14 DAY TRIAL // Once upon a time we talked about the greatly beloved OM-D E-M1 camera getting a massive firmware update, which was supposed to bestow 4K capabilities on the device.
Now, the time has come for the new software to roll out into the wild, and sadly we can tell you 4K is missing from the improvement list.
But do no weep; plenty of goodies are in store for those willing to bump the firmware on their respective cameras. Before we go into further details about what the new software brings, we should also tell you that a silver version of the E-M1 has been launched.
The Silver model doesn’t differ from the black one in terms of functionalities. Apart from the change in paint color, the new version will arrive preloaded with the 2.0 firmware, so you won’t have to update by yourself. It will hit retail shelves starting next month.
What will firmware v2.0 bring to the table?
Now going back to the firmware itself, the software adds USB tethered shooting, in-camera editing (something we have seen with the E-M10), plus the companion Olympus Studio tethering app.
The tethered shooting part will most likely get a lot of professional photographers excited because it means they can now connect the camera to a computer via USB and then manually operate it.
From the connected laptop or desktop, photographers can view up to 1280 x 1024 live previews, but also a Live View histogram and access to features like exposure compensation.
Moving along, the new software version also includes in-camera digital shift, plus keystone compensation and a Live Composite mode to allow users to shoot star trail images with results popping up in Live View.
Star trail images are quite tricky to shoot, and in most cases you end up with only a white frame. But thanks to the existence of Live Composite, the result comes from 1,200 merged stills shot within an interval of 60 minutes.
The firmware adds a lot of creative tools
Olympus has also slipped in a lot of good stuff that will help users get a creative boost. The new firmware arrives with various art filters (like partial color effects), hoto Story themes, and the ability to add multiple effects at the same time in Live Guide.
On top of that, the display lag has been reduced to 16ms, and a self-timer and interval shooting (controllable via the OI.Share app) have also been added.
So, as you can see, even if there’s no 4K feature, updating the firmware on your E-M1 is still worth it. The new software will arrive on September 24 alongside the Olympus Capture studio tethering app.
