expandedtoincludemid-range
andpro-levelmodels,amongthem
theE-510(2007),whichwasthe
firstD-SLRtoadoptin-bodyimage
stabilisationviasensorshifting.
ThelastofthelinewastheE-620,
introducedin February2009,
whichrepresentedanunmatched
combinationofsize,featuresand
performance.ButOlympusstill
wasn’tsatisfied.Justa fewmonths
laterit introduceditsfirstMicro
FourThirdsmirrorlesscamera,the
DigitalPENE-P1.MicroFourThirds
wasco-developedwithPanasonic
andusedthesamesensorsize
asFourThirds,butbyeliminating
boththemirrorboxandtheoptical
viewfinderassembly,thecamera
bodycouldbemademorecompactandlighteragain.Additionally,a
muchshorterflangebackdistance
enabledmoreflexibilityin lens
design.PanasonichadkickedM43
offat Photokina 2008 withthe
SLR-styleLumixG1,whichwas
compact,butnotascompactas
whatOlympushadin mindwhichit
showedoffwitha conceptmodel
whichwouldbecometheE-P1.
WiththePennameandstyling
revived,it wasonlylogicalthat
Olympuswouldfinallyrealise
a digitalOMworthyofthe
designationandthisarrivedwith
theOM-Dsystem,launchedin
early 2012 withtheE-M5...very
mucha digital-erainterpretation
oftheoriginalOM-1.There’slittle
doubtthatYoshihisaMaitaniwouldhaveapprovedofOM-D,especially
thecontinuedintroductionofnew
innovationssuchasmulti-shothigh-
rescaptureontheE-M5MarkII
(2015)and‘IntelligentSubject
DetectionAF’ontheE-M1X(which
is alsothefirstcameratoallow
hand-heldshootingwithmulti-shot
high-rescapture).
YoshihisaMaitaniwasdrivenby
hisdesiretocreate“somethingthat
photographerswant,something
thatI wanted”.In a lecturegiven
in Tokyoin November2005,
hestated,“Ifsomethingis not
availabletobuy,youhavetomake
it yourself.If yourwayis obstructed
bythetechnologybarrierandthe
barrierofacceptedwisdom,you
havetofindwaystobreakthroughthosebarriers.I lovecameras,
andI havewilfullyproclaimedmy
determinationtocreatecameras
thathaveneverexistedbefore.Yet
whenI thinkaboutit now,it seems
tobethateverythingwasin the
handofOlympus.I’msurethat
Olympuswillcontinuetocreate
uniquecameras,andthatthose
wholoveOlympuscameraswill
remainloyalusers.”
Thereareplentyofindications
thattheMaitaniphilosophyis
stillaninfluenceat Olympus–
theever-moreinnovativebuilding
onthebenefitsoftheMicro
FourThirdsformatbeingone
ofthem– ensuringthatthere
aresurelymanymoreunique
camerastocome.OLYMPUS E-410
2007
Essentially the same as the
E-400 externally, on the
inside the E-410 – which
was marketed globally –
had a new CMOS sensor
(versus a CCD), a later-gen
processor and a live view
function.OLYMPUS PEN F
AND PEN F
2016
The current PEN F model
trades on an even more
classic exterior design
combined with a built-in
EVF and a host of higher-
end features.OLYMPUS E-5
2010
The last of the Four Third
System format D-SLRs
and the most high-featured
as Olympus continued
to probe away at the
professional market.OLYMPUSOM-DE-M1X
2019
Theinnovationscontinuewiththe
E-M1Xflagshipwhichpioneers
AI-basedsubjectrecognitionfor
moreaccurateAFtracking,hand-
heldhigh-resolutionmulti-shot
capture,a ‘LiveND’functionand
upto7.5stopsofcorrectionfor
camerashakeviaitsin-bodyimage
stabilisationsystem.OLYMPUS æu-MINI DIGITAL
2005
With the mju (μ) name so well-known
(and successful) in 35mm compacts,
it made sense to carry it over onto a
new series of ultra-compact digital
cameras. This camera was introduced
at the 2004 Photokina and launched
worldwide in early 2005.OLYMPUSE-P1ANDPENFV
2009
Lookingverymuchlikeitshalf-frame
inspiration,Olympus’sfirstmirrorless
digitalcamerawas,onceagain,a
miracleofminiaturisation.OLYMPUS DIGITAL PEN E-P1
2009
Although it lacked a built-in EVF,
the E-P1 was still very well featured
and was essentially the same as
the E-610 D-SLR under the skin,
but significantly smaller and lighter.
OLYMPUS OM-4 AND E-M5
2012
Forty years after the OM-1 created
such a stir, Olympus did it again with
the first of the OM-D models. The goal
of a true digital OM was realised via
the mirrorless configuration combined
with the Micro Four Thirds sensor size.OLYMPUS 1OO YEARS