Could Olympus be paving the way for a Micro Four Thirds ‘lens camera drone?’

 

 

It appears Olympus is paving the way for some exciting applications of the hack & make Open Platform Camera (OPC) project it revealed earlier this year. One such application would be the world's first Micro Four Thirds lens camera drone. 

The project's home page features a graphic with a single rotor atop the OPC’s sensor module. Some common sense (this thing obviously isn't airworthy) and contextualization suggest it’s more likely the graphic is meant to be abstract in nature. Olympus, then, is most likely referring to many possible applications, one of which might be a drone-integrated Micro Four Thirds lens camera.

But with GoPros finding their way into professional video production workflows and the company itself rumored to be developing its own camera drone, the time may be ripe for a company like Olympus to create an open platform through which its lens system can be adapted to novel applications such as this.

Sony grabbed the lens camera idea first with its QX100, but it's an open architecture like Olympus is working towards that may spur others to innovate on top of the platform. So while we wouldn't hold our breath for an Olympus OM-Drone anytime soon, we might just see a Micro Four Thirds DJI quadrocopter in the future.

In case you missed the news of the OPC module, below are the specs given on its product page:

• 16-megapixel sensor

• Connects to Android/iOS smartphone via WiFi

• Capable of both stills and video

• Customizable optical and digital zoom

• RAW and JPEG modes

• Micro Four Thirds lens mount

(source Olympus OPC via 4/3 Rumors)