Historically, Olympus had two popular lines of film cameras - the Pen series and the OM system. When it first unveiled its Micro Four Thirds system in 2008, Olympus promised that it would go back to its roots - which it did when the Pen E-P1 compact interchangeable lens camera was released.

The Pen series has had numerous iterations since 2008, the most recent one being the E-P3. Now, Olympus has brought some of that technology to a new line of cameras based on the Micro Four Thirds system; a line that brings back the style and cachet that made the OM system popular in the 1970s and 1980s.

"Forty years ago, in 1972, Olympus introduced the world to one of the most revolutionary cameras ever devised - the Olympus M-1. Smaller and lighter by far than any other contemporary 35mm SLR camera, this camera was the first in a series that would become one of the most beloved lines of cameras in the world," says Olympus in a statement. "Renamed the Olympus OM-1 in 1973, this unique and innovative camera gave its name to the OM Series of system SLR cameras, evolving and maturing over the years through the OM-2 and OM-10, culminating with the OM-3Ti in 1994. Throughout this period, the OM Series maintained the compact size, light weight and originality that had made it a legend among camera buffs the world over."

With the OM-D E-M5, announced today, Olympus hopes it will be able to secure its position within the compact interchangeable lens camera market, which now counts Nikon, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung and Sony among its major players.

The E-M5 camera has been designed for "serious camera buffs who want to make full use of interchangeable lenses and shoot [photos] by looking into the viewfinder without having to worry about the weather or environmental conditions," explains Olympus.

Encased in a weather-proof magnesium-alloy body, the E-M5 features a new 16.05-megapixel Live MOS sensor and the TruePic VI image processing engine. It can shoot at a sensitivity range of up to ISO 25,600, and sports a 1.44-million-dot electronic viewfinder.

While the E-M5 shares a lot of its technology with the flagship E-P3 camera - such as its Fast autofocus system -, it is the first Olympus camera to feature a five-axis stabilisation system, which can compensate for five kind of motions - horizontal shift, vertical shift and rotary motion, in addition to yaw and pitch, claims Olympus.

The camera can also record Full-HD video, and sports a three-inch swivel-type OLED touchscreen monitor.

The OM-D E-M5 camera will be available from April, retailing at £1150 with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens.

For more details, visit www.olympus.co.uk.