Olympus E-M5 replacement is “ready”, says company’s president

Olympus President Ogawa Haruo has revealed in an interview that the Japanese company has completed the development of the replacement for the OM-D E-M5, which should be announced soon.

The representatives of digital imaging companies are handing out interviews as part of the Photokina 2014. Fujifilm, Canon, and Nikon among others have all given hints at future products and now they are followed by Olympus.

Ogawa Haruo, President of the Imaging Division, has confirmed that the Olympus E-M5 replacement is “ready”. This is great news for Micro Four Thirds fans, especially considering the fact that Mr. Haruo is claiming that this is the next mirrorless camera to be introduced by the manufacturer.

Ogawa Haruo, Olympus President of Imaging Division, has confirmed that a replacement for the E-M5 is ready and is on its way.

Olympus E-M5 replacement is ready and is the next Micro Four Thirds camera to be announced

During an interview with DC.Watch, Olympus’ President of the Imaging Division, has made a bunch of interesting claims. As usual, the most important of them is the one referring to upcoming products.

The OM-D series will continue to grow, despite the fact that not a single new model has become official at Photokina 2014. At the world’s biggest digital imaging event, the company launched only a Silver OM-D E-M1 and announced a firmware update for both E-M1 models.

The rumor mill predicted that a full frame mirrorless camera would come along with a successor for the E-M5. However, neither of these has showed up, while a full frame OM-D shooter is probably off the books in the near future.

Things are different with the Olympus E-M5 replacement. Ogawa Haruo says that the shooter is ready and that it is the next in line for its official announcement. Unfortunately, its name, specs, launch date, and price details are unknown for the time being.

Smartphones are eating compact cameras’ market share, but mirrorless sales are growing

Olympus has struggled during the past few years. However, things are starting to improve, as the compact system camera (mirrorless interchangeable lens camera) sales have increased by about 140-150% this year, when compared to the previous year.

The MILC category is showing signs of recovery, so the Japan-based company will focus on this segment. Still, the fixed-lens camera department will not be completely ignored.

Ogawa Haruo has admitted that smartphones are biting chunks out of compact camera sales and that the trend is expected to continue. The only areas not affected by smartphones are the shooters which provide low-light, long zoom, or weather-resistant capabilities.

In the meantime, do not hold your breath over the E-M5 successor’s launch. It could happen by the end of the year, but it is best to stay tuned to Camyx for more details!