Olympus Imaging Corporation (President: Haruo Ogawa) announced today that international football star Keisuke Honda has agreed to become the celebrity spokesperson for its OM-D digital interchangeable-lens system camera series.

The OM-D series features Olympus' advanced digital and optical technologies in compact, lightweight camera bodies, offering a brave new vision of high-performance mirrorless cameras. Olympus decided that Honda, a footballer known for taking up new challenges in his pursuit of excellence on the international stage, is an ideal celebrity spokesperson for encouraging people to experience the excellence of the OM-D series.

Honda has established an international following as a leading member of professional teams in Europe. His challenging spirit and dedication to top performance are in perfect harmony with the OM-D concept of challenging users to "move into a new world" of mirrorless system cameras and experience their superior picture quality.

As Honda turns to new challenges, Olympus looks forward to communicating the OM-D brand and delivering "the power of images" to camera lovers worldwide with the help of their new celebrity spokesperson, Keisuke Honda.

Comment from Keisuke Honda

"I am amazed that OM-D cameras are so robust and yet so compact and light. I am delighted to accept Olympus' offer, having been interested in cameras for a long time. It is an honor to be told that my image as a football player matches the OM-D image. People are always taking my photo, but now I want to be the one using the camera. Even though I have visited dozens of countries playing football, I do not have many tangible memories, so I am excited to use my OM-D series camera to take professional-quality photos of places I visit, and my family!"

About OM-D

OM-D mirrorless cameras are digital interchangeable-lens system cameras incorporating advanced technologies in compact and lightweight bodies. The OM-D E-M5 was introduced in March 2012 and then the Olympus OM-D E-M1 launched in October 2013 as the new flagship model, offering picture quality surpassing than that of conventional SLR cameras.

OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1

Profile of Keisuke Honda

After playing for Gamba Osaka JY (Osaka, Japan), Seiryo High School (Ishikawa, Japan), Nagoya Grampus Eight (Nagoya, Japan) and VVV-Venlo (Netherlands), Honda became a member of PFC CSKA Moscow (Russia) in December 2009. After drawing global attention at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, he led his team to victory in the 2011 Asian Cup as the MVP of the competition. He has steadily evolved into a player attracting worldwide attention heading into the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1 Global Site