oly and leica should team up with new oly FF camera

[rufusrm44]

This is just a thought, but in terms of dealing with the marketing and material advantages of having FF sensor cameras, Oly can come out with a FF camera for leica lenses (and maybe adaptable for old Oly film lenses), then, over time, the two can come out with autofocus SWD lenses to support it. FF sensor cameras are primarily for pros and, initially, manual focus lenses shouldn't be a huge drawback...

An Oly FF camera would be significantly cheaper than what leica offers and leica would benefit from greater interest in their lenses.

I do believe that FF sensors will come down in price significantly and maybe even dominate the prosumer slr market as well, not just the high end segment.

Also, with Kodak's new 5mp KAC-05020 Image Sensor designed to improve high ISO shooting, Oly might be able to leverage this for improved high ISO shooting in the future, like a new E-3 with new sensor... but, of course, others, not including sony, would also benefit.

The odd thing about the E-3 is that it's built to take abuse and work in poor conditions yet it isn't capable of shooting in poor light without flash. These two components are consistently present in PJ and news work. I don't consider the foibles related to it's button arrangement to be a major setback since these things tend to be ironed out in future iterations. Oly bills it as a pro camera, so I'm sure they know it needs better performance in lowlight shooting...Image Stabilized shooting is an important plus, but being able to shoot to 1600 ISO would be very helpful.

No matter what Oly does in the future, they must know that their market share will not rise anytime soon in any significant numbers, since pentax and sony are pushing real hard to also garner market share from someone (and sony also sees the benefits of FF cameras to support their image). This means they need a different strategy to boost their image as a top choice, and since their lenses are tops and so are leicas, the match could really pay off down the road. This type of investment in the future would give them another avenue to exploit in pushing their 4/3's system (as a consumer and prosumer line) and greater interest in their products.

any thoughts?

 

[paultakeda]

No text.

 

[mmditter]

I don't mean to be rude, but why would you expect anything like that to happen at any time in the foreseeable future?

Olympus is not going to build a FF sensor camera. If you think you want/need one you will have to get it from another maker.

 

[SirSeth]

You were just thinking what other trolls have been thinking in many nearly identical threads since Nikon and Sony made 35mm plans. Let them, and good riddens! 35mm crud makes me want to puke. I'm feeling more nauseated by the second just thinking how Canon has pumped testosterone laden human growth hormone into the magical marketing concept that is 35mm FF. The only thing that is keeping my dinner down is that someone offers an option apart from this ridiculous tide of inanity. Long live crop sensors!

Cheers, Seth

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

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

 

[nosauten]

Why not come up with a larger frame system then...?

Maybe a 50mm, 60mm. Why does 35mm have to be the magic number? Just because Canikon says so?

Olympus should stick to 4/3. End of story.

 

[nosauten]

Crop is a term invented by Canikon to fool the masses.

Why does 4/3 have to be listed as crop--because canikon wants it to sound inferior. You are right--why does 35mm have to be a magic number. It is a relic of the old film days.

35mm is bulky. I give it 10 more years. Oly is putting lots of R&D into 4/3 and I'm pretty sure that in the next generation or 2 of their e-system cameas, you'll see some oly's along the sports field taking pics.

 

[Larry MacKinnon]

You were just thinking what other trolls have been thinking in many
nearly identical threads since Nikon and Sony made 35mm plans. Let
them, and good riddens! 35mm crud makes me want to puke. I'm feeling
more nauseated by the second just thinking how Canon has pumped
testosterone laden human growth hormone into the magical marketing
concept that is 35mm FF. The only thing that is keeping my dinner
down is that someone offers an option apart from this ridiculous tide
of inanity. Long live crop sensors!

Goodness gracious! They're just cameras.

Larry

 

[ljclark]

Crop Rocks!

--
If you don't talk to your cat about catnip, who will?

And for those of you in the US...In the words of a former boss (who was the county elections official): 'Vote early and often'.

 

[ljclark]

...4/3 could go the way of Beta.

35mm is bulky. I give it 10 more years. Oly is putting lots of R&D
into 4/3 and I'm pretty sure that in the next generation or 2 of
their e-system cameas, you'll see some oly's along the sports field
taking pics.

--
If you don't talk to your cat about catnip, who will?

And for those of you in the US...In the words of a former boss (who was the county elections official): 'Vote early and often'.

 

[Art_P]

There is no cropping involved when using 4/3 lenses on 4/3 cameras.

So yes, Olympus, Sigma, Panisonic and Leica teamed up to produce a full frame camera system, just not a 35mm format. If you must have that archaic format, buy a camera by a manufacturer tied to that format by a base of many designed for film lenses.

Besides, why start from scratch -again- to develop a 35mm format system- new lenses, new bodies, new sensors... Why not go for something interesting: a medium format back- use existing MF lenses until Oly made for digital ones can be developed?

Do I hate 35mm format? no. but this obsession with 'Oly must throw everything out and start over in 35mm' gets rather tedious after a while.
--
JMO, If ya don't like it, well, ya shouldn't have read past the subject

Art P

 

[jeffb89061]

any thoughts?

To get an idea of where you are coming from, and what types of pictures you take, I checked your profile. This is your first post?

An interesting topic for your first post.

That's my thought.

 

[Joesiv]

There is no cropping involved when using 4/3 lenses on 4/3 cameras.

Depends on what lens you use

Though in all honesty, all non circular images are crops of the image circle. But that's not really what I was talking about... lol

--
Cloverdale, B.C., Canada
Olympus e-510
http://joesiv.smugmug.com

 

[Larry MacKinnon]

35mm is bulky. I give it 10 more years. Oly is putting lots of R&D
into 4/3 and I'm pretty sure that in the next generation or 2 of
their e-system cameas, you'll see some oly's along the sports field
taking pics.

It is possible that OLY will find itself alongside the sports field shooting professionaly. That is probably the case somewhere right now, just not at the Superbowl. I'm rather dubious, though, that 35mm-sized digital will up and disappear.

Larry

 

[SteB]

If anyone, including Olympus wants to create a new system around a larger sensor why base it around a 24mm x 36mm sensor? This size is just a legacy from 35mm film.

 

[The Curly One]

I agree, if they were to make a larger sensor camera skip completly over the 35mm and go to a larger format. I do like the 4/3 but it is not for everyone.
--
Bruce Dodson
AireTex Compressors

 

[TrapperJohn]

Oly has committed to the smaller format with a brace of excellent lenses.

The fanboy chatter can go only so far. Fact is, the E3 compares well to the better 24x36 cameras in every way but extreme circumstances. Add in the bonus of very compact telephoto glass, and it fills a niche that needs to be filled.

Just gazing into the crystal ball here, but this 'bigger is better' kick may not last. After enough people have blown tons of money on the larger formats, found that there aren't many lenses that are telecentric at 24x36, the few that exist are priced like sin, and all that expenditure and lugging of heavy glass didn't garner much (if any) improvement in IQ and capability, the pendulum will swing back to the smaller sensors.

At which time, those that have an emphasis on telephoto will rediscover Olympus. It's not for everyone, but it suits some of us very well.

 

[rhlpetrus]

Using same round disk as for present 3/2 ratio FF, which has a diameter of 43.3mm, one could have a 4/3 ratio sensor of 34.6mm x 26.0mm, with an area of 900mm^2. In the 3/2 ratio, the area is 864mm^2.

Not a huge difference, less than 5% more pixels.

So, it's just a matter of esthetical choice, no big deal really in tems of IQ. Note that you'll need same lens quality as present FF, since corners are at same distance from center of frame (used same disk), 21.7mm.

BTW, once an electronic viewfinder is implemented, we could have a sensor that would cover from a square format to 3/2, always same diagonal of 43.3mm, the choice would be yours. In that case, the square format would be 30.6mm x 30.6mm, with an area of 938mm^2.

I agree, if they were to make a larger sensor camera skip completly
over the 35mm and go to a larger format. I do like the 4/3 but it is
not for everyone.
--
Bruce Dodson
AireTex Compressors

--
Regards, RHLPedrosa

 

[Pete_CSCS]

they would have to believe that they could beat Canon, Nikon (& Sony soon) at their own game. If they couldn't come up with a system considerably better than C & N, then how would they lure their customers to Oly? If the C & N Full Frame users aren't knocked out by Olympus' FF offerings and therefore not convinced into switching companies, then why should Olympus invest all the time and money into building yet another new system?

Olympus has to stick to what their good at. That is, building very high quality bodies and lenses that are smaller and lighter (and in some cases sharper) than the others.

One of the criticisms of the E-3 is that it isn't much lighter than the D300 and is larger & heavier than the 40D & A700. Olympus should work not only on improving the E-3's high ISO noise and DR (with the E-5) but should find ways of making it lighter (for sure) and smaller if possible. Maybe a carbon fiber frame?

New materials are always coming out. The aluminum tennis racket and the double butted steel road racing bike frame were once the lightest and most advanced technology money could buy. And then...

--
Stay Well,
Pete K.

 

[JeffDM]

Crop is a term invented by Canikon to fool the masses.

Do you have proof of this?

Using same round disk as for present 3/2 ratio FF, which has a
diameter of 43.3mm, one could have a 4/3 ratio sensor of 34.6mm x
26.0mm, with an area of 900mm^2. In the 3/2 ratio, the area is
864mm^2.

Just to be clear, the 4/3 system is about the size of the sensor, not the aspect ratio. Most of the current 4/3 system lenses won't work on a larger sensor, except maybe for the ones by the makers that make the same lenses for many different camera systems. The entire system would have to be reinvented.

 

[Vision3]

Change the sensor size, render the glass that is built around 4/3rds obsolete.

What Pany/Oly/Leica should do is continue to develop better 4/3rds sensors. Period.

Now, if you want FF35, then go get it. Just stop talking out the side that makes little sense...

--
Vision3 (aka., Rich)

• Make the World a Better Place; Go Shoot Something.