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Olympus OM-D E-M1X: verdict
When Olympus launched the OM-D E-M1X, it claimed that the model was "packed with industry-leading speed, performance, reliability and high-quality image output that rivals that of full-frame DSLRs". And in most areas, it's difficult to argue with that: build quality is great, autofocus performance is fast and accurate most of the time, and the camera responds very well in use. Olympus also has enough high-quality optics right now to deliver excellent image quality.
While the 20MP sensor won't deliver the kind of resolution, low-light performance or malleability of raw files you'll find elsewhere, the High Res Shot mode is a perfectly good way of getting around the first of those issues, while superb image stabilization should help to keep ISO speeds low when you're capturing static subjects. Obviously the latter is of less use if you're planning on capturing moving subjects with any regularity, but it's certainly nice to have it on board as standard, particularly if you're planning on shooting videos handheld.
The camera is arguably undercut the most not by rival bodies but by the OM-D E-M1 II, which offers around 90% of what you get here for half the money.
With lovely 4K video, a range of burst shooting options and many further useful features, there's a lot to love here. And as long as you don't feel your photography would be limited by the dimensions of the Four Thirds sensor – and it's worth remembering that for many photographers the crop factor here is an advantage rather than a hindrance – the price tag isn't unreasonable when you look at what many pro-end DSLRs and mirrorless cameras command.
That said, even if we ignore the differences in sensor size, whether you consider the OM-D E-M1X to be good value or not depends on what you need. If you're not so fussed about the weather sealing or fast burst shooting specs, you may be better served by one of many cheaper models that pack better electronic viewfinders, stronger video capabilities and so on. Nikon's Z6 and Panasonic's upcoming S1 are two examples.
The camera is arguably undercut the most not by rival bodies but by the OM-D E-M1 II, which offers around 90% of what you get here for half the money. True, this is skewed by the fact that the E-M1 Mark II has been on the market for some time and the E-M1X is, at the time of writing, only available at its RRP, but that's the situation anyone buying the camera right now would be faced with. You have to really want the extras on the E-M1X to justify spending so much more on it.
