"I actually find this linking of Olympus and Kodak rather disquieting. The
Kodak name has been synonymous with cheap, execrable quality, disposable
photo toys for 50 years."
Kodak is basically a film company, not a camera company. You don't sell film
by making expensive cameras that people can't afford. Kodak was a pioneer in
designing inexpensive products that weren't junk. Note especially their
recent single-use camera that's claimed to match the image quality of a good
SLR.
That said... Kodak has produced some classic cameras, including the
Medalist. A Modern Photography (I think) reviewer writing 20 years ago said
that he considered its lens the best lens ever put on any camera of any
kind. The Super Six-20 was the first camera with automatic exposure control.
Then there was the Ektra, Kodak's "answer" to the Leica, which failed mostly
because of an unreliable shutter.
I still have a pocket instamatic 60. Regardless of what you think of the
format, this is a well-made camera with a high-quality lens. And it was made
in the US.
"The big question is, will the future be a) digital SLRs that look just like
35mm SLRs and use the same lenses, or b) smaller, lighter cameras
purpose-built around smaller, less expensive sensors with more d.o.f.,
better macro capability, and smaller, cheaper, faster lenses? Personally I
hope it will be "b," but again, of course, no one knows."
The answer, unfortunately, is likely to be B. Other than sensitivity, large
pixels have no advantage over small, so it makes sense to downsize the
sensor and lenses, rather than to build larger sensors. This will also force
owners to buy new lenses.
This business about excessive edge fall-off when using "conventional" lenses
with a digital sensor is an attempt to confuse photographers. The falloff
could easily be compensated for with simple computer processing, but no one
wants to do it.
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