The OM modular camera concept by Maitani.
I still have no confirmation from top sources so please don’t get too serious about that until I havent’ got more info. Anyway, the french magazine 01net.com reports that Olympus will launch a “professional hybrid” (which mean mirrorless) at Photokina and with availability in 2013 (found the news via Lepidi).
Olympus already stated many times that for them a professional camera is a camera that has the advantages of both, Micro Four Thirds and Four Thirds technologies. An example of what Olympus could do is an OM camera with a special mirror adapter like the [shoplink 31778 ebay]Leica Visoflex (here on eBay)[/shoplink]. Back in December Mr. Ogama from Olympus hinted about their future key technologies by saying: “All I can say is, when you look through the viewfinder, you’ll understand….“. Source: Impressjapan (Click here to download the pdf of the magazine).
At that point I am asking my sources to confirm the rumor I got from unknown sources. Will there really “something PRO” at Photokina? Cross your fingers 43rumors readers 🙂
New E-m5 and new lens (pre)orders:
E-M5 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.
Olympus 75mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon Germany and Amazon UK.
Panasonic 12-35mm X lens at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon Germany, Amazon UK, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.
Reminder -> Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct
98 Responses
Hurry up and put up some pre-order links, I want one!
But seriously, a “hybrid” camera? Hybrid how?
There are always going to be those who need/prefer an optical viewfinder, and the SHG lenses that come with 4/3. A simple adapter is not going to get you an optical finder.
I don’t believe it…at best, we MIGHT get an upgraded E-5 type camera, and that’s about it for the 4/3 users amongst us.
– Olympius
http://www.flickr.com/groups/olympusesystem/discuss/72157630230872316/ a certain silly someone is having a dig at 43rumors on a article on their sillysans website me thinks….
For me too rumors are just fun and a matter of curiosity. It certainly has not a lot to do with real photography. That said he also posts rumors so I don’t think he is attacking rumor websites but merely the excessive focus on rumors instead of on real photography.
P.S.: One Day I may write an article about the messy dirty world of bloggers and websites. It’s like in the real worls. Full of gelosy and liers and people that gets paid to write well for companies. But there are also many very honest people. I am for myself have a goal to remain amateurish. It will not bring me a mass of visitors but I want to keep that as a honest hobby. That’s it.
Huh Admin !
Reading your P.S. a few times, I have trouble understanding your message at all. (Typos and semantics). Please read sometimes what you have just typed, before submitting. Yes, you have no choice but to remain amateurish, but this message is deep down below amaturish level too.
Translation for native English speakers 😉 :
“One day I may write an article about the messy dirty world of bloggers and websites. It’s like in the real world. Full of jealousy, liars and people that get paid to write well about companies. But there are also many very honest people. Myself, I have a goal to remain amateurish. It will not bring me a mass of visitors but I want to keep this as a true hobby. That’s it.”
doesnt need ‘translation’. Not sure anyone has any idea how hard this can be for non native english speakers. Besides, it adds glamor and mystery…
I suspect the message from admin was written on an iPhone; the iPhone (+ other smartphones and partially iPad) seriously messes up the orthography unless you spend a lot of time fixing the message :-(.
Yeah! And my iPhone is set with german language so there is no correction. Was at 1246 meters on the montain when writing this 🙂
+no touchscreen is good for typing.
@tropical yeti
Wow…
When you have a blog with an audience like this, feel free to comment. Until then go back into the cave you came out of.
Obviously admins first language is not english, so what!
If you cant understand, it is a sign of your own lack of ntelect
No objection on his English. I know it’s not his first language (as is not mine). If he would read once before posting, he would be able to fix typos, which are unusually frequent (that’s what I am complaining about, as I have said in previous post).
By the way Peter – what do you mean by “lack of ntelect”? In our cave we don’t know that word. 😉
Where do you see the typos? Just checked with a spell checker!
Aaargh Admin…
Read carefully your P.S. comment just above my first post. That’s what we are talking about, not your original post. If your spellchecker finds no error in your P.S. comment, then it really sucks…
Oh shit! That comment I wrote in hurry on iPhone. Oh damn, that’s a comment guy, not the article. Didn’t know it would be that important. 🙂
At least you curse just fine in English. 😛
Beware! Nitpickers abound. 😉
Hogan is just jealous that the rumor sites have taken the steam out of his own website and have also proved to be a very effective marketing tools for micro four thirds companies with their drip drip marketing techniques…
Rumor sites and forums have and will continue to provide valuable feedback and suggestions to camera companies… (in a much better way than he ever could.)
Hogan is also gutted that at this year’s Photokina all the limelight will be on Olympus and Panasonic…
He also insinuates that technology can not and does not aid composition lol.
” valuable feedback and suggestions to camera companies”
Like give us that 5-500mm, f 0.95 pancake lens… but we wont pay more than 500$
@bonzo
+1
The amount of entitlement amazes me…gimme gimme gimme!
It looks like the gen y persona is contagious 🙂
The 5-500 is just a bit short for me can you make it 5-555mm and I am willing to pay an extra 55 cents. Also my 38mm CPL must fit.
I just read Thom’s original post and the word composition isn’t used at all! He lists a few recently released cameras, with no anger or annoyance.
Try rereading it… http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/live-in-the-present.html
So, YOUR composition comment is right on! 😉
Take a shot with the subject dead center and “compose” with the crop tool. That’s a form of graphic design.
For sure many well known sites, rumors and others, are megaphones for manufacturers a lot more than user oriented. Some of them are highly regarded as well.
43 rumors is a nice site, even the worst “istas” are quite nice and seldom harasses “non-believers”. Several othes rumor sites are more biased and the discussions harsh.
Manufacturers still take advantage of sites like this by
dropping info from marketing as part of strategy and also to see what reactions are.
We are clearly manipulated! – But is that such a big problem? WE probably are triggered long long for the next product, then buy it. To some extend it may influence your photography “I do that when i get the new camera”.
Thom Hogan is a firm Nikonista but still always very critical against Nikon shortcomings. Thom has intregrity and deserves respect for that.
Other sites tend to, in the end, recommend any shit they test and there is also a link to the shop where to buy. If the link is used, the site gets paid. Do I trust those? NO!
A site like m43 rumors is hardly neutral – this site is 43 with a m43 and Olympus bias. It seems to be mainly funded through links to Pixmania, ebay….. Were the site funded by contributions from the community it would more clearly be “for the users”. Admin you ask for money once a year – need more money? I would be willing to pay….
He of all people lives in the future, speculating about future gear, making his annual predictions, and roadmaps, and writing volumes of garbage on a daily basis just to drive readers to his site. He should take a dig at himself.
That is what many say about me too 🙂
LOL Maybe, but I enjoy your site a lot more! 🙂
You know, you could always just ignore this site. Nobody’s forcing you to read the rumors here.
You know, you could always just ignore this site. Nobody’s forcing you to read the rumors here.
Good job Admin by the way as always!
@AJW — You totally missed my point. I LOVE this site and I LOVE the job that admin does and I LOVE reading juicy rumors.
My comment was that Thom Hogan spends A LOT of his time and effort speculating, writing, and BSing about future products and trends (which is fine), but in the same breath, he mocks others for doing the same. I think that’s ridiculous.
Did you read his post? He’s not mocking anyone.
http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/live-in-the-present.html
“Every photograph you’ve ever admired was taken with past equipment, not the thing you’re waiting for someone to announce.”
Yeah, but if that “past equipment” weighs 3 kilos and costs 5000 USD, while there is someone about to announce “the thing” that will weigh and cost ten times less, then my wait is well worth it. Not everyone in this world can afford a camera that costs as much as a car and a camera that requires a car to be carried around.
Well actually i thought the same thing when people talked abOut EM5 , but in the end olympus OMD EM5 , is one of the best cameras of the year , and sure its amazing , olympus is making really good things, see XZ1 , TG1 , EP3 , EM5 ,
NOW I BELIEVE THAT SOMETHING HUGE IS COMING !!!
Put your hands where we can all see them, pal. 😉
Looking through the view finder doesn’t make you a professional. It makes you look old fashioned and reluctant to change.
Why can’t an electronic viewfinder not be professional? In my eyes, the only thing the E-M5 misses is fast AF with 4/3 lenses. We will see, they might have solved that problem …
Nice picture of the Bronica- Olympus – I like it!!!
An idea by Yosisha Maitani 1969
http://web.archive.org/web/20090618065725/http://www.olympus.co.jp/jp/corc/history/camera/om_pop06.cfm
Don’t get too excited, in french we use the term “hybride” to refer to mirrorless cameras. Hence the website just alleges that olympus will release a new pro mirrorless camera, not some form of new category product.
In short they’ll come up with some kind of adapter, (maybe similar to sony’s SLT one, but different tech in it). Oly has great 4/3 glass, m4/3 users always wanted decent AF performance with them on MFT cameras.
“Look through the viewfinder…” — I thought that referred to that of the E-M5…
Of course, there may be improvements. Personally, I think that electronic viewfinders will improve fast, and make optical ones uninteresting in a short time (1-2 years). For me, I already have no need for OVF — there are too many advantages with the EVF.
The only remaining advantage with “mirror” is the possibility of fast tracking focus. I’m convinced that problem will be solved “soon” for m43.
+1. Comapct sensor should mean compact cameras. So a modular system for ft-lenses is right – like Visoflex.
They should also develop a Visoflex for Canikon/Sony-Lenses – AF included
That would be fine!
Let’s hope for that level of EVF improvement!
The GH2’s EVF has been a revelation to use, but in the dark both the EVF and LCD suffer. It takes a considerable time to compose a shot (using a tripod) at night, because it takes several (5?) seconds for the screen to refresh. I hope they (whoever designs and manufactures the things) is able to improve low-light performance! That’s really the only situation where an OVF has an edge, but then there’s no magnification for focus.
Something doesn’t look right concerning that news :
You say it isn’t on their website, but in the magazine and quote Lepidi, but Lepidi says that he found it on their website.
I made a search on their website, but found nothing.
I updated the post now. I think lepidi was referring to their newspaper version. But I hope to find it out soon. Just sent him an email 🙂
Possible? Sure. Plausible and sensible? Not really.
Some kind modular hybrid would mean more complexity causing more weather proofing problems and leading easily to more bulk and weight. All of which increase cost.
And lots of possibilities of mirrorless has been wasted to comply with the past designs and this would again compromise badly.
Definitely not a way to make mirrorless high end body.
That hybrid part needs to be put into autofocus so that 4/3 lenses focus properly also in mirrorless bodies. (and m4/3 lenses can track moving targets better)
I almost forgot about modular and hybrid camera rumors 😉 !
If E-7 has some kind of exchangeable mount, similar to Ricoh GXR, than that could be it…
OTOH, on cameras that can do both CDAF and PDAF Fuji, Canon and Nikon call their AF systems hybrid. Maybe that’s what’s hybrid in this new camera. Hopefully, PDAF won’t be reserved for “high end professional cameras” only.
I dont think so, I think the sensor is bigger, ‘hybrid’ refers to multi formats
The photographers that test Olympus cameras have dropped hints in this same direction. There will be no modular camera (GOD…lets not go backwards….)….but if we look at all of the hints there certainly could be a more professional camera that was being developed at the same time that the OM-D. A camera that will utilize 4/3 lenses and MFT with more DSLR spec than the EM-5. Why not?
I hope that there will be a 4/3 – m4/3 adapter usable on both the new m4/3 body AND the E-M5!
I bought an E-M5 and I would really like to keep using my 4/3 lenses (12-60, 35-100, 40-150 and 2 Sigma, 30 and 50-500). I have the MMF-1 but, you know, focusing is really slow…)
This is impossible (because of profitability-feasibility, not actually physically impossible), but I’d love a camera which had multiple backs;
A video back, a super-high-speed video back, a back for stills, a black-and-white back, an infrared back, etc.
Since m43 has smaller sensors, it would be cheaper to make these than it is for medium format or full frame or APS-C even.
Of course, since it would be niche.. it’d still be expensive.. but still, cheaper than making medium format backs 😀
(I’d also love a film back for m43! After all, the pen was originally a 35mm half frame camera! It would need some sort of rangefinder system though.. because without a mirror, there’s no way of focusing through the lens… I’m sure you could put a tiny camera-phone type sensor+lens on a body, in the corner, to use for rangefinding… or use traditional mechanical rangefinding… or use a lazer rangefinder? ^^)
Rollei released a 35mm version of the modular camera back in the 1980’s or 90’s called the 3003. It looked like a mini Hasselblad or Rollei 6000 series. It was not a success then and I doubt that a digital 43 or m43 would be now.
how much $$$ ?
Hopefully that professional camera will be at least the size of an E-3/E-5. Preferably a bit bigger, so you can hold it comfortably.
I hardly think Olympus would want to make a body any bigger than the E5 (& also unlikely with a built in portrait grip).
Boooo = tosser
if you need to be comfortable use both hands, if you know what I mean
I don’t really see how using both hands will prevent one and a half of the fingers on my right hand having to uncomfortably hang and curl below the E-3 without the grip.
It has to be able to use the old 4/3 lenses as a native 4/3 camera and also the m4/3 lenses as the OMD does! – then Oly will have an amazing system, with an amazing lens line up!
With an as good as or better than OMD sensor this could be a very serious camera indeed!
Pitty I wont be able to afford one, or two 🙂
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.01net.com%2Ffiche-produit%2Fprise-main-11916%2Freflex-numeriques-olympus-om-d-e-m5%2F
As for the output of a hybrid pro, according to information we had gathered at photokina in 2010, should reach the market in 2013 (the engineer spoke of three years of development) and could be introduced at Photokina this year.
quoted Adrian Branco 15/02/2012 at 17:30
Thanks!
Perhaps not by the coming Photokina, but this rumour makes perfect sense. I suspect the reason why Olympus has so far refrained from designing native m4/3 fast zooms is their efforts to introduce PDAF into the system.
Good reasoning, I hope you are right!
> I suspect the reason why Olympus has so far refrained from designing native m4/3 fast zooms […]
Oly once commented: the zooms were the trait of 43 which has failed; for the m43 they simply went for basics – prime lenses.
If this is your F2 rumor, what is your F1 then ? Or, this information is more than F1 ?
I think, that you need to all came down, to my eye this is a interpretation of the translation that have gone wrong. THe word Hybride is use to design a lot the mirroless camera. THe word “Sans Mirroir” same not to be use as standard and do not pass that well. To my eye they just speaking of a new Mirrorless camera.
The context same to be really clear to me. You should stop using google translation without getting somebody that can confirmed the translation, so it do not affect the quality of the new.
Nil novi sub sole
01net say:
“Quant à la sortie d’un hybride pro, selon des informations que nous avions recueillies lors du salon Photokina en 2010, il devrait arriver sur le marché en 2013 (l’ingénieur parlait de 3 ans de développement) et pourrait être présenté à la Photokina de cette année.”
which means:
“As for the launch of a pro mirrorless camera, according to information we gathered at Photokina in 2010, it should reach the market in 2013 (the engineer spoke about three-year development) and coul be introduced
Nil novi sub sole
01net say:
“Quant à la sortie d’un hybride pro, selon des informations que nous avions recueillies lors du salon Photokina en 2010, il devrait arriver sur le marché en 2013 (l’ingénieur parlait de 3 ans de développement) et pourrait être présenté à la Photokina de cette année.”
which means:
“As for the launch of a pro mirrorless camera, according to information we gathered at Photokina in 2010, it should reach the market in 2013 (the engineer spoke about three-year development) and could be introduced at this year’s Photokina“.
So ONE GUY said TWO YEARS AGO that Olympus were working / had started to work on a pro mirrorless camera with 3 years of development ahead of them and SINCE 2010+3 = 2013 AND Photokina takes place in 2012 again, THEN the camera could be introduced at Photokina.
A lot of suppositions…
If i remember well they already have the prototype, and we saw the patents of a PDAF/CDAF camera.
It was put on the backburner, because of the price/cost, said an Oly manger, about a yr. ago.
Now it’s quite possible that the E-M5 has created such a market that it could go down well. But expect heavy $$$$.
That’s why I wasn’t going to wait to see what dream might be ahead but to go for the nice camera that the E-M5 is & get it now to enjoy what it has to offer. Besides, I doubt I could afford a pro body anyhow.
Yeah ! That just sounds like an old news !!
So much for rumors sites : when there are no news, they dig for old ones.
the issue as I believe was the sensor
but a little bird told me a story some months ago about one of the older Kodak sensor designs, it is possible that sensor is destined for this. Strange how their sensor problems seem to be sorting themselves out lately
You should ask for a refund. 😉
> Now it’s quite possible that the E-M5 has created such a market that it could go down well.
Can’t shake off the idea that it is the Panny 12-35 (and the coming 35-100) which created the market.
“Professional” and “complex” and “43” or “M43”? I think you guys fell for a joke.
It’s certainly possible that a high grade new Oly will be announced. There is some doubt in my mind that they would do this at the same time as announcing the new PEN range though? I suppose it could still work if they launch the PEN and trail the new high grade camera for launch in the following year. Let’s see.
I understand MFT, but what are the alleged advantages of 4/3 that O. wants to bring to this professional camera?
Far superior lenses. Not a single mFT-lens is as good as its FT-counterpart. Some of the mFT-lenses are quite nice, as they are small, but the only advanced lens is the 12-35, which is worse than e.g. the 12-60 FT.
Off-topic, but see
http://photorumors.com/2012/06/22/canon-mirrorless-camera-announcement-on-june-24th/#comments
We’ll have something new(ish) to bash about
The problem is that such a camera would lose the main advantage of m4/3 – size, weight.
So we would be back to square one: where Nikon and Canon have the advantage.
It could be a replacement for the E-5, but like it it will command little market share if the size/weight advantage is lost.
see Am things have changed, they’ve got new ideas and new models that they can play better as a niche marketer of cameras. I would expect to see anything from them really, I noted the possibility of a FF Olympus ‘Trip 35’ elsewhere.
What they lack is development capital, but even that can be fixed if they can field a few plans and gauge the popularity of them.
You’ll convince me the day I see it. It’s a FT2 rumor, and Oly isn’t swimming in gold.
So they must have really a trump card to take sales from C&N, while they are issuing the first sub-2000 $ FF cameras.
If your camera+lens is as big and expensive as that, where is the buyer’s advantage?
No I don’t believe in the 4th Reich or the Second Coming 🙂
>they must have really a trump card to take sales from C&N
niche marketing is specifically about avoiding competing with C&N. Best examples of niche products are X100 and M9.
M9 you might remember was the second coming for Leica who pretty well lost it after the end of the 3rd Reich 😉
A medium with a 4/3 sized sensor? I can see some hipster buying them as fashion statement.
Absolutely on mark Olympus! This is what I’ve been harping about for about a year now. ABANDON the photojournalist’s Leica legacy form factor and embrace the Hasselblad BOX design! Basically a minimized Sony FS700. It will be a boon for adaptation , caging and underwater housing. I still want a fully articulating Screen though.
https://rumors.limboint.dev/wp-content/uploads-legacy/43rumors/2010/05/maitani.png
admin:
FT2, Sony will invest Olympus (agreement might be made in July), and E-M5 sensor was from Sony. News was leaked today though later both Sony and Olympus denied.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/262805/economy/companies/sony-to-invest-in-troubled-olympus
My guts feeling that this is FT5.
http://fourthirds-user.com/2012/06/schneider_kreuznach_talk_about_micro_four_thirds_plans.php
“When will the lenses be available? Contrary to some reports on the internet, they will not be available on the market before the first quarter of 2013.”
“What cameras does the lens fit? The lens fits all Panasonic and Olympus m43 cameras. It also fits some Leica models when using an adapter provided by the manufacturer. Contrary to some reports in international forums and on photo websites, an adaptation to Sony’s E-Mount is not planned.”
Oops. NEX is out of loop.
I believe it will be FF sensor mirrorless with a new mount. Olympus has already started using the sensor not from Panasonic.
For a modular system, it would be nice to have these parts interchangeable:
Sensor – As stated before on this post, a stills-oriented and video-oriented ‘brick’ would be great. I just couldn’t see the demand though for B&W and IR, even though I’d buy ’em. Multi-aspect would be a great addition also. Keep it M4/3 mount, and a slimline bolt-on for expansion to a PDAF-assisted hybrid mount could be used that would also allow another option for a viewfinder, that being optical.
Case – The ‘case’ would basically be the mainline shell that would have the bulk of controls, prime processing and LCD. You could have two. One could be a compact form-factor (GXR-style) with no option to bolt on any kind of viewfinder, grip etc. for on-the-go. The other would behave more like a modular MF body, with a heap of options. Things like “smart-grips” that would have dedicated processing for video, faster write-outs to multiple solid-state cards and wireless tethering. A larger flippable screen, with gesture controls that could handle more video-oriented operation.
Grips – As said before, grips that add more grunt in battery and processing power, plus better ergonomics. Have it two-pieced á la EM-5 so one piece of the grip would be for pure ergonomics and nothing else.
Viewfinder – Advanced EVF and an optical one only to be used with the hybrid bolt-on that would have a mirror. If the form-factor I have day-dreamt up is that boxy then a TLR-style viewfinder could be another option.
Other bricks – Like Ricoh conceptualised, you could have these bricks function as a printer, GPS, SSD dump, projector, fibre-scope (being in the medical industry, I could see Olympus do this), extension-cord to sensor brick…. The list could go on. I’d love an Instax printer myself.
Anyways, my camera wet-dream…
Add to “grips” a simple gun grip. Yew!
I suspect that its actually a hybrid viewfinder on the new Four Thirds camera we have been hearing about. Why would Olympus put their neck out on 2 risky designs simultaneously? My guess is a FT camera that can function as a mirrorless or just something as simple as a hybrid viewfinder.
Now that large sensors are getting cheaper to large-scale manufacture, the natural choice for advanced photo is large sensor. – And mirrorless to bring down size and weight.
Oly tried once with pro level lenses and camera. They are as big and heavy as CaNikon DSLR but had smaller sensor. This was a flaw concept that did not sell and it will not be a better concept tomorrow.
There is a big niche for m43 as an camera for enthusiasts, upgraders and for some pro jobs. I believe Oly and Pana should continue on this path.
I remember when the E-5 was going to be hybrid, or modular, or whatever.
Reading the comments is always fun. I like the idea of a fixed lens FF cam from Olympus, with their IBIS and processing. What focal length though?
A pro m43rds body will be able to fast focus 43rds lenses. They will hold off releasing it until it can be done. This may be the realm of the pro m43rds body making the HG lenses an option for professional photographers who have started using m43rds.
It would only have to be slightly larger than the OMD for this line. I would buy it.
Ab
Looks a lot like my bronica gs.
Some months ago an Olympus patent was put up on this site. It showed a square body, that would function digitally as a brony/hassy. I made some comment at the time of integrated options and massive sensor, but cant find the page now.
Now I wonder if the OM pro model has been presented for discussion because that is what Olympus is in fact doing.
Its retro and fits the current Olympus paradigm.
Making a square body with mirror and such for 4/3 and a mirror lockup with ability to move the sensor forward for m43 using a very thin lens mount adapter, even an integrated lens to allow a massive sensor to be used.
But why the patent and now, the arrival of an old Maitani dream? What is coming?
Oly could make a foldable technical camera álá Linhof 6×9 Technica. The front with bellows to allow both 4/3 and m4/3 registry distance, vertical shift and a hinged back for tilt.
Bring on a 10mm with larger image cirlce to compensate for all the tilt shift.
Other idea for even smaller m4/3 is to forego the LCD at the back since we can prechimp on the EVF.
An another example of what Olympus could do is providing a FUCKING BIGGER SENSOR.
to my understanding thats what its about, but with ability to use 43
I would love it if Olympus brought out a 4/3 camera with at least 20MP, mirrorless, and with a solid body like the E-5. Those 4/3 Zuiko lenses look sweet from what I’ve seen.