OM System OM-1 firmware update will come, but it won't be what fans hoped

It’s fair to say that the OM System OM-1 Mark II has led to a certain amount of disgruntlement amongst fans, partly because the upgrade looks fairly modest and partly because a lot of the changes looked to many people as if they could have been achieved with a firmware upgrade to the original camera.

The OM-1 Mark II does look destined to be one of the best OM System cameras on the market, and perhaps one of the best cameras for sports photography, but its similarity to the existing OM-1 Mark I model has been noted.

Not surprisingly, a lot of OM-1 users have been asking whether their cameras will get an update that brings at least some of the new camera’s features. The short answer is yes, but the longer answer is that they will have to wait until autumn/fall 2024 and the only improvements will be to certain autofocus functions.

The official OM System statement reads more like a clarification than a concession. 

What we’re told is that the OM-1 Mark I will get:

• Improvement of some AF performance capabilities, such as S-AF and C-AF in all-target mode to improve capture of main subjects.

• Improved usability through the option to assign the trash (delete) button as a menu access shortcut.

But there are features on the new model that the Mark I camera will NOT get, including:

• Live GND (graduated neutral density filter)

• AI Detection AF for humans

The OM-1 Mark I firmware update will provide some AF performance improvements only and therefore the new AF performance of the OM-1 will NOT match the OM-1 Mark II. It will also not match the new model's buffer capacity, as that is a hardware change.

Why won’t the OM-1 Mark I get all the OM-1 Mark II features?

While there are few obvious physical changes to the OM-1 Mark II, what we do know is that inside it’s been given substantial additional memory, and this affects its performance and capabilities across multiple areas. 

One of the most obvious is the continuous shooting buffer capacity which is more than doubled in the new camera. It may also play a part in the Mark II’s new Live GND filters, part of OM System’s clever computational technologies, the new AI human detection feature as well as AI generally, and the new 14-bit raw option for high-res image capture.

We may never actually find out, though, how much of this might have been possible with the Mark I model. OM System clearly needs to keep refreshing its camera range in a fast-moving and competitive environment, and on that basis alone the OM-1 Mark II does bring a convincing set of new features to the table. A fast and effective camera has been made even faster and even more effective. 

If you already have an OM-1 Mark I, there may be enough that’s new in the Mark II to tempt you into upgrading – and the future firmware upgrade, modest as it is, probably won't change your mind.