It's official, it is goin to be a digital Pen

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so, does the magnifying glass symbol next to the wheel thingy on the top right look like a zoom function for manual focusing?
 
Manual focusing would be with the ring on the lens, not with a control on the back of the camera. MF through the body is typically only for fixed-lens digitals. Either way, MF will not be a good option on this camera unless you're using adapted lenses. It would be pretty uncomfortable to manually focus while holding the camera out in front of me. The nice thing about a non-reflex live-view camera is that it can have much smarter AF than most DSLRs in terms of analysing the scene and figuring out what the subject is likely to be.

I'm hoping for in-body IS, but it looks doubtful. I'll be happy if it comes with the kit zoom we've seen (if it's as good as most similar lenses), has an excellent LCD, and has a metal body. Sure it's much smaller than the G1/GH1, but it lacks the EVF and a flash. At the estimated $900 price point for the kit, in-body IS would really help the value equation.

The official announcement is supposed to be at 5pm Tuesday Tokyo time.
 
Last edited:
rover said:
so, does the magnifying glass symbol next to the wheel thingy on the top right look like a zoom function for manual focusing?
Click to expand...

Here's my guess: The "thumb wheel" allows you to control the zoom from the camera. This goes with the "lock" button on the lens:
Lock off = Zoom is manually controlled by rotating a ring on the lens, like most every other SLR zoom lens.
Lock on = Zoom is controlled using the "thumb wheel" on the body, like most P/S cameras.

This lets Olympus target this towards people used to using P/S cameras. While this may seem silly, keep in mind that there are many people who have never used a camera where they touch the lens barrel to zoom -- all they've ever used is a zoom control on the camera itself.

Incidentally, the pics at zol.com.cn show both black and silver versions of the zoom lens. This makes me think a black body is in the works.
 
defoglesong said:
Here's my guess: The "thumb wheel" allows you to control the zoom from the camera. This goes with the "lock" button on the lens:
Lock off = Zoom is manually controlled by rotating a ring on the lens, like most every other SLR zoom lens.
Lock on = Zoom is controlled using the "thumb wheel" on the body, like most P/S cameras.

This lets Olympus target this towards people used to using P/S cameras. While this may seem silly, keep in mind that there are many people who have never used a camera where they touch the lens barrel to zoom -- all they've ever used is a zoom control on the camera itself.
Click to expand...

That doesn't make any sense. They'd need to put an expensive and heavy zooming motor in every lens that most people wouldn't use. The lock switch on the lens is to prevent zoom creep. It's found on plenty of other zoom lenses. The same icons are found on the back of almost every DSLR, none of which have power-zooming. The grid on the left lets you zoom out or see a grid of 9 photos, the magnifying glass is to zoom in. It would say "T/W" (tele / wide) if it were a zoom control.

Pretty much every (non mini-P&S) camera comes in a black version now, so I'm pretty sure there'll be a black version of this one as well.
 
from a rendering ive seen the black version only has black in the main body whilst retaining the silver on the top and bottom plate of the camera. in rangefinder terms, that's still considered silver!
 
Sam N said:
That doesn't make any sense. They'd need to put an expensive and heavy zooming motor in every lens that most people wouldn't use. The lock switch on the lens is to prevent zoom creep. It's found on plenty of other zoom lenses. The same icons are found on the back of almost every DSLR, none of which have power-zooming. The grid on the left lets you zoom out or see a grid of 9 photos, the magnifying glass is to zoom in. It would say "T/W" (tele / wide) if it were a zoom control.

Pretty much every (non mini-P&S) camera comes in a black version now, so I'm pretty sure there'll be a black version of this one as well.
Click to expand...

I apparently am wrong, but I am not thinking of zooming the lens. What I thought was that the image on the LCD would zoom/magnify so that manually focusing lenses would be more accurate.
 
rover said:
I apparently am wrong, but I am not thinking of zooming the lens. What I thought was that the image on the LCD would zoom/magnify so that manually focusing lenses would be more accurate.
Click to expand...

That works very well with the G1's articulated LCD on a tripod and with the EVF handheld. Can't imagine how to do this with the crippled Oly (No EVF and no articulated LCD).
 
With regard to the 17/2.8, Olympus' usual practice is to lead with a "slower" lens upon introduction of a new body platform, and follow up with faster versions. E.g., OM 50/1.8, with the 1.4 and 1.2 offerings later. I'd have to consult the ESIF to be sure of dates, though.

Anyway, the obvious strategy is to encourage early sales of the volume products to the majority, who are not advanced/pro users. My fear is that there would not be a road map of a full complement of primes, including fast primes. That said, with current sensor tecnology, maybe f2.8 is the new f1.8.
 
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