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Olympus lens department sucks
- Thread starter dMatic
- Start date
dMatic
Active member
I'm not bitching. I have a critic opinion about their lens department.
I like four thirds standard and their philosophy.
dMatic
http://dmatic.fototrip.org
I like four thirds standard and their philosophy.
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dMatic
http://dmatic.fototrip.org
D
Denny Colvin
Guest
Inigo Montoya
Forum Pro
Therein lies the nature of "troll". He did not say "I wish Olympus would..." he said their lens department sucks. Big difference.
He then goes on to compare high ISO noise performance against a full frame sensor (5D), etc. Sounds trollish to me. From day 1 every one knew what 4/3 at ISO 800 looked like, and Olympus has been pretty clear with their lens roadmap -- listing future models well in advance of their release.
To me, arguing known facts is trollish behavior. Either 4/3rs suits you, me, or the OP, or it doesn't. Neither means that the "Olympus lens department sucks".
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E-Three-Hundred/DZ Fourteen-Fifty-Four/DZ Fifty-Two-Hundred/FL-Fifty
E-Ten/C-Twenty-One-Hundred-UZ/E-One-Hundred-RS/D-Four-Hundred-Z
Oldma-cdon-aldh-adaf-arm-EI-EI-O
The roadmap was clear, but they didn't stick to it. See: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=20069383
I don't think their lens department sucks, but I do think that Olympus management has changed their mind on the roadmap, and neglected to inform the users whether primes are still coming at a later date.
Cheers,
Simon
Franklin
Senior Member
Not small compare to what? Have you tried Canon Nikon's offering in similar range with similar aperture? They either don't have them or they are huge.
Make provocative negative statement like OP did to get attention is trolling.
Make provocative negative statement like OP did to get attention is trolling.
When looking for comparable lenses in other brands, remember to scale both the focal length and the aperture to compensate for 4/3's smaller sensor size. Then, similar or smaller-sized alternatives can certainly be found. For small digital lenses, look no further than the Pentax primes.
Cheers,
Simon
before Olympus shifted their emphasis to the consumer market. It still looks like there will be a fast telephoto macro. Panny/Leica is supposed to make a 25mm f/1.4. The Sigma 30mm f/1.4 is available. So, what is missing? A 17.5mm f/2 and a 45mm f/2?
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http://srpluta.zenfolio.com/
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http://srpluta.zenfolio.com/
True, the shift to the consumer market came later. What I do not like, though, is that they did not publicize their intent to deliver the primes later (an extended roadmap, maybe?). The E-1 was supposed to attract professionals to the system. Olympus has left (a number of) them out in the cold by delaying the E-3 and letting the promised primes vanish into thin air.
It does seem that Leica/Panasonic is planning to deliver two of these lenses: the 25mm f/1.4 and the 45mm f/2. Maybe Olympus has 'given up' this niche to them?
Cheers,
Simon
andy mclean
Senior Member
So, if Louis Dobson doesn't need it then Oly shouldn't make it? No-one else matters I guess.
Of course folks will buy another system. Many of those that bought the E-1 already have. In fact large numbers of folks here that still like E-1 already have D200s, Canon 5Ds.... and before too long Pentax K10s.
Why do they have these additional manufacturers cameras if Oly is all it is cracked-up to be? If I was rich enough to buy whichever number of camera systems I like, then maybe I wouldn't be quite as critical of OLy and would be more patient with them too. However, next time I spend £3500 or more on a camera 'system' it certainly will not be Oly short of a miracle in their E-T.
It worries me that Pentax can produce a higher spec body with weatherproofing, dustbuster, image stabilsation, 10MPs, 22bit ADC and Oly are nowhere near it. And they have fast standard and wide primes... and their new zooms will be out before too long.
Even Leica produce a camera that was claimed to be impossible three years ago. And they produce IS in a 4/3rds zoom AND announce fast standard primes too.
I think that the lack of fast standard primes is noteworthy in Oly's 'system', the quality of their zooms not withstanding. It shows a narrow appraoch to what photographers may want from a system, and a good system should be all things to all photographers within what the format allows. Not just the Louis Dobon's of the world. No?
Finally, since Oly don't produce fast standard primes, it is to be expected that the vast majority of present Oly users don't 'need' or miss them. This is a self fulfilling prophecy. The fact is that those that do want to use primes, don't use Oly because they can't. Not because they don't want to.
Best wishes-
Andy
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/andymclean5/
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/andymclean5/
Of course folks will buy another system. Many of those that bought the E-1 already have. In fact large numbers of folks here that still like E-1 already have D200s, Canon 5Ds.... and before too long Pentax K10s.
Why do they have these additional manufacturers cameras if Oly is all it is cracked-up to be? If I was rich enough to buy whichever number of camera systems I like, then maybe I wouldn't be quite as critical of OLy and would be more patient with them too. However, next time I spend £3500 or more on a camera 'system' it certainly will not be Oly short of a miracle in their E-T.
It worries me that Pentax can produce a higher spec body with weatherproofing, dustbuster, image stabilsation, 10MPs, 22bit ADC and Oly are nowhere near it. And they have fast standard and wide primes... and their new zooms will be out before too long.
Even Leica produce a camera that was claimed to be impossible three years ago. And they produce IS in a 4/3rds zoom AND announce fast standard primes too.
I think that the lack of fast standard primes is noteworthy in Oly's 'system', the quality of their zooms not withstanding. It shows a narrow appraoch to what photographers may want from a system, and a good system should be all things to all photographers within what the format allows. Not just the Louis Dobon's of the world. No?
Finally, since Oly don't produce fast standard primes, it is to be expected that the vast majority of present Oly users don't 'need' or miss them. This is a self fulfilling prophecy. The fact is that those that do want to use primes, don't use Oly because they can't. Not because they don't want to.
Best wishes-
Andy
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/andymclean5/
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/andymclean5/
Franka T.L.
Veteran Member
Oly originally market the 4/3 very agressively and were prepared to cater to differetn need. Many buy into the 4/3 early becasue they believe in Oly's sincerity and the E-1 give that much confidence. Business wise I do not think there's anything worng about switching between stratagy. But equally so I believe its in Oly's best interest to properly inform their customers. If the Mfr are unlikely to provide solution as demanded ( in thsi case lens ) they might as well spell it out instead of having their usual mumble jumble. As of today Oly still taut their digital only lens as the largest selection for any DSLR syste, Probably true by quantity but not in depth of the system.
I believe the negative feeling is pretty much a by product of the high expectation customer have which is pretty much generated by Oly's own way of marketing the 4/3. Sort of like the Kodak Pro-14n fiesco.
I remember when the E-300 was freshly out, there is an in dpeth interview conducted in Jpan with the 4/3 product manager ( with a Japanese Photography magazine ). BAck then, Olyspus is still vocing their stout adherance to provide at least 3 tier of product in the line of E-XXX for entry & consumer, E-XX for mid range and Hobbyist / Semi-PRO and E-X for dedicated amateur, and PRO need. They were still vocing their intention to beef up the whole lens lineup by providing both zoom and fix focal solutions. Since then, obviously Oly had slow down a lot without actually answering whether the System will be supported in any depth regarding. With no proper channel of communication, and a slow introduction of any real product, it manifest as a kind of suspecious feeling towards the Mfr.
What doe s matter right now is 4/3 is in a crossroad right now. It might or might not gain significanr healthy market penetration with the introduction of Panasonic and Leica into the fold, and the E-400. But with that amount of market, the deficiency start to show also. Without the depth of a SYSTEM ( quantity is not the overriding factor ) it will limit the 4/3's future. Its always a long term answer vs the short term one .... And one word of observation here, people, please do not keep saying fast or any fix focals is for PRO only, just hop over to Pentax Foruma and see how many really care about good quality fix focals and if there ios a brand that's even less PRO oriented than 4/3 then Pentax probably qualify. Quality product will always draw customer although it might not be the volume selling one. So Oly need to address that one decision. Do they want to broaden and strengthen the system with some decent variety in lens lineup or do they want just the definite seller.
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I believe the negative feeling is pretty much a by product of the high expectation customer have which is pretty much generated by Oly's own way of marketing the 4/3. Sort of like the Kodak Pro-14n fiesco.
I remember when the E-300 was freshly out, there is an in dpeth interview conducted in Jpan with the 4/3 product manager ( with a Japanese Photography magazine ). BAck then, Olyspus is still vocing their stout adherance to provide at least 3 tier of product in the line of E-XXX for entry & consumer, E-XX for mid range and Hobbyist / Semi-PRO and E-X for dedicated amateur, and PRO need. They were still vocing their intention to beef up the whole lens lineup by providing both zoom and fix focal solutions. Since then, obviously Oly had slow down a lot without actually answering whether the System will be supported in any depth regarding. With no proper channel of communication, and a slow introduction of any real product, it manifest as a kind of suspecious feeling towards the Mfr.
What doe s matter right now is 4/3 is in a crossroad right now. It might or might not gain significanr healthy market penetration with the introduction of Panasonic and Leica into the fold, and the E-400. But with that amount of market, the deficiency start to show also. Without the depth of a SYSTEM ( quantity is not the overriding factor ) it will limit the 4/3's future. Its always a long term answer vs the short term one .... And one word of observation here, people, please do not keep saying fast or any fix focals is for PRO only, just hop over to Pentax Foruma and see how many really care about good quality fix focals and if there ios a brand that's even less PRO oriented than 4/3 then Pentax probably qualify. Quality product will always draw customer although it might not be the volume selling one. So Oly need to address that one decision. Do they want to broaden and strengthen the system with some decent variety in lens lineup or do they want just the definite seller.
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- Franka -
Not small compared to a pancake lens or many other primes. Even the 50mm macro is small, but I don't want a 50 mm and not a macro. So the new Sigma is smaller, but I don't want it from Sigma, I want it from Olympus!
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Raymond
http://home.online.no/~rwardena
http://www.volleyball.no/t3.asp?p=57227
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Raymond
http://home.online.no/~rwardena
http://www.volleyball.no/t3.asp?p=57227
Troll is a Norwegian word. As a Norwegian, I can tell you that there are nice trolls, too 
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Raymond
http://home.online.no/~rwardena
http://www.volleyball.no/t3.asp?p=57227
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Raymond
http://home.online.no/~rwardena
http://www.volleyball.no/t3.asp?p=57227
This is what I wrote a long time ago:
"Troll is not a verb, originally. It is a noun orig. from Scandinavian folklore "any of a race of supernatural beings, variously conceived of as giants or dwarfs, living underground or in caves" (Webster). The verb to troll means to roll or wander or to fish with a moving line. The use of "trolling" here is probably invented by - the people here who want to describe what a troll does. And - mind you - trolls are not always bad and usually easy to fool."
But of course I know what is meant by a tro9ll here in the forums, but a little background will not hurt, will it?
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Raymond
http://home.online.no/~rwardena
http://www.volleyball.no/t3.asp?p=57227
"Troll is not a verb, originally. It is a noun orig. from Scandinavian folklore "any of a race of supernatural beings, variously conceived of as giants or dwarfs, living underground or in caves" (Webster). The verb to troll means to roll or wander or to fish with a moving line. The use of "trolling" here is probably invented by - the people here who want to describe what a troll does. And - mind you - trolls are not always bad and usually easy to fool."
But of course I know what is meant by a tro9ll here in the forums, but a little background will not hurt, will it?
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Raymond
http://home.online.no/~rwardena
http://www.volleyball.no/t3.asp?p=57227
Muzzlehatch
Forum Enthusiast
I'll second that... could be a poor grasp of English, which is ok. But it defilintely had all the hallmarks of trollishness to me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/muzzlehatch/
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/muzzlehatch/
Louis_Dobson
Forum Pro
did you miss?
In the meantime anyone who buys into Oly and then says "Waaah - no primes" is being a bit dim. They should have looked FIRST.
Same as I just looked at Pentax and saw no zooms. I'd be a bit stupid if I went and bought Pentax and THEN moaned there were no zooms wouldn't I?
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/acam
http://www.pbase.com/acam/
Not if these zooms were on the official roadmap and got pulled later, right?
Cheers,
Simon
andy mclean
Senior Member
Ah, but since when has Dobson owned any E-system cameras? I bought about 9 months after E-1 release and many others at launch.. those before me when the entire system, road map and all was essentially an article of faith. Stupid?
I don't think it was stupid in the least to anticpate that a 'pro-system' would have some fast primes with less than 100mm effective field of view. As far as I know every other system has such lenses. It was a gamble for sure, but stupid?
Oly included an f1.4 25mm lense in a patent submitted around 18 months or more ago.... still nothing. Perhaps the Leica announcement will goad them into a release.... there was certainly no indication that may happen until Leica turned up. There is still no indication.
Maybe that will change as a consequence of Photokina. But I think Oly has used up a great deal of good will amongst those early E-1 adopters and it is about time something concrete was offered to them. There is no question that they have lost out to the competition, not least as indicated by the numbers of E-1 owners that have subsequently bought into N and C systems too. If the E-system were all it was initially cracked up to be that wouldn't be the case to anything like the degree it is now.
Andy
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/andymclean5/
I don't think it was stupid in the least to anticpate that a 'pro-system' would have some fast primes with less than 100mm effective field of view. As far as I know every other system has such lenses. It was a gamble for sure, but stupid?
Oly included an f1.4 25mm lense in a patent submitted around 18 months or more ago.... still nothing. Perhaps the Leica announcement will goad them into a release.... there was certainly no indication that may happen until Leica turned up. There is still no indication.
Maybe that will change as a consequence of Photokina. But I think Oly has used up a great deal of good will amongst those early E-1 adopters and it is about time something concrete was offered to them. There is no question that they have lost out to the competition, not least as indicated by the numbers of E-1 owners that have subsequently bought into N and C systems too. If the E-system were all it was initially cracked up to be that wouldn't be the case to anything like the degree it is now.
Andy
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/andymclean5/
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