14 DAY TRIAL // Back in February, camera maker Panasonic pushed out the Lumix GH4, which is a device bundling a Micro Four Thirds sensor capable of shooting 4K videos when used in concert with an external recorder.
Panasonic’s direct competitor, Olympus, was also expected to go down the same path by rolling out a 4K video camera capable of taking on the GH4.
But it now appears that this won’t be the case, since Olympus plans to release a firmware update for its existing OM-D E-M1, which will bestow 4K capabilities upon it.
According to an anonymous source talking to 43Rumors, a massive firmware update has been scheduled for the E-M1 in September, which will enable it to shoot 4K video. A lot of other video options will also be added. On top of that, we’re going to see the advent of an Olympus Silver E-M1 camera at Photokina 2014 during the same month.
With 4K in tow, the OMD EM1 would become quite the video beast, especially when paired with its built-in 5-axis stabilization and quite worthy electronic viewfinder.
The two cameras we’ve been talking about, the Panasonic GH4 and Olympus E-M1, are quite similar and they are both capable of shooting photos at 16MP. However, the former has an anti-aliasing filter, which can’t be found in the latter.
Since both cameras are at the top of the food chain in their respective series, it can be said that the two go head-to-head in the quest of winning customers’ hearts.
The 4K video addition to the Olympus camera is a major perk and something a lot of customers and Olympus enthusiasts have been hoping for.
If your interest has been revitalized by the news that the E-M1 will be getting 4K soon, you should know that the camera is available for purchase on Amazon for the price tag of $1,299 / €968 body only.
The camera boasts a 16MP Live MOS sensor, TruePic VII processor, 8fps continuous shooting (unlimited JPEG or 20 RAW frames), 3.5 fps continuous with tracking AF enabled, ISO expandable to 100-25,600, and pop-up flash optimized for 1/250th synchronization.
Speaking of Olympus and Four Thirds image sensors, this is as good a time as any to remind you that the rumor mill is expecting a new Olympus OM-D mirrorless camera bundling the sensor technology we mentioned above to make an appearance at Photokina 2014 in Germany.
It seems like there’s plenty of goodies to be expected from Olympus at Photokina 2014.
