Olympus announces Micro Four Thirds (m4/3)

[colmo]

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This is a big development - it'll mean small, compact digital cameras with dSLR image quality. The downside is that it will rely solely on a electronic viewfinder (EVF) for composition and focusing.

It'll especially appeal to rangefinder enthusiasts who can't afford the £3000 Leica M8.

The new mount will (with the correct adapter) accept almost every interchangeable lens ever made.

My personal tip is that it will go down a storm with the excellent and very reasonably priced Voigtlander rangefinder lenses made by Cosina. Here's hoping that manual focus works well on the new system....

[Funkstar]

I read about this earlier today.

Very interesting, especially when they release a microFourThirds version of the Olympus ZD 25mm pancake. That will make a very compact high quality camera.

The only thing is, this isn't a dSLR and there is no R in it, no Reflex. There is no mirror to move.

[colmo]

Originally Posted by Funkstar

The only thing is, this isn't a dSLR and there is no R in it, no Reflex. There is no mirror to move.

That's right; with no mirror box or prism, the size, shape and weight can be reduced - it'll be a test of how good they can make their EVF in terms of responsiveness, resolution and focus accuracy (maybe some sort of zoomed-in picture-in-picture focus window for manual focussing?).

I suspect that other 4/3 partners may try different approaches, though I think a mechanically coupled rangefinder system, for one, is unlikely.

[Funkstar]

I think we will end up with high quality semi-compacts with interchangable lenses.

This is definitely a good thing

If it means you can reasonably put something like this in your pocket then I'm all for it.

[colmo]

Originally Posted by Funkstar

I think we will end up with high quality semi-compacts with interchangable lenses.

This is definitely a good thing

If it means you can reasonably put something like this in your pocket then I'm all for it.

Semi-compact? Imagine a compact camera about 2.5 cm thick (we know lens registration will be 20mm, so add a bit onto that), with a pancake lens. That's an affordable 2 inch thick (at the widest point) camera which shoots RAW with a sharp, fairly fast prime lens and a (fairly) big sensor! It's the sort of camera a photojournalist or travel shooter can only dream of.

It'll compete with the Canon G series, the Sigma DP1, and the Panasonic LX series, yet with interchangeable lenses, and a ready-made range of accessories from the existing 4/3 range. Maybe some models will have wireless flash, sensor-shift stabilisation....the possibilities are extensive.

[Funkstar]

I said semi-compact because cameras derived from this, the Canon G series and the Sigma DP1 don't really fit into the 'compact' category.

I guess 'bridge' camera would be better, but then thats what the super-zooms are often refered to as.

Someone needs to come up with a new category name for these things

[BUFF]

EVILs (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens)

Olympus & Panasonic already have sensor shift IS so that wouldn't be a problem if they chose to use that & of course they have AF tech so if you rely on that you really don't need a phenomenally accurate electronic viewfinder or rear screen for manual focussing.
Due to the sensor size it will still have more dof than an APS-C sensor anyway.

[colmo]

Agreed there needs to be a new category named for this (as yet) hypothetical camera type - it isn't a dSLR, it isn't a rangefinder, it isn't a bridge camera and it won't likely be a compact, as Funkstar surmises; it's hard to say what size these cameras will be given how little we know.

I'm not sure if IS will appear on the smallest models, as they left it out of the E4xx series, and a lot of manual focus lenses are going to find themselves attached to a camera such as this, so some sort of MF aid is still important; also DOF will still come into play on fast primes, due to the appeal of this camera type to rangefinder enthusiasts.

Edit: a lot of manual focus lenses are going to find themselves attached to a few cameras such as this...

[BUFF]

tbh I doubt that lots of manual focus lenses will be used on these (although indubitably some will).
Imo predominantly what will sell for use with them are 4/3 mount lenses which will be AF (& in the case of the Panny/Leica OIS stabilsed as well). I would imagine that Olympus/Panasonic see it as an opportunity to increase lens sales & also introduce or tie in users to the system where they can use 1 set of lenses across both (we all know that most photo enthusiasts tend to have several cameras e.g. compact plus DSLR).