Olympus New OM Camera Rumors

My two cents: This looks like the mft camera that ticks almost all the boxes for me. Pretty to look at, good mix of features, emphasizes creativity, highlights computational photography, weather-sealed, a nice package overall. It also looks like a great complimentary camera for someone who shoots the OM-1.

Price is high, but one still has to remember that R&D cost is basically the same for a camera regardless of sensor size. I think this will sell decently in Japan and most of Asia. In NA and Europe, it will probably match the Pen-F. Which is probably disappointing for OM.

If I ever buy another mft camera, this would probably be it. I like the features of the OM-1, but this just seems more my style.
 
Haven’t waded through all the vids and reviews yet, but $2000?! $1500-$1700 would’ve been a maybe from me, but this is simply priced too high, regardless of what’s jammed inside or what any early reviewers say. I’m not sure I paid that much for my Zf! I’ll be holding onto my OM-5 for sometime now I believe. Heck, if anything it makes reacquiring an overpriced Pen F a value.
 
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TNcasual said:
My two cents: This looks like the mft camera that ticks almost all the boxes for me. Pretty to look at, good mix of features, emphasizes creativity, highlights computational photography, weather-sealed, a nice package overall. It also looks like a great complimentary camera for someone who shoots the OM-1.

Price is high, but one still has to remember that R&D cost is basically the same for a camera regardless of sensor size. I think this will sell decently in Japan and most of Asia. In NA and Europe, it will probably match the Pen-F. Which is probably disappointing for OM.

If I ever buy another mft camera, this would probably be it. I like the features of the OM-1, but this just seems more my style.
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This would be true if they weren’t reusing pretty much everything they already had. The battery, sensor, and processor from the OM-1, the old EVF from one of the Olympus bodies. I’m sure IBIS and flip screen is borrowed, too. Only the body is new. When you’re doing that many mix ‘n match components, that means you need to bring some of that value back to the customer. Again, it’s not necessarily a bad camera, but I have a harder time with the value factor the more I think about it. Even $1800 would have felt more reasonable.

I do feel like they needed to make a retro camera again, but this one just misses for me, I’m afraid. I was hoping more classic dials like Fuji and the Zf.
 
I finally left the m4/3 system a couple of months ago. Well, except for my Lumix LX100. Just last week I sold off my two GX9 bodies and I am in the process of selling all of my lenses, about a dozen or so. At this price point, there is no way I would be interested in this camera. Like many others here, if it had been something along the lines of a Pen F, then I might be interested. Anyway, I hope they do well with it.
 
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Rick Waldroup said:
I finally left the m4/3 system a couple of months ago. Well, except for my Lumix LX100. Just last week I sold off my two GX9 bodies and I am in the process of selling all of my lenses, about a dozen or so. At this price point, there is no way I would be interested in this camera. Like many others here, if it had been something along the lines of a Pen F, then I might be interested. Anyway, I hope Olympus does well with it.
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I keep looking to Panasonic to make a proper GX9 replacement. Sensor of the G9II, better EVF. They could pretty much keep the GX body design, IMO. Just needs a spec update. They could also revive the GX8 body if they needed more battery capacity or cooling space or whatever. Just feels like they are missing the mark on what M43 best offers—compact value, top notch IBIS, and a great lens selection.
 
Darmok N Jalad said:
I keep looking to Panasonic to make a proper GX9 replacement. Sensor of the G9II, better EVF. They could pretty much keep the GX body design, IMO. Just needs a spec update. They could also revive the GX8 body if they needed more battery capacity or cooling space or whatever. Just feels like they are missing the mark on what M43 best offers—compact value, top notch IBIS, and a great lens selection.
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Out of all the m4/3 cameras I owned over the years, the GX9s were the best. Especially for the stuff I shoot which is mostly street and documentary related. I kept my LX100 and just recently purchased a Ricoh GRIIIx. Right now, the only interchangeable lens camera I own is an old 4/3 Lumix L1, which is one of my favorite cameras of all time.
 
This comment below the Petapixel article sort of sums up what I was shower-thinking about earlier -
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MountainMan79 said:
Haven’t waded through all the vids and reviews yet, but $2000?! $1500-$1700 would’ve been a maybe from me, but this is simply priced too high, regardless of what jammed inside or what any early reviewers say. I’m not sure I paid that much for my Zf! I’ll be holding onto my OM-5 for sometime now I believe. Heck, if anything it makes reacquiring an overpriced Pen F a value.
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Yeah, ouch. $2000 is a lot of dough, too much for me. I paid less than that for my Pentax K-3 III Monochrome (used like new from B&H). I'm disappointed - I want to get a M4/3 body again, at some point, and this one seemed to offer a pretty big leap, but I'm not paying that kind of money for it.
 
In my mind ahead of the announcement I was not very interested in this camera but after watching and reading some reviews I kind of like it. To me, it is what the OM5 should have been, particularly the metal body, including the top plate and bottom plate! The Pen-F, while a great build, still had a plastic top plate that does not wear well. Obviously I like retro style when it comes to cameras so having the OM1.2 guts for the most part in the OM3 is great, along with the larger battery and USB C, yeah!

I do wish it had a better EVF and the rear LCD should have been a flip screen, oh well, but a miss IMHO by OM. All in all though, I think it is a great body.

I get the comments about price, but like every camera out there, the price will come down within the year. Comparing this to the Fuji's and the Zf, I think, at least for me, the OM3 I a much better fit. I have tried the Zf several times and while it is beautiful and well built, it was not comfortable to hold, at least for me, and then you get to the lenses which are generally bigger. The Fuji X-T5 is also very nice but in my mind, the total package of the OM3 wins. Having the creative dial and computational button are very nice to have. This camera is obviously a great complement to the OM1.2.

So, I will probably order this, still thinking but I would much rather have this than the OM5 which I would obviously sell.
 
L0n3Gr3yW0lf said:
I haven't watched the review yet but from your points I can see and understand how the OM-3 can appeal to you. It looks to be a higher grade OM-5 with the additions of Computational features and build quality but smaller the ln OM-1 and a bit more compromised (mainly the EVF and the mechanical shutter (6 FPS).

I would be quite interested in this camera too because they fixed/added all the disappointments with E-M5 III/OM-5. It would be quite a wonderful backup/2nd body for a OM-1/Mark II.

For me I will wait for the price to come down because OM-1 can be had for around 1.000 £ or even less used if you wait long enough and I am not willing to pay extra just for the smaller size. Also I will wait for 3rd party manufacturers to come out with L brackets or grips because I won't find it comfortable to use the flat ergonomics with my f 1.2 PRO or 40-150mm f 2.8 PRO lenses as these two would be the most likely lenses I would use the camera with.
To bad because I am going to try to get a trip or two to the coast to photograph Puffins and I will need a 2nd body alongside my Oly OM-1 and 100-400mm f 5-6.3
Another good setup would be for macro (for me) with the smaller Godox V350 flash and 60mm f 2.8 Macro.

I would be very interested in the Mark II of the 100-400mm for the Sync IS because I am so dependent of Image Stabilisation and it's one of my biggest frustration with my current Mark I.

I don't think I have much interest in the WR version of the f 1.8 primes unfortunately because I have the f 1.2 PRO if the weather is that bad and if it's not raining I think would have more fun with the Samsung NX500 and the primes (once I have all of them). Sorry OMDS ... You missed the trimming with me on this.

PS. The bigger question for me is Did OMDS tried to fix the S-AF issues of the Stacked 20 MP sensor since it's been an issue on both OM-1s AND have they tried to improve the C-AF?
Because they are not competing at the level of Sony, Canon and Nikon right now and they should/need to. They really need to catch up and keep up if they want to stay relevant and competitive, survival is not enough.
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Ok, so I have watch Chris and Jordan's video on OM-3 and I have somewhat mixed feelings about the camera but not much has changed from what I have said above. But first let me say the positive things:

*The camera is gorgeous looking and I am sure it feels like a good old OM film camera (I have owned one briefly and I loved the feeling of it).
*The have fixed my problem with not being able to reassign the On/Off switch IF you use the 1/2 switch as the power switch so you are not losing functionality there.
*FINALLY, unlike with OM-5 and E-M5 III, OMDS has put every single software feature from OM-1 II into OM-3 so there's no longer a feature disparity between the top and midrange camera.
*Same battery as the OM-1
*The new OM-1 UI system and menus
*The new selectable slow-er electronic shutter speed from OM-1 Mark IIQ

But that's about all the good news. Here some of the not so good news:

*No official grip add-on so we will have to wait for Smallrig and other 3rs party manufacturers to add a grip at the front of the camera
*The EVF is (from the specs I could find) from E-M10 Mark IV as it has smaller signification them OM-5 and even smaller them E-M5 Mark III and E-M1 Mark III
*The IBIS is not from OM-1 or Mark II and it seems to be on park with E-M1 Mark III
*The shutter mechanism is a new type with slower 6 FPS compared to 10 FPS on OM-5 and the buffer is reduced from 143 RAW to 90 RAW.
*The price, basically you pay more then OM-1 Mark II to get less then OM-1 Mark II with no additional feature aside from the colour mode dial and a new Profile adjustments a'la Fujifilm.
*Single SD card slot even though it's a thicker body then OM-5 (I'm guessing the stack sensor requires a larger and better heat management with scanning so fast and frequently.

I'm sorry OMDS but this camera is not worth more 1.000-1.200 £ at most for me with what it offers. It's small-ish but not E-M5 small, it's fast but very much hampered by the buffer size, the colour profile adjustment look fun and interesting but if they are not supported in Lightroom WITH the adjustments I can make in the camera it's hardly useful for RAW shooter like me, I could live with all the other specs but not at the asking price.
I would be better off with an OM-1/II or even a G9 Mark II.
It is a very pretty camera and I could easily see myself as my travel main camera, street photography and personal fun camera ... But again, not at the asking price.
In some ways OM-5 is better then OM-3 (EVF, buffer, default grip, weight and size, IBIS).
 
Side issue; I wonder whether a Fuji/ GR situation will arise regarding availability, thereby increasing prices. I'm not in the market for the camera but if I was it would make it difficult deciding whether to wait as some people here understandably intend to or take the plunge now.
 
agentlossing said:
Yeah, ouch. $2000 is a lot of dough, too much for me. I paid less than that for my Pentax K-3 III Monochrome (used like new from B&H). I'm disappointed - I want to get a M4/3 body again, at some point, and this one seemed to offer a pretty big leap, but I'm not paying that kind of money for it.
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I'll correct my previous statement a little. I get a little peeved when people compare new camera prices to used ones, yet I did it here. I was speaking from a purely personal viewpoint, which doesn't translate to the rest of the photo-world: I see a flagship, dedicated monochrome camera as a much more expensive niche than a M4/3 flagship (secondary flagship?) and hence, I think the cost for the latter should be lower. Also I know that the almost $2K price I paid for the former was a bit of the hit to my pocketbook - not something that I can afford to do more than once, several years apart.

But... all that said, I do think this is shaping up to be a great camera and a good addition to the M4/3 world which has sorely lacked differentiated, high-end cameras lately. I think the size and shape is a welcome one for OM Systems, as the OM-5 feels a little too cramped for me on the back of the camera - buttons and grip size. The OM-1 series is bigger than I want in a M4/3 camera. Panasonic doesn't seem interested in their GX line anymore, which, aside form being rangefinder-styled rather than SLR-styled, is otherwise a similar footprint, feature-set and use-case. And the stacked sensor does produce really amazing results for a 20mp M4/3 sensor.

It remains to be seen, however, whether all of the above were a conscious strategy for OM, or if they just wanted something that looks and feels like a ZF, and to a lesser degree some Fuji bodies. The OM-5 doesn't seem to be innovating (yet). They might be throwing a new form factor at the wall to see if it sticks. Either way, I think it looks like a pretty great camera for travel, for those who can afford it. I brought the E-M5ii with the 12-45mm f4 Pro to Greece last year; this body with the same lens (and/or small primes) would work even better than that one did.

An aside, I think the biggest misstep OM made was to hike the price of the 25mm f1.8 ii to $499. An f1.8 fifty-equivalent should never cost that much without some kind of cheaper option being available... if they keep the first version and lower the price a little, I'll forgive them for it. Moderately fast standard primes need to continue to be affordable for people who want something other than a zoom.

One more thing: this camera with the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 on it... yum!
 
TNcasual said:
Also, Camerasize now has the OM-3 on their site.

View attachment 528765

It looks to me like it will handle very much like a mix of the Pen-F and E-M5/OM-5. Maybe slightly better because of the increase in length, but slightly worse due to no front grip.
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I would guess the Chinese will quickly have half cases available which is what I used on the Pen-F. All you need is a slight bump for better handling.
 

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