Olympus’ popular OM-D line could shortly be welcoming its seventh member in the shape of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III. The camera has been rumoured for some time, although in the last few days a new model that uses the same battery as the existing OM-D E-M10 II (pictured above) appears to have been registered for radio wave authentication in Taiwan and Russia.
The BLS-50 lithium-ion battery is also employed inside the company’s PEN E-PL8 and many previous PEN models. An update to that range, however, would seem far less likely, given that the E-PL8 was only announced eight months ago.
Some may also expect the company to update its OM-D E-M5 Mark II first, a model that celebrated its second birthday in February.
Should an OM-D E-M10 Mark III arrive, it would serve as an update for the OM-D E-M10 Mark II that was announced in August 2015.
Thanks to a combination of size, imaging performance and acclaimed technologies either passed down from, or at least related to, features inside more senior OM-D members, the OM-D E-M10 Mark II has proved to be a smash among entry-level users.
Yet, the lack of 4K video recording, together with a relatively old 16MP sensor, means the model is very much showing its age. It also misses out on many newer technologies that we should expect to eventually filter down to this level, such as the company’s TruePic VIII processing engine and Dual Fast AF system that combines both contrast- and phase-detect AF systems.
Olympus launched the OM-D line with the OM-D E-M5 Mark II back in 2012. A companion line to the PEN series, the range is a digital revival of its popular OM line of cameras that first came to market in 1972.
The last model in the line, the OM-D E-M1 Mark II sported a significantly overhauled feature-set from its Mark I predecessor, debuting many new technologies such as 4K video and 60fps burst shooting. It was also the first model in the OM-D series to employ a 20MP Micro Four Thirds sensor, following a (slightly different) 20MP sensor inside the previous PEN-F model.
. digitalrev.com2017-5-20 03:00
