Olympus 'Air' clip-on camera for smartphones coming to Japan (original) (raw)

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Olympus Japan has announced the 'Air' - a new camera which clips onto smartphones in much the same way as Sony's QX-series products.

The Air features a 16MP Four Thirds sensor behind a Micro Four Thirds lens mount, a physical shutter release button and tripod mount. Inside you'll find a microSD slot and lithium-ion battery. The Air has an 81-point AF system and can shoot at an impressive maximum rate of 10 frames per second. An electronic shutter allows for a top shutter speed of 1/16000s. We're following up with Olympus to see if there will be Raw support.

The Air is controlled entirely via Wi-Fi from a connected smart device, which gives you access to the usual Olympus features such as Art Filters. Additionally, Bluetooth support allows smartphone applications to connect to the camera at when they're launched, making start-up faster. Olympus has hinted that the Air will support adapters for other lens mounts, and uniquely, the camera will be released with an open-source API, allowing developers to come up with different applications and explore the potential of the new platform.

There's no word yet on pricing, or whether the Air will be available outside of Japan, but we're looking forward to learning more about the new camera next week at CP+ in Japan.

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