Next month, it is widely expected that Olympus will unveil its Micro FourThird compact digital SLR. A prototype was first unveiled last year at Photokina, and the small interchangeable lens camera drew thousands of visitors. It looked like that:

Olympus was quick to point out that it was just a prototype and that the final model could be very different. However, it appears that Olympus could keep the compact aspect. A new feature on the Olympus website teases us with a complete history of the Olympus PEN line of cameras, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

The original PEN was released in 1959. While most models were fixed-lens cameras, the PEN F was a half-frame 35mm single-lens reflex cameras with interchangeable lenses. The half-frame led to a smaller image format, but also made the PEN F one of the smallest SLR ever produced.

Now, with the Micro FourThird technology designed by Olympus and Panasonic, the compactness of the PEN F could be reproduced in the digital age. Who's ready to bet the new camera will share the PEN name?