OM says it is planning to continue the development of the PEN line!

Dpreview had a chat with Kazuhiro Togashi, OM System’s VP for Brand Strategy and Product Planning. The most important news is that OM System says it’s focusing on outdoor photographers but hinted that the PEN series could yet return to the North American market. As you know the PEN E-P7 is still being produced and sold for the Asian market but it’s no more sold in Europe and America. When asked about the development of new PEN cameras the manager said:

The E-P7 is small, with compact bright lenses, making it highly advantageous for travel photography. Therefore, we’ll reinforce such products in our lineup in the future.

What that “reinforce” means is a bit unclear. There might be an E-P8 for the Asian market only…or they might be seriously considering the return of PEN sales on all worldwide markets. The other statements are repetition of what we heard in the past:

  1. The focus is on higher end products
  2. The focus is on creating products for outdoor photographers.
  3. AI will find it’s way in cameras (like for example AI noise reduction applications)

As you know, I a am a big fan of the idea to make a new PEN-FII…let’s see if my dreams will come true !

New OM Digital interview: “our current task is to create a brand for the next 10, 20 or even 50 years”

The french website Phototrend had a chat with Kazuhiro Togashi , Vice President of Product Planning and Brand Strategy at OM Digital Solutions. A couple of interesting statements:

The goal:

I truly believe that our current task is to create a brand for the next 10, 20 or even 50 years.

The financial status:

Our turnover and operating income are up to our expectations.

About the next telephoto lens on the roadmap:

Development of other telephoto lenses is also underway, but we cannot give you any further details at this time.

About paid firmware updates:

this option could be considered in the future for adding new features.

About computational photography:

We also believe that computational photography can contribute to the creation of new works of art and to broadening the scope of expression of photographers. Using a GND filter with live preview and image post-processing, the OM-1 Mark II produces works of art that will exceed photographers’ expectations. Computational photography plays an important role for us because it embodies a core value of our system: the ability to create works of art beyond the imagination of the photographer. Therefore, we are committed to strengthening our efforts in the development of computational photography.

About software development:

Some of the imaging technologies are developed in-house. However, for some features related to computational photography, we need to collaborate with other companies.

 

RUMOR: Yes, OM Digital will announce a new very high end camera in 2024

Trusted sources confirmed to me that in 2024 OM Digital will announce a new very High End camera. They did NOT share what exactly we can expect. But I can only see three options:

  1. New E-M1X successor
  2. New High End PEN-F camera
  3. Something completely new and different?

My bet for now is on the OM1X with 24MP global shutter and extreme speed! But I would also love to get a new PEN-FII with that Sony 47MP sensor…

 

(FT3) New GH6 successor with phase detection AF is in the works and will be named GH7 and not GH6II

A source told me that the

GH6 with phase detect AF is in development and that it will be named GH7 and not GH6II as some rumors suggested

The fact that it might be named GH7 suggests that this isn’t just an updated Gh6 with phase detection AF (like the S5II compared to the S5). But a major new camera update. Not sure when this GH7 will be announced but I guess the Gh7 is not coming this year and more likely sometimes in mid-late 2024.

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