OM System needs to be clearer about this
OM System needs to keep an eye on a potential row that is brewing in part of its loyal customer base – users of the original Olympus OM-1.
That flagship camera was replaced, yesterday 30th January, by the OM System OM-1 Mark II, after only 2 years.
Pretty much unchanged on the outside, apart from OM System, instead of Olympus, branding, the Mark II is, according to the manufacturer, only different on the inside through the expansion of buffer memory for fast sequential shooting, and this has been doubled. The sensor, image processor, shutter, image stabilisation mechanics, viewfinder OLED, et al, are the same as its predecessor.
Nevertheless, the Mark II offers an attractive batch of functional improvements, thanks to improved software algorithms, and new code that adds new tools. These include:
- An extra stop of darkness afforded by the Live ND digital neutral density filter mode.
- The debut of a Live GND tool, which lets you apply a graduated Live ND filter effect to the image you are about to capture.
- When using the camera’s High Res Shot mode, offering real-time aggregation of multiple, sensor micro-shifted, donor images to increase recorded resolution from 20 to 50, or even 80 megapixels, the recorded RAW file can now include 14-bits of tone instead of 12.
- There’s improved AI training for the autofocus subject identification and tracking system, plus improved algorithms to increase the reliability of the AF system
- A small but, for some, a much-appreciated tweak, is that you can now reprogram a button on the right hand side of the back of the camera to relocate the Menu button from the left side, enabling one-handed use.
- OM System say that the focus stacking and focus shifting process now works faster – though it’s not clear if that’s improved algorithms again, or because the memory buffer is bigger.
Happy days! OM System has cleverly increased the performance and utility of the camera without needing to redesign and re-tool the chassis, and we assume that, internally, there is only a modified circuit board to accommodate the extra buffer RAM.
But doesn’t that mean the software-based improvements could work on the original OM-1, delivered via a firmware update?
Some irony is that Olympus was one of the pioneers of firmware updating via the Internet and every Olympus DSLR and mirrorless camera, over the last 21 years, has benefitted, for fixing bugs, improving compatibility with new lenses, and the like. But what about adding new features?
Yes you can!
Actually, yes! The original Olympus E-M1 added a long list of new functions with release 2.0 of its firmware, including keystone compensation, tethered shooting, Live Composite shooting mode, etc. Release 4.0 added even more, including focus stacking and focus bracketing. Other camera marques have also released major firmware updates that add functionality to their cameras.
So seasoned OM-1 owners can look forward to some of the software goodies developed for the OM-1 Mark II. Or can they?
OM System has not made a categorical statement regarding firmware updates for the original OM-1. I’ve heard from OM System representatives that there are ‘no plans’. Others have been told that the functional and performance improvements in the Mark II depend on the extra buffer memory it enjoys. But it’s all a bit vague.
Hope, expectation, logic, and reality are still in flux. Logic suggests that as so little of the digital electronics of the camera has changed, that the newly-coded Mark II functionality MUST work on the original OM-1. This is further amplified by hope and expectation, of course.
Certainty
We need certainty. Someone knows which of the following is correct:
Is it a) – at least some of the functionality is coming, but the OM-1 Mark II is the priority for now. Or is it b) – the new code can’t, technically, be adapted to the original OM-1, for X reasons.
Of course, there might be a c) – ‘we’re finished with the old OM-1, and though we could put the effort into updating older cameras with some of the new functionality, we aren’t going to, for commercial reasons’.
Naturally, I hope reality turns out to be a), but c) really is a possibility – OM System is a relatively small player and it needs to watch its costs much more carefully than its bigger competitors.
But my next question is – how much is goodwill worth to your existing customers, and can OM System afford to disappoint even some of them?
Update for a fee?
I’ve seen evidence that some OM-1 users could be persuaded to pay a sensible fee, whatever that might be, for access to some of the Mark II functionality.
But getting back down to earth, the fact is that we do need more clarity from OM System. If there is definitely no chance at all, ever, of any of the new functionality being provided to users of the original OM-1, then so be it – but do tell us, without ambiguity.
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