Don't hold your breath for any digital system other than a traditional one.
The Contax AX was quite a beast of a camera and not very successful. The
complex, ceramic machinery necessary to move the film plane exacted a heavy
toll on size and weight. The supposed rationale was that Zeiss lens users
would do ANYTHING to keep using that glass. The argument was proved wrong by
the market.
Leica is betting along similar lines with their R8/9 digital back. I'll bet
that it becomes a very low production, low selling item, esp at their prices.
There may be some technology that will allow the use of non focusing lenses,
but it's certainly not in the mainstream right now and won't be for the next
5-10 years, IMO. The market isn't going to support such a radical idea and no
company would fund R&D for such a device.
The most we can hope for is incremental improvements in DSLR technology.
Skip
>
>Subject: Re: [OM] E-1 4/3 vs. full sensor
> From: Andrew Dacey <frugal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>Actually, one thought just occured to me, Contax once developed a camera
>which performed autofocus by moving the film plane (as well as the mirror
>assembly (I believe the camera was the Contax AX). If this can be done with
>film, it should be possible for digital as well. It might even be an easier
>task because you'd only have to move the mirror and a sensor. The big
>advantage I could see here is that all of the autofocus capabilities would
>be in the body. You could then manufacture a lens line with either no focus
>or only manual focus. This should allow for a pretty small and lightweight
>system. You wouldn't save any size or weight in the body but you'd make up
>for it in the lenses. Seems like it'd be a good idea to me.
>
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