OM System (the camera company formerly known as Olympus) has taken the wraps off its new mid-range Micro Four Thirds camera, the OM System OM-3. This camera takes much of the imaging technology of the firm’s flagship OM-1 Mark II and places it in a stylish retro body that has a lot in common design-wise with the cheaper OM-5. It looks set to become the best OM System camera for enthusiast photographers who don’t necessarily need all the features of the OM-1 Mark II.
At a glance:
- £1699 body-only
- £1999 with 12-45mm F4 PRO lens
- 20MP Four Thirds stacked CMOS sensor
- ISO 200-25,600 (standard)
- Up to 120fps shooting
- 2.36m-dot, 0.68x OLED electronic viewfinder
- 3in, 1.62m-dot fully articulated screen
- C4K 60fps video recording, Full HD up to 240fps
The OM-3’s classic two-tone body design is styled after Olympus 35mm SLRs of the past, and the OM-1 in particular. It’s very similar in size, too, which makes it noticeably larger than the OM-5. However, there’s no specific relationship to the film OM-3 – the name just denotes it’s between the OM-1 and OM-5 series.
OM System has included all its latest computational photography features, but also resurrected the colour dial that originally appeared on the cult-classic PEN-F. It gives direct access to four colour and four black and white ‘film’ modes, plus the firm’s create ‘Art Filters’ and ‘Color Creator’ options. This encourages users to creatively adjust the JPEG output in-camera before shooting.
OM System OM-3 key features:
- 5-axis in-body image stabilisation (6.5 stops)
- Subject detection autofocus
- Dustproof, splashproof, freezeproof
- Single UHS-II card slot
- Same viewfinder as OM-5: 3.36m-dot, 0.68x
- Large BLX-1 battery from OM-1 II – 560 shots per charge
- New Computation Photography button
- Creative colour mode dial
You can read all about the camera’s features, and what we thought of it, in our detailed OM System OM-3 review.
The new OM System OM-3 will cost £1699 body-only, or £1999 with the compact, weather-sealed 12-45mm F4 Pro zoom. Sales are due to start at the end of February 2025.
Related articles:
- OM System OM-3 review: all the style, plenty of substance
- Updated OM System 17mm F1.8 II and 25mm F1.8 II optics
- Revamped OM System 100-400mm F5.6-6.3 IS II super-telephoto zoom
OM System OM-3 full specifications
| Sensor | 20MP Stacked BSI Live MOS Quad Pixel, 17.4 x 13mm |
| Output size | 5184 x 3888 |
| Focal length mag | 2x |
| Lens mount | Micro Four Thirds |
| Shutter speeds | 60sec – 1/8000sec (mechanical), 60sec – 1/32000sec (electronic) |
| Sensitivity | ISO 200-25,600 (standard), ISO 80-102,400 (extended) |
| Exposure modes | PASM, B, 5x Custom |
| Metering | Pattern, spot, centre-weighted, highlight spot, shadow spot |
| Exposure comp | +/-5EV in 0.3EV steps |
| Continuous shooting | 120fps (electronic, S-AF); 50fps (electronic, C-AF) |
| Screen | 3in, 1.62m-dot fully articulated touchscreen |
| Viewfinder | 2.36m-dot OLED EVF, 0.68x magnfication |
| AF points | 1053, all cross-type |
| Video | C4K up to 60fps; 4K up to 60fps; Full HD up to 240fps |
| External mic | 3.5mm stereo |
| Memory card | 1x UHS-II SD |
| Power | BLX-1 Li-ion |
| Battery life | 590 shots |
| Dimensions | 139.3 x 89.9 x 45.8mm |
| Weight | 496g (inc battery and card) |
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