GEAR
OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1X & E-M1 MARK III
the internal cards or an external recorder. And although the AF functionality for stills is very good, for shooting video it’s a bit more limited, offering less control and customisation. However, it does acquire focus and track moving subjects well. And in manual focus, focus peaking helps you get your images sharp. But it’s all about the footage, really, and the C4K is very detailed and sharp, although a tad oversaturated in standard form. It’s easy to tweak this in post-production, though. 4K and FHD give more frame rates and the quality is still excellent, with accurate colours, good resolution and low rolling shutter artefacts. The Log profile sets ISO to 400 and the View Assist shows an image converted to Rec. 709 for easier monitoring. The OM-Log 400 is not extreme, so we found that adding some contrast and saturation gave a really good look and increased the dynamic range. Both the Olympus E-M1X and E-M1 Mark III cameras record a surprisingly sharp image, with pleasing colours and detail, considering they have a sensor that is a quarter the area of a full-frame chip. It’s proof that good things can come in small packages.
ABOVE The screen is bright and has focus peaking tools. You can also articulate it at lots of different angles, making it ideal for video production
“Both the Olympus E-M1X and E-M1 Mark III record a surprisingly sharp image, with pleasing colour”
THE VERDICT The OM-D E-M1X may be aimed at professional sports and wildlife stills shooters, but it makes a very useful filmmaking camera. The smaller sensor gives remarkably clean and detailed images, especiallywhen there is a decent amount of light around. That’s what we said when it was launched a year ago, and it still holds true. Our main criticisms were its large form factor, which is not ideal for video, and its price tag. Olympus tackled both these in one fell swoop with the new E-M1 Mark III. OK, it doesn’t have every single benefit of the bigger and more expensive pro-level camera, but for filmmaking, none of that really matters. For shooting movies, it’s simply a much better and more affordable buy. However, we also said that if you have
HOW THEY RATE E-M1X SCORES IN BRACKETS IF DIFFERENT Features: 8 There is C4K, Log gamma, great phase-detect AF but only 8-bit footage Performance: 8 Crisp, sharp images, especially in C4K and at low ISO settings Handling: 9 (8) The smaller camera is more suitable for filming than its big brother Value formoney: 8 (7) The E-M1 Mark III offers all the benefits of the E-M1X, but costs less OVERALL RATING: 8/10 Great image quality, fast and precise AF and incredible image stabilisation Pros: Detailed C4K footage, great image stabilisation Cons: No 240fps, 10-bit output or waveforms
MFT-fit lenses and like the smaller sensor size and all its advantages, then it’s difficult to ignore the Panasonic GH5 or GH5S, which also use an MFT sensor and lenses and have 10-bit recording, frame rates up to 240fps in HD, waveforms for exposure monitoring and lots more. Recent news that Olympus is selling off its camera division may not bring a lot of confidence to potential buyers of the cameras. But chances are that under new owners with increased investment, it may actually flourish and grow. But for users of the MFT system, the choice is even wider right now.
More information
olympus.co.uk
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PRO MOVIEMAKER SUMMER 2020
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