Dpreview interviewed Aki Murata from Olympus. Here are some highlights:

Full Frame vs MFT:
We have three strengths: Compactness and light weight, lens quality, and I.S. That combination is unique.
Full-frame is kind of like a buzzword in the market, but lens size cannot be changed. If you compare the systems there are visible differences in terms of size and weight. We do what we believe is right. We don’t make full-frame, because we don’t believe that everyone needs it. For most photographers it’s better to have mobility – if you don’t have a camera with you, you can’t take the shot. We believe that our solution is better for most people. It’s good to have full-frame, but there is a need for a smaller system. This is why Maitani’s R&D philosophy is so important to us.
We believe that the market will be separated into two. One is larger, full-frame, and the other is more portable cameras and lenses. We’re happy that everyone else is going to bigger sensors, and we’re staying where we are. I’m confident, and I’m proud to say that we’re staying here. It doesn’t make sense for us to go full-frame. There is a place for full-frame, and a place for medium format, but our customers can’t [be limited to] three frames per second. There is a customer base that needs the products we offer now, and they need a compact and lightweight system.

E-M1X Reliability:
Ultimate reliability goes far beyond strong build, and resilience to the elements, it also speaks to the cameras performance and consistent operation.

Smartphone versus traditional cameras:
The risk for the photo industry is that people lose interest in traditional photography because their smartphone is so good. If the next step is big lenses and huge cameras, a lot of people might just give up and use their phones instead.
For certain[kind of photography], you cannot utilize a smartphone. You need optics, and capable AF systems. This is the area we want to focus on. We think that there is growth in these areas. This differentiates us a lot compared to smartphones.

Why have only one mount (MFT):
First of all we won’t use any other mount other than Four Thirds. If we had more than one mount, that’s not really user-friendly, and we’re creating the risk that we’d lose customers. If we ask you to buy a camera and lens and then step up to another mount, you might not want to do that. We want to create one, cohesive system with M43. We know our strengths. We have a small and lightweight system, which is good for shooting telezoom lenses, outside. So we’re focusing on this area, to provide suitable products for this field of photography.

Why no top-LCD on the E-M1X:
There are mixed feelings on that. We considered it, but the camera would become bigger and lose operability.

Smaller MFT cameras:
Now that [the E-M1X] has arrived, and it’s our 100th anniversary, you can expect more.

–

With this interview Olympus made it superclear they will never go Full or Medium Format. And it’s also clear we can expect many new cameras this year!!!

CameraJabber reports a very curious information revealed during todays Olympus E-M1X press event

Olympus is focusing on the Micro Four Thirds system was a clear message at the press announcement of the new OM-D E-M1X. Speaking in an interview, with UK press, Olympus’s Shigemi Sugimoto (Head of Imaging Business unit) and Setsuya Kataoka (Division Manager, Imagining Product Development) said that the company had considered developing a medium format camera but that it had decided against it.

And:

Mr Sugimoto said at Photokina that full-frame cameras are good for the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system as it makes the smaller system’s advantages stand out.

E-M1X Preorders:
Olympus E-M1X in USA at Amazon, GetOlympus, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus E-M1X in Europe at Calumet Germany, ParkCameras, Jessops, WexUK.

UPDATE: A reader sent me this image of an old M format prototype from Olympus (was not medium format but looked like a medium format camera):

E-M1X Preorders:
Olympus E-M1X in USA at Amazon, GetOlympus, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus E-M1X in Europe at Calumet Germany, ParkCameras, Jessops, WexUK.

New accessories preorders:
Olympus FL-700WR Electronic Flash at Amazon, GetOlympus, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus FC-WR Wireless Radio Flash Commander at Amazon, GetOlympus, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus FR-WR Wireless Radio Flash Receiver at Amazon, GetOlympus, Adorama and BHphoto.
Olympus CP-1 Cable Protector CP-1 for OM-D E-M1X at Amazon, Adorama and Bhphoto.
Olympus EP-17 Eyecup for OM-D E-M1X Camera Body at Amazon, Adorama and Bhphoto.

Reviews and previews:
Robin Wong’s hands-on. Hands-on by Explora. Preview by CameraLabs. Review in progress at Dpreview. Review at Digitalcameraworld. Preview by CameraJabber. Review by ThePhoBlographer. First look at LCEgroup. Shooting experience at Dpreview. Preview at Photographyblog. E-M1X vs E-M1II by Mirrorlesscomparison. Spanish hands-on from Photolari. E-M1X vs E-M1II by Techradar.

Official Press releases:
E-M1X press text at 43rumors.
150-400mm MFT lens press text at 43rumors.
FL-700WR flash press text at 43rumors.
Lens roadmap announcement at 43rumors.
Limited Silver edition E-M1II press text at 43rumors.
Special announcement page at BHphoto.

Videos:

E-M1X Image samples:
Samples at Dpreview. Samples at Photographyblog.

150-400mm lens:

Lens via Dpreview:

Poll:

 Loading ...

Olympus published this new lens roamdap. There are eight new lenses and one of them is the newly announced 150-400mm MFT lens (specs and images here on 43rumors). There is no timeframe so we don’t know when hose lenses will be announced.

I am particularly excited about that “Bright Prime Lenses” line. Will this be a new line of f/1.0 or faster lenses?