OM System will launch a new product on February 06, according to an official teaser shared by the company. The teaser video shares an up close-view, quick glimpses and a drawing of what appears to be a new mirrorless camera. But what I’m most excited about in the early look is the close-up of what looks like a feature from the beloved Olympus PEN-F: the Creative Dial.
The teaser opens with a brief glimpse of what appears to be the corner of a camera with a dial that’s labeled with Color, Mono, Art and CRT. On that corner, I also caught a glimpse of a black lens with silver around the edge of where the lens connects to the camera – which makes me think that this is a mirrorless camera, not a fixed lens camera.
ABOVE: Watch the OM System teaser
This looks to be the same dial that was a central feature on the cult classic PEN-F, enabling you to switch between color and black-and-white profiles as well as Art Filters – including the camera filter used by Taylor Swift. I place a lot of emphasis on color when looking for a new camera, and the close-up of this dial in the video suggests that the upcoming launch may do the same.
A new page on the OM System website also teases the launch, with a particular focus on this dial. "Are you born to create? We have something exciting coming your way!" reads the text.
"Discover what’s next in the world of creative photography – join us on February 6th for exciting news crafted just for you, the creative mind. Save the date, explore our events below, and get ready to be inspired by innovative new creative tools!"
The teaser also shows brief glimpses of a camera. The shots are either far away or blurred from camera movement, so I can’t make out much detail from these glimpses, except it's pretty clear the camera has a silver top.
What’s more revealing, however, is the line drawing of the outline of the camera that OM System shares at the very end of the teaser. The squared-off viewfinder and shape of what looks like some top dials remind me of the old SLR film cameras that I collect.
Is OM System drawing inspiration from its old film SLRs, too, like the old OM-10? As someone who loves color and collects old cameras, I sincerely hope so. I love using OM System for wildlife because, of the greater reach of the Micro Four Thirds cameras, but I use Fujifilm for portraits because I love the color and retro style. A retro-styled OM System camera sounds incredibly intriguing.
While nothing is for certain outside of those brief glimpses – not even the name of the camera – the company’s CEO dropped another hint earlier this month. In a letter, Shigemi Sugimoto wrote that “we plan to add a new camera to our lineup and bright, compact single-focal-length lenses with splash & dust-proof performance.”
Sugimoto didn’t share a release date for that said camera, so he could be referring to a different upcoming model, but based on OM System’s past launches and the “in our nature” line in the teaser, I think weather-sealing is a safe assumption.
The teaser ends with the date of February 06. I’ll be waiting with bated breath.
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