Comments on: (FT4) Next Olympus MicroFourThirds camera with built-in EVF. Olympus E-5 at Photokina!

By: Moskva5

Moskva5 — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:20:21 +0000

I’m hearing mixed messages: In the Toshiyuki Terada interview yesterday it sounded like Olympus considers micro4/3 as a bridge from compacts to 4/3. But in today’s Spanish DSLRmagazine article it does sound like there was an intimation that a pro micro4/3 model was in development, which would surely be at odds with the notion that 4/3 is the intended destination range for pros.

Considering 4/3, Olympus cant possibly hope to win over existing or potential users of Canon & Nikon FF DSLRs (i.e. pros) simply by launching another DSLR with a comparatively tiny sensor – the only way the E-5 can hope to make any meaningful inrode in the pro market is to offer some really compelling game-changing functionality – and we are hearing rumours that the E-5 is indeed a departure from the norm and something to get excited about. I think a top quality electronic viewfinder is likely, HD video is a given, and features like built-in GPS, FTP, double-digit burst mode & OLED touchscreen are all possible at the price point and thus not totally in the realms of a fantasy wish-list for a flagship. Maybe I’m not being imaginative enough here – perhaps they’ll really pull something unexpected out the bag like a purely electronic shutter… On the other hand, if its not that radical and special, in my opinion they would do better to abandon 4/3 sooner rather than later, and concentrate on micro 4/3.

Considering micro 4/3, it is suprising to me that that Leica has been virtually without a competitor (Epson R-D1?) in the small(ish) pro camera market for so long and a pro micro 4/3 camera would surely sell very well, just as the existing models are doing at the lower end of this niche. I’m curious as to how different from the Panasonic G2 this camera might be. Is waiting for a similar Olympus camera just brand snobbery?

By: Monty Leman

Monty Leman — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:15:51 +0000

Thanks, Luis! That makes a lot more sense.

By: Luis

Luis — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:08:27 +0000

Oh, I just checked the Google translation and yes, it is a bit inaccurate.

That thing about the “shrimp” is funny. The Spanish word used is “camarón”, which idiomatically means “GREAT camera” but also shrimp, that why he jokes then saying that he’s obviously not referring to one of those taken away by the sea tides.

But more important, I see that it also mistranslates the question about when the camera will arrive. I said it above before checking the translation, so now I’ll translate it literally here:

Q: Apart from that, could you say something about a possible new body of the Four Thirds type, a kind of an E-3 replacement, maybe for Photokina 2010 or even for this same summer?

A: It’s not only possible, but very likely.

Then he goes on saying that he had information from his “spies” about this GREAT camera and predicts that it will come by mid (or the 3rd week) of August.