1) The previous anti-shock mode was different. It worked by closing the shutter, waiting the specified delay, then making the exposure conventionally using the mechanical shutter. This reduced shock by separating the shutter closing and opening actions.
The new anti-shock mode is different, because the exposure doesn’t start when the physical shutter opens. Instead it’s fractionally delayed (by ~1/40sec), and then started using an electronic first curtain.
So in fact, we’re correct, and Olympus is also correct. It’s just that unlike Canon/Sony etc, Olympus’s implementation of electronic first curtain doesn’t eliminate the shutter close/open cycle, most likely due to hardware restrictions.
2) Sorry, that’s my mistake – I was comparing the effectiveness of 0 sec with 1/8 sec, and inadvertently checked the drive mode availability at the wrong setting – sorry about that. Electronic first curtain doesn’t seem to be available with continuous modes, which is rather strange.
Started out doing photography at the age of 6 using an uncle's old 1940 kodak brownie box camera. At 15 years of age, I decided to buy my very own 1975 Praktica SLR camera. I now shoot with a Nikon D850. I do unpaid TFP and commercial paid work.