Olympus has officially announced its Pen E-P5 Micro Four Thirds camera, one leaked earlier this month. Designed to look like the Pen F to mark its 50th anniversary, the Pen E-P5 boasts a string of thoroughly-modern components within its retro styling, including a 16-megapixel TruePic VI Live MOS sensor and a 1.04 million dot tilting LCD touchscreen on the rear.
Along with the same autofocus found in the OM-D E-M5, the E-P5 uses an in-body 5-axis image stabilization system and a new IS-AUTO mode, with correction checking while composing the photograph available in the optional eyepiece, which uses a 2.36 million dot LCD, 1.48x magnification, and eye detection to automatically switch on the extra display.
The fast 1/8000th of a second shutter speed is matched by the 1/320th of a second synch speed of the flash and a short release time lag AF mode that can reduce the time between shots down to 0.044 seconds, and nine-frame sequential shooting. Aside from the touchscreen, controls are provided through the 2×2 dial control system, a function lever, function button, and a lens release button. Various modes and filters have also been included, as well as Wi-Fi, which can be linked to a mobile device running a free app via QR code scanning for remote control access.
Available at the end of May in the US, the Pen E-P5 will be priced at $1,000 for the body only, in a choice of black, white, or silver trim. An option that includes a black or silver body with a VF-4 electronic viewfinder and a M.Zuiko digital 17mm f1.8 lens will also be on sale, at a higher $1,450.
