Olympus has formally announced its new E-5 DSLR camera, aiming to please both professional photographers looking for high quality and strong control over their images as well as aspiring amateurs looking to step up from the world of point-and-shoot cameras. The E-5 offers a 12.3 megapixel resolution, a new LCD viewfinder that can swivel 270 degrees, a new filtering system that enables users to apply in-camera creative filters while shooting—plus, the E-5 is “completely splashproof” and features a dustproof magnesium allow body (as well as an in-camera supersonic wave filter dust reduction system) to stand up to field work.
“The E-5 camera combines the E-System’s legendary durability, reliability, and professional image quality with HD video, multi-exposure, and creative art features of the Pen series,” said Olympus Imaging senior marketing manager John Knaur, in a statement. “Wherever you’re shooting, the rugged splashproof design of this camera will capture excellent images and video and withstand any rough conditions you might encounter.”
The E-5 works with Olympus’s line of Micro Four Thirds lenses, and features a 3-inch swivel LCD display with Full-Time Live View, a 12.3 megapixel MOS image sensor with Olympus’s TruePic V+ image processing engine that Olympus claims offers increased detail and sensitivity down to ISO 6400. The camera also features in-body mechanical image stabilization that works with both long focal length lenses as well as wide-angle and even fisheye lenses, so photographers can do long exposures with stable results. The E-5 can also handle 5 fps burst shooting, HD video (720p at 30 fps), and an HDMI output pushes content to HDTVs. The in-camera dust reduction system is also noteworthy: it uses ultrasonic technology to vibrate particles off the image sensor and capture them on an adhesive membrane—Olympus says it can even remove dust attached by intermolecular force that can’t otherwise be removed by vibration or discharging static electricity.
The E-5 also rolls in the creative features of Olympus’s Pen line, including art filters, a multiple exposure function that can combine up to four shots, and a Digital Leveler that assists with architectural shots.
However, the E-5 will not be cheap: Olympus says the E-5 will be available in October for an estimated street price of $1,699.99 for a body-only kit.
