Olympus OM-D E-M1X
In October it will be100 years since Olympus's foundation, and to celebrate, the firm has produced a real statement model for Micro Four Thirds. The OM-D E-M1X takes all the things that its previous flagship OM-D E-M1 Mark II did particularly well – high-speed shooting, autofocus tracking, in-body stabilisation and durability – and cranks the dial up to11. At £2,800 body only, it doesn't replace the Mark II, but instead forms a new tier in the line-up.
In essence, the E-M1X is designed for shooting sports and wildlife under demanding conditions. It's one of only a handful of cameras to include an integrated vertical grip for portrait-format shooting, alongside the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II and Nikon D5. Its mirrorless design means that it's not as huge as these two behemoths, but it still weighs in at almost a kilogram. At first sight this is a strange choice from Olympus, but after using the camera for a while, I can see the point. Many photographers habitually use add-on grips when shooting action with long lenses, and integrating the grip has allowed the firm to make a more robust body with additional controls and features.
Olympus is making a number of eye-catching claims for the E-M1X. It says it has the world's best dust-, splash- and freeze-proofing for shooting in severe weather; the most effective image stabilisation, with up to 7.5 stops of
