Searching for your next vacation destination? Subscribe to Off The Beaten Path, a newsletter featuring captivating locales to help you to plan your next trip.
It's not every day that a major camera company touts a brand-new flagship product, but that's the agenda for the new Olympus OM-D E-M1. And there's a good reason.
Olympus baked the the technology of its traditional E-Series mirrored DSLRs into a compact, mirrorless body that's similar to its recent Pen and OM-D models. The result is the best of both worlds: A professional-level mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with conveniently compact dimensions of 4.8 × 2.7 × 1.5 inches, weighing just under a pound.
Olympus OM-D EM-1 with ergonomic grip.
Four thirds vs. micro four thirds
This digicam is designed to integrate two distinct lens systems—the four thirds and micro four thirds, offering full compatibility between them for the first time. To achieve this feat, the camera incorporates Dual Fast AF—two different auto focus systems: phase detection AF (when the four thirds lens is attached) and contrast detection AF (when the micro four thirds lens is attached). With this new model, Olympus had to choose between the mirrored classic DSLR (four thirds) approach and the mirrorless compact system camera (micro four thirds) approach. It chose the latter because of size, speed, response, and viewfinder magnification advantages.
The choice of a compact body is not surprising. Hobbyists and enthusiasts are among the fastest-growing segments of the market—living in a smartphone environment that has made everyone more aware of ubiquitous photo opportunities. Cameras need to take great pictures, but also be more portable, swift, and easy to operate.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon