This is a fake E-P2 image (source: dpreview)
Photorumors discovered that Olympus is planning an announcement on October 31th. We made a small rumor summary about the future E-P2 (will it be called E-P2?):
Chasseur d’image knows that the E-P2 should be released before the end of the year and it will have an electronic viewfinder. A japanese website claims to know that the EVF will be external (like the one from Panasonic) and the E-P2 should come all in black. Akira Watanabe CEO from Olympus said the next MFT camera will have an electronic viewfinder and faster AF and not get any bigger in size than E-P1. And it will have built-in flash.
If all this rumors are true the E-P2 should probably have following features:
– 12 Megapixel sensor (same as the E-P1)
– Body similar in size and weight to the E-P1 (No grip?)
– Built in flash
– External Viewfinder
– faster AF
– Black only
This camera should become a strong Panasonic GF1
Interesting times indeed!
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14 Responses
Replacement in half a year? Not very plausible. As a side model – it would cannibalise market of P1 but Olympus is known for selling many models with close specyfications and little difference in price. I think that more likely it will be competitor of Panasonic G1 – larger, more comfortable, probably less stylish.
deF
i hope this is true!
If indeed it will have built in flash and a electronic viewfinder (be it external or internal doesnt really matter) and a lower price then the GF1 this will be the M43 camera for me.
I was planning on buying the EP1 but if this camera turns out to be true it adresses the main flaws the EP1 has so im definitely going to hold out for more news about the “EP2”
Thanks for this update man
This is not a rumor.
This is obviously a marketing promotion from Olympus to reduce the sales of GF1.
I believe very few are still buying EP1 after GF1 release, so Olympus have to leak the information even if it actually completely kills the sales of EP1.
survival of the fittest
Maybe Olympus will also join the AVCHD bandwagon with Panasonic too. MPEG isn’t a very good codec for video.
Is it possible that 31th october will be a series of announcements? The introduction of FT primes is long due and the E-3 also obsolete.
Could be!
Hmm… hopefully they will drop the prices on the E-P1… 🙂
Well this one looks a lot better than the EP-1 and the built in flash would make sense when competing with the GF1. IMHO it still looks a bit of a cluttered mess on the back, but the black strip at the front does add a nice look. It just makes the decision making process on what to purchase that much more complicated.
Just read it properly – fake image, oh well, if it looks like the EP-1 still then the decision gets easier for me!
Oly has said all along that the E-P1 was the consumer grade model and that the next one, with EVF, would be aimed upscale–so it isn’t meant to replace the E-P1 but rather be the semi-pro version.
oh my goodness… that’s a perfect m43 cam!
Looks like Apple manner 😉 Make a first model with lack of feature, and 6 months latter a new one with what more consumer needs. Not very serious from a big company, they don’t make any street makert study ? Flash, nop, nobody use one? Evf ? no need, low resolution lcd like a compact is enough for everybody 😉
So, there is hope for a E-P1 plus, with VGA lcd, viewfinder, flash and faster autofocus. And fast prime wide angle lens too !!! Like 12 or 14mm f 2.
Back when the Olympus concept was known as the “carrot cam” or M-1 / M-1000… they had been expected to release two versions of the camera. One was supposed to be a consumerish model, the E-P1, I presume, and the other one was supposed to be aimed at more professional use, with a weather sealed body, 1080p video capability, external audio capability, and other pro features. It is quite possible that this E-P2 is simply that model, having always been on the Olympus roadmap and not specifically a reaction to the GF1. It also makes sense then, that it is not designed to be price competitive to the E-P1, as it may not have been designed to “fix flaws” with the E-P1, but to introduce a camera that was at a much higher level of performance, more video capable, and equipped with more “pro” features.
WTF! I was planning to buy a e-p1 for my wife’s birthday coming up in less than 2 weeks. And now e-p2 rumor??? What to do??? Should I just get her chocolates instead?