Why the digital Pen is a good thing

[BillBingham2]

If you throw enough money at it (and charge enough for lenses) you can get rid of shutter delay. Nikon and Canon have on their high end DSLRs and Lenses. Are you willing to pay for it though?

I put my GRD into snap mode and have no issues. View finders are a large question, equally important is what options will a person have to focus control.

I do agree, the DPen is a VERY GOOD thing!

B2

 

[Trius]

But... nothing is as fast as a Leica M, shutter delay wise.

Except the ZI-M. 😀

 

[emraphoto]

Hey, someone actually answered my question!

Good points, how could I forget IS? But I'm not so sure the screen will be actually able to do that.

And again those viewfinders 🙄 I already said have a beautiful Leitz brightline.
Also, frankly I don't give a cr*p what people think of me when I look at the screen... I get far far worse looks when they see me futzing around with a roll of film or worse still, a TLR! It will be a great camera and system, even without an OVF. Even it is on the expensive side initially, prices will go down.

The last points, the bitter pro, there might be some truth in that. A few weeks back a friend took me to a working pro who had a lot of old analogue gear for sale (Hassy, Leica, Nikon, really nice stuff). Instead of the warm welcome we expected, the guy was nearly hostile when he figured out I was a *gasp* amateur, just doing it for fun. He couldn't stomach the fact that I was willing to buy a lot of expensive gear just to have fun with it, just because I could. And of course he also understood I actually knew what to do with it, but would never ask for money. Ouch.

There are "bitter pro's" and then there are working photographers. The "bitter pro" is busy making excuses while the working photographer is busy making photo's!

As per the digital pen I applaud olympus for their efforts and will reserve judgement until I can actually take one for a spin.

 

[gavinlg]

There are a few question about his camera that were raised by the member of 43photo forum Riley. This camera maybe something more than we expect. All thread about his camera were closed a few hours ago on that site...

To me this camera is designed to be as much pocketable as possible, with all dials hidden, even the aperture/ shutter wheel is hidden below this part with E-P1 logo. If the lens has automatic lens cover it would be a killer feature.

Here's what he has posted:

"notice the moulding indicated by 'A' rolls under the flash hotshoe mount

notice 2 unusual surfaces 'B', contacts?

notice circle and line 'C', traditional for OVF index

notice irregular green line below LCD

notice 2 holes at front, screws or mic holes

and why have a mode dial like this, it is very unusual. If you look around at the chrome moulding with EP1 written on it, it extends to the l/h side of the camera. It is almost as if the top comes off. A replaceable top deck?"

View attachment 70491

A good food for thought, isn't it?

Just want to clear a few things that were perhaps said a bit too soon by the original poster of that info. I'll address the points by the letters used to label them:

a - The unusually molding that looks a bit like a lip is present on all olympus DSLRs

b - Those things that certainly can look like contacts on that lip molding are also present on all Olympus DSLRs.

c - The circle through the line symbolizes where the sensor is, or in film cameras where the film is. I think it's called the plane index, and it's useful for calculating correct nodal points with tripods. It's present on every one of the Olympus DSLRs, and in fact most cameras ever made. It isn't the OVF index.

Irregular green line under LCD - I'm pretty sure thats just a clear plastic LCD protector thats peeling away from the screen at the top.

2 Holes at the front - I'd bet they're Mic holes, being 2 of them, and not having any mic holes on the top plate while the camera has HD video. maybe it has stereo sound? The location and the fact that there are 2 points to the possibility.

I wonder if the real camera even looks like this? 😉

That one in the pics definitely isn't a photoshop job or a computer made thing - the camera in the picture itself is distorted by having a wide-ish angle lens up close to the E-P1. There are reflections everywhere as well - it's definitely a real camera.

For all we know though, it could be a prototype in the design process and not the final model? It's a pretty polished looking design though... Usually camera prototypes are very plane jane.

I'll go out on a limb right now and say that these wonderful features most of you are reading into this won't come to pass. Forgive me but I don't see any of the things that those arrows and letters are pointing to. And using an auxiliary viewfinder? Who's going to make it? Do you seriously think Olympus is going to make something that smacks of mid-20th century technology? Hey, don't get me wrong, I love my Kiev rangefinders and was floored when Cosina brought out new versions of stuff in Contax and Nikon rangefinder mount. But you can see how long that stuff lasted; it's already out of production and I'll bet Cosina didn't sell 10,000 of 'em over the whole run of several years. "A replaceable top deck?" I don't understand what you're suggesting in reading tea leaves here but it looks like that black thumbwheel that isn't labeled turns the mode dial you're so baffled about. My guess is that this camera will amount to little more than a knockoff of the Canon PowerShot G1. But if Olympus can make a knockoff for a few bucks cheaper, it will serve its purpose, I guess.

The Olympus is set apart from any canon point and shoot by it's sensor which is a DSLR sensor, and it's interchangeable lenses. It's on another planet to any canon powershot.

Look, as long as it has no shutter delay, it'll earn a few goody points. If it's like all other pocket sized digi cams, it'll take the photo when the person has entered the next county, and will therefore be fairly useless.

I hope I'm wrong.

I've read in a few different places that people seem to think it is going to have the same AF system as the Panasonic G1. I think thats an 11 pt AF, and the G1 is pretty damn quick and accurate.

 

[Rick Waldroup]

Gavin, I love your enthusiasm over this new camera and it is something I share. I recently converted from Nikon to the 4/3 system a little over a year ago and have really enjoyed it. And I am super turned on by the prospects of this camera. I am a street shooter and so far, I like what I see.

 

[250swb]

The camera will have contrast detect AF, which on the Pana G1 is lightning quick, and focusing on many of todays cameras counts (in common parlance) as part of the shutter delay time. If the shutter simply fires when the button is pressed it will be on a par with just about any other camera in the 'above P&S class'. It will also write quickly, as do all larger than P&S cameras. There can be no reason to suspect it won't write as quickly as any Olympus DSLR, maybe faster. And of course write speed is part of what should be counted in the shutter delay debate, because it isn't just about the initial shutter press, but the time it takes to get to the next one. This is what ultimately makes the P&S class overall slower than bigger cameras, they have a tiny brain.

Then there is the criticism of dynamic range from the OP. Well yes, if as so often happens you simply assume dynamic range is all about the highlight end the 4/3rds sensor does at the moment lag behind. But hang on, it also has more range in the shadows than many DSLR's in the 'enthusiast' division. This is something forgotten, and any Olympus user knows to expose to the left and then wonder why people always assume you have problems with DR.

The Olympus sensor is also likely to be the latest as used in the Panasonic GH1. The older G1 sensor was shown to have more resolution than a Nikon D3, so isn't this newer sensor going to be a perfect platform for what are traditionally extremely good Olympus lenses, not to mention any good legacy lenses like Leica M? Olympus are close to Leica in lens manufacture/quality, so the idea the whole package will simply be 'P&S' quality is asburd.

And in terms even more extreme speculation, I agree that from the photo posted with pointers to various features, there does seem to be something going on around the flash shoe that isn't strictly cosmetic. I think there will be an small EVF finder that pops on, and if its as good the Pana G1's EVF, then this could make it a very versatile rangefinder like camera.

Steve

 

[AJShepherd]

Steve (250swb) floats the idea of a clip-on EVF. Weill if Ricoh could do that for the GX100 & GX200, then it's not beyond the realms of possibility (and would be extra-cool if it swivelled like the one on the Ricoh).
We've not seen what's under that hotshoe cover...!

Personally the idea of a camera which gives DSLR quality but fits in a pocket is what appeals to me. It's why I bought a Sigma DP1, and it's why I'll be selling that off to help fund the purchase of the new Olympus.
Pancake lens - fits in pocket, but I can carry a zoom in my bag if I want more flexibility.

Mind you, we're all going to feel like idiots if that picture turns out to be a fake!

 

[Ronald_H]

Then there is the criticism of dynamic range from the OP. Well yes, if as so often happens you simply assume dynamic range is all about the highlight end the 4/3rds sensor does at the moment lag behind. But hang on, it also has more range in the shadows than many DSLR's in the 'enthusiast' division. This is something forgotten, and any Olympus user knows to expose to the left and then wonder why people always assume you have problems with DR.

Steve

I never said that, I said others make it into a problem. I can expose, even slides in my M2, thank you.

 

[ZeissFan]

Here's the thing for those of you planning to use your manual focus lenses. Without a viewfinder, how do you plan to focus the lens? You'll have no choice but to hold it in front of your face while you focus the lens.

Now, combine that with the fact that many of the buyers will be middle-aged photographers who are losing their ability to see up close, and you'll either reach for the bifocals or give up in frustration.

I think the best option will be to use an autofocus lens and an auxiliary viewfinder.

Perhaps the camera will have an electronic viewfinder so that you can focus manually. Otherwise, I don't expect using this camera with manual focus lenses to be an enjoyable experience if you're relegated to using the LCD screen.

I'm looking forward to seeing the official photos and specs for this model.

 

[BillBingham2]

Myself I'm hoping for two different EVFs. One lower cost for use with wide angles. Something of a High EyePoint, around $100 street. Like the Ricoh. The other much better quality for work with short and long telephotos, street around $500. But it really needs to be as good as a good DSLR viewfinder.

I'm also hoping for two different body styles.

It's going to be interesting to see how Olympus sets the world on it's edge again.

B2 (;->