- OM-System just launched a niche E-M1 Mark III with IR-Cut filter in front of the sensor
- Fine-tuned to pass 100% of the Hα-rays that are essential for astrophotography
- Two astrophotography filters to current about — system cameras were also revealed
If astrophotography is your thing, the over-system just launched the camera for you-e-m1 Mark III Astro. It is based on the same design and equipped with the same features as the five-year-old E-M1 Mark III, but with a crucial difference-it has an IR-cut filter in front of its sensor, which is fine-tuned to pass 100% of the Hα rays.
With such a setup, lively colors of distant fog are revealed, colors that are otherwise invisible to the human eye. I have included photos side by side provided by OME system with the same fog taken with the new E-M1 Mark III Astro and a regular E-M1 Mark III to illustrate the difference a small filter can do (see below), plus other amazing images taken with the new camera of iijima yutaka.
In addition to the E-M1 Mark III Astro, the OME system has also announced two filters: Body Mount Light Pollution Suppression Filter (BMF-LPC01) and Body Mount Soft Filter (BMF-SE01) which are available separately or as a set included in the new camera.
The filters are designed to be placed inside any of the OM system’s recent cameras, such as about-1 Mark II and OM-3, between the lens mounting and the sensor, which means you can swap lentils while the filter remains in place.
The light pollution oppression filter cuts light bleeding from artificial sources, such as street and city lights (a trajectory of astrophotography), resulting in more lively night images. Meanwhile, the soft filter blurs and highlights Point Light Sources (stars), and emphasizes their colors to make them stand out.
Available now from whether System’s web site only costs E-M1 Mark III Astro with these two filters £ 1,899, while the light pollution filter and the soft filter are available separately for £ 259 and £ 179 respectively (US and Australia prices are TBC).
A sky full of stars
About -system cameras are a compelling astrophotography choice thanks to several calculation methods that increase the quality of their night images. These include ‘Starry Sky Autofocus’, which is to ensure that you get a sharp focus and ‘hand-held high resolution’, which increases 20MP set images to 50MP (with the daily movement of the stars corrected if the camera is mounted on a stand or equatorial mount). In addition, you can also photograph live composite for star paths.
And if you want to go a step further, the E-M1 Mark III Astro is now a top choice. However, it is a bit of one-trick pony; If you used it for photography other than Astro, there will be a reddish / pink color molding for your pictures. This can be corrected somewhat through the white balance adjustments by editing, or by flipping the effect with an UV / IR-Hot spirror filter on your lens at the time of catching.
An alternative to a custom-made astrophotography camera converts an existing camera, given the biggest difference is a particular type of IR-cut filter in front of the sensor. If you are looking for online, there are a number of companies offering this service, typically everywhere between $ 350-600 / £ 300-500.
If you know that astrophotography is something you would like to explore further, the new E-M1 Mark III Astro with Filterkit is worth researching-it will create live astrophotography images simply not possible with a regular camera.
