We have all heard Olympus' questionable reasoning behind rejecting the
combination of standard SLR lenses and digital imaging. Well, I saw a short
review of the E-10 in the Feb 01 issue of PCPhoto (pg. 34) that
actually gives a
plausible explanation for their position:
"Olympus also designed a completely new lens for the E-10. The
nature of digital
camera sensors is such that light coming in at too steep an angle won't be
recorded at all. Larger sensors and wider-angle lenses exacerbate the problem.
The very large 4.1 megapixel sensor required a new design to
maximize the image
potential of the camera..."
Whether this is just Olympus marketing speak or the editorial
opinion of PCPhoto
is hard to say.
The one weakness of SLR design, I have heard it said, is the
requirement of the lens to be a retrofocus design in order have room
for the mirror/light box. Supposedly it is difficult to design such a
lens and to manufacture it to the same high standard as a lens for a
camera with an auxiliary viewing system such as a rangefinder. A
secondary result is the comparatively large size of the retrofocus
design. Since, apparently, an SLR design is not retrofocus enough
for a digital sensor, won't the problems of the design become even
more exaggerated as the the steepness of the angle is decreased? If
so, it is understandable why a complete redesign of the camera is
needed for digital, ie., small sensor=small field=offset of lens size
increase due to more extreme retrofocus.
Winsor
--
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California, USA
mailto:wincros@xxxxxxxxxxx
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