Live ND

Live ND is an in-camera computational feature available on OM System and select Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras. It simulates the effect of a neutral density filter by capturing multiple frames in rapid succession and averaging them into a single output image. Because each frame contributes only a fraction of the total exposure, the combined result has the same brightness as a single shorter exposure but with the motion blur of a longer one. The camera does this processing in real time and displays the effect on the rear screen before the shot is taken.

The simulation strength is expressed in stops: Live ND 2 simulates a 2-stop ND filter, Live ND 32 simulates a 5-stop ND filter, and so on up to ND 64 (6 stops) on some bodies. A 5-stop ND filter reduces the light reaching the sensor by a factor of 32, allowing a shutter speed 32 times slower than without the filter. In practice, this means shooting at 1/4s instead of 1/125s in the same lighting, which is enough to render flowing water as smooth and blur moving subjects while keeping a static background sharp.

Live ND does not perform identically to a physical ND filter in all situations. Because it works by frame averaging rather than optical light reduction, it cannot support flash sync — the flash burst occupies a fraction of the multi-frame composite window. Very fast-moving subjects may exhibit ghosting rather than clean motion blur, as the multiple frames capture them in slightly different positions that do not blend smoothly. For video, Live ND is not available; physical ND filters remain necessary for video work.

The feature is most useful for travel and landscape photography, where carrying physical ND filters is inconvenient or the photographer wants to experiment with long-exposure effects without a filter kit. Waterfalls, streams, coastal waves, and light crowd blur are the most common use cases. Live ND is available on OM System OM-1, OM-1 Mark II, OM-5, OM-5 II, OM-3, and select Olympus OM-D bodies.