Olympus future fsilure

[Pantyhose Bandit]

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thenextweb.com

Looks like Olympus is doing a Sony by making a camera that uses a cellphone as a display.

I can't see this succeeding. At $300 its too expensive considering you then have to buy a lens for it. For the same or less - a lot less - I can pick up an older Olympus mirrorless compact and still have to buy a lens.

Or for about the same cash I can get the Sony displayless camera that actually has a decent lens built in.

I don't get this camera like thing at all. It's not a camera. It's not a phone. This whole concept seems half baked to me. It smacks more of desperation than anything else. Perhaps Olympus and Sony need to quit pretending they can compete in an overstuffed marketplace?

 

[Brad Bohland]

Now, that's a phone camera:

 

[Glen Barrington]

http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2015/...-review-a-taste-of-the-future-of-photography/

Looks like Olympus is doing a Sony by making a camera that uses a cellphone as a display.

I can't see this succeeding. At $300 its too expensive considering you then have to buy a lens for it. For the same or less - a lot less - I can pick up an older Olympus mirrorless compact and still have to buy a lens.

Or for about the same cash I can get the Sony displayless camera that actually has a decent lens built in.

I don't get this camera like thing at all. It's not a camera. It's not a phone. This whole concept seems half baked to me. It smacks more of desperation than anything else. Perhaps Olympus and Sony need to quit pretending they can compete in an overstuffed marketplace?

 

[harroeu]

This is indeed not a replacement for a normal camera, but being able to control your capture entirely via software, is a very powerfull tool for creative people.

If you can think of some feature no other camera has implemented (yet), you can create it yourself.

You need focus stacked and/or exposure bracketed timelapse? Burst shooting on motion detection? I think these should be possible...

 

[Henry Falkner]

http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2015/...-review-a-taste-of-the-future-of-photography/

Looks like Olympus is doing a Sony by making a camera that uses a cellphone as a display.

I can't see this succeeding. At $300 its too expensive considering you then have to buy a lens for it. For the same or less - a lot less - I can pick up an older Olympus mirrorless compact and still have to buy a lens.

I currently have two travel zooms (Olympus SH-1 and SH-2), both of which require a cell phone to connect to the outside world. They don't talk to my Wi-Fi router at home, or my laptop. So their Wi-Fi capability is totally useless to me without a cell phone.

I would have to buy an expensive Eye-Fi card for up-loading my videos via a hot spot in the middle of a Morris dance tour. By the time I get home and up-load my edited videos, the event is history.

So I think about it the other way round. You have a cell phone, and a camera that uses the cell phone to operate it, without duplicating the firmware in a camera body.

Having a cell phone as the primary go-anywhere device then may become an incentive to buy a better camera than the one built into the cell-hone.

Henry

 

[jcharding]

The first thing I did after reading the linked article was to go read more about it.

 

[SpinOne]

Looks like Olympus is doing a Sony by making a camera that uses a cellphone as a display.

I can't see this succeeding....

That depends on your definition of "success."

If you mean "replace existing cameras," it's not going to do that.

That's not really what it's for, though. It's an open module that you can use for different things, like drones or custom builds. The API is open source, so programmers have a great deal of latitude with it.

I don't think they originally planned to release it in the US, but it's pretty hacker-friendly, so maybe it'll get some traction.

 

[Mike Ronesia]

I can use wifi or nfc to connect my GH4 to my cell and control the camera. And when I don't want to use the phone I have a ergonomically comfortable camera. Seems like a gimmick to me.

 

[TheClueless]

[No message]

 

[Pantyhose Bandit]

I can use wifi or nfc to connect my GH4 to my cell and control the camera. And when I don't want to use the phone I have a ergonomically comfortable camera. Seems like a gimmick to me.

 

[SpinOne]

I can use wifi or nfc to connect my GH4 to my cell and control the camera. And when I don't want to use the phone I have a ergonomically comfortable camera. Seems like a gimmick to me.

That's because you are comparing it to a GH4.

The GH4 is a high-end video-oriented camera. For all its gimcrackery goodness, it's essentially a digital version of a traditional device.

The Air is not designed to replace your GH4. It's an altogether different class of device. It's got an open source API; it's got an SDK; it's got a 3d project to make grips and accessories and whatever else you could hang on it.

You can take a short video, and post it directly to Instagram.

You can trigger the Air's shutter from an Apple Watch.

Air images can save directly to the Amazon Cloud. Good luck doing that with a GH4.

It's also ridiculously light (148g) and small. It's the size and weight of a small M4/3 prime.

It's cheap. Body only is $300.

I don't know if the Air specifically will take off, but I think the basic concept is incredibly powerful, and has great potential.

 

[Martin.au]

http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2015/...-review-a-taste-of-the-future-of-photography/

Looks like Olympus is doing a Sony by making a camera that uses a cellphone as a display.

I can't see this succeeding. At $300 its too expensive considering you then have to buy a lens for it. For the same or less - a lot less - I can pick up an older Olympus mirrorless compact and still have to buy a lens.

Or for about the same cash I can get the Sony displayless camera that actually has a decent lens built in.

I don't get this camera like thing at all. It's not a camera. It's not a phone. This whole concept seems half baked to me. It smacks more of desperation than anything else. Perhaps Olympus and Sony need to quit pretending they can compete in an overstuffed marketplace?

 

[Mike Ronesia]

Well while my camera is connected to my phone I can upload stuff to anywhere my phone has access to including cloud, and social media as well as emailing. I can also edit in camera before i do any of that. I'm sure the thing has some unique uses, but they show it attached to a phone and it looks like an ergonomic nightmare.

I wish them luck with it, but would be surprised to see it ever be more than a novelty. I'm no marketing guru by any means though.

 

[Macro Fan]

This might appeal to some people but not me.

 

[digitallollygag]

Now, that's a phone camera:

It appears the Olympus Air A01 still hasn't cured this user's G.A.S. problem.

 

[Brad Bohland]

Gear acquisition syndrome. It's probably designed to stimulate it.

 

[Bobo Hodls]

http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2015/...-review-a-taste-of-the-future-of-photography/

Looks like Olympus is doing a Sony by making a camera that uses a cellphone as a display.

I can't see this succeeding. At $300 its too expensive considering you then have to buy a lens for it. For the same or less - a lot less - I can pick up an older Olympus mirrorless compact and still have to buy a lens.

Or for about the same cash I can get the Sony displayless camera that actually has a decent lens built in.

I don't get this camera like thing at all. It's not a camera. It's not a phone. This whole concept seems half baked to me. It smacks more of desperation than anything else. Perhaps Olympus and Sony need to quit pretending they can compete in an overstuffed marketplace?

I don't see a need for one personally, but I picked up some Imagination at B&H and can appreciate how some might utilize a device like this.

 

[Brad Bohland]

"Although Sony started the entire wireless lens-camera market with their QX-series which now includes the APS-C sensored E-mount QX1 model, Olympus seems to have taken the concept a good bit further, both by being more open to third-parties and hackers, not to mention offering a richer user interface. It'll be interesting to see how the AIR A01 compares in terms of market acceptance and we look forward to seeing all kinds of creative and unique applications for it.

As of this writing in late June of 2015, Olympus has finally announced pricing and availability for the AIR in the US with Amazon Cloud integration, and we've just gotten our hands on one. Read Dave Etchells' Olympus AIR shooter's report below to see why he says 'The Olympus AIR is without question one of the most fun cameras I've used in years!'

'After more than 17 years running this website, and having been a photographer since my childhood, I like to think I have a pretty good eye for new products and how they'll play out in the market. I'm pretty good at "getting" a product on first contact, and having a good sense for who it's for, how well they'll like it, etc.

In the case of the Olympus AIR, though, I have to admit that I really missed the mark: It's going to be way bigger than I first thought.

Here's a serious camera, with a big sensor, compact size, and excellent image quality, with an open interface, and a mechanical design literally made for being built into things! How cool is that?

Don't get me wrong, I don't see it being a primary camera, at least not for the enthusiast crowd, and it wouldn't remotely replace a PEN or OMD as my primary camera. If I owned pretty much any Micro Four Thirds camera, though, I'd buy an AIR in a heartbeat. For more casual photographers looking for a partner for their smartphone, the AIR's pretty hard to beat as well.' "

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/olympus-air-a01/olympus-air-a01A.HTM

 

[MoreorLess]

This is indeed not a replacement for a normal camera, but being able to control your capture entirely via software, is a very powerfull tool for creative people.

If you can think of some feature no other camera has implemented (yet), you can create it yourself.

You need focus stacked and/or exposure bracketed timelapse? Burst shooting on motion detection? I think these should be possible...

It will mostly be used by powerful tools I'll give you that.