Olympus pricing

The latest Olympus PEN E-P5 with 17mm f/1.8 lens and external viewfinder is available for pre-orders in B&H for $1550 (USD of course), and the body only for $999. Curiously, Olympus OM-D E-M5 body is offered for the same price. Smart move to boost OM-D sales :)

Olympus PEN E-P5

Olympus E-P5 pictures and specs were leaked. The thing that caught my attention is an improved autofocus compared to OM-D E-M5. As any other PEN model E-P5 does not have a build-in viewfinder. The camera got the 5-axis stabilization first appeared in OM-D E-M5 and tiltable screen. So, the image stabilization should be better than in E-PL5. At least on paper the camera looks more attractive than existing PEN models. It will cost slightly more but still less than OM-D E-M5.

Update: link to some picture of this little beauty, E-P5.

Olympus PEN E-P5

The web is full of rumors about the forthcoming top Olympus mirrorless PEN camera, E-P5. Both Mini and Lite models were upgraded recently with new 16MP sensors, the same as in Olympus OM-D E-M5. However, both E-PL5 and E-PM2 keep 2-axis sensor stabilisation system while the OM-D E-M5 has a new "5-axes" system. The rumored price for PEN E-P5 is expected to be around $1000, quite substantial considering that PENs do not have build-in viewfinders. Even if the camera will get excellent 16MP sensor and 5-axis sensor stabilisation from the OM-D E-M5, it is still very high price. In fact, it is equal to the OM-D E-M5 body in B&H before(!) $50 rebate. It might be a price for a lens kit, of cause, or the camera got something very special. The 14-42mm lens adds juts $50 to the E-PL5 price ($600 for the kit at B&H). The E-P5 can be combined together with 12-50mm lens but this would make sense only with weather-proof body. This would place new PEN E-P5 between OM-D E-M5 with 12-50mm lens ($1200) and PEN E-PL5 with 14-42mm ($600). Another possibility is a new standard bright zoom lens from Olympus in kit with a non-weather-sealed body...  After all, the release of the rumored "f2.8" zoom is expected at the same time as E-P5...

UPDATE: Olympus had filed patens for two variants of 12-40mm, lenses F2.8 and F2.8-4.0. I am a bit confused with the lens length which is over 13cm. That's very long. Or might be I got it wrong. Maybe the lenses do not extend. Obviously, not all patented lenses make to the shops...