Small seismic shock felt in camera market....

I detect an earthquake of changes and competition coming from this...

The Olympus/Panasonic Micro 4/3 camera concept in the DPReview Latest News.

The Olympus SLR forum is buzzing with interest. Now a smaller camera (than DSLR) with interchangeable lenses. The fabled EVIL but not with that name of course.

Photokina should be interesting.

Wouldn't it be nice if Ricoh got involved making a body and lens or two.... wishful thinking, I guess they will stick to the really small ones.

Regards............ Guy

This is indeed very exciting news and I am keeping my hopes up for a Panasonic LC2 with one of these sensors.

It will also be very interesting for Ricoh and the GRD III.

Finally camera makers realized that people want smaller cameras of high quality and are not always interested in dSLRs. I for one would never buy a dSLR but am very interested in compact cameras.

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http://ricoh-gr-diary.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cristiansorega

And yeah, Ricoh should be worried. No matter how hard Ricoh work on it, the GRD/GX series still suffer from a DC mentality in the making and of course the DC sized sensor.

Way back during film days, Contax conclude they can made a good compact system camera but they refrain from making that too compact and instead of the trial and true RF, they use AF and all electronic in their G series. The G series turn out to be a real classic. The modernized version of the Leica M in spirit. the Micro 4/3 is very much the digital decedent of such.

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• Franka -

The official Olympus pages are here, but no products shown as yet.
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/index.html

I can't find an equivalent page at Panasonic so far.

Regards........... Guy

Lots to be proven. Smaller lens development, huge costs etc. Certainly feesable but should be interesting.

Great idea, if executed properly.

Carl

--
One carefully crafted photograph can last a lifetime.
10,000 mediocre photographs get forgotten forever.
alphamountworld.com

Olympus press release:-

http://www.olympus-global.com/en/news/2008b/nr080805fourthirdse.cfm

These cameras will for sure be good stocking fillers at Christmas!

E520 quality in a GX200 size box...
Thats progress!
b rgds

paul
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paul
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollobarca/
Gx100.oly C5050z Zorki4
Brendan Behan :

“Critics are like eunuchs in a harem. They're there every night, they see it done every night, they see how it should be done every night, but they can't do it themselves.”

Franka T.L. said:

And yeah, Ricoh should be worried.

Click to expand...

I don't see Ricoh worrying about this new advancement, I see them joining the FourThirds consortium and making their own MicroFourThirds body and lenses. It would complement their existing digicam offering very nicely.

Prog.

Second that Prog
Its nothing to worry about and all to get more business.

More people will want smaller ,higher quality cameras- and Ricoh,Sigma,Leica etc are all there with the products.

--
paul
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollobarca/
Gx100.oly C5050z Zorki4
Brendan Behan :

“Critics are like eunuchs in a harem. They're there every night, they see it done every night, they see how it should be done every night, but they can't do it themselves.”

cgarrard said:

Lots to be proven. Smaller lens development, huge costs etc.
Certainly feesable but should be interesting.

Click to expand...

Before I purchased my GX-100, I was very seriously considering a Panasonic L1. The reason is that the L1 was the closest to a films SLR experience as you could get in a digital camera (the hands down closest to 35mm film camera feel on a digital is the Epson R-D1(s) since it is a film camera with digital guts crammed in).

The L1 Panasonic/Lecia lens had aperture rings (a dial is just not the same on a DSLR, I can live with a dial on a compact though). Not only that, but with a variety of adaptor rings, you could use a wide (and I do mean surprisingly wide) variety of manual lenses with full aperture usage and support.

If there are lens adaptors for M and L mount lenses for this new camera then this will open up the range finder market.

Michael

If the promise of smaller bodies and lenses pans out, then many photographers would love having a compact system (ala. the Leica CL, etc.) with high-quality interchangeable lenses. Sure, there'll always be a market for cameras like the GX/GR series, but I bet something like this will increase market share for Panasonic and Olympus.

I'm praying that the ergonomics of the camera bodies will be good . . .
--
Photographs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/allengeorge/
Terminal Musings: http://www.allengeorge.com

This sounds like a great first step.

I do however worry that they might just make a mostly automatic point and shoot compact with interchangeable lens and in that case I wouldn't bother with this new camera format.

The fact is we have bad (manual function) user interface's onsupposedly pro cameras such as the Canon G9, Leica D-Lux 3, Panasonic LX-2, Sigma DP-1 and this shows (to me at least) that these companies don't fully understand who they are selling to.

Ricoh seems to get it (for the most part).

A professional quality, compact camera should have the ability to control (while in manual mode) the 4 key parameters, namely: f-Stop, Shutter Speed, Focus and now ISO - without have to cycle through multiple computer menus.

This means dedicated buttons, levers, dials or knob that (when in manual mode) control these four functions. It could be any combination of controls, but they all have to be there at the same time.

The Canon G9 ISO dial is great!

The Sigma DP-1 Focus Dial is terrific!

The Ricoh GR II's Shutter Speed Lever and Iris Dial is Wonderful!

But we need a camera that has all of these features otherwise this new format will just be an overpriced consumer camera!

Sorry for my rant, But I had to get it off of my chest!

IMO the 4/3 micro won't be a DSLR replacement because of the EVF and contrast AF. Anyone who depends on fast auto-focus (sports shooters, people with kids that move fast, etc.) and a clear view of the scene will probably not want to use a 4/3 micro as their primary camera.

OTOH, this format will probably be a dream for photojournalists, street shooters and photographers who like to travel light.

There will still be a place for very small compacts like the GRD2. One reason that people rarely mention in all of the hoopla about larger sensors is that with a small sensor you get tremendously large DOF. While that may be a disadvantage for some, for others it is a benefit because it allows for easy pre-focusing and a fast way of working in the field.

Allen George said:

I'm praying that the ergonomics of the camera bodies will be good . . .

Click to expand...

The ergonomics will probably be fine, but I'm not optimistic about the user interface (menus, button logic). It's something Olympus is traditionally bad at. I wrote about this in more detail in this post and in the ones linked from it:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1013&message=28377433

Prog.

I really wanted to like the E-420, but when I tested it out in a camera store I was surprised by how many niggles I found with it. The menu system was awkward, some of the dials felt oddly placed and, surprisingly, the shutter noise and mirror slap was much louder and harsher than the D40 I compared it to. That, and the D40 had nicer high ISO quality as well.

Pity, as I love my OM-1.
--
Photographs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/allengeorge/
Terminal Musings: http://www.allengeorge.com

newpentaxfan said:

IMO the 4/3 micro won't be a DSLR replacement.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you are referring to my post? But if you are, I want to make it clear that I never said that I thought of these pocket cameras as a replacement to a DSLR, but instead a professional camera that I could carry in my pocket.

Honestly, what I am dreaming about is a pocket camera that is controlled in a way that is somewhat similar to the way most analog cameras have operated for most of the 20th century (the lone exception being the ability to control the ISO setting). In other words I don't want operate a mini-computer menu system to manually control the exposure and focus.

Think about it, the piano keyboard was invented hundreds of years ago. But today with digital music synthesizers, the most common input device is still the piano keyboard! This is because the standard piano keyboard layout is very efficient for playing music.

So what I am saying is that the control rings and dials on most analog cameras are very efficient for controlling focus and exposure!

Look, when it comes to most digital compacts I get it. The manufacturers want to sell a LOT of them to people who are not shutterbugs, but instead these people just want to record their lives and it that case a $200 0r $300 fully automatic camera with a few program modes is terrific!

But I ask why not make a digital image capture device that acts like a real camera, for those of us that are willing to pay a lot more?

As far as I can tell there is NO compact camera that has the level of manual control that matches the standard film cameras.

To me the closest thing is the Leica M8 and frankly, that is NOT a pocketable camera.

My Ricoh and viewfinder cost me well over $900 and I did not get half of what I really wanted.

So, you might think I am crazy, but personally, I would gladly pay $2000 for a pocket digital camera that acted like a real camera and gave me full control.

I might be the only one who thinks this way. But I like a camera that allow me to rapidly make technical decisions and not a computer that tries to make the best average picture.

F Stop Fitzgerald said:

So, you might think I am crazy, but personally, I would gladly pay
$2000 for a pocket digital camera that acted like a real camera and
gave me full control.

I might be the only one who thinks this way. But I like a camera
that allow me to rapidly make technical decisions and not a computer
that tries to make the best average picture.

Click to expand...

Well, you're not alone. I too would like a camera that eschews menu-diving in favor of dials and rings. For example, a real shutter dial with shutter speeds, an aperture ring, etc. are great to have IMO. And if I flub a picture it's my fault - I'll live with that.
--
Photographs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/allengeorge/
Terminal Musings: http://www.allengeorge.com

I was a bit slow off the mark Guy - started a new thread on this subject before I read yours - sorry.

Glad we agree (smile)

I am hoping for a Canon EVIL for the EOS mount as I have lots of Canon lenses ... mmm

Even with a smaller body unless the lenses are re-designed the lens-heft will still be there. That is where the 4/3 consortium have it all over Canon and Nikon.

Canon made a start in a smaller lens format but they seem ot have changed tack again in recent years.

--
Tom Caldwell

There is also room for the dedicated lens manufacturers - Sigma, Tokina et al to get into the act - all they need is the volume of market acceptance.

Ricoh and Samsung and Sigma make bodies. Olympus and Panasonic/Leica (both) and anyone can join in to make specialist lenses.

This might just break up the manufacturer-specific lens-mount cartel.

In the end price talks and something primarily electronic is going to be a whole lots cheaper to produce in volume over a complicated precision mechanical mirror/prism assembly. The volume will happen.

--
Tom Caldwell

The Panasonic L1 met most of your objectives but was very expensive and sold in small numbers. The Riicoh G series met many of the objectives that the LC1 did not satisfy and a combination of best of both would be nice.

The Ricoh controls on the body and the GR-D's ability to assign the EV setting to the "zoom" lever for real-time adjustment combined with f-stop and focus on the lens barrel - lovely.

--
Tom Caldwell

We'll see .

A camera company known as Minolta tried the same thing at the height of film, didn't do much. Apples to oranges in a way, but in a way it's not.

My thinking is that one would want to use all their expensive lenses on every body they buy in a system, and not have to have two separate sets of lenses and bodies.

It will sell I think, but just not enough to really make much of a dent. If anything just create a new niche really. But we'll see, again great idea and innovative. I give them that much. More companies (cough canon) need to try new things like this I think.

Carl
--
One carefully crafted photograph can last a lifetime.
10,000 mediocre photographs get forgotten forever.