I received quite a few emails from trusted and new anonymous sources. Finally something is happening around Olympus ;)
According to my trusted sources Olympus will release a few new “PRO” Micro Four Thirds product within the first half of 2011. They confirmed that between January and March Olympus will announce the three new pancakes you can see on the roadmap on top. One Fisheye lens, a 12mm(?) and the 50mm pancake. I hope to get some detail about those lenses (and maybe other lenses) as soon as possible. After that Olympus will release the first Micro Four Thirds “PRO” camera with TruepicV+ engine, new Panasonic sensor, Built-in Viewfinder and weatherproof body. I don’t know yet if the camera has a Rangefinder design (à-la Fuji X100 and [shoplink 17020]Panasonic DMC-LC1[/shoplink]) or DSLR design (à-la [shoplink 16254]Panasonic GH2[/shoplink]). The camera should be in store by Quarter 2 (between April and June). I am are currently “collecting” info about the camera so if you want to help me feel free to contact me at 43rumors@gmail.com or use the contact form on the right sidebar. I really need every little help you can give me to avoid mistakes and confirm the other rumors I received. Thanks!

There is one more unconfirmed rumor: (FT3) According to two new sources the PRO camera should be announced by late January-early February and be in Stock bye end of Quarter 2. The camera itself could be named “E-PS1” (The “S” stay for super where with the [shoplink 14832]E-PL1[/shoplink] the “L” stays for lite).

Reminder -> 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

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A new source claims to have received some info about the next Olympus Micro Four Thirds pro-camera: “I had a longish talk with a person from Olympus, and after mentioning m43, and lens, he hinted to me that in a month Olympus will have another “yummy” product (it will be a m43 body), and that their development plan for m43 will definitely move to pro m43. He said that they have already made enough basic lens, and that they will move to pro grade now. I know the guy for a longish time now, and I think there is high possibility that this new product will come out in stated period.”

UPDATE: A second new source said hat there will be a new camera next month, M43rds, based on a similar principle of the Fuji X100 (Click here to see the camera), fixed lens pen basically…

UPDATE2: A third new source said: “I just read your new post regarding a new Olympus M4/3 to be announced in December. This is very interesting. Actually, I went to a photo show about one month ago… I was very very interested to buy the [shoplink 17163]E-5[/shoplink] + 12-60mm. However, I found the camera way too big for my needs. After a long and interesting discussion with the Olympus guy, I told him that I was also considering the Pentax K-5. So, he asked me how long I would wait for a new Olympus camera if something new was eventually coming (like a high end m43) … My answer was: No more than one more year! So, he simply told me: Wait until the end of December or mild January for an announcement by Olympus and few more months before being able to buy the product. ”

Taken together, I thing you got a very exiting news

Please keep in mind that both sources are new! Now I am asking my trusted sources if you can confirm or deny the rumor I posted above. Please contact me at 43rumors@gmail.com. Thanks!

For now the rumor has FT2 value only:

Reminder: 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