The only rumors I got about the new Olympus viewfinder technology talk about a sort of semitransparent OLED technology. It works with a fixed semitransparent layer on the optical viewfinder. You should be able to use both simultaneously or switch from full optical or full electronic.

The video on top shows a futuristic transparent OELD panel made by Samsung. As you know Olympus already uses the Samsung OLED technology for the [shoplink 23568]Olympus E-P3[/shoplink] LCD screen. And sources also told us that Samsung offered Olympus a new Micro Four Thirds sensor. So it’s sounds possible that the partnership can extend to the new viewfinder technology.

I am collecting all rumros abotu that next camera. Feel free to send me bits of info at 43rumros@gmail.com or use the anonymous contact form on the right sidebar. Thanks!

Our reader Fabrys found that interesting interview with on a french blog with a guy from Panasonic France manager (Luc Saint-Elie). He says that Panasonic will never make a PRO camera system. Why? He answered that pros and experts camera system do require a different customer service infrastructure.

Although Panasonic has a broadcast video segment it looks like they will not start a new pro photo adventure. I don’t know if this really matters for you 43rumors reader…

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That news surprised me on Saturday. I worked the full weekend and I had no time to analyze interview until now. Thanks to our readers we can now get a bit into the detail of the japanese interview with Olympus Manager Mr. Ogawa made by Impressjapan (Click here to download the pdf of the magazine).

First important news: Olympus is working on a mirrorless camera with emphasis on the viewfinder.
Ogama also said the new mirrorless will have an “epoch-making” viewfinder and that they will announce it soon!!! So this sounds definitely more advanced than any current solution from Sony (OLED viewfinder) or Fuji (hybrid viewfinder). Ogawa recognizes that electronic viewfinder have a huge advantages (framing, easier to magnify, easier to focus) but he also recognizes that people misses the “feeling” of optical viewfinders. He doesn’t unveil the “big secret” but he says: “All I can say is, when you look through the viewfinder, you’ll understand….”.

Second important news: It’s different than current NEX’s and it will be announced soon.
The first news is that it will have a viewfinder but…this can either mean that they will do a DSLR alike camera or a rangefinder alike camera. MR. Ogawa said it’s different than current NEX cameras. That includes the [shoplink 25396 ebay]NEX-7[/shoplink]. So does it have a classic “DSLR” design? The next series will represent a new stage in the mirrorless camera, but it will be fully compatible with the PEN series. It will be a camera that you want to hold in your hands all the time. The interviewer asked him if it is different not just from current Olympus mirrorless cameras, but from mirrorless cameras in general and Mr. Ogawa’s answer was…YES :)

Pretty exciting or not? I confess, now some of the rumors I got in these months do make sense. It will be a busy time now for me and I am happy that I can report rumor related Olympus posts instead of all that pretty bad Olympus financial mess news. Stay tuned! I will do my best to give you some more “insider” news soon!

Olympus Manager Mr. Ogawa. has been reviewed by Impressjapan (Click here to download the pdf of the magazine). Unlike many other reviews that time Olympus revealed a lot of details about the future camera strategy!
1) Olympus is currently developing a new series of Micro Four Thirds cameras.
2) Olympus is developing a brand new concept of cameras
3) Camera will empathize a new viewfinder technology
4) Olympus is developing an E-5 successor.

Uh! That’s quite an intriguing roadmap! I really hope Olympus will bring us some really new surprise. About time!

Something else: Looks like the GX1 body is in Stock at Adorama (Click here).

The japanese blog Egami (Click here) keeps looking for new patents and found that weird Olympus stereo idea. The second stereo lens gets attached on the hot shoe and works together with the “normal” m43 lens to create a stereoscopic image. I am not aware of the advantage such an idea can give to you. The only thing that comes to my mind is that you can sue any m43 lens to create a 3D image.

And Panasonic published a patent which describes a Liquid Lens (Click here). Also Olympus filed such a patent a few months ago.
Reminder: These are the advantages of liquid lenses: -non-movement glasses for zoom or AF
-less glasses inside the lens
-faster electrical response
-non-motor on the glass
-silence AF mode

The Taiwanese Panasonic manager (Mr.Yuasa) told at ePrice (Click here to read the translation) that the upcoming new 12-35mm and 35-100mm X lenses will not have powerzoom! If that is true than I am very surprised! These lenses are supposed to be ideal companions for filmmakers too or not? I hope this is not a mistake by the manager. He also said that it is very unlikely that the new lenses will have a f/2.0 constant aperture as this would make the lenses too big.

Hmmm, take that with a grain of salt ok? All I know from my sources is that the lenses will have a constant aperture and be weather sealed. Let’s see if I can get some feedback from my sources soon…

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

Here are the links to the two amazing Olympus Four Thirds zooms:
Zuiko 14-35mm f/2.0 at [shopcountry 25320] Zuiko 35-100mm f/2.0 at [shopcountry 25119]

Just got this from another new source: “The new 12-50 is the first weather sealed lens. The powerzoom can detect if the lens ring is rotated slow or fast for either quick, fast zooming or slow precise zooming.”

So weather sealedlens without a weather sealed camera? Com on Olympus, shows us the PEN pro too :)

Thanks V.!