In a message dated 9/18/2003 11:07:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
williams@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
> The MA-1 is all well and good for people who need really long teles, but
> where is the Olympus OM camera body with a full-frame sensor?
>
> Has it occurred to anyone that an "expensive" body with a full-frame sensor
> could actually be cheaper than buying a whole new outfit for those who want
> to keep their legacy lenses? Don't hold your breath waiting for f/2
> fixed-focal-length lenses for the E-1.
>
> Hey, people... Olympus chose the slogan "Nothing is
> impossible." I didn't.
The way I see it, Olympus is trying to do with the E system what they did
thirty years ago with the OM system - make a significant leap over the
competition in usability and, especially, portability. The nature of digital
technology has allowed them to pick a smaller sensor size (admittedly,
something of a compromise), which in turn reduces the size of almost all the
system components compared to the competitions' equivalents.
If Olympus gets the execution right, they can market a system that will give
professionals a real competitive advantage over 35mm form factor digital
systems. The one big thing that seems to be missing right now is image
stabilization. I'm hoping Olympus can come out with a potential Canon-killer
and put it in a future body, providing IS with all their lenses. All the extra
information being passed to the body by the digital Zuikos might allow them to
do that.
Would an OM mount camera with a full size sensor be cool? Heck, ya. Would it
sell? Probably not very well. Let's face it - the OM system stopped being
commercially viable with the OM-77/707 autofocus debacle. While it's still
capable of giving great results (as the various TOPEs prove), I figure we were
lucky Olympus stayed with it as long as they did.
Paul Schings
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