Pro capture - why & what is it

It's a special shooting mode on many Olympus and OM System cameras which buffers, that is configured, with a half press. When you fully pressed the shutter button the buffered images are written to storage + the configured images.

There are 2 pro capture modes, hi and lo. In hi only the focus value is saved where as lo, with C AF, it continues to focus.

I usually use Lo for BiF and other erratic subjects. When the subject wasn't I use Hi. For example when wildlife leaves or arrives to a location.

From chatGPT for additional information 

"On Olympus / OM System cameras, “Pro Capture” is a special shooting mode designed to help you capture fast, unpredictable action that would be very hard to time perfectly with a normal shutter press.

📸 How it works

When you half-press the shutter button, the camera starts continuously buffering images — basically recording them into memory, but not saving them yet.

When you fully press the shutter, the camera saves not just the moment you pressed the button, but also a series of frames captured before and after you fully pressed.

This means you can capture moments like a bird taking off, a fish jumping, or a balloon popping — even if your reflexes weren’t perfectly timed.

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📷 Key points

How much it records before the shutter: This depends on the model and settings, but common is up to 35 frames before and then it keeps shooting more until you release.

File format: Works best in RAW + JPEG or JPEG.

Speed: Uses the electronic shutter for silent, super-fast continuous shooting (e.g., 15–60 fps depending on the camera).

Example models: Pro Capture started on the OM-D E-M1 Mark II and is on models like the E-M1 III, OM-1, OM-1 Mark II, and OM-5 (in a limited form).

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✅ When to use Pro Capture

Birds taking off (classic use!)

Sports starts (like a sprinter leaving the blocks)

Water splashes

Anything unpredictable and fast

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⚙️ Where to find it

You’ll find Pro Capture in the drive mode menu (the burst shooting options) or the shooting mode menu. Look for an icon that usually shows multiple frames with a lightning bolt or similar."