Both Panasonic and Olympus seem so focused on competing with each other thay they are fighting against each other than complement each other and trying to fill all the potential of this "new" format
Panasonic and Olympus are not supposed to be helping each other sell their products, they are supposed to make money for their stock holders. I think introductions of the 4/3 and m4/3 helped them create their own little market, different from Canon and Nikon, and in that little market they compete with one another.
"Complementing" one another with only Sigma being another active 4/3 manufacturer would look like dividing the market and reducing competition, which may be even illegal in many countries.
1/ all 4 cameras are more TOYS than TOOLS. This is obvious from the choice of finishes ( sliver only for oly , red and blue for pana) as for some of the features (art filters, menu modes) and even more so by some of the missing ones ( Only zooms or pancakes lenses , poor OVF , no consideration for 3rd party M lenses, art filters , ridiculous menus modes...)
I never handled the EP-1, but on G1 the exposure, ISO and WB settings are accessible with just one key press. So you don't need to deal with the menus. The presence of the gimmicky features does not detract from the accessibility of the main settings.
As far as primes go, if the purpose of the format was to reduce the weight of gear, then the zooms and pancakes is what is appropriate. If you are ready to carry multiple non-compact lenses, then there are 24mm, 25, 30, and 50mm fast non-pancake AF primes issued for 4/3.
So while I understand and share your desire for the similar lenses appropriately scaled for m4/3, realistically speaking it's going to be a small market, and there is no real incentive to go for it. Judging by the posts in the forum there are more people who are interested in using the vintage manual focus lenses, than modern non-pancake AF IS primes.
while there is obviously a market for the evf , built in flash and all zoom users, I think it is sad that with new cameras they are not trying to reach a wider audience rather than browbeating on the same one
The widening of me market may be too small to justify the development. In addition, it seems that people are adjusting the new cameras, rather than wait for a camera that would allow to employ the old techniques. For example, using the LCD to shoot from the waist level, or continuous AF.
2/ Despite 3 cameras so far , there is NOT the beginning of a camera system. think about it . 4 cameras soon and only some zooms ( which now are further separated between photo zooms and video zooms) and NOT one REAL single focal length
I think from the lens road map and the release of the 4/3 adapter it is pretty clear that the "Camera System" is geared for versatility and small size. Primes take away from versatility (compared to zooms), and fast zooms take away from the small size. So I do not expect either to be released specifically in m4/3 format.
to make things worse , panasonic is focused on creating lenses which would give poor results without the software correction. and I am shocked that no reviewer have commented on it as it is mainly( not only but still_)a smart but dirty way to make their lenses less compatible with olympus bodies.
And why should Panasonic bend over to make its lenses compatible with Olympus? Panasonic wants to sell its own bodies, not Olympus'. That aside, I think software correction is great. If it gives a good picture and helps to reduce cost/lens size then I am all for it.
I have been in Photography for over 25 years and I can't remember ONE SINGLE time when a format would count 4 camera bodies without a single NOn pancake focal lens or without any focal length in the 24 to 28mm range
Times are changing. Because something didn't happen in the past does not mean it's wrong, or won't happen in the future. Users and reviewers seem to be perfectly happy with the output of the zoom, and there is not much of drive to introduce a lens that you want.
but there is obviously a big market for Mlenses owners who :
want a black hand holdable body which looks like a tool and not a toy
want to have AF lenses in the 24 -85mm range and HAVE the option to use in real life their M lenses and get some focus coformation
don't need a flash in their camera but prefer to keep the hotshoe for optional OVF and have the built in EVF on the left side like in a rangefinder
pay a little more for some weather seal and don't care for video
want a camera to be small but not to the point where the camera does not fit regular hands or can only be ergonomic with tiny lenses
a Ep1 size witha bigger grip for better hand holdability ( and a bigger battery and two cards ) is the direction to go
First, many will disagree that that the cameras look like a toy, or difficult to hold, or have issues with the size. So what's left is:
-detachable OVF (you will need one for each focal distance)
-no flash
-focus confirmation for M lenses
-weather seal
-a bunch of non-pancake primes
Why do you say "obviously?" It's not obvious at all. How big do you think this market is? Tens of thousands? Thousands? Hundreds?
if Oly and Pana are not interested , they could at least invite someone in.
the crazy thing is that they don't
The other members of the 4/3 consortium are: Fujifilm, Kodak, Leica, Sigma. They don't seem to be interested either. Do you think there may be a reason for that?
Finally, please realize that with the number of posting in this thread not everybody will read every single message in it. So don't get all upset if somebody misses some of you comments that were not in the original post.
