Olympus will announce the E-PL7 on August 30 and it will be the only real new camera (there will be a new E-M1 Silver edition too). A 43rumors reader sent me this size comparison picture between the E-Pl7 and the E-P3.
I am wondering what will happen now with the Olympus E-PM and E-P line…
40 Responses
What will happen with the other models? By the looks of it, they are forever done with. Olympus rightfully seems to think enthusiast users demand an EVF but they’re focused on delivering it with only their O-MD line.
An upcoming E-P6 with rangefinder-style EVF would be quite sexy indeed.
Olympus management has flat-out stated in the past that they have no desire to make a camera with a non-centered VF.
Not so. You can put the excellent VF4 on all current PEN models. It’s a great option.
I like that EVFs such as VF2, 3, 4 provide tilting so one doesn’t need to half-duck to change the perspective point when shooting. It’s very handy and can’t be done with fixed viewfinders.
The E-PL line is probably the most popular PENs by far. The E-P are too expensive to be high volume sellers, and the E-PM are too basic. The little extra money you pay for an E-PL give you a slightly better featured and much better built camera.
The E-PM are gone for sure, and if they keep the E-P they will have to give it an EVF to really differentiate it from the new E-PL7.
The E-PM2 is no longer on the Australian Olympus site, only E-PL5 & E-P5 (& OM-Ds).
I quite liked my EPM1 due to the size difference compared to an EPL at the time. At that time the lines were distinctive enough by feature (basic, not so basic, and sort of advanced) and size (small, medium, large). The EPM2 looked like an earlier generation EPL to me, and now I am hard pressed to tell the EPL and EP apart.
If they still want to maintain their 3 model lineup for Pen and OMD series, I would think they should just use names like they used to and drop the confusing numeric system altogether. So you’d have the Pen Mini 2, Pen Lite 7 and Pen 5. Easier for people like me who don’t keep up with new launches.
Isn’t the E-PM1 already discontinued without a successor? But you’re right, the E-PL and E-P lines become more similar with every new camera. The E-P5 suddenly came with a tiltable screen, which until then had been the distinctive feature of the E-PL series. Now the E-PL7 has become even more like an E-P camera, with a more retro kind of style than before (personally, I liked the earlier, more straight-foward E-PL design better)…
In my opinion, it’s time for Olympus to tidy up their naming chaos and get rid of the several PEN lines completely, leaving only one, however they will name it…
The E-PM1 was followed by the E-PM2, which was released at the same time as E-PL5. I don’t know if it’s discontinued, but it’s still listed as a current model in some countries, at least.
Olympus Australia doesn’t include the E-PM2 on it’s web page now. Nor can I find any archived product descriptions, but all their past product’s manuals are available from the Japan site.
The European sites still have E-PM2 as current, together with E-P5, E-PL5 and E-PL6 (which only recently have been officially released in Europe). The three OM-Ds are also available, of course.
Oh, you’re right. The E-PM2 exists and I cannot find an indication that it’s been discontinued, either. Must have completely missed it!
Why don’t they just abandon all the mess with letters and numbers and just call one camera, the PEN.
So they should be up to the PEN 7, or something.
Not a bad idea at all! All manufacturers of electronics products should take up that idea, because their model designations are often horrendous.
And then there are the USA Canons (Rebels) that are totally different to the rest of the world.
Great idea. There are way too many models and they all look the same. Very confusing for someone looking into an Olympus camera.
I want proper male names on Om series, and proper female names for the Pen line. Because of the hump. 🙂
nice one
Like your mother abandoned you?
For that remark, I would punch you In your face.
It’s bad enough I get called a loser, jerk, etc for my views, without stooping down to thier level, but to resort to mother jokes just draws the line.
You’re a coward.
I’m I’m NYC, are you? Care to handle this like gentlemen?
Admin, you can ban me, whatever. But this “Sid” is pathetic.
I have to agree.
Agreed. But I’d go one further. Instead of having the incrementing model names, drop them and go with model year, like cars or Apple.
So, the OMD Pro (the E-M1 and successors), the OMD (the E-M10), the Pen (no “D”) and the Pen Light (maybe a little jokey) or Pen Mini. Then let’s get that Trip-D out soon instead of adding another incremental tweener model!
Ix-nay on the model years. New models should be released based on progress, not calendar events. Model years may make sense to Americans, but being a European that scheme never helped me to identify a car and made the perfectly sensible iPad model progression a mess IMO.
A variant with the EZ lens will be the best option.
As would be for the E-P5.
They would look really streamlined
Well, as the E-P5 still is somewhere between the OM-D E-M5 and E-M1 in terms of features and performance (but without built-in EVF), there is no need for a hardware update at the moment.
So bringing an update for the older mid-level PEN seems obvious.
They should basically get rid of too many bodies they have.
And position it as below
OMD EM1 – Weather sealing, 5 axis IS, High end EVF
OMD EM10 – 3 axis IS, Mid spec EVF
EP x – 5 Axis IS , Mid spec EVF
EPL x – 3 Axis IS, No EVF
So no more confusion
It might be, but I suspect there will be an E-M5 replacement next year. It might even come with a new sensor line.
Yes, this is also the way I will position the bodies. Only change would be to have the EP x having weather sealing. Basically the E-M5 replacement in a faux rangefinder style body. Also it should take the E-M5/1 battery.
There is no point in having EM5
weather sealing in EPx will make it cost close to EM1. without weather sealing they can use parts from same bin for EPx and EPLx so both can be affordable
oh yes a see a point. 3 levels OM-D seems about right, same as for DSLR manufacturer: Entry – advanced – Pro, that will mtch with 3 levels of lenses: kit – non existing yet eq to 12-60 in 4/3 – Pro.
That more or less what you have in Canon or Nikon FF lines: 6D – 5D – 1D for Canon for example.
I want 5 axis Ibis and weather sealing, but not something as complete big and pricey as EM-1
and in term of price, there is a big gap between EM-10 and EM-1
do they make life that hard for you? 🙂
One camera cannot make my life hard. Its not my proffession
I like Olympus and their camera thats it.
i was just kidding,,,still i see no reason for any confusement in the line up
What about the OMD E-M5?
I still see the need for the PM series or something as small. The e-pm2 is my favorite oly. Throw some real ibis inside, a higher res LCD and update the software and it would be a much better camera.
If only they put a pressure sensor on the one control dial, so pushing to turn from the front adjusts one setting and pushing from the back to turn adjusts another.
I went gaga when the E-P1 came out. I loved how it felt and how it looked. It was gorgeous. I didn’t buy one because I already had a less glamorous range-finder style camera that took great pictures in good light, and in poor light, with results not shabby. A year later I picked up an E-PL1 for a fire sale price on a weekend sale. No premeditation. Just impulse. The price was right for what I viewed as an experimental camera. “We’ll see how this goes,” I said to myself. Three cameras later, I am shooting most of my pictures on an E-M10. The only thing they share is the mount. The pictures are better and the shooting experience is far more satisfying. In other words, I have been on both sides of the fence, range-finder style, and SLR style. I have preferred each alternative over the other, at different times. Much as I like the slab shaped camera for its tidy appearance, the protrusion I mind most is not the pentaprism-styled viewfinder bulge on the top. I mind it not one bit. I mind not having it when I need it. The protrusion that bothers me when I consider a Pen, is the lens on the front. Even with the pancake, retractable, and standard styles, none are them are near flat enough. What that means, evidently, is that there will be times when I prefer a smaller sensor precisely because it enables the trim form factor. And as long as I can get a fast aperture to compensate for the compromised ISO, there are gonna be days when I am gonna be delighted. At the moment, the RX100-iii looks like the winner for me. All cameras have a group of features not listed on the spec. They are called trade-offs, and very often they are exactly what your mood wants on Tuesday.
+1000, we need an Olympus and/or Panasonic m43 camera that competes directly with the RX100III, that enable you to keep the same workflow as for the Pen and OMD line.
Ultra fast and pocketable. But it would shurely eat / kill sales for the E-PM / GM.
I neglected a mention of the LX-8 because it is not a known quantity yet. Equally unknown, Will there be an Olympus answer, a la XZ-3?