F/1.0

Micro four thirds is still vaporwave, and it seems there is already a competitor.

Samsung is introducing what they seem to be calling a “hybrid” camera system - in other words the “EVIL” (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens) system we’ve all been drooling over (hopefully!).  Not much said about specs/lenses - hopefully they will at least have a model aiming at a higher level “advanced amateur” feature set rather than the “bridge” market (the folks going from a compact to SLR).

However what makes this really interesting is the fact that Samsung SLRs use the venerable “K” mount.  If they somehow preserved the mount compatibility with this new system that would be *huge*.  Imagine a compact, mirrorbox-less body that was compatible with K mount lenses… drool… of course now then I would absolutely *kick* myself for selling off my DA LTD primes

It’s just an interesting thought, unfortunately I suspect they will likely *not* be using the K mount (registration distances on SLR lenses and all that).  But it’s certainly within the realm of possibility.

pretty much since the advent of digital SLRs, there has been a group of photogragraphers (myself among them) clamoring for the release of a digital rangefinder (a niche market to be sure!)

There have been a few forays into this territory, Epson and Leica released true rangefinder bodies with digital sensors, using their existing mount, but they were recieved with… shall we say… mixed reviews (plus the astronomical pricetag on the leica put it out of range for most casual shooters.

For the rest of us searching for the ever elusive “compact, quiet, unobtrusive ’street’” camera, we’ve so far had to make do with high-end compact digicams, such as the Canon G9 (my weapon of choice) and the new Sigma DP-1

However it just may be that Olympus plans to change that…

Olympus just announced a new lens/mount standard dubbed “micro four-thirds” based on their current “four-thirds” standard.   The significance of this is it keeps the standard 4/3 sensor while making a smaller mount, and significantly shortinging the flange (lens->sensor) distance.  Additionally the specification of live vew, *completely eliminates the mirror box* which makes up the majority of the “bulk” in an slr body

What this means in english is that the mount will combine the benifit of interchangeable lenses with the compactness of a digicam (or rangefinder) body (in other words, it’s The fabled “E.V.I.L, or Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens” camera we have heard discussed ad-nauseum)!

Personally I think this is a great (and bold) move for olympus.   They seem to have recognized the appeal of a compact system while maintaining the flexibility & quality of an interchangeable lens setup.   In other words, they are looking at the traditional “rangefinder” market, but instead of trying to work with current mounts/standards they are totally re-inventing the concept, embracing the unique advantages of digital.   Particularly when combined with the absolutely stellar optics of the new zuiko lenses, this could be a real killer combo, and is *definitely* somthing I (and I’m sure many others) will be keepting my eye on!

Buncha links this week…

First on the “photographer’s rights” front we have some good news.

• Thomas Hawk reports that a Galveston Jury clears photographer who refused to stop photographing an arrest. score one for the good guys.
• and some not-so-good news

on a related note this is an oldie, but a goodie:

• The Photographers Right - a flyer explaining your rights when stopped or confronted for photography

Moving on to the business world, David Ziser of digitalprotalk has a nice article:

• 20 pointers for running your business out of your home - what you need to know.

And PDNonline has an some interesting numbers on the business of wedding photography:

• PDN’s 2008 Wedding Photographer Survey Results

Finally for some technical stuff:

• Nikon files a patent for a in-viewfinder digital display
• Ken Rockwell explains MTF charts
• TinEye service finds your photos on the web (cool!)

from Photographyblog.com

I’m honestly not sure what to make of this - seems like kind of a weird combination for a “cross-licensing” agreement. On the one hand, it will surely be good for Pentax to have a company with the weight of Microsoft backing it, but on the other hand I am leery of the direction MS might influence Pentax in. I fear that MS would push Pentax toward more flashy, mass-market, consumer-level electronics (aka toy cameras) and away from what I feel to be their greatest strength: Fantastic optics and well designed cameras.

I mean really - not to bash Microsoft, but how often do you hear the words “Microsoft” and “well-designed” in the same sentence. I cringe to think of the feature bloat

Although to be fair, it is really to early for more than idle speculation. We’ll have to wait and see how this pans out.