TechRadar Olympus updates its retro-inspired mirrorless range with the PEN E-PL8

Just over two years after the launch of its mirrorless camera, Olympus has finally updated the popular retro-themed series with a successor, you guessed it, the Pen E-PL8.

The Pen E-PL8 maintains much the same core functionality as the model it updates. It arrives with the same partnership of a 16MP Micro Four Thirds sensor and TruePic VII processing engine as the previous model, while three-axis image stabilisation once again promises a maximum compensatory effect of 3.5EV stops.

In-camera raw processing and Wi-Fi functionality have been thrown in, although 4K video sadly doesn't appear in the spec sheet, with Full HD recording up to 30p instead. The camera's 81-point contrast-detect AF system, 60-1/4000sec shutter speed range and (extended) ISO100-25,600 span have also all been lifted from the previous model for this new arrival.

Burst shooting, however, has slightly improved, with a 7.4fps option with both focus and exposure fixed to that of the first frame, and a speedier 8.5fps setting if you're happy to forgo image stabilisation. By contrast, the E-PL7 could reach a maximum 8fps – so not a significant improvement, but a welcome one nonetheless.

With regards to design, although the camera follows the E-PL7 in featuring the same kind of touchscreen LCD screen that can be tilted 80-degrees upwards and turned 180-degrees downward to face the front, the body itself has been fashioned with a less angular design than the E-PL7.

The E-PL8 now also has a small, raised strip on the front plate in place of the previous defined grip that occupied much more of the front plate. Looking closely at the spec sheet also reveals it to be a fraction larger and heavier, although not by any perceptible margin.

The E-PL8 is set to be available in October as a body only option and as a kit with the 14-42mm kit lens, in black, white and brown finishes. Olympus US has set a price of $549 for the body only and $649 for the aforementioned kit while UK prices are still to be announced.

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TechRadar Sigma announces trio of mouth-watering lenses

Sigma has used Photokina to launch three mouth-watering lenses: a fast prime portrait lens, an ultra wide-angle zoom and a long range telephoto.

First up then is the 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Art, which has been engineered to make the most of full-frame sensors with resolutions above 50MP, so perfect for the likes of the .

This is thanks to the re-designed lens construction compared to the older model, with 14 elements in 12 groups. Two of these elements are made of SLD (Special Low Dispersion glass), and one element with what Sigma call a high rate of anomalous partial dispersion and a high index of refraction.

Dust and splash-proof, Sigma reckon the bokeh is so precise that you can focus on the subject's eye while blurring the eyelashes.

Shipping is expected to start in late October, with a price of £1199/$1199.

The 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM | Art is now in its third generation, with the new optic featuring a 80mm diameter molded aspherical lens - the largest element found in this class of lens and designed to be highly effective in minimizing distortion, spherical aberration and coma flare.

Designed for both full-frame and APS-C DSLRs, it offers a constant maximum aperture of f/4, SLD elements and a FLD ('F' low dispersion) elements to deliver what Sigma promises will be a lens with excellent edge-to-edge sharpness, minimized distortion and a minimum focusing distance of 24cm.

Pricing has been confirmed at £1,649/$1599, with availability again expected at the end of October.

Sigma has recently given us a couple of great , but the new 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM | Sport sees Sigma turn their attention to a large prime telephoto optic.

The new lens features a host of features including Sigma's Optical Stabilizer (OS) system, the company's latest-generation Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM), as well as an enhanced dust and splash-proof construction.

Pricing has been set at £5999/$5999, with the Canon mount coming at the end of October, with the Nikon version following shortly after in early November.

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TechRadar The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is the new speed king

Olympus teased its next generation flagship camera, the OM-D E-M1 Mark II.

The Japanese camera company claims the new camera will outpace the image quality of APS-C crop sensor cameras with a 20.4MP Live MOS sensor, as seen in the . Meanwhile, TruePick VIII image processor consists of two quad-core chips.

Olympus claims this setup delivers dynamic range and noise performance that's improved by a full stop, and enables 4K video capture at 30p and 50MP high-resolution composite shots.

Continuous shooting is also a big focus, and Olympus promises users will be able achieve 18fps continuous shooting with continuous AF and exposure monitoring. This burst rate can be further boosted to 60fps using AF and AE lock.

This is largely thanks to a much an expanded autofocus system that covers a great portion of the frame. In total there are 121 cross-type AF points that combine on-chip phase detection with contrast AF.

To help users keep up with the camera's high-speed operation, the 1.48x magnification EVF has also been improved with a maximum frame rate of 120fps and a minimum six-millisecond display time lag during shooting.

Olympus has designed the OM-D E-M1 Mark II in such a way that it can capture 14 full-resolution raw frames as soon as you start half pressing the shutter, to ensure you capture that decisive moment.

The improved 5-axis in body image stabilization system affords it an extra 1.5EV steps of camera shake correction.

The body of the camera has also been redesigned to accommodate a deeper grip, dual SD card slots (both of which are UHS II compliant) and a 37% greater capacity battery. As ever the OM-D E-M1 Mark II is weathersealed to be dustproof, splashproof, and freezeproof (down to 14°F / -10°C).

Olympus has yet to set pricing or availability, but stay tuned for our hands on review of the camera.

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TechRadar Canon EOS 7D Mark II vs Nikon D500

For absolutely ages, Canon was the only company to offer a really high-end APS-C format DSLR that was designed to appeal to dedicated enthusiast photographers, or to pros who wanted a lighter body with a smaller sensor to give their lenses extra reach. That's changed recently, however, with the introduction of the , which means that the now has a direct competitor. Our mission here is to see how they compare…

Although the 7D Mark II dates from September 2014, it has a very similar pixel count to the recently launched D500; we're talking 20.2 million versus 20.9 million respectively. The D500 doesn't have an optical low-pass filter, which could give it a slight edge for detail resolution, albeit at enhanced risk of moire patterning.

Sports and action photography is important to the 7D Mark II and D500's target market. Accordingly, both cameras have high-spec autofocus systems with lots of AF points. Nikon has been especially generous in giving the D500 a 153-point system, although only 55 of them are individually selectable: the other 98 are support points. Of the 153 points, 99 are the more sensitive cross-type, and 15 of them function with lens and teleconverter combinations with maximum apertures as small as f/8. Of the 55 selectable points, 35 are cross-type, with nine sensitive down to f/8. Nikon claims the focusing system is sensitive down to -4EV.

Meanwhile, the Canon 7D Mark II has 65 AF points, which are all user-selectable and cross-type. The centre point is a more accurate dual-cross type when it's used with a lens that has a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or larger. With smaller aperture lenses from f/2.8 to f/8, it reverts to a cross-type sensor. The system is claimed to be sensitive down to -3EV.

All this indicates that while the 7D Mark II has more selectable points, the D500 has a more sensitive focusing system, with more AF points that function when teleconverters are used.

A high shooting rate is also useful when you're shooting sport. Despite its more advanced age, the 7D Mark II matches the D500 here, with both cameras able to shoot at up to 10 frames per second with full autofocus and metering functions. The D500 can shoot at this rate for up to 200 14-bit lossless compressed raw files, while the 7D II can only shoot 31 raw files. If you're willing to forgo raw files on the 7D II, you can shoot up to 1,090 JPEGs in a single burst. Swings and roundabouts spring to mind.

Low-light performance is a key area for the Nikon D500: it has a standard sensitivity range of ISO100-51,200. There are also five expansion settings that give a maximum equivalent setting of ISO1,640,000 – an incredibly high figure that beats all other APS-C format SLRs. In comparison, the 7D Mark II's native sensitivity range is ISO100 to 16,000. The two expansion settings give a maximum value of ISO 51,200 – the D500's top native setting.

It's possible to shoot Full HD video with both cameras, but only the D500 has 4K capability. That's a major plus for the Nikon camera – but focusing in Video or Live View modes relies solely on contrast detection, whereas the Canon camera has faster Dual-Pixel AF technology, which incorporates phase-detection focusing.

One disappointment with the 7D Mark II is that it doesn't have Wi-Fi connectivity built-in. (There is a GPS unit, though.) Nikon, however, used the D500 to introduce SnapBridge, a Wi-Fi system that uses low-power Bluetooth communication to maintain a connection between a paired camera and a smart device at all times. It can also be set to allow 2MP images to be transferred automatically to the photo or tablet – even if the camera is turned off.

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