Before we decide the features of our Olympus wish list, we should
probably ask two questions:
1. Why would Olympus want to design a new SLR?
2. Why do we want Olympus to design a new SLR?
At least one answer to # 1 is that they want to make money. The
problem here is that SLR's, especially manual focus ones are a
declining market. There are three big players in the autofocus
market, and few more in the manual focus one. So to make money in
such a market, Olympus must either find a niche market, differentiate
its product, or cut manufacturing costs. For us to be successful in
convincing Oly that they should develop a new camera, we must show
them how they can make money. Keep in mind that they are already
doing well in the much larger point and shoot arena and the growing
digital market. Product differentiation and niche markets are
usually pursued by companies so they can charge more for their
products. I don't think that's what we desire. Reducing
manufacturing costs, then is probably the approach most in keeping
with our goals.
The answer to #2 probably varies significantly from one user to the
next. I use an OM-2 which I bought new in 1977 and am very pleased
with it. The features which attracted me were the small size and the
unique metering system. Most of the more popular SLR's today are
heavier because of autofocus systems and built in winders. So the
current OM-4Ti does indeed differentiate itself in size and metering.
My biggest concern is that Olympus is gradually exiting the SLR
market, and I will be left with cameras which eventually cannot be
fixed or replaced even in the used market place. If I were younger,
I would probably switch brands, but as it is, I probably have only
twenty years of photography left in me and can probably outlast the
potentially dwindling supply.
Should Oly decide they do want to develop a new camera, backward
compatibility is crucial. In addition to keeping the outstanding
metering system, new features which would be nice are:
- a built in winder. Although this adds weight, most of us probably
already use an add on.
- a small, powerful flash.
- focus confirmation like on the OM-30.
- aperture and shutter speed displayed in the finder.
- a small, reasonably fast zoom lens from, say 28 mm to 150 mm
I would pay $1,000 to $1,200 for such an improved OM-4.
If Oly got really serious and decided to reenter the SLR market with
an autofocus camera like the Nikon N70 or N90, I would pay a premium
over those cameras of 25%, especially if they could build one smaller
in size. Size is important to me so I can take a quality camera on
an airplane for vacations without elongating my arms.
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