While many of its competitors branch off into full frame mirrorless cameras, Olympus is doubling down on Micro Four Thirds with its newest model, an iteration of its flagship E-M1 Mark II camera with a built-in battery grip and several major feature updates.

The new 20-megapixel OM-D E-M1X carries over many of the features of the E-M1 Mark II, but has a dramatically different body. There’s a built-in vertical battery grip and two batteries will ship with the camera. You’ll enjoy a battery life of 870 shots, per CIPA standards.

Thanks to the grip, the E-M1X has a duplicated set of controls for shooting with the camera both horizontally or vertically, with the ability to lock certain controls in a given shooting position so you don’t accidentally trigger them.

The other notable enhancement is to image stabilization. The E-M1X can deliver the headline 7.5 stops of image stabilization when paired with select Sync IS compatible lenses from Olympus. The company says that that level of stabilization would deliver a crisp image with a 4-second shutter while shooting handheld. Even without a Sync IS lens attached, the E-M1X can deliver 7 stops of shake correction.

The AF system has also been revamped with an AI algorithm that enables superior object recognition, including trains, cars and airplanes. When shooting things like motorcycles, the camera will automatically focus on where it believes the driver’s head should be. The AF system is powered by a pair of TruPic VIII processors. The E-M1X features 121 all cross-type phase-detect AF points that are accessible at any aperture.

The E-M1X will carry over the E-M1’s blistering burst mode of 18 fps with AF tracking and a 60fps “Pro Shot” mode that can snap up to 35 images to buffer memory with a half-press of the shutter.

On the video front, the E-M1X can record cinema 4K video or full HD at 120 fps.

The camera’s viewfinder now offers a .83x magnification and a refresh rate of 120 fps. Aside from the new grip, the E-M1X body is dust, splash and water resistant. The sensor dust removal mechanism has also been improved and is 10 percent more effective than the mechanism on older Olympus models, the company says.

Also new is a Live ND mode for slow shutter shooting without an actual filter. The effect can be set at five levels and previewed through the display.

Like Olympus’s Tough cameras, the E-M1X is packed with several sensors including GPS, temperature, manometer and compass for adding more detailed metadata to your photos.

Additional features include:

* Shutter rated for 400,000 cycles
* 10 fps flicker-free shooting with a mechanical shutter
* Every button is re-assignable for customizability
* Dual card slots
* High-Res Shot mode with a new handheld mode
* OM-Log400 profile for a flatter video file with more dynamic range
* Anti-Flicker mode
* USB-C connectivity, including in-camera battery charging
* Wi-Fi

The OM-D E-M1X will ship in February for $3,000. It’s available for pre-order now.

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