Micro 4/3

montecarlo · 08-05-2008, 01:29 AM

Olympus / Panasonic announce Micro Four Thirds: Digital Photography Review
Could be a great street shooter. Having a registered distance of 20mm could take many manual lenses, including LTM M39 ones. The only flaw is the 2X crop and the lack of a optical viewfinder (or RF). Only external will be available.

ftpaddict · 08-05-2008, 01:36 AM

Lack of mirror well necessitate a high quality EVF (or an EVF/Viewfinder-less design)

It's happening, then. The "R" in SLR is starting to disappear.

*barondla* · 08-05-2008, 02:49 PM

Its only happening if these cameras sell well. Something Olympus hasn't been known for in a while. This may be a great idea or a colossal flop ala Edsel.
thanks
barondla

Check out POINT & SHOOT CONTEST #9 WINNERS in P&S forum. Enter #10. Any type camera except slr. Any brand. Any subject. Enter now.

arbutusq · 08-05-2008, 04:58 PM

If he image quality is good and there was a small and high quality normal zoom I could see myself getting one. It would be a great travel camera and would suit my shooting style admirably. I could bring more art supplies hiking with me.

I would have to get used to an EVF though.

LittleSkink · 08-06-2008, 07:11 AM

this has echoes of the lovely Pentax 110, but with much more potential to succeed in delivering compact quality. . . ?

with the arrival of digital the 'rules of the game' have changed (but no one knows what they will be yet) so we get lots of innovation - of which plenty will be discarded before a new 'right answer' emerges.

With film it was 35mm and a reflex mirror box for many 'enthusiasts' - this is what a lot of people are holding on to as the defacto standard for digital rather than the legacy standard that applied to a different technology. The thing is camera companies want to make money, so they will make what people want to buy and the 'enthusiasts' think they want to buy FF right now . . .

If I could have my K10d capability in a tiny Rangefinder style package I will buy it happily, this has the potential to be a fascinating innovation if people can only look forwards not backwards

Gooshin · 08-06-2008, 07:27 AM

standard shmandard

the mirror has to go, its about time.

photography is about the picture and convenience

having a large bag and 15 pounds slung over your neck does not make someone a photographer.

Nick_b · 08-06-2008, 08:27 AM

I think this is exciting too. Lugging a DSLR around is not fun all the time. There are times when you need the power of a DSLR system. You can't beat the high ISO, flash flexibility, AF speed and accuracy with anything else out there but if they could make a Sigma DP1 without the stupidly expensive price tag and include the damn OVF then I would be all over it. The camera manufacturers have to keep the friggin' price down on these compact enthusiast cameras so that the people like "us" can actually justify buying one. 800 bucks for a Sigma DP1 is way too much. I'd rather buy a new lens.

ftpaddict · 08-06-2008, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Nick_b

I think this is exciting too. Lugging a DSLR around is not fun all the time. There are times when you need the power of a DSLR system. You can't beat the high ISO, flash flexibility, AF speed and accuracy with anything else out there but if they could make a Sigma DP1 without the stupidly expensive price tag and include the damn OVF then I would be all over it. The camera manufacturers have to keep the friggin' price down on these compact enthusiast cameras so that the people like "us" can actually justify buying one. 800 bucks for a Sigma DP1 is way too much. I'd rather buy a new lens.

- AF will be contrast-based, so don't expect any miracles.

- it won't have an OVF either. (no half-mirror, remember?)

So it'll be a cheaper DP1 with interchangeable lenses.

staubrey · 08-06-2008, 03:44 PM

Originally Posted by barondla

Its only happening if these cameras sell well. Something Olympus hasn't been known for in a while. This may be a great idea or a colossal flop ala Edsel.
thanks
barondla

Check out POINT & SHOOT CONTEST #9 WINNERS in P&S forum. Enter #10. Any type camera except slr. Any brand. Any subject. Enter now.

I travelled to Spain this summer with a K100D Super and a Sigma 17-70 lens and got back some very nice snapshots. The lens covered 99% of what I needed, only used the 70-210 for two shots. Still, there were times when walking the streets of those small towns when I found the Super too large, an annoyance. What's more, there were times when I would've liked to cut out the noise of the mirror slap and shutter. Sounds to me like this new format could just possibly do the trick, as some have mentioned, similar to a rangefinder. Let's just say, I would like to see this format work, if only to give us all a new choice in the marketplace.

*barondla* · 08-07-2008, 09:03 PM

Hate to mention it, but rangefinders have been tried to death. How many real ones are still made? Before you jump me, let me add I own a Leica M2, M3, M4, and 2 CLs. The average public doesn't want a rangefinder. We might. The average public doesn't even want to fiddle with interchangable lenses. Remember the APS slr film cameras. Sure you don't. They cost the companies tons of wampum.
This system still has to sell. We shall see.
thanks
barondla

Check out POINT & SHOOT CONTEST #9 WINNERS in P&S forum. Enter #10. Any camera type except slr. Any brand. Any subject. Enter now.

Joselms · 08-07-2008, 09:58 PM

The current 4/3 lenses will not work on the micro 4/3. You will again need an adapter-mount to fit your regular 4/3 lenses into the micro 4/3 body, and not all the features, such as metering and auto focus, may work the same way as they would if directly mounted to the body. I think you will need (yet again) a dedicated micro 4/3 lens.

You need an adapter-mount for Zuiko OM lens to fit into a 4/3 body. You need another adapter-mount to fit a Zuiko Digital 4/3 lens to fit into a micro 4/3 body.

Why can't Olympus just make a single platform and expand their current lenses. I own an E-420, and with 2x crop and lack of in-body SR/Stabilization, it's hard to find an affordable, fast normal lens that will compensate for lack of SR/Stabilization. The only thing will come in mind is Sigma 30mm f1.4. Even Tamron doesn't make one for 4/3 mounts. The Oly 25mm f2.8 is nice though, but again for a body without SR (E-420), you need to compensate.