From Pen to Micro Four-Thirds – Scripted for History

Olympus revisits the Pen design rulebook

Khen Lim, Zone-10

With less than two weeks to go, we’re told that the horse has bolted already. Throughout the Internet, news are hot that Olympus’ first Micro Four-Thirds camera has already seen the light of day and some have reported that it even has a name now. Some forms of specifications are documented and everyone’s getting excited. I’m sure Olympus management personnel are getting hot around the collar as well...

At Zone-10, we have since reported on the history of the Pen to coincide with its 50th anniversary but of course we wrote it with a strong eye towards what it can mean for June 15 2009 when Olympus rolls out its first Micro Four-Thirds model. For those who can read between the lines (of our Pen history article), there is much to understand about the significances. In fact the semblances are so strong and vivid and it appears that Olympus’ marketing department is uncharacteristically playing it up.

In The British Journal of Photography’s blog (http://www.1854.eu), Olympus Imaging Europa GmbH has issued invitations to Europe’s top photography journalists and editors to attend a special event to be held in Berlin on June 15-16 2009. What is stirring about this is the invitation card itself where Olympus has gone for a retro look – a nostalgic step back into an era of black-and-white elegance.

Reproduction of the Olympus invitation card to launch Micro Four-Thirds, June 15-16 2009

© Copyright Olivier Laurent, 2009

Postcard by Olympus Imaging Europa GmbH

Olympus writes in the invitation card:

“In the evening, we will revisit the great era of black-and-white analogue photography and form an unforgettable mise-en-scéne together. Please consider dressing in black and white – no matter what style.”

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out the purpose and significance of Olympus’ preamble here…Berlin…black-and-white…analogue photography…unforgettable…revisit… words that have been extremely carefully chosen for the right effect.

Stepping back into time isn’t something Olympus has never done before. In fact of all the major camera manufacturers, Olympus has been going retro for more than two decades now. For those familiar with the late Eighties, the company celebrated its 70th anniversary by launching the unusual aluminium-bodied O-product. Three years later, they released an equally white oddball cuboid-looking Écru.

Both were based on a donor body frame courtesy of the hugely successful Olympus AF-10 film compact camera and hence sported the same 35mm f3.5 single-aspheric element lens. The AF-10 itself was a watered down variant of Olympus’ then top-of-the-line AF-1, which was widely touted as the replacement to the fabled XA but equally so, widely off the mark.

1988: Olympus O-product with 35mm f3.5 (top) and 1991: Olympus Écru with 35mm f3.5 (bottom)

© Copyright Olympus Imaging Corporation 2005-2006. All Rights Reserved.