Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV Clean HDMI out?

Olympus has omitted the OM-D E-M10 IV from the compatibility list for its beta Webcam software. The higher-priced cameras which are supported have a USB C port, but this is not a question of USB speed. The Mark IV micro USB port has enough speed to support the undemanding  data rates of web conferencing.

This is a perplexing situation. There are $29 web cams which one can select and position on a mini-tripod which are a better choice than an $800 camera body with no connectivity support.

Why should I spend over $1000 for an Olympus camera which is supported on the beta Webcam release? The Mark IV is an incredible value, and is in my experience the best choice under $1200, regardless of format. I would suggest that Olympus product managers look again at their position relative to competitors who do support webcam use in their $600-$700 cameras: Sony, Fujifilm come to mind.

I tried the beta software on an M1 MacBook Air connected with an Apple USB C to B converter, with the original Olympus charge cable into the camera micro USB port. With Cisco Webex Enterprise conferencing, the choice of Olympus camera appears. But when selected, the image is black.

Fixing this situation with a firmware release is an easy solution; support for clean HDMI out is just as easy. If there’s an under 30-minute limit on video recording, override it as well. No need to record to SD media on a web conference; recording is a feature of good conferencing anyway.

I look forward to Olympus advertising that tells customers about its newest under-$1,000 out-of-the box, ready for premium web conferencing super camera!

Oh, and fix the lack of audio support, too. And then pair this body with the new LS-P5 recorder for the best solution in web conferencing at any price.

I suppose there’s a way to use video output from the camera’s micro HDMI output, but this requires an additional purchase of something like a BlackMagic HDMI to USB C converter.

Anyone with experience using the micro HDMI for conferencing? Is the output clean? If not, why not? More expensive cameras support the rear LCD for exposure and power display. It’s a software feature and Olympus should get behind it.