Behold Olympus’s OM-D: Is Olympus Giving Up On DSLRs?

The camera blogs have discovered what appear to be full-size images of Olympus’ new OM-D-series E-M5 mirrorless camera. While we can’t be sure the photos are real, we can’t help but wonder if they indicate that Olympus is heading towards a DSLR-free future.

The new photos were discovered by 43 Rumors on Amazon Japan, and from the looks of it, the E-M5 is hardly a compact camera. Like the Fujifilm X-Pro1, the E-M5 is a big, near DSLR-sized shooter with a viewfinder, and what appears to be a big battery grip on the bottom. That’s strange if the E-M5 is indeed a mirrorless, micro four thirds camera. Another photo of the new camera pictured with Olympus’ huge line of micro four thirds lenses also surfaced, and according to 43 Rumors, the photo has two new lenses we haven’t seen before. This rumour also indicates the camera body’s large dimensions: 4.8 inches x 3.5 inches x 1.7 inches, without the battery grip.

All of the information makes us wonder if Olympus isn’t abandoning its line of DSLR shooters altogether. Olympus hasn’t released a new DSLR since the E-5 in 2010. During the same period of time, Olympus invested heavily in its micro four thirds line.

I reached out to Olympus to ask about the future of DSLRs at the company, but it declined to comment on its future DSLR plans. [43 Rumors]