Due out at the end of June, the Olympus E-P5 features a 16-million-pixel TruePic VI Live MOS imaging sensor and a claimed top shutter speed of 1/8000sec – trumpeted as a world first for a CSC.
It also incorporates Wi-Fi connectivity, for sharing images online and to allow photographers to control camera functions such as shutter speed and AF remotely via an Apple or Android smartphone.
‘To mark the 50th anniversary of the famous Pen F, we wanted a more distinctively retro concept,’ said Olympus UK in a statement, adding that its launch triggered a ‘revolution’.
‘Instead of spending a year’s wages on a clunky camera, 1960s consumers could get a portable Pen F with interchangeable lenses for no more than they earned in a month.
‘Fifty years on, the E-P5 looks to honour the Pen F tradition with the same sloping lines, elegant Olympus lettering and “step-down” front profile.’
The E-P5 will cost £899.99 body only. It will also be available in a £999.99 kit that includes a 14-42mm lens; and for £1,349.99 in an outfit that combines a 17mm f/1.8 prime lens and VF-4 (2.36-million-dot resolution) EVF.
Functions include five-axis image stabilisation, a claimed 9fps burst rate, focus peaking (when manual focus assist is deployed) and 12 art filters.
Photographers will have the option of adding a wooden grip in one of three styles.
To aid handling, the E-P5 features two dials and a switch mounted ‘within easy reach’ on the back and top of the camera.
Launched in 1963, as the first half-frame system SLR, the Pen F featured a porro-prism finder and a rotary titanium shutter. On its website, Olympus says the shutter combined ‘speed with durability’.
The Olympus Pen F
