For beginning shooters or experienced DSLR users interested in a street-style camera on a budget, Olympus micro 4/3 offerings like the new E-PL5 are an excellent choice. This particular model was just a bit too small and had a few weird quirks for my liking, but overall it’s an excellent update to an excellent line of cameras. If small size and a unique, tilting touchscreen seal the deal, this is… → Read More
Sony is expected to approve a plan to invest around $642 million (50 billion yen) in Olympus. As the Japanese manufacturer of cameras, optics and reprography products is currently facing a trial for having hidden investment losses for the past 20 years, it has been looking for a potential investor for months. By injecting that capital investment, Sony will become the largest shareholder. → Read More
Watch out, Google. Here comes Olympus with the MEG4.0 and don’t dismiss this as a Google Glass knockoff. Olympus has been researching and developing wearable displays for more than 20 years. The MEG4.0 concept, and with that, its eventual production counterpart, has been a long time coming and could be a serious competitor in the space. → Read More
On Wednesday, reports circulated that Panasonic was interested in injecting a $630 million capital investment into Olympus Corp, but Panasonic CEO Fumio Ohtsubo has stepped up to squash these rumors. According to Reuters, he said that “there isn’t any” plan to invest in Olympus.
This is unfortuante news for the beleaguered camera company, which is most definitely in trouble. → Read More
The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is arguably the best micro four-thirds camera Olympus has to offer. We’ve had issues with past m4/3 iterations like the EP1 and EP3, like awful color reproduction and slow auto-focus. The same problems don’t persist here, and anything that impresses John on the photography front is a rare gem certainly worth consideration. → Read More
The latest in what I like to call pro-point-and-shoots (I’d put the Canon G12 and the S95 in this category), the TG-1 from Olympus promises high-speed, f2.0 snapshots in a body that can take a lick and, potentially, keep on ticking.
When we last saw Olympus, they were killing it with their micro 4/3s models. This one, at 12-megapixel shooter, is a little bit different but it still is compelling… → Read More
Olympus is building on its significant micro four-thirds IP (i.e. mirrorless cameras with the M4/3 sensor size) with a premium offering with a stylized, retro look. The OM-D EM-5, digital successor to the long-running OM series of film cameras, has a look straight out of the 70s but specs that should satisfy enthusiast photographers looking for a compact but powerful system.
Their PEN series of… → Read More
More news on the Sony-Olympus alliance that’s supposed to be announced soon: Japan’s biggest business daily The Nikkei is reporting today that big S is interested in purchasing a stake as large as “20%-30%” in its potential, scandal-hit partner (that would be up from the 0.03% Sony currently owns).
The capital and business alliance would be mainly aimed at bringing together Sony’s strength in… → Read More
It would be a tie-up between two giants: Diamond Weekly, a major Japanese business journal, is reporting [JP] on its website today that scandal-hit Olympus is about to ink a capital and business alliance deal with Sony. Olympus has been under fire for months, after it was revealed the company has covered up large losses for the past 20 years.
At some point, Olympus was in danger of getting… → Read More
Riding high from a series of mid- to high-level successes in its 2010 and 2011 camera line, Olympus execs could be excused for feeling good. However, as 2011 winds down, Olympus is not in the news for medical imaging devices or micro 4/3s lenses.
Instead, it’s in the news for a scandalous affair that threatens to sink the company and has already claimed the company’s board.
It was a… → Read More
After months of uncertainty and allegations thrown out left and right, Olympus admitted today that it has been hiding company losses for the past two decades.
Here’s what’s up: Including the 2008 takeover of medical equipment maker Gyrus, the company used four acquisitions to cover up losses on securities investments, as well as advisory fees. Bloomberg reports that the company payed inflated… → Read More
Short Version
It’s hard to recommend the E-PL3 over the more powerful and touchscreen-capable E-P3 but if you’re in the market for a much more compact micro 4/3s shooter and you can survive without a built-in flash, this may be the camera for you. → Read More
Olympus is trying to do with their new E-PMT1 PEN Mini camera what other manufacturers already have: bring DSLR power to the masses. It’s their smallest Micro Four Thirds camera to date, and it’s definitely got its proverbial sights set on the mass market — and the fact that it comes in six colors certainly doesn’t hurt. Olympus was kind enough to let me play with an E-PM1 at the U.S. Open of all… → Read More
Olympus has just announced the US availability in September of the PEN E-PM1, the “mini” version of the PEN line. This camera is the smallest micro 4/3s shooter available and is compatible with all of Olympus’ current M4/3 lenses.
I’ll be testing the E-PL3 this week for review next week but I can’t wait to get ahold of the E-PM1. The size, compatibility, and lens quality have thus far been very… → Read More
Olympus first announced the E-PL3 late in June, but at the time only the E-P3 (which we recently reviewed) had a price and a date. No longer! The E-PL3 is now officially coming to the US in September, though Oly didn’t want to get any more specific than that.
At $700, the E-PL3 is $200 cheaper than the E-P3; the two share the same sensor, image processor, and general camera capabilities… → Read More
Short Version
As a long-time fan of Olympus’ Micro 4/3s series of cameras, I came to the E-P3 expecting good things. I was not disappointed. The camera is like Mini Cooper or a Smart car: it gets you where you need to go, you have fun on the way, and the resulting savings in size, bulk, and, in some ways, price makes it a great second camera for a DSLR buff or a great first camera for someone… → Read More
Olympus just announced the new PEN E-P3, PEN E-PL3, and PEN E-PM1. Why so many, you ask? Well, this is a full range of M4/3s cameras in various sizes – the granddaddy P, the “light” PL, and the mini PM. The E-P3 costs $899 with 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Image Sensor and 14-42mm lens. Only the E-P3 has been priced but here are some specs on the other, smaller cameras. In all… → Read More
No, you cannot take pictures with these tiny E-PL1 and E-PL2 cameras, but you can, feasibly, buy one and carry it around on your keys. Sadly, you can’t take pictures with these tiny, removable-lens cameras, although that would be amazagasmic.
And remember: “It’s love, It’s a pen.” → Read More
Olympus’s XZ-1 competes with models like the Canon S95 and Panasonic LX-5 in the “primo point and shoot” market, and looks good doing it. But having a manual lens cap can sometimes be a pain: it’s either dangling from a lanyard, taking up space in your pocket, or getting lost somewhere. This excellent retracting lens cap fits over the lens and splits apart to get out of the… → Read More
We recently reviewed the Zoom Q3HD, a pocket cam (like your Flips and Playsports) with a little extra love given to the audio side of things. Olympus has decided to take that route as well with its new LS-20M… a pocket cam with a little extra love given to the audio side of things. What, I said it was the same route. → Read More
Short Version
To be sure, Olympus’ micro 4/3s cameras, the E-PL1 and the E-PL2, are changing the way we think about removable lens cameras. However, I worry that high price coupled with potentially limiting features will cause some shooters to shy away from this line. While that may be the case, I encourage anyone thinking about a point and shoot or ultrazoom camera to look into these clever and… → Read More
Believe it or not, handheld mics are a blogger’s best friend — I use the Zoom H1 almost daily. The DM-620 PCM is no different. The handheld mic records uncompressed 16 bit/48 kHz Linear PCM audio and stores it on the 4GB built-in memory (up to 32GB with microSD/SDHC Card). Features like auto-leveling, scene select, noise cancelation, zoom microphone and low-cut filter help identify… → Read More
Olympus, who normally makes our favoritest portable camera in the world, the E-PL1, just announced three standard point and shoots into the world. The SZ-30MR and SZ-20 are your bog-standard shooters while the Tough TG-810 is apparently “crushproof,” which is great if you work at Fred Flintstone’s quarry and tend to leave your camera near the brontosaurus that lifts the boulders. → Read More
A trusted tipster has informed 4/3 Rumors that Olympus is planning on dropping a few new cameras come March 2nd. There’s no more information than that, but what’s this? Forum Olympus France has discovered some recent Oly patents for a couple big-zoom compacts. They’re not interchangeable lens models, more in the luxury point-and-shoot zone, but still could be worth your… → Read More
Our brothers at HuffPOL/Engadget snagged this press release announcing that Carl Zeiss, lensmaker to the stars, will start selling M4/3 lenses in the near future. Note the release does not describe any particular lens but instead promises to start building in the format over the next few years and that they are now part of the Micro Four Thirds System group, a set of companies dedicated to the… → Read More
The Olympus E-PL2 is due to hit retailers soon, and we’re starting to see pictures of the accessories that will be available. Sure, there’s the standard fisheye, macro, and wide angle lenses; but what other camera has lights on flexible arms? → Read More
It’s a good time to be looking for “the little camera that could.” If you’re willing to spend $300-$500, there are some really compelling options out there. The Panasonic LX series is great, and for a little more you can pick up the excellent Nikon P7000. Now Olympus has a new entry to this particular arena, the XZ-1, and although the price and specs aren’t published yet, I can see from here that… → Read More
This is kind of exciting but also not: the Olympus E-PL2 appeared in the camera rumornet but it’s not a major upgrade – at least so far – from the E-PL1. Improved features include a new “PENPAL” Bluetooth module that connects to the hotshoe and a new filter called “Dramatic Tone.” Sadly, it has the same good sensor but the size and shape are slightly… → Read More
Olympus, purveyor of fine photography goods, has put it on the record that they are out of the crowded entry-level DSLR game. I don’t blame them; with a great Micro Four Thirds series like the Pen, and with Canon and Nikon duking it out at the sub-$1000 level, they’ve got no reason to spend precious R&D cash on an also-ran product. → Read More
One of the “sub trends” of this year’s CEATEC exhibition (that’s currently taking place near Tokyo) is augmented reality, especially among the telecommunications companies. Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo is experimenting with an AR technology (developed by Olympus in 2008) called AR Walker. → Read More
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