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Olympus Comes Out Swinging with the OM-D E-M5

*Update: Our friend Mason Resnick has a hands on over at the Adorama Learning Center*

With camera makers hellbent on filling out their product lines in the new Compact System Cameras category (or whatever it’s called at the moment), Olympus just announced another long-rumored camera inspired by its storied history, the OM-D E-M5. This is the new flagship Micro Four Thirds camera from the manufacturer, landing at $1,000 body only, which will most likely operate above the PEN line. Embroiled in its current debacle, it’s nice to see that Olympus can still churn out innovative and exciting cameras at regular intervals, as evidenced by this svelte little contender.

Ho-hum features

The OM-D E-M5 has a nice cadre of by-now expected features baked in, as well as a few new technologies that make the package especially compelling as a unique snowflake in the crowded market. On the pleasant but pedestrian front, the build quality has been upped with magnesium alloy chassis and weather sealing. Size-wise it’s on par with its direct competition, notably the NEX-7. The camera sports a (more…)

Around the Adoramasphere: PhotoPlus Edition

Around the Adoramasphere is our weekly roundup of the internet goings-on of the Adorama family.

On the Techniques and How-Tos blog, one photographer takes us step-by-step through the evolution from snapshot to great shot with a child portrait session; Mark Wallace shows how to use ND filters to achieve shallow depth of field under studio strobes; Mark also shows how to get interesting effects using the stroboscopic mode with speedlights; Tamara Lackey talks with wedding photographer Jasmine Star about branding; Bryan Peterson shows how to use a diffuser to reduce the harsh shadows of sunlight in portrait photography; and he shows how to use an unusual point of view to get a unique image.

On the Gear Guides and Reviews blog, Mark reviews Canon’s brand-new flagship printer, the Canon Pixma Pro-1; he reviews the new Profoto BatPac Portable Power Source; he reviews the new J1 mirrorless camera from Nikon; he also reviews various camera extenders; Diane Miller reviews OnOne Perfect Layers, which adds layers functionality to Lightroom and Aperture; and Mason reviews the SpiderHolster Black Widow belt camera carrying system.

On Tech Tock, Mason covers the PDN PhotoPlus Expo action here and here; and a new Twitter contest features Adorama teaming up with the New York Giants to win a Sony 60 inch 1080p 3D LED HDTV is highlighted.

On this blog, Through The Looking Glass, I write up a report of my impressions after a few days with an Sony NEX-7 pre-production model; Clayton Combe compares his extensive experiences with both the Sony FS100 and Panasonic AF100 and compares the strengths and weaknesses of the two entry level digital cinema cameras; we cover the announcement of the new Canon flagship Pro DSLR, the Canon 1DX; we highlight the week’s photo and video events; and spent the rest of the week live-streaming from the PDN PhotoPlus Expo. We’ll have edited videos of all our interviews this coming week on AdoramaTV.

At the Adorama News Desk, Mason covers how the massive flooding in Thailand has affected the major camera manufacturers production output; Mason covers the fiasco at Olympus, involving a potential fraud scandal brought to light when the CEO was fired abruptly and started talking; a writer covers the announcement of a new flagship printer from Canon, the Pixma Pro-1 and a new flagship DSLR, the 1DX, which merges the 1DS Mark III and 1D Mark IV into a single camera; a writer covers the features of the firmware update for the Ricoh GRD III; Canon and Nikon announce production milestones, with the 50 millionth EOS lens, and 70 millionth EF lens; GoPro announces a new go-anywhere action camera;