OM-1 Mark II for Nature Photography

I’ve had OM System’s flagship camera, the OM-1 Mark II for 2 years. In this post I’ll share some of my favourite nature images that I’ve made with this camera, as well as my opinion on how the camera handles in the field for nature photography.

OM-1 Mark II Specs

The OM-1 Mark II is packed with features that is excellent for nature photography, some that I rely heavily on for my own photography.

OM-1 Mark II Specs:

• 8.5 EV Stops of Stabilisation
• Pro Capture 120fps (S-AF)
• Pro Capture 50fps (C-AF)
• AI Subject Detection
• Blackout-free Sequential Shooting
• Live ND (ND32 – ND128)
• High Res 14-bit RAW

Check out more of the OM-1 Mark II specifications on the OM System website.

Check out my video with initial thoughts on the OM-1 Mark II

Differences Between the OM-1 and the OM-1 Mark II

Besides the new name “OM System” and the “II” the body of the OM-1ii looks exactly the same as the original OM-1. There’s a slightly more rubbery feel of the body and dials, which gives a better grip on the camera and the dials feel very easy to rotate. A welcome bonus when I was in Dovre, Norway in -26 degrees celsius and wearing wool mittens, I could still easily rotate the dials.

As with the OM-1 ,the Mark II holds really nicely in the hand and I find it a joy to use in the field.

Some of the specs that are an improvement in the OM-1 Mark II over the OM-1 are the auto-focus, a larger buffer, improved 8.5 stops of image stabilisation, an extra stop of Live Neutral Density Filter (ND128), new Live GND (graduated neutral density filter) and improved High Res.

How Good is the Auto Focus on the OM-1 Mark II

As a wildlife photographer and someone who spends a lot of time photographing birds, this is the feature that most excites me.

The OM-1ii has improved AI Subject Detection for birds, the ability to lock onto a bird and to choose one bird out of a total of eight birds in the frame to focus on.

Improved AI Subject Detection

I noticed an improvement in the camera’s ability to find the bird in amongst twigs and branches and keep tracking the subject. The image of a redpoll is one of several I took where there were branches and twigs both behind and in front of the bird and the camera AI Subject Detection picked up the bird and acquired focus easily.

After two years of usage I still think the OM-1ii has better subject detection for birds than the original OM-1 (which is still really good), but it can still struggle to focus on birds in very cluttered environments or when the bird is half hidden. Certain birds may also be fooled due to the extraordinary plumage it has.

Every April I take people out to photograph black grouse on a lek in Perthshire, Scotland and I often find that the bird subject detection may be fooled by this bird. Instead of focusing on the eye of the bird, it sometimes gets fooled and thinks the eye is somewhere, ahem, to the rear…

I was also impressed with the Bird AI Subject Detection to pick up a distant eider duck in backlight using the new M.Zuiko 150-600mm f/5-6.3. I’ve often had issues using subject detection on birds in water, especially distant birds and in in backlight.

Subject Detection Lock

The ability to choose the individual bird to focus on is a very welcome feature that I’ve missed in the OM-1. I found that locking the focus on a particular bird would focus on that bird, but if another bird came nearby the AI Subject Detection could be fooled and the focus jump to the other bird.

Having experimented with the subject detection locking function many times since the camera was first published, I don’t find it that useful to my workflow. I find that it doesn’t lock well enough on a subject and if it jumps over to a different subject it’s difficult to control, and I can’t get it back to the original subject fast enough.

I’ve found a work around that works better for me and I find that I have much more control this way. This is something I go over in a video in the OM Club.

Learn OM System by Joining the OM Club

I’ve created 2 courses for the OM System in the past. The OM System for Wildlife Photography and Pro Capture for Wildlife Photography, by joining the OM Club you get access to both these courses as well as continuously added content to help you get to grips using the OM System for Nature Photography.

Image Stabilisation on the OM-1 Mark II

The OM-1ii has 8.5 EV stops of image stabilisation!

I tend to mostly photograph handheld and well as film handheld. When I was at Dovre using the M.Zuiko 150-600mm f/5-6.3 it was extremely useful to be able to film handheld at these extreme focal lengths and get steady footage.

I photographed this female mallard duck with the M.Zuiko 150-600mm f/5-6.3 at 1/8s shutter to see if I could blur out the other ducks as they were swimming.

Blackout Free Sequential Shooting on the OM-1 Mark II

Enhanced Blackout free shooting. You can now get blackout free shooting when using the SH2 shooting mode, you can choose between 12.5, 16.7, 25 and 50 FRP (frames per second). I really like to use this feature when I’m shooting higher frames per second and it’s a quick change in the camera as I’ve setup the pads on the OM-1 Mark II to switch different shooting modes.

Pro Capture on the OM-1 Mark II

The OM-1 Mark II has a 2x improved buffer for Pro Capture and this is something I find hugely beneficial. Pro Capture is something I use a lot in spring time when adult birds are flying back and forth to the nest to feed their young.

I’m always very careful when I photograph birds this way and I usually use a hide or camouflage. In the image below I used Pro Capture SH-1 on my OM-1 Mark II which allows 120fps (frames per second) to capture a silhouette of the great spotted woodpecker flying back to the nest.

Want to join me photographing birds in flight using Pro Capture in Perthshire Scotland this spring? Check out my workshops page!

Pro Capture with Wide Angle Lens on OM-1 Mark II

In spring 2025 I experimented with a wide angle lens (M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8) using Pro Capture as a pair of great tits were flying back and forth from their nest. I set up my OM-1 Mark II on a tripod and used the O.I. Share App to remotely trigger Pro Capture from a safe distance.

If you’re interested in diving deeper into how I use Pro Capture to the fullest with OM System gear I’ve made a whole course on Pro Capture for Wildlife Photography including in depth setup and settings as well as creative projects to get you started. You can get access to the course as well as other courses and guides by joining my OM Club, which is all about getting the most of your OM System gear for nature photography.

An amazing experience was going to speak at The Photography and Video Show in 2026 and seeing my image of the great tit captured using Pro Capture blown up so that the bird was larger than me at the OM System stand!

Live Neutral Density from 64 to 128 on the OM-1 Mark II

Using the Live ND is great for getting that smooth flow of water without filters – I even try this sometimes for wildlife. If I can get a bird sitting still for a second with water moving around it, such as a dipper or a heron. This feature goes great with the 8.5 stop IS as I rarely use a tripod.

On a workshop I run in Orkney I tried the Live ND to slow down my shutter speed and create a slightly different image of the waves hitting the rocks. The image is handheld at 2.5 sec and still fairy sharp which really goes to show how good the image stabilisation is on the OM-1 Mark II.

Live GND (Graduated Neutral Density) 

A very interesting feature, I often go for long walks with my camera and I take the occasional landscape images, but not enough to bring filters on my walk. So I can see this feature be excellent for opportunistic landscape images.

14 Bit High Res 

High Res mode is a feature I use fairly regularly and I have a quick button setup for this feature. For occasional landscape shooting, after I find my composition I tend to switch to High Res and get a larger file with more details. With 14 bit I can get enhanced colours though with a larger size file.

After the faster processing of High Res photos in the original OM-1 I tend to use this feature for wildlife that stands still. I captured a tawny owl at ISO 16000 at twilight with high res and it meant that I got no noise in the image as well as a higher detailed image.

Human AI Detection

In the OM-1ii you can now chose human subject detection. A feature I don’t use that often for nature photography except when I want to photograph myself in the frame, something that I actually do fairly regularly to show behind the scenes images to be used in a talk or blog post.

OM-1 Mark II in the Field Usage

Check out my YouTube video series where I pick a camera and lens and go for a walk in nature. Below is a video I made using the OM-1 Mark II and the 150-400mm f/4.5 (1.25x).

Should you get an OM-1 or OM-1 Mark II?

The question wether you should get an OM-1 or an OM-1 Mark II is one that I’m asked a lot. The OM-1 is still a very good camera and I think that if you can save a great deal on getting the slightly older OM-1 and that is important to you, then I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend getting the older OM-1.

I have both an OM-1 and the OM-1 Mark II and I usually have one lens attached to each of the cameras so that I don’t have to change lenses. At the moment my main lens for wildlife photography, the 150-400mm f/4.5 (1.25x) lives on my OM-1 Mark II and I keep the 50-200mm f/2.8 on my original OM-1. I have no qualms about using the OM-1 for my photography, but I will always reach for my OM-1 Mark II as my main camera. Like when I’m going out for macro photography with the 60mm f/2.8 I will use the OM-1 Mark II and get that extra image stabilisation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the new OM-1 Mark II has some decent upgrades from the OM-1 that was released in 2022, though this camera was already packed with features for the nature photographer. I’ve noticed some slight improvements in the bird subject detection for auto focus. The improvements in an extra stop of ND, higher quality High Res and a faster buffer for Pro Capture are features I take advantage of frequently. Even now as I’m writing this in 2026, I love to use my OM-1 Mark II and the packed features that’s packed into this camera helps me in the field as a nature photographer on a daily basis.