Do you guys have nothing to do? Are you guys retired? Go take
pictures...please!!!!
This is like finding out about Santa Clause!
mannn... :-(
peace
David :-)
>
> Those of you who've been on the list a while will probably remember that I've
> done some consulting work with Olympus in the past. Well, the next salvo of E
> system body announcements is approaching, and again they've given me the OK
> to give you guys (and gals) a little preview.
>
> First, the small stuff: A new handle mount flash, with a guide number of
> 70(!), plus a pair of new focusing screens are going to make it to the price
> list.
>
> Next, on the lens front, 2 new zooms are to be announced. The first is what
> Olympus calls an ultrawide zoom, a 7mm-15mm f2.8 constant aperture, giving
> 14mm-30mm equivalent. We're talking wiiiiiide here. Unfortunately, as you
> would
> probably expect, if you have to ask the price, you probably can't afford it.
>
> The other zoom is a little more affordable. A 15mm-50mm f3.5-4.5 "economy"
> zoom. This zoom, along with the price reduction on the E-1, which I'll get to
> in
> a moment, should get you into the E system for around $1,000.
>
> Now the really interesting stuff. Two new bodies are being introduced. First
> off, the E-2. Not a lot of big surprises here. Kodak has developed a new 8
> megapixel (3300x2475) sensor for this beauty, the big surprise is it's a CMOS
> chip. We should see better noise performance than in the 5 megapixel E-1. Most
> of
> the other changes over the E-1 are incremental - faster AF with better
> low-light performance in particular. For a frame rate expect something around
> 3fps
> for 20 frames. The E-2 looks and feels just like the E-1, and takes all of the
> same accessories (flashes, grips, etc...) Expect the E-2 to be priced about
> where the E-1 is now. The E-1 price will drop significantly, of course, and
> don't expect it to stay on the price list after the end of the year. There is
> talk
> of an E-1 to E-2 upgrade program, but none of that has been finalized yet.
>
> The big news is the E-X. This is the body Olympus had hoped would be the E-1,
> but technical difficulties delayed release. Unfortunately it's a little
> bigger than the E-1/E-2, but with good reason: It has interchangeable backs!
> Initially three optional backs will be available, a 5 megapixel, with a
> slightly
> improved version of the E-1 sensor, an 8 megapixel (with the E-2 sensor, of
> course), and... drum roll please... an 8 megapixel back with integral
> electronic
> image stabilization! About 10 percent of the pixels around the edge of the
> frame
> are reserved to allow for the stabilization, so images from the IS back will
> be a touch smaller than from the other 8 megapixel options. Almost all of the
> electronics are contained in the backs, so expect future backs with not only
> higher resolution and lower noise, but also improvements in image capture
> speed
> and quantities.
>
> Perhaps even bigger news is the fourth back Olympus will be announcing (but
> not releasing yet). Believe it or not, the next big thing in digital is going
> to be... film! That's right, a film back for the E-X, producing 1/2 frame 35mm
> images, should be available by the end of the summer! The image circle
> produced by the digital Zuikos is well suited for the 18x24mmm format. The
> film back
> even has an LCD screen, which is necessary to allow access to some of the E-X
> functions and menus. Film advance will be motorized, and to be honest the
> whole thing is a bit large, but handles fairly well. The back can be swapped
> out
> with film loaded if you remember to put in the dark slide. The big surprise
> for
> me was they left out DX film speed setting - you have to set film speeds
> manually. So far Olympus has Fuji on board to help support processing of the
> 1/2
> frame images - they will be providing low cost upgrades to their minilab
> systems which will allow for 1/2 frame support. Dust off your Pen's, guys!
>
> E-X pricing is interesting. Olympus has taken the "give away the razor to
> sell the blade" strategy and priced the basic body quite low, but the backs
> are
> rather expensive. Figure an E-X with the 5 megapixel back to be priced about
> the same as the 8 megapixel E-2. The E-X with the IS back will probably go for
> about a $1,000 premium (street price) over the E-2, but you get IS with all
> your lenses. Before you take the next leap, IS won't work with your OM Zuikos
> and
> the MA-1 adapter - the camera needs to know lens focal length in order for IS
> to work.
>
> That's about all I can divulge at this point. I hope everyone has a wonderful
> April Fool's day!
>
> Paul Schings
>
>
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