Photography Culture

We MAY Have Broken the Olympus OMD EM1 Mk III…Just Kidding 🤣

Chris Gampat
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04/11/2020
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Olympus OMD EM1 Mk III Review product images 41-125s6400 3

The Olympus OMD EM1 Mk III continues to be one of the most durable cameras that we’ve ever tested.

We have this running thing that we do with the most robust Olympus cameras: we abuse them. They’re designed for it, and photographers who buy them often put them through rough usage. Previously, we stress-tested the OMD EM1 and the OMD EM1 Mk II, and with Olympus’ permission, we put the Olympus OMD EM1 MK III to one of our most notorious tests: we ran it under a faucet. While some of you may think this isn’t practical, we’d disagree.

Gear Used

The Test

Here’s the truth: there are times that we shoot in the rain. Whether it’s landscapes, street photography, documentary work, or even just testing the cameras out, there are solid reasons to need weather resistance on your camera. There’s a significant need for major weather resistance. And even if you’re not putting them through what we are, we’ve seen lots of people do very questionable things with cameras. So, if it can resist the torture we’re putting it through, we’re positive it will resist your efforts too.

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Olympus tested the Olympus OMD EM1 MK III to IPX1. And you can learn more about that in the video above. For this test, we took a whole lot of precautions.

“We took the Olympus OMD EM1 III into the sand, saltwater, and this product shoot. It survived and kept clicking. We’re very impressed with the build quality of the camera. It’s also rated to IPx1. If you’re curious about what an IP rating is, then know that this camera can take dripping water vertically, and it’s protected from impact with objects more substantial than 50mm.”

Our review

Close All the Ports

The first big thing we did was closed all the ports. Photographers who want to make the most of the Olympus OMD EM1 MK III in harsh weather should do this: it will prevent any debris or moisture from getting in and messing with the circuitry. So, close the SD card port and ports on the side. Make sure the battery door is closed securely: we’ve encountered cameras where the battery door opens unexpectedly. Luckily, that isn’t the case with Olympus. But, if you’re going to try to do anything like this, be careful and exercise sound judgment.

Cover the Hot Shoe

This one is questionable. The Olympus OMD EM1 MK III has ample weather sealing around the hot shoe, but to really make the most of the camera, cover the port. Most of you may never remove the hot shoe cover anyway, save to use flashes. When you cover the hot shoe port, there is less of a chance of the moisture getting in. Better to prevent it altogether, right?

Use a Weather Resistant Lens

This is the biggest precaution of all. We’re using the Olympus 7-14mm f2.8 PRO lens with the Olympus OMD EM1 MK III. This is one of the company’s highest-end lenses that provides a whole lot of weather resistance to the package. We made sure the camera and lens were sealed entirely and mounted. This is essential.

build quality durability faucet olympus Olympus OMD EM1 MK III OMD EM1 MK III review video weather sealing
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.