<H1>Olympus New PEN E-P5 Retro Style Camera</H1>

Olympus PEN E-P5 retro style mirrorless camera

Olympus officially released the new PEN E-P5 camera yesterday. It is the company’s new flagship Micro Four Thirds PEN mirrorless camera, and features both retro styling on the outside and powerful specs on the inside. The E-P5 is modeled after the old Olympus PEN F SLR from decades ago. Olympus launched this latest PEN camera on the 50th anniversary of its legendary ancestor.

Major specifications of the PEN E-P5 :

• 16MP MOS Four Thirds format sensor
• Twin control dials (front and rear) with '2x2' dual-mode option
• 1/8000 sec top shutter speed, 1/320 sec flash sync
• '5-axis' image stabilization with automatic panning detection ('S-IS Auto')
• ISO 'LOW' (100 equiv) - ISO 25,600
• Up to 9fps shooting (5.0 fps with continuous AF)
• Focus 'peaking' display
• Intervalometer and Time Lapse movie creation
• 1.04m dot 3" LCD touchscreen display - tilts 80° upwards and 50° downwards
• Built-in Wi-Fi for remote shooting (iAuto only) and image transfer to smartphone or tablet
• Optional VF-4 electronic viewfinder: 2.36M dot LCD, 0.74x magnification (equiv), eye sensor
• $1,000 body only, $1,450 with the 17mm f/1.8 lens and VF-4 electronic viewfinder

The Olympus introduced the PEN E-P1 camera in June 2009. It was the first Micro 4/3 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera to adopt a compact, 'rangefinder-style' body that mimics an SLR. The company has followed the same philosophy ever since, by designing attractive and powerful small cameras that draw on its long-running film camera heritage.

The new camera share a lot of technologies found in the Olympus E-M5, introduced a year ago. It is packed with high-end features, enclosed in a beautiful and small, all-metal casing exterior. The maximum shutter speed of 1/8000th of a second is a world’s first for compact system cameras. Olympus says the mechanical shutter’s speed will allow photographers to capture fast-moving subjects or to shoot with large apertures in bright environments.

The back of the camera has a 3-inch 1.04-million-dot tilting touchscreen that can be faced upwards at 80 degrees or downwards at 50 degrees. This is Olympus first camera that has the built-in WiFi capability. The connectivity can be used with Olympus smartphone app, called Olympus Image Share 2.0, to pair your camera with your smartphone. Once paired, you can use your phone as an external display, remote, or GPS unit for your camera. Other features include a built-in collage maker called Photo Story, 1080/30p HD video recording, a time-lapse maker, and 12 Art Filters.

It is by no accident that Canon will be overhauling and upgrading its EOS-M line some time this year. Read my earlier post on this topic here. This new Olympus PEN E-P5 camera is a beauty and capable performer and will no doubt garner praises from the photography world.

MichaelDanielHo.com