The OM SYSTEM OM-1 Has an Amazing Superpower

The OM SYSTEM OM-1 is one of the most powerful and capable cameras on the market. It’s trusted by wildlife and birding photographers for the nearly unheard-of capabilities it delivers. To do this, the OM SYSTEM OM-1 uses computational photography, which involves lots of in-camera processing to perform complex photography. And considering the processor inside, it also has another trick. What if I told you that you can potentially never miss a shot again?

The Beauty of Pro Capture Mode

Let’s first talk about what Pro Capture Mode is. On OM SYSTEM cameras, it basically ensures that you don’t miss the shot. There’s a famous saying: when you see the moment in your viewfinder, it’s gone. But with Pro Capture mode, the camera will record a preset number of frames when you’re autofocusing. Then it will constantly dump them until you fully press the shutter down. As you press the shutter down, the camera will continue to record the scene in front of you. When you let go, the camera will have recorded the moments right before you fully pushed the shutter and the moments until you let go of it. This is a fantastic feature for candid photography, wildlife, birding, and more.

If you’ve felt too slow to push the shutter and react to what’s in front of you, then this can help greatly. Coupled with the extremely great processor in the OM SYSTEM OM-1, the camera can record to dual card slots with ease. And what’s more important is that the camera will continuously and reliably write to the card as needed without overloading the processor.

Best Practices with OM SYSTEM OM-1

To best use the OM SYSTEM OM-1’s Pro Capture Mode, here’s what you do:

• Set the camera to subject detection like vehicle, animal, bird, etc. If you’re photographing people, turn off subject detection and just photograph as usual.
• Set the drive mode to Pro Capture Mode. There are a few different ones, and I’ve always found that the standard variation has never failed me. 
• Set the autofocus to AF-C or AF-C with tracking. Technically, this won’t matter as the OM SYSTEM OM-1 set to Pro Capture mode will do it anyway.
• Simulated OVF: this ensures the smoothest autofocus performance without a chance in the exposure that’s being previewed.
• Turn off image review. This will slow you down otherwise.
• Large area autofocus. This is what I like to do for something like birds. It helps give the camera a bit more to focus on.

Point your camera at the subject, then autofocus. You’ll probably notice some slowed-down performance in the EVF or on the LCD screen. That’s because the camera is constantly buffering images, shooting them, and dumping them. When you find a moment happening that you really want to capture, fully press the shutter. Pro Capture Mode on the OM SYSTEM OM-1 will keep the seconds before the moment happened along with everything shot until you released the shutter.

Pro Capture Mode has helped me capture moments I never thought would’ve been possible before:

• Once during a hockey game, I captured a hockey puck slamming into a goalie’s face shield.
• I do a lot of camera autofocus torture tests of birds on my balconies fighting one another over food. The OM SYSTEM OM-1 with Pro Capture Mode has captured moments I truly never thought I would’ve seen otherwise. 
• The OM SYSTEM OM-1 has helped me capture photos of birds that were there one moment and then gone quicker than you just read the last word in this sentence. 

Best of all, this super handy technology lets you nail the shot a whole lot easier than it will with other, larger sensor cameras. Combined with the effective depth of field of Micro Four Thirds sensors, the OM SYSTEM OM-1 is super capable of capturing every moment you wish for. And if that sounds too serious, then just have fun! Seriously, using the OM SYSTEM OM-1 is some of the most fun I’ve had with a camera. At the great price, you’re getting a whole lot of amazing tech.

This piece is presented in partnership with OM SYSTEM. We’ve independently and ethically reviewed all the products in this post already without sponsorship. And we worked with them to recommend a few key gems to you.