Olympus | Stuff-Review

Olympus claims title of best-selling mirrorless camera manufacturer for 2011 in Japan

January 26, 2012 at 6:17 am

Embattled Olympus didn’t have such a bad year after all. The Japanese camera manufacturer has just claimed top position for the mirrorless camera category in the 2012 BCN Award.

The BCN Ranking pulls in point-of-sale data from a number of major Japanese electronic stores, including online stores like Amazon Japan, and once a year hands-out awards based on the number of actual sales. Olympus has moved ahead of both Sony and Panasonic, capturing more than a third of the market with sales numbering 36.6% of total. Panasonic has the number two spot with 29.3% of sales.
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First leaked image of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 MFT camera

News

January 20, 2012 at 6:45 pm

Though not much of image, we’ll get what we can for now. We’ve been slowly getting more information on the latest compact Micro Four Thirds camera from Olympus, the OM-D. We know it will probably be announced around the 8th of February, we’ve confirmed the Olympus OM-D name from the company’s trademark fillings, and we got our first specs.

The leaked image above comes form 43rumors and shows the shutter button combined with a dial, an extra dial to its left, a function button and a dedicated video button at the top of the camera. The camera should be all black, and there is also a slightly oddly shaped OM logo as well. Not much more for now, but we hope we can update you soon with more images and info.
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First rumored specs for the Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera: Micro Four Thirds, EVF and weather sealed body

News

January 17, 2012 at 5:06 pm

We finally had a name for Olympus’s latest compact interchangeable lens camera this week. The Olympus OM-D was confirmed after the Japanese camera maker registered the trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Olympus has also began an ‘Om My Goodness’ teaser campaign. However, we are still mostly in the dark as to what we can expect from the new OM-series digital camera.

A Japanese website, Digicame-info, is now claiming to have received reliable information on some specs for the Olympus OM-D. The camera will be a mirrorless Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system camera with key differentiating factors to Olympus’s PEN MFT cameras being the built-in EVF and weather sealed body:
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Olympus starts teaser campaign for OM camera system, registers Olympus OM-D trademark

News

January 15, 2012 at 4:18 pm

The Olympus OM system was introduced in 1972 based on compact 35mm SLR camera bodies. The system proved a hit and Olympus released a large number of consumer and professional cameras under the OM system until 2002. There has been a lot of speculation that Olympus is staging a comeback (or at least cashing in on the past success) of the OM system with a new digital camera.

We’ve already reported that Olympus is expected to make an announcement in early February, probably coinciding with the big CP+ 2012 Camera & Photo Imaging Show in Yokohama, Japan running on February 9-12. Well, a quick search on the United States Patent and Trademark Office brings up that on January 3rd 2012 Olympus Corporation registered the “Olympus OM-D” trademark, which also mentions interchangeable lenses:
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Fujifilm X-Pro1 vs. Panasonic GX1 vs. Sony NEX-7 vs. Olympus E-P3 comparison

The Lab

January 8, 2012 at 6:31 pm

Digital mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (MILCs) have gone a long way since Panasonic released the first Micro Four Thirds camera over 3 years ago. During this time, we’ve seen practically all major camera manufacturers (except Canon) entering the space that was once the privilege of multi-thousand dollar Leica Rangefinders. Fujifilm showed us what they can do with a high-end compact camera in their excellent fixed-lens FinePix X100 shooter last year. Now, Fujifilm plans to release a new X-series MILC system led by their X-Pro1 camera.

Despite coming late to the party, Fujifilm intends to enter with a bang. The X-Pro1 has Leica-like controls with individual shutter speed and exposure compensation dials, while each lens has a manual aperture ring. Fujifilm has also improved on the X100’s hybrid electronic/optical viewfinder, and the second generation has found its way in the X-Pro1.

In our comparison below we have pitted the Fujifilm X-Pro1 against the best of the competition, the Panasonic GX1, the Sony NEX-7 and the Olympus E-P3. All four share the same rangefinder-style body, though not all come with a built-in viewfinder. It’s interesting to note that the X-Pro1 includes a number of technologies which are unique, including the new X-Trans CMOS sensor and hybrid viewfinder.
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Olympus weather-sealed mirrorless camera with integrated viewfinder pegged for February release

News

January 3, 2012 at 9:56 am

Olympus is rumored to skip any new major product announcements at CES this January and instead announce its new mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) camera in early February. 43rumors is claiming that a trusted source has indicated that Olympus will announce a new MILC in the week of 6-11th of February. The new camera will be weather-sealed and have an integrated viewfinder, both of which will be a first for Olympus digital mirrorless cameras.

The new camera could also sport a new sensor, which would make the complete package even more appealing. Things have been heating up to a melting point in the MILC space, with Panasonic finally releasing a worthy GF1 successor, the GX1, Sony has come out with the 24-megapixel NEX-7 with OLED viewfinder and Fujifilm has promised us an X-series interchangeable lens camera for CES following in the bloodline of the very successful X100. We’ve also speculated that we might see the Panasonic GH3 at CES next week as well.
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Panasonic GX1 vs. Sony NEX-7 vs. Fujifilm X100 vs. Olympus E-P3 comparison

The Lab

November 7, 2011 at 10:47 am

With the successor to the GF1 finally announced, Panasonic is coming back strongly to the space it helped create. The Panasonic GX1 is the company’s new high-end rangefinder style mirorrless camera. But, as we’ve discussed in our initial in-depth coverage, unlike its predecessor it’s coming up against some very serious competition.

To put things into perspective, we’ve the GX1 against the top competitors from Sony, Fujifilm and Olympus. Our comparison includes the super-high-end NEX-7 with an APS-C sensor and the amazing OLED EVF, the excellent fixed lens APS-C Fujifilm FinePix X100 (full review here) and a fellow Micro Four Thirds camera, the Olympus E-P3. So, read on to check out how our new MILC holds up.
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Sony NEX-7 vs. Fujifilm X100 vs. Olympus E-P3 vs. Panasonic DMC-GF3

The Lab

August 24, 2011 at 7:18 pm

Sony’s just announced NEX-7 digital camera is a real contender as the new king in the compact mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera realm. We’re sure that you are itching, same as we, to see how it stacks up against the competition. We’ve pitted the NEX-7 against two Micro Four Thirds (MFT) cameras, the new Olympus E-P3 and the Panasonic GF3 — although we are sure Panasonic is secretly cooking a high end shooter, the GF3 is currently their higher end compact MFT camera. We’ve also added the excellent fixed lens Fujifilm FinePix X100 to our comparison; the NEX-7 shares some of same genes having a no-nonsense retro look, APS-C sensor and lots of controls. Head over after the link to see a spec fight-out.
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Olympus announces three new Micro Four Thirds PEN compact cameras

News

June 30, 2011 at 6:39 am

Olympus new PEN cameras: E-P3, E-PL3 and E-PM1

Great news for all Micro Four Thirds (MFT) camera fans; Olympus has just announced three new cameras for the world’s favorite compact interchangeable lens system. The new PEN compact system cameras feature an updated 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Image Sensor combined with a TruePic VI Image processor that should allow you to capture images at ISO’s up to 12,800.

Olympus is claiming a reengineered autofocus system–we’re glad they’ve been paying attention–full 1080i HD video recording, re-designed user interface and of course a variety of Art Filters.
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