According to the latest rumors, Olympus, also known as OMDS, is now shaking up the opportunities in the medium format camera market. They are working over the possibility of a new line of medium format cameras from Olympus. How far this rumor is correct, we don’t know, but let’s dive in detail to explore it further.
History Behind the Olympus OM Digital Medium Format Camera
What we know so far about the Olympus medium format digital camera — before we talk about what exactly the source said to the rumor mill — in 2011, Olympus filed a patent for medium format camera that we have covered on our website. The design was quite a bit different from the existing mirrorless bodies of Olympus. It was a box-style design. As you can see in the image below, it is directly coming straight out from the Olympus December 2011 patent, published on our website.
From the patent image, it is quite clear that Olympus at that time was very much interested in the development of their medium format mirrorless line and that was quite evident from the patent that they filed.
Now, back to August 2025 — take a look at what the source of the rumor mill has said
- There are engineering samples testing regarding a new line from OMDS.
- The camera has a large stacked sensor in 4:3 ratio format. It looks like a medium format sensor.
- It looks like OM picked up the unfinished medium format project in 2018, which was finally canceled by Olympus executives.
- The EM1X prototype body was originally designed for medium format.
- My info came from two sources: OMDS and another tech person.
- The new format is an ongoing project which I was told could be part of OM System product.
Why Medium Format Camera?
Medium format camera is always known for their superior image quality over the full frame or the APS-C bodies, and it’s always a first love of pro photographers, seeking the highest possible image quality in their workflow. An Opportunity for OMDS Olympus, Major players in the medium format like Sony, Canon, and Nikon are absent from this competition. Fujifilm, Hasselblad, and Phase One are dominating the market right now. So the competition is not as tough as we have in the APS-C or the full frame camera market segment. But what about the market size? Let’s further analyze.
Medium Format Camera – Market Size and Growth Trends
Why does Olympus suddenly seem interested in the medium format cameras? The medium format is a very niche market, and North America appears to have a very clear dominance over the sales — or you may say the market share — of the medium format camera. If you look at the stats:
Medium Format Market Size and Growth Trends
Recent data indicates the global medium format camera market reached USD 163.3 million in 2024, with projections estimating growth to USD 210.5 million by 2033, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.72% from 2025 to 2033, as per IMARC Group.
M4/3 Camera market is shrinking and has reached to lowest point now
We did research related to the size of M4/3 Mirrorless camera, the stats are very limited to Japan only take a look what our editors were able to find
The Micro Four Thirds (M4/3) camera market is shrinking, particularly in Japan, with a significant drop in market share from 21.7% in 2020 to less than 5% in 2023.
Statistical Data of M4/3 camera market share in Japan
| Year | Market Share in Japan |
| 2019 | 19.8% |
| 2020 | 21.7% |
| 2023 | < 5% |
What We Know So Far About the Olympus Medium Format Camera
- Overall the M4/3 format camera market share has reached to lowest point. To evolve and survive company has to explore new sensor bodies and formats to appeal to a larger consumer base.
- Olympus started working on the medium format camera system and development back in 2018.
- They have published a patent related to the medium format camera on 2011 that we have also covered on our website.
- The plan was halted — maybe due to the financial condition of the company or the transition of ownership.
- According to the source, the Olympus OM-1X body was initially designed to house a medium-format camera sensor.
- The source also suggests the project is still in an exploratory phase, so no confirmation over the arrival of a final product hinted by the source at the moment.
We have also analyzed the market space and growth opportunity of medium format mirrorless cameras. Since the competition is less and the growth is very much clearly visible, if Olympus enters into the competition, it will be a great benefit for Olympus.
Medium Format and Olympus OMD Ecosystem
Yes, they have to work on lenses, since they are completely dedicated right now on Micro Four Thirds (M4/3) format-based interchangeable mirrorless cameras and lenses. And it will be a major step for the company itself to support such a plan.
As we have already seen in the statistics, the medium format market is a niche but growing. The brands like Fujifilm are gaining slower attention from the professionals, but the growth is very clearly visible in this various space. If Olympus enters with a proper set of lenses — either of their own or with the help of third-party manufacturers having the compatibility with their system camera — they can create a very good consumer base, since they are already a known and reputable brand from the DSLR to mirrorless.
As smartphone hardware is posing sensor size up to 1 inch, it has become necessary for Micro Four Thirds camera makers to enter into a new zone that should offer a very unique solution to professional photographers or videographers. Fuji already did that – they have entered directly from APS-C to Medium format. Due to the Shrinking M4/3 market, Panasonic is now updating its M4/3 format Lumix series at a much lower frequency and they’re putting all their attention on the recent S1 series with full-frame sensors based cameras.
It’s a very welcome step if Olympus is entering a medium format space that has lower competition and a good growth opportunity.
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At TheNewCamera.com, we’re dedicated to keeping you informed about the latest camera news. The article “Olympus OMD Medium Format Camera – Latest Rumors” was published on 6:17 pm, Wednesday, 6 August 2025, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) by thenewcamera.com team | Follow us on our social pages FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM to get live Camera News + Canon Rumors 24X7.