Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
Rumours were flying earlier this month out of Japan saying that Olympus wasn’t having a great time right now. In fact, they suggested Olympus was having such a bad time that they were considering leaving the digital camera market.
Well, now, according to a report on SankeiBiz, the Olympus president-elect, Yasuo Takeuchi, has stated with a pretty emphatic no, that Olympus will not be closing down its imaging business.
According to the latest reports, Olympus is doing badly. And it’s so bad, that the company could even leave the digital camera market. Reportedly, the company’s activist shareholders could force Olympus to exit the market and go into a different direction.
Those of us in the UK who grew up in the 1980s will mostly remember George Cole as the lovable rogue Arthur Daley in the TV show Minder, which ran from 1979 until 1994. But this wasn’t all he was doing. In the ’80s, he was also moonlighting in adverts for Olympus, along with legendary fashion and portrait photographer David Bailey.
These TV commercials advertise the fancy “new” all-in-one Olympus cameras, like the Olympus AZ 300 Super Zoom, Olympus Trip AF, and the Olympus AF-10, and they show that attitudes towards gear and elitism have never really changed. I think we all know people like this, even if just online if not in real life.
Well, there’s been a few rumours and leaks about this one. Some were right, some were a little off, but now it’s finally official. Today, Olympus has delivered on their teaser promise and announced their new sports & wildlife oriented Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera.
From the specs and some first impressions of the camera, the E-M1x looks like it can take a lot of punishment. With a rugged magnesium alloy body and IPX-1 rated weather sealing, it certainly appears to be able to handle some pretty extreme conditions. It’s also a bit of a speed demon, too, offering up to 60fps 20.4MP RAW.
We’ve not heard much from Olympus for a while. Since the last Olympus interchangeable lens camera announcement. The flagship Olympus E-M1 Mark II was released back in 2016. Since then we’ve had multiple major mirrorless camera announcements from Sony, Nikon. Panasonic, Fuji, Canon and others.
Olympus has kept fairly quiet, releasing only the E-M10 Mark III in 2017. Now, though, Olympus is teasing a new camera in the above video. It shows a silhouette shown that looks very much like the E-M1 Mark II, and it’s coming on January 24th (or at least being announced).
The video doesn’t really show much, but I think it’s a safe bet that it will be a Micro Four Thirds camera. Like Fuji, Olympus doesn’t seem to be jumping onto the full frame bandwagon just yet.
Looking at the footage shown in the sneak peek video above, it should be some kind of quick-paced body aimed at sports, action and wildlife photographers. Could this be the rumoured E-M1X?
Whatever’s coming, it’s coming on January 24th, so we’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
[via Imaging Resource]
It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Olympus when it comes to their higher end bodies. The last big announcement, really, was the OM-D E-M1 Mark II back at Photokina 2016. But now it looks like they have a new one on the way. The Olympus OM-D E-M1X. And the first photos of it have leaked via 43Rumors.
In the past couple of years, we’ve heard of many photographers switching from DSLR to mirrorless. Some of them have gone the other way around, and yet some have changed from MFT to mirrorless. They all have their reasons for these decisions, but switching systems isn’t a trend that came with mirrorless cameras. The “godfather of sports photography” Don Morley changed systems a couple of times in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. In 1976, he ended up using Canon and he told the story about why he made the final switch.
Everybody’s going cross-platform. The latest to break out of the Nikon & Canon mould is Elinchrom. It’s not just a new trigger, though. All existing Elinchrom HS Transmitters can be updated to the newly renamed “Transmitter Pro” using the new firmware. This update allows for TTL, HSS and Hi-Sync (HS) functionality the new ELB 500 TTL.
The entry-level Olympus PEN E-PL9 has received the “special edition” treatment. What’s so special about it? Well, it’s blue. Oh yes. But, the E-PL9 won’t leave you feeling blue after you use it. For an entry-level camera, it’s pretty capable. It houses a 16.1MP Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor that’s capable of shooting 4K UHD video at 30fps and stills at up to 8.5fps.
We had the chance to check them out at The Photography Show a couple of months ago, although we did get a little distracted by shiny new lenses. It’s not a bad little performer, and Olympus claim it’s rapidly becoming a favourite for bloggers who want to pack light.
Aimed squarely at the beginning photographer, the Olympus PEN E-PL9 packs a lot of punch. It contains a 16.1MP Micro Four Thirds CMOS Sensor capable of shooting 4K UHD video. The PEN E-PL9 also features 3-axis sensor shift IBIS with 121 autofocus points, 8.6fps continuous shooting and a top shutter speed of 1/16000th of a second.
We had the chance to have a look at one during The Photography Show, but what was really special were the 17mm f/1.2, 25mm f/1.2 and 45mm f/1.2 Pro prime lenses. Designed to counter the smaller sensor of Micro Four Thirds cameras and bring back a shallower depth of field, they’re a welcome addition to the MFT lens lineup.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
Find my work on My website or follow me on Facebook or My page
