Olympus reaffirms: Micro Four Thirds is our future.
Once again Olympus reaffirmed that the future is Micro Four Thirds. But they still need some time to develop a PRO Pen camera that can replace the Olympus E-5. You can read the original message on the getolympus facebook site (Click here).
Via Noisycamera
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Thomas
12 months ago |Well, that’s nice to know.
bluejake79
12 months ago |I’m not sure they have time and I wonder what they have been doing. Hope the 30th June announcement is not just another version of the EP2/EPL2 with more art filters crap.
Companies that make desirable exciting products ahead of the pack prosper and those companies that are late to the game spiral downwards and downards seemingly unablde to recover.
Olympus is running out of time.
Ross
12 months ago |Why should they rush a mirrorless body that wouldn’t be up to the same same standard as the E5 except for a better sensor (& a few other niceties) & weather sealing. Get real, DSLR users with SHG glass need it to perform fast & accurate with a suitable body to hold & sufficient controls to adjust everything quickly. This is what the E5 is designed to do & that can only be replaced by a mirrorless body when all the technology is capable. Do you think Oly want to delay it just for the sake of delaying or taking time just because they can? I don’t think so.
They recognise there is still a market for the serious DSLR user & will keep it going until something better can be done.
Mr. Reeee
12 months ago |Olympus is like Blackberry vs. IPhone.
Tunnel vision.
Slow response.
Retro design is NOT a feature.
Lip service is easy. Delivery is not.
I hope Olympus gets it together!
Pablo
12 months ago |words words words…
They don’t cost nothing and make people happy.
But we want to see something more palpable.
Eugene
12 months ago |Not everybody want’s mirrorless…..
Zonkie
12 months ago |What I wonder is how long will it take them to replace the E-5 with an E-5.1 that will be the same but with a much better sensor (either the one on the G3 or the new one they developed themselves). It makes no sense to have an E-P3 and E-PL3 with much better image quality than their flagship E-5, so I guess in September we might see a new 4/3 camera too.
Olympius
12 months ago |I doubt we will see a new 4/3 camera at this time, as nice as that would be.
But how quickly did Olympus get themselves back into the same mess, where the E-1, the E-3 and now the E-5 were all quickly upstaged by lower priced cameras.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Olympus camera with the best IQ in the line-up was the E-PL1. The E-5 was an attempt to get up to that standard, but hasn’t really surpassed it. The E-5 is basically a weather sealed E-PL1 complete with art filters and 720p video.
I’m sure all the E-5 owners are going to be pleased as punch when the new E-PL3 blows the doors off the E-5 for image quality. But then other than IQ and weather sealing, there isn’t much going for the E-5.
Olympius
Thom Hogan
12 months ago |> I doubt we will see a new 4/3 camera at this time
That’s one of the problems with this and other recent Olympus statements. Users trying to figure out what their future will be like can’t do it.
We all know that tech marches on; there WILL be new products. The problem is that we’re being asked by Olympus to invest in that future in two different ways, neither of which currently are clearly the right bet because we can’t clearly read the tea leaves being dropped.
Olympus themselves find that they’re in a weird place. Clearly they should be able to do everything in m4/3 they did in 4/3. Same performance, same specs. But if they do that, then 4/3 goes away and they’ve got a fair amount of lingering inventory hanging out there whose value drops to zero. It also says that 4/3 was a failed initiative, so it makes you wonder if m4/3 is, too (as APS did to 4/3 APS can do to m4/3 it appears). On the other hand, if they say that 4/3 stays and has a place because it does something m4/3 can’t do, we all know that to be a false statement (maybe not today, but soon). Thus, we wonder why Olympus is trying to split their few remaining supporters into two different lines.
To me, Olympus seems to be repeating a mistake they made in the past. Moreover, they’re making this mistake because they still seek volume in sales, not quality in sales. Olympus’ successes in the film world fell into three areas: small, quality, photographically useful innovation (e.g. averaged spot meter, highlight spot meter, etc.). With 4/3 they promised small and quality and delivered same size and inferior image quality at that size. They did manage to continue the photographically useful innovations (sensor shift, etc.), but that alone isn’t enough to net them a niche they own as such things get copied fast.
m4/3 gave them another chance at small and quality. As I noted when they launched m4/3, their marketing was mostly out of tune with that. They saw m4/3 as the Internet user’s camera. Yet most of us photographers saw a possible return to small, quality, photographically useful innovations. The E-P2, E-PL1, E-PL2 appear to have disabused us of that notion, though small still remains.
Even in Japan DSLRs and m4/3 cameras are referred to as “Systems Cameras.” One of the problems that Olympus has is that we all perceive 4/3 as a failed system and we do not yet perceive m4/3 as a successful system. I hear the word “investment” from my site visitors all the time (e.g. “I bought X because I have a big investment in X mount lenses”). And that’s the tricky part with this statement from Olympus. It essentially says to serious photographers (a) continue to invest in 4/3; (b) unclear if you should invest in m4/3 yet.
Mar
12 months ago |Bodies are easily replacable – I don’t care as long as my existing lenses work great (read even better than before) on new body I don’t care how and what the new camera looks like.
E-5 already paid for itself – great camera. Don’t need anything better, but when they make a new “pro” model it should work with 7-14, 14-35 and 35-100 as good or better than the E-5.
Boooo!
12 months ago |Dear Olympus,
There won’t even *BE* a future for you unless you bring out the E-650, the E-50 and the E-5 MkII, as well as stop releasing the exact same m4/3 body over and over again.
XA4
12 months ago |3 more 4/3 bodies? Dream on. There might be one more if you’re lucky, 2 at most if you’re really lucky.
I suspect E-P3 will be a significant leap over previous PENs.
DSLR lovers will have to embrace mirrorless or switch brands, sorry.
Forget about 4/3, forget about fullframe.
Boooo!
12 months ago |And that is exactly why Olympus won’t have a future. It’s killing its existing 4/3 userbase, as the majority have nothing to upgrade to, and will be forced to switch systems.
As far as m4/3 goes, that’s Panasonic’s turf now. Olympus is on the sidelines.
Taking the entire mirrorless market into account, Olympus is dead last – after Sony, Panasonic and even Samsung.
If they don’t get back in the DSLR market, they’re dead.
steve
12 months ago |What about a fullframe mirrorless camera?
what are the benefits of mirrorless vs mirrorless?
Thom Hogan
12 months ago |A 35mm full frame mirrorless camera will cost as much as a full frame DSLR. Plus it would need yet another set of lenses from Olympus (they won’t be able to just dust off their old OM lenses–the back focus distance of a full frame mirrorless pretty much means new lens designs in the wide and normal range.
And 35mm full frame isn’t exactly a huge market. Olympus is still lusting after quantity, not quality. That seems strange to me, as everything else they do is pitched on the quality angle.
steve
12 months ago |I mean a digital full frame mirrorless that is NOT a leica.
tmrgrs
12 months ago |This site is dedicated to cameras that use the 4/3′s size/format sensor. You may have to search for a more appropriate place to discuss FF/mirrorless like at mirrorlessrumors.com for example.
David
12 months ago |It’s not a good sign that they felt compelled to release this at all. A company makes a statement like this to assuage fears. But words are just words. Nothing calms fears like information about a real product people want, even if it is in the future. If Olympus could tell us WHAT they are developing, for release in 2 years, that would be something. As it stands, this release is empty.
Olympus’s message has not been consistent. On the one hand they say that the future is m4/3. But here they say that E-5 capability MAY be capable in a m4/3 body. I have no doubt that the solution is possible, and that a weather-sealed, phase-detect autofocus m4/3 camera could be made. I also think that Olympus is squandering their head start. They don’t have the resources of Sony of Samsung, nor do they have the name cache of Nikon or Canon. Most of their customers are point and shooters, who will soon use their cell phone for that purpose. Olympus needs to specialize, and quickly. They need to listen to us fan boys and release a rangefinder style camera, WITH and EVF, and they need to do it soon. Then they need to release the aforementioned E-5 replacement within, at most, 18 months, and they should release details well in advance.
I don’t think Olympus imaging will go out of business anytime soon. I think the Olympus, the corporation, is proud of the imaging department’s heritage. That being said, they aren’t giving it their all. Full credit for the 9-18mm collapsable. It’s a great lens and a marvel of engineering. But one great lens in 2 years isn’t enough. Do work Olympus!
Ross
12 months ago |You might like to hear what Oly are developing for the future & so do their opposition. I don’t the other companies are saying too much on what they’re developing either for the same reason.
Boooo!
12 months ago |The fun part is that there’s this thing called “industrial espionage”, so all the companies know what the others are doing.
aaiek
12 months ago |This rumor mill is comparable to the pending release of the first Iphone and Ipad, and then the pending updates of the next versions. Speculation with little substance and a lot of hope. I watch everyday in the hope that something innovative will be released in the near future, but then have to remind myself that this may not happen.
Whilst the E5 exists as a current production model flagship, there will be no pen pro; this is evident by a number of statements by Olympus. To release both a 4/3 and a micro 4/3 pro would contradict their own statements describing their own planned future for their product lines.
I truly hope that the micro 4/3 product category continues to expand as it is the perfect size for my needs, but I am looking at different options as well just in case the progress of this product line slows to a halt.
Thom Hogan
12 months ago |I don’t think people are simply looking for “next model” speculation. A large number of people are seriously trying to figure out whether m4/3 is viable at all. We have the following choices for clearly defined cameras at the moment:
* built into phone/pad/computer
* compact cameras
* mirrorless cameras, now in three distinct flavors
* cropped sensor DSLRs
* 35mm frame DSLRs
* MF
Now consider the two extremes: the phone cameras are easy enough to carry everywhere (you’re already carrying it) but suffer in image quality. On the other hand, whisking images shot with them to wherever you want is easy. The MF cameras involve heavy equipment that generally requires patient setup and consume huge resources (memory/CPU) for doing anything with the image.
The question at hand for mirrorless is whether it represents the right balance of things for the mass market, and also the right balance of things for the serious shooter. With 4/3, the answer was always “other crop sensor DSLRs are the better balance for the serious shooter.” Mirrorless is a tricky space. It has to do better than compact (that XZ-1 is actually a tough competitor to any new Mini Pen), but it has to be distinctively smaller than the crop DSLR without sacrificing too much image quality.
Thing is, I thought that Oly and Panny were on the right track at launch of m4/3. Unfortunately, crop sensor DSLRs have moved considerably up in image quality and continue a slow march downward in size (the D5100 is smaller than the D5000 and could be smaller still, yet it has a powerfully strong sensor in it).
This also gets us back to 4/3 versus m4/3. Even if Oly gets m4/3 right, they have no where to send the person who wants more other than to competitors. I think that’s one reason why they’re seriously confused about the E-5 and the high-end lenses. That WAS where they thought they’d send people, but it didn’t pan out.
Esa Tuunanen
12 months ago |Olympus, stop talking about that far in the future m4/3 replacement for E-5 and just make E-30 level controls and ergonomy m4/3 body for those who don’t need fastest possible AF but want mirrorless camera which is actually comfortable to keep in hand and doesn’t come in the way of shooting.
Doing that doesn’t even require developing anything new, just using existing tech…
mahler
12 months ago |So the EP-3 will just be another of this small iterations of all the same bricks. No diversity at Olympus after two years. Yawn.
As with E-3 and E-5 this vapor, mirrorless “pro-level” body will come too late, while the competition is miles ahead.
Dummy00001
12 months ago |What would it take them to say it openly and bluntly: “43 is dead”? Talk is cheap, show the 43 replacement already!!!
Fact remains: Oly still failed to produce a m43 camera which is comparable to 43.
Bad car analogy: Ford announces that bicycles are the green, env-friendly future and in mean time, if you need to get around faster, you can buy a truck instead.
Elniorg\'s Journeys
12 months ago |Oh my god! It sounds like a plea: “please, don’t go, it takes time!”
ReadingZ
12 months ago |+1
seems like a beg to me~
Dummy00001
12 months ago |+1
Agrivar
12 months ago |They don’t have time left.
Thom Hogan
12 months ago |> They don’t have time left
Disagree. It’s seriously difficult to kill a company. It’s easy to keep spiraling it smaller and smaller, though (which is what we saw happen in the film era with quite a few companies).
I’m of the belief that the right product(s) can turn the tide. But Oly is chasing something they aren’t likely to catch, so until they fix that problem they won’t do the right product(s). What do I mean by that? Well, Oly is still after volume of sales, not quality of sales. Quality first, volume second, not vice versa. Moreover, Oly has historically never been a volume company in any of its businesses. Yet it’s going head to head against companies that ARE volume makers and have been for a long time (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung). Even if they came up with the right product for a volume strategy it’s unlikely that they could execute it fast enough, as they don’t have volume manufacturing, distribution, or marketing.
Many of us talk about Apple as an example. But Apple had to reinvent themselves several times before they hit the stride they’re on these days. I don’t think Olympus is ready to reinvent their manufacturing, distribution, and marketing the way Apple did. And even if they are, they still don’t have the right product mix yet.
Alphonse2501
12 months ago |>phase-detect autofocus m4/3 camera
I can image what is it, when looking the point and shoot file cameras, their autofocus are in the body and not behind lens. Add this autofocus mechanism at top of the Pen probably a good idea.
amalric
12 months ago |Some people are unable to keep their powders dry. Is there a Pro m4/3 ir mirrorless camera yet?
Are there pros who desperately need it? I assume that they have kept their dSLR or change brands.
I read Oly’s statement as a technological one, and as such it is probably unassailable. Some technologies like PDAF on sensor (Fuji) are probably not yet precise enough. Further miniaturization takes time, if you don’t want to shed some features.
The Fuji X100 is a wonderful fixed lens camera, but it is an entirely different game if you go ILS, if only because HG lenses must be designed for it.
Thus a time frame of two years seems likely. Never sell a bear’s skin before killing it, as they say in my country.
O & P surely have their marketing research and they are addressing the needs of entry level ILS first and enthusiasts after. Do Sony or Sammy doing differently?
No need of FUD and schadenfreude. Keep your powders dry! I am sure that the E-P3 will be a very likeable camera, that in some circumstances will be used by pros, like they already do with what is there.
JeremyT
12 months ago |This really just states what we already know. µ4/3 is clearly where Olympus and Panasonic are betting the farm.
If they really want to aim for the high end on µ4/3, a “PEN Pro” alone just isn’t enough – they need a lens lineup that’s up to the task. If they can make the PEN Pro AF the legacy Four Thirds lenses as well as they AF on an E-5, they have the lens lineup covered; but if not, they’re looking at *years* before µ4/3 is viable (even leaning on Pany’s lineup for help).
I have to hope that Oly is taking the “make AF work” option, because they don’t have a *single* fast lens for µ4/3 at this time, while the regular Four Thirds lineup is quite nice. A pro µ4/3 body with only the current Oly µ4/3 lineup makes almost no sense, but a pro µ4/3 body capable of properly operating the *regular* four thirds lineup suddenly looks really attractive.
Wei Ho
12 months ago |They could consider a mirrorless medium format sensor size pro camera….. I hope they’ve thought about that~
BS Artiste
12 months ago |Although I have $10 to $12K that I want to spend on a new camera system, I can’t do that with Oly now. It is a real shame because I have exclusively used and loved Oly digital products for over 10 years.
However, I hate the ergonomics of the flat brick Pens. I won’t buy new Oly 43 lenses for my E-30 system that has no future. I can’t buy Oly m43 lenses and use them on a Panasonic G3 or GH2 without losing image stabilization.
After 2 long years WHY doesn’t Oly have even one camera model with an m43 mount and similar features to a GH2 but with Oly’s build quality and knowledge of photographer’s usage versus Panasonic’s consumer electronics focus?
With 3 different m43 models Panasonic understands that all customers are not solely focused on reduced size at the expense of ergonomics. Why does Oly miss this concept?
Robbie
12 months ago |I have the same thoughts.
To have a DSLR form mirrorless from Olympus, is it that difficult?
Thom Hogan
12 months ago |Huh? I fail to see the purpose of this statement. Piece by piece:
“We strongly believe in the future of m4/3″ — Well, no one doubted this, not sure why we need a statement to that effect.
“We recognize that [pro/advanced photogs] require certain features” — That’s good, but the fact you have to say it is strange. Oh, it’s because of:
“The [4/3 bodies] fulfill thee requirements.” — Hmm, that sounds a lot like those last two statements together said “No high-end m4/3 camera for now so buy an E-5 instead.” There are multiple problems with that notion, though. But the big one is the issue of 4/3 lenses versus m4/3 lenses. Without a statement like “we’ll make 4/3 lenses perform as well on m4/3 as they do on 4/3,” no one wants to make the investment. It feels dead-endish, and that’s because:
“In the future [we may create a m4/3 pro camera].” Oops. Even with the “possibility may” clause it still sounds like “eventually m4/3 will produce something equivalent to the E-5.” Are they channeling Adam Osborne? ;~)
AndyOz
12 months ago |Yes its an odd statement.
I have no doubt that it might take some time to design a Pro MFT camera that meets the performance and weather sealing etc of the E-5. And yes I can see that being in a year or more. But it seems like Oly are saying if you are interested in a higher spec body with viewfinder – here’s the E-5 for you at a bargain price!! That’s their answer even if (like me) a customer wants a Micro43 with a viewfinder.
I am not asking for a pro spec Micro 43 camera at the moment. Many people like me would just be happy with a slightly better performing body with a built-in EVF. Panasonic seem quite capable of doing it. There is a mighty big product gap from the E-P2/3 up to the E-5.
BS Artiste
12 months ago |BTW – There is nothing wrong with the current Pen form factor. I just hate that form factor for my use. Oly offers no other m43 body style options, and the flat, pocketable configuration does not meet the needs of all photographers that might want to buy and use some m43 equipment.
If the new Pen has a built-in or solidly-connected EVF, a swivel-tilt LCD, and E-30 or E-5 build quality, then I might consider it. I understand that Oly may want to keep only a few different m43 models. However, for the flat brick form factor cameras, I would need some Oly or third party solidly-attachable ergonomic prosthesis to attach to the camera and make it more comfortable to hold. For my hands at least, the flat brick form factor feels like holding a cell phone or box camera.
Gato
12 months ago |I’m not quite sure what they are saying here, maybe something like; “Regular 4/3 has a future until it doesn’t”?
I used Olympus 4/3 for a long time, and while the lenses were great — at the time I thought the best overall line of zooms on the planet — the camera bodies were consistently a day late and a dollar short. True, there were and are some great bodies, but they were consistently a step behind the rest of the market. (I consider the E-330 with live view an exception, but then it took until the 650 to fully exploit it — by which time Panasonic had gone a step farther with the G1.)
I don’t know if the slow development of camera bodies reflects a failure of will or just a shortage of cash, but I Olympus can’t get past it very soon. They need to knock our socks of with a really great camera within the next few months — not two year from now. If they can’t do something sooner they may not even be in the camera business two years from now.
Gato
Brian
12 months ago |LOL. “Time is need to develop these technologies.” Apparently it didn’t take Panasonic that long to spit out something that’s at least a step or two ahead of each Pen-reiteration.
amalric
12 months ago |It’s the usual Oly lingo, with a sense of obscure prophecy, that was not unkown in Ancient Greece and Rome
Perhaps that is why Admin chose to emphasise this snippet, that otherwise would have laid buried in Oly’s weekly talk. I find interesting that there is one at all, perhaps they are opening up a bit more to social intercourse.
OTH you cannot expect Japanese engineers to lay open their secrets for nothing, as American-centric m4/3 watchers would have it. Let them keep on their toes, must be the standing order
Mikey
12 months ago |I think 43rd rumors posted an Olympus patent a few weeks back where Oly was experimenting with a translucent mirror similar to Sony’s. I would imagine that this is what Olympus is hinting at when they say “these technologies take time to develop”.
At the very least, it seems that Olympus isn’t going to abandon their line of 43rd Zuiko lenses which is great. Fans of optical viewfinders though may have to get used to EVF’s, but maybe Olympus will offer a professional body with an optical viewfinder and a consumer level camera with an EVF?
Any word on how happy Olympus is with the sale of the E5? Happy sales should equate to more body releases although I bet they could get away with continuing to make incremental changes to the body and just upgrade the sensor which would mean lower development costs.
Thom Hogan
12 months ago |A translucent mirror means 4/3, not m4/3. You need the space to insert the mirror between lens and camera. Moreover, such mirrors take about a half stop of light away, something the smaller sensors still can’t afford.
Olympius
12 months ago |Nothing new here, they’ve been saying this since Photokina.
However, it’s not just the “professional” who needs something like the E-5, there are a lot of us enthusiasts/hobbiests out there who bought into Olympus with an E-510 or E-620, and now the only “upgrade” Olympus offers those middle-of-the-road users is the E-PL2, a nice little camera to be sure, but a big step backward for DSLR users.
I remember playing with an E-PL1 and an E-620 side-by-side in a camera shop. When you see them together, you quickly realize that the size and weight advantage of the Pens vs. the 400 and 600 series is cameras is pretty minimal. But the DISadvantages of the E-PL1 are legion: no viewfinder, no phase detect focusing, slow frame rate, lack of a swivel LCD, and so on. Sure, the E-PL1 does do video, which is a must-have feature for many consumers, but that feature really doesn’t do much for me as a still photographer. I have a feeling there are more people than just me in that category.
The micro 4/3 cameras make for a nice “second system,” and perhaps an ideal travel system. But for those of us used to the fast focus and optical viewfinders of regular DSLR’s, going without doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially if you do any sort of action photography, or just like optical finders.
And let’s not forget the goofy prices of micro 4/3 lenses, especially Olympus micro 4/3 lenses. Smaller, lighter, and you pay more to get the same, if not a little less performance than the existing standard grade 4/3 lenses. If you are into video, the Olympus micro 4/3 lenses might be a good value, but not for a still photographer.
They really, really need to get back into the DSLR game.
As for the future of micro 4/3, in my opinion it’s Panasonic who owns that future, not Olympus. They actually think highly enough of their users to give them cameras with viewfinders, and if you want to do video, there is no better choice anywhere for the money spent. I think they are much closer to providing a viable DSLR replacement in a mirrorless system camera than anyone, especially considering the GH series and the new G3.
The Olympus E-5 and the GH2 were released at the same time, but look where all the excitement and buzz is: on Panasonic’s door step. Now if they could just actually make GH2′s, and get them in stores, they will rule the world.
No doubt about it, the E-5 is a rock solid camera, but the circa 2007 technology just isn’t gonna cut it here in 2011, especially once the newest APS sensors start hitting the market in the 2nd half of this year. Though it is nice that the E-5 can almost produce the same IQ as the GH1 when it was introduced in 2009. For Olympus users, that’s a big deal.
Yes Olympus, we hear your promises about the wonderful, glorious future of micro 4/3, now shut up and start making cameras your existing customers would actually want to buy, before we all go off to Nikon and Canon, never to return.
No wonder Canon and Nikon are so slow to embrace mirrorless, they are way too busy making money selling DSLR’s to frustrated Olympus users to be bothered.
Esa Tuunanen
12 months ago |>As for the future of micro 4/3, in my opinion it’s Panasonic who owns that future, not Olympus. They actually think highly enough of their users to give them cameras with viewfinders… they are much closer to providing a viable DSLR replacement in a mirrorless system camera than anyone, especially considering the GH series and the new G3
Unfortunately even lowest end Oly DSLRs (like E-420) are ergonomically way above Pana G/GH whose cramped design lacks space for thumb.
It’s Samsung with their NX11 who is getting ergonomy closest to DSLRs by offering body with chance to get grip from it without thumb accidentally pressing buttons.
amalric
12 months ago |>Yes Olympus, we hear your promises about the wonderful, glorious future of micro 4/3, now shut up and start making cameras your existing customers would actually want to buy, before we all go off to Nikon and Canon, never to return.
>No wonder Canon and Nikon are so slow to embrace mirrorless, they are way too busy making money selling DSLR’s to frustrated Olympus users to be bothered.
You are an Olympus stockowner? Then vote at their General Assembly. Why plague us here Mr. Olympius?
Olympus has clearly stated its intent. If you are not satisfied buy dSLR brands. We do very well without, thank you.
Olympius
12 months ago |For the amount of money (and time) I have invested in regular 4/3 cameras and lenses, I could probably have purchased half of the Olympus imaging division.
In a few months, I could probably get the whole imaging division, with perhaps a couple of microscopes thrown in.
Olympius
lily
12 months ago |What this sounds like to me, is that the September announcement isn’t going to happen, or it won’t be what we’re expecting. Something happened to set them back, hence “the possibility MAY exist” and “time is needed”. They’re warning us not to get our hopes up. *eye roll*
Mr. Reeee
12 months ago |September? There’s some sort of event Olympus has scheduled for June 30th. This statement from them seems directly linked to THAT announcement not something 3 months from now.
It sounds more like Oly is trying to let everyone down easy, because all they’ll be releasing is another round of their specialty: timid incrementalism. And maybe finally a better quality lens (12mm) or two.
Anyway, let’s hope not.
Simon
12 months ago |How much time is needed to put the existing e-pl2 electronics into an E-420 or E-620 body? It’s an Oly miracle why they abandoned two of the nicest to handle, compact dslr bodies without any replacement??!!
I’m in the market to by new bodies…but there’s nothing on offer to replace my old E-p1 and my ancient E-510.
So what expects Oly me to buy? Panasonic? Samsung? CaniKon?
agent00soul
12 months ago |Hmm… not even Canon or Nikon have a pro level mirrorless camera yet. So maybe Olympus are right that it takes time.
Miroslav
12 months ago |+1
Exactly. Nothing major has happened in mirrorless since the announcement of NEX, so why should Olympus hurry? How many mirrorless cameras have others launched in the last 12 months? Sony – 1, Samsung – 1, Canon – 0, Nikon – 0, Pentax – 0. Compared to 1 from Oly. Panasonic made three new ones, but they are not really the competition to Olympus, are they? The only new DSLRs that have stood out in that period are the ones based on Sony 16 Mpx sensor. Besides that, it’s pretty calm on the DSLR front as well. So, it’s not only Olympus that are taking their time. Photography world just doesn’t move as quick as PCs and mobiles for example…
As for the statement, nothing new. It’s nice of them to remind us from time to time of their intentions, but I really hope they are working on that future “body that will be able to work with 4/3 lenses” as stated in September 2010.
Ahem
12 months ago |Panasonic most certainly is a serious competitor to Olympus in MFT space. Just because they are essentially business partners in FT/MFT and lenses fit in both cameras doesn’t change that fact.
Miroslav
12 months ago |I think they’re trying as hard as they can not to compete with each other. Since the announcement of GF2 there are no overlaps in their m4/3 lineups. I would very much like G3 with IBIS and Olympus jpeg engine or E-PL2 with EVF, articulated LCD and AVCHD video, but I don’t think we’ll get any of those on the 30th…
EvoltPen
12 months ago |I’m affraid that Olympus has left 4/3 entry level a bit too soon, but I guess they had no choice than cut down DSLR development. That’s sad and now we 4/3 users must suffer this.
I have made my own mind about this and I guess it’s best I can do now. My best bet is to buy into other system when my current 4/3 bodies will die. I’ll keep all lenses and flashes from Olympus and then look if Olympus is still around and get PEN or whatever they have by then. If I’m lucky, maybe Olympus have by then good solution available for me from DSLR point of view and I doesn’t need to buy into other system.
This is how I have found my peace of mind. I hope you can find it too and enjoy of your nice hobby.
If you are Pro I guess you have changed system by now;)
Thom Hogan
12 months ago |There’s a lot of churn in the Olympus DSLR/ILC realm: 15 DSLRs in 7 years, only a couple of which stuck. Now we’re about to have 7 ILCs in 3 years. That’s 22 cameras in 7 years, but with a lot of minor variations. Basic model lines top to bottom (generation in parens):
E-5 (3rd)
E-30 (1st)(dead)
E-620 (fifth)(dead end?)
E-520 (3rd)(dead)
E-450 (3rd)(dead)
E-P2 (2nd)
E-PL3 (3rd)
E-PM1 (1st)
Compare this to 28 Nikons in 12 years, of which we have seven clearly defined levels, all of which are succeeding (now on third to fifth full generation of each, except for the D700):
D3x (3rd)
D3s (3rd)
D700 (1st)
D300s (3rd)
D7000 (4th)
D5100 (3rd)
D3100 (5th)
See anything wrong with the picture?
YouDidntDidYou
12 months ago |Perhaps Olympus want to progress with or move the market forward, so I wouldn’t call it churn.
Nikon and Canon as well as the people that use them are largely very conservative and have held photography back.
I’ve not see anything ground breaking or new from Nikon or Canon either for the last 3-4 years have you?
Thom Hogan
12 months ago |That’s not my point. My point is that, oh, say the differences between a D80 and D90 and D7000 or a D5000 and D5100 are tangible. The differences between a E-PL1, E-PL2, and Pen Lite (E-PL3) are pretty much minimal (though the E-PL3 does now have a swivel LCD). And the E-P1, E-P2, and E-P3 progression appears worse.
There’s a bit of tortoise and hare in all this. Nikon and Canon slowly and consistently iterate forward. Olympus jumps to something new, then stands mostly still with its iterations. Note the number of “they’ll just add more Art Filters” comments on this site. Those are sarcastic dismissals of Olympus’s iteration ability. FROM CUSTOMERS.
I’m one of the first to say that the Japanese makers, Nikon and Canon included, are not moving photography forward as rapidly or as far as they can and should. It’s an industry-wide problem. But Olympus has another problem: GM-style slap-new-metal-on-it-and-call-it-new.
Underlying all this is the sensor problem. The sensor in question is 2008 design at best. Sensors are a bit like CPUs and other semiconductors: they have a very predictable progress curve. The 12mp sensor being used is now two generations behind that curve. That may be okay for the lowest end mass market (Pen Mini), but I don’t think it plays for low-end DSLR land. Nor does it hold up well against even their worst competitor (Samsung’s older APS sensor). If Sony had the lenses, m4/3 would be hurting right now.
Melvin
12 months ago |I would love to buy a 7-14mm lens…
Now I am waiting for the statement from Olympus that the futural pen-pro body will focus all my expensive zuiko SHg glass without compromise. This is the statement I need to buy more SHG glass and other Olympus products. And eventually a futural pen body.
I bought my first non Olympus camera product recently. A GH2. I hope the new Olympus sensor will bring IQ to a high level!
Ahem
12 months ago |I hope everybody recalibrated their expectations for the next Olympus camera – it’s not going to be a pro body.
lok
12 months ago |olympus has no FUTURE!
someone should tell them they are aklready dying.
kaine
12 months ago |Wish they would drop a sequel to the E-620 with video mode to satisfy loyal 4/3 Olympus users instead of trying to screw them to fork out for the E-5. I wanna use telecovnerters with a decent video mode and 4/3 lenses. Only option I have is an E-5 and theres no chance im being played by Oly again for that until they start respecting customers again and get out of this poisonous relationship with Panasonic.
amalric
12 months ago |‘Poisonous relationship with Panasonic’? Really some of you are loosing their cool.
You are not interested by Olympus anyway, you are interested by dSLR, so why come here to ‘poison’ the wells?
I had the 620, and now a PL1. With it I shoot ten times as much than with the 620. So I sold the 620 because it stood unused.
That’s how disruptive the mirrorless technology was, reintorducing fun and freedom in photography. Whereas, because you can’t change your old ways, you try to spoil the fun for everyone, with your constant mourning.
Boooo!
12 months ago |Your opinion does not equal everyone’s opinion.
Fine – you prefer a tiny pocketable camera instead of an infinitely more capable DSLR, but THAT’S JUST YOU.
YouDidntDidYou
12 months ago |I think he prefers choice…
kaine
12 months ago |Which is what we dont have. E-P crap or an E-5. Nice choice.
DonParrot
12 months ago |We just have to be patient.
I switched from panny G1 to E-30 and then to E-5 and I have to admit that I just love my E-cameras, their JPEG enginres and my Zuiko lenses.
And I’m going to add futrther lenses to my Ft 9-18, 50 12.0, 12-60 SWD and 50-200 SWD as I just want to believe the guarantee Terada gave us at the 2010 Photokina. “The future will be mirrorless but we don’t know when this will be the case. and here will always be a state-of-the-art Olympus DSLR until the mirrorless cameras will be able to make full use of the Ft zuiko lenses. So, I’m not worried at all and will keep on shooting my dogs in action with the E-5 until they will come up with the mirrorless cam that has got what it takes to fully replace it.
Bu
12 months ago |Sigh, so basically, they are committed to MFT but do not have anything new to offer that than perhaps another redesign of the EP1…
cbr09
12 months ago |There is quite a lot to be said for steady evolution – of course we might all like it to go a little faster – but none of the competitors are doing much better in terms of rate of progress – I think this is just how long the innovations needed take with the available resources. Noone would be frustrated if the Oly cameras were not already very good – they just can’t match all of the progress of all the other companies in all areas. It would be a miracle if they could.
gianca
12 months ago |> We strongly believe in the future of the Micro Four Thirds system cameras.
But not enough in 4/3rds…
> We recognize that professional and advanced photographers require certain features such as extreme durability and faster shooting specifications. The Olympus Four Thirds bodies like the E-5 fulfill these requirements
There are *many* requirements from pro photographers: E-5 it’s an awesome camera, but it answer to only a few of these requirements, and definetely not enough to appeal to a broader audience and get momentum beyond the niche were 4/3rds is now.
It is just not enough… I got rid of my E-3 for a GH2, and the only thing I miss is the body ISS and cleaner noise level over medium grays.
G
kaine
12 months ago |GH series is the the only good thing going for M43. They feck that up like the rest of the M43 line theres gonna be some glass on Ebay.
Inge-M
12 months ago |Your argue is also reason for i go from E-3 to E-5, but not only the.
Novecento
12 months ago |it’s just one my thought:
Now it’s too late but wasn’t better to make directly mirrorless 4/3 cameras instead to create a new standard like m4/3? If we take cameras like E-450 & E-420 they are already very small and without mirror they could become even smaller but still handly (the Pen can be even “too” small someone). They have already standard quality lenses like the 14-42 & 40-150 that are small too and use bright zoom if they want like the 14-54mm without any adapter. Olympus could save money and resources instead to restart from the beginning the lens roadmap and concentrate in 4/3 prime pancake lenses to complete the line up.
What do you think about it?
Inge-M
12 months ago |Reason is 4/3 lens need optical control i camera body, them can not give info to camera how focus in lens is, and the is reason for M4/3 use 11 pin and 4/3 use only 9 pin.
But Olympus have a patent, for mirror like Sony, but only for focus,
so mirror move like DSLR in exposure.