E-520 also discontinued, according to B&H

It seems that the E-520 is being discontinued along with the E-420; B&H lists the E-520+14-42 kit as "discontinued", not just "out of stock." Other options like body only are still in stock, but apparently only until they sell out and Olympus has no more to send.

So the new line-up for now is E-450 and E-620 in place of E-420 and E-520, and it looks a bit as if there will not be a new E-5xx after all. The mainstream price range would look rather crowded with four 4/3 models (three DSLRs plus at least one Micro.)

BJL wrote:

So the new line-up for now is E-450 and E-620 in place of E-420 and
E-520, and it looks a bit as if there will not be a new E-5xx after
all. The mainstream price range would look rather crowded with four
4/3 models (three DSLRs plus at least one Micro.)

I am not so sure but it wouldn't surprise me.

I could see a 4x0, 5x0, 6x0, x0, x lineup but I think you may be right that the price range would be difficult. On the other hand, the 6x0 is kind of the more featured bother to the 4x0. So maybe they will keep a 5x0 to be the less featured brother to the Ex0.

There is know E-450 in Japan. The E-4XX line is dead here. They're likely squeezing what the can out of the E-4XX line in markets like North America while they get ready for M4/3

BJL wrote:

So the new line-up for now is E-450 and E-620 in place of E-420 and
E-520, and it looks a bit as if there will not be a new E-5xx after
all. The mainstream price range would look rather crowded with four
4/3 models (three DSLRs plus at least one Micro.)

No 450 in Japan? Are they selling 420's still or are they dried/drying up?

Well, it a litle difficult to be sure what's going on thses days. At the introduction of the E-620 it seemed like Olympus kept saying that there sould still be a E-4X0 and E-5X0 series besides E-6X0.

I guess most of us was not so sure that this would still apply after vendors had had a chance to get rid of thier stock of camers withing these two series.

Anyhow, E-520 is still listed among the E-serie cameras at the net site of Olympus Japan, http://olympus-imaging.jp/product/dslr/ . No E-4X0 camera to be found there, though.

If one at the other hand have a look at the sites of Olympus in Europe, not only is E-520 listed there together with both E-420 and E-450, but you might find E-510 as well.

Stujoe wrote:

No 450 in Japan? Are they selling 420's still or are they
dried/drying up?

The E-420 has been off the selves of major retailers for some time now. You can still pick it up the odd one at a few minor shops (small camera or computer stores) but it's getting rare. There are plenty of used ones kicking about now.

It's no longer listed on Oly's Japanese web site. As for the E-450, when it was announced, the Japanese web site DC Watch reported about it but also said Oly had no plans to release it in Japan.

The E-400 was limited market and got things rolling. Now it seems the E-450 is a limited market cam to wind things up.
--
Olympus E-3, E-620 and E-420

Zuiko 7-14mm, 25mm pancake, 50mm, 14-42mm, 12-60mm, 50-200mm, and 8mm fisheye. FL-36R and FL-50R Flashes. HLD-4 Grip.
Canon PowerShot TX1
Ricoh GR-D
Sony DSC-V3

BJL wrote:

It seems that the E-520 is being discontinued along with the E-420;
B&H lists the E-520+14-42 kit as "discontinued", not just "out of
stock." Other options like body only are still in stock, but
apparently only until they sell out and Olympus has no more to send.

So the new line-up for now is E-450 and E-620 in place of E-420 and
E-520, and it looks a bit as if there will not be a new E-5xx after
all. The mainstream price range would look rather crowded with four
4/3 models (three DSLRs plus at least one Micro.)

yes , as you said and despite Olympus prior claims , the line is covered with 4 different bodies, 2 "budget" cameras , 1 intermediate camera and 1 hgh end

depending on the success of the m4/3 line , evolutions to the 4XX series may happen or not
Harold

Wow.

I think they need something below the 6x0 in price in the lineup and it would be a mistake to discontinue both the 4x0 and 5x0.

Yeah, there is going to be micro 4/3rds but I am not so sure the pricing on those is going to come in less than the 620 for a model generation or two.

EspE1 wrote:

Anyhow, E-520 is still listed among the E-serie cameras at the net site of Olympus Japan, http://olympus-imaging.jp/product/dslr/

When a camera goes out of productions, it stays on the current product list of the distributer for a particular country until stocks run out in that country; only then is it listed as discontinued in that country. So a product often becomes officially discontinued at different times in different countries.

So what we probably see with the E-520 is that

• it is out of production

• Olympus USA has run out of the body only, but still has some the kits

• Olympus Japan still has some

If one at the other hand have a look at the sites of Olympus Europe ... you might find E-510 as well.

Thank you for that example: the E-510 has clearly been out of production for some time, so its appearing on some Olympus web-sites as a current product indicates only that stocks still remain in those countries.

safaridon wrote:

BJL wrote:
(in lst quarter year G1 outsold all Oly dSLRS combined)

Please tell me where you got this information ? would love to know
Thanks
Harold

BillZM wrote:

... the E-420/450 2-lens kit seems like a near perfect entry level camera for those who would really prefer a P&S but are seeking better image quality.

Can m4/3 do this better? ... is EVF or LCD adequate vs OVF? I struggle everytime I try to use EVF or LCD

I would say yes at least for many of the customers you describe, who are choosing between m4/3 and a compact, and probably not considering a DSLR. In fact many people moving from a compact and seeking something as small as possible will probably be happy with just an LCD, as this is the way that a great many people use compacts.

By the way, I am more optimistic that some about the pricing of the first Olympus m4/3 body (I have no reason to trust 43rumors for pricing information.) But if the initial Olympus m4/3 price is significantly higher than the E450, then the E450 will be useful in some markets at least --- like the USA, where most DSLR systems offer a roughly $500 entry-level kit.

BillZM wrote:

Can m4/3 do this better? MAYBE. It can be smaller, but is EVF or
LCD adequate vs OVF? I struggle everytime I try to use EVF or LCD
P&S's in strong sunlight (and I really dislike LCD shooting anyway).
I won't be surprised if a significant number of entry level buyers
will still prefer OVF offerings.

I am still uncertain how well the whole micro thing is going to do. I am definitely one who wants an OVF camera. I would not have just a micro 4/3rds camera. Especially since LV, IMHO, is now usable in dSLRs for when you need to use it.

On the other hand, I used to be in the I Won't Buy Micro Unless It Has An EVF camp. But, after using the 620 for a while, I think if the micro has that LCD, I could get by. I would say it would be adequate for my use as a small, dSLR compliment camera. WIth the right couple of primes anyway. And, for those that don't know or don;t seem to care about an OVF coming from current P&S's, I think it would probably be adequate for them too.

Overall, though, I still think it would be a mistake to discontinue both the 4x0 and 5x0 cameras at this point. If they do that, I think it is risky. And really I think it looks needless.

They don't really even have to do anything more to the 4x0 series than they have done to the 450 to keep it in the marketplace. I have to think all the R&D and other associated costs with that lineup have been taken care of. Mass production savings have to already be there. And it seems the MP race might be slowing and 10MP is fine for an entry level camera anyway. Look how long the Nikon D40 survived with 6MP. Why not keep the 4x0 around?

Stujoe wrote:

They don't really even have to do anything more to the 4x0 series
than they have done to the 450 to keep it in the marketplace. I have
to think all the R&D and other associated costs with that lineup have
been taken care of. Mass production savings have to already be there.
And it seems the MP race might be slowing and 10MP is fine for an
entry level camera anyway. Look how long the Nikon D40 survived with
6MP. Why not keep the 4x0 around?

Over the years, I've come to the conclusion that Olympus tends to batch produce bodies. They estimate how many bodies they anticipate selling, produce that many, stock their warehouses, and then re-orient the line to make the next set of bodies. Sometimes they greatly overproduce (E-1 being the classic example), and do some amount of firesales later to reduce inventory, and sometimes they underestimate the market (I suspect they did this with the E-510/E-410, and ramped up production a bit with the E-420/E-520).

I imagine the E-450 was likely the last batch of E-420 with some minor tunings, and it is being sold in places like QVC and probably Walmart, etc. that aren't traditional camera sellers. The E-620 is likely the body for the normal camera stores.

Michael Meissner wrote:

Stujoe wrote:

I imagine the E-450 was likely the last batch of E-420 with some minor tunings, and it is being sold in places like QVC and probably Walmart, etc. that aren't traditional camera sellers.

The QVC-only deal is not universal; it is just in the USA (and Canada?) and only for an initial exclusive period. In other countries (Europe?) the E-450 will apparently sell through the normal channels.

Maybe the plan is to see how the E-450 vs m4/3 sales go, and then decide how widely to offer the E-450.