Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [OM] Olympus - no digital plans for OM series

Subject: Re: [OM] Olympus - no digital plans for OM series
From: Dr Peter Gilbert <peterg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 11:06:53 +1000
I have heard this explanation too (not from Olympus), but it didn't make much sense to me either.

If this is indeed the case, how can the Nikon D1 (the digital version of the F100) be able to use all Nikon mount lenses? ie it doesn't require special "digital" lenses.

Maybe "digital" cameras have an aversion to light rays that have passed thru gorgeous hunks of real Zuiko glass - maybe the light rays can only be detected by the CCD's after passing through a tiny piece of cheap plastic.........

Seriously though, maybe some other list members could shed some light on this issue. I'm still hoping for (one day !!) a replacement back for my OM bodies that incorporates a 24x36mm CCD array that is located where the film pressure plate goes. I know we've talked about this before and many think it won't happen, but as far as I can see the only thing stopping it from happening is the technical issues (and therefore cost) of manufacturing quantities of CCD arrays to this size, and similar issues with memory stick/card prices to hold a decent quantity of such high res photos. There might be a challenge to overcome with regard to OTF metering though - is the reflectivity of a CCD array the same as film? Could the meter be recalibrated?

As the technology advances I think it will happen one day, as long as one or more companies believe there is a demand and they feel they could make some money.....

peter


I just got back from the Seybold Convention and Expo in San Francisco. At the Oly booth I asked about a digital body for all my Oly OM glass. The answer was from a rep was, "Not that I know of."
"
He then went on to give a curious answer as to why not. "The OM lenses do not work for digital imaging." He said that lenses focused images by the rays crossing and the CD chip needed all the light beams to be coming in on a straight axis because the pixel receptors were like a cup and the light had to reach the bottom. The present OM lenses land the images at an angle. I said, "Hunh???" That was about all he was able to say. I said my undergraduate course in optics must have been under different laws of physics. It seems to me that exact parallel beams would only exist in an infinitely small point at the center of the image.

< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz