Testing the OM System OM-1 Bird AF (Bird AI AF) | Hands-On Field Test | Gear Review 

Great video, thank you. Up until last Friday I owned the Canon R5 plus Rf100 500. Last Friday I swapped it for the OM-1, 300mm and 2 other lenses. The main reasons were... cost of additional lenses, weight and I wanted more reach.

Both camera/lens sets worked really well, price and ergonomics would be the deciding factor. At my pension age (69) it has to be the M4/3 system. What to me is the most impressive is the beauty and quality of your video and photography. I can't believe you only have 720 subscribers, now 721. Thanks for a great review.

I use Nikon anf OMD Cameras for Wildlife. Since the OM1 I’m using it 90% of the time! The OM1 is amazing!! A Camera capable of almost everything!

I sold my R5, EF600mm f4 mk2 and RF800 f11 four weeks back. The 600mm was ten years old and the EF mount is now obsolete. I was also fed up with carrying 5kg of lens around with me so I decided to trade it. In the 5 years I owned it the lens lost £800 as the values have gone up of used big whites. The R5 I lost £900 in 2 years and I broke even on the RF800 as it was a grey import. My plan was to move to an R7 and RF100-500 f7.1. For BIF in an English winter that combination could be a nightmare as it's far from ideal at f7.1 and the disappointing sensor tech in the R7, non weatherproof plastic construction, non existent buffer, noisy mech shutter etc. made me look elsewhere. I purchased an OM-1, 300mm f4, 100-400mm f5-f6.3, MC14 1.4x extender and I've the 150-400 f4.5 1.25TC on back order. I'm really enjoying my OM-1 and the AF is nearly as good as the R5 imho if not as good as. There's no blackout, no discernable rolling shutter, good iso noise performance probably better than the R5 and many other features such as ProCapture that best the R5. The only thing I miss is the MP but I'm used to that now and shoot and crop accordingly. My two lenses, OM-1, 2 spare batteries and cleaning kit fit into the smallest LowPro backpack. I can walk for miles with this kit and get shots I wouldn't have got with my R5 and Canon lenses. It's re energised my photography

The OM1 combo is half the size, but 95% of the image quality. Beautifull images..

The video quality of the OM-1 is phenomenal.

I preferred the OM 1 still shots here....I enjoy seeing less background blur. While you could close the aperture a bit on the R5 for similar results. I too switched from Canon to OM recently and never regretted the results I get now. The Pro Capture and ibis on the OM is just fantastic for birding. The cost and size is icing on the cake! Great video...Thanks

I was a Nikon shooter and switched to "Olympus (OM1)....best decision ever (photography).

Thank you, Torjan, for the wonderful video. Those are some amazing pictures.

Fantastic comparison!!! The fact that the lowly M4/3 sensor can even come close to, or match the Canon in picture quality is amazing. I have to admit that that 300mm F4 is an outstanding lens. I did extensive testing of the MC-14 with the 300 and was also very impressed how much better the images where. I would say around 1.3X better and well worth using the 1.4x if lighting allows. I now want the MC-20 for very bright conditions. In the past I have found the biggest draw back to using teleconverters was the ability to focus in in low light (shadows) but the OM cameras focusing seems to be getting more sensitive in low light with every generation.

Hey man! I've been looking at the OM1 for a little while now. Since there is not a booming used market here in India, you really cannot buy, use, and subsequently sell gear if you don't like the gear as many other people in the west do. You're pretty much stuck with your equipment for at least a few years after the purchase. So I'm being extra careful and looking at all review I can get hold of.

Beautiful images from both cameras and the OM-1 looks like a nice camera.

You need to persuade your father to purchase the battery grip for his OM1 for the next time you borrow it. I am fortunate to own two OM1 bodies; and at this time of the year I have one set up for birds/mamals and the other set up for macro. I purchased a battery grip for my birding OM1, as I find it more comfortable when used with the 300mm f4, both with and without my MC14 or MC20. I find the AF stunningly fast and accurate for birds in flight. I have captured images with my OM1 that I would never have captured with my EM1X, EM1.3, Sony A9 or Sony A7R4. ProCapture mode is simply brilliant, as the camera now tracks the subject. SH2 @ 50fps is fantastic for BIF, especially when there is a short window of opportunity to get the shot. It is certainly not a gimmick, as some would suggest. As far as I'm concerned, the OM1 really is my wow factor camera.

Very interesting comparison. Very enlightning. Yes, the square white boxes can be removed, it's very customisable. I am a bird photographer from Qld Australia, and have not only the OM-1, but the 150-400mm f/4.5 IS Pro lens. It has to be the best kit of birding gear I have ever owned. I came from Canon to Olympus back in 2017. Weight and cost was the main reason for the change, but I have not been disappointed. ;)

This was really great! I recently went on a trip with my e-m1 mark iii and a sony a7r3. Definitely more dynamic range and of course megapixels out of the Sony; but some of my favorite pics are with the Olympus. I prefer holding the Olympus too. There are advantages to mft and other advantages to ff, but it is good to know that mft OM-1 punches above it's weight. For my wildlife adventures, the weather sealing and conpactness of the Olympus draws me in, not to mention the quality glass I can get with mft, for half the price. If you like the 35mm focal range the Olympus 17mm f1.2 pro is near the sharpest lens I have ever used (8mm fisheye pro might be as sharp or sharper).

I've just traded in my RF100-500 (and some other lenses) for the OM 150-400 lens. I've been running two systems for a while with the 300mm on the OM1 and when I needed a zoom, the R5 with the 100-500mm. The Canon with 100-500 is almost the same weight as the OM1 with the 150-400 and almost the same length when the Canon is extended. I've barely had chance to try it yet, but I'm so looking forward to using it. I have tweaked a few settings and although I didn't test it specifically, I always felt the OM1 was just a little bit better with the subject detect autofocus. Also, I have it set to C-Af +MF and love that if the bird is against a busy background, I can manually focus and the peaking kicks in - it doesn't on the R5 without switching it to manual focus.

I'm actually looking into the possibility of losing my G9 and going to the OM1 so this is a handy video! For me the biggest take is that the Canon images are gorgeous as you can absolutely obliterate those backgrounds more easily which is obviously less easy to do with the OM1 so stylistically if you are more of an environmental photographer then the OM1 is the one and if its more portraits or you have cluttered backgrounds the R5 is the one to go for. Both look incredible but for me cost is definitely a huge factor so for that reason it has to be OM1 for me.

Thank you for an excellent video of your process as well as comparing results!

Hi up there, glad you like your combos and do hope your father sees his OM-1 back, one fine day, perhaps . . . (only watched 6min of your video sofar, so don't have any clue about your evtl. conclusions yet ...)

Thank you for the excellent comparison. I appreciate your objectivity in analyzing the results of each. I have the E-M1x and would love the OM-1, but am not there just yet. I feel like I get a lot of very good shots with my 1x, and I absolutely love the form factor. I used to shoot professionally and became used to shooting with a gripped camera body. If I get the OM-1, I know I will want the grip also -- so the cost is simply beyond what I can do at this time, without selling off a fair amount of gear to help fund it. I am very impressed with the JPEG quality of the OM-1 -- even the high ISO shot look good straight out of camera. I have a friend who just got one, so maybe we'll go out shooting and I can play with it a little using my Oly 100-400mm. Of course, that might be a dangerous thing to do! 🙂