"Olympus E system mirrorless in two years. Probably."

[Josegaut]

Aren't you making a confusion between seeing at 30 fps and shooting at 30 fps ? Having an EVF capable of "seeing" 30 fps (or higher) doesn't mean you have to save 30 images per second on your CF card....IMHO.

And why are you already saying, without any further information, that the AF will be faulty ?

Why so much negativity without knowing anything about something that doesn't exist (or at least, isn't on the market yet) ?

At the beginning of the 20th century, people said that the human being would die in a vehicle going faster than 60 mph.
--

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good - Samuel Johnson

 

[Gheghevic]

I'm perfecly agree with you Ken!

I hope they will not remove OVF!!!

--
http://picasaweb.google.it/gheghevic/OlympusE510

 

[olyflyer]

I've just been an Oly owner for about 6mo when I decided Oly over the G1 -- did I make the right decision?? .... If this news does nothing else it has put my upgrade purchases on hold for 6 months and I suspect a few others will now put their purchasing plans on hold. ... I don't understand this anouncement without a product in hand. (The EP series is interesting but certainly not a replacement for the E systems.)

It's not an "announcement" it's more like a speculative comment from an Oly rep, not even an educated guess. Remember, "announcements" are coming from Japan, not from USA.

I bet you it won't take many hours before a denial or a correction is made. Wait until it hits the fan...
--
My Nikon 16-85mm album:
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/1336313410/albums/16-85

My blog:
http://www.olyflyer.blogspot.com/

 

[Gregm61]

I've just been an Oly owner for about 6mo when I decided Oly over the G1 -- did I make the right decision?? .... If this news does nothing else it has put my upgrade purchases on hold for 6 months and I suspect a few others will now put their purchasing plans on hold. ... I don't understand this anouncement without a product in hand. (The EP series is interesting but certainly not a replacement for the E systems.)

It's not an "announcement" it's more like a speculative comment from an Oly rep, not even an educated guess. Remember, "announcements" are coming from Japan, not from USA.

I bet you it won't take many hours before a denial or a correction is made. Wait until it hits the fan...

That Olympus rep is an idiot. I just read the article and he obviously has not used both types of cameras to have made some of the statements he made in comparing the two viewing systems. If Olympus elects to not make any comments about his statements, they are a bigger bunch of idiots.

 

[WhyNot]

It's not an "announcement" it's more like a speculative comment from an Oly rep, not even an educated guess. Remember, "announcements" are coming from Japan, not from USA. ..

I know your right, but like it or not if this gets any attention beyond the Rumor sites then it is an "announcement" because if I were buying today in the middle of the USA where I haven't been able to identify an authorized dealer who can let me hold any Oly DSLR then I look elsewhere. (I just checked this hasn't been picked up by Google News yet.)

 

[duartix]

Any way, they have to deal with (...) and the EVF-blackout before they can eliminate the mirror in a pro camera.

They haven't but they will. That's one of the points for electronic global shutters.
--
Duarte Bruno

 

[SteB]

It's not an "announcement" it's more like a speculative comment from an Oly rep, not even an educated guess. Remember, "announcements" are coming from Japan, not from USA.

I bet you it won't take many hours before a denial or a correction is made. Wait until it hits the fan...

Well I don't think you can compare "Olympus America's DSLR product manager" to the comments from a rep. Yes there is no doubt whatsoever that with the camera manufacturers the Japanese Headquarter's management are where it is really at. Nevertheless someone at this level must have considerably more insight into this than most, especially considering that presumably this is the area of management they are responsible for. A denial or correction would not mean anything at all as it would more than likely be motivated by a wish to keep the strategy secret, rather than because the information was incorrect.

However, I am not entirely sure that this is not officially sanctioned. If you look at the PMA interview with Akira Watanabe last year there are very, very strong hints at precisely this strategy - and he is "manager of Olympus Imaging's SLR planning department". Why else would he be making such a point about CDAF imager based AF on SLRs outperforming PDAF. Why the statement "autofocus will change dramatically in SLRs"? About the only change between these 2 interviews is that in 2009 12mp was enough, whereas now 14mp is enough, which to me almost certainly says that the next batch of 4/3 and m4/3 cameras will have 14mp sensors. Next year we will probably be told 16mp is enough and so on.
http://www.cnet.com/8301-13951_1-10189546-63.html

 

[buddika]

what would be the point of dumping SLRs for EVF bodies, when you could simply > adapt any mFT to do the same thing. What part of that sound smart to you ?

I also doubt whether this makes any sense. 4/3 without mirror and OVF is m4/3 which is already here and much smaller compared to what 4/3 can be.

I think oly will come up with a correction to this statement, like they did to Mr Watanabes one.

buddika

 

[olyflyer]

Aren't you making a confusion between seeing at 30 fps and shooting at 30 fps ? Having an EVF capable of "seeing" 30 fps (or higher) doesn't mean you have to save 30 images per second on your CF card....IMHO.

It is obvious that if a camera is shooting at 20fps the VF must be able to handle three times as much to avoid seeing any lag. This is the sampling theorem I learned a great many years ago. ~30fps was the video recording rate in my post, so yes, all of that must end up on my memory card.

And why are you already saying, without any further information, that the AF will be faulty ?

I am not saying the AF will be faulty, I am asking how it could manage 30fps with AF.

Why so much negativity without knowing anything about something that doesn't exist (or at least, isn't on the market yet) ?

It's more like realism than negativism. I am also not saying it is impossible, but I doubt it is possible in such short time.

At the beginning of the 20th century, people said that the human being would die in a vehicle going faster than 60 mph.

Yes. You don't have to go that far back for such comments. Someone (a very well known person) said at the beginning of popular computing era during the beginning of the 80's that 640kB memory is more than we ever will need. Someone else (a very well known person) said at about the same time that two or maximum three super computers is all what the whole world will ever need. Ask Cray how many they have sold so far.

I am not saying those things won't happen, just that not yet and not that fast. There is a big difference...
--
My Nikon 16-85mm album:
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/1336313410/albums/16-85

My blog:
http://www.olyflyer.blogspot.com/

 

[deleted_081301]

well i was looking to upgrade from my exellent E300 to a E620 mainly for the IS
but now i think ill wait and allso have a look at nikon/cannon instead

why would anyone now buy a new E series olympus knowing there investment was probhably gona be obselite in 2 years time ????

 

[zigi_S]

I'm with you with on this one. E-620 has to wait a bit longer.
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeegee/

 

[WhyNot]

WhyNot wrote:
(I just checked this hasn't been picked up by Google News yet.)

Google News now lists this interview. So this is getting closer to an "Announcement."

 

[olyflyer]

It's not an "announcement" it's more like a speculative comment from an Oly rep, not even an educated guess. Remember, "announcements" are coming from Japan, not from USA. ..

I know your right, but like it or not if this gets any attention beyond the Rumor sites then it is an "announcement" because if I were buying today in the middle of the USA where I haven't been able to identify an authorized dealer who can let me hold any Oly DSLR then I look elsewhere. (I just checked this hasn't been picked up by Google News yet.)

The best way to find out is sending a mail to Oly Japan, which is what I did. They are going to answer one way or the other.
--
My Nikon 16-85mm album:
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/1336313410/albums/16-85

My blog:
http://www.olyflyer.blogspot.com/

 

[Gregm61]

Pretty darn sharp, and that's the micro version.

That's not what I'm concerned about. What concerns me is what happens to EVF's, including the one in the E-P2, when you press the shutter release to shoot a burst and it blanks out entirely over the course of the burst and you cannot continue following the subject to keep it framed in the finder. Even fast single frame shooting is impossible because it takes the finder so long to come back the subject is gone and you have to re-estabish contact, losing the ability to follow a subject a few seconds after every shot.

What this will do is turn this system into an oversized digicam.

 

[SteB]

That Olympus rep is an idiot. I just read the article and he obviously has not used both types of cameras to have made some of the statements he made in comparing the two viewing systems. If Olympus elects to not make any comments about his statements, they are a bigger bunch of idiots.

How can "Olympus America's DSLR product manager" not be aware of how the 2 types of cameras function. If Olympus have employed a "DSLR product manager" who is both an "idiot" and who doesn't know the difference between how a DSLR works and how a m4/3 works - I think we all better quickly sell our Olympus gear before anyone realises the lunatics have taken over the assylum. However I think that this person is probably a lot better informed than you give them credit for.

 

[Gregm61]

That Olympus rep is an idiot. I just read the article and he obviously has not used both types of cameras to have made some of the statements he made in comparing the two viewing systems. If Olympus elects to not make any comments about his statements, they are a bigger bunch of idiots.

How can "Olympus America's DSLR product manager" not be aware of how the 2 types of cameras function.

Exactly. And that is precisely how it sounds. He only talks about Af speed in the article and makes no mention of the real problem with EVF's and that's the inability of one to allow the user a continuous, uninterrupted view over a fast burst or multiple fast single shots while being able to keep a subject framed in the finder. It's even more serious when someone at this level truly seems to not have a clue.

If Olympus have employed a "DSLR product manager" who is both an "idiot" and who doesn't know the difference between how a DSLR works and how a m4/3 works - I think we all better quickly sell our Olympus gear before anyone realises the lunatics have taken over the assylum. However I think that this person is probably a lot better informed than you give them credit for.

Until I read these comments I would have agreed with you. After reading them, I'm not sure how much credit he should be given at all about knowing the products he's selling.

 

[WhyNot]

...

The best way to find out is sending a mail to Oly Japan, which is what I did. They are going to answer one way or the other. ...
--

Regardless of what retractions are offered this can affect Oly’s bottom line. I remember a computer company that made an “Announcement” of a new and better computer they would have in 6 months. Sales immediately dropped and that company was out of the computer business before the new product was released. …. What we all want here is for Oly to be successful and profitable in their business because when the bottom line starts to falter then the first things to go will IMHO probably be their excellent QC and customer service….

 

[Barry Stewart]

Pretty darn sharp, and that's the micro version.

That's not what I'm concerned about. What concerns me is what happens to EVF's, including the one in the E-P2, when you press the shutter release to shoot a burst and it blanks out entirely over the course of the burst and you cannot continue following the subject to keep it framed in the finder.

Not sure if it's relevant, but shooting with the E-330 in Liveview 'A' and using the LCD... there is no blacking out when the shutter is pressed. Add a second sensor to avoid the blacking-out.

I'm all for the mirror going bye bye — if the screen refresh speed is there. It is lacking in the 330, but tech advances could make a big leap. What do they use in fighter jets?

--
Barry

 

[Juergen Hahn]

why would anyone now buy a new E series olympus knowing there investment was probhably gona be obselite in 2 years time ????

In what form is your investment going to be obsolete? As long as all your lenses still work, nothing will be obsolete if you were to decide to upgrade to a new body in the future.

While I have my doubts that we are only two years away from such a development, I am quite certain that all manufacturers will do something like this to all of their models in the medium term.

 

[Ian_B]

Yeah, with all this speculation now I'm really glad I held off upgrading from my E-510 to the 620.

And to be honest I've also held off from getting another lens for now until I get some postive news.