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When is the Olympus E-M1 Mark III due?
- Thread starter nicholasg
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I'm not sure. I think the OM-D E-M1X is a "halo" project. It shows the best Olympus can do, but will not sell in big numbers. I doubt someone in the market for a OM-D E-M1 Mk II is going to buy a OM-D E-M1X instead. I would imagine they compare the OM-D E-M1 Mk II to offering from Sony, Fuji, Panasonic et al..
Searching on the web I found the OM-D E-M1 came out in October 2013, the Mk II in December 2016, so would suggest the Mk III is due Q4 this year. By that time I would think anyone in the market for the OM-D E-M1X has one, so no risk (however small) of cannibalizing sales.
Searching on the web I found the OM-D E-M1 came out in October 2013, the Mk II in December 2016, so would suggest the Mk III is due Q4 this year. By that time I would think anyone in the market for the OM-D E-M1X has one, so no risk (however small) of cannibalizing sales.
"Full frame" is good for certain things but not for others. Smaller sensors have faster read-out speeds, so Olympus' ability to do a 60 FPS capture (useful for Pro Capture mode, in which frames immediately before and after the shutter is pressed are captured - incredibly useful for capturing a decisive moment) is unique. What's the fastest a "full frame" camera can do, around 16 FPS? Which isn't to say 16 FPS isn't decent, but 60 FPS is a whole different league and enables different applications. Then there's the increased field of view (the "2x crop factor" - not really a crop factor but people get the point) so that you can get away with smaller lenses to get the same "zoom." Additionally, Olympus has gone for artificial intelligence as an autofocus solution. Sony and Panasonic are doing something similar, but haven't gone as in-depth as Olympus has - at least, not yet.
The E-M1X isn't really aimed at "the pro market." It's aimed at pro sports and pro wildlife shooters, which explains why the strengths of the µ4/3 system combined with the other technologies they're bringing may justify the price.
Olympus stated a while back that they were planning to move to a four year cycle for the E-M1 line. That would suggest an update in 2020. Some are also arguing that the older E-M5 II is due for an update before the E-M1 II. Olympus recently discontinued the PEN-F with no replacement yet announced. So which if any of these is the rumored new camera? I have no idea.
It does seem odd that Olympus hasn't produced major firmware updates for the E-M1 II. I appreciated the extensive updates for my E-M1 although I'll have to say that the camera seemed pretty underpowered for some of them. I hope that's not going to be an issue backporting E-M1X enhancements to the E-M1 II.
It does seem odd that Olympus hasn't produced major firmware updates for the E-M1 II. I appreciated the extensive updates for my E-M1 although I'll have to say that the camera seemed pretty underpowered for some of them. I hope that's not going to be an issue backporting E-M1X enhancements to the E-M1 II.
As for E-M1 II firmware upgrades.....where is animal eye focus? It would seem the main missing bits would be the database of shapes of non-human heads and eyes vs the existing one for humans. I hope we do not have to have more processing power and memory in a E-M1 III body for that to happen.