Last month Olympus made an official statement that they are working on a new pro body for Four Thirds lenses that will replace the current E-5 (still priced at $1,699.00!). In a recent interview with ImagingResources, Haruo Ogawa (President Olympus Imaging Division) confirmed that the company is working on several different ideas for a E-5 successor, including a Micro Four Thirds and Four Thirds hybrid body:
As we consider a successor for the E-5, we are not only chasing high image quality and high performance. We would also like to provide the benefits of a small body size. You may remember these policies were also a key part of the Four Thirds concept itself. We are considering several different ideas for a body that would accept Four Thirds lenses, but would also have on an acceptably compact size.
At this moment, we cannot say anything for sure, because there are many possibilities -- it could be Micro Four Thirds, or Four Thirds, or somehow a hybrid. We are currently studying several options, but we've not yet decided what form the camera should have.
