You can choose from among several options for the aspect ratio of photos on the Olympus OM–1. But there’s a catch worth knowing about.
I lay out what the available aspect ratios are below, but it’s worth leading with the catch:
These choices only apply to JPG images. RAW images will always be 5184 by 3888 pixels at a 4:3 aspect ratio regardless of which option you choose.
If you’ve selected the option save both a RAW version and a JPG (i.e., RAW+JPEG), the RAW version will be saved with that full, original size, while the JPG version will be saved with the chosen aspect ratio.
Changing the image aspect ratio on the Olympus OM-1
You can find the setting for changing the aspect ratio under:
Camera Icon 1 > 1. Basic Settings / Image Quality > Image Aspect
Image aspect ratio options on the Olympus OM-1
There are several options you can choose between on the OM-1. The sensor’s native aspect ratio is 4:3 (that’s where the Micro Four Thirds comes from). And if you want to keep things simple and flexible, you can leave it on that default setting and crop the images later in post-processing as needed.
The benefits to changing the aspect ratio are:
- Convenience. If you know ahead of time that you need a specific aspect ratio, setting it in the camera simply eliminates a step between shooting and sharing.
- Composition. Changing the aspect ratio applies the new aspect ratio to the live view through the viewfinder and the back screen. So it’s useful for framing the shot if you know that the end use will require a specific aspect ratio. For example, if you know you’re going to need a square image, framing the shot using a square frame is useful and eliminates guesswork.
These are the aspect ratio options available on the OM-1:
- 4:3 (default)
- 3:4
- 1:1
- 16:9
- 3:2
And here are the corresponding pixel dimensions:
Olympus OM-1 accessories
These are the model numbers for the official accessories for the Olympus OM-1.
- Battery: BLX-1 lithium-ion rechargeable battery
- External Charger: BCX-1 (or SBCX-1, which includes a spare battery)
- USB-AC Adapter: F-7AC AC wall adapter
- Grip/Extended Battery Holder: HLD-10 grip
- Remote: RM-WR1 wireless remote control
- Eyecup: EP-18
- Flash:
But when you import your RAW file into Lightroom, the aspect ratio you chose will be the setting in Lightroom. But thanks to all the pixels being captured, you can shift your crop in post, which is very useful when you miss a little.
Yes, you can crop in post-production editing apps like Lightroom or Capture One. Setting it in the camera can be useful for composition or if you’re shooting JPG.
This is great but what is that second column of aspect ratios for and how are they accessed? I cannot seem to toggle over to the right column.
Yes, that’s not the most intuitive display they could have come up with. The right column is for reference of what the full sensor is. They could have relabeled that column to something clearer like “Original” or “Full Resolution” or something. Basically, it’s so you can choose on the left column and see how it compares to the full sensor. The RAW row will always be the same, but the others will change as you move through the different aspect ratios.