[ Release Info ] - Three New PENs to add to the family... and more...
- Thread starter microcosm
- Start date
microcosm
Senior Member
Personally, I don't know what to make of the new cameras. But it does seem like Olympus is taking the PEN series very seriously and that is a good thing.
(I am still recovering from my fear for the older Four Thirds platform which seems interesting that Olympus has said in their interview that they shall not neglect. They will find something along the way to make up to the core users of the Four Thirds System, so I am waiting patiently for a solution for "life after the E-5".)
Now, with three new cameras, I wonder how much improvements they have made over them.
A few "wait and see" questions I have :
• Now that you are sticking to 12mp sensors, which I am not in disagreement with, let's see how do they fair in terms of picture quality, dynamic range, color reproduction and while they still retain the title for the best jpeg out of camera, but since you are not giving us more pixels, you best give us better dynamic range which Olympus seems to be having trouble catching up with their rivals. Not that Olympus cameras have bad dynamic range, but we can always do with more since we ain't getting larger sensor sizes.
• AVCHD codec on top of motion jpeg for video - Looks like Olympus has "solved" the problem with getting to full HD by licensing Panasonic's video format/codec. Let's see how this work out for the new PEN series. Will we see serious video capabilities? Lighter cameras means cheaper motion stabilising gear, which is actually a good thing. Coupled with an adapter and Four Thirds Super High Grade lens, this looks like a formula for very very good videos. We shall wait and see what Olympus has done with the new video implementation. Now you can shoot to your hearts' content (if the battery lasts long enough to capture a football match/concert/sermon in church). This potentially opens up the market for Olympus. And puts it into direct competition with Panasonic for the video arena.
• "Thorn by the side" : Why is Olympus releasing new lenses with new functions and not making new functions on their new cameras backward compatible with their EXISTING lenses? Why isn't the new series of PEN able to take advantage of say, SWD lenses to produce lightning fast focusing? They already have a user base out there and opening up an opportunity for more SWD sales, why aren't they doing that? What is holding them back? Until this is made clear, this will always be a case of "thorn by the side". Of course, there is always manual focusing. But then again...
• New series of cameras, new batch of lenses... something is not very right, isn't it? Not everyone have a dry cab the size of a room you know? I am finally proud to say that I have lost track of the versions of kits lenses made available for Olympus cameras... that must be an industry first! And the nagging question at the back of my mind... why start the standard zooms at 14mm (28mm)? 12mm (24mm) would have been a better choice... but then again, I wouldn't know, I am not a lens engineer. Just something that has been nagging me. I am sure a 12-30mm f3.5-4.5 lens would have been awesome! (Then again, their new prime is 12mm, let's not go there).
• More options for camera body size, and colors... I think the ladies have more reasons to come on board this new era of "small DSLR like" camera system. More sales, more R&D money, more new gadgets.
• I will have to see how the new focusing system will work with the new series of PEN. Especially with existing lenses. If it does not work well with existing lenses and we have to buy new cameras, new lens, then why not a new system? From the competition? Am I making any sense here?
The above said, it is still quite exciting to see the new steel-like finished E-P3. Though the title of "the most beautiful retro camera body design" must belong to Fujifilm's X100. Not to mention there were some really clever innovation in that Fujifilm camera which I was hoping to see in the new Pen... but still, I am sure this series of PEN will sell very very well. Not everyone who wants to take pictures are that demanding on their gear like I do.
(I am still recovering from my fear for the older Four Thirds platform which seems interesting that Olympus has said in their interview that they shall not neglect. They will find something along the way to make up to the core users of the Four Thirds System, so I am waiting patiently for a solution for "life after the E-5".)
Now, with three new cameras, I wonder how much improvements they have made over them.
A few "wait and see" questions I have :
• Now that you are sticking to 12mp sensors, which I am not in disagreement with, let's see how do they fair in terms of picture quality, dynamic range, color reproduction and while they still retain the title for the best jpeg out of camera, but since you are not giving us more pixels, you best give us better dynamic range which Olympus seems to be having trouble catching up with their rivals. Not that Olympus cameras have bad dynamic range, but we can always do with more since we ain't getting larger sensor sizes.
• AVCHD codec on top of motion jpeg for video - Looks like Olympus has "solved" the problem with getting to full HD by licensing Panasonic's video format/codec. Let's see how this work out for the new PEN series. Will we see serious video capabilities? Lighter cameras means cheaper motion stabilising gear, which is actually a good thing. Coupled with an adapter and Four Thirds Super High Grade lens, this looks like a formula for very very good videos. We shall wait and see what Olympus has done with the new video implementation. Now you can shoot to your hearts' content (if the battery lasts long enough to capture a football match/concert/sermon in church). This potentially opens up the market for Olympus. And puts it into direct competition with Panasonic for the video arena.
• "Thorn by the side" : Why is Olympus releasing new lenses with new functions and not making new functions on their new cameras backward compatible with their EXISTING lenses? Why isn't the new series of PEN able to take advantage of say, SWD lenses to produce lightning fast focusing? They already have a user base out there and opening up an opportunity for more SWD sales, why aren't they doing that? What is holding them back? Until this is made clear, this will always be a case of "thorn by the side". Of course, there is always manual focusing. But then again...
• New series of cameras, new batch of lenses... something is not very right, isn't it? Not everyone have a dry cab the size of a room you know? I am finally proud to say that I have lost track of the versions of kits lenses made available for Olympus cameras... that must be an industry first! And the nagging question at the back of my mind... why start the standard zooms at 14mm (28mm)? 12mm (24mm) would have been a better choice... but then again, I wouldn't know, I am not a lens engineer. Just something that has been nagging me. I am sure a 12-30mm f3.5-4.5 lens would have been awesome! (Then again, their new prime is 12mm, let's not go there).
• More options for camera body size, and colors... I think the ladies have more reasons to come on board this new era of "small DSLR like" camera system. More sales, more R&D money, more new gadgets.
• I will have to see how the new focusing system will work with the new series of PEN. Especially with existing lenses. If it does not work well with existing lenses and we have to buy new cameras, new lens, then why not a new system? From the competition? Am I making any sense here?
The above said, it is still quite exciting to see the new steel-like finished E-P3. Though the title of "the most beautiful retro camera body design" must belong to Fujifilm's X100. Not to mention there were some really clever innovation in that Fujifilm camera which I was hoping to see in the new Pen... but still, I am sure this series of PEN will sell very very well. Not everyone who wants to take pictures are that demanding on their gear like I do.
nissanmanic
New Member
haha evil! but this will definitely have to wait. pretty darn broke after i got the E-5. <3!
me too, but the 12mm is not a cheap lens, even much more than the nokton 0.95.
so far the pics from the 12mm make it very desirable
so far the pics from the 12mm make it very desirable
My dream combo would be white Ep3 + 12mm f2 lens and EVF2
I'm interested to see how this works out. What I've seen elsewhere so far looks like a lot of cheerleading for Olympus, with the exception of those laughing at the 12 MP resolution.
Hopefully, some Canikon-oriented people will be able to show us that Olympus has done something good and that this revised (it doesn't sound new from the press release) sensor will show amazing improvements. Obviously, the dual core processor is showing benefits in the AF speed, just as when the AF processor was added to the E-3.
Does it feel like these are complete cameras? I don't have that feeling quite yet, but they're a whole lot closer so maybe we won't have to wait until the E-P14, as I keep suggesting.
Hopefully, some Canikon-oriented people will be able to show us that Olympus has done something good and that this revised (it doesn't sound new from the press release) sensor will show amazing improvements. Obviously, the dual core processor is showing benefits in the AF speed, just as when the AF processor was added to the E-3.
Does it feel like these are complete cameras? I don't have that feeling quite yet, but they're a whole lot closer so maybe we won't have to wait until the E-P14, as I keep suggesting.
microcosm
Senior Member
That said, I still believe that the new PEN will have some tricks up their sleeve to show rival brands and systems that they have some party tricks, patented, and works.
Whether the new trio will have something to wow the more hardcore photographers will be seen... at the meantime, gadget folks are really excited. That is good for Olympus.
Whether the new trio will have something to wow the more hardcore photographers will be seen... at the meantime, gadget folks are really excited. That is good for Olympus.
NazgulKing
Senior Member
There isn't exactly a lot of stuff to get really excited about, considering the performance is pretty close to what Panasonic offered half a year ago.
noodlehaus
New Member
Olympus proving their claim on having the fastest AF around is all that matters to me. Having given up my E-P2 and being stuck with the GF1, I can honestly say that its AF speed is still slow.
You will be surprise with the performance of AF. The speed and accuracy is unprecedented.
An article written by Douglas Brown posted on Luminous Landscape pretty much sums up my experience and observation on the new PENs and the lenses.
Having seen the youtube video, I was quite blown away by the speed of the AF, very fast, but can't see if it was accurate or not hahahha
Comparing to E-PL2, E-P3 improves the image quality further in terms of color reproduction with the new Real Color Technology build into the new TruePix VI image processor. Difficult color like emerald, yellow, magenta, etc are better reproduced and different shades of colors are better presented. Also, the SAT is another feature that is greatly improved. The noise is pretty well-controlled when the shadow is boosted with the highlights well protected.
Unless there is a hurricane, it's difficult to have you blown away la. :bsmilie:
I think you will find the AF performance a treat. More so with the response of the touch screen feature.
NazgulKing said:
Thats not true in my opinion. Although pana AF was marginally faster, its colours and OOC jpegs were still not as good as oly. And it had no inbody IS.
On the contrary, there is a lot to be excited abt in the new bodies, particularly the EP3 and EPM1. It feels like oly imaging camera div giant is waking up.
NazgulKing
Senior Member
Exciting for the "Olympus only" crowd. But the agnostic, nope. It's more like Olympus finally decided to catch up instead of minting out replicas.
Unless there is a hurricane, it's difficult to have you blown away la. :bsmilie:
I think you will find the AF performance a treat. More so with the response of the touch screen feature.
Wah.... Suan me now lor... Hahahha, While I think the new features are great, I'm still not trading my E-P1 for the newer PENs XD
nissanmanic
New Member
you shall succumb to the new PENs! =P
