Dear All,
after reading what so many of us on the list have to say about digital
cameras and Zuiko lenses and the desire to use the latter with the
former, I started to think very hard. (which is a rare thing for me, I
tend to "just do it" very often ;-) )
After the cranial exercises, I have come to a conclusion that we do not
need something like the Imagek insert at all. In fact, if Olympus could
come up with a digital camera for the masses that accepts regular zuikos
as well as some AF variant, it does not have to have SLR mechanics
whatsoever. All that is required is for Olympus to come up with a
camera that takes the OM mount lenses and a 36X24 mm size CCD array.
I am not an engineer but maybe someone could enlighten me as to the next
points I am going to make. IMO, it should be cheaper to produce a CCD
with a larger surface area while maintaining resolution of a smaller
CCD. What I mean is that for the same resolution, wouldn't increasing
the Die Size mean that the cost is lower? Another trade-off would be
more sensitive photo-receptors as the size is larger? Therefore, isn't
it easier for them to build such an array?
Another point for this camera would be that it should not require a
moving mirror as the technology for mirrors now means that they could
use a pellicle mirror instead of a real mirror and have the CCD array
behind the mirror, A la C*n*n Elan ?, thereby doing away with mirror
slap totally?
Given the fact that the AF lenses for the OM-77 and OM-88 are still
around and that Olympus never really leveraged the development costs on
these designs, wouldn't it make sense for them to use these designs or
maybe update them to faster AF for the digital camera?
Given the classic OM form factor, there would still be enough room
within the dimensions of the OM series to include battery packs, memory
card slot spaces as well as spare slots for storage. I may try to send
this suggestion to Olympus America and see what they tell me, but I was
hoping that if someone thinks this is feasible, they could perhaps send
this (translated) to Olympus Japan. My Japanese is atrocious as I have
not used it for so long, maybe one of our Japanese list members could
send it along.
As always, I would appreciate any ideas or corrections that may come my
way. If you really disagree with me, I would appreciate your flames
off-list as the list is too tied up as it is.
Thanks
Alfred
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 23:20:07 -0500
From: Joel Wilcox <jowilcox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [OM] Re:OM System & Digital Photography
The idea of a digital back has been strongly championed from time to
time. The Imagek insert is often mentioned when the digital back is
discussed as a more likely prospect. There was some discussion of the
Imagek cartridge earlier today. I suspect that Olympus would say that
for what they would have to charge for a digital back, you could buy
several of Olympus' digital cameras. I would expect to see an OM-5 and
OM-6 before a digital back, but I don't expect to see any of those
things.
Which leaves us with film and a good scanner. I think it's the best way
to go digital right now.
Joel Wilcox
Iowa City, Iowa USA
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