Since picking up my little EP3 a couple of years ago, the sticking point for me has really been the OS. Like all cameras, in the modern context it's rubbish.
that's why i went with Panasonic. they have good menu design. olympus is notoriously bad at this.
What really struck me like a ball to the head was Leica's new OS. So intuitive it's ridiculous. Yep, it's maybe too basic and 'phone-like', but where are new users coming from? Where are new photo enthusiasts coming from? Yeah, mobile phones.
stats or it didn't happen! that's like saying that new car owners have had at least a tricycle or a bicycle, so let's put handle bars on cars instead of that confusing steering wheel.
And what do these new photographers expect when the decide they want to step up their photography and get into it? They want usability like their iPhone.
again, stats or it didn't happen. the touch screen interface has serious physical limitations that will never be overcomed. here are two of them:
1. you cannot operate a touch screen device without looking at it. in cameras this is pretty important, especially in models with viewfinders.
2. LCD screens have problems once the temperature goes below freezing. i'm not sure about OLED, those might fare better, but LCDs have serious latency issues at low temperatures. when you buy an expensive camera you probably expect it to work when you go out during the winter.
and this is even before we get into the finger size and shape problem (how many shots are you willing to lose because the screen accidentally registered the wrong button?)
How is it that Leica has it first, and not Sony, or Panasonic or by beloved Olympus?
u jelly? you can use a touch-predominant interface on Panasonic cameras. it doesn't change PASM modes, but it allows a good amount of control.
I really think the key to growing M43 is software based, not hardware.
are we still talking about cameras? dedicated devices for recording images, still and moving? other than some UI changes, what other "software" would be needed? angry birds? skype? weather? why dump more resources into developing gimmicky eye candy, when the money would be better spent on solving real problems like shutter shock or making the proper software corrections for panasonic lenses on olympus cameras, so that 100% compatibility is reached?
The lenses are mostly there, the bodies need a little bit of polishing (but the EM5 didnt win awards because it's rubbish) but they're mostly there....
The elephant in the room is that OS' and connectivity is in the dark ages compared to 'other things that have lenses attached to them'.
you take the card out of the camera and put it in the computer. any computer. you don't even need to install the software that comes with the camera anymore. i'd say that connectivity is a lot better than if dedicated cables and drivers were to be required. those are actually dark ages.
The future of M43 is software.
Thoughts?
P.S: i'm pretty well below the average age group in this forum, so you can;t accuse me of being an "old man that doesn't get these new awesome devices". i actually do get them: when you have a product that's good enough so that there's no need to upgrade every other year, the only way to attract customers is to come up with gimmicks. this is exacerbated by the infinite growth expectations of clueless managers that can't grasp the fact that not everybody on the planet wants or needs a camera/computer/car/smart phone/etc.
