Center Valley, Pa. –
introduced the E-M5 mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera, billed as the first
in a new series of Olympus OM Digital (OM-D) Micro Four Thirds products.
Olympus also introduced two new point-and-shoot offerings,
including an advanced all-weather model.
The Olympus OM-D E-M5 will target advanced photographers,
offering a built-in electronic viewfinder, strong image technology, fast
creative control and a classic, rugged body design that is sand, sun, sleet and
snow resistant.
The body design was said
to “evoke the classic design of the original OM Series introduced 40 years
ago.” The Olympus OM-D Series is a new Micro Four Thirds camera system,
combining features from Olympus E-System d-SLR line with those of the compact
Olympus Pen Series.
Key features include a 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor, TruePic IV
image-processing engine, five-axis image stabilization system, built-in
electronic viewfinder with a 120 fps refresh rate, high-resolution electronic
viewfinder (EVF), tilting 3-inch OLED camera-back, 3D AF tracking, face and eye
detection AF, 9 fps sequential burst shooting, 11 in-camera art filters,
display, multi-aspect ratio shooting, RAW and JPEG capture with multi-exposure
overlay support for both, and 1080i HD video capture in MOV (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264).
To compliment the OM-D E-M5, Olympus introduced the HLD-6 Power
Battery Grip, the FL-600R electronic flash and the MMF-3 Four Thirds mount
adapter that will accept a Four Thirds Standard-compliant lens on a Micro Four
Thirds Standard-compliant camera body.
Olympus said it also plans to introduce later this year two new
Micro Four Thirds lenses — the M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm f1.8 and the M.Zuiko
Digital ED 60mm f2.8 macro.
The camera, which will be available in a choice of black or
silver body colors, will ship in April at a $1,000 suggested retail (body
only); $1,300 (for black or silver body with black M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50 mm
f3.5-6.3 EZ lens) or $1,100 (black body with black M.Zuiko Digital 14-42 mm f3.5-5.6
II R lens).
Olympus introduced two
point-and-shoot cameras, the SZ-31MR his, which combines a 24x wide-angle optical
zoom lens (25-600mm zoom equivalent in 35mm) with a new touch panel LCD and
Intelligent High-Sensitivity/High-Speed (iHS) technologies that capture images
and videos in challenging backlit and low-light conditions.
Key features include: 3-inch (920,000-dot) LCD, 10 fps burst
shooting, 1080p HD video capture, multi-recording capability, 16-megapixel
resolution, TruePic V processing engine, multi-motion movie stabilization,
SZ-31MR iHS will ship in April in a choice of black or silver
with a strap, USB cable, USB-to-AC adapter (F-2AC), lithium-Ion battery
(LI-50B), quick start guide, A/V cable, instruction manual on CD-ROM and a
software CD-ROM at a $400 estimated street retail.
The Olympus Tough TG-820 his
is waterproof (33 feet), shock-proof (from 6 feet), freeze-proof (to 14 degrees
F), crush-proof and dust-proof.
Key features include 3-inch 1 million-dot HyperCrystal III LCD,
10x digital zoom, a 12-megapixel back-side illuminated CMOS sensor, TruePic VI
processing engine, 1080p HD video capture, multi-motion movie image
stabilization, and fast AF system.
The Olympus Tough TG-820 iHS will ship in March at a $300
estimated street retail with a wrist strap, USB cable, A/V cable, USB-to-AC
adapter (F-2AC), lithium-Ion battery (LI-50B), quick start guide and
instruction manual on CD-ROM. It will be offered in a choice of silver, black
and blue.
Between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. ET on March 9, Olympus said
in
a special two-hour live Olympus Tech where Olympus spokespeople will take
questions on a the OM-D.
