Big test
SPECS
PERFORMANCE: ISO
› Price £1599.99 body only › In the box OM-D E-M1 Mark III body, BLH-I battery, BCH-1 charger, strap, body cap, CC-1 cable clip, USB cable › Sensor 20megapixels LiveMOS withTruePix IXprocessing engine › Sensor format Micro four thirds, 5184x3888pixels, 17.3x13mm › Lens mount Micro four thirds › ISO range 200-25,600, expands to ISO 64 › Shutter range 60secs to 1/8000sec, electronic shutter 60secs to 1/32,000sec, flash sync 1/250sec, bulb up to six hours.Anti shockmode 60secs to 1/320sec › Drive modes Single, single silent, sequential high, sequential high (silent), pro capture high at 60fps with 0-35 frames recorded by half press on shutter button, sequential low, sequential low (silent), pro capture low, high res shot › High res mode Start delay up to 30secs, no flash on handheld high res. Tripod high-res shot mode: equivalent to 80, 50 and 25 megapixels. JPEG and Raw 10,369x7776, 8160x6120 and 5760x4320pixels. Handheld high-res shot mode: equivalent to 50 and 25 megapixels. JPEG and Raw 8160x6120pixels and 5760x4320pixels › Exposure system PASMmodes. Multi, spot, centre-weighted › Exposure compensation +/-5EV in 0.3, 0.5 and 1EV steps, autoexposure bracketing 2/3/5/7 frames on 0.3, 0.5 and 1EV steps › Monitor 3in articulating, 1037K dots touchscreen, › Viewfinder 2.36K dots, 100%coverage › Focusing system Single, continuous tracking. Single point, multi area, face detect (near side, left-side and right- side priority), eye detect, starry sky AF, touch, manual.Working range -6EV to 20EV › Focus points 121 phase detect cross-type, 121 contrast detect hybrid system. Selectable in 5, 9 or 25 areas › Image stabiliser In body image stabiliser, five axis sensor shift, up to 7.5EV (IS Sync), 7.0EVwith non IS Sync lenses › Video UHD 4K 4096x2160 (C4K) at 24p, 3840x2160 (4K) 30p, 25p, 24p, Full HD, High speed 1920x1080 at 120fps › Movie format MPEG-4 H.264 › Connectivity USB3.1, microHDMI,Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, microphone port, headphone port › Other key features Focus stacking, focus bracketing (3- 999 steps), USB charging, USB C operation, multiple exposure, live ND filter, weather sealing › Battery BLH-1 cell, 420 shots › Storage media Dual SD card slots, one UHS-II compatible › Dimensions (wxhxd) 134.1x90.0x68.9mm › Weight 580g Contact: olympus.co.uk
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The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III has a native ISO range of 200 to 25,600 with expansion down to ISO 64. By current standards the top speed is nothing out of the ordinary, but the sensor is getting on in digital terms although the camera’s TruePic IX processor is new. I shot a low-light scene with the OM-D E-M1 III’s in-camera noise reduction turned off. I used the 12-40mm f/2.8 pro lens and mounted the combination on a Gitzo GT2542 carbon travel tripod with the shutter released using the self-timer. I also did a separate set of shots using the OM-D E-M1 Mark II alongside the E-M1 Mark III to see if there any ISO performance benefits – especially at the higher speeds – to be gained with new camera. Starting with the comparison of the two cameras first, I think it is fair to say that there is not
much high ISO performance difference between. Perhaps the new camera is better with fine detail at high ISO settings but you need to a pixel peeper of some standing to really appreciate it. As for the OM-D E-M1 Mark III’s ISO performance, it certainly rates highly and I’d be very happy using ISO 800 or even 1600 for critical work with some noise reduction during editing. Noise levels do increase after this point and look at the shadows in ISO 3200 and 6400 shots and you will see obvious if neutral coloured graining. Venture beyond this point with care because images looked muted and detail suffered. All told, the OM-D EM-1 Mark III is typical of the latest generation Olympus cameras giving a good digital noise performance even at higher ISOs and certainly a world apart from Olympus's earlier Micro Four Thirds cameras which fared poorly by comparison.
IMAGES The OM-D EM-1 Mark III’s ISO performance rates highly, but is not necessarily a huge improvement on its predecessor
OM-D E-M1 MARK II AND E-M1 MARK III COMPARISON
E-M1 Mark II 3200
E-M1 Mark II 6400
E-M1 Mark III 3200
E-M1 Mark III 6400
Issue 76 | Photography News 19
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