This vintage-looking camera has a button for computational photography
OM System has announced a new Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera called the OM-3 with a design inspired by the Olympus OM-1 film camera that first debuted in 1972. Despite its vintage appearance, the OM-3 offers features similar to last year’s OM System OM-1 Mark II in a more compact and affordable body. These include a 20.37-megapixel stacked back-illuminated sensor and 10-bit 4K 60p video capabilities, with the addition of dedicated dials and buttons for color modes and computational photography features.
The OM-3 also features the same computational photography modes as the OM-1 Mark II but makes them easily accessible through a dedicated button and control dial. A single press of the button activates the mode you last used, according to DPReview, while a long press brings up a list that can be customized with only the effects and filters you use most frequently.
These modes include the ability to capture higher-res images in 14-bit RAW (up to 50MP handheld or 80MP when using a tripod), neutral density and graduated filters, composite imagery using focus stacking and exposure bracketing, and AI-powered autofocus that can automatically detect specific subjects. It also shares its predecessor’s ability to capture up to 120fps with focus locked on a subject, or up to 50fps with continuous autofocus using the same 1,053-point cross-phase-detect autofocus system.
Another dedicated control that references the film cameras that inspired its design is the Creative Dial (carried over from the Olympus Pen-F) right next to its lens that gives photographers quick access to simulated film profiles, as well as color and black-and-white profiles with extensive customization options that are made instantly accessible on screen.
The OM System OM-3 is now available for preorder for $1,999.99 for the camera body alone or as part of a $2,299.99 kit that includes OM System’s M.Zuiko ED 12-45mm F4.0 Pro lens. For a limited time, OM System is offering a $200 discount in the US when the OM-3 is purchased with either the $499.99 M.Zuiko Digital 25mm F1.8 II lens or the $549.99 M.Zuiko Digital 17mm F1.8 II lens. Shipping is expected to start on February 27th, 2025.
Other features of the OM-3 include a 240 fps slow-mo video mode with the resolution dropped to 1080p, a leatherette texture for added grip, IP53 weather resistance (it can withstand a light water spray and has limited dust ingress), and a rechargeable battery good for around 590 shots with the camera in its Standard shooting mode.
The OM-3 also offers up to 70 frames of pre-capture shooting to help ensure a photographer isn’t late to a shot, but its five-axis in-body stabilization is slightly less capable than the OM-1 Mark II’s. It also only uses a single UHS-II SD card slot, so there’s less redundancy, and while it has the same three-inch LCD display as the OM-1 Mark II, it has a lower resolution electronic viewfinder — 2.36 million dots instead of 5.76 million.