Don Wiss

There is one thing that is very consistent with Google products: They are all over-engineered. If you just want a simple photo album Google is not the place to use.

They have even over-engineered a simple search. If you think that every word you enter should be on the returned pages you are wrong. Google has decided that it is smarter than you. Some of the words you entered Google decides are optional. You can put double quotes around each word. That generally makes it a required word, but not necessarily. You can see this as you add words. You think that you are going to get fewer results? Nope. You add more words and the number of results increases. Instead of putting the expected ANDs in between your words, Google is putting ORs.

That was the number I was looking for. Switch to m4/3 and for 520g you can get 600mm equivalent. I'm now waiting for the next Panasonic body and then I'll make the switch.

My dealer does not like the ergonomics of the OMD. He writes: "it is rather small in my opinion. The buttons and layout are a little cramped in comparison to other m4/3 that I know will be out later this year (one in June & the other in October)."
Now he is under non-disclosure. So I don't know what these bodies are. Or whether they are Olympus or Panasonic. But based on what should be coming out, one would expect these to be the replacements for the G3 and GH2. And based on past releases (the G3 was announced in May and the GH2 was announced in September) I'm hoping that the G3 replacement is the first one. Though the G3 is one year old, and the GH2 is two years old. So the GH2 replacement could be first.

I just stopped by at Focus Camera to hold one. They had none on display, but he did have some in stock. Getting back home I find on their website they list the black body with the kit lens as being in stock.

I wanted to hold one as I have a contact that is arguing it is too small and I should wait until the June or September ones come out. Presumably he's referring to the next Panasonic models.

The reason for the fixed larger size, over the extending, is so they could weather seal it.

I hope the camera is available before the rebate expires on May 31st.

I doubt things are back to normal in that 2000 acre alluvial plain in Thailand that was flooded last Fall. For one, hard drive prices are still way up.

I'd like to see the database include external flashes.

@Steve. You should specify which lens you think needs fixing.

I'm glad they are now posting rumors here. I'd rather not have to hunt the web for them. And if we can assume that they have one under a non-disclosure, then they aren't going to pass on a rumor that they know isn't real.

This has image stabilization in the body. Panasonic has it in the lens. How well do the Panasonic lenses work on this? I would presume you can't have two IMs at the same time, and you turn off the one in the lens?

Yep. Posting one's pictures on the web is the way it is done these days. What use is a picture 4896 x 3672 pixels? No monitor exists close to that size.

I see they are listing mirrorless cameras. I thought those cameras had lens correction built in? What does this software give me for a m4/3 camera?

>Why didn't Nikon just make a micro four thirds camera?

(1) Because if you push the technology on the m4/3, you would end up with a camera that could compete against the more profitable DSLRs. By keeping the sensor smal,l Nikon can be sure it doesn't get adopted by the pro-consumer crowd.

(2) Because a proprietary format is always more profitable than an open standard. Minor players don't have the market power to get a proprietary format established and have to adopt a standard.

The marketing people have a word for it: "product differentiation." The m4/3 format has the potential to challenge the more profitable DSLR sales. Even having it come in all these colors is to keep the DSLR crowd from switching to them.

How computerized are the lenses compared to the m4/3 lenses? How much correction is being done in firmware?