Japan gets Olympus OM-D E-M5 “PRO Lens Kit (Black Elite)” with leather-like finish, 12-40mm F2.8 lens

Amidst the huge array of Olympus announcements today (including the rather exciting sounding OM-D E-M10), it seems that Olympus Japan has managed to quietly announce a special, limited edition kit of the OM-D E-M5, which will come bundled with the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro M.Zuiko Digital ED lens.

Unlike some limited editions, which go for garish and insane designs, this Olympus E-M5 "PRO Lens Kit (Black Elite)" is understated, and rather elegant. The texture of the standard E-M5 has been swapped for a leather-like look and feel, and apparently the main and sub dials have been tweaked, though unfortunately there are no images showing what they now look like.

According to a machine translated version of the announcement, the new kit features:

1. The leather tone of black paint, to create a quality of a traditional camera
2. To grip, I adopt the design of leather-like with high texture
3. Refines the main dial, sub-dial to improve the operation and design characteristics
4. The new firmware Ver.2.0, corresponding to the small AF target (100 equivalent) ISO LOW ※
5. Included with the "12-40mm F2.8 PRO M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED" has received high praise professional photographer

This limited edition kit is set to launch in March for an undisclosed price—and it probably won't come to our shores. Which is a shame as this is one of the few limited edition kits that we've seen lately that actually looks pretty good.

(via Digicame-Info, 43Rumors)