E-5 vs E-M1 size comparison image by Paniko (Thanks!).

So, now we know it for sure. There is no new “Pure” Four Thirds camera. The E-M1 is going to replace the [shoplink 17163]Olympus E-5[/shoplink] too. This opens a couple of questions:

1) Was the E-5 the last Four Thirds camera?

2) Is Olympus going to officially announce the end of the pure Four Thirds camera system or will they follow Panasonic route and simply silently abandon the FT camera development?

I hope Olympus can answer these questions in September when they will announce the E-M1.

Meantime this is the question of the day:

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P.S.: An E-M1 vs OMD vs E-P5 size comaprison can be seen at Dicahub.

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Egami spotted a new Konica-Minolta patent describing a 8-17mm f/2.8 zoom patent. It’s a lens designed for the Micro Four Thirds system. This is the third MFT lens patent after the 43mm f/1.4 and 12-42mm f/3.5-5.6 design patent (Source: Egami). It really looks like Konica-Minolta could soon join the MFT system! And it makes sense because Konica-Minolta has a long history of rangefinder camera and lens design. I owned the [shoplink 41161 ebay]Minolta CLE for a while (here on eBay)[/shoplink].  Konica designed the [shoplink 33268 ebay]Hexanon M-mount Lens series (here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Minolta made the famous [shoplink 33270 ebay]Rokkor M-mount lens series (here on eBay)[/shoplink]

Really great stuff! If the new MFT lenses are as good as them I will certainly consider to buy them! And now answer…

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So, here it is finally, the new High End OMD E-M1, the first camera that will unlock the full potential of Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds lenses. Specs  are also well-known.

1) It has a 16MP sensor with no AA filter and PDAF on sensor.
2) ISO 200 up to 25,600
3) 9fps
4) 60sec and 1/8000
5) Same VF-4 EVF (although in the video the Olympus rep says the wrong number).
6) Built-in Wifi

It will be a great camera but it will cost $1,500 for the body only. There will be a constant f/2.8 zoom too along the E-M1 announcement in early September. The full video is available here: http://uploaded.net/file/9pf6imwpNow that you know the camera design and specs…tell me…

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P.S.: If you have some size comparison with other cameras to share send them to me at 43rumors@gmail.com. Thanks!

UPDATE: I have been asked by the Engadget team to remove the link to the video (and the images). I obviously told them that the images and video spread on the web thanks to the guys from Kakaku that found that hidden link to engadget’s Olympus E-M1 video (that has now been removed). But even if I had to remove the stuff it has been mirrored from kakaku to many other websites:

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXgS95cgUwQ
720p @ http://ul.to/9pf6imwp
480p @ http://ul.to/ngn5kn1s

Images:
http://imageshack.us/a/img818/821/xazc.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img829/2879/lvu6.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img818/8189/otvx.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img703/5482/namp.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img6/975/gzag.jpg
Digicaminfo

I told Engadget team that I am sorry for what happened to them. But even if I can remove the images and link video I cannot avoid to link to the websites having posted images and videos.

[shoplink 40560 ebay][/shoplink]

The Korean site Dicahub reports that the planed August launch of the EF to MFT Speed Booster has been delayed. But their sources also said that it’s still going to be announced within 2013.

The Speed Booster can be found:
In USA at Metabones, at Amazon and at BHphoto.
In Europe at [shoplink 40560 ebay]eBay UK (Click here)[/shoplink].

I can now confirm that the new High End OMD uses a modified E-M5 sensor. It has 16 megapixel but has on sensor PDAF and no Anti Aliasing filter. Along the new Processor this allows to achieve an improved image quality over the [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink].

I have been told this is a great camera with one issue only that is shared with the E-P5. Price could be too high (around $1500 or 1500 Euro).

[shoplink 25320 ebay]

[/shoplink]
Image on top: the Four Thirds [shoplink 25320 ebay]Zuiko 14-35mm f/2.0[/shoplink]. Same quality can be expected by the new f/2.8 zooms.

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And finally I am sure it’s going to happen. Olympus will launch their first f/2.8 constant aperture zoom. The lens is said to have a better performance than the [shoplink 31225]Panasonic 12-35mm X lens[/shoplink]! And the quality is as high as the glorious [shoplink 25320 ebay]Zuiko 14-35mm f/2.0 (here on eBay)[/shoplink].

I also have been told there is one more surprise to come beside the new camera and lens…stay tuned!

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The two superb Zuiko f/2.0 zooms:
14-35mm f/2.0 on [shoplink 25320 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and via Slidoo eBay.
35-100mm f/2.0 on [shoplink 25119 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] and via Slidoo eBay.

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Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct