The official name of the product is "OM SYSTEM E-M1 MarkIII ASTRO." The E-M1 MkIII says "Olympus" on it. OM System continues to sell brand new OM-1 cameras that carry the Olympus name on them as well. No reason to fix something that isn't broken or to confuse the hell out of people by making an E-M1 that says OM System on it.
It is most likely, as Box Brownie pointed out, clearing excess inventory. I doubt E-M1 IIIs sell particularly well, with the OM-1s and the OM-5 supplanting it. Adding a red dot Like-A Leica is nowhere nearly as costly as replacing OLYMPUS with OMD - not a deliberate decision to label it with OLYMPUS.It's odd but understandable. Clearly there was a need which led to a business decision that the most cost/effective way of producing such a specialised camera was to re-engineer old E-M1 III stock or perhaps crank up the old production line. OM-5s were probably insufficient and OM-1s too complex. The specialists that buy this sort of unique short production run gear, care little for brand names.Making a variant of a camera is not unusual but after announcing in 2022 that the Olympus branding would be removed from their entire product portfolio it seems like an odd move as far as brand identity is concerned. They've already released two cameras and several lenses with the OM System branding. If this is old stock being "re-engineered" then why not at the same time 're-engineer' a new top cover with the OM System branding on it? I would have thought the OM System brand name would be an important aspect of their camera business.I surmise they are old stock/inventory and they have been re-engineered to make the sensor more sensitive to Astronomy usage.OMDS will launch a 'new' camera branded Olympus rather than OM System. It's an E-M1 iii Astro. This seems odd as I thought the brand name was changed to OM System so no more Olympus branded products. Do they have a new contract to use the Olympus name? Why an Olympus E-M1 iii Astro, wouldn't an OM System OM1 Astro make more sense as far as brand identity is concerned? It seems odd unless there's been some internal mistake with the product photo.
IIRC whilst still under Olympus or was it shortly after the changeover to OMDS? There were two such modified models aimed at the highly niche museum & specialist "archive records" usage market. So, such re-engineering is nothing new!
IDK but one explanation is that stores haven't ordered them, or, maybe a hidden vault of them was discovered in the jungles of Vietnam.The E-M1iii appears to have been unavailable for some time now, so where has this surplus stock been hiding?! Wouldn't it make sense to keep this camera available until they've depleted all stock?They have a surplus stockMaking a variant of a camera is not unusual but after announcing in 2022 that the Olympus branding would be removed from their entire product portfolio it seems like an odd move as far as brand identity is concerned. They've already released two cameras and several lenses with the OM System branding. If this is old stock being "re-engineered" then why not at the same time 're-engineer' a new top cover with the OM System branding on it? I would have thought maintaining brand name consistency would be an important aspect of their brand identity.I surmise they are old stock/inventory and they have been re-engineered to make the sensor more sensitive to Astronomy usage.OMDS will launch a 'new' camera branded Olympus rather than OM System. It's an E-M1 iii Astro. This seems odd as I thought the brand name was changed to OM System so no more Olympus branded products. Do they have a new contract to use the Olympus name? Why an Olympus E-M1 iii Astro, wouldn't an OM System OM1 Astro make more sense as far as brand identity is concerned? It seems odd unless there's been some internal mistake with the product photo.
IIRC whilst still under Olympus or was it shortly after the changeover to OMDS? There were two such modified models aimed at the highly niche museum & specialist "archive records" usage market. So, such re-engineering is nothing new!
OM Systems is in business to sell brand new $2,400 OM1.2 cameras, and brand new OM5 cameras at $1,000.The E-M1iii appears to have been unavailable for some time now, so where has this surplus stock been hiding?! Wouldn't it make sense to keep this camera available until they've depleted all stock?They have a surplus stockMaking a variant of a camera is not unusual but after announcing in 2022 that the Olympus branding would be removed from their entire product portfolio it seems like an odd move as far as brand identity is concerned. They've already released two cameras and several lenses with the OM System branding. If this is old stock being "re-engineered" then why not at the same time 're-engineer' a new top cover with the OM System branding on it? I would have thought maintaining brand name consistency would be an important aspect of their brand identity.I surmise they are old stock/inventory and they have been re-engineered to make the sensor more sensitive to Astronomy usage.OMDS will launch a 'new' camera branded Olympus rather than OM System. It's an E-M1 iii Astro. This seems odd as I thought the brand name was changed to OM System so no more Olympus branded products. Do they have a new contract to use the Olympus name? Why an Olympus E-M1 iii Astro, wouldn't an OM System OM1 Astro make more sense as far as brand identity is concerned? It seems odd unless there's been some internal mistake with the product photo.
IIRC whilst still under Olympus or was it shortly after the changeover to OMDS? There were two such modified models aimed at the highly niche museum & specialist "archive records" usage market. So, such re-engineering is nothing new!
They're also in business to turn over existing inventory not sit on it indefinitely!OM Systems is in business to sell brand new $2,400 OM1.2 cameras, and brand new OM5 cameras at $1,000.The E-M1iii appears to have been unavailable for some time now, so where has this surplus stock been hiding?! Wouldn't it make sense to keep this camera available until they've depleted all stock?They have a surplus stockMaking a variant of a camera is not unusual but after announcing in 2022 that the Olympus branding would be removed from their entire product portfolio it seems like an odd move as far as brand identity is concerned. They've already released two cameras and several lenses with the OM System branding. If this is old stock being "re-engineered" then why not at the same time 're-engineer' a new top cover with the OM System branding on it? I would have thought maintaining brand name consistency would be an important aspect of their brand identity.I surmise they are old stock/inventory and they have been re-engineered to make the sensor more sensitive to Astronomy usage.OMDS will launch a 'new' camera branded Olympus rather than OM System. It's an E-M1 iii Astro. This seems odd as I thought the brand name was changed to OM System so no more Olympus branded products. Do they have a new contract to use the Olympus name? Why an Olympus E-M1 iii Astro, wouldn't an OM System OM1 Astro make more sense as far as brand identity is concerned? It seems odd unless there's been some internal mistake with the product photo.
IIRC whilst still under Olympus or was it shortly after the changeover to OMDS? There were two such modified models aimed at the highly niche museum & specialist "archive records" usage market. So, such re-engineering is nothing new!
Perhaps they'll also dig up some Olympus Pen F cameras hiding in their warehouse!!IDK but one explanation is that stores haven't ordered them, or, maybe a hidden vault of them was discovered in the jungles of Vietnam.The E-M1iii appears to have been unavailable for some time now, so where has this surplus stock been hiding?! Wouldn't it make sense to keep this camera available until they've depleted all stock?They have a surplus stockMaking a variant of a camera is not unusual but after announcing in 2022 that the Olympus branding would be removed from their entire product portfolio it seems like an odd move as far as brand identity is concerned. They've already released two cameras and several lenses with the OM System branding. If this is old stock being "re-engineered" then why not at the same time 're-engineer' a new top cover with the OM System branding on it? I would have thought maintaining brand name consistency would be an important aspect of their brand identity.I surmise they are old stock/inventory and they have been re-engineered to make the sensor more sensitive to Astronomy usage.OMDS will launch a 'new' camera branded Olympus rather than OM System. It's an E-M1 iii Astro. This seems odd as I thought the brand name was changed to OM System so no more Olympus branded products. Do they have a new contract to use the Olympus name? Why an Olympus E-M1 iii Astro, wouldn't an OM System OM1 Astro make more sense as far as brand identity is concerned? It seems odd unless there's been some internal mistake with the product photo.
IIRC whilst still under Olympus or was it shortly after the changeover to OMDS? There were two such modified models aimed at the highly niche museum & specialist "archive records" usage market. So, such re-engineering is nothing new!
Yes but it was made before they announced they would be removing the Olympus name from their entire product portfolio back in 2022.
The purpose of a converted Astro camera is to mount to a big telescope.They're also in business to turn over existing inventory not sit on it indefinitely!OM Systems is in business to sell brand new $2,400 OM1.2 cameras, and brand new OM5 cameras at $1,000.The E-M1iii appears to have been unavailable for some time now, so where has this surplus stock been hiding?! Wouldn't it make sense to keep this camera available until they've depleted all stock?They have a surplus stockMaking a variant of a camera is not unusual but after announcing in 2022 that the Olympus branding would be removed from their entire product portfolio it seems like an odd move as far as brand identity is concerned. They've already released two cameras and several lenses with the OM System branding. If this is old stock being "re-engineered" then why not at the same time 're-engineer' a new top cover with the OM System branding on it? I would have thought maintaining brand name consistency would be an important aspect of their brand identity.I surmise they are old stock/inventory and they have been re-engineered to make the sensor more sensitive to Astronomy usage.OMDS will launch a 'new' camera branded Olympus rather than OM System. It's an E-M1 iii Astro. This seems odd as I thought the brand name was changed to OM System so no more Olympus branded products. Do they have a new contract to use the Olympus name? Why an Olympus E-M1 iii Astro, wouldn't an OM System OM1 Astro make more sense as far as brand identity is concerned? It seems odd unless there's been some internal mistake with the product photo.
IIRC whilst still under Olympus or was it shortly after the changeover to OMDS? There were two such modified models aimed at the highly niche museum & specialist "archive records" usage market. So, such re-engineering is nothing new!
If you read the linked article the lens used for the comparison images was a 75 f1.8, 60 sec HHHR exposure.
Find a sales offer post launch and look at the camera. Maybe they can if they are using existing parts before a cutoff date.
I suspect that since the model retains the E-M1 III designation and is only the "astro" derivative it could be considered to not be a "new" release and therefore can use the Olympus name.
What's the purpose of OMDS using the previous brand name that they announced they were removing from their entire product portfolio back in 2022?The purpose of a converted Astro camera is to mount to a big telescope.They're also in business to turn over existing inventory not sit on it indefinitely!OM Systems is in business to sell brand new $2,400 OM1.2 cameras, and brand new OM5 cameras at $1,000.The E-M1iii appears to have been unavailable for some time now, so where has this surplus stock been hiding?! Wouldn't it make sense to keep this camera available until they've depleted all stock?They have a surplus stockMaking a variant of a camera is not unusual but after announcing in 2022 that the Olympus branding would be removed from their entire product portfolio it seems like an odd move as far as brand identity is concerned. They've already released two cameras and several lenses with the OM System branding. If this is old stock being "re-engineered" then why not at the same time 're-engineer' a new top cover with the OM System branding on it? I would have thought maintaining brand name consistency would be an important aspect of their brand identity.I surmise they are old stock/inventory and they have been re-engineered to make the sensor more sensitive to Astronomy usage.OMDS will launch a 'new' camera branded Olympus rather than OM System. It's an E-M1 iii Astro. This seems odd as I thought the brand name was changed to OM System so no more Olympus branded products. Do they have a new contract to use the Olympus name? Why an Olympus E-M1 iii Astro, wouldn't an OM System OM1 Astro make more sense as far as brand identity is concerned? It seems odd unless there's been some internal mistake with the product photo.
IIRC whilst still under Olympus or was it shortly after the changeover to OMDS? There were two such modified models aimed at the highly niche museum & specialist "archive records" usage market. So, such re-engineering is nothing new!
I see that STC already has drop in astro filters for M43. They may well work on an OM-1.Thanks for the links. This seems to be evidence of JIP leveraging the characteristics of the E-M1 III to emphasize another “nature” niche. My son uses his OM1 for Astro and will be really interested in the in-body filters.Here's a couple of links. Note that the camera product images show Olympus not OM System.If this is a variation that has been reconfigured specifically to appeal to the Astro Photography market, I would be curious about the details.OMDS will launch a 'new' camera branded Olympus rather than OM System. It's an E-M1 iii Astro. This seems odd as I thought the brand name was changed to OM System so no more Olympus branded products. Do they have a new contract to use the Olympus name? Why an Olympus E-M1 iii Astro, wouldn't an OM System OM1 Astro make more sense as far as brand identity is concerned? It seems odd unless there's been some internal mistake with the product photo.
https://jp.omsystem.com/product/astronomical/em1mk3_astro/index.html
https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1604729.html
Well, if I was planning this Astro, I would curtail the availability of the E-M1 III for such a caper. I’m assuming the Astro hybrid will garner more profit than a closeout sale of the E- M1 III.
So why publish this in 2022?
