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Olympus's options in the face of increasing sensor sizes

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Jonathan Demarais

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Olympus and Pentax are now the only companies not to offer a FF camera. Sony's isn't out yet, but it's coming. The shortcoming of Olympus is of course that they don't even have a 1.5 crop camera out. The 4/3rds sensor size is a standard of Olympus and Panasonic. However, it is possible Olympus could expand their sensor to a 4/3rds at a 1.5 size crop of the so-called, FF size. This would at least keep them level with the low to mid-level offerings from the other mfgs.

I put one of the Olympus lenses on a Pentax body (1.5 sensor) and it produced a very evenly illuminated image, even at 14mm and wide open. Since the Pentax sensor to lens mount distance is deeper than the Olympus sensor, any minor vignetting seen in this image would be gone if the sensor were in the Olympus body. I don't know if other Olympus lenses could support a 1.5 sensor (I doubt it) but it does open up some interesting possibilities. The E-3s sensor techology expanded to 1.5 crop could be superior to the other 1.5 sensors out there, or they could keep the current characteristic and jump the pixel count to about 16 megapixels.

The only drawback would be a loss of image quality at the edges, which we see with most other cameras when compared to current Olympus camera lens combinations.





'I cried because I had no E-3. Then I met a man with no E-510'
 
Jonathan Demarais said:
Olympus and Pentax are now the only companies not to offer a FF
camera. Sony's isn't out yet, but it's coming. The shortcoming of
Olympus is of course that they don't even have a 1.5 crop camera out.
The 4/3rds sensor size is a standard of Olympus and Panasonic.
However, it is possible Olympus could expand their sensor to a 4/3rds
at a 1.5 size crop of the so-called, FF size. This would at least
keep them level with the low to mid-level offerings from the other
mfgs.
Click to expand...
So what is the argument about? That you'd rather switch to Pentax? Why don't you do so, and tell the Pentax forum?

To me it would make more sense to whine about the fact that Oly has no FF. If you don't have brand loyalty, then draw the consequences. Enjoy your other equipment (and pity for the lenses that you already have, if they cannot be fully adapted).

Am.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7689141@N06/

http://picasaweb.google.com/amalric2
 
I agree with the reply above. I want a small sensor and small camera. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see them get even smaller.

Making the sensor larger to get less noise is not an impressive technological achievement in my eyes. It is just something the other manufacturers have chosen to do because they have not figured out how to make a small sensor with low noise.

Go back to the Olympus web site and read the theory on 4/3's again. I think you missed the point in that. Better yet.....go drop > $5K on one of those bricks the other companies make.
 
Canon, Nikon and others never seemed to worry about not having medium format and still don't: they happily left that far smaller high end market sector to other companies, knowing that there were far more profits to be made in the far better selling "miniature format", as 35m used to be called.

Likewise, I am sure that Olympus (and probably Pentax) are perfectly happy to concentrate on doing one format well and not chasing the far smaller market for 35mm format digital. Canon continues to make well over 90% of its DSLR sales with EF-S, a higher proportion now that in the days of the original 1Ds, and along with the success of the D3, Nikon is selling about seven times as many of the D300, and so grossing far more on the latter model. In fact, even Olympus is sellng far more DSLR's than the 35mm format DSLRs from giants Canon and Nikon combined.

I see not the slightest hint that 35mm market share will get anywhere close to that of the smaller formats.
 
Why stop there - the 4/3rds mount is the the same diameter as the OM mount which was 35mm so stick an extension tube adapter on if need be come out with a 35mm sensor and a whole new range of lenses and pull a nikon allowing the old ones to work in DX mode.

Oh that's right - all the advantages of telecentric design and small lenses went flying out the window.

Look the image quality is fine now for any size I print. And that is all really.

--
C&C always welcome.
Reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gnarayan
 
hamburglar said:
I agree with the reply above. I want a small sensor and small
camera. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see them get even smaller.

Making the sensor larger to get less noise is not an impressive
technological achievement in my eyes. It is just something the other
manufacturers have chosen to do because they have not figured out how
to make a small sensor with low noise.
Click to expand...
Big thumbs up to this comment. Totally agree!

If electronics in our "appliances" did not shrink and at the same time got thousands times better, we would have computers the size of a house... instead we now have computers that fit in our palm...

People seeing FF sensors as the future simply don't see the future...

---

happy 4/3
 
For Pentax, that is.
Jonathan Demarais said:
Olympus and Pentax are now the only companies not to offer a FF
camera. Sony's isn't out yet, but it's coming. The shortcoming of
Olympus is of course that they don't even have a 1.5 crop camera out.
The 4/3rds sensor size is a standard of Olympus and Panasonic.
However, it is possible Olympus could expand their sensor to a 4/3rds
at a 1.5 size crop of the so-called, FF size. This would at least
keep them level with the low to mid-level offerings from the other
mfgs.

I put one of the Olympus lenses on a Pentax body (1.5 sensor) and it
produced a very evenly illuminated image, even at 14mm and wide open.
Since the Pentax sensor to lens mount distance is deeper than the
Olympus sensor, any minor vignetting seen in this image would be gone
if the sensor were in the Olympus body. I don't know if other
Olympus lenses could support a 1.5 sensor (I doubt it) but it does
open up some interesting possibilities. The E-3s sensor techology
expanded to 1.5 crop could be superior to the other 1.5 sensors out
there, or they could keep the current characteristic and jump the
pixel count to about 16 megapixels.

The only drawback would be a loss of image quality at the edges,
which we see with most other cameras when compared to current Olympus
camera lens combinations.





'I cried because I had no E-3. Then I met a man with no E-510'
Click to expand...
 
Four thirds sensor is plenty. Any larger sensors are relics from the film days.
 
4/3rds is a full frame format, the so called crop factor is given to provide a method to compare the focal length with traditional 35mm.

since its a new format, it has always been full frame and designed to be so.

--
if you can imagine the picture, then do all you can to make it
 
I was just going to toss that out to the class...

there is 35mm standard & there is 4/3 standard, both full frame transfer. think of Oly as a half scale version of the 35mm standard and you can start to see it. throw the equivalency factor in to get comparable focal lenghts and you have it.

the term full frame, with the advent of the different systems of lenses matched to sensors being adopted, goes out the window the minute you stop having to apply a crop factor in terms of the relationship of the lens to the sensor.

stop worrying about it and shoot pictures, I'm sure Oly has plenty more innovations up their sleeves that canon/nikon will adopt a year or three later and fool the faithful into thinking it was their own.
 
Foveon has shown us that.

I would expect that Olympus can keep 4/3rds and adopt a Foveon style of sensor and increase resolution.

No one else other than Foveon has done this. Someone else surely will. Will it be Olympus (or Panasonic).
 
"People seeing FF sensors as the future simply don't see the future..."

ok, let me correct myself,

People seeing 24x36mm as the future simply don't see the future...

---

happy 4/3
 
I see is again cloudy and gloomy up there for you. Since you have so much negativity toward Oly and what they produce maybe you should just sell all you Oly related stuff and switch brands.

I hope tomorrow brings a better day for you.

Personally I don't want what the other brands have and that is why I am with 4/3ds and OLY and happy.

--

_
( '
/ ) )
' '
KimR

 
The smaller size, weight and price is exactly why I chose Olympus over Canon. In fact that is why I chose the 510 over the E-3. Canon makes some good cameras but they are not for me.

I have seen some of the Canikon people with these HUGE cameras and lenses and I think if I had that monster I would probably never take it any where because it is so big and heavy.
--
Bruce Dodson
AireTex Compressors
 
Jonathan Demarais said:
The shortcoming of
Olympus is of course that they don't even have a 1.5 crop camera out.
Click to expand...
I don't really see how the lack of a 1.5 crop camera is a shortcoming. Take a closer look at Mr Wrotniak's diagram comparing 4thirds to the Canon (yes, I know it is "only" 1.6). http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/sensor-size.html . If you lop off a little of the width to make the Canon's aspect ratio 4:3, there is really very little difference in area between it and 4thirds. If you print 12x19", OK, chalk up a bit more area again for the Canon.

For my purposes the Oly offerings outshine the CaNikon's 1.6/1.5 systems, so what's the point? The only time I print close to the 3:2 format is 6x4", or much wider for panoramas which don't matter a twit wether I'm shooting 4:3 or 3:2.

As far as I'm concerned, the only two formats worth my consideration are 4thirds and FF, and they each have their strengths and weaknesses, different tools for some different applications. And a lot of overlap applications, so I'll save my back and $$$ and stick with 4thirds. I know where to go if I need to rent a FF for some special application - and if I ever need FF on a regular basis for earning $$$, I know where to go to buy it!

--
-Dennis W.
Austin, Texas

 
4thnebula said:
Foveon has shown us that.

I would expect that Olympus can keep 4/3rds and adopt a Foveon style
of sensor and increase resolution.

No one else other than Foveon has done this. Someone else surely
will. Will it be Olympus (or Panasonic).
Click to expand...
The reason only Foveon has done it is probably because they patented the design or process to make them. I think someone else could license it or commission a sensor from them. Their sensor size is close enough that it might be used anyway, but drop the very thin perimeter difference.

The Sony sensor announcement doesn't mean that a FF Sony is inevitable. As I recall, Sony does sell their sensors, screens and other components to other companies. My Canon P&S uses a Sony screen, it's hidden by the bezel.
 
Well they vary, but the 4/3rds sensor is 1.3mm shorter than the Canon APS-C in the Rebel. I just don't see that as a major difference. Basically 4/3rds is APS-C folks (since there is not standard APS-C size and 4/3rds is just very slightly smaller. Yes, it's narrower of course because of the 4/3rds aspect ratio, but they are all in the crop sensor sized ball park. Yes, FF is much bigger, more expensive, requiring different lenses, and I'm glad Oly offerings an alternative. But crop sensors are getting better with every new sensor generation. The margins between crop and 35mm FF are narrower than the area difference.

Cheers, Seth

--
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?

--
wallygoots.smugmug.com
wallygoots.blogspot.com
 
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