The OM System OM-3 Astro Makes Nebulae Look Incredible

Feb 09, 2026

Jeremy Gray

A silver and black OM System OM-3 camera is centered against a star-filled, colorful space background with a nebula visible on the right side.

OM System has announced the OM-3 Astro, a new dedicated version of the standard OM-3 designed for astrophotography. The OM-3 Astro has special features to help bring out the beautiful red colors in nebulae and improve overall astro performance.

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The infrared cut filter in front of the OM-3 Astro’s 20.4-megapixel stacked BSI Micro Four Thirds image sensor has been tweaked to enhance the vivid capture of red nebulae, a popular target of enthusiast astrophotographers. The IR-cut sensor in a standard camera effectively prevents the capture of red and pink colors in nebulae emissions.

A vibrant image of deep space shows the Horsehead Nebula and Flame Nebula, with bright stars and pinkish-purple interstellar clouds set against a star-filled, dark sky.

A star-filled night sky featuring the Orion constellation, with bright stars and a pinkish nebula visible among countless smaller stars scattered across the dark expanse.

A bright pink nebula with a cluster of stars at its center, surrounded by numerous white stars scattered across the dark night sky.

The modified IR-cut filter in the OM-3 Astro enables 100% transmission of Hα wavelengths, which, as OM System says, “allows the camera to vividly capture the beautiful shapes and colors of nebulae emitting Hα light, which are difficult to photograph with standard digital cameras.”

A classic OM System OM-3 film camera with a silver and black body, shown from the front against a black background. The lens mount is uncovered, and the camera branding is clearly visible.

Close-up view of a digital camera image sensor, showing a rectangular, reflective surface with a thin border, set within a dark, textured frame.

Close-up of a digital camera body showing the exposed image sensor and metal lens mount with electronic contacts around the edge.

However, the modifications go beyond the different IR-cut filter. There is also a new color profile, COLOR1, optimized for astrophotography, including imaging red nebulae. There is also a COLOR2 profile optimized for starry landscape photography.

The OM-3 Astro is a very strong candidate for a specialized astrophotography camera for other reasons as well. The camera features Starry Sky AF, which lets users lock onto stars with autofocus, rather than tediously fine-tune focus manually. The camera also features a Live Composite mode that enables light painting in-camera without blown highlights. The OM-3 also features a Night Vision mode that adds a red overlay to the user interface, preserving night vision.

A deep-space image showing a vibrant pink and purple nebula surrounded by numerous stars scattered across a dark, star-filled sky.

A bright reddish-pink nebula stretches diagonally across a star-filled black sky, with scattered stars of varying brightness surrounding the glowing cloud of gas and dust.

And, of course, the camera features High-Res Composite shooting modes, including a Handheld High Res mode that combines 12 images into a single 50-megapixel file in-camera. However, this mode doesn’t have to be used handheld. As OM System notes, “By utilizing Handheld High Res Shot — normally used for handheld shooting — with the camera mounted on a tripod or an equatorial mount, you can use a single shot with the body to achieve the Stacking Processing frequently used in astronomical photography . In addition to this method’s high detail, shooting this way reduces image noise.” The stacking process corrects for the diurnal motion of the stars in the night sky.

There are camera settings optimized for starry sky photography preset to the camera’s C1, C2, and C3 modes on the mode dial. C1 is set for stacking for astrophotography, C2 is for stacking a starry landscape, and C3 is for handheld shooting of a starry landscape.

A night sky filled with stars and a visible section of the Milky Way, with silhouettes of trees and a hill in the foreground.

Star trails swirl around the night sky above a wooden building labeled “Montana Elevator Co.” in a rural landscape, creating a vivid circular pattern of colorful light streaks.

Long-exposure photo of the night sky showing star trails above silhouetted trees, with the faint glow of the moon or sun near the horizon and mountains in the background.

Special New Filters for Astrophotography

Alongside the OM-3 Astro camera, OM System is releasing new filters for astrophotographers. These two new filters mount between the camera body and the attached lens, allowing them to be used with any lens, including ultra-wide and fisheye lenses that are challenging to use with front filters.

The OM System BMF-LPC01 Body Mount Light Pollution Suppression Filter aims to reduce the impact of light pollution on astro images. As OM System notes, since the area near the horizon is most affected by light pollution, this filter is especially useful for photographing stars and other celestial bodies rising in the east or setting in the west.

Two circular camera lens filters labeled "OM SYSTEM BMF-LPC01" (left, with a blue tint) and "OM SYSTEM BMF-SB01" (right, clear), shown against a white background. — BMF-LPC01 (left) and BMF-SE01 (right)

The BMF-SE01 Body Mount Soft Filter is designed to slightly blur and highlight point light sources, making stars appear more impressive than they otherwise would. The brighter the stars, the blurrier they look, emphasizing their size and color.

The new Body Mount filters work with the OM-3 Astro, of course, as well as the standard OM-3, the OM-1, OM-1 II, and the Olympus E-M1 Mark III.

A leafless tree stands in a snowy field under a clear night sky filled with stars and the Milky Way. Distant lights from houses or buildings are visible near the horizon.

A leafless tree stands on a grassy field under a clear night sky filled with stars and a visible Milky Way, creating a dramatic and serene landscape.