So, after just over 18 months since the announcement of the OM-D E-M5 Olympus have upped the stakes in the mirrorless versus “traditional” DSLR competition with the launch of the OM-D E-M1.

Major updates since the E-M5 include:

• Phase-detection autofocus (as well as contrast-detection) for four-thirds (as opposed to micro four-thirds) lenses (which can be fitted to the E-M5 using a free adapter).
• A new 16.3 megapixel Live MOS sensor.
• A new TruePic VII image processor.
• Improved electronic viewfinder (EVF).
• Built-in hand grip.
• Something called ‘color creator’ that fine-tunes hue and color saturation using the Live View screen, so users can create original images imbued with their own choice of colors.
• A very cool sounding built-in Wi-Fi feature that allows for scanning of a QR code displayed on the camera’s LCD with a smart device which can then syncs with the Wi-Fi network created by the camera. The free Olympus Image Share 2.0 smartphone app synchronizes a user’s smartphone and E-M1 so the camera’s “Live View” is effectively displayed on the phone, and the camera can be controlled by touching the smartphone display as if it were the camera. Users can then wirelessly adjust various settings, such as the shutter speed, aperture value, ISO and exposure compensation, as well as operate the Live Bulb shooting mode from their Wi-Fi devices. They can also use their smartphone to embed GPS information into their images.

Olympus also announced a new lens, the ZUIKO Digital ED 12–40mm f2.8 PRO lens (24–80mm, 35mm equivalent).

If you are one of those geeky types who enjoys watching new stuff being unwrapped here is a short video from Mr Damian McGillicuddy doing just that as well as chatting about some of the E-M1’s features.

All in all sounds like a nice bit of kit though I’m not sure the features delta of the E-M1 over the E-M5 (as well as the fairly hefty price tag) quite justify me putting my trusty E-M5 onto ebay just yet! There’s still plenty of mileage in it yet plus I really, really like the compact size of the E-M5 that you can achieve when going without the grip or battery pack.

damian mcgillicuddy e-m1 micro four thirds om-d