Nov 16, 2010 15:48 GMT  ·  By

While we've seen plenty of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras being rolled onto the market over the past few months, we hadn't heard anything of interest in a while from Olympus, the first company to have outed a micro four thirds pocket DSLR, the already famous PEN E-P1 (and it successors, the E-P2 and E-PL1). However, it would seem that Olympus has decided that it's about to move itself back into the spotlight and released (just in Japan, for the time being) the PEN Lite E-PL1s, a slight upgrade over the previous models, that, however, brings only a couple of minor enhancements. So, while the 12.1 micro four thirds Live MOS sensor remains pretty much the same (and the rest of the features as well, as reviewed by Softpedia a while ago), the new model has recorded a slight bump in its ISO capabilities (going from ISO3200 up to ISO 6400), while in the same featuring a new battery, redesigned in order to comply with new rechargeable lithium-ion safety standard. The battery redesign, however, apparently reflects into a slight drop in the camera's overall weight, that reaches just 454 grams (342 grams for the body) when bundled with a 112 gram M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II lens. It's also interesting to note that Olympus will be offering several new colors for the E-PL1s, including red, white, or black, which are certainly welcome additions, compared to the somewhat dull color of the original model. If you though that you'd be able to get the new Olympus mirrorless pocket DSLR in time for Christmas, think again, since this thing will only make it to Japan in April 2011, when it will sell for around 60,000 Ye ($723) just for the body or 80,000 Yen ($964) with a M. ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm F4-5.6 lens.