OM-D Webcam

The Olympus OM-D Webcam Beta software that mysteriously stopped working on January 1st, just as the company completed transitioning its imaging business over to Japan Industrial Partners, has now returned with a new version, hosted on the Olympus Imaging website.

A reader on 43Rumors says that it’s the same download link as before, although the version’s been bumped up to v1.0.11 and has confirmed that it works with his E-M1 Mark II. As to whether or not there are any changes other than perhaps setting a new expiry date is unknown.

This is a strange one. Apparently, the Olympus OM-D Webcam Beta software that Olympus released to allow you to use your Olympus OM-D mirrorless camera as a USB webcam has ceased to function. As of January 1st, 2021, it just quit working without warning. And, sure, you can change your computer’s clock to trick it, but then that can potentially cause other issues if you want to actually use it.

Olympus has acknowledged the issue and says that their R&D team have identified the problem, with a new and fixed version of the software on the way “as soon as possible”. With the transition of “OM-D” from Olympus to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), though, who knows how long this may take. And who even owns the rights to the software anymore?

Nearly two months ago, Olympus introduced software for windows that turns certain Olympus OM-D cameras into a webcam. Apple users among you may have been wondering “what about us?” But today, we have a news for you – Olympus has now launched OM-D Webcam Beta software for Apple.

Hot on the heels of… well, everybody, Olympus has announced their new OM-D Webcam Beta software, which allows you to use select Olympus OM-D cameras with your computer and have it act as a webcam for things like streaming and video conferencing. It’s still in beta, so Olympus doesn’t guarantee its reliability, and it’s only available for Windows right now, but it’s a start.

It seems that despite Olympus selling off the camera side of the business, it is still business as usual, at least for now. If Olympus was just giving up entirely, then releasing this software (that they didn’t have to make) doesn’t make sense. So, hopefully, this bodes well for the future of the brand under new ownership.