Silver Olympus E-M1 unveiled along with firmware update 2.0

Olympus has announced a Silver version of the OM-D E-M1 camera along with a massive firmware update for both the Silver and Black models, that will bring lots of new features.

The flagship Olympus OM-D camera is the E-M1. The shooter was introduced in 2013 with a Micro Four Thirds sensors in a black-only body. At Photokina 2014, the Japan-based company launched the Silver model, while previewing firmware version 2.0.

The new firmware update will be pre-installed on the Silver E-M1, when it gets released this month, while the Black units are getting the new version on September 24.

The Silver Olympus E-M1 is identical to the Black version, when it comes to the specs list. It will be released on the market in late September.

Silver Olympus E-M1 becomes official at Photokina 2014

On the inside, the Silver Olympus E-M1 is identical to its Black sibling. The specs list includes a 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor, TruePic VII processing engine, and on-sensor 5-axis stabilization technology.

The camera is also based on a rugged design, meaning that it is resistant to dust, splash, and freeze, so that photographers can keep shooting even when the weather conditions are not ideal.

Olympus has confirmed that the Silver model will become available for purchase in late September for a price of $1,399.99. The Micro Four Thirds camera can already be pre-ordered at Amazon for the aforementioned price.

Olympus announces firmware version 2.0 for OM-D E-M1 cameras

The bigger news is the announcement of the firmware update 2.0. The new version comes with a slew of new features, which could make the life of a professional photographer a lot easier.

Olympus says that the OM-D E-M1 will support USB tethered shooting. This way, users will connect their camera to a computer using a USB cable, allowing the users to see on a computer what is in front of the camera.

Studio photographers will surely appreciate this feature, which will be possible thanks to the Olympus Capture Studio Tethering app as of September 24.

There is no 4K video recording support, but the electronic viewfinder is now faster

The list of new features also includes in-camera Digital Shift. This is also known as Keystone Compensation and it can be used for correcting trapezoidal distortion within the camera without any other post-processing activities.

Olympus has also improved the speed of the camera’s electronic viewfinder. The display time lag now stands at only 16ms, so users will view the action on their EVF in real-time.

Unfortunately, it appears that 4K video recording has not made it into the firmware. This has been an ongoing rumor, but it seems like these reports have been false, while the trusted sources have been right.

Become more creative with your Olympus E-M1 as of September 24

More creativity options have been added, too, including Live Composite mode that can be used for previewing long exposures. Furthermore, a couple of new art filters, Vintage and Partial Color, are now available within the camera.

Panning is now available as a Scene Mode, while Layout and Zoom In/Out are new Photo Story themes. Olympus’ firmware version 2.0 allows users to add multiple effects to a photo at the same time.

Old Film is a new movie effect, which adds noise, dust, scratches, and flickering to your films, so that they will look like old movies. As stated above, the firmware is coming on September 24 for the Black version, while the Silver model will have it pre-installed.