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Image on top: The current [shoplink 23567]Olympus E-PL3[/shoplink].
As you already know the new E-PL5 (and E-PM3) will have the same [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink] sensor. A source shared some more E-PL5 info. The camera plus 14-42mm kit lens will be priced at around 599 Euro/Dollars which is exactly the price of the current [shoplink 23567]Olympus E-PL3 (Click here to check)[/shoplink]. The source also “heard” that there will be a “large kit” version and it’s easy to guess that this will include the soon to come 15mm f/8.0 lens too! The major changes on the E-PL5 are the new sensor and a better ergonomy.
For my European colluegues: If you don’t care about getting the latest stuff and want to save some money there is a new bunch of refurbished PEN cameras at [shoplink 22691 ebay]Olympusmarket[/shoplink]. This includes for example:
[shoplink 33244 ebay]Olympus E-P3 with lens (CLick here to see the auction)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 33246 ebay]Olympus E-PL3 with lens (CLick here to see the auction)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 33245 ebay]Olympus E-PM1 with lens (CLick here to see the auction)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 33247 ebay]Olympus E-P2 with lens (CLick here to see the auction)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 33248 ebay]Olympus E-PL2 with lens (CLick here to see the auction)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 33249 ebay]Olympus E-PL1 with lens (CLick here to see the auction)[/shoplink].
P.S.: The E-PL1 is used by my friend Elena to tell you stories about the greek life (greekdiaries.com).
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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
97 Responses
Well,
that is what I hoped for. The money is waiting on the bank. So I‘m just waiting for Olympus.
…attractively priced to gain more market share :-]
no specs?
600€ gets you a Nikon D3200 or a Canon 600D, if you want brand new, or a used E-3 with a 14-54. Really not a good value for money.
I don´t want a D3200. And I don´t want an outworn E3. The competitors of the PENs are Sony Nex, Pana GF … and in this segment Oly offers a very attractive model.
It’s okay if you don’t want it, but all the cameras I’ve mentioned are vastly more technically capable than this PEN. So why buy this if you can get more for less? I think the price of a PEN shouldn’t be more than 300-350€.
Desktops are in general cheaper and more powerful than laptops. Why would people pay more for less?
it is suppose to have the same target, takes good (or quite good) photos. Desktop and notebook have different target: office work with the cheapest PC (without talking about gaming!) and multimedia entertainment wherever you want, respectively. Otherwise tablet is equal to smartphone also, isn’t it?
A tablet is hardly equal to a smart phone, as the main difference is screen size. A tablet is a handy way of carrying around some of your photographs with a decent sized display panel, where as the average smart phone still has a small screen and I find unsuitable for showing photographs, OK it will have a higher resolution per se regards screen size as many of the lower priced tablets are low res’ but then you only get what you pay for.
… “vastly more technically capable”? You havent’t even seen the new PEN, so this is pure speculation. One thing that is certain is that it will be considerable smaller and lighter than e.g the D3200. And the image quality will most likely be similar (but lower resolution). The size etc is a key quality for this camera.
I just wonder when will people stop arguing for no reason? If Sunny doesn’t like the price of the upcoming EPL5, then let it be – that’s his opinion. Can’t we be on more constructive side of the arguments?
The only thing that I like in Facebook is that there is no Dislike button – there is only Like! So, if I like something then I may press like, if I don’t like it, I simply ignore/skip the post.
I would love to see some day all constructive sites and forums like built on similar logic: i.e. you can only reply to someone if you like the ideas and want to bring your own into, to make the conversation more rich and sensible. And if you don’t reply the comments that you don’t like, then there will be less rubbish and negative energy spreading over the Internet :)) I know it will not work in real world, but in the end:
You, you may say
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
like
One don’t choose M43 system over the others for its technical superiority, one choose it for the size. None of the cameras you mentioned can competited with M43 in terms of portability. You can compare how you want, but the core value of M43 is decent IQ in tiny package. End of discussion, unless you are comparing M43 with similiar product such as NEX, Canon M, Pentax Q, Nikon 1, Fuji X etc. yeah you get the picture
But I don´t want to carry a bulky DSLR with me.
CSCs meet other needs than DSLRs. Mobility, wearability and inconspicuousness are important points, in combination with manual control and an excellent image quality. So I don´t pay my cam per size and weight!
An example: Considering the liveview speed or burst rate of D3200 or 600d, these cams should cost less than a point-and-shoot (300 euros). The E-PL3 is much much faster in response.
I think 300 euros for a PEN are not realistic considering you have to pay 450 for a Canon S100 or 600 for a Sony RX100.
The best, most capable camera is the one you have with you, not the one with the highest marketing inspired numbers.
You did see the name of this forum, yeah?
That’s why I said you can get a used E-3 with a superb standard zoom 😛
Yes. It will be much (much) larger and with worse resolution and dynamic range. For some people that may be a worthy sacrifice but it does not automatically make your suggestion “better value”. I am struggling to understand your point.
Why are people even bothering to respond? Troll bait.
Oh, I apologize – this is a gearhead blog, and sensors are obviously a lot more important than actual cameras.
@Anonymoose
I’m pretty sure the E-pl5 will be far more creatively capable than either a Nikon D3200 or a Canon 600D and will get far more use and give far more enjoyment, so yes the E-pl5 will give a lot more to it’s owner….
Photography is about the control of light. Cameras do not produce light, they record it, and are therefore logically incapable of being creative.
@Anonymoose
light is a component of photography…
I’m guessing you haven’t read http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Photographers-Eye-Composition-Digital/dp/1905814046 (@admin swap link for affiliate version maybe?)
No need to affiliate this 🙂
I am pretty sure no camera is capable of creativity, that’s up to the photographer.
If a camera makes you “more creative” your photography most likely sucks.
Not exactly true. Certain people work better with certain cameras. One person may like a slow deliberate setup of something like a 4×5, while another wants a small camera they can walk around with and explore easily. It’s all preference.
Then there is the subject’s relation to the camera. I recently read of a photographer from Miami, whom for commercial portraits, started using PENs because his subjects were more relaxed around them. I find the same thing for walking around and shooting, smaller glass makes people less intimidated.
It is exactly true cameras don’t take pictures nor have a vision or “the eye” of a photographer (whenever they do well have more important issues to worry about 🙂 )
What you described is a convenience, that’s hardly creativity. You can say a tool can make it easier to get you in a flow but that’s still isn’t the camera being creative. That’s just a better tool
Convenience is a part of it for sure.
But, there also is an emotional side to this, some cameras feel like ‘cold’ reproduction machines, others feel like a tool for creativity. That isn’t directly related to features or technology, but to personality of the photographer, and hence it would be silly to say that an E-PL5 or such would be a more creative camera then some other model in an objective sense, but it does make sense from a personal preferences point of view.
Bottomline, a tool that you like to use will often get more and more creative uses then one that you don’t like to use.
Is a cook more creative with a large stove of brand X, or a small stove of brand Y?
If he likes the big stove a lot better for some unobjective and totally personal reason, and already is a good cook, the pleasure of using the tool he likes helps exploiting that ‘being a good cook’.
No, the tool doesn’t make someone creative (and if you carefully read what I said in my previous post that should have been rather clear), but a disliked tool can most definitely distract from someone’s creativeness, just like how a much liked tool can inspire someone’s creativeness.
I’m more creative with a stove I trust, and more importantly, pans I trust and have a good feel for.
You really don’t get this place, do you.
Those Canikon cameras are probably produced in larger quantities and can have a lower price because of that. I think 600€ is a very reasonable price if the camera comes with the kit zoom, but I would personally rather buy the upcoming XZ-2 or a good phone instead.
“Really not a good value for money.”
Why, because you count MP? The d3200 kit is $750, $150 more, which not chump change for people on a budget.
So for $150 more, you get a larger and heavier system, poor liveview, no IBIS, access to DX lenses with less primes, access to more expensive and larger FX lenses, lenses that are not movie optimized, crappy viewfinder and so on. The DSLR will require larger bags, tripods and filters, which cost more. Since the d3200 has 24MP, you’ll need bigger and faster cards unless you use more compression and not shoot in RAW.
More value indeed. Lol.
What about connectivity?
Will we get Tethering / WiFi / etc?
Hello Admin,
do you know anything about the date of the official announcement of the new PENs?
Wow, $599 for the camera and two lenses? These PENs used to cost a fortune. Now, they’re looking like quite the value, especially if it’s packing the OM-D sensor in there… Does this mean we can expect an E-PM2 kit to go for only $499 say? And a an XZ-2 for $399?
Will ask about the body only price…
The rumor says 599 for one lens.
600$ and you’ll get E-PL5 with the fantastic Olympus 15mm f/8 lens 😉
Yes, but not body cap. 😀
Just stick a little bit of black tape over the lens & then you have your lens cap. 😉
I wish they had a decent prime to offer as the kit lens- something like a 17mm f1.8 or a 25mm f1.8
Is the not more rumors by this 25 F1.8 ?
Still no word on if it will have 5 axis IS.
I´m sure it will not have it. The body is too small.
I really don’t mind if they use the old IBIS on one of the PENs so long as they keep the price down cause I rarely don’t use the tele side of the lens. The 5 axis in the pens would be a bonus for me if Oly decides to put in their new PENs. Can’t wait for the official announcement.
It would be nice if the E-PL gets the somewhat better IS from the E-P models. Its not as good as the 5 axis one from the E-M5, but it is still noticeably better then what the current E-PL models have.
Will it be able to do IBIS during video recording, like the OM-D? That sounds like a good feature.
I.S ?
I wonder if the new Pens are going to use the BLN-1 or the old BLS-1 battery.
What about touch screen and the tilty screen!!!! I think both of them are more usable than pop up flash.
That heavily depends on your photography.
I don’t use flash a lot, and would have the same preference as you do, but…
A popup flash serves 2 rather important purposes for a camera like this.
1. it makes for a package that is more complete, and consequently easier to sell
2. it allows for using both a clip-on EVF, and flash
Now, you may argue that a popup flash isn’t very useful, which is true in general, but this popup flash allows for controlling an off-camera external flash, which makes it much more useful then a regular popup flash.
Note that the Olympus flash RC protocol absolutely requires an on-camera flash with RC command capability, which means either the clip-on flashes of the OM-D and some PEN models, one of the popup flashes of the PEN models or most E system DSLRs, or the FL600R.
I hope they will include a 45mm kit with the EPM3 or EPL5.
Difference to the OM D in €uro:
– integrated viewfinder (special solution as an add on) ~ 200,-
– weather sealing ~ 50-100,-
– no OLED ~ 100,-
– maybe not the new IBIS ~50,-
so 599,- makes some sense
Hoping for a kit with the 12-50 lens (even if the body is not weather sealed)
– flipping touchscreen
– fast release 🙂
If there is no 5-Axis IBIS I bet the battery will be the same like EP-3/EPL-3/EPM-1 but if there is they will use new battery like OM-D EM-5.
Well, the official reason for the battery change in the E-M5 was that some Pen users forced the battery in, the wrong way ’round. So if the new Pens don’t use the same casings as the old, I suspect they will be upgraded to the new battery. Or maybe an even newer, smaller battery?
So its safe to assume that it wont contain an inbuilt viewfiender in the corner? If so, not the camera Im looking for. Goddamn the NEX6 is tempting… To bad I want the m4/3 lenses ;(.
New sensor main thing, but I really hope the shutter is much quieter. Doesnt make for intimate moments with a loud shutter going off.
Large kit? With 40-150? 😉 Built-in flash would be nice.
Why should someone buy a small MFT camera for 600 EUR/USD if the previous generation (E-PL3, GF3, GX1) is on sale everywhere? I can partially understand the “I want the newest and best model” attitude for the top models (E-Px, GHx, E-M5), but not for the E-PLx series.
Both Oly and Pana should really think about the number of camera models they offer and the interval in which they release new models.
I sort of disagree with that. I think there is a market for a compact camera with the ultimate image quality. So an update in the sensor in a small camera is welcome, for many users.
The fact that the camera is small does not mean that the users are happy with two years old sensor tech.
GX1 is all right
But EPL3 and GF3 sensor is a joke compare to Sony 16MP sensor or New Pana 12/16MP Sensor
If it is the same sensor used in the E-M5, then try it, and you will understand why. This sensor’s image quality is in a different league from all the other 12MP Olympus products, E5 included.
Is the E-M5 sensor with the old E-PL series IBIS (not 5 axis!) really better than the 16MP sensor from the GX1? I doubt it. And the admin posted some interesting GX1 price offers recently, well below 600 USD/EUR…
What does IBIS have to do with the quality of the sensor?
And reportedly, the E-M5 sensor is indeed a bit better then the GX1 one.
G3/GX1 sensor is derived from tech of that old 12MP sensor and has similarly limited dynamic range which has been notable limit of 4/3 sensor cameras compared to competitors.
E-M5 Sony sensor’s dynamic range is lot better than in those old analog design Panasonic sensors:
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/digital-slrs-hybrids/olympus-om-d-1075717/review?artc_pg=5
Every analog step in signal chain causes signal degradation and that’s why also Panasonic G5 has sensor related to GH-serie’s sensor design with less analog steps.
Because the new Sony sensor (used in E-M5 and E-PL5) is miles ahead of the various sensors used in all the previous generation models. Quite a bit ahead in terms of high-ISO-capability and very much ahead in terms of dynamic range.
Would be true if it was the sam esensor all over again. And EPL3 or EPM1 with the OM-D sensor is a completely other story to me. It is far superior to the old 12 MPixel sensor in any of the EP-X cams. That sensor in a 599 dollar/euro cam is really great news!
@Admin:
Any Information about the new kind of viewfinder?
not yet. Really mysterious that part…
Would be great to have a VF you attach to the side like a flash on the old Olympus XA , so you get a kind of Rangefinder-style and could still use a flash.
+1
XA: the ultimate 135 compact camera.
Viewfinder and GPS in one module. That would be sweet.
If it ment a higher price, I would prefer it without GPS because I don’t need it, although it would be nice for people who want it like you. But if there was an GPS-Modul for the normal accessory port you could still use a viewfinder and GPS at the same time… but no flash anymore. But still better than using ONLY a VF and nothing else because the hot shie is blocked.
This kind of second accessory port would give us a lot more flexibility for different demands e.g VF + Flash, VF + GPS, Flash + GPS …
Is it possible to put the 5-axis ibis in the new VF?
“This kind of second accessory port would give us a lot more flexibility for different demands e.g VF + Flash, VF + GPS, Flash + GPS …”
Agree.
I fail to see how IBIS in the VF would stabilize the sensor…
@Admin
Any information about focus peaking on future Olympus cams ?
If this has two dials I’ll be pretty interested. Also, the omd should not be the only model with an optional grip. I know they will have the omd pro but a lesser omd would be great and it would compete with the G5. Em-50?
Again, why “E-PM3”? Where is E-PM2?
Does it really matter? Camera companies are always botching up their naming conventions for no reason whatsoever. Just look at the Sony NEX line for a more recent example.
E-PL5 or E-PM3 with sensor from OM-D is exactly what I need for my 7-14mm to use it as an ultra-wide point-and-shoot camera in cities (in addition to my current regular LX7). OM-D is too heavy for vacations.
Nice from OLy. These auctions are hilarious: you can get those cams at a lower price brand new in Germany for instance (and delivered all over Europe). Nonsensical.
I’ve managed to get some very nice things for nice prices from Olympusmarket, but, those were usually not items posted on here.. and as always with auctions, there are idiots that will pay whatever it takes to get that one item they started bidding on, as soon as you notice one, its best to just go somewhere else.
Will it have touch screen interface?
That is the only remaining burning question I have.
I have an e-p2 and I wish for an e-p5 with the new sensor.(and AF speed of the e-p3 and tilt screen). Can anyone comment on the control and ergonomic differences of the e-p vs. the e-pl lines? why did they ditch the premier pen line?
Because their marketing department is incompetent and suck at product differentiation. It’s hardly a surprise that the E-PL3 would be more popular than the E-P3 when the “lite” model is not only cheaper, but has a tilt screen. The P3 had what, a touch screen with a few extra art filters?
Then again, I am biased. I have always associated brushed metal appearance with cheap consumer electronics of the 90s
wow $599 is a great price considering it has the OM-D sensor. I suspect many who opted to skip the OM-D for a more compact body will jump on this. Looks good to me.
Better ergonomics? What could this mean? A little hump sized grip? Or a throw-back to E-PL2 styling?
Having originally purchased a PM1 as a ‘starter’ m43 body, I’m very interested in the PL5 if it has the upgraded sensor as rumored – I haven’t completely eliminated the OM-D from consideration, but this price point leaves more room in the budget for lenses.
I really hope they offer it in packages other than with the standard kit lens – I already have one from my PM1 and really hope to avoid having a second one come along with the body. PL5+O45 for 899 would be great 🙂
Does anyone know from history how long the actual availability lags the Photokina announcement?
any chance for a swivel lcd?
Most likely not. The most you will get is a tilt screen like the E-M5.
Quiet shutter, focus peaking and tilt swivel screen will be my absolute top feature
Can’t wait for the specs.
Improved manual focus feedback is essential for me, peaking or otherwise.
No improved manual focus, no deal.
Olympus, as far as I know, doesn’t make any manual lenses for m4/3, so I imagine that they don’t have focus peaking as a priority, especially as a feature in their lower end products. But I think this is a mistake. Perhaps these features should be addressed through apps/software, thereby creating a new product area for Olympus. How about an app that does focus peaking and stacking, for example?