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Re: [OM] New Olys - Olympus is back!

Subject: Re: [OM] New Olys - Olympus is back!
From: Jim Couch <JamesBCouch@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 11:10:50 -0800
Olympus is Back

This may be hard to believe, but as a die hard OM and Olympus fan I applaud
this move. Stay with me here and follow along before you all boot me off
list for my heresy.

MY guess is that the mount will be CONSIDERABLY SMALLER than the Om (or any
SLR) mount. If the CCD is that small, there is no need for an image circle
the size of current 35 mm lenses. I suspect that these Olympus digital
lenses will make a typical rangefinder lens look downright ponderous.

While I can understand your frustration (mine as well) at not being able to
use your old lenses, I am ecstatic to see this. This is the Olympus we all
know and remember hard as it may seem. I think folks may be missing the
significance here. OLYMPUS IS DOING FOR DIGITAL WHAT THEY DID FOR THE SLR
WHEN THE DEVELOPED THE OM SERIES! They are starting from the ground up,
thinking outside the box and defining new parameters. This is the OM system
of digital cameras. It will be light and compact. You will be able to carry
a massive kit in a bag that would hold one OM body, two lenses, and a flash.
This is a truly exciting announcement.

If Olympus were to make it backward compatible (i.e. take OM lenses) many of
the advantages this system will have would be lost. while I probably will
not be able to afford to buy this rig, and would probably wait in any case,
I am excited about this product. Olympus is back!

With most technologies, at some point you will have to sacrifice the past &
compatibility with it to move forward. I think that Olympus is at that
point. In the future, when we look back upon this time I think this may well
be as significant as the development of the OM system in Olympus' history.

Jim Couch



Roger Wesson wrote:

> This INFURIATES me!  Why on earth would it not?  If you really do need
> different optical technology for digital as opposed to film use (and I
> am not sufficiently informed to know why this is.  In astronomy, there
> was no need to build masses of new telescopes when CCDs began to replace
> film 10-15 years ago) you could at least use the same mount as the old
> lenses.  The Nikon D1X can use Nikkor lenses made in the 50s, and this
> doesn't seem to have affected its reputation for producing high quality
> images.  I've never seen a review that didn't drool over it.
>
> Is this just Olympus wanting to force us all to buy entirely new kit if
> we should want to go digital?  If so, then that's the kind of thing
> that'd make me want to switch to another less cynical manufacturer (if I
> didn't have an irrational and unshakable affection for Olympus cameras).
>
> Right, done with ranting for now...
>
> Roger


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