The OM System OM-1 Mark II ($2,399.99, body only) is the follow-up to one of our favorite cameras for outdoor photographers, the OM-1 ($2,199.99). It retains the original’s superb ergonomics, excellent electronic viewfinder (EVF), and class-leading weather sealing, while gaining rubberized control dials, a computational Graduated Neutral Density (GND) mode, and an improved autofocus system. That said, it costs substantially more than the Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 II, which offers better video features for hybrid creators. The Lumix remains our overall Editors’ Choice winner for crop-sensor mirrorless cameras, though dedicated photographers are sure to enjoy the OM-1 Mark II’s svelte build and advanced stills capabilities.It Goes Where You DoSmall, easy-to-carry cameras and lenses are hallmarks of the Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera system and reasons enough for many to choose it over the full-frame competition. The OM-1 Mark II sticks closely to the concept, coming in at 3.6 by 5.3 by 2.9 inches (HWD) and just 1.3 pounds without a lens attached. The Lumix G9 II is a little larger and heavier (4.0 by 5.3 by 3.5 inches and 1.4 pounds) since it shares its chassis with the full-frame Lumix S5 II, but I don’t consider it too big.
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(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The OM-1 solidifies its billing as an outdoor camera thanks to a few core features: IP53 weather protection, a stabilized image sensor, and a suite of computational features for long exposures without a tripod or glass ND filters. For comparison, the G9 II also has a stabilized sensor and some (but fewer overall) computational assists.Both the OM-1 Mark II and G9 II use the same type of Micro Four Thirds mirrorless lenses, so they pull from a shared library. The system’s 4:3 aspect ratio differentiates it from APS-C and full-frame cameras which snap photos at 3:2. The sensor size is a little smaller than APS-C, so there’s less opportunity for photos with blurred backgrounds. Neither sensor format is a substitute for a full-frame chip and bright lens if that’s the look you want. Respectively, Micro Four Thirds and APS-C models have crop factors of around 2.0 and 1.5 times that of full-frame.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
If you already have a stash of Micro Four Thirds lenses, you can buy the OM-1 Mark II in a body-only configuration. You can also get it in a kit with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 Pro II zoom lens for $2,999.99. The 12-40mm F2.8 costs $999.99 by itself, so the kit represents a good value and bucks the industry trend of not offering F2.8 zooms at a discount. The OM-1 Mark II’s price might seem high for a crop-sensor camera, especially since the full-frame EOS R6 Mark II costs just a bit more at $2,499. Of course, the R6 Mark II uses a run-of-the-mill CMOS sensor, whereas the OM-1 Mark II sports a faster Stacked CMOS chip. The OM System’s price is ultimately in line with the only other crop-sensor Stacked camera, the APS-C Fujifilm X-H2S ($2,499.95).Like the OM-1 Mark II body, the 12-40mm F2.8 Pro II lens’ weather sealing makes it an excellent choice for nature and wildlife photography. Other system lenses are just as tough. To that point, when I accidentally dropped the camera and 150-600mm lens into a couple of inches of snow, both worked fine afterward.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
I don’t typically put a lot of thought into the logos on a camera, but the OM-1 Mark II makes a significant change. It puts the OM System logo at the front of its viewfinder hump in place of the Olympus badge on the first-generation OM-1. It’s a reminder that Olympus sold its camera division in 2020 to OM System. I haven’t noticed a drop in the quality of products in the ensuing years, but also haven’t seen a huge improvement in tech. The OM-1 Mark II has some new features, sure, but other releases, such as the TG-7 compact and OM-5, are just old cameras with new logos. Time will tell whether OM remains stagnant or releases more products along the lines of the fantastic M.Zuiko 90mm Macro lens. I’d love to see OM bring the PEN-F back to life, for example.Superb ErgonomicsThe OM-1 Mark II makes one change to the body exterior compared with the original: It swaps the plastic front and rear control dials for rubberized controls. The updated dials are a little more prominent and easier to manipulate if you are wearing heavy gloves. Otherwise, the fantastic ergonomics from the original continue here. I’m especially fond of the OM-1’s grip. It’s appropriately deep for use with heavier lenses, has a tapered middle finger indent that’s quite comfortable, and its angled shutter release rests naturally under my index finger.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The body includes two function buttons between the grip and lens mount. They control the One Touch White Balance and Depth of Field Preview functions by default, but you can reconfigure each. The buttons sit a little close together, but I don’t find the arrangement too crowded. I appreciate that the top button has a concave surface and that the bottom one has a convex surface for easier differentiation by touch.OM puts the power switch on the left side of the top plate in contrast to the more common position around the shutter release. The switch is inlaid at the side of a squat cylinder with two buttons: one for Drive/Self-Timer/Flash settings and one for AF/Metering. The buttons work in conjunction with the in-grip dials to change settings. The Mode dial is on the other side of the viewfinder. It has a central post lock that toggles it on and off, along with EV and High Res Shot/Record buttons. The latter puts the OM-1 Mark II into its 50MP multi-shot stills mode or starts a video depending on the active mode.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The rear control scheme is pretty standard. Menu and Display buttons are at the top left, while AE-L, AF-ON, and ISO buttons run along the same row to the right of the eyecup. A Fn lever rings the AE-L button, a clever solution that swaps between two control schemes. By default, the lever switches between two focus modes, but you can set it to swap between the stills and video modes if you want. You can also configure it so that it changes the function of the front and rear exposure dials to respectively handle white balance and ISO instead. It’s a useful implementation overall, though I wish OM let you use the switch to change the drive mode. The Mode dial has four Custom slots (C1-C4), however, so there’s still a way to quickly cycle through presets.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The body includes an eight-way control stick to set the area of interest for focus, as well as a four-way d-pad with a central OK button as an alternative. Both navigate the menus, so you can use whichever you find more comfortable. I had a little trouble pressing the d-pad without bumping the OK button with gloves on, so I was glad to have the eight-way stick as another option.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The OM-1 Mark II has two main menu interfaces. Pressing OK brings up an an on-screen display (OSD) that covers most of the rear screen and offers a host of options in a 4-by-6 square grid that you can navigable via touch or the buttons. It includes many useful options but is not configurable. That limitation means you need to navigate the multi-page text menu to get at some of the OM-1’s better features. The text menu is at least intuitive and includes a My Menu page for your most common options. The Sony a6700, Fuji X-H2S, and Panasonic G9 II all let you customize their respective OSD menus, for comparison.A Brilliant EVF and Articulating DisplayThe OM-1 Mark II keeps the EVF and LCD from its predecessor, I’m not complaining, however, as it’s of full-frame quality. It’s very sharp at 5.8 million dots, has a high magnification of 0.82x, and refreshes at a smooth 60fps. Although it drains the battery more quickly, a 120fps option is available for tracking erratic subjects. Overall, it’s markedly better than that of the Sony a6700 (2.4 million dots. 0.71x), but on par with that of the G9 II (3.7 million dots, 0.8x) and Fuji X-H2S (5.8 million dots, 0.8x).
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The 3-inch rear display has a swing out, vari-angle design and supports touch input. It shows a clear picture (1.62 million dots) and is bright enough to use outdoors. The G9 II’s screen is the same size but sharper at 1.8 million dots.Competitive Battery Life and Dual Card SlotsThe OM-1 Mark II uses the same BLX-1 battery as the original, though its CIPA rating drops to 500 shots per charge (compared with 520). This mark beats that of the G9 II (390 shots) but comes in below that of the Fuji X-H2S (580 shots). As always, you can get a lot more pictures per charge if you lean on the fastest burst rates. For instance, when I rattled off close to 2,000 exposures with the 150-600mm zoom at 25fps drive over 90 minutes of bird watching at my backyard feeder, the battery level was still at about 60%. A spare battery isn’t a bad idea if you’re going out all day, but not everyone will need one for this camera.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
Early adopters can get an extra battery for free: OM promises a second BLX-1 for orders through Feb. 25, 2024. Ordinarily, the batteries go for $99 each. For people upgrading from the original, the OM-1 Mark II works with the same HLD-10 Power Battery Holder. The HLD-10 ($349.99) attaches to the bottom of the camera and has an additional BLX-1 slot but doesn’t come with an extra battery. That said, the holder does include a shutter release and control dials for photographers who prefer to work in portrait orientation.A USB-C connector enables in-body charging, while a micro HDMI port and 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks for video sit nearby. The micro HDMI connector is a notoriously fragile interface, so take care when you use an Atomos Ninja or similar recorder. The G9 II is a better choice here since it has a full-sized HDMI connector and supports ProRes recording to SSD storage, too. UVC/UAC video streaming support marks an additional upgrade of the Mark II over the original.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The body doesn’t have a flash but includes the legacy PC sync connector for wired strobes and a hot shoe for on-camera flashes or wireless triggers. There are two memory slots, both of which support UHS-II SDXC cards. I recommend getting a fast card with a write speed of around 300Mbps if you plan on using high-speed drive.The OM-1 Mark II works with the O.I. Share smartphone app for file transfers and remote control. The app is a free download for Android and iOS, and setup takes just a few minutes. You start the device pairing process on the OM-1 Mark II, which shows a QR code on its rear screen. The app reads that code and sets up both the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections in a jiffy.Focuses and Tracks at Up to 50fpsThe OM-1 Mark II gets a refined version of the original’s already capable quad-pixel phase detect focus system. The sensor leverages 1,053 cross-type phase detection pixels across its entire surface thanks to its Quad Bayer color filter array (CFA) that splits each pixel into four quadrants. The OM-1 Mark II uses that fast, accurate focus tech to realize 50fps continuous focus and subject tracking with some of its Pro series lenses and a healthy 25fps with others. In total, six lenses support 50fps drive: 12-40mm F2.8, 12-40mm F2.8 II, 12-100mm F4, 40-150mm F2.8, 150-450mm F4.5 1.25x, and 300mm F4.0.
OM 150-600mm F5.0-6.3, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1,000-second, ISO 250 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
You can choose among several areas of interest for focus, from small to large: Single Point, Small, Cross, Middle, Large, and All. Autofocus is smart enough to recognize subjects too, with modes for Airplanes, Animals, Birds, Humans, Motorsports, and Trains. The subject modes are the same as from the OM-1 but work better. Body detection for humans, for example, helps the camera keep up better with a subject even if their face is not visible. Anecdotally, I found the camera did a better job of sticking with a detected bird behind bare tree branches, too.Even though it has a Stacked CMOS sensor, the OM-1 Mark II doesn’t read out quickly enough for the camera to drop its mechanical shutter. DPReview measures the first OM-1 at a scan speed of 1/125-second. That’s good enough to freeze many types of motion, but still half the speed of a typical mechanical shutter. I believe the Mark II matches the original’s performance here.
Olympus 300mm F4 + 1.4x TC, 420mm, f/5.6, 1/640-second, ISO 4000 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
As such, the OM-1 Mark II also includes a focal plane shutter that scans quickly enough for 1/250-second flash sync, a more suitable choice for environments with digital LED signage or other types of light that might otherwise induce banding. But, in most situations, the e-shutter is fast enough to avoid rolling shutter distortion.
OM 150-600mm F5.0-6.3, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1,000-second, ISO 500 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
The OM-1 Mark II’s mechanical shutter limits it to a decent 10fps, but that’s a far cry from the 25 and 50fps rate for the e-shutter. A faster readout rate means the camera can completely avoids finder blackout in its Sequential High 2 (SH2) drive mode at a maximum rate of 12.5, 16.7, 25, or 50fps. The feature is also available with SH1, which locks focus and exposure in for a sequence but pushes 60, 100, or 120fps in Raw format.The burst rates match the original, but the Mark II camera has double the buffer memory, so it can keep up its pace for longer. It managed about 215 exposures in Raw format at 120fps and required about 33 seconds to clear those photos to a Sony Tough UHS-II 299MBps memory card. I expect more photogs to care about the 25fps and 50fps drive modes when it comes to the buffer, however, as action shots and continuous autofocus go hand-in-hand. At 25fps, I got 275 shots before the buffer filled and 235 exposures at 50fps. The camera took about 30 seconds to clear both those bursts.
Olympus 300mm F4, f/6.3, 1/1,000-second, ISO 200 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Ultra-fast capture and a big buffer are a recipe to fill up a memory card if you don’t have good shutter discipline. The OM-1 Mark II includes a pre-capture mode, called ProCapture, to help reduce the number of throwaway pictures. In this mode, the camera continuously buffers a set number of shots (from 1-50) as long as you half-press the shutter. It saves that buffer and continues to take pictures when you fully press the release. It’s a plus for wildlife and sports photography, situations in which you might be waiting for a specific bit of action (like an egret striking the water to catch a fish). The feature is fairly common among high-speed cameras, though it’s worth noting that it’s an Olympus innovation from the E-M1 Mark II.Other cameras in its price range are fast, too. The G9 II supports up to 60fps tracking with a similar buffer (200 shots) and longer write times (40 seconds) under identical conditions, while the Fuji X-H2S offers 40fps tracking and a clear time of around 20 seconds to fast CFe memory. Both also have a pre-shot buffer mode, too.
OM 150-600mm F5.0-6.3, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1,000-second, ISO 1000 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Improved Computational PhotographyThe OM-1 Mark II is ahead of the pack when it comes to computational photography. The camera includes long-running OM favorites such as High Res Shot, an in-camera, multi-sample mode that supports handheld composites of 50MP without a tripod and 80MP files with one. The Mark II bumps Raw quality to 14-bit for this mode, up from 12-bit, so you get as much editing flexibility and noise control as with a single 20MP Raw exposure.
High Res Shot is handy for subjects where texture and detail matters most; OM 20mm F1.4, f/1.4, 1/500-second, ISO 200 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Live ND gets the biggest overhaul. This mode is handy for taking long exposure images in the daytime without glass filters to cut the incoming light. The system has twice as much power as before and supports ND128 (7 stops). It also adds a Graduated ND mode with selectable ND2/4/8 (1-3 stops) power. The GND can help landscape photographers balance the sky and land exposure during sunrise and sunset scenes. The OM-1 Mark II’s GND rotates freely so you can match the angle of gradation to your scene and lets you place the center point anywhere on the frame.
Live ND supports long exposures without the need for glass filters; OM 20mm F1.4, f/4, 1/4-second, ISO 80 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Focus Stacking, HDR, and Multiple Exposure options also fall under the computational umbrella, though they are relatively common features. Live Composite is also on board. This OM-exclusive feature for nighttime photography takes the guesswork out of exposure times, showing a live preview of an exposure as you capture it. Live Composite has been in Olympus cameras since the E-M5 Mark II and I’m surprised other manufacturers haven’t copied it in the interim.Leave Your Tripod at HomeThe OM-1 Mark II makes lofty claims about its 5-axis image stabilization and claims up to 8.5 stops of compensation. That’s better than the 7 stops of the OM-1. Just how long you’ll be able to handhold the camera and get a sharp picture depends on your steadiness, the focal length, and the scene. I consistently managed sharp half-second exposures with the 9-18mm lens and more good than bad results at shutter speeds of 1 second.
OM 150-600mm F5.0-6.3, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1,000-second, ISO 500 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
In other regards, the OM-1 Mark II matches the original’s 20MP Stacked BSI CMOS sensor in picture quality. Since Adobe doesn’t yet support the OM-1 Mark II’s Raw format, I’m basing my evaluation on tests I performed with an OM-1 and examined in Lightroom Classic with the default level of noise reduction. The sensor supports ISO 200-25600 in its native range and goes from 80-102400 in its extended settings. The top Auto ISO setting is ISO 25600 by default, but you can configure it as high or low as you like.
OM 150-600mm F5.0-6.3, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1,000-second, ISO 250 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
As expected, the OM-1 Mark II captures pictures with the least amount of noise and the greatest latitude to edit exposure at ISO 200. Its picture quality holds up through moderate ISOs, though, and I observe a nominal loss of contrast through ISO 1600. Grain takes on a visible form at ISO 3200-12800, introducing some texture and contrast loss, but remains relatively fine. The noise creates a rougher, larger-grain pattern at ISO 25600-51200, though these settings are still usable for stills. You should avoid the extreme ISO 102400 setting if possible since picture quality takes a big step back here due to overwhelming, chunky grain and a slight green color shift.
Olympus 300mm F4, f/5.6, 1/500-second, ISO 200 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
The 14-bit Raw format captures plenty of dynamic range and files handle lifts to exposure quite well, so you can freely open shadows without adding too much noise. That said, the base ISO 200 sensitivity is lower than that of many mirrorless competitors that start at ISO 100. You lose some editing flexibility if you opt for JPGs and must live with a waxy look at ISO 3200 and up due to in-camera noise reduction. On the plus side, the OM-1 Mark II includes several in-camera art filters for photogs who want to give pictures a creative look without edits. In-camera Raw processing is available too, so you can add a filter after the fact.Overall, the images are as good as you can get from a Micro Four Thirds camera, with lab results showing a similar character to the Lumix G9 II at comparable settings. APS-C cameras like the Fuji X-H2S have an advantage beyond ISO 6400, and full-frame cameras like the Canon EOS R6 Mark II are even better for low light and fast shutter speed photo ops in which the ISO is likely to range high.
OM 9-18mm II, 18mm, f/5.6, 1/60-second, ISO 200 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Behind the Times for VideoThe OM-1 Mark II keeps things pretty much the same as the original for video, though it adds support for 9:16 vertical recording. It offers 8-bit H.264 with any color profile and 10-bit 4:2:0 HEVC with the flat OM-Log or an HDR HLG look at up to 4K60 resolution. Unfortunately, the H.264 footage does not resolve as much detail or have the color gamut of HEVC, so creators will have to take the time to shoot in OM-Log and apply a color grading LUT during editing. Applying a grade isn’t a big deal for advanced editors in software like Final Cut Pro, but I see it as a concern for those without as much experience.
OM 9-18mm II, 18mm, f/5.6, 1/40-second, ISO 200 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Handheld shots benefit from the camera’s exceptional IBIS system, but that’s also true of the G9 II. The Lumix is a better Micro Four Thirds camera for video, with more modes, ProRes recording to SSD, and clearer profiles with ready-to-share color. The APS-C Fuji X-H2S is also a standout since it records ProRes to a memory card.High-Tech Imaging From a Rugged, Compact DesignThe OM System OM-1 Mark II makes some thoughtful improvements to its predecessor without straying from the core appeal. Its small, weather-sealed build helps it survive the elements and rigors of travel, while the combination of exceptional stabilization and computational features lets you get shots that typically require a tripod or glass filters. We find that the OM-1 Mark II brings us a particular joy for photography, but its high price and limited video capabilities lead us to recommend the Panasonic Lumix G9 II as our overall Editors’ Choice winner for crop-sensor cameras. The G9 II costs much less, matches the OM System on photo quality, and comes out far ahead on video capabilities.
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