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Mark One turns an Olympus OM-D E-M5 (Mark I) into a webcam for your Mac. Here’s how to set it up, and what to do if something goes wrong.

Getting started

MacmacOS 14 or later
CameraOlympus OM-D E-M5 (Mark I)
FirmwareMark One’s firmware, which Mark One installs
ConnectionThe camera’s USB cable

The first time

  1. Download Mark One, then drag it into your Applications folder. It has to run from there.
  2. Open Mark One. It lives in the menu bar and installs its camera when it opens.
  3. Allow the camera in System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions › Camera Extensions. You only need to do this once.
  4. Install the firmware on your camera, if you haven’t yet. See Firmware.

Every call

  1. Plug the camera into your Mac and switch it on.
  2. Choose Webcam on the camera’s screen. Choose MTP instead to use it with photo apps, and Mark One leaves it alone.
  3. In FaceTime, Zoom or any video app, choose Mark One as the camera, and your Mac’s microphone or a headset for sound.

Mark One presses REC for you when an app starts using the camera, and recording stops 5 seconds after the last app stops. Nothing is written to the SD card while Mark One is connected. You get 1080p at 30 frames per second, about 0.2 seconds behind real time.

Firmware

Out of the box, the E-M5 (Mark I) only sends files over USB. Mark One needs the camera’s firmware 2.3 with a few changes: a Webcam choice in the camera’s USB menu, and USB commands that let Mark One get at the video and install updates. Everything else Mark One does lives in the camera’s memory only, and switching the camera off undoes it.

Changing a camera’s firmware always carries some risk. If the camera loses power or is disconnected while it installs, it may not start again, and you could lose the camera. Use a charged battery and leave the camera alone while it installs. Mark One is unofficial, and isn’t made or supported by Olympus or OM System.

Getting the firmware

Mark One makes it for you. When it finds a camera with Olympus’s firmware, choose Set Up Camera. Mark One downloads Olympus’s firmware 2.3 from Olympus’s update server, checks it, adds its changes on your Mac, and writes the result to your SD card when you put the card in your Mac. Your photos stay on the card.

Installing it from the card

  1. Put the card in the camera and unplug the USB cable. Check that the battery is charged.
  2. Switch the camera off.
  3. Press and hold OK, the button in the middle of the arrow pad on the back.
  4. Keep holding OK, and switch the camera on. The screen stays dark; that’s expected.
  5. When the orange light on the front comes on, let go of OK.
  6. Wait about a minute while the light stays on. The camera is installing, so don’t switch it off or open the battery door.
  7. When the light starts blinking, it’s done. Take the battery out, put it back, and switch the camera on as usual.
  8. Connect the camera to your Mac and choose Webcam on its screen. Mark One carries on from there.

Updates

Once the camera has Mark One’s firmware, updates install over USB, with no card. Mark One tells you when one is ready.

  1. In Mark One’s Settings, go to Camera and click Update or Manage beside Firmware, then choose Update or Reinstall.
  2. Accept the risk. Mark One stops using the camera first.
  3. Mark One sends the firmware. The camera checks it, then shows an update animation. If Mark One was using the camera, the screen may flicker between the animation and the last picture; that’s expected.
  4. When the camera’s screen shows OK, switch it off and on, and connect it again.

Going back

To put Olympus’s own firmware 2.3 back, choose Restore Olympus’s firmware in the same window. It installs the same way, over USB. Or choose Prepare for OM Workspace: the camera reports an older version until it’s switched off, so Olympus’s OM Workspace offers to reinstall 2.3. The camera won’t install a version older than the one it has, so 2.3 is as far back as it goes.

Troubleshooting

Mark One doesn’t show up as a cameraCheck that you chose Webcam on the camera’s screen when you plugged it in, that the camera extension is allowed in System Settings, and that Mark One is in your Applications folder. If you force-quit Mark One, macOS’s camera service can get stuck: unplug the camera and plug it back in. Quit Mark One from its menu instead.
The camera switched off mid-callSwitch it back on. Mark One notices and sets it up again, so there’s nothing to do in Mark One.
The battery runs downThe E-M5 (Mark I) doesn’t charge or run from USB, so long calls drain the battery. For long calls, use a dummy battery with a power adapter.
The camera froze after it was unplugged mid-callTake the battery out and put it back. Unplugging while Mark One is using the camera can leave it stuck in movie mode, so end the call or wait for recording to stop first. A fix is on the way.
The orange light didn’t come onWhen installing from the card: switch the camera off and try again, holding OK before you switch it on and until the light comes on.
The camera started normally instead of installingIt missed the card. Check the card is in the camera; the firmware file is still on it, so try again.
The picture is slightly behindVideo reaches your Mac about 0.2 seconds after it happens. That’s normal.

Still stuck? Email hi@superhighfives.com.