First impressions

Gone is the Olympus branding, and introduced is a range of useful new features. Whilst not especially revolutionary changes, the camera still has one of the fastest sensors available. Just a small handful of competitors offer such high-speed continuous shooting, and they’re all notably more expensive. It’s also introduced further impressive photographic features that really do help make it an extremely compact, and yet highly capable, camera system.

Playing to the strengths of Micro Four Thirds, there’s a relatively compact camera body, IP53 weather-sealed rating, and a fine range of compact lenses. You can even leave your grad ND filters and holders at home, and simply use the built-in feature.

With the same sensor and processing as the original OM-1, we can expect to see the same level of image quality from the Mark II. We know from our testing that this will give pleasing colours, detail, and dynamic range.

Obviously, this isn’t a full-frame camera, but if you’re expecting OM System to release a full-frame camera, then you’ll be waiting some time. There are benefits to smaller sensors, including size, speed, and price. If you do want 120fps raw from a full-frame camera, you’re going to need to spend three times as much for a Sony A9 III.

The question is, will these new features be tempting enough for existing Olympus/OM users to upgrade? If you already own the OM-1, then there might not be enough here, and you can rest assured knowing you already have an extremely capable camera. Users of older E-M1 models may well be tempted, though.