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Re[3]: [OM] Oly resurgent/NY Show/IPIX

Subject: Re[3]: [OM] Oly resurgent/NY Show/IPIX
From: Dave Haynie <dhaynie@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 11:34:54 -0500 (EST)
On Tue, 03 Nov 1998 06:09:02 PST, "Jim Loudon" <jloudon@xxxxxxxxxxx> jammed all 
night, and by sunrise was overheard remarking:

> I've been fidgeting about this thread since it began, and can
> no longer resist.  The comment that got me off the fence:
> 
> > This is at least part true, and at least part happening, at least
> > in the price-is-no-object world.
 
> is an interesting one, because this is where some of Olympus' recent
> offerings are to be found.  The bad news is that this arena isn't
> conventional photographic systems.
 
> It seems that Olympus has been busy integrating digital capture
> capabilities into their medical imaging products,

I didn't know that specifically, but it's really no surprise. Olympus
was "Olympus Optical Company" before they made any cameras, in the
microscope business -- and not the relatively cheap ones you get for $
500 at Edmund's or $75 at your local science toy store. They're still in
them modern eqivalent of that business, but that goes far beyond simple
microscopes. The whole revolution in computer visulization really
started in the medical community. That pre-supposes a digital image very
early in the whole process. 

While that has no direct impact on cameras, it certainly is one place to
drive technology. Olympus didn't make good lenses for your OM system by
accident, especially in the pre-CAD 70s; that was a spin-off of the
expertise gained on "price is little or no object" optical systems.
Could be that kind of work in digital imaging is already trickling down
to their digital camera business. Still doesn't necessarily imply there
will be an OM-bodied digital SLR, but again, it reinforces the notion
they could make a very nice one if they want to -- technology is not the
problem. 

> I confess that I'm totally ignorant of happenings in the medical
> imaging field,

It's been years, but I knew of some of this kind of thing because back
in the mid-80s, some companies were building medical imaging systems
around the Amiga computer line, which I was designing at the time. At
the time, it was more of a computer problem then an imaging or optical
problem. But the kind of DSP farm or special purpose number cruncher you
could build back in those days is a fast PC today. So the fancy systems
can work in deep megapixels. Which is exactly what you want for film
quality digital imaging. 

> I think it also reinforces the
> previous observations that Olympus is moving away from silver-based
> imaging systems.  Compared to the other familiar names (Canon, Nikon,
> Minolta), Olympus is a comparatively small company, with a
> correspondingly small development capability, and they've apparently
> put what few eggs they have in the digital imaging basket...

They do seem to stick to their talents. For example, there have been all
kinds of Zuiko lenses, but relatively few OM SLR models, compared to
C-N-M, who seem to have a new model every month or two :-) (and yet, I
still haven't seen an SLR from anyone else that even comes close to my
OM-4 in actual, real world usefulness). Talent in optics was something
they could leverage to build a great camera line. Maybe digital imaging
will work the same way in the next decade. 

It's already a foregone conclusion, I think, that it is a big part of
the future. 35mm-equivalent imaging already exists, at a hefty price.
But in the electronics business, where just about anything is twice the
performance for half the price in a year or two, it can't be all that
long before it's quite possible to have an affordable SLR-type device
doing 35mm quality at a decent price. Then wait two or three years, and
you'll get 2-1/4" quality in the same physical format. It will be
increasingly attractive to more people every year, and for the most part,
it'll be replacing traditional cameras. Which is exactly why pretty much
every camera or film company has jumped on the digital bandwagon to some
extent -- they know this to be true. 
--
Dave Haynie  | V.P. Technology, Met@box Infonet, AG |  http://www.metabox.de
Be Dev #2024 | NB851 Powered! | Amiga 2000, 3000, 4000, PIOS One



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