Olympus didn't invent the smartphone add-on camera—Sony was first to market with the QX100 ( Amazon)($229.02 at Walmart)—but it is attempting to refine the concept with the AIR A01 ($299.99, body only). Although the Micro Four Thirds Mirrorless Camera does some improvements to the idea, it doesn't work well for handheld photography. You can get a cheap mirrorless camera for as low as $394.22 at Amazon.
Related Reading: Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Review
Design
The AIR A01 ( at Amazon) is a small cylinder that measures 1.7 by 2.2 inches (HD) and weighs about 5.2 ounces. It's compatible with Micro Four Thirds lenses—we're reviewing it as a body only, but a kit option is available with the M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ ($299.99 at Amazon) for $499.99. You can choose from a white or black AIR.
The normal array of things you'd expect to see on a camera—an LCD, control dials and switches, and an ergonomic handgrip—are missing. You get the power button, as well as a large shutter release and status indicator lights. A removable smartphone mount at the rear can be adjusted to work with small or large phones—it had no problem fitting an iPhone 6 Plus ($299.00 at Verizon) with a case.
The mount can be tricky to remove—you'll need to twist it while holding down a catch release on the body. Once it is removed, you will be able to access the micro USB port for data transfer or charging the non-removable internal battery. The toggle switch allows you to turn on/off Wi-Fi. This can come in handy if the AIR is to be used on airplanes or anywhere else Wi-Fi cannot work. To access the microSD card slot, you will need to take off the additional plastic cover.
It is uncomfortable to hold the AIR while having a smartphone attached. The camera can be a bit cumbersome even when it is attached to a smaller prime lens. The M.Zuiko 12mm F2 (Amazon: $7999.99) was used during my testing. While I was unsure whether I should hold the AIR with its cylindrical body or by the body of the lens, I found that my grip felt more secure holding on to the AIR's cylindrical structure.
Although it is easier to use the on-screen controls by holding the phone close to your body, I worried that the clip might give way or the AIR could fall to the ground. It is heavier than a smartphone equipped with a lens. Those worries were unfounded but that doesn't mean the AIR can't be used as a handheld device.
A standard tripod mount is available. The AIR can be used as a compact, discreet camera that you can fit into a narrow spot to allow remote operation. It can take some time to achieve the best shot when remote operating the camera.
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App
The AIR works best when paired up with O.A., its companion app. Central. The app is available for Android or iOS. It connects with the camera through Wi-Fi and streams a live stream to your smartphone's or tablet's display. Although pairing via Wi-Fi can be simple, if your device is already connected to another network you will need to manually connect the AIR network every time you use it. This is standard procedure for camera Wi-Fi. Bluetooth is available on the AIR A01, but it can only be used to wake it up from sleep. You will still have to manually change the Wi-Fi network.
After everything has been connected, communicating and you have chosen the shooting mode you wish to use. Six modes are available: Mode Dial (Art Filter), Color Creator, Art Story, Clips and Genius. Mode Dial allows for traditional camera operation with controls over shutter speed and aperture as well as ISO.
Filters are built into current Olympus cameras, including the midrange E-M10 Mark II ( at Amazon) and act just like the ones you find on Instagram—you can capture images with vivid colors, in sepia tones, with a cross-processed look, in black-and-white, and so on. The Color Creator mode is a bit more targeted—it allows you to tune the standard color output to better suit your taste.
You can create multiple-image collages using Photo Story. You can save them in a square format, which is ideal for Instagram. If you need to edit video, Clips will be your best choice. While you can still record from the Mode Dial screen but not Clips, it allows you to combine short clips into a larger movie.
Genius is finally here. This is a replica of Canon's Creative Shot feature, which Canon includes in its PowerShot camera models like the G5 X (Amazon: $699.99) The AIR captures seven photos—your original, as well as six images with varying crops and filters. If you don't mind shooting in JPG—Raw isn't supported in this mode—it's a fun way to snap some photos with a creative look.
There are some issues with the app. One of note that I ran into during testing—when working with a lens like the Olympus 12mm f/2 that includes a focus clutch system, the AIR had a hard time dealing with switching back and forth between manual and autofocus. Even if the focus clutch position was autofocus, the autofocus wouldn't work regularly. To get autofocus to work again, I had to shut down the AIR and restart the app.
It was also difficult to connect in places with many Wi-Fi signal and activity. There was no lag when I used the internet in a park. I could hold my phone and my AIR with one hand without any problems. In Manhattan, however, the phone had to be connected to the camera to function. Even then the feed was choppy.
Using your phone to control the AIR A01 can cause some slowness. The time between the AIR capturing an object and tapping on the shutter button is 0.4 seconds. If you choose to use the physical shutter, this delay will be reduced to 0.01 seconds. This is the amount of time that the camera takes to focus the image and take it to capture. This is comparable to other mirrorless cameras. For example, the tiny Panasonic GM1 (at Amazon) takes about 0.1 seconds to focus and fire.
The AIR A01 is capable of shooting burst shots at a speed of about 10 frames per second in continuous drive mode. However, it is limited in terms of how many images it can take at this speed. Raw+JPG: The buffer is full after nine shots. After that, the shutter speeds drop to less than three frames per second. In JPG mode you'll get 11 shots, and the camera doesn't slow down as much—it settles into shooting at about 5.5fps after the initial speed burst and can keep that up for some time.
Imatest was used to examine how the AIR's 16 megapixel sensor holds up when it comes to capturing high ISO photos. Comparing it to your smartphone's sensor will show that the AIR is far superior in terms of noise control and detail. According to Imatest, the camera manages noise very well. It keeps it below 1.5 percent when shooting JPGs at ISO 6400.
Our ISO 6400 test photo shows how fine details can be lost at ISO 6400. It is still able to withstand ISO 3200, ISO 1600 and ISO 800. The Raw output also holds its own. These are excellent results for a mirrorless camcorder. For our testing, I used the highest quality JPG setting. The default AIR compression rate is higher so it's worth exploring the options and switching to Xtra Fine.
Raw capture allows for more detail to be extracted from images when you use higher ISO settings. Raw images retain fine detail even at ISO 6400—although there is a grainy quality to photos when you push the camera that far. ISO 12800 is useable, if you don't mind a grainy image—Raw photos are much sharper than JPGs captured at the camera's top ISO sensitivity.
The top video quality is a little limited—1080p30 was the cat's meow a few years ago, but now many mirrorless cameras offer the option to push the frame rate to 60fps or the resolution to 4K. QuickTime files are crisp and smooth. The AF system responds quickly to any changes and adjusts focus using a slow, pleasant rack. The audio is crystal clear when it's close to the source, however there are a lot background noises that can be picked up by the mic and an external microphone cannot be added.
The problem is the handheld video looks jittery because of lack of in-body stability on the AIR. Olympus has limited options for stabilized lenses. However, most Olympus cameras have stabilization built into their bodies. Panasonic lenses work well with the AIR and are recommended if you want to shoot steady handheld video.
Learn more:
How to Unblur Images [Online, Software & App]
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Conclusions
Olympus' AIR A01 digital camera is one more attempt at creating a device that can be used with smartphones. It has its problems, just like the other similar devices, such as the Sony QX Series and the DxO One ($399.00 Amazon). Although the AIR's ergonomics are excellent, its companion app displayed some quirky behavior. You can find conventional cameras for about the same price, which offer similar image quality but are more comfortable for handheld usage.
The Olympus PEN E-PL6 is our Editors' Choice for budget mirrorless compacts—it costs the same with a bundled lens as the AIR A01 does without. The Panasonic GM1 is a smaller option if you are looking for something small. The bundled zoom lens and Micro Four Thirds lenses cost about $400.