The Japanese site DC.watch (google translation here) is the worldwide first site posting a preview of the Olympus AIR MFT camera. As you know the AIR will go for sale in Japan only. ON their site you can find a full ISO test and many image samples. The AIR uses the same 16MP sensor as the other OMD cameras. And here are some of the reviewers impressions:
1) The AIR has no on sensor stabilization because Olympus wanted to keep it as compact as possible
2) Start up time is a bit slow
3) Autofocus is fast
4) Connection with the APP is fast and reliable. And the cool thing is that everything is OPEN source which means everyone can develop an APP for the AIR (unlike Sony QX which is closed source).
It will be interesting to see if that new AIR MFT camera will actually make some significant sales in Japan…
19 Responses
Pity about the lack of IBIS given its suitability for quadcopters and other robot vehicles, but I can understand their wish to keep it compact.
People in Japan might buy it because it is a new gadget but really -how useful is this for anything? That lens is not the best either. I would rather have a go pro if you want small
It seems like a direct rip off of the Sony Camera add-on for phones that came out like a year or two ago. I can’t imagine these things sell well.
Be creative…, I can imagine already a handful of possibilities! I make my living with photography, most of the time press related pics. Gear is just a tool, and this could be a nice extra tool for me.
Forgot.. You can attach any lens!!!
Does it have a leaf shutter or an electronic shutter? the max speed is 1/16000.
Leaf shutter? Are you high? Of course it’s the same electronic shutter/sensor as in e-m5 mark2…
An electronic shutter with a readout speed of 1/20s (as in the e-m5 ii) is very limited for moving subjects or a moving shooting base. This camera module is advertised for flexible shooting scenarios so a limited shutter design is a problem. There were interchangeable-lens cameras with in-body leaf shutters in the past.
Glad third parties can create an app for this, will buy one if there is a Windows Phone app created.
No IBIS so works best with Panasonic lenses. 🙂
Actually, is it weather-sealed? I suspect not, so that would limit its use in many applications.
well stick a prime on it and put it in a sealed tube with a clear/glass cap – Boom! It’s completely waterproof!
This product would have had a lot of potential in industrial and scientific applications if it had tethering capabilities through USB 3.0 or thunderbolt. The open API opens great possibilities for those fields.
Alas, the open API is over wifi.
“everything is OPEN source”
?
AIR firmware is open source?
Or just the demo application on the smartphone is opensource?
We still don’t know what does the openAPI contains? High level functions similar to body controls? Other low level function?
Alas, the Olympus AIR isn’t any more open than Sony’s QX cameras, which use the same open API as Sony’s wifi enabled cameras.
Unfortunately, just like Sony, they aren’t open source.
Say, that’s some real ground-breaking ergonomics right there! I especially like the $600 smartphone poised to take a dive off the rear deck.
The sony modules and also the camera’s have a open interface too, there are several applications using it. They provide a json interface so you can do most actions the nice thing that its supported to all the devices that can use the sony play memories app.
As a owner of most of the sony lens-camera’s i do think the design of this modules looks the best. The newer QX1 is kinda going backwards from the QX100 in design. Biggest thing missing if you ask me is mini-hdmi on both brands that would make it very interesting for multi angle use.
i’d only buy one of these if it had a viewfinder on it, electric or not, just so its not “guess and shoot” without a phone around.