OM System OM-1 Review for Bird Photography - A ‘WOW’ camera or just “good”? 

I'm amazed at the TREMENDOUS amount of work that went into making this video! Thank you for that!

This was a top notch review. I always come to your channel to get the straight talk because I value your logical approach to a review. Thanks for all the time you put into this work. It’s really appreciated. For now I am sticking with my em1-iii and will continue to work on my skills but will look for a used om1 in the next few years.

Tank you for all the effort you put not just into the video but everything you do concerning equipment. The insides you provide are hard to find and very helpful not only for bird photographers but also for sports and action

I am not an OM-1 shooter, I shoot Nikon " most recently the Z9 which I have been shooting for a bit over a week, and the D850 and D500 which I have been shooting for years", in regards to the new OM-1 camera, it is worth it just for the viewfinder alone, the previous EVF viewfinders on Olympus systems have been OK, and it's the one improvement most Olympus users have been really happy about. The viewfinder improvement with all the other small improvements should make it a no brainer for anyone considering purchasing the new OM-1, from current Olympus owners to anyone new considering the Olympus system. I will give you a thumbs up for your smooth presentation.

Thanks for the in depth review, mate. Really appreciate the work you put in. 👍

Thanks for the work dude. Your time deserves a good amount of positive reviews.

Just come across your review and really appreciate how much effort you have put into it. I have watched so many reviews that leave me unimpressed. This was a different class. Many thanks.

Fantastic review. This was a lot of work. Much appreciated.

Great review and looking forward to your recommended settings 👍

Amazingly thorough review, thank you so much! My EM1-iii serves me well, but this is very tempting.

Best review i‘ve ever seen about this cam! :-) Thanks a lot.

Another well balanced, accurate commentary: thank you. I swapped my EM1X and EM1 mark III for two OM1 bodies + a single battery grip and the new 40 - 150mm f4 lens. My birding/wildlife OM1 is set up in a similar way to your recommendation, but not exactly. I also use my MC14 all the time. My hit rate for BIF with this combination is really rather high so, given all the other improvements, I must say I do find the OM1 to be a WOW camera, even though I have previously owned a Sony A9 and A7R4. I imagine that there will be firmware upgrades to come, making the OM1 even better.

Thank you for this review. Very thorough and you hit all the right points.

Best (honest) reviews on the market 👍🏻

Thank you!! This is one of the best reviews I have seen for the OM1 camera and I have seen a lot of them.

My goodness so much work! Thank you, best real world review

Thanks Mathieu, I've had mine since early March and am super impressed. I've been using Oly/OM for 3yrs now, this itteration is what I have been hoping for. Like you I hope the firmware updates will do as you and I hope. It is up to OMDS not to drop the ball so fingers crossed.

Thank you for such an excellent and detailed review.

@Mathieu Gasquet, incredible, really by far the best review since the release of this OM1. AMAZING, CONGRATULATIONS.

the best review ! thank you so much

"f/8 and be there," is what Weegee (Arthur Fellig) said when asked for his exposure data. I live in climate zone 2A, so, in winter, I often tuck my camera inside my parka, although I have shot northern lights at minus 40 with an M-10 III on tripod and it has functioned well. Last winter, I was at the Sax--Zim Bog in northern Minnesota and I tucked both a Leica 100-400 on M-5 III and 12-45 f/4 on M-10 III inside my coat at the same time. Sax-Zim is popular with owl photographers, and there were two Canon photographers there carrying huge telephoto lenses on monopods. I was much more mobile than them and able to shoot hand held, and that is why I stay with micro four-thirds. I do a lot of bird photography, and mobility is of high importance to me. I bought my first OM-1 48 years ago, and I would love to get the new OM-1, but I recently spent $14,000 on a new well, so no new camera for me this year.

Superb review and efforts by you, thanks . Cheers

Useful video. I will have to come back to this when I eventually get my OM-1 camera which as you know has been on a preorder since 3 March. The video appears to be significantly improved. Just waiting for the ultimate video lens of 25 - 250mm f5.6 with internal zoom 😊

Thank you for the outstanding review. Answered my questions about this new camera.

Thank you for that. So far I have only done one update of the firmware so it's time to get back on top.

Fantastic, in-depth work, thank you so much.

This was a great review. Really helpful, thank you!

Thank You for a unbiased review. Subscribed.

Excelentes videos los tuyos,eres el mejor que hay en internet explicando y demostrando las cosas que dices,matrícula de honor.Saludos

My apologizes, Mathieu. I failed to tell you how much I enjoyed your review. I have always relied on your unbiased reviews over the years and trust them over everything else out there. Keep up the excellent work.

merci Mathieu, tu as bien expliqué et j' attends avec impatience ta prochaine "review" sur la OM 1 que j' utilise également depuis un mois.

This is a very good review. Thank you.

hands down a superb camera so pleased ive got it..... BIF superb plane tracking brilliant compact well made people keep comparing it to camera 2-3 times its cost and yet it stands up to the comparison

Excellent explanation. Thank you.

Thank you Mathieu for a thorough test and evaluation of the OM-1. As I had hoped, my copy of the OM-1 locks on to birds with much higher frequency than the Em-1mkIII yielding more 'keepers'. Your testing bears this out as shown in your camera rankings at the 10:51 minute mark. My subjective testing agrees with your findings. As for noise, I have become a devotee of Topaz DeNoise to deal with that in low light shots. Thanks again for an objective look at the system. Cheers!

Hell yeah! What i was waiting for!

Excellent review Matthieu, the best by far on RU-vid. In regards to image quality it would seem that using “ETTR” expose to the right is still mandatory to get the least amount of noise. What would be a good comparison is do a +1,+2 EV on both the new OM-1 and the older EM1-lll and do a side by side comparison. This would show if there rally is any advantage in dynamic range with the new BSI sensor.

Hi Mathieu, As always a solid, balanced review that will be appreciated by viewers. As you noted there are a lot of incremental upgrades with the OM-1 that many photographers will value. Tom

Excellent and as usual thorough review - my main interest is bird photography so this entirely hits the spot. I was wondering if and when you would review this camera as I have always found your review very informative and you are always very balanced in your evaluations. Thanks again!

Amazing work !

I currently still use EM1 mark II and toying with an upgrade to the OM-D. Mostly street photography is what the camera is used for by capturing faces from a distance with the 75 mm prime lens. A possible reason to switch along with the extra video capacity that sports OM- log 400.

Thanks for an excellent review.

I was waiting for this one.

Fantastic review

Great review., many thanks. Interesting to read of the AF issues you experienced. I hope Olympus are able to provide firmware updates as it is a great camera.

Excelente review. Recomendable.

Wonderfully comprehensive review - thank you. Low weight of system is also important.

Magnificent reviews, and detailed explanations. I would love to see a comparison between the OM System OM1 and its sister OM5. (Because although the OM5 shares the same sensor as the M1 Mark III, apparently there are changes in its performance thanks to the new OM5 firmware)

exelent review indeed! thank you!

Fantastic review and amazing camera. I think the weight and size benefit in comparison to FF came a little short. I hope this amazing tech tripples down to the Em5 and Em10 models sometimes. So wonderful that Olympus is alife again !

excellent review that answers all my questions about OM1 and whether I want to trade up from EM1 M3 on microfourthirds front.

Excellent review! Thanks! I'm also curious to see firmware updates to the OM-1 to fix a few minor issues and I also wish I could have slower fps settings while having no blackout. As of now 25fps is the "slowest" - but it will fill the card quite fast. 10/15/20 would also be nice, and maybe we could have a shutterspeed longer than 1/320 then?

I’ve had mine for a while now. I bought it at the same time as the 300 f/4 Pro. I have found the same as you have. Except I have noticed that what you say about the high ISO performance is true, I’ve also noticed that the type of color variations in the high ISO images is much more uniform and easier to correct in Lightroom. With the M1 III there were different color splotches, which I found impossible to fix rendering the image useless. While I have been able to get some nice images at 25600 which is astonishing to me. I notice that you set the focus sensitivity to +2, I have mine set to -2. I have been frustrated with twigs in front of the bird causing the camera to focus on the tree instead of the bird. I will try the +2, but I suspect you are using that to pick up on the bird quickly. In my experience the camera is super fast at picking up birds. Sometimes even before I have found them in the frame. Very nice review.

Impressive review, you got my subscription.

Спасибо за детальный обзор!👏👍

As always very good and detailed review. I remain curious about the OM system and as a current user of the A9ii with the 200-600 Sony for wildlife and BIF, I am often tempted to relook the OM system given the size and results that many photographers get with the OM system. But the key issue for me remains the low light results of the M43 vs FF. The 200-600 id very flexible and with a amazing A1 cost around the same price as the OM-1 plus the 150-400. As I shoot mostly mammals and big birds here in Africa, reach is not the major factor. In fact I prefer to shoot smaller birds in context and environment to include colour and contrast. For me tracking is essential where you have a big cat hunting at fast speed or a big raptor in flight. The Sony delivers every time, but I often travel and would love a smaller kit such as the OM-1 with the 100-400 or even the 300f4 and a landscape lens in a small bag. The only thing I found frustrating is understanding the controls of the OM system as it is very different. But have not spend enough time with the system to get over this "challange".

Love your reviews, You've just earned yourself a Sub.... was bindging your vs series, and loved it....I hope you do one with the OM1 Vs the A7iv....🤔👌

That is by far the best review I've ever seen. Well done! This camera seems like it was made for me. I always liked the IQ of the EM cameras but the AF leaves me wanting when shooting wildlife. The low weight and price makes this really hard to beat for what I like to do.

Really surprised with its highlight performance. Your review is substansial, thorough but easy to digest.

I am not a wildlife nor a sports photographer, but I would love to see the OM-1 enhancements in E-M5 type body. I hope OM System going forward will melt together the E-M5 and E-M10 into a single enthusiast type offering.

Mathieu, By default subject detection is not assigned but can easily be done. if you assign subject detection to a button you can quickly change the type of subject by holding the button and using the dial to scroll through subject types. Pro lenses have Function buttons that can be used for this purpose. I hope this helps!

I think this is the best review of this camera on RU-vid, and I think I've watched them all. Would you say that using tracking with subject detection also improves AF performance for stills as well as video? Does it make sense to leave tracking on whenever using subject detection?

I don't have magenta problem in my model with 3 stops of shadow recovery, I love it more and more after 2 months !

Since “WOW” is a marketing rather than a technical term, it seems to me that the OM-1 tested here pretty well against cameras that are far more expensive and don’t offer its compactness, ease-of-handling and computational features. Still waiting for mine to arrive, but I’ll look forward to your “best settings” video in the meantime.

Very good review, well done. I'm not surprised the IQ is similar to older models. For several years now, most manufacturers are improving video specs, speed of shooting and AF performance, rather than IQ. I've compared RAWs from D750 and Z6 II, for example, and tbh - difference is similar to these shown in the video here, between the old 20MP sensor and the new BSI one. Yes, I can see it, but only when specifically looking for it, under great magnification or with serious boost in post. Otherwise - normally exposed pictures with usual corrections look pretty much identical.

Hi Matthieu, Without a doubt - the single review of the OM-1 that I was wanting and waiting for the most. Your effort, style of review and clarity of presentation are a credit to you and very much appreciated. For me, the bird detection is a revelation compared to my E.M1.3. I have only had the camera a short time and your level of trials is far ahead of mine already. I must admit that I was one of the people hoping the supposed 2-stops of ISO improvement meant I could now shoot 2 stops higher for the same level of noise. In reality, are OM Systems actually referring to the 2-stop increase in native ISO when making their claim? I must say that for wildlife photos so far, I find the noise is no less but better controlled in terms of the shape and pattern of the noise. I have taken multiple shots at 12800 that I found very usable that I would not have used even 6400 on the previous camera. I have not been able to try out the SH modes yet, but sounds like it may be worthwhile. I will look forward to your settings video in the future. Many thanks again and best wishes, Craig

I've been using om1 for 6 weeks, I took more than 300 000 photos (yes300 thousend, mainly motorsport, animal portraits, one wedding and some astrophotography) and i can't agree with a few things. 1)Buffer. With the correct settings (low iso processing-drive priority, no detail priority and is-drive priority) and the correct SD card, the results are much better. kingston react plus v90 300mb 10fps - NO LIMITS (I ended up with 800 images) 20fps 185-190 images, 25 fps 165-170 images. With the transcend 700s card - about 10% less, but the reeading time is much longer (about 10-12s vs 7.5-9 seconds with kingston). Not every card is equal, even if the specification says otherwise. 2)For autofocus in bird photography, check out the video of Mike Lane FRPS. He has a1 and om1 and has a completely different opinion. Remember that 80% of the 50 frames are more than 90% of the 20 frames. 3)Image quality. There is a real elephant in the room. It is worth comparing the image quality of the mechanical and electronic shutter. The electronic shutter gives much better results than the mechanical one. Canon r6/r5 and z9(compared to z7 with mechanical) is completely different story, IQ and DR are really suffering . OM1 is a quad pixel sensor,yes, but it's not only for af. Read noise is much lover and QE is much higher compared to old sensor. The difference in image quality is much greater. The OM-1 produces slightly more luma noise but much less chromatic (color) noise.This is a huge difference. Extracting details in shadow is incomparable, and cleaning up chromatic noise is very difficult,but luminance noise is very easy. A good way to test iso performance is astrophotography. Even though om1 generates more heat than m1miii(about 1-2 ⁰C) i needed 2.5 times less stacked shoots to get the same image. For m1miii 120-130, for om1 only 50. One more thing regarding autofocus. I had an r5 myself and tested the z9 and i'm sure that the om1 gave me better results in racing and wildlife photography. The Z9 was very close to the om1. 3)High res shoot and live nd now gives much better results. It is worth noting. In macro photography, the om1 is a real beast. If someone is using something else for macro photography then should buy the om1 immediately. You are absolutely right about om1 focusing on the foreground. Nikon behaves in a similar way. It seems to me that even the use of the frame center priority does not work at all! As for the busy background, om1 has no problems. For objects that move quickly towards you, you should use af sensitivity +1/2 (in this case, om1 is the most effective camera I've ever had), for panning 0 to -1.

Mathieu as always a fundamentally good and honest review. Like it very much.

Thanks for the video. As this review was conducted with firmware 1.3 and we are now at 1.5 were any of your wish list items addressed. I’m new to the OM-1 system having had the camera for about a month with the OM 100-400 and as of a week ago, the 300 f4 PRO. Just working out my settings.

I purchased an EM-1X two months ago (mainly because my EM1 MK1, even with battery grip, has always felt way too light to work well with my 300/2.8), and an OM-1 one month ago. Will b interesting to see if I'll find the EM-1X good enough or if I'll end up getting one more OM-1, a battery grip, and possibly something I can attach to the OM-1 just to make it heavier, like a Jobu Designs hockey puck.

Great review and v much looking forward to yr settings guide to push me in the right direction. Am I right in thinking that you can use the IS on the lens as well as in the body of the camera at the same time? Logic says that you can but I thought I had heard somebody saying it’s an either/or situation. My OM1 arrived a few days ago and I am thrilled to bits with it although am having some software problems along the way, which no doubt will be sorted out, many thanks

Thanks for the informative review. I'd like to see is a comparison between full frame V.S. 4/3 ( lenses with the same focal length).. Then crop the full frame photo 100% V.S. 4/3 uncropped photo. As we know; 4/3 photos are already cropped 100%. And look at noise sharpness etc. Thanks

Very nice video! Just an impression from last weekend: Was on a small boat in full speed at the Irish coast while very shaky waves: I could do a lot of super sharp images with the OM-1! Bird detection on birds in flight (gannets, puffins, fulgars) was working fantastic even in these harsh conditions. Wouldn't have been possible with my good old Em1ii

Thank you for all your amazing work, Mathieu! When it comes to wildlife and bird photography, what would be your pick? - R6 with RF 100-500 f/4,5-7,1 L - EM-1 with M.Zuiko ED 300 f/4,0 PRO, or something completely different? As a beginner, I feel overwhelmed with all the information and options. I'm fully aware that one can't really go wrong with any of them, but your opinion would be very much appreciated!

I think this looks a great all-round camera. Id love to get it with the 10-25 f1.7 from Panasonic. My work is hybrid social media and the fullframe 20-50 is my exact lens range. I just don't know if the AF would suffer using a Panasonic lens

Interesting that the claimed two stop improvement doesn't seem to be a thing. However value for money wise this has to be hands down the best wildlife photography camera and hopefully will improve with updates.

Great camera. Glad to see that m43 got a Camera with Pro AF performance. Tired of all the lumix dfd crap...

Great comparison, thanks you. Do you recommend the OM1 with Lumix 100-400mm lens?

Great video, thanks. I own the previous model 1 Mark II, having some equipment of Olympus. One question: You never made a video of Canon M50 / I or II, right? Can you say, why? At holidays I like the M50 II to carry around. For me it is a very good compromise between compactness and picture quality. With this I first learned more about photography. Yes an Olympus OM 1 or a Sony 7 A4 or so on is on another level. But none other camera triggered sympathy so much to me. Simplicity is the keyword. And joy. Conclusion: it is not a matter of format. The camera which influences one with passion and fun is the right one.

Top notch review, Matthieu, and I look forward the follow-ups. Hope you get a chance to use it with the 150-400, which it definitely performs better all round with.

Thanks fr the informative video. Just watching both of your reviews as I am considering one. Just the reported issues with the AF in forums concerning me a bit. As far as substantial firmware updates, I fear those days are over. But I hope to be proven wrong.

Please touch on the face and eye tracking next in general shooting conditions. Although since it was not talked about, already tells me that nothing much has changed since E-M1 III or E-1X. R6 seems much better all rounder for shooting events since it can track almost anything even if it does not recognize the subject.

Thanks

Hi Matheiu, can you do a comparison between the new G9II and OM1. The lower base ISO and the DRboost sensor tech might help reduce the image quality concerns of MFT. Also, the AF detection and tracking seem to have been much improved from the likes of even the S5II. I'm surprised Panasonic didn't send you one, as according to me, you're by far the best reviewer for BIF, which the camera seems to be very well specced for. Hoping for a review and comparison.

A comprehensive, interesting and fascinating review. I am considering changing from a full frame Sony A7 R IV (65MP) to MFT. However, having seen your written review/comparison of the LUMIX G9 II with the OM 1, I am still unsure which of the two cameras to choose. Could you please let me have your advice on the best system, the newer G9 II or the OM 1?

Comme toujours une vidéo clinique, précise qui réponds quasiment à toutes les questions, même celles que je me suis posé en cours de lecture Le choix avec le R6,R5,Z6 ou 7IV ce sera en définitive le prix, et l'encombrement car il me semble "au niveau" des autres mais rien de définitif pour un photographe semi-pro ou pro Tu shootes les oiseaux en vol soit en 1/2000,1/2500 ou 1/4000s, c'est pour les tests ou y a t'il une raison spécifique à cela ? (pour ma culture personnelle) À part ça, bravo et à la prochaine !

I have now shot over 10k images with the OM-1 and 300 PRO and have found it to be a very hit and miss combination when photographing birds, especially small ones flying within a few feet of a water’s surface. I can see the camera recognizes the bird by tracking it with the white box but, way too often when I release the shutter it focuses on everything but the bird. I can see the small green focus acquisition boxes light up all around the bird and ultimately It will even focus on small objects on the water such as a 1/2 inch diameter reed sticking a few inches out of the water a few feet from the bird or the water itself. It’s been very frustrating to say the least. I have tried everything and have not found a good setup. On the other hand on static birds, even small ones such as warblers, I’ve been having great success. I truly believe the focusing system needs to be improved.

Would love to see a battle of the latest crop sensor cameras. Fuji xh2, Canon r7 and om1

Great video with analysis and detail as always. Thank you. I watched this video a few times as I have ordered an OM-1 purely for wildlife in Africa as I am tired of travelling with heavy Nikon gear. I do have a question on the lenses used as I was surprised that you got good AF performance with the Panasonic 100-400 over the Olympus lenses. I do like the 300 F4 Pro but I really need a zoom for both animals and birds. Do you have a view on the Leica vs Olympus 100-400 for action shots? I understand that only the Olympus Pro lenses will do 50FPS.

Hi Matthieu, I´ve been watching your videos for many years, but never left a comment. Question, how does the camera save the files in burst mode? Is it similar to the A9 that saves it in a folder or does it save the sequence with each individual photo. Thanks, and very good video.

Great review! Seems like there is some improvements which are not that significant, so I won't be spending 1000€ on this camera to replace my E-M1X (I got it for extremely cheap; 1200€). Lenses are way more important and I love my big and spaced out buttons on my M1X when using thick gloves.

As always an excellent in depth review Mathieu, having come from Olympus and now in my 3rd year with Sony I see nothing here to make me go back, a shame as I still love the Olympus form factor but it looks from this they still have some way to go for consistant results on this kind of subject...regards to you both..

Hello, Appreciate the review. Quick question: Does the autofocus performance improve with it set on Cluster Autofocus ( i.e., all targets selected- continuous autofocus set)? This is what I use on my EM1X and I have very high keeper rates even with the bird detection off. Granted, it is best with larger birds… Also, how about the size comparison with the EM1X? Quite honestly for a top professional camera the button layout (tactile feel) and space is disappointing to me, especially in vertical position with the grip on. I think they could have done better. For all the added horsepower and it’s limitations I don’t see a need to upgrade just yet, even with a better viewing experience…just my thoughts.

Hi, nice reviews. I would like to ask you, would you rather take a9+200-600mm or om-1 +300mm f4 for BIF?

Hi. Thanks for this video. I closely follow you BIF test with various cameras especially Fuji. Would you be doing any such review with the fujiXh2s? Thnx

amazing video. I've been eyeing the OM-1, unsure about it since its release. Every other review I'm seen feels more subjective. But this video gets down and dirty with the details.

Excellent review!!. Best graphical comparison with others cameras, except pricing… Congrats!!

While the OM-1 sounds fabulous for focusing on birds within the viewfinder, just wondering what anyone's experience is with an Olympus EE-1 Dot Sight on this camera to do a better job of keeping the camera pointing at the birds?

Excellent, detailed review that puts many others in the shade. In your comparison with the Canon and Sony cameras it would be useful also to compare system prices and weight, the latter being very relevant if carrying and using the camera for a few hours.

A sports review would be most welcome. Merci en avance.