In my last post to Mike I brought up the way the video industry had to
accommodate lens
technology into their product designs. It was an obvious 2:3 format that was
adopted. Of
course this came from TV which came from the popular still frame format at that
time ...
35mm film. However the motion picture companies spent loads of money after
W.W.II to
develop outrageously complex and expensive systems such as Panavision ...
Vistavision and
all of the other 1:3 super wide screen formats. This required a tremendous
mechanical
effort in designing these movie picture lenses. Even as Panavision became the
camera of
choice for most of the studios the cost of this equipment is still astronomical
to this day.
Gone are the days when each studio poured millions into their unique camera
system for
anamorphic designs.
Today new digital imaging technology will greatly lower the cost to the future
independent
movie producers. The reason for this is that the lens designs can remain
relatively
simple. Standard glass can be used. All of the super wide viewing can be
controlled by
software configurations. Where as in the past one could not easily manipulate
the captured
image on film, the opposite is true in the digital world. So in the future we
will see some
independent feature films (not really film actually) using complete digital
capture with
relatively off the shelf lens design. No more need for all those anamorphic
Panavision
systems. This idea has fueled controversy and debate in the technical back
rooms of the
major motion picture industry. It can be agreed that it will be some time in
the future
before a super high quality production can be created by a totally digital
means with off
the shelf hardware. Bbut all agree that day will come ... probably sooner than
most expect.
Bottom line here is that Olympus should re-think their position on offering
digital backs
for their wonderful Zuiko lenses.
Phillip Franklin
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