Four Thirds User

fluffy · #11 5th August 2008

Nice concept, but given the speed with which Oly and panasonic have been turning things out, I wonder how they'll be able to support two similar systems. If Micro 4/3 sells well, 4/3 full size will die. That's the way progress works. Of course they can't say that, because if they do 4/3 full size will die immediately. We'll have great cameras now, but when the technology advances or they wear out we'll be out of luck.

Steve

joachim · #12 5th August 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerioi

Do you remember the contax G system? And I'm sayng this as a possible "replacement" for Leica's digilux 3 or pana's LX3

I have one of these, it is presently my most used system. The mechanics of the G-lenses is completely different than the ones I have for 4-3rd. The focusing relies on a certain number of rotations of the drive shaft moving the lens to a precisely determined distance. The camera can't check through the lens whether it got it right. With the present 4-3rd, the camera can check and compensate for mechanical imprecision.

Bear · #13 5th August 2008

Always happens Steve, we had great cameras in the past too ! You have to eat your own lunch before someone else does !

fluffy · #14 5th August 2008

I know. And for me, it's not the biggest deal. But as f22 as pointed out in another thread, what if you're pro or semi-pro and have invested in a lot of expensive Zuiko glass only to see the standard wither in just a few years. Maybe you'll get ROI, maybe not. But you won't buy into 4/3 micro no matter how good.

If 4/3 Full withers or sees virtually no new bodies or glass what it really means is Pany and Oly are conceding the pro market to Canikon and going where they see the bucks, the P&S folks. Which might not be bad for them as corporate entities.

Steve

Ian · #15 5th August 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by fluffy

Nice concept, but given the speed with which Oly and panasonic have been turning things out, I wonder how they'll be able to support two similar systems. If Micro 4/3 sells well, 4/3 full size will die. That's the way progress works. Of course they can't say that, because if they do 4/3 full size will die immediately. We'll have great cameras now, but when the technology advances or they wear out we'll be out of luck.

Steve

Basically, I don't see why the two systems can't co-exist. They are very different products for a start. I wonder if the news will spur the DSLR divisions to work even harder to be more competitive. At the end of the day the DSLR needs to be profitable - as must the new system. If profitability can be maintained, then so can their existence.

Ian

joeletx · #16 5th August 2008

This worry me a little bit. Olympus left people hanging in the past with the OM systems. OM-1's were great, OM-2's were not so great, same to OM-10's. Olympus woke up and got their act together with the OM-4 but ran out of steam and died shortly. Should the same thing happens again with the E-3? If it does, I will never touch another Olympus again. Why don't they concentrate on developing full frame 4/3 (1/1 ratio) instead of reinvent the wheel?

Joe

fluffy · #17 5th August 2008

Is 4/3 micro literally a separate division or sub-company? That'd be great, as long as they don't steal resources or the best people from 4/3 full. I accept that at start up there may be some resource and personnel overlap, but I can't see both divisions going on long with an overlap. They're very different products. And maybe they have a great idea with 4/3 micro. If thye make enough from 4/3 micro maybe they even afford to market 4/3 full properly.

Steve

RichardSibley · #18 5th August 2008

It seems like an interesting concept, but I think it's success will depend on how well the contrast detection autofocus works. If they can spend sometime perfecting it to make it accurate and fast, and keep the cost of the camera at a reasonable level it could all but kill off the bridge camera - and at the same time make a sizeable dent in the top end compact market.

The idea certainly has potential - it's now just down to the finesse and refinement of the technology behind it. Only time will tell.

I can't see Olympus dropping support for the 4/3s - someone has clearly spotted a gap in the market and had a great idea.

I was reminded of my l'il ol' Olympus XA2 when I saw the images this morning