OM Systems OM-3 - new retro body for 2025

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www.dpreview.com

OM System OM-3 review: an advanced travel camera with its best foot forward

Our in-depth review of the OM-3, a Four Thirds camera with some serious travel chops.
www.dpreview.com www.dpreview.com

I swear, this looks so hot, hahaha. My first micro four thirds camera was the E-M5, then I went to Panasonic. But maybe this might be my second Olympus/OM?

They are also releasing refreshed versions of the venerable 17mm f1.8 and 25mm f1.8, with weather sealing and matching filter thread sizes. The 17mm seems to have lost the manual focus clutch, but oh well. Still exciting to see this new camera, and I hope this brings new customers to OM Systems.
 
Love old film cameras, but I have come to the conclution that I want my digital cameras to be modern. I have an xh-1 now, and I think the mix between old and modern is confusing. Should I use the dial or one of the programmable wheels to change the shutter?
 
About look, DPReview posted it beside E-M5. Here is really nothing nice about this SNAFU.
Price of Nikon ZF for miserable sensor in bigger than E-M5 body.
Crappy dials and buttons, which doesn't belongs to retro body.
And far from the best EVF for the idiotic price they want to sell this very likely last nail into OM coffin.

Nikon Z Fc has larger sensor, much more nice looking and weights less and twice less heavy on the price.

OM has lost its connection to photogs and market demands. It should be simply Pen F digital II instead of this crap.
 
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Nice that it very much looks like the OM-1, but just feels like a retro repackaging of the previous bodies. OT, my jammed film OM-1 back home was responsive again and it really felt neat and a good reminder of the Maitani and Leica philosophy. Having said that, m43 manufacturers are off that compact high performance vision and philosophy.
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Still only 20mp. Its been, what, 15 yrs that they've been making 20mp m4/3 cameras? I'm not upgrading from my E-M1 mk II until we get some more resolution.
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I echo the sentiment despite not being (yet) a 20MP m43 user. I am still using the EM5 mkI and really it's some of the resolution jump and HiRes mode (for film scanning) that I just want of later models. Looking at you EM5 mkIII - OM5, EM1 mkII-III which feature wise seem quite unchange since 2018ish yet even used prices are well tracking up with inflation.

Then Panasonic on the other side has the G9 which is physically big for the format.
I like m43 because have a fantastic 35-100 f2.8 and really appreciate a compact high performance tele, and the reach of the format.
Ko.Fe. said:
OM has lost its connection to photogs and market demands. It should be simply Pen F digital II instead of this crap.
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Canon is rumored to come with the V1, a quasi m43 sensored compact. The digicam craze also includes large sensored compacts. Word around that the m43 manufacturers could capture quite a lot of market of the undersupplied Fuji X100 if they designed something as such, aka Pen F.
 
I love Olympus but this feels like a very scant rehash.
The VF is small.
The body is asymmetrical and looks too long for the lens mount.
Theres no shutter speed dial or iso dial.
And its the same price as the full frame zf.
 
  • 2.36M dot EVF 0.61x magnification
That needs to improve. The entry level Nikon Z5 is 3.68M at $1K. My 15 year old EP2 is 1.5M. It makes a huge difference.
Put more work into modernizing the viewfinder, less into making it look cool.
 
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dexdog said:
Sounds like Olympus is not trying very hard...
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There is no Olympus, its OM systems.

They are certainly trying a different business model than Olympus with extreme prices for a niche m43 audience with as little development as possible.

Personally, as a retro-style enthusiast long before the digital retro cameras were a thing, I am puzzled by the positive responses. Feels like retro style done really wrong without dedicated manual dials. But then again, whatever floats their boat. We already have many great cameras to choose from that cater for different needs/wants.
 
dexdog said:
Sounds like Olympus is not trying very hard...
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Olympus gave up completely and spun off the camera Division.
Anyone looking for a modern-featured digital camera can keep looking, this is not it. This camera would do better at $800 for the features offered. Sad.
I like the size of EP2 and EPM1. The Pen-F if they had modernized it would have been better. By modernize it: new viewfinder, better sensor.
 
In the 90s, when people got fed up with cameras that felt like programming an old VCR, the "back to retro" was also a thing - and quite successful.

They didn't copy something from the past, they took some elements and integrated them into new designs. Even the cheap old 600si was nice and refreshing for those days standard.

IMG_20250206_134947_(463_x_700_pixel).jpg
I think camera manufacturers need to put some more effort into designing new cameras. Yes, there is some interest in churning out cameras looking like old classics but it gets boring after some time.
 
This camera should have been a replacement for the OM5 at $1,200–$1,400, not a $2,000 Nikon Zf competitor. And also they managed to put in my least favorite feature of the original (film) OM-1—they put the creative control wheel (or whatever they're calling it) in the same location as the self-timer lever on the original OM-1, which is exactly where the fingertips of my right hand need to be to get a good grip on the camera.

This may have nicer build quality and better weathersealing, but other than that I don't see that this camera offers much in addition to what the Nikon Zfc offers for half the price. (Well, M43 does have a better selection of size appropriate lenses for this type of body, but those would work on lots of other even smaller and less expensive M43 bodies.)
 
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Sonnar Brian said:
  • 2.36M dot EVF 0.61x magnification
That needs to improve. The entry level Nikon Z5 is 3.68M at $1K. My 15 year old EP2 is 1.5M. It makes a huge difference.
Put more work into modernizing the viewfinder, less into making it look cool.
Click to expand...

And the OM1 Mk II has 5.7mp at 0.82x...clear they wanted form over function.
 
It seems like a nice camera. OM certainly builds solid cameras. with a lot of great features, better autofocus modes than either the Nikon Zf or Zfc, (certainly much better build than the Zfc, and IBIS), stacked sensor which punches way above its weight class, normal sized lenses, etc.

But they would have sold a lot more at $1600 than $2000. It's just too expensive for a "retro" camera, too close in price to the Zf and more than most of the Fuji cameras. Retro is attractive to many, but this is at a painful price point.
I'm sure it will be on sale for $1600 before too long...
 
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