Wednesday, February 08, 2012

The dust- and splashproof, metal-bodied Olympus OM-D is a retro styled 16.1-megapixel compact system camera featuring a body-integral 5-axis image stabiliser, 1.44-million-dot EVF and best-in-class auto focus with 3D subject tracking. In sequential shooting mode, the camera is capable of capturing up to 9 frames per second (4.2fps with AF, when fitted with the M.Zuiko DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens). Also called the Olympus E-M5, the OM-D has an eye proximity sensor that allows automatic switching between the EVF and the articulated OLED touchscreen. The camera is capable of recording Full HD videos that benefit from the improved in-body image stabiliser, and can store them in either AVI or MOV format with M.JPEG or MPEG-4 encoding. The Olympus OM-D is available from April 2012 as a kit with the M.Zuiko DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens for £1149.99. Body only price to be confirmed.

Along with the OM-D camera, Olympus also announced a number of new accessories including the dust- and splashproof MMF-3 four thirds mount adapter, the HLD-6 power battery holder grip (also dust- and splashproof), and the FL-600R flash with a guide number of 36 (in metres at ISO 100/21°), improved recharge time as well as a wireless control option. Two new lenses, the weatherproof M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 macro and the M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm f/1.8, are also under development.

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