14 DAY TRIAL // A few weeks before Photokina 2014, Olympus took the opportunity to unveil the E-PL7, the latest to arrive in the PEN Lite lineup.
But since the PEN lineup is not that popular with consumers, Olympus has preferred to concentrate on the OM-D lineup instead.
At some point, PEN enthusiasts were worried that the company would end up discontinuing the line, but luckily today’s news will reassure them this is not the case.
New info says Olympus is testing multiple PEN cameras
According to a report coming from 43 Rumors, the Japanese company is in the process of testing an Olympus PEN camera prototype that features an image sensor positioned in portrait mode. This is apparently an attempt to go back to the roots of the PEN film camera.
Even if the latest PEN camera hasn't been out long, the info coming from the rumor mill seems to indicate that Olympus has already started working on the next-gen PEN-series camera, which means fans of this family of devices can rest assured the company is not trying to kill their favorite products.
Sources familiar with the matter claim the Japanese company is currently testing several versions, but one of them in particular comes equipped with an image sensor placed in portrait mode.
What this basically means is that photographers will have to shoot landscape photos by holding the camera in a vertical position, something that might be regarded as “fun” by some users.
But if the image sensor is to be placed in portrait mode, then the camera would have a big bump to house the electronic viewfinder in the middle of the body. And big bumps in the middle of the body is a trait most DSLR owners will recognize.
There is a small chance the vertical sensor PEN will become reality
However, the source says the Olympus PEN camera with vertical Micro Four Thirds sensor has a slim chance of becoming a real product, but for diversity’s sake we hope this is the case.
An atypical camera like this will surely attract the attention of some users looking for something that’s out of the box.
And Olympus will certainly do a little market research to see how people respond to the idea of a Micro Four Thirds camera with a vertical sensor before axing the project down altogether.
Even so, Olympus is testing several PEN products so it’s very possible we will get to see at least one of them make a debut on the market at some point in the future.