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Re: [OM] FYI - Kirk did a nice preview of the OMD

Subject: Re: [OM] FYI - Kirk did a nice preview of the OMD
From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 18:05:27 -0600
> Jeez... Sorry I brought it up. [?]

Well, here's what has me concerned. I'm going to publish this piece on it
that will make it seem like Olympus has seen the light, corrected their
ways and is worthy of our undying affection again. In reality, they've
introduced ONE stink'n body that probably still has the same hokey
double-clutch shutter of the E-Pens. Although the 16MP sensor is adequate
today, it really is no different than when the 5MP E-1 was trying to
compete with 8MP 20D bodies. 16MP E-M5 against 36MP D800.

No, wait! The E-M5 isn't meant to compete against a "real" camera.  That's
not a fair comparison. Oh, really? Again, Olympus fails to address the
needs of the serious photographers. This ends up being just another fancy,
expensive piece of jewelry.

Nah, I wouldn't write anything like that. It would make it seem like I
still hold a grudge against Olympus.

But what I will write about is that Olympus has finally listened to us
enough to produce a camera that can be used by some of us for the majority
of our uses. It's attractive AND useful. Oh, and highly customizable. It
is, in so many ways, very much like my Minolta A1. The size/shape of the
camera is fine, as long as the handgrip add on is roomy enough. If it's too
tight and my fingers don't get a good purchase (like the recent Nikon and
Sony DSLR bodies), then I'm toast.

Things that stand out to me as being worthy of note:
1. Built-in EVF with high-performance refresh and data display below the
image area. Overlays stink.
2. Tilt monitor, not twist-and-shout. My preference for how I work.
Twist-and-shout is better for tripod use, tilt for handheld.
3. Rotational IS. Finally!!!!
4. Touch sensitive OLED monitor. YES!!!!!
5. No more 12MP sensor. Finally!!! Although 16MP is really moving to the
top of the field.
6. Time exposure live monitor image update. Way cool!
7. Intelligent control layout and programmable buttons--including the REC
button.

Things that still make me puzzled:
1. In the programmable buttons, still no support for one-touch spot
metering. Everybody from the '90s must be retired, I guess. Come on
guys--It's ONLY software!!!!
2. Slow sync speed. This tells me it doesn't have electronic first curtain
like the Sony.
3. Only a 1/3 stop improvement in noise over the 12MP sensor.
4. No note of improved AF speeds with Four-Thirds lenses. I guess that
on-chip PDAF function ain't working yet.

Olympus did a good job of promoting the look and feel of this camera--just
as they did with the E-P1/2/3, but is downplaying any improvement in IQ as
well as any hard data on imaging and the shutter. Plenty of new features,
but the underlying machine has limits.

The question I ask myself is this: I'm going to be living with my next
digital camera purchase for a long time. Is this the one I want to be
married to? With the Sony NEX-7's excellent image quality, I'm having a
hard time justifying yesterday's 16MP against the current 24MP in
crop-sensor cameras with the full-frames running 36 or more MP. Six years
from now, will 16MP be as dismal as my E-1's 5MP is today? The difference
between 16MP and 24MP is a good two years.

But 16MP is more than enough. Right? Maybe, maybe not. For the vast bulk of
my photography today, it will be more than sufficient. But in three years,
it might not be. It's not that I'm a slave to the megapixel race, (far from
it), but as often as I do this, I will want to jump as deep into the
state-of-the-art as possible. In reality, the best thing for me to do is
get the 5Dmk3 the day it comes out and sell it the day before the 5Dmk4 is
announced. It's not like Canon's product cycles aren't relatively
predictable now. Sure, it will cost 3X as much up front, but after 3.5
years, I'll still be able to get the majority of my purchase price out of
it. In the end, it's about the same price and I'll have the best IQ camera
around (full-frame at that). No more compromises.

Alas, the siren song of Olympus is screaming in my ears. Something that NO
other camera manufacturer has been able to do to me.

AG
-- 
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