This weekend I visited the photofair put on in Copenhagen by Bingo, a large
chain of photo shops. It is put on in the center of a shopping mall with all
the important manufacturers/distributors, and most things can be bought at a
discounted price from a retail stand run by Bingo. Last year at the same
show I bought the just-introduced E-500 twin lens kit at a very good price
(by Danish standards).
This year Olympus had the E-400 and E-330 and many lernses on display,
together with all the compacts. I had a good look at the E-400 and E-330.
The E-400 feels very compact, like a lightweight OM. I was surprised to hear
that the E-500 is discontinued, at least as far as Denmark is concerned. The
E-400 is seen as its replacement (at a 25% higher price). The E-330 has been
on back-order for months, largely because Olympus Denmark underestimated the
interest (they evidently first thought that Live View was just a gimmick).
I also looked at the new kit lenses, very light and compact. I do not think
much of the switch to polycarbonate mounts though. In the new combined lens
brochure from the Four-Thirds group the original 14-45 and 40-150 lenses
seem to be missing (discontinued?). I also looked at the 80-180, which
weighed a good deal more; it felt very nice though, and would make a nice
travel lens - short on wideangle though.
At the side of the Olympus stand was a small Pentax stand, which had a
just-arrived K10D. Felt really nice and solid, and very comfortable to hold.
Price with a standard zoom was roughly the same as the E-400 with two
lenses. It looked to be great value for money compared with equivalent Canon
and Nikon models. It ought to have a great future, if it turns out to be
trouble-free. Plent of K and KA-mount lenses out there.
Another stand showed Tokina lenses, by the way, but only for Nikon and Canon
- not Four-Thirds....
Roger Key
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