Olympus has launched two new interchangeable-lens PEN cameras, the PEN Lite E-PL5 and the PEN Mini E-PM2.
Both cameras offer 16-megapixel sensors, capacitative touch screens with "touch AF shutter" and optional wireless connectivity. Olympus claims both models offer comparable image quality to the OM-D, with the same sensor, TruePic VI image processor and 35-point AF quick focusing system.
ISO range is a wide 200-25,600 and both cameras offer continuous shooting speeds up to to 8 frames per second. Built-in sensor-shift image stabilisation means all lenses are effectively stabilised. In movie mode the cameras can capture Full HD (1080p) video with advanced Multi-Motion movie stabilisation.
Twelve creative Art Filters are available and filter variations can be assessed in real time on-screen and applied to still images and video.
With “Touch AF Shutter” users tap the screen to take a shot – the camera automatically focuses on the touched point in the scene and takes the shot with almost no lag. For beginner photographers the cameras offer plain-english touch-sensitive slider controls to change variables such as brightness, background focus, etc.
Wireless is available via the new Flashair SD storage/wireless card which allows images on the storage card to be viewed on any smartphone, tablet or computer through a web browser.
The PEN Lite E-PL5 is the successor to the E-PL3, and includes several features not found on the E-PM2, including a vari-angle LCD that can be tilted up and down and twisted 180-degrees for self portraits. The monitor has also been redesigned to reduce gaps between layers of glass to reduce reflections. The camera also includes a mode dial on the top deck and extra control buttons on the back.
The E-PL5 is is available in black, white and silver and is bundled with a clip-on flash. It will be available in mid-October and is expected to retail for $799 in a single-lens kit and $999 in a twin-lens kit.
The E-PM2 is available in black, silver, white and red and will be available in early November. It will retail for $599 in a single-lens kit and $799 in a twin-lens kit.
Also announced with the new Pen models are a new macro lens – M.Zuiko Digital 60mm f2.8 Macro lens (120mm equivalent) – and a new underwater housing with an operating depth of 45m. Pricing and availability not available at press time.
And now for something completely different…? Olympus has also announced a unique lens for the Micro Four Thirds system: the BCL-15 f8.0 Body Cap Lens. Is it a body cap or a lens? Well, it's both! It serves as a protective body cap but it also includes a small 15mm (30mm-equivalent) lens with three glass elements in three groups. It won't produce images of the quality of a conventional Micro Four Thirds lens, but it is ultra compact and the images it makes have a low-fidelity look that many people will like – think Holga or Lomo, but better!?
