We’re about three weeks away from the rumored February 8th unveiling of the Olympus OM-D — a new Micro Four Thirds camera designed in the style of old school Olympus OM SLRs. The mockup above shows what the camera might look like based on the latest spec rumors. The 16MP camera will reportedly offer ISO 200-25600, a grip and a leather-covered surface, built-in flash, in-body image stabilization, a 610000-dot swiveling LCD screen, and speedy autofocus
(via blog.livedoor.jp via 43 Rumors)
Some spec rumors for the Olympus OM-D camera that we wrote about yesterday are starting to emerge. The retro-styled, weather-sealed magnesium body will reportedly resemble classic OM series film SLR cameras, and will be available in both black and silver. Rather than have a pentaprism like an actual SLR, the 16MP camera will feature a 1.44M dot electronic viewfinder. It’ll be 121mm wide, and will weigh 425g. The release date is rumored to be sometime in late March 2012.
(via Digicame-info via Photo Rumors)
Update: The rumored announcement date is February 8th — less than a month away!
Image credit: Olympus OM-2n & Zuiko 2.8/24 – one of the greatest cameras ever made! by mr. Wood
There might be a giant corporate scandal hovering over its head, but that’s not stopping Olympus from planning big things for its digital camera lineup. The company has placed a giant full page advertisement in Amateur Photographer magazine with the headline “OH MY GOODNESS!”. 43 Rumors is reporting that the company will be announcing a new Micro Four Thirds camera around February 8th that’s part of the 40-year-old OM camera lineup — in other words, a digital mirrorless camera that’s beautifully retro-styled. A trademark application filed on January 3rd indicates that camera will be called the Olympus OM-D (D as in digital). Watch out Fujifilm: Olympus is coming for you!
(via 43 Rumors)
Image credit: Olympus OM-1n by Attila con la cámara
Olympus and Panasonic might be cofounders of the Micro Four Thirds movement, but the companies appear to be taking different approaches toward 3D photography. While Panasonic offers a special 3D lens that contains two lenses, a newly discovered Olympus patent shows an even more novel approach: adding a second lens to a camera via its hot shoe. Simply stick the lens on and turn your camera sideways to transform it into a stereoscopic 3D camera!
(via Photo Rumors via PopPhoto)
After photos of the camera were leaked a week ago, Panasonic has officially announced the Lumix GX1. The camera should satisfy GF1 shooters who loved the camera but were unhappy about the consumer-oriented GF2 and GF3 followup cameras. The 16MP Micro Four Thirds camera features a max ISO of 12,800, a solid build, .09 second autofocus (with iPhone-esque touch to focus), a 3-inch touchscreen, RAW mode, and 1080/60i HD video. The camera ships for $700 (body-only) starting in December 2011.
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Photographs of Panasonic’s upcoming Lumix GX1 Micro Four Thirds camera leaked onto Chinese camera forum Mobile01 over the weekend. The camera will reportedly be similar to the GF1, except with a grip, and offer 12MP resolution, a max ISO of 12800, speedy 0.09 autofocus, a large pop-up flash, a touchscreen interface, and two color options (black and silver).
Panasonic appears to be targeting serious shooters with this new GX line while targeting consumers with its GF cameras. We’ll likely hear about this camera officially sometime in early November.
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The Fuji Guys sent out a tweet today saying that the company’s upcoming interchangeable lens mirrorless camera will not have a Micro Four Thirds sensor inside:
X Series Interchangeable lens system not = M4/3 nor current mirrorless cams. X series will be “premium” cameras!
From what’s being said, it sounds like the company is focusing on sensor size and image quality — good news for serious photographers. People have been begging for an X100-style camera with interchangeable lenses since that camera was announced, and Fujifilm likely isn’t ignorant of that fact.
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Many Nikonians would have been overjoyed if Nikon’s mirrorless cameras had been announced with an APS-C sensor instead of a 1-inch one, but are DSLR-sized sensors the best fit for smaller interchangeable lens cameras? Michael Johnston over at The Online Photographer says no, arguing that Micro Four Thirds is the optimal size:
APS-C sensors work fine in fixed-lens mirrorless cameras, such as the Leica X1 and the Fujifilm X100. And while NEX is making its own splash and winning its own adherents, many have pointed out that the over-large sensor is distorting the size of the lenses, preventing them from being miniaturized in proportion to the cameras. On the other hand, Micro 4/3 really does seem to have it right: the sensor is big enough, but not too big; small enough, but not too small. The cameras are right-sized, the lenses are right-sized. Everything’s in balance. Everything fits.
Since one of the main reasons for going mirrorless is compactness, perhaps APS-C sensors should be left to larger DSLR-sized cameras like the Sony A77 (which has been getting some glowing reviews, by the way).
Micro 4/3 is the Big Kahuna [The Online Photographer]
Image credit: Goldilocks by violscraper
Today Panasonic unveiled a new line of Lumix X lenses for Micro Four Thirds cameras, introducing two new zoom lenses: the 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 and the 45-175mm f/4-5.6. What’s unique about them is that they’re both power zoom lenses, meaning the focal length is controlled electronically using a rocker on the side of the lens. The 45-175mm also has standard zoom and focus rings, but these are electronic controls as well.
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Olympus unveiled a boatload of Micro Four Thirds gear this morning, including three new PEN cameras, two new prime lenses, and a flash. All three cameras pack a 12.3 megapixel sensor with ISO that goes up to 12,800, a speedy new autofocus system (the “world’s fastest”), and 1080i HD video recording. The E-P3 (shown above), the flagship camera of the PEN line, features an all-metal body, a pop-up flash, and an OLED touchscreen. It’ll cost you $900 when it’s out in August 2011.
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