Olympus’ micro four-thirds entry – this could be the one!

Sep 222008

After my initial reaction of “meh” to Panasonic’s first micro-four thirds entry, I was eagerly anticipating Olympus’ announcement (after all they, co-developed the standard, so it stood to reason they would introduce their own camera).

…and with the announcement this morning, I could practically hear the “digital rangefinder” crowd give off a collective “Oooooooo…”

Sure it’s only a prototype, but the body looks exactly like what we’ve all been clamoring for… super compact (looks about the size of a DP-1 in hand) “EVIL” body… and good lord is that a pancake prime on it?!?!?  Retro-rangefinder styling is just a bonus :-)

DPreview has the announcement here along with photos of the prototype… check it out!

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Another analysis of the micro four thirds standard…

Aug 122008

Dave Etchells over at the Imaging Resource has a great analysis on the micro four thirds standard:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS/1217960634.html

I pretty much agree with his analysis, unfortunately even with the contrast-af part (boo).  Hopefully though, Oly/Panasonic will realize the market for a higher end “EVIL” camera will demand a phase-detection AF system and build one in somehow. (crosses fingers)

Regardless, I’m still looking forward to seeing what they actually come up with on this standard.  The sensor technology is already there, we know oly does great optics – the only potential dealbreaker for me would be usability (mainly the af issue).  I dont even mind an exclusively electronic VF as long as the AF is responsive and there is no shutter lag.  If they can surmount those two obstacles I think they will have a winning technology

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Is Olympus re-inventing the digital rangefinder?

Aug 052008

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!

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post

Olympus makes pancakes!

Mar 052008

And here I was getting all excited about the DP-1, along comes olympus and drops this unexpected bomb:

The e-420, a brand new e410 form factor slr (tiny), with the e-3 sensor, *and a 25mm/2.8 PANCAKE prime!*

Very cool stuff, this is practically a pocketable SLR – smaller even than my k100d+40mm combo. Plus the 50mm equiv. offering is a great general purpose focal length.

This is very encouraging – along with the success of the canon G9, the DP-1 and now this seems to indicate that there really is a strong market for a compact form factor paired with high IQ and robust features. If Olympus makes a 17mm pancake to go with this (35mm equiv), it could almost tempt me to switch from Pentax! olye420top-down.jpg

Tweet This Post Stumble This Post