(r)E-volting

Let me start out by saying I'm very impressed with the new E-300. This is exactly the kind of camera I felt Olympus should have started with when it launched the E-system and then they could have followed it up with a "pro" body like the E-1.

Even though I am dedicated to the Nikon lens system for DSLRs (S2 and D70), I am now seriously considering adding the E-300 to my kit with a two or three lenses. I have so far been using "prosumer" digicams as travel cameras (or as backups when I don't want to haul a second DSLR) because I didn't want the bulk of a large camera bag and DSLR with lenses ... but the E-300 may be the answer I was looking for in terms of a more compact camera but without sacrificing the versatility of a DSLR.

The only thing that upsets me is that the Olympus marketing department didn't do its job. E-volt sounds WAY too much like revolt, as in a revolting name for a camera.

You would think that Olympus would have learned something from Chevrolet. Back in the days of the Chevy Nova the folks at Chevy couldn't figure out why Nova sales weren't quite as high as similar car models in Spanish-speaking countries. After a while someone bothered to explain that Nova sounds too much like "No va" ... meaning "no go" or "cannot go" as in "This hunk of junk car is so horrible that it cannot be driven."

I think E-300 would have been a better name to stick with, but the name alone won't stop me from buying the camera.

Just like Canon ???

Who markets the 300D here in Japan as the " EOS KISS DIGITAL "...

I think that you will find that the Evolt name may only appear on Asian marketed bodies and as the E-300 in other markets...

After all we have seen a number of different release photos - some with Evolt on the camera and some without..

Cheers,

I second your opinion. That was my very first thought, what a horendous marketing blunder, picking a name that can be so easily modified for ridicule.

I own an E1 and think the e300 (by which I will refer to it) will be a good addition to the line, just don't like the evolt name from the standpoint of it is something that could get in the way of the success of a good product line.

Rick

rustedborg said:

Let me start out by saying I'm very impressed with the new E-300.
This is exactly the kind of camera I felt Olympus should have
started with when it launched the E-system and then they could have
followed it up with a "pro" body like the E-1.

Even though I am dedicated to the Nikon lens system for DSLRs (S2
and D70), I am now seriously considering adding the E-300 to my kit
with a two or three lenses. I have so far been using "prosumer"
digicams as travel cameras (or as backups when I don't want to haul
a second DSLR) because I didn't want the bulk of a large camera bag
and DSLR with lenses ... but the E-300 may be the answer I was
looking for in terms of a more compact camera but without
sacrificing the versatility of a DSLR.

The only thing that upsets me is that the Olympus marketing
department didn't do its job. E-volt sounds WAY too much like
revolt, as in a revolting name for a camera.

You would think that Olympus would have learned something from
Chevrolet. Back in the days of the Chevy Nova the folks at Chevy
couldn't figure out why Nova sales weren't quite as high as similar
car models in Spanish-speaking countries. After a while someone
bothered to explain that Nova sounds too much like "No va" ...
meaning "no go" or "cannot go" as in "This hunk of junk car is so
horrible that it cannot be driven."

I think E-300 would have been a better name to stick with, but the
name alone won't stop me from buying the camera.

Click to expand...

OK, I know that the poro-thing is not a new idea, there is little which is totally new these days but the mix of features, the design, the sensible moves despite the forecasts of doom we have all been seeing still seems like a bold move to me. Long may Oly continue this tradition instead of warmed over converted 35mm jobbies every 6-12 months or so which is the perception I get from Canon (mostly) and Nikon. 8MP, no pentaprism, compact, inbuilt flash, dust shaker, DZ lenses as well, it's a no-brainer IMHO.

Jim

rustedborg said:

Let me start out by saying I'm very impressed with the new E-300.
This is exactly the kind of camera I felt Olympus should have
started with

Click to expand...

--- snip! ---

dunno about warmed over... have you seen the 3200 ISO shots from the 20D posted over at http://www.luminous-landscape.com ?

The wave filter and all the rest are pretty good, but are they enough ? I hope that Olympus will not neglect the basic issues of image quality in the next generation bodies...

I'm a bit worried about this reliance on Kodak, to be honest. Kodak is history.

Jim Attfield said:

Jim

rustedborg said:

Let me start out by saying I'm very impressed with the new E-300.
This is exactly the kind of camera I felt Olympus should have
started with

Click to expand...

--- snip! ---

Click to expand...

--
Read my Olympus E-1 Blog! -- http://www.snowhenge.net/olylog/index.html

Jim Attfield said:

Jim

rustedborg said:

Let me start out by saying I'm very impressed with the new E-300.
This is exactly the kind of camera I felt Olympus should have
started with

Click to expand...

--- snip! ---

Click to expand...

--

This I hope will throw down the gauntlet. It was important for Olympus to deliver something special and I expect the E300 to deliver it. The real deciding factor will be the price especially here in the UK. How about sub £600 in the UK with lens, Just over £500 for the body? No one will have doubts about 4/3 thereafter if this DSLR delivers in quality and price.

I for one am getting more and more convinced the E1 was the right direction for me and cannot wait for the E3 next year. What further innovation can we expect from Olympus for that, maybe an E3 standard and E3N with something extra - faster fps and bigger buffer maybe? Now that would really shake Canons tree.

cheers

Ian

Higuma said:

Just like Canon ???

Who markets the 300D here in Japan as the " EOS KISS DIGITAL "...

Click to expand...

It's the Digital Rebel in North America, which is only slightly better. It looks like the E-Volt is the name for North America also. Perhaps focus groups have shown that Americans like buying products with stupid names?

davidrm said:

The wave filter and all the rest are pretty good, but are they
enough ? I hope that Olympus will not neglect the basic issues of
image quality in the next generation bodies...

I'm a bit worried about this reliance on Kodak, to be honest. Kodak
is history.

Jim Attfield said:

Jim

rustedborg said:

Let me start out by saying I'm very impressed with the new E-300.
This is exactly the kind of camera I felt Olympus should have
started with

Click to expand...

--- snip! ---

Click to expand...

--
Read my Olympus E-1 Blog! --
http://www.snowhenge.net/olylog/index.html

Click to expand...

--

Not that impressed with the pic. Ok so with the E1 it would have been full of noise, but then I would not be happy with that shot anyway. It's just a 'record shot' that achieves little. I go out with a number of fellow photographers and often see them shooting away when I would not bother. If the light is wrong, etc etc. What's the point, you just end up with a second rate image.

This shot does nothing for me personally and I cannot invisage any time when I would need to shoot at this level with this 'quality' - no noise but not much else either. Clever this technology isn't it. Me, I hope I am approaching becoming a photographer, well maybe one day.................

Right, I'll get my coat.

cheers

Ian

... and have you seen how much image information is lost in order to achieve those low noise levels?

I know it's a subjective thing but I have never really liked the 'processed' look of Canon CMOS-derived images, rather like processed cheese to the real thing lol. Their DIGIC processors are clearly (or not lol) working overtime to keep the higher intrinsic noise of CMOS down.

In any event, I don't think that Oly intend the E-300 to compete with the 20D, and frankly I don't think that image quality is an issue with the E-1 although I accept that certain shooting requirements (extreme low light, sports shooters) might lend themselves to the strengths of either C or N in this area.

I wouldn't write off Kodak so readily, either.

Jim

davidrm said:

The wave filter and all the rest are pretty good, but are they
enough ? I hope that Olympus will not neglect the basic issues of
image quality in the next generation bodies...

I'm a bit worried about this reliance on Kodak, to be honest. Kodak
is history.

Jim Attfield said:

Jim

rustedborg said:

Let me start out by saying I'm very impressed with the new E-300.
This is exactly the kind of camera I felt Olympus should have
started with

Click to expand...

--- snip! ---

Click to expand...

--
Read my Olympus E-1 Blog! --
http://www.snowhenge.net/olylog/index.html

Click to expand...

Higuma said:

Just like Canon ???

Who markets the 300D here in Japan as the " EOS KISS DIGITAL "...

Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. Though maybe something gets lost in the translation...

BTW, want a good laugh, check this out if you haven't already:

http://www.engrish.com/

I think it is hilarious that all these engineer and technogeek types are also marketing experts....and think they see the world the same as the common math/number-hating consumer does...

Giving the product an actual name probably helps a lot with the intended market -- consumers who have never had an SLR before and are intimidated by all the numbers......but I suspect the real reason has to do with being able to identify grey market goods coming across the border.

doreen

I think E-volt is a play on the word "Volt," as in voltage, as in electrical energy -- but I agree it sounds very contrived. I think the name will be quietly ignored; most will refer to this machine as simply the E-300.

Yes, this would have been a great camera to launch the 4/3 concept, but I think we're looking at quite a bit of R&D -- this is an outgrowth of the E1 and would not have been possible without the earlier camera.

rustedborg said:

Let me start out by saying I'm very impressed with the new E-300.
This is exactly the kind of camera I felt Olympus should have
started with when it launched the E-system and then they could have
followed it up with a "pro" body like the E-1.

Even though I am dedicated to the Nikon lens system for DSLRs (S2
and D70), I am now seriously considering adding the E-300 to my kit
with a two or three lenses. I have so far been using "prosumer"
digicams as travel cameras (or as backups when I don't want to haul
a second DSLR) because I didn't want the bulk of a large camera bag
and DSLR with lenses ... but the E-300 may be the answer I was
looking for in terms of a more compact camera but without
sacrificing the versatility of a DSLR.

The only thing that upsets me is that the Olympus marketing
department didn't do its job. E-volt sounds WAY too much like
revolt, as in a revolting name for a camera.

Click to expand...

--



http://www.pbase.com/davek/

Your points is well-taken, although the "Chevy No va" tale deserves a correction:

http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

rustedborg wrote:
[...]

rustedborg said:

The only thing that upsets me is that the Olympus marketing
department didn't do its job. E-volt sounds WAY too much like
revolt, as in a revolting name for a camera.

You would think that Olympus would have learned something from
Chevrolet. Back in the days of the Chevy Nova the folks at Chevy
couldn't figure out why Nova sales weren't quite as high as similar
car models in Spanish-speaking countries. After a while someone
bothered to explain that Nova sounds too much like "No va" ...
meaning "no go" or "cannot go" as in "This hunk of junk car is so
horrible that it cannot be driven."

I think E-300 would have been a better name to stick with, but the
name alone won't stop me from buying the camera.

Click to expand...

Ian Tunnicliffe said:

What
further innovation can we expect from Olympus for that, maybe an E3
standard and E3N with something extra - faster fps and bigger
buffer maybe? Now that would really shake Canons tree.

Click to expand...

And when was the last time you needed more the 3 fps and 12 frames? That type of speed and storage is probably limited to sports with really fast lenses and bright lighting. Let Canon have their speed.

I want image quality and superb color balancing all kinds of light. I can easily compensate for Sodium lights with my Sony F717, but not with my E1.

I want a small built-in flash such as the E300 contains for nothing more than shadow fill. My Sony F717 has this, my E1 does not.

I want flash metered through the lens. My Sony F717 does not meter flash through the lense, my E1 does.

I would really like focus confirmation in the viewfinder on the screen that is displaying the subject. Looking down to the bottom of the window is a pain. Neither my Sony F717 or E1 have focus confirmation in the viewfinder when composing.

I like being able to adjust the color emphasis as the E1 allows. My Sony also does this but somewhat differently. The E-300 seems to have a dial that allows for quick selection of the type of scene. I wish the E1 had such a quick adjustment.

I could care less about going beyond 5 megapixels as that is more than adequate for all that I do. More pixels is just more storage.

I really want better lenses. The 35-70 that I used with my OM system was a wonderful lens. Why can't I get this with my E1? The 14-54 is supposed to be a mild telephoto but when viewing the images through the viewfinder and my open eye, the 54 setting seems to be about what my eye sees. It does not appear to be a telephoto at all (funny numbers maybe.)

I want a fast prime lens. My OM system has a 55mm 1.2 lens that is really nice. I also want this my digital system.

Why does the flash grip for the E-1 require two cables. One for the trigger button, one for the flash. Could this cables be combined into one? Why does the flash cable have to connect into the hotshoe? Could this not have been a special cable from the bottom of the grip into the side of the camera as was done with the OM system?

I want a flash grip that places the flash above the camera, not to the side. I also want this grip to contain extra batteries so the flash recycles quicker. Also could not the batteries in the flash grip be used to power the camera. One set of additional power for both purposes?

I want a central split prism, all around matte with gridlines, viewing and focusing screen. It worked well in my OM system, why not the E system?

I like the E1 and it is my camera of choice. I have liked Olympus products since the OM-1 and have four OM bodies. I just think there are some engineering pin-heads that need to look at the real world when designing a system.

The E300 has a couple of new features. I would rather the money spent on 3 additional megapixels be spent on more lenses and useful accessories.

--
RayT

I thought "Camedia" was stupid and then I saw the stylized E in the E-1 logo.

Has anyone else noticed that it's that pronged end of the standard pinch nylon clip--as used on Olympus gadget bags?

Clearly, they spend more on engineering than marketing and focus groups.
--
Ray Hull
OCULUS NY
'We nevah, evah do nuthin 'nice and easy' Tina Turner

....That's kind of what I think this sounds like:

"...Olympus EVOLT E-300'. This digital SLR features [...] Optical Porro Finder (mirrors instead of glass..."

Ray Thompson said:

Ian Tunnicliffe said:

What
further innovation can we expect from Olympus for that, maybe an E3
standard and E3N with something extra - faster fps and bigger
buffer maybe? Now that would really shake Canons tree.

Click to expand...

And when was the last time you needed more the 3 fps and 12 frames?
That type of speed and storage is probably limited to sports with
really fast lenses and bright lighting. Let Canon have their speed.

I want image quality and superb color balancing all kinds of light.
I can easily compensate for Sodium lights with my Sony F717, but
not with my E1.

I want a small built-in flash such as the E300 contains for nothing
more than shadow fill. My Sony F717 has this, my E1 does not.

I want flash metered through the lens. My Sony F717 does not meter
flash through the lense, my E1 does.

I would really like focus confirmation in the viewfinder on the
screen that is displaying the subject. Looking down to the bottom
of the window is a pain. Neither my Sony F717 or E1 have focus
confirmation in the viewfinder when composing.

I like being able to adjust the color emphasis as the E1 allows. My
Sony also does this but somewhat differently. The E-300 seems to
have a dial that allows for quick selection of the type of scene. I
wish the E1 had such a quick adjustment.

I could care less about going beyond 5 megapixels as that is more
than adequate for all that I do. More pixels is just more storage.

I really want better lenses. The 35-70 that I used with my OM
system was a wonderful lens. Why can't I get this with my E1? The
14-54 is supposed to be a mild telephoto but when viewing the
images through the viewfinder and my open eye, the 54 setting seems
to be about what my eye sees. It does not appear to be a telephoto
at all (funny numbers maybe.)

Click to expand...

That's it! The 54mm is a 54 mm, not a 108mm! But the image is cropped, so it you only get what you would get with a 105, but the subject is just as "far away" as with the normals on 35.

Ray Thompson said:

I want a fast prime lens. My OM system has a 55mm 1.2 lens that is
really nice. I also want this my digital system.

Why does the flash grip for the E-1 require two cables. One for the
trigger button, one for the flash. Could this cables be combined
into one? Why does the flash cable have to connect into the
hotshoe? Could this not have been a special cable from the bottom
of the grip into the side of the camera as was done with the OM
system?

I want a flash grip that places the flash above the camera, not to
the side. I also want this grip to contain extra batteries so the
flash recycles quicker. Also could not the batteries in the flash
grip be used to power the camera. One set of additional power for
both purposes?

I want a central split prism, all around matte with gridlines,
viewing and focusing screen. It worked well in my OM system, why
not the E system?

I like the E1 and it is my camera of choice. I have liked Olympus
products since the OM-1 and have four OM bodies. I just think there
are some engineering pin-heads that need to look at the real world
when designing a system.

The E300 has a couple of new features. I would rather the money
spent on 3 additional megapixels be spent on more lenses and useful
accessories.

--
RayT

Click to expand...

--
Raymond
http://home.online.no/~rwardena
http://www.volleyball.no/t3.asp?p=47233

I like e-volt. Are you guys all missing that a revolt is an uprising? As in a revolution. "Revolting" can mean off-putting as well, but "revolt" itself cannot mean off-putting, it's just an uprising- as in "the peasants are so unhappy they are sure to revolt". Anyhow, e-volt manages to evoke both "revolt" and "evolution", both of which it is, and it gets a dig in at the d-rebel, against which it will be competing.

Raymond Wardenaer said:

osloray said:

I really want better lenses. The 35-70 that I used with my OM
system was a wonderful lens. Why can't I get this with my E1? The
14-54 is supposed to be a mild telephoto but when viewing the
images through the viewfinder and my open eye, the 54 setting seems
to be about what my eye sees. It does not appear to be a telephoto
at all (funny numbers maybe.)

Click to expand...

That's it! The 54mm is a 54 mm, not a 108mm! But the image is
cropped, so it you only get what you would get with a 105, but the
subject is just as "far away" as with the normals on 35.

Click to expand...

raymond got to this before i did and he's right... why do so many people not understand basic optics? 54mm is always going to be the same size image viewed through an slr. on 4/3 it's a telephoto, on a 35mm it's "normal", and on 6x7 it's wide. in any case the images will all be the same size in the viewfinder, and if you looked thru any of them with one eye open it would be about the same size as you see with your open eye. you just see more of it with the larger format and less of it with the smaller.

You got it.

Terry
http://www.pbase.com/terdonal
dpreview supporter
pbase supporter