Can we have an MFT DF?

[Louis_Dobson]

A camera with no stupid video rubbish clagged on top, and proper aperture, shutter speed and exp comp controls! Well done Nikon with the DF, despite the stupid price.

It's FF unfortunately, and I've been there, done that, not doing it again.

So, Oly, when can we have an MFT version?

I'd love an E-M1 with proper controls!

 

[jalywol]

A camera with no stupid video rubbish clagged on top, and proper aperture, shutter speed and exp comp controls! Well done Nikon with the DF, despite the stupid price.
It's FF unfortunately, and I've been there, done that, not doing it again.
So, Oly, when can we have an MFT version?
I'd love an E-M1 with proper controls!

I don't know, the EM1 is a really lovely camera to use, with everything at hand.....(I never got an EM5 because it seemed less than ideally laid out, amongst other things...the EM1 is very good, though).

The Nikon is way too clunky looking for me. If they had made it a little thinner and more elegant, I would have agreed with you, but it just looks like a metal box with stuff bristling out everywhere....They should offer it in a brass finish with brown leather, and then maybe it would really be popular...



-J

 

[Louis_Dobson]

It's a digital F3 and that's what it looks like (don't where this digital FM stuff comes from). A big heavy camera. I want a digital OM2.

I'm wntirely happy with the controls on the E-M5. E-M1 looks fine too.

But both of them suffer from the stupid control layout started by Canon with the EOS series.

With the Fuji X-Pro and the DF we are seeing a return to real controls.

And I'm delighted by the removal of video. If I wanted a video camera, I would buy one.

A camera with no stupid video rubbish clagged on top, and proper aperture, shutter speed and exp comp controls! Well done Nikon with the DF, despite the stupid price.
It's FF unfortunately, and I've been there, done that, not doing it again.
So, Oly, when can we have an MFT version?
I'd love an E-M1 with proper controls!

I don't know, the EM1 is a really lovely camera to use, with everything at hand.....(I never got an EM5 because it seemed less than ideally laid out, amongst other things...the EM1 is very good, though).

The Nikon is way too clunky looking for me. If they had made it a little thinner and more elegant, I would have agreed with you, but it just looks like a metal box with stuff bristling out everywhere....They should offer it in a brass finish with brown leather, and then maybe it would really be popular...



-J

 

[Brian Mosley]

Hi Louis,

I think Olympus are on the right track with the E-M1, and would like to see several small, incremental improvements over the next few iterations... rather than throwing buttons up in the air, see where they land and sticking them at the closest point. Case in point, the menu button on the E-M1 is now next to the (one touch, as I have it) delete button.

The E-M5 has a better layout, just needs the squidgy buttons replacing.

I do like the on/off lever on the top... but then again, no consistency with the E-P5 which has the same lever on the top right.

I don't know, this lack of consistency between models and even iterations of the same model makes me wonder whether Olympus have a real, deep understanding of what is needed to make a camera functional in terms of economics - slow down a bit! If it works, keep it!

The Nikon is a write off for me - too big, too heavy, no focusing aid for legacy lenses and I don't know how loud the shutter is, but if it's a full frame focal plane shutter, possibly as ear shattering as the A7r.

Cheers

Brian

 

[robonrome]

The E-M5 has a better layout, just needs the squidgy buttons replacing.

As above I would have thought the EM5 would be a better base for such a camera...just add requisite retro dial's levers etc...and slightly larger buttons

 

[Louis_Dobson]

Quite, but i don't want the dials because they are retro, but because they make operating the camera much faster and simpler.

Take a look at the DF - ISO on the left, where it belongs, exp comp on top, shutter speed on the right.

And if it were MFT we could have an aperture ring at the base of the mount (where shutter speed was on the OM1).

I don't want a DF because I don't want a D4 (I already a D3). But I love the controls...

The E-M5 has a better layout, just needs the squidgy buttons replacing.

As above I would have thought the EM5 would be a better base for such a camera...just add requisite retro dial's levers etc...and slightly larger buttons

 

[TrapperJohn]

I miss the E1's external focus mode switch - that was handy to have. No menu diving, just a simple switch. Doesn't the GX7 have this?

Panasonic was on the right track with the aperture ring on the 4/3 PL lenses.

For MF... bring back the focus ring in the VF. I put that on my old E1 with a Katzeye screen, very handy to have, gave it a nice retro look in the VF. I expect it could be done digitally with the PDAF pixels.

Roll it all in a utilitarian and handsome package, which they already have with the OM4. Call it the OM4D.

I'd love it.

 

[Corkcampbell]

A FF camera is a nice add-on to a m4/3 system...used in different shooting situations, of course.

I really enjoy the new challenge of video, so I have GHx cameras to take care of that. I rely on OM-Ds now for stills, and a DP2 Merrill. I do, however, sometimes miss the larger sensor abilities of the (Sony) dSLR system that I sold, such as when I shot with a couple of good portrait lenses, enjoying the shallow DOF.

I don't see any problem with buying the new Nikon, or anything similar, to add to my tools. As for m4/3, I really like what is being offered now and I don't see any reason for anything more, although I'll be curious at whatever happens to the upgrades to the OM5 and GH3 cameras.

 

[ironcam]

Why do people want to remove video? The technology is already there and it's cheap to implement. You will not save any money without video. It actually gets more expensive since you now have a niche product.

 

[s_grins]

I can help you to find and buy very inexpensive G1

 

[Louis_Dobson]

Well, for starters, I'd like a retro D800, not D4. This is where the stupid price has come from as well.

But I no longer do enough photography to justify two expensive systems.

A FF camera is a nice add-on to a m4/3 system...used in different shooting situations, of course.

I really enjoy the new challenge of video, so I have GHx cameras to take care of that. I rely on OM-Ds now for stills, and a DP2 Merrill. I do, however, sometimes miss the larger sensor abilities of the (Sony) dSLR system that I sold, such as when I shot with a couple of good portrait lenses, enjoying the shallow DOF.

I don't see any problem with buying the new Nikon, or anything similar, to add to my tools. As for m4/3, I really like what is being offered now and I don't see any reason for anything more, although I'll be curious at whatever happens to the upgrades to the OM5 and GH3 cameras.

 

[Corkcampbell]

But, there's nothing wrong with having different cameras for different situations - in an earlier post I mentioned my GH cameras for video, and my OM-Ds and DP2 M for stills. I don't see a problem with having this kind of hardware so that you are able to meet any shooting situation.

We all know video is here, and it's fun; we all enjoy YouTube, and when I offer my work to my students, no one cares about the stills...it's like an iPhone photo for them. Try to find a wedding photographer who hasn't had to add video to his/her offerings. We live with a changing world. Watch the YouTube Awards the other day? No stills. I was on a trip recently (July) where I took almost all videos, and very few stills, and the few that people liked came from the DP2M. However, the videos were a hit on YouTube, with one getting 20,000 hits in less than three days. Yes, it was a hot topic at the time (North Korea's latest military parade with some new tank hardware and missiles), but which format got the most attention? The only ones who cared about my stills where my students (media) who were intrigued by the Sigma camera. Some of them already use the GH3 so that wasn't news to them.

But, I'm into geezerhood, and, if I had the money to buy even more hardware, I probably would consider the video-less new Nikon. I don't consider the camera's price a problem as much as buying the lenses - I have no Nikon background, so I'm not the target-market for this camera, although I'm sure Nikon is hoping for a "halo effect." In my mind, the OM-D (EM5) is also basically video-less, so it would be nothing new for me to sell the OM-Ds to fund the Nikon. As others have pointed out, the weight and lack of portability would be the bigger issues (remember: geezerhood).

 

[Louis_Dobson]

Why do people want to remove video? The technology is already there and it's cheap to implement. You will not save any money without video. It actually gets more expensive since you now have a niche product.

It's not a big deal, but it is an extra buttons and a load of menu options for which I have no use whatsoever and which get in my way occasionally.

I'd not buy a camera BECAUSE it has no video, but it is a small plus if this needless clag has been junked.

 

[JoeVC]

A camera with no stupid video rubbish clagged on top, and proper aperture, shutter speed and exp comp controls! Well done Nikon with the DF, despite the stupid price.
It's FF unfortunately, and I've been there, done that, not doing it again.
So, Oly, when can we have an MFT version?
I'd love an E-M1 with proper controls!

--
www.flickr.com/photos/acam
http://thegentlemansnapper.blogspot.com

We do have an equivalent to the DF, it's called the G1!

~Joe

 

[Bobo Hodls]

Why do people want to remove video? The technology is already there and it's cheap to implement. You will not save any money without video. It actually gets more expensive since you now have a niche product.

It's not a big deal, but it is an extra buttons and a load of menu options for which I have no use whatsoever and which get in my way occasionally.

I can't understand why that would 'get in your way'. I don't even consider that my cameras have video, because it's so successfully ignored.

 

[Louis_Dobson]

I have a G1. Very annoying controls, why?

I can help you to find and buy very inexpensive G1

 

[Louis_Dobson]

Confused. The only G1 I know is the DMC-G1, which could not be LESS like the DF!

A camera with no stupid video rubbish clagged on top, and proper aperture, shutter speed and exp comp controls! Well done Nikon with the DF, despite the stupid price.
It's FF unfortunately, and I've been there, done that, not doing it again.
So, Oly, when can we have an MFT version?
I'd love an E-M1 with proper controls!

 

[Gregm61]

I like having the record button. One more external control I can reconfigure to do something else. All the other video stuff just gets ignored, like it's not there. The good thing is, Olympus does not put a lot of thought into video features. Don't you see all the complaints about Olympus video capability in this forum.....it's kinda humorous and makes for entertaining reading. Unfortunately, video is a necessary evil. Fortunately, Olympus gives it the attention you'd expect from a company who's main concern is still image quality. The end users either deal with it, or buy a Panasonic model.

 

[yslee1]

Quite, but i don't want the dials because they are retro, but because they make operating the camera much faster and simpler.

Uh, no. Not really. I wish this fallacy could die, because it's starting to get on my nerves a little. Different, yes; easier, maybe if you're not used to the control scheme of a modern camera; definitely not faster once you're well-versed with it.

 

[Louis_Dobson]

I'm well versed with both. I've shot for money (although not full time) in the 80s and the noughties.

I find the old layout much faster. I don't like to control a camera with just two wheels (and only one wheel makes it horrible). I dislike multi mode controls, they are distracting.

Quite, but i don't want the dials because they are retro, but because they make operating the camera much faster and simpler.

Uh, no. Not really. I wish this fallacy could die, because it's starting to get on my nerves a little. Different, yes; easier, maybe if you're not used to the control scheme of a modern camera; definitely not faster once you're well-versed with it.