If we were at the head of a Mad Men-style advertising firm as opposed to a most triumphant tech news and reviews website, we’d be telling our clientele one thing - make everything like the 80s and then add more 80s.
Folks just can’t get enough of this red-headed step child of a decade, especially since Stranger Things reminded us of a when wise-cracking kids Dungeons & Dragons and had superpowerd friends, rather than just piddling about with Pokémon Go.
Anyway, we digress. At Photokina in Frankfurt today, Olympus updated its retro-themed mirrorless Pen E-PL cameras for the first time in two years and they look prettier than ever.
On Monday it introduced the new pocket-sized Pen E-PL8 complete with black, white and brown leather-effect finishes.
While the core specs and functionality remains much the same as its 2014 predecessor, the E-PL8’s design has been greatly refined.
It has a slimmer and shorter body, a shorter grip and looks a little more like the new Pen F cameras than earlier iterations.
Beyond the design it retains the 16.1-megapixel sensor and 3-axis mechanical image stabilisation technology.The E-PL8 will also capture 8 frames per second in burst mode, while boasting a whopping 81 autofocus points.
Images can be processed RAW and there’s also Wi-Fi functionality. In terms of video, it’s full HD rather than 4K and 30fps rather than 60.
It’s all controlled via a 3.1-inch fold-down LCD touchscreen with 1.04 million dots.
The Olympus Pen E-PL8 will be available in October from a rather reasonable body-only price of $549 and with a 14-42mm lens for $649. UK pricing is yet to be concerned.
