Olympus hints at three new DSLRs this spring

Update, Yoshi has translated part of an interview with the Nikkei financial paper and Olympus management.

According to 'Yoshi', DPNow's source in Japan, the local financial press is reporting that Olympus is to double its production of DSLRs from 250,000 units to 500,000.

The unconfirmed suggestion in the Nikkei financial newspaper is that to achieve its sales targets Olympus will replace its ageing flagship model, the E-1. A potential design was previewed in prototype form at Photokina last year. Variants of the ultra-compact E-400, only released in Europe to date and an updated E-330, the first true DSLR to incorporte a live view mode, are also hinted at.

Since the introduction of a compact point and shoot model with in-house developed moving sensor image stabilisaton last year, there has been general speculation that Olympus will eventually use the same technology in its DSLR models.

Even at 500,000 units, Olympus will remain a relatively small player in the DSLR market. Nikon, for example, has produced a million D70 units in a one year period in the past and Canon's entry model EOS-350 and EOS-400 sales dwarf the D70 further. But now partnered with Panasonic, which is likely to add more consumer-orientated models to its niche Lumix DMC-L1 debut Four Thirds standard model, the future of the Olympus-inspired Four Thirds platform is looking more positive than it has done for a long time.

Olympus announced its spring 2007 line up of compact models today, clearing the decks for its DSLR news, almost certainly meaning we'll have announcements at the big PMA trade show, which is in Las Vegas this year, in the second week of March. DPNow will be reporting direct from the show as usual.

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3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?

yoshi 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
not quite a new tidbit, maybe. a report says here today that the top of Oly told a Newspaper, Nikkei... (more)

DTD Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Looking forward to the E-1 replacement, although I don't think I'll be in a position to buy one this... (more)

Ian Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Yoshi, The E-330 is a nice camera - but it hasn't fully exploited the live view capabilities ... (more)

yoshi Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
The newspaper, Nikkei, says; *************** - Oly’s revenue exceeds one trillion yen (or US$8.3... (more)

Paul Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi All How did you get the idea that the E330 was to be updated? Hmmm... I agree that there'll ... (more)

Ian Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Paul and welcome to DPNow! The E-400 and E-500 are undeniably very similar. They both use the s... (more)

yoshi Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Paul, nice to listen to other voices. :) When we take into account the date of introduction of... (more)

Ian Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Yoshi, from my conversations with Panasonic people from Japan, I see a lot of enthusiasm for Fou... (more)

Paul Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
[I]=Ian;9618]Hi Paul and welcome to DPNow![/I] Hiya Ian I'm actually a long time visitor who'd del... (more)

Paul Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
[I][B]Yoshi said "In Japan, E-500 is selling well, so I guess less needs for model change but this i... (more)

Hokuto Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Just a note: the [url=http://www.camera-info.net/cic_report/news_070125.html]original Japanese st... (more)

Ian Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Hokuto and welcome to DPNow! Yoshi also translated the news for us here :) I'm curious to kno... (more)

yoshi Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Hokuto, yes, you are right and thanks for reminding me of it. :) May I just add that the es... (more)

Paul Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Thanks for clearing that up ... E410 & E510 anybody? :-) [I]Yoshi said: I often have to wonder wh... (more)

Ian Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
The sensor size issue is a red herring as the vertical dimension of a Four Thirds sensor is very c... (more)

Paul Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
[B][I]The sensor size issue is a red herring as the vertical dimension of a Four Thirds sensor is ve... (more)

Ian Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hmmm, you can't rate noise precisely. Although it can be measured, its subjective effect is much l... (more)

yoshi Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
yeah, you pointed it out properly, I think. The steep growth of DSLR market is made possible simpl... (more)

Paul Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Yoshi, I'd mostly agree what you said. When reading it, an old thought struck me. You mentioned... (more)

Hokuto Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
My favorite "camera quote" is the one by Brett Weston, "Anything more than 500 yards from the car... (more)

Hokuto Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
shi;9700]May I just add that the estimate is made by Nikkei and not specifically mentioned by the CE... (more)

Paul Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Ian said: [B]Kodak's sensor is supposed to have extra large photosites because of the full frame tra... (more)

yoshi Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Paul, nice to hear from you again. Well, let me allow to say Oly is not a small company. It... (more)

yoshi Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Hokuto san, I learned Brett Weston is a son of Edward Weston who loved 8x10. I tried to understa... (more)

yoshi Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Hokuto san, again. I also go to dcwatch site very often but failed to read that article of Watana... (more)

Ian Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
H Ian... (more)

yoshi Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
Hi Ian, I have to admire how beatutiful OM4 is! - though my preference is OM4TiB, a later model - OM... (more)

Ian Re: 3 dSLR's from Oly this spring?
I think to have a built in flash makes the pentaprism bulge bigger than it could be. The modern styl... (more)

Paul The news hardens with tentative confirmation...
Hi Yoshi/Ian Some rumours have appeared on th DPR oly forum: [url]http://forums.dpreview.com/forum... (more)