The latest top-of-the-line DSLR for Olympus was announced today in Cologne at the biennal Photokina, the world’s biggest trade fair for the photography and imaging industries.
Olympus announces E-5, its new flagship DSLR
This successor to the almost-three-year old E-3 is a much awaited update and suggests that Olympus has not abandoned its Four Thirds standard in favour of its newer but wildly successful Micro Four Thirds standard.
Whether the future of Olympus DSLR camera will retain both these standards or whether they will be merged into a single Live View only mirrorless line is by no means a foregone conclusion, and is a matter of intense speculation among the DSLR community.
For the moment, Olympus positions the Pen series Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras as a secondary camera for professional photographers and personal camera for general users.
The E-5, priced at US$1,699 and available from October 2010, is based on the weather-sealed body of the E-3. It sports a 12.3 megapixel Live MOS sensor, 3-inch 921,000 pixel LCD, Live View with Contrast AF, HD video recording and shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th second.
For comparison, the E-3 has a 10.1 megapixel sensor, 2.5-inch 230,000 LCD, no video recording and shutter speeds of up to 1/8000 second. The TruPic III image processing engine has also been updated to the TruPic V+ engine to enhance image quality. Maximum ISO sensitivity has also increased from 3200 to 6400.
The E-5 now features Scene Modes, as well as 10 Art Filter to produce in-camera special effects like Soft Focus, Cross-process and Dramatic Tone.
In terms of physical looks, both cameras look similar. The larger LCD screen of the E-5, however, has necessitated the rearrangement of some of the buttons as compared with the layout in the E-3.
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