Olympus has confirmed that it is not ruling out the possibility of more Four Thirds cameras in the future, despite the rise in popularity of its Micro Four Thirds models.
Many had thought the Olympus E-5 would be its last DSLR, but a statement issued by the company last week appears to have suggested that a new model isn't completely out of the question.
Writing on its website, the company said, "As the originator of the Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds standards, Olympus Imaging Corp will continue to develop and enhance the product line-up for both standards."
Of course, this could mean anything from a completely new body to new accessories and lenses, so we spoke to Mark Thackara, national marketing manager for Olympus UK to find out more.
More to come?
"They [Olympus] haven't ruled out the possibility of a new Four Thirds camera," he said, "We know there is a vocal community who would like to see another body in the Four Thirds format, so we will have to wait and see."
The Four Thirds format was developed by Kodak and Olympus, with the latter releasing the E-1 back in 2003. Its most recent DSLR, the E-5 was announced back in September 2010. Since then, much of the company's emphasis seems to have been on its range of PEN models.
PEN cameras use the Micro Four Thirds standard, which features the same sensor design but strips out the mirror box for a much smaller body size. Olympus was one of the first manufacturers on the market with a compact system camera, launching its first back in 2009.
It's also rumoured that Olympus will be announcing its next Micro Four Thirds model, commonly thought to be the OM-D camera at the upcoming CP+ show in February.
