 🤣.) One question on image processing - did you use the OM Workspace V2 and its AI Noise reduction feature or were the ISO tests more or less straight out of the camera?

The OM-1 is so much better than previous models that I believe it comes down to a firmware tweak as you mentioned. From the RU-vid coverage I've seen I think photographers should work on getting better at composition and understanding light. Just like landscape images good bird photography comes down to light and composition. Tracking and frame rates will get better on this camera I'm sure of that but will we get better with it?

Superb video as usual Mike. Here's one for you, have you tried the eye focus on Butterflies that have eye spots? I have recently tried to photograph Emperor Moths in flight with my Canon 7D MK2 and I am struggling to get any sharp photos. Just thought you might like to have a go at something really challenging (Maybe peacock butterflies) and see how the Sony performs. Keep up the great stuff you put out.

I'm still waiting for my OM-1 to come, hope it's soon :)

Thank you!! Very Interesting Comparison. I am all Olympus so I take what they give me. the OM-1 is already good at BIF and I believe you are correct that a firmware upgrade to push this into A1 territory. At the worst case, I believe we are one generation away from top tier focus for BIF.

Really an excellent review! OM Systems should hire you as a tester. This is the perfect test case for OM Systems to optimize the autofocus system. Your tests show that the processor is basically fast enough to focus even at the highest frame rate - unfortunately not with every shot. In principle, it should be possible to fix this with a firmware update. Another question: Did you possibly select the "Release Priority" option in the autofocus menu? If so, I'd be interested to know if you get better results by unchecking that option. The OM 1 will probably no longer be able to achieve the maximum frame rate. But what's the point of capturing the maximum number of images if an appreciable portion isn't exactly in focus.

Same as me, Mike. I ordered mine from Jessops and it arrived just over a week ago. The new AF menu is very different from the old EM cameras and needs to be properly understood before you can get best results. The instruction manual is only a download version. I had issues with trying to get photos of sparrows on a feeder sharp and it was an AF target issue.

If I was not already fully Canonized, I would probably go with the OM-1 with a zoom that ends at 400mm. Even if the AF is not perfect, the cost advantage is impressive.

Here I am looking through the comments and I’m genuinely happy for all of you who own the OM-1 or Sony A1. At the same time I’m smiling because this is insane. I’m shooting with a Lumix Gx8 at 5.5fps without AF-C. Manual back button focus is my got to for birds in flight. Next year I’m getting the OM-1, and most likely a cheap full frame camera for manual focus lenses. OM-Systems is up to something, but we will have to patiently wait for the something.

Another great video sir. Can you comment on Birds flying straight at you with the OM-1?

Workaround for processing - upload from camera to OM Workplace then export as TIFF files to your normal software until is is updated to process the new RAW files.

Hi Mike, great video, very interesting as I've recently sold my Olympus and Nikon gear and purchased the Sony A1. Absolute gamechanger this AF system - got some of my best Swallow shots yesterday! Struggling with the video aspect of it (S&Q and 4k shooting) though. I wonder if you'd thought about doing a tutorial on the video mode of the A1? The focusing is what gets me, it always seems to want to focus in the middle of the frame (set to Wide AF) and not on my subject when I've recomposed the frame. Do you use the touch tracking feature?

Great review, but it would be great to see some comparisons with other cameras at a similar price point. It's not quite fair to compare it to a camera that's 3 times the price and a system that's going to be twice as big and twice as heavy (e.g. OM 100-300 vs Sony 200-600). Also I'd say an occasional out of focus shot at 30fps is not a huge deal if you come from DSLR getting 7fps haha

Factoring in price and fps hit rate, OM1 appears to be a viable alternative to the full frame A1.

I ran into the same issue with my OM-1 and if you can stay F/5.6 or better it seems to stop. I tested this with stationary targets where focus hunting shouldn't happen at all, but above F/5.6 focus hunting occurs in C-AF silent modes, such as SH-2. It didn't seem to occur on my 40-150 F/2.8 in shuttered modes since I believe it opens the aperture between shots while resetting the shutter. I believe PDAF is not working past F/5.6. I have an MC-20 coming to try with my 40-150 F/2.8 and see if that can stay on target. Hard to keep the 100-400 at F/5.6 and below. Try the C-AF on a tree and I bet you see the hunting above F/5.6 with any lens in SH-2 mode.

Great video! Thank you. Do you have any videos testing low light with this camera?

I wonder if the image processing is independent of the capture rate? If the capture queue got ahead of the processing, it may skip a couple of frames to catch up. Just a guess. As mentioned in another comment, it would be an interesting test if you reduced the frame rate. I'd certainly like to hear more about your experiences with the OM-1

Great overview Mike. I know the EVF blackout/Lag was something you wanted to try out on the OM-1 so how did it perform?

The simple fact that you compare it to SONY A1, and say "SONY is little better" is the BEST complement this camera can get. Maybe with some tracking configuration twicks it can be slightly improved. However it's the 1st time that any Olympus/OM Digital has a decent focus tracking. Although subject tracking still sucks

Hi Mike, Really helpful video re bird tracking. I have just received my OM-1 and was wondering what settings you used for this experiment. I note your mention of sensitivity/50fps but I would be interested to know whether you used CAF+Tracking or just CAF in bird detect. Some OM-1 users are preferring to use CAF only. in other videos you mention your camera settings and how you try to keep it simple. However, the OM-1 is a very different animal from past models.

Hi Mike. Try doing swallows or house martins in flight with the OM-1 and 150-400mm lens. My friend has a Sony a1 and uses a 100-400mm GM lens with x1.4 TC. There is no doubt that the Sony a1 is significantly faster at AF and stays locked onto the bird staying in focus compared to the OM-1. But having said that the OM-1 has the advantage of pro capture and is superb for macro - particularly with the new 90mm macro lens. The answer at the moment is to have both the OM System OM-1 and the Sony a1 😊😊 If OM-Systems can produce an OM-2SX with a processor as good as or better than in Sony a1 and the AF, Bird identification and Tracking even faster then they will clean up in the wildlife and nature market. I am looking at purchasing a second hand Sony a1 and lens. These two systems at the moment cover just about all you need 👌👌. Have fun Peace ✌️✌️

Nice review Sony A1 £6500 V OM Systems OM1 £2000.... The real question is and always will be is the OM1 good enough? as £4500 buys a lot of glass Granted the A1 advantages are more than just autofocus, but there are other advantages to M4/3 (weight being one).. but with a keeper rate of 40/50 seems like a good buy for birding photography. Looking forward to see what Fuji has to offer in APSC with the XH2, whether they introduces animal/bird autofocus